yorkie_pudd Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 amazing piece of track work done again just in that small area of the whole layout to be done, and agree the 6 coaches look lost against that small track section. So gives hindsight of massive this is and what brilliant work is left to do & look forward to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post TheLaird Posted July 19, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 19, 2014 What a difference a week makes! "Leander" paid a visit on Tuesday so I took the opportunity to dismantle the boards with his help and re erect them with the final board in place. This then allowed me to mark out the embankment edge, get the saw out again and commence more butchery on the board. Once complete, said board was re attached, underlay glued down, baseboard joints finished off and track centres drawn out. The last three days has seen all of the north side track work glued down along with platform 4, leaving the two station sidings and platforms 5&6 to complete. Exciting or what!! The crimson cream rake has finally made it into platform 3. Just got to make it all work now.... 22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Absolutely superb David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustytrev Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Hello. Once complete, said board was re attached, underlay glued down, baseboard joints finished off and track centres drawn out. Could you explain the procedure and about the underlay please? trustytrev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ray H Posted July 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 19, 2014 Why don't they have an awesome button? Awesome! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Could you explain the procedure and about the underlay please? trustytrev. The underlay I am using is the same as I used on Bradfield, 2mm thick polyfoam that is used for insulating laminate flooring. Once the board has been cut to the final shape and size, it is attached to the adjacent board and the joint finished by applying a 20mm wide strip of plasticard on each board along the joint to form a solid and straight edge. Two pieces of 1mm (40th) plasticard are used to match the height of the polyfoam, the first strip is stuck to the ply board with Evo stick and when dry the second layer is bonded to the first with solvent. This is left overnight to dry thoroughly and can then be sanded to remove any slight difference in height between boards. The polyfoam is then cut slightly oversize and stuck down with carpet adhesive, bought from DIY stores in 2.5kg tubs for about 7-8 quid. The adhesive is spread all over the ply top and then the foam positioned and pushed down with the aid of a decorators paint roller to get all the air out. When dry, the edges are trimmed off. The polyfoam is white and can be marked in biro or permanent fine felt tip pens, I use the latter sold as CD marker pens, £1 in the shop of the same name. I draw 150mm squares so that the track plan can be transferred from the Templot drawing which also has a grid of 150mm squares. The same adhesive is used to glue the trackwork down because it is a rubbery type of solution and does not set hard thereby aiding insulation and providing a certain amount of springing to the track. Hope this answers your query, if not please ask again. Regards John E. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Rowsley17D Posted July 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi John, I similarly use under-laminate foam but mine is 3 mm and I use carpet vinyl glue to stick down the foam and track. I am going to try a watered down version on a test piece of ballasting. Never thought of drawing a grid on it though, for the Templot plan, so thanks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_H Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Perhaps I'm having a blond moment ... can I just check that I am reading this right, is the "20mm wide strip of plasticard" made up of the two strips of 1mm? Also is the complete board covered with the polyfoam or just the trackplan, if the complete board do you not bother with raising the track up to create a cess? Thanks Ian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leander Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Also is the complete board covered with the polyfoam or just the trackplan, if the complete board do you not bother with raising the track up to create a cess? According to our available photos of LCN, there was no cess around the station area Ian so no need to bother raising up the track. This isn't untypical of many large stations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustytrev Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hello John, carpet adhesive, bought from DIY stores in 2.5kg tubs for about 7-8 quid. I have looked but don't seem to find it at Wicks or B&Q. trustytrev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 Hello John, I have looked but don't seem to find it at Wicks or B&Q. trustytrev. A picture paints a thousand words etc... On the left from B&Q on the right from Wickes last Friday! "Perhaps I'm having a blond moment ... can I just check that I am reading this right, is the "20mm wide strip of plasticard" made up of the two strips of 1mm?" Hopefully this clarifies things, the two 20mm wide strips of 1mm are bonded on top of each other to make the 2mm depth to match the polyfoam. " I am going to try a watered down version on a test piece of ballasting" - I tried this with success on Bradfield, only downside is that it discolours the ballast makes it darker but is preferable to PVA as it stays flexible and I paint the ballast anyway. John E. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gerbil-Fritters Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Having indulged in a 12 hour tracklaying sprint on Saturday, I doff my hat to your superior hand built trackage. Mine came out of boxes, and still took some work. Very much looking forward to seeing some Sulzer Tyoe 4 action here soon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trustytrev Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 A picture paints a thousand words etc... Adhesive.jpg On the left from B&Q on the right from Wickes last Friday! BB Joint.jpg "Perhaps I'm having a blond moment ... can I just check that I am reading this right, is the "20mm wide strip of plasticard" made up of the two strips of 1mm?" Hopefully this clarifies things, the two 20mm wide strips of 1mm are bonded on top of each other to make the 2mm depth to match the polyfoam. " I am going to try a watered down version on a test piece of ballasting" - I tried this with success on Bradfield, only downside is that it discolours the ballast makes it darker but is preferable to PVA as it stays flexible and I paint the ballast anyway. John E. Hello John, Thanks very much.I saw those products but assumed carpet adhesive was a different product. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 Final pieces of tracklaying for now at least!! Joints soldered and cut. Started on cutting the tie bars, 26 needed for theses three boards, quite a few more to do for the rest. Will probably wire each board as I go starting with "A" as I fit tie bars and servos etc. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leander Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Very much looking forward to seeing some Sulzer Tyoe 4 action here soon! Things are looking decidedly hopeful for ExpoEM North as my Ultrascale order number is now "currently being processed". By my reckoning that should leave at least a week to get my three Peaks converted before the deadline. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Updates are going to get a bit boring from now on. If I thought that building pointwork was tedious, this is the really un-interesting phase. 28 tie bars have been fabricated and fitted, the wire in tube has been connected up and the first 18 servos installed.Servo control boards are being assembled by another team member. Still no volts on these boards but the servos have been tested and appear to work OK. This morning I ripped up the station sidings and platform 5 as I was unhappy with positioning and spacing, all has now been re-laid and looks much better. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardml2341 Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 You ain't got time to go ripping things up.............. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardml2341 Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 (edited) Sub Contracted Servo Board Assembly I've been building some MERG servo boards for Leeds City North, some pics below: Degreasing the tinned sides of the pcbs ready for component insertion, Isoprpoyl Alcohol used for this. Compnents from tinned side............ Components inserted ready for soldering. ...........and soldered. Fiisihed items - 5 more to do. This was my first time of assembling MERG kits and I encountered no problems whatsoever. You do need reasonable soldering skills and there are a couple of areas where it would be easily possible to create solder 'bridges'; In fairness the excellent instructions do warn of this. Now let's hope they work ok. 10 complete and on their way to Leeds City North Edited August 7, 2014 by leopardml2341 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted August 2, 2014 Author Share Posted August 2, 2014 Like I said, not a lot of interest to photograph! The DCC power bus has been installed on board A and the picture shows progress so far on Board B. The three tag boards on the centre cross bearer are from the top down, DCC power district 1 circuit A, DCC power district 1 circuit B and finally the 12v supply for relays and servo control boards. The inter baseboard connections and switch boxes are still being constructed by Richard and should be ready this week along with servo controllers from Andy. It is six weeks now to EM North and I am feeling quietly confident that I will have something running, however I must confess that I have massively under estimated the amount of work involved, hopefully others will be providing some suitable motive power!! John E. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorkie_pudd Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 one thinks ooo great big project and follow with interest how the base is built and takes shape, the track starts getting laid and the massive size begins to come in to play. The picture of board B on its side and all I thought holy cow that's massive and what neat wiring. luckily managed to pop eyes back in and jaw off floor with no damage Mint craftwork by all involved. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
m.levin Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 To repeat what everyone else has said that’s some outstanding work. I too am building my own point work and it’s not for the faint hearted, so my hat goes off to you. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard to test the points out, until you can run a full train over them. I have tested best I can, but another worry is how will they perform once ballasted. I have a better understanding of how the points work; it was easy on my old layout, out of the box and on to the boards. I’m looking forward to seeing some buildings; the level of detail to the track has got me all excited for what else is to come. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLaird Posted August 14, 2014 Author Share Posted August 14, 2014 Wiring of boards A, B & C completed, tested, up and running!! These boards comprise the area controlled by Leeds City Wellington box. only a few more to go!! (D to H)..... 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Worsdell forever Posted August 14, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 14, 2014 only a few more to go!! (D to H)..... And only a month to go... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suddaby Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 And only a month to go... A month, he'll be half way to St Pancras by then! Kevin 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the penguin of doom Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Finally, a Peak! Oh, nice trackwork too..... 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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