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Cherrybrook - Shropshire Blt - Portable Layout


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1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

I take a lot of photographs as inspiration for my artwork and model making. Your inclusion of a river bridge immediately reminded me of this picture.

 

Thank you very much for the photo, exactly the sort of scene I am aiming for. I'm sure the photo will be helpful, particularly when I'm looking for colours. 

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I forgot to post yesterday, all but the bridge and the small area beyond it have now got cork. 

 

I've also attached a backscene, this time an n gauge I'd backscene as the board is only roughly 8" high, I think it Looks very good and adds more depth than a very cut down  00 gauge one would. 

 

20210402_150452.jpg.0597980e31b1417f09686b834d4575de.jpg

 

Finally I also marked out the track plan on the cork and dropped some flexi track on to see how the station looks. I've ordered all of the points, however they won't be shipped until they are all in stock, hopefully it won't take too long. 

 

20210402_154146.jpg.77f9a331bd0723b51903cbb534f27a05.jpg

 

Here's a shot to test the new backscene. 

 

20210402_150154.jpg.965dd80686e7b55ef92f3d33a1f19d82.jpg

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If you have anything with outside cylinders, I'm thinking prairie tanks, moguls or 2MTs in particular, check them over it. Another infamous bridge basher is a GWR toad brake van, the foot boards swing out a long way at parapet height. 

I've had the odd issue!

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Thanks for the tip, I modified the kit to be about half way between single and double width deck. No problems so far! 

 

I've just tried with a 61xx and a toad and all is fine. 

 

20210406_160124.jpg.d0cbcb41513da796a0bd3e3d2f82820a.jpg

 

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I even tested the 40 and no problems there either. 

 

20210406_160306.jpg.b0a669112d2f08849a127b05454cfd6b.jpg

 

I'm just waiting for the tunnel portal to be delivered and I can check that clears too. 

 

 

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No worries then. It's not possible for me to properly see how much clearance you have there and I found that if I moved my track as little as 1mm either way it was literally crunch time with the vehicles I listed. Oddly enough, the 4-4-0s that I have missed everything and they were the ones that I thought would give problems.

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  • 2 weeks later...

No real updates. I'm still waiting for peco to manafacture three way points before the rest of the track gets dispatched. 

 

I've also spent the last week in Cornwall working on my girlfreinds parents new house. They moved from Shropshire to liskeard so it's all a little hectic. 

 

I'm back in Portsmouth now and I've got all of my uni deadlines looming too.

 

 

I managed to mark out the track layout for the storage board today and I might be able to upload some photos I got of trains on liskeard viaduct. Other than that I will be a little quiet on here untill I get  some uni work done. 

 

20210419_131241.jpg.c4855532d32e25c48b91f04ed4174bf7.jpg

 

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I finished a coursework yesterday (3 lab reports for uni) so as a reward I've spent the morning preparing the layout for wiring. 

 

I've decided to get the bus wires and controller installed whilst I wait for the track. I've started by installing the command station, USB interface, terminal strips and ldt rs 8 ready for initial wiring. 

 

All are positioned so as to avoid point work and point Motors. 

 

20210422_140704.jpg.6805bc23fef1192eee435527dd97257b.jpg

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry for the silence, I've been slowly wiring all of the main bus wires and trying to set up the feedback boards, however I haven't had too much time Inbetween uni work. 

 

So far I have all of the main wiring in, however no luck on the feedback boards yet. I've just purchased an upgrade chip for the feedback circuit in my Controller so hopefully that solves my issue. 

 

Here is just some of the main bus wiring I've done. 

 

Screenshot_20210504-205559_YouTube.jpg.c8865742a3d0d929305dda8f8476a5e6.jpg

 

Screenshot_20210504-205524_YouTube.jpg.3525f109ddd51cf8cd6c63460581e340.jpg

 

The boards are joined by 9 pole connectors. There is a bundle of wires with a plug on one board, and a socket on the next. You can see one example of a wire stowed in a storage clip, as well as one looped between two boards. 

 

Screenshot_20210504-205552_YouTube.jpg.9b8bcc21cbf4b1a52e9d6428f7d5d2b2.jpg

 

Screenshot_20210504-205650_YouTube.jpg.574ee9b614c7a6bde3f59f8a41a09a3f.jpg

 

Today I also received the much awaited points and will slowly start track laying in my down time. I've also purchased all of the cobalt dcc point Motors I need. 

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........ 

 

I thought I'd also show you the new track arrivals 

 

I've had the flexi track for a while but a few days ago I picked up some 2nd rad curves on ebay to help keep a constant radius. The scenic section will still be flexi but the offscene curve will be set track. 

 

20210502_185149.jpg.53c589c744ed8a13045291f3611338d0.jpg

 

 

As I said above, today the points arrived including several short radius Electrofrog points, one double slip and two three way points. 

 

Here they are roughly laid out. 

 

20210504_120130.jpg.16c44a3a202af301a952e5b9a6ac16f0.jpg

 

20210504_120944.jpg.86bc216e13bbf5a9a76962d0b2c96e21.jpg

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Looking good, it also reminds me that I need to get some small P clips or adhesive cable tidies. Everything is temporarily held with bits of masking tape on my layout. I don't want it to become permanent!

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5 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

Looking good, it also reminds me that I need to get some small P clips or adhesive cable tidies. Everything is temporarily held with bits of masking tape on my layout. I don't want it to become permanent!

Thanks, I've become rather fond of p clips as it only takes a few seconds with the screwdriver to undo my mistakes and reroute cables, rather than snipping dozens of cable ties. I also find the adhesive cable bases either won't stick or won't come off, always one extreme or the other and never the one you want. 

 

 

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Absolutely right. I tend to use P clips on vehicles and old fashioned rubber cable ties, they don't chafe and you don't cut yourself to ribbons in confined spaces like you do with cable ties. 

My boards are 9mm ply, so I think that I will pinch your idea because it's much neater.

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Yesterday evening and this morning I worked on gluing in the three way point in. I soldered on flexi and pcb sleepers across the join and then cut across the gap in the boards. I drilled the holes for the point Motors and wires but have omitted them for now. 

 

20210505_174821.jpg.c0724eedb3a76cb51e487284cf65843c.jpg

 

 

This afternoon I located and glued a set track curve across the join at the other end of the board. I am currently working on the flexi track curve that joins the three way point and this bit of set track. I used set track on the join to keep the curve secure and of constant radius. You can also see I've used the card from the point packaging to super elevate the curve. 

 

20210505_181613.jpg.318eb88f4140ac8fb44eb78f7b957699.jpg

 

The cobalt motors also arrived this afternoon. I shall install them once all of the scenic points are in. 

 

20210505_174800.jpg.8c1ad01f6660954bb954810eb870c55c.jpg

 

 

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Yesterday I got the smaller scenic board all wired up for track power and point control. I really like the cobalt point Motors, they are relatively easy to install and very intuitive to wire. 

 

20210509_095743.jpg.3d043fa86bf79b75a701d79e37aaa01b.jpg

 

 

I also added a track diagram with all of the point Motors and blocks labelled. These correspond with labels on the wires allowing me to follow the wiring and fault find easily. 

 

20210509_095751.jpg.2679142a022eac6321ab6955d38518c1.jpg

 

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Hopefully today I'll get the larger station board done

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Well 2 hours later and all the point motors are in, wired and programmed as well as all of the Electrofrog points. 

 

Just have to wire all of the track blocks this afternoon. 

 

20210509_122316.jpg.8c070f968982d998ecf3c4be9a2da185.jpg

 

Each point has its own power feed, I've crimped them together with the power to the point Motor for ease, and each terminal is labeled respectively. 

 

20210509_122322.jpg.cf2c2a02ed6315e465770dd8107c265b.jpg

 

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I had a break this afternoon but I've just gotten all of the track wires wired in to the block detection board. When I work out why its not connecting properly hopefully I'll be able to have a play with some automation. 

 

Here's an in progress shot. 

 

20210509_180713.jpg.b768f2a7815b4c3cd5e4e14e096eb62c.jpg

 

 

And here it is all cable managed. I've kept the detected wires seperate from the normal dropper wires. 

 

20210509_190212.jpg.4093f8f648518d16c4489a62d9897352.jpg

 

I've also labelled each block both at the point it goes through the board into the track and at its terminal block on the rs8. 

 

20210509_190220.jpg.3946ae90f4934d02ad976eb2e61d3fb5.jpg

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Just editing some footage for a youtube video and I thought I'd put a quick unlisted clip on here. Every track is tested and fully working.

 

you might notice I had to get the pliers out on a slipped rail in one of the points which was touching the frog and causing a short - but all is fine now. full track laying video up today and wiring video up later in the week for anyone who also uses youtube.

 

 

 

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