Les1952 Posted September 15, 2013 Author Share Posted September 15, 2013 A little wiring.. We've started wiring up from the tag strips to the bottom of the control panels- doing the runs up to the switches in two stages- Underboard tag strip to panel tag strip first, then tag strip to switch inside the panel. First- a shot of the tag strips in the base of the control panel. At the time Trevor bought the boxes he hadn't realised that we were planning tag strips inside them, and the boxes are polythene. The tag strips are held clear of the bottom of the box by strips of Evergreen plastic glued on the underside to create an air gap. The middle board has been placed on the new workbench vertically with the underside pointing into the main work space and the panels at the top. This allows the panels to be opened and hooked over the bench backboard to steady the board. It has the disadvantage of whoever connects the panel end of the wire needs to hike 20 feet to get to the other side, but with a two-person team on it isn't that much of a problem. The little tags on the wires help identify which is which- less necessary when the wire is entirely under the board, as even droppers have the number marked on the underside of the board, and the tag strips under the board are labelled. However these wires go up what will be a tunnel on the outside of the board - we abandoned the slots as wiggle in the wires when the panel is tilted would derail trains underneath. These are the tags in the box- Radio Spares ones many years old- the number 1 is running a bit low... Wires are done one at a time, and kept tight as the panel in open position is slightly further from the tag strip under the board than the panel closed. More shortly. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 9, 2013 Author Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) 8th October- still doing panel wiring. At least with the new clubroom we can work on more than one job at the same time. With me sorting wires and tags, and keeping an overview of the plan, Jim and Alf have been doing the upleads to the panel from below the board, working on both sides at once. Meanwhile Geoff has started installing the point motors for the three points at the front of the board. Trevor is cruising the Black Sea with SAGA. A closer look at the wiring going on top and bottom of the board simultaneously- achieved by using a screw eye on the outside of the back wall of the bench and a luggage cord taken fron there and wrapped round the legs to keep it upright. Meanwhile having taken the cable labels home for use on Hawthorn Dene, I forgot to bring them back this week. Luckily Jim had these in his toolbox. We now have 2 point motors installed and wired back to the tag strips, and both panels wired to their tag strips with the first set of switch jumpers done, again on both panels. Hopefully next week the panels will be completely wired for power, and Trevor will be back just in time to cut the underboard webbing for the third point motor.... He will also need to bring his thing-for-drilling-big-holes so we can wire in the main power cable and the hand-helds. All the very best Les Edited October 9, 2013 by Les1952 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 (edited) Almost November- haven't this lot been working? Oddly enough, yes. The panels are taking a little longer than expected, so we've decided to start the ballasting while the electrics are proceeding above the baseboard. This shows the anticlockwise panel nearly wired up. There will be no signal or point wires to go in this one, so once all connections are finished (about three left to do at this point) it will be connected to the socket for the hand-held controller. The dowel is to act as a guide for wires passing between the switches in the lid and the tag strip in the base of the panel. When the lid is opened the dowel allows the wires to move smoothly and helps prevent any tangling that could lead to breakage. Design by mechanical engineer Alf. This one shows the platform being installed. Each half (it crosses a board join) was drilled and countersunk to allow the holding screw to sit with its head low enough for a flush surface to be added above. Meanwhile at the far end Geoff is cutting plasticard lengths for filler sleepers at the rail joins and on the left Alf and Jim continue wiring. At the far end of the clubroom Phoenix Park is worked on by some of the Orribly Oversize mob. Apart from the usual coffee making and tidying I spent this morning seiving small ballast so that anything more suitable for OO gauge didn't make it to the ballasting team. A nice low-stress job. Towards the end of the morning ballasting begins. Note that Trevor and Geoff are both experts with small brushes. Not one stone is allowed to be in the wrong place before wetting with photo wetting agent and having the usual 1:1 mixture of PVA and water applied- in this case brought pre-mixed from home by Trevor. Next week, more ballasting and more wiring. Les Edited October 29, 2013 by Les1952 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted November 12, 2013 Author Share Posted November 12, 2013 Another week- a few more grains of ballast. A lot of time spent this week discussing how the Top Valley Goods board was to interact with the three Rise Park boards. We think we may have got that figured out at last. Alf decided to start by vacuuming the ballast, then got carried away with the pointwork and the lifted crossover imprint, so we didn't get the layout upended to do the underside. That looks likely to be a fortnight away as part of the morning was spent making a shopping list of bits for the Gaugemaster stand at Warley. Still, the finished areas of ballast don't look too bad- even Alf thought so, though his glasses weren't on his nose at the time. Geoff brought the hall back for further consideration. I've not managed to find an internet picture of the prototype, though a search for Watson Fothergill in google images does find a picture of Geoff's model and of Trevor's warehouse front, which might suggest Google reads this thread even if nobody else does....... All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 (edited) Three More weeks gone.. The last little piece of wiring took an age- but we now have power from a Gaugemaster PSU and two Modelex hand-held controllers. Just a couple of dead sections to sort out later . Over to the scenic department to get the banks in place. Geoff is checking clearances for the first riser. B-cold in the clubroom this week, hence the overcoats. Once the shape of the slope at the back of the layout has been worked out each riser is bent to shape, mostly by Trevor, and cut so that the height at the back doesn't exceed 12 inches. This is the height of the end panels- the Top Valley and Rise Park boards will travel to exhibitions face-to-face with the centre board having a separate cover. The risers are fitted one at each end of the centre board with two between them, and similarly spaced on the ends. Rise Park will be a bowl shape while Top Valley will have the townscape over it. The U-shaped section of ply is the roadway. This will be the roadway behind the railway. It has solid walls at front and back- the latter being there so that stock can't get lost under the scenery from a mishap in the fiddle yard. End of the day and the risers are in place. This shows how the road is raised behind the railway with gardens etc on a slope behind. The verticals at the top are the line of the backscene. Next is to fit horizontals and secure wire mesh as a former for the scenic coating. The slope down on the left is where the incline into Rise Park goods yard is located- no longer served by rail but still used for some as-yet to be decided purpose. The road won't be level- it is built up from the former. More next week (hopefully). Les Edited December 3, 2013 by Les1952 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted December 11, 2013 Author Share Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) I'm getting criticism! Apparently group members are letting their wives look at this lot, then getting comments from them about expanding waistlines. I'll need to tell them to breathe in when taking pics in future..... Now, it is a little-known fact that most layouts run on coffee- and here are the punters thinking they are electric...... A mugshot taken against the strong sunlight. Continuing the framing for the scenery- Alf cutting the rear supports to length ready for bending. Did you know Ferrari made saws? Next the riser is attached to the board and holes cut through the rear support and the front framing. Jim works the drill and Trevor leans against the frame to stop the layout falling over under pressure. Each rear support is then rivetted to the front riser to make a rigid frame, the first two horizontal runners already having been done. Hopefully pics of the whole frame next time. All for now. Les Edited December 11, 2013 by Les1952 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted December 17, 2013 Author Share Posted December 17, 2013 Getting Plastered... Yes- the last meeting before Christmas and the gang are getting plastered. No alcohol, though as Jim officially retired today there was a selection of cream cakes to make our waistlines even more worthy of adverse comment from the better halves..... Trevor had a session on Thursday last week, club night for the rest of Bingham MRC. He tried out the chicken wire former on the first section of the backscene, and looked at how to make the Top Valley Town board sit on the end. The first section of plaster bandage being applied. Trevor's method involves using a lot less water on the bandage than I am used to, only having a very shallow dish to dip the bandage into, and adding a small amount of PVA to the water. No wonder his plaster dries out within a couple of hours while mine takes a couple of days in warm weather. The first section has now had its first layer- the roadway board having been glued down first. Whether there are any pictures of the whole row next week depends whether Mr Simon wants a look at the clubroom on Christmas Eve. All the very best Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted January 14, 2014 Author Share Posted January 14, 2014 (edited) Second meeting in January. Last week the rest of the plaster bandage along the rise to the backscene was done. By this week the stuff had set- heavily cropped view along the layout shows it and also shows the inevitable plaster spillage. Before installing the road to the station overbridge it was necessary to check clearances against the bridge and the platform with the widest item likely to perform on the layout- Geoff's Minitrix 9F. Jim battles the tricky problem of keeping all wheels on the track while checking clearances against the platform end. Trevor has been at it again. This row of buildings was only really decided on last week and he has made them already. The Metropole Cinema next to them is a previous apparation. The Top Valley Town board is now to travel in its own box and as a result buildings can now come well above the top of the backscene here without fear of damage. Another layout in the background- this one is portable and DCC- and in 'Orribly Oversized Gauge.... Having got the bridge approach done the next stage is to get the ground level at the Rise Park end of the layout started- it will be glued down next week after clearances on the bends have been checked. I'm not sure why Alf seems to be praying, though it may have something to do with the fetching shade of loo-paper peach the insulation has come in..... Plenty still to do, but some visual progress this week. All the very best Les Edited January 14, 2014 by Les1952 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 First meeting in February or "Oh, you actually remembered your camera this week".... Another miracle- I got the pics all cropped below a Megabyte first time........ Having forgotten the camera the last two weeks there's a bit to catch up on. By the end of last week the backscene framing was complete, the hill at the Rise Park end had been profiled out of the pink insulation stuff and a layer of Mod Roc applied and left to dry. Here it is in all its glory. Trevor has been busy as usual- first the terraced houses and shops on the inside of the backscene bend in Top Valley Market have been done, including the skylights and other gubbins that weren't there in the last picture of them. The brewery that was only extant as a front to a slightly smaller scale is no more. Trevor's replacement brewery frontage is to sit against the backscene to the right of the curved terrace. I think that side, with the Metropole Cinema on the other side of it.... Meanwhile Genius Jim is applying brown paint to last week's Mod Roc. Once done, most of this week's work has involved attatching the front scenic extensions to the Rise Park and Centre boards, building up the ground level to the front of Rise Park cutting and finally applying a coat of Mod Roc. Picture shows it with boards in place but before the overlap onto the main boards had been profiled back so it didn't sit over the track. Next week tracing the dead circuits from the panel to the middle board and wiring in the three points before any detail work is done on the scenery. All the very best Les . 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Third meeting in February Having looked at Rise Park cutting with the scenic extension board attached the gang have decided that replacing it with Rise Park Tunnel would be a good idea, largely due to not being able to disguise the trains turning off into a hidden tunnel in the cutting side, or at least not convincingly.. This is the view along the layout with the station buildings and bridge in place. Rise Park Tunnel is to be formed where the cutting presently is at the far end. The tunnel mouth in the pic has been moved back and forth until we are satisfied where it best suits. At the Top Valley end the street level has been raised behind the railway and the cutting here is starting to be formed. There will be a row of terraces at city level with the road North continuing down the slope to Rise Park Station. The signal box will now be near the tunnel with the headshunt of the old goods yard derelict behind it. The front of the layout will drop down between the two ends to give a bowl shape (though presumably a drinking bowl of unknown origin given its shape.......) Electrics have been put on hold until a Thursday night in May. All the very best. Les Edited February 18, 2014 by Les1952 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Walling In I had a week off last week, having gone off to Darlington to photograph a works drawing. Meanwhile scenery is proceeding. Geoff has made and painted the mouth for Rise Park Tunnel. At the other end he and Trevor have cut a hand hole in the baseboard inside Top Valley Tunnel as we had a short length we couldn't reach. Trevor has shown up with another row of buildings. These sit to the left of Top Valley Centre or Top Valley Goods, depending on which board is plonked over the right-hand end. Meanwhile Alf and Jim have made the long wall from brick plasicard. This took quite a long time as the wall slopes backwards and the buttresses also do, but by about 5 degrees more. The wall beyond the ramp is next to do- also sloping with buttresses but containing arched units. The "loose" track will be part-lifted trackwork in the former goods yard of Rise Park Station. More next week- I'm painting the walls, that should be fun....... Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 April already... Since we're having next week off time for a quick update or two. Most progress these last three weeks has involved cutting and painting walls- not all that easy when there's hardly a straight line on any of them. My good friends Messrs Flanagan and Allen (now I'm showing up my age) aka Alf and Trevor, have been working on what is happening underneath the arches to the left (North) of the goods yard ramp. This is the result so far. Alf has taken this section of wall away with him to finish. Meanwhile I spent last week looking directly into the weak sun painting the long wall- the wall is battered back by 5 degrees, and the buttresses by more, and there is a slight curve at one end of the wall. Painting in situ seemed the least worst alternative. Two tunnel mouths by Geoff- Rise Park with its protective layout-front slope removed, and Top Valley where the track disappears under the town. Still a lot to do, but it is all happening- admittedly slowly. Les 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bri.s Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Just found and been reading through this thread , great stuff I've really enjoyed reading about this layout . Will be watching with interest Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 Not a lot happening at the moment except... The Government has leaned on Rushcliffe Council to get houses built, so we've been given 3 months notice to get out of the clubroom so they can demolish it for a housing development- despite the fact the previous houses on the extended site aren't exactly selling due to it being in the middle of nowhere..... So far we've been offered another building that turned out to be given a demolition order (with ours) before we could sign for it, a second one next to the Control Tower that has no prospect of getting running water or an electricity supply, and now a rather large room in a building close to one of the hangers and outside of the "planning permission for housing" zone. Watch this space....... Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 (edited) Not a great deal happening. .... but a few pics to whet the appetite while we prepare for the big move. A view along the whole layout with the extension boards off- note that we've got basic grass cover on the extension boards parked on the workbench at the left, and quite a bit of colouring done on the main layout boards. Mostly we've stopped ready for the move. At the other end of the clubroom Phoenix Park has been dismantled by the Orribly Oversized mob. At the far end to the left is stacked Brenton Midland. Shame its coming down- we'd thought we would have a few more years in this building. At least we now have a new room, and in a building with a much longer life expectancy. Lots to do, marking season is upon us...... All the very best Les Edited May 23, 2014 by Les1952 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 (edited) Still waiting the move We went to see the new clubroom, or rather inside the building where it is going to be. We've just (!) got to build some internal walls to separate us out from the rest of the building. Time for a quick meanwhile.... Trevor has been busy at home. This is the terrace that runs from the Top valley board towards Rise Park Station (last seen in post 61). TV board isn't in place at the moment. Green stuff is Warhammer, sourced by Jim. Note Hodkin & Son on the left, light engineers, and J.Ross & Co at the right. We're not sure what goes on in that factory, but Trevor will no doubt enlighten us eventually. More when there is some.... All the very best Les Edited May 28, 2014 by Les1952 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Just a quick update before the Summer break. All the train wiring is now working and tested, and we are still waiting for a move to the "new" clubroom, "autumn" is the latest date we've got. All the very best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted July 26, 2014 Author Share Posted July 26, 2014 A little video (if it works) Two trains running simultaneously- Thursday evening. Second attempt at embedding the video. http://youtu.be/r-i2wobo8hc I'll see if I can get some better quality on Tuesday.... Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 September- first pics We're still waiting news of a clubhouse move, which might well take place at short notice, so work has resumed on the layout. We've also provisionally offered it to Grantham railshow next year as its debut outing- time to get cracking... Trevor spent part of August building the derelict buildings to go next to Top Valley Market Place. Geoff has produced a pair of semis to go on the slope, but getting them attached isn't going to be easy- a field trip to Burton Joyce may be in order. The wagon turntable has been made by Geoff, here being checked for size before being bedded in. Alf's arches in their glory ready for ground fore-and-aft to be done. Meanwhile Jim and I are finishing the electrics on Thursday evenings rather than interrupt the Tuesday morning scenic bashes...... All the very best Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 2, 2014 Author Share Posted October 2, 2014 (edited) End of September update Still no news on the clubroom so modelling goes on apace. Jim and I have got the three points wired in- ready to test them one Thursday evening in October. Last to be done was the electric pencil, a banana plug found in my loft. The wire to it has since been shortened a bit to avoid it derailing trains below. Rise Park Estate is being built. Alf's showhouse is tried for size before another layer of plaster is applied to the ground. There will be a row of five basically complete houses here and more at footings or lower floor window height beyond them, with pegs marking where the next lot will go, and trenches etc for their utilities. All the very best Les Edited October 2, 2014 by Les1952 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold fishytrains Posted October 2, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 2, 2014 Thoroughly enjoyed catching up on this. Hope the move goes smoothly, whenever it finally happens. Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 A little more progress and starting the move. Jim has been working on the rock faces- this is the one above Geoff's Top Valley tunnel portal. Last week we spent a great deal of time discussing exactly where the roads were going to be on Rise Park Estate- or the little ficticious corner that reaches the modelled area. As a result I went in on Thursday evening last week and painted in where they were going to be- it helps make more sense of them. The showhome is on the site of the detatched house here- though it isn't the one standing there, which Alf has decided is too tall (reminds me of an old director who would send chorus members to the back row- "too tall, too tall, too tall....." as she went down the line). The terrace at the back is just showing where the house backs for the second row will be. Today was the first day of getting the new clubroom ready- the space in the new building has been divided into three, one of which has been separated off by building a brick wall. We're using internal wall panels that had created two offices in "our" space to make a new wall to divide us off from the other user of the bigger space- we think that is Notts Police, but aren't yet sure on that. Here Jeff (who did this sort of thing professionally) is securing one panel of the partition to the concrete ceiling beam that delineates our territory. Rather than shorten the panels to fit under the beam they're being fastened to the side. Some panels are too short. These are supported by those either side. The top may be finished off with plywood. Each panel has a window in it- BMRS Sectetary Martin and I managed to work out how to put the glass back into the first panel - gloves tomorrow so we can do the rest. View of what we have achieved so far- not bad for a small group of over-sixties in three hours. This is seen from the other tenant's side of the wall. The windows will either be painted or made reflective before we finish. Tomorrow dismantling the second office and making the other end of the internal wall. The gap in the middle will be done with studding. Knackered..... Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 A little more progress on the move. We've got the dividing wall between us and the next-door tenants all-but finished and a lot of scraping done on the ceiling. Quite a few floor tiles removed so an area needs some floor paint and the walls in places could do with a lick of paint. The second half of the ex-office wall in place with glazing happening. The first sheet of board for the studding wall between the two ends now in place. The door will have a pair of bolts on our side to make it a fire exit. Scraping the flaking paint off the end of the room to be used by the OO-gauge section. Our corner (as decided by Trevor). Lamps need replacing but this end of the room will be shared between the three N-gauge projects. Much still to do- we can't move in until a load of industrial fridges are removed from outside the main door. All the very best Les 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les1952 Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 A tale of two rooms this week. In the old room, Trevor, Alf and Geoff have been looking at buildings from Trevor's collection to see what would fit where on the layout. Close-up of the row on the bank top, posed in the wrong place so the sun is in the right direction.. The scrap yard will be at the end of a new lane along the front of the layout. A row of older cottages at the front of the layout, and a woodyard against the endscene, both to be bedded in. The row of houses from one of Trevor's competition pieces will be placed in Top Valley Market, with the row from the first picture in its own place behind. Meanwhile at the new clubroom certain things have happened, and others not...... The pile of industrial fridges and freezers dumped in front of the door hasn't been moved. However a gang has moved the left-hand row since the picture was taken. A hanging power point is still hanging.... The wall between us and the unit next door is now all-but finished. There will be another work session tomorrow with mops, buckets, floor paint and tile sealant to get the floor on its way to sorted. Much to do. Les Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Some very nice modelling!!! wil follow this now. Your club building looks like an old ww2 installation.. cheers neil.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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