pwr Posted February 27, 2023 Author Share Posted February 27, 2023 (edited) OK so here are the photos on the available layout boards The mechanism is surprisingly small All for now Paul R Edited February 27, 2023 by pwr Incorrect photo included 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baggies1961 Posted March 1, 2023 Share Posted March 1, 2023 That does look the dogs doo dahs!! Their sound examples are not in yet I believe, how does it run? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted March 2, 2023 Author Share Posted March 2, 2023 On 01/03/2023 at 11:39, Baggies1961 said: That does look the dogs doo dahs!! Their sound examples are not in yet I believe, how does it run? Not tried it yet!. I need to get the rolling road out! Paul R 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted March 29, 2023 Author Share Posted March 29, 2023 Well I've been a bit quiet on here as I haven't really done much to report. I've been building wagons at our weekly church warm space and the fifth one is nearly finished. They are at the point of going to the paint shop when it's not so wet. I do my spraying outdoors - wife won't have it in the house - so I need a warm fine day and there hasn't been too many of them. Still scribing the station building but nearly finished that too. I'll post pics of all these as and when In the meantime I have finally got round to ballasting the extension board I made up about 3 years or so ago. Format follows the same process as described way back at the beginning on this thread. Here is the dry mix being laid This is the ballast laid and wet with water and some washing up liquid p Then PVA added Just needs to dry out. The board will have the gangers hut and Wickham Trolley shed on it at the right hadn't end which when set up is next to the signal box. I have pre-ordered the Ellis Clark kit which looked great. All for now Paul R 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted April 15, 2023 Author Share Posted April 15, 2023 So after a period of inactivity interspersed with wagon building I have decided the time is right to insert another board into the layout which takes it to 36.5ft long. The intention was to have yet another board of this dimension to create and overall layout 40ft long which I can get up in the garden! The last time I had the layout up in May 2022 I felt that the visible part of the layout needed a longer run into the station at the Braintree end, much like I did at the Witham end. All it will have is plain track so board connections are via the overlocking latches. I might need to run a supply there for a home signal (probably Dapol) but I can do that via the DCC concepts powered board alignment dowels. Simplicity was always the byword for Notley! Anyhow I retrieved a spare board I had in the loft. It was one of the original short fiddle yards and was never used because it had a 10mm twist in it. Well several years in the loft have cured most of the twist but I needed to fix this once and for all. It's down to about 5mm now. My solution to this is to fit diagonal cross members glued and screwed whilst the board in fixed down straight so that when its released it stays put. Thats the theory. I read somewhere that all baseboards should be built with these to prevent warping but I never went that far. To be fair none of the other boards have warped/twisted in the last however many years I have been working on them. The photos show where we are at. This is the board as retrieved from the loft with Willow want to help. These are the diagonal cross pieces cut ready for fixing Prior to gluing the board was forced flat using these clamps All done and waiting for the glue to dry. Once that's happened I'll get the adjoining boards out and fix the latches then tracklaying and wiring can begin. I'll post more photos when I get that far Paul R 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jcarta Posted April 15, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 15, 2023 (edited) I'm Definitely behind you on this.... This will give you more scope as well as some great modelling. Watching this with more than usual interest.. Good Luck Paul Edited April 17, 2023 by jcarta 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 So it's on with the track laying. This shows the new board connected to the Braintree end fiddle yard. Willow is not helping today!. This one shows the extension of the running line on to the new board This shows the siding extension. So now I am at the point of soldering the rails to the brass screws at the ends of the baseboards and then I can finish the wiring up. Paul R 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold franciswilliamwebb Posted April 22, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 22, 2023 Always good to catch up with Willow 😎 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted April 22, 2023 Author Share Posted April 22, 2023 3 hours ago, franciswilliamwebb said: Always good to catch up with Willow 😎 Of the five Maine we have she is the nosiest! Always where she is not supposed to be and then looks at you all innocently Paul R 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted April 23, 2023 Author Share Posted April 23, 2023 Got these for our 30th Wedding Anniversary I was fortunate to get some before and for Christmas and with the extra two my daughter has promised form my birthday soon I will have a rake of 10 although I would like to get them to 12! The thinking is that Felstead beet factory still receives coal by rail and that there is also a coal concentration depot at Braintree! The wagons for both sites come in on a single service from somewhere up north and rather than split them at Braintree where they would have to be reverse shunted and occupy a busy single line, the train is brought to Black Notley where it is split. The first half goes off to Felstead and another engine is provided at Black Notley to take the remainder to Braintree Goods yard. The process is reversed coming back or on some occasions empties are taken out from Felstead via Bishops Stortford and the wagons are combined at Stratford to return north. It makes a good plausible story! Paul 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted April 26, 2023 Author Share Posted April 26, 2023 Right the new board is now fully wired with switches in place for the isolating sections on the extended siding and additional switch holes for the Dapol signals I will be using. On this new board there will be the advance starter and inner home signals. The latter may be a bracket which signals the loop or I could use a ground signal for the latter./ Any advice please from the signalling experts. Passenger trains are not allowed to use the loop in service only as ETS. Dapol are bringing out a ground signal at some point so I have choices as there is no sign of any bracket signals of LMS or BR origin. So the choice is make my own or use the Dapol! Either way I have made provision. The only conundrum is how to power them. There is no uncontrolled 12v DC power supply down between any of the boards. There is however a 20vAC bus which powers the points and despite there being no points on board 4 the bus has been wired through so I must have been thinking ahead! All the need to do is then take it through a pair of DCC Concepts powered dowels as there are no connecting cables between Boards 4 and the new Board 5. The Dapol signals work from a max of 18v DC (presumably for DCC operation) or 12v DC. So as I don't want to run the risk of burning something out I am using this voltage converter from Amazon to provide me with an uncontrolled 12v DC supply. Every board that will have signals or an accessory that required an uncontrolled 12V supply will need one of these but as all boards have a 20vAC supply that's no problem. They are about £7 from Amazon. I also posed some suitable traction for the HEA's Right on to the holes Paul R 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 OK so the new Board 5 is now wired and ballasted. The Black Notley inner home signal will go in the small indentation next to the switch panel. It's a Dapol LMS upper quadrant. Probably not accurate but it will do. I am disappointed with the way Dapol have constructed these signals since although the signal clips into the servo box underneath the board, the signal is fitted and held in place by a plastic nut underneath meaning you have to disconnect the box if you want to get the signal off. I will need to do that initially so stop it being broken or chewed by the cats. I think I will put some Velcro tape on the box so I can hold it in place when the signal is removed since it will be wired into the power supply and can't easily be taken off. I am also minded to change the wiring so the main line on this board can be isolated so I can hold a train at the signal whilst the platform or loop is cleared. It won't take long and just requires another switch in the small panel linked to the positive track feed. All for now Paul R 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted May 9, 2023 Author Share Posted May 9, 2023 So I have now rewired the main line as indicated above and I can isolate a train at the signal. The Dapol signal is now fitted in place I did have issues with sighting in the original position but placing the signal box closer to what will eventually be the backscene gets round the sighting issues. Paul R 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted May 27, 2023 Author Share Posted May 27, 2023 Going for an operating session or sessions this week now that there is a pretty good chance of decent rain free weather. I have put together a few more cassettes which always seemed to be in short supply and altered this one which was tight to gauge. Watch out for more photos and video. Should see the first run out of the 56's and HEA's. I've got a bit more wiring to change and install another Dapol signal on the first board which will be the inner home from the Witham direction. It does mean however that I need to run another 20v AC connection across the board end and install a rectifier. I am also going to make the board into an isolating section as per the one at the Braintree end. Paul R 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted May 30, 2023 Author Share Posted May 30, 2023 Had the layout up in the garden today choir proving runs. I am pleased to say the new board works without issue and the wiring seems to be fine although I was not able to test the Dapol signal as I ran out of time. Here is the 08 on the first proving run And here is the first run of the Wickham Trolley. I also had the 56 out for the firs time Impressive! As the layout has not been out for over a year I am pleased with this. I still have a dodgy point motor and I have to run some more wiring to deliver a 20v AC supply to the starter board at the Witham end to power the Dapol signal. I was pleased to find again that the necessary connections are already in place that I can use. All ready for the full running session tomorrow. Paul R 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 2, 2023 Author Share Posted June 2, 2023 Had a first real run out for the B2 since it was built. Sadly the loco did not perform as well as expected and I also noticed that it has stained a couple of knocks along the way that will need retouching. I think a good run in on the rolling road is required plus some more oiling of the axles/bearings. Nonetheless it does have a good turn of speed. I will collate most of the video into one or two programmes rather than posting short clips Paul R 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 Borrowed the wife's GoPro and here is one of the videos Paul R 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 3, 2023 Author Share Posted June 3, 2023 And another from a different angle Paul R 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternO Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 I hope none of the DMU passengers are nursing a hot cup of tea in their laps! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 4, 2023 Author Share Posted June 4, 2023 11 hours ago, EasternO said: I hope none of the DMU passengers are nursing a hot cup of tea in their laps! I know. Slow speed control on the controller I am using isn't that clever. I have heard that you don't get these issues with DCC but I am not ready to go down that road Paul R 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Some more from the recent running day Paul R 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jcarta Posted June 12, 2023 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 12, 2023 Looks very nice....... Is that the new CCTV for the level crossing hiding behind the loco? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 19 hours ago, jcarta said: Looks very nice....... Is that the new CCTV for the level crossing hiding behind the loco? Yes that's right Jim! It's the wife's GoPro which is actually a very good piece of kit. Shame I forgot to remove it before I took the photo Paul R 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 16, 2023 Author Share Posted June 16, 2023 Few more shots More to come Paul R 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 21, 2023 Author Share Posted June 21, 2023 Some more running day photos Still not done the video!! Paul R 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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