Andrew P Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 That's coming on really well Brian, it look superb all lit up. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted January 28, 2020 Author Share Posted January 28, 2020 The signal gantry has now been assembled by carefully threading the wires from the signal heads through the structure and down the "legs". It was first assembled loosely, neither the signal heads or the top decking yet glued in place... ...and then taken out to the shed to check that all of the signal heads were working and hence none of the various wires disturbed in the "threading" process. All was OK so everything was glued together... ...suitable holes drilled in the baseboard and the whole gantry test fitted to see how it looked. I now need to order some switches and make a baseboard edge switchboard and there are still two more signals to make. Regards, Brian. 8 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 I've just put up another video featuring a BR 9F 2-10-0 and Ivatt 4MT 2-6-0 hauled oil tanker train. Enjoy or otherwise here. Regards, Brian. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold tom shaw Posted February 3, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 3, 2020 Layout is looking great Brian, and working smoothly. Tom 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 (edited) The current focus is to complete the signalling on the layout. The departure side of things is mainly covered, apart from the colliery junction and enough Train-tech kits have been built to finish off the arrival side of things. Another (arrival side) switch panel has been installed... ...which makes sense to me but probably no-one else I needed a signal with a feather to control arrivals to platforms 3 and 4, this is annotated as "Station Throat" on the panel. Initially I built the standard Train-tech kit but found that it was too low and its upper parts fouled the loading gauge when set in place so I decided to kit-bash the signal to increase its height thus taking the offending upper parts out of the gauge envelope. I needed a longer signal post and contacted Train-tech to see if they could supply one which unfortunately they couldn't but did agree to supply me with another standard pole which I could cut and splice onto the existing - fantastic service and also sent free of charge. So the signal was increased in height thus. I added 12 mm of extra signal post (the shiny bit at the bottom) super-glued to the existing post and a new ladder from a Ratio semaphore signal kit. A coat of paint hides the join thus. The signal, as yet non wired up, was placed in position on the layout to check all was well and trains could pass without fouling the upper part of the signal as shown below. I've recently taken delivery of the switches for the panel so all I have to do now is wire everything up. Regards, Brian. Edited February 7, 2020 by Brian D 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AireValley1962 Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 Nice signal work, Brian. Question for you - how easy do the Train Tech signal kits go together for you? I'm looking at purchasing two for a project soon to be revealed, and I'm figuring out what to buy for colour light signals. Cheers, Will 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 8, 2020 Author Share Posted February 8, 2020 (edited) 23 hours ago, AireValley1962 said: Nice signal work, Brian. Question for you - how easy do the Train Tech signal kits go together for you? I'm looking at purchasing two for a project soon to be revealed, and I'm figuring out what to buy for colour light signals. Cheers, Will They go together very well, Will. The fiddliest parts of the assembly I find are... adding the curved plastic hand rail "hoops" to the upper platform hand rail sides. Removing them from the sprue requires care otherwise you end up with two halves which need gluing back together. You also need three hands to glue them to the side hand rails, but practice makes perfect. soldering the wires to the PCB. My soldering skills are not wonderful (see pic) and again I find you actually do need need three hands to solder the wires to the PCB - I used one of those gizmos which has crocodile clips to hold the PCB while I used my two hands to (1) hold the wire and (2) the soldering iron. But, I recommend them. They really are worth the time and effort. Thanks again for your interest in my ramblings. Best Regards, Brian. PS It is also best to keep testing the PCB or LEDs have not been damaged during assembly, just don't forget to also add the resistor to the test circuit otherwise you will fry the LEDs, but you probably already knew this. Edited February 8, 2020 by Brian D 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 Crickey Brian, I am late catching up, you have been very busy and the Signals are looking very good. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AireValley1962 Posted February 8, 2020 Share Posted February 8, 2020 4 hours ago, Brian D said: ..........I recommend them. They really are worth the time and effort. Thanks again for your interest in my ramblings. Best Regards, Brian. Thanks Brian. Some good information and tips there. I may have a go at two platform starters for a yet-to-be-announced project in the near future. Thanks again! Will 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) I know I should be soldering resistors into the signal feeds but I fancied a change of tack. So, I have a couple of diversionary mini projects to report on. Firstly, a little bit of rework on the signal box. For some time I have been wanting to add the narrow outside walkways which surround the windows - I assume these were used by the signal men to clean the outside of the windows and by maintenance staff to repaint the window frames. The 'box looked a little bare without them but I have been scratching my head for a while as to how to fashion the fiddly cantilever brackets which support the walkway. Eventually I decided I'd have a go using plastic strip. I had some 10 thou thick plasticard and some small Evergreen strip to hand so I made these brackets, some without holes initially and then some with holes drilled in them which I think improved the appearance thus. The walkway was then cut from the 10 thou sheet, painted... ...and then carefully glued in position with a Word Document "Deneside" sign... ...thus... ...and on the layout. The second mini project involved the purchase of this ancient Ebay Lima LMS bogie van to add to my parcels consist. Unfortunately the very course flanges on the bogie wheels and massive couplings had to go. Hornby replacement wheels were substituted but, because the Hornby pin point axles were over a millimetre longer than the Lima axles, the insides of the bogie side frames needed to be drilled out slightly each side. The oversize couplings were cut off using my sprue side cutter and suitable Bachmann couplings super glued in place. Before and after pic below. The vehicle was then pressed into service. Having taken my soldering sabbatical, I really must get on with it and get the remaining colour lights working. Regards, Brian. Edited February 17, 2020 by Brian D 13 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AireValley1962 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 30 minutes ago, Brian D said: The second mini project involved the purchase of this ancient Ebay Lima LMS bogie van to add to my parcels consist. Unfortunately the very course flanges on the bogie wheels and massive couplings had to go. Hornby replacement wheels were substituted but, because the Hornby pin point axles were over a millimetre longer than the Lima axles, the insides of the bogie side frames needed to be drilled out slightly each side. The oversize couplings were cut off using my sprue side cutter and suitable Bachmann couplings super glued in place. Before and after pic below. The vehicle was then pressed into service. That looks like an excellent little modification project, Brian. May have to find a SR CCT to do something similar with for my Hayling Island might-have-been. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 Oh, and the goods yard now has a loading gauge. This is a Ratio Southern Railway pattern slightly kit bashed. I couldn't find a picture on-line of a NER pattern LG so settled for this kit but left out all of the metal parts so, at least, it doesnt look SR. It looks OK to me but I stand to be corrected. Regards, Brian. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted February 24, 2020 Author Share Posted February 24, 2020 (edited) I've been soldering all afternoon to complete the wiring loom for the signal gantry. Here it is laid out on the shed floor prior to repositioning on the layout. The black protuberances on each set of wires (4 sets for the 4 signals on the gantry) are the 1k ohm resistors which have to be inserted in each live feed wrapped in insulation tape. After checking that all the signals still worked, the wires were threaded back through the holes in the baseboard as below... ...and pulled through to pull the signal gantry upright... ...and routed to the vicinity of the control panel. I need to solder some wire "tails" on the relevant switches and connect everything into the 12 volt transformer feed and then it will be all lit up! Regards, Brian. Edited February 24, 2020 by Brian D Typo correction 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 The signalling system is almost complete, just waiting for a couple of switches and then everything will be all lit up. In the meantime, I've actually got round to fitting the nameplates and vac pipes to B1 "Stembok", although I've run out of lamps. Here she is arriving at Deneside. Regards, Brian. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Hi Brian, You may remember a while back when you completed the conveyor at the your mine. I needed to do something for our Club Layout Fen Lane as I had scratch built a couple of grain silos out of a pringles tin and some Scalescenes corrugated downloads. I needed to produce something similar so following on from yours, I produce this to fit on Fen lane. A lash up of plasticard, slices of old marker tube and more corrugated paper covering. Regards, keep up the good work! Pete 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 15 hours ago, Toftwood said: Hi Brian, You may remember a while back when you completed the conveyor at the your mine. I needed to do something for our Club Layout Fen Lane as I had scratch built a couple of grain silos out of a pringles tin and some Scalescenes corrugated downloads. I needed to produce something similar so following on from yours, I produce this to fit on Fen lane. A lash up of plasticard, slices of old marker tube and more corrugated paper covering. Regards, keep up the good work! Pete Good to see your project taking shape Pete and thanks for your kind remarks. Regards, Brian 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 4, 2020 Author Share Posted March 4, 2020 (edited) The signalling system is now complete, it seems to have taken forever, especially the gantry. So as well as the other "Departures" switch board, all of these switches... ...are now wired up to these signals. So, in terms of operation, the layout is now pretty much complete. I just need to tweak and enhance the scenics and weather certain areas. The "Three Bridges" area in particular needs trees, bushes and more grass. More grime is required in the colliery and loco depot. More people are required in the colliery and the mpd. Oh, and a timetable/sequence is required. Nearly there! Regards, Brian. PS Video-truck video coming soon which will feature as many signals as possible. Edited March 4, 2020 by Brian D 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 I have made a short video showing parcels and passenger trains arriving and departing as controlled by the newly completed Train-tech signalling system. Enjoy it (or otherwise) here. Regards, Brian. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
9C85 Posted March 9, 2020 Share Posted March 9, 2020 Not my era or region, but this is a lovely layout. You should be proud of what you have created. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 10, 2020 Author Share Posted March 10, 2020 13 hours ago, 9C85 said: Not my era or region, but this is a lovely layout. You should be proud of what you have created. Thank you very much for your kind words. Much appreciated. I am pleased in the main as to how things have turned out but there are a few improvements that I need to make, especially to the scenics in the viaduct area. Watch this space. Regards Brian 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Has the world gone mad or what? At least we managed to get some bog rolls this morning! Anyway, here is an update on my latest mini project. I found some unused Ratio fencing and decided to fence off the road between the station throat overbridge and the control panel. So, it was duly painted matt black and glued in position. However, I really wanted to incorporate some bill boards here so this is the mini project I am referring to. The ground here slopes away steeply from back of pavement so I needed a drawing before proceeding, thus. The bill boards are raised up to clear the Ratio fencing so a frame was made from Evergreen plastic strip, the bill board itself and the period adverts were from a Scalescenes kit. Here is the usual work bench chaos... ...and the main parts of the assembly prior to painting and "bill posting"... ...and afterwards. Here are a couple of shots of the whole thing on the layout. Really quite pleased with how it's turned out. I've also been busy static grassing, but more on that another time. Regards, Brian. 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Brian, I've just watched your Video again, Really enjoyable. It really show the effort you've put into the Signalling, and it's looking superb 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 19, 2020 Author Share Posted March 19, 2020 What interesting and quite frankly very scary times we live in if you believe everything that comes out of the magic gold fish bowl. Never mind. Meanwhile, back at the ranch... I've started making trees to scatter around the layout. My memories and recent experiences of the denes of east Durham are that they are heavily wooded so most of what I'm making will be planted on the valley slopes adjacent the viaducts, depending on how well they turn out. I've acquired some Woodland Scenics tree armatures and these have had their plastic base "pegs" chopped off with my sprue cutter and replaced with panel pins (heads cut off with side cutters) fitted into holes drilled in thetree trunks thus. The various tree trunks were then either spray painted matt grey or brown (being the only suitable spray cans to hand) or brush painted pale green. I was hoping the recommended Woodland Scenics glue, "Hob-E-Tac", would have arrived today but no, maybe tomorrow, so no foliage fitted as yet. More pics in due course. Stay safe my friends. Regards, Brian. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toftwood Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 On 17 February 2020 at 18:22, Brian D said: I know I should be soldering resistors into the signal feeds but I fancied a change of tack. So, I have a couple of diversionary mini projects to report on. Firstly, a little bit of rework on the signal box. For some time I have been wanting to add the narrow outside walkways which surround the windows - I assume these were used by the signal men to clean the outside of the windows and by maintenance staff to repaint the window frames. The 'box looked a little bare without them but I have been scratching my head for a while as to how to fashion the fiddly cantilever brackets which support the walkway. Eventually I decided I'd have a go using plastic strip. I had some 10 thou thick plasticard and some small Evergreen strip to hand so I made these brackets, some without holes initially and then some with holes drilled in them which I think improved the appearance thus. The walkway was then cut from the 10 thou sheet, painted... ...and then carefully glued in position with a Word Document "Deneside" sign... ...thus... ...and on the layout. The second mini project involved the purchase of this ancient Ebay Lima LMS bogie van to add to my parcels consist. Unfortunately the very course flanges on the bogie wheels and massive couplings had to go. Hornby replacement wheels were substituted but, because the Hornby pin point axles were over a millimetre longer than the Lima axles, the insides of the bogie side frames needed to be drilled out slightly each side. The oversize couplings were cut off using my sprue side cutter and suitable Bachmann couplings super glued in place. Before and after pic below. The vehicle was then pressed into service. Having taken my soldering sabbatical, I really must get on with it and get the remaining colour lights working. Regards, Brian. Hi Brian, With regards to your re-wheeling of older stock and finding that the axles are hard to fit, try this gizmo. Its called a 'Truck Tuner' in the US, its to HO standard but its the same gauge. It reams out the axle hole and gives a smoother run apparently. Hope this helps. Regards Peter 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian D Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 22 hours ago, Toftwood said: Hi Brian, With regards to your re-wheeling of older stock and finding that the axles are hard to fit, try this gizmo. Its called a 'Truck Tuner' in the US, its to HO standard but its the same gauge. It reams out the axle hole and gives a smoother run apparently. Hope this helps. Regards Peter Thanks for that Peter. I recall something similar advertised in the mags a while back. As my coach was a one off I just used a twist drill on the slant twiddled between my fingers and a bit of trial and error. However, I have some Hornby Gresleys which despite being re-bogied with Bachmann Thompson bogies do not run particularly freely so I might invest in one of these gizmos to sort them out. Thanks again for your interest and advice. Stay safe and healthy. All the best, Brian. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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