Ayr Road

[34006]

Coming on nicely, chaps.

 

atb

 

Phil

[jcarta]

Another day spent in the garage with young Ray helping me out and chatting about all and sundry, probably rubbish but it makes us laugh .

 

We are nearing the end of the bench with one area to go and then we will erect another shelving unit to put up and then we are done, for that side of the garage. So, today was installing a hidden shelf behind the units and other shelves in the bench and a threaded bolt put through the shelves to prevent any future sagging, so all in all a pretty full on day. Thanks Ray for your assistance and banter

 

 

We'll see what tomorrow brings.......

 

Jim

 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by jcarta

[Ray H]

1 hour ago, jcarta said:

We'll see what tomorrow brings.......

 

Jim

 

More bl**dy rain for a start I'm sure.

 

Please mister when we can run trains again?

Edited May 24, 2021 by Ray H

[jcarta]

11 hours ago, Ray H said:

 

More bl**dy rain for a start I'm sure.

 

Please mister when we can run trains again?

 

Don't know why your moaning about the rain..... we are in the garage 

 

The quicker we finish the garage the quicker we can run all your kettles ....  

Edited May 25, 2021 by jcarta

[jcarta]

Another day in the garage alongside my opo, today we finished erecting the shelving and placing the rolling stock on the shelves. We also made a start on the electric points so tomorrow we will remove a couple of cupboards and then hopefully redo the flooring and give the tumble dryer a new home ... 

 

[jcarta]

We are still in the garage ..... We have now nearly completed the bench side of the garage and now for the bad news, we have removed Ayr Road from situ and it is now been permanently dismantled as it has grown into something it wasn't design as. What started out as a large shunting plank in the guise of a motive power depot it got extended width wise to have a station added when we added the outdoor extension and it really need to be updated as again, if anything electrically went wrong we had to crawl under the layout to chase the fault so it was decided to rebuild this area. Ray has taken the boards to his house and is stripping them and retrieving all the servo's, track etc so these can be used on the new layout. 

The electric's will now be housed on the front of the layout so if the gremlins turn up we just remove a piece of 3mm ply to chase and rectify the issue. All the points will have frog juicers added as these have worked exceptionally well on the outdoor sections. The layout will change quite a bit and it will be slightly larger so I will be posting pictures of the rebuild as we progress in the coming months.

 

Mean while we have upgraded the lighting in the garage and replaced the old fluorescent lighting with two new LED 4ft cool white strips, now you need to wear sunglasses when in the garage. The main board that controls the railway has been relocated so it won't encroach on the new scenery area and also we have updated some power points with integrated usb chargers, hopefully the framework will be finished in the next few days and the tops added. Here are a few pictures of where we are got to.

 

 

 

We have designed the framework so it will house the parasol's under the layout rather than these standing up against the railway and I have had a huge clear out of the items that seem to generate over the years, all in all the garage will generally seem bigger as there will be a place for everything and the main passageway will be clear. Another update a little later.

 

Jim  

[jcarta]

What a lovely day, the sun is shinning for a change, now all the framework is completed and all the wiring holes have been drilled for the track droppers.

 

 

Ray and I cut the first board this morning but as it's a Saturday, it's half day but he did say that he will be back tomorrow as it's double time, clearly the retired railway worker is coming out of him.... As you can clearly see he can drill in his sleep whilst standing !!!!! 

 

 

 

Anyway today we cleared the garage up so we could cut the housing area for the wiring to sit at the front of the boards and then glued and screwed the L shape blocks to the front of the framework and fitted the pine covering, looks impressive I have to say.

 

 

It was then time to offer up the first board ...... it fits like a glove, these won't be secured until we have decided where the track droppers need to be drilled. It's getting there.  I just can't believe how much we have achieved in 8 days, Thanks Ray 

 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by jcarta

[Ray H]

Your welcome. . . . . 

 

And when I'd done helping to build the new boards for the day it was home and (after finally having some reasonable weather to cut the hedge) dismantling the third of the four original boards. I've n idea what Jim used previously for glue on part of it but it sure sticks more than PVA.

 

All being well the last of the previous boards will be dismantled tomorrow afternoon so that we could start track laying on Monday if someone else gets there finger out 

[Adrian Stevenson]

Well done guys you have made great progress.

 

Cheers, Ade.

[jcarta]

27 minutes ago, Adrian Stevenson said:

Well done guys you have made great progress.

 

Cheers, Ade.

 

Thanks Ade

 

He's like a little whirlwind once he gets going ........ 

[Ray H]

But I had this afternoon off for a change. However, I left someone with a pile of jobs to do in my absence.

 

I'll be back tomorrow - for a full Bank Holiday Monday. Was it double time and a day in lieu, I can't remember?

[jcarta]

I done all the jobs that you left me...... clearing up was the main one hahaha

 

Anyway yesterday we spent the morning finishing off the scenery boards so these are now cut and loosely fitted but will need to be painted in the next few days and then fitted at some stage. Don't worry all the wiring will be hidden.

 

 

And yesterday afternoon, the wood that was left over Ray & I built a trolley box that fits under the layout and keeps all the oddments i.e. extension leads, power washer etc off the floor and all in one place. It's easy to move around as we put wheels on it. Might even paint it BR Blue and put a wagon number on it. 

 

Jim

[jcarta]

The garage area has moved on somewhat with the start of track laying so my opo and myself have been beavering away for the past 2 days measuring, track plan fitting, moving the plan by 5mm to see if it fits better...... You get the drift by now....  

 

Well here are the fruits of our labour..... So far

 

 

The track has started to be wired up and at present everything is operational. Our intension is to have minimal wiring under the boards, presently we are (excuse the pun) on track. Once the track has been secured in position then we will start the testing process and then onto commissioning the lever frame, signals etc. My opo is not back until Saturday as he has some pre arrange free time, so I have a few bits to do while my master is away  .....

 

 

Edited June 3, 2021 by jcarta

[Andrew P]

12 hours ago, jcarta said:

The garage area has moved on somewhat with the start of track laying so my opo and myself have been beavering away for the past 2 days measuring, track plan fitting, moving the plan by 5mm to see if it fits better...... You get the drift by now....  

 

Well here are the fruits of our labour..... So far

 

 

The track has started to be wired up and at present everything is operational. Our intension is to have minimal wiring under the boards, presently we are (excuse the pun) on track. Once the track has been secured in position then we will start the testing process and then onto commissioning the lever frame, signals etc. My opo is not back until Saturday as he has some pre arrange free time, so I have a few bits to do while my master is away  .....

 

 

FREE TIME? Send him down here Jim, I could do with some inspiration.

[jcarta]

5 hours ago, Andrew P said:

FREE TIME? Send him down here Jim, I could do with some inspiration.

 

I think he would enjoy a trip out ...... mind you, check that he has no boxes under his arms or Seven Mills will be running kettles by the time the sun goes down.

[Ray H]

Unfortunately the free time I thought I had was appropriated by both the family - coerced into dog walking - and the hospital where what should have been a few minutes visit to pick-up some medication took best part of and hour and a quarter. I was not in the best frame of mind when I left especially as I had to point out to the hospital staff that they'd booked me one appointment too many.

 

I was hoping that I might have seen a picture showing that the rest of the track might had been laid in my absence. I wonder what I'll find in the morning?

[jcarta]

Well I had to go back to work this week  after a few weeks off. We installed some frog juicers in the garage but we have had a few issues with the 3 way point but i'm not worried as Ray will come up with a solution. I can't believe that the outside part of the railway was rebuilt nearly a year ago and it's still looking as good as last year, no dips, humps or tracks suffering from the great British elements. 

 

 

I think the only issue we have endured is one of the solder joints on the single slip had come adrift..... I can say that it has been built to last, eh Ray 

[Ray H]

It's certainly been built to something ! ! ! ! !

 

Hopefully the three way point's woes are now behind us but it has involved re-sleepering the whole thing as it was originally built to rely on contact between the back of the blade and the inside of the stock rail to power the frog. It's now built along more conventional lines.

 

The next job is to fit the servos into position and to add the MERG servo4s that we recovered when we stripped the previous track layout down.

 

I'm making a start on coding a "program" for an Arduino Mega/DCC Concepts lever combination as this will avoid the need for relays that would otherwise be required to facilitate using one lever to operate one of several signals arms mounted on the same post based on the way the points are set. That should be fun!

[jcarta]

12 days have been and gone but we haven't stopped doing the electrical jobs..... All the servo's have been installed for the points, all the servo 4 boards installed along the front of the layout and the wiring starting to take shape. The lever frame went off to Ray's so the wiring can be sorted and soldered in situ and the frame returned today for fitment to the front of the layout. It has yet to have a front, sides and top fitted, that will come in due course once we are happy with a full test out.

 

 

 

We have installed a camera so the operator can view what trains are being held at the signal outside and this will eventually be operated via the lever frame. 

 

 

The scenic boards have been painted and put in situ but still a long way to go but it is coming along nicely

 

 

 

Jim 

Edited June 22, 2021 by jcarta

[Ray H]

I do like the backscene boards.

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, jcarta said:

12 days have been and gone but we haven't stopped doing the electrical jobs..... All the servo's have been installed for the points, all the servo 4 boards installed along the front of the layout and the wiring starting to take shape. The lever frame went off to Ray's so the wiring can be sorted and soldered in situ and the frame returned today for fitment to the front of the layout. It has yet to have a front, sides and top fitted, that will come in due course once we are happy with a full test out.

 

 

 

We have installed a camera so the operator can view what trains are being held at the signal outside and this will eventually be operated via the lever frame. 

 

 

The scenic boards have been painted and put in situ but still a long way to go but it is coming along nicely

 

 

 

Jim 

Now that is clever, well done young Ray.

 

He's a credit to your workforce Jim

[jcarta]

12 hours ago, Andrew P said:

Now that is clever, well done young Ray.

 

He's a credit to your workforce Jim

 

He's definitely a credit ...... especially as he is on a zero hours contract LOL  

[Ray H]

Not only that, I'm the sole member of his staff!

 

You'll note that he hasn't mentioned that the lever frame had been installed for a couple of hours when the picture was taken and he still hasn't started re-painting the levers! You can't get the gaffers these days!

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, Ray H said:

Not only that, I'm the sole member of his staff!

 

You'll note that he hasn't mentioned that the lever frame had been installed for a couple of hours when the picture was taken and he still hasn't started re-painting the levers! You can't get the gaffers these days!

You CAN get the Gaffers Ray, But there RUBBISH.

[jcarta]

2 hours ago, Ray H said:

Not only that, I'm the sole member of his staff!

 

You'll note that he hasn't mentioned that the lever frame had been installed for a couple of hours when the picture was taken and he still hasn't started re-painting the levers! You can't get the gaffers these days!

 

I'm the sort of Gaffer that likes to give his staff options .... but the staff hasn't said what colour they would like it yet......