Tulloch Bridge, West Highland Line, Mid 2000's - Present day, 4mm Scale

[PaulRhB]

On 25/02/2022 at 09:46, Rammstein2609 said:

Hi All

 

I’m pleased to say that Tulloch Bridge is at Model Rail Scotland this weekend!  Well, the scenic section is.

 

 

The Scottish Modellers demo stand ended up being a lot larger than we had booked so I’ve filled a space with the scenic board where I will be working on the scenics over the course of the weekend.

 

Pop by and say hello if you’re at the show.  Stand C22, top left corner of the hall.

 

Thanks

Martin

Diverted to this by Rhys’ photos from the show  stunning buildings and great backscene too  

Are the buildings your own creations?

[Rammstein2609]

10 hours ago, Rhysb said:

Martin,

 

Great to meet you today at MRS. simply stunning project! Can’t wait to start Bridge of Orchy. 

 

Thanks again

 

Rhys

Hi Rhys

 

Great to meet and chat with you over the weekend too.  I'm excited to see the layouts others start creating with these building kits.  The more West Highland layouts on the exhibition scene, the better in my opinion.  The response to my layout and the buildings over the weekend have given me a boost to get on with the development and get these out to market.

 

Thanks

Martin

[Rammstein2609]

8 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Diverted to this by Rhys’ photos from the show  stunning buildings and great backscene too  

Are the buildings your own creations?

Thanks for your comments, I'm rather happy with how things have worked out on the layout for now.

 

The back scene is from ID Backscenes and I believe the photo was taken somewhere in Wales.  I think it looks good for Scotland too!

 

The buildings are my own creations.  I started back in 2011 when I visited Rannoch several times and physically measured up the station building and signal box.  Back then I was hoping to recreate these in 2mm scale but other things got in the way and now 11 years later I've finally managed to create these in 4mm scale.  In doing my research, I have found some subtle differences between a lot of the stations on the line which have this design of building so can potentially produce a kit for each station.  Next on my list is Crianlarich as I would quite like to make a layout based on there.  I've already made a start on the engine shed by counting bricks from photos I've taken and I managed to physically measure up all the other buildings so have plans for these too.

 

Thanks

Martin

[PaulRhB]

40 minutes ago, Rammstein2609 said:

The response to my layout and the buildings over the weekend have given me a boost to get on with the development and get these out to market.

Well please keep us informed as they are miles ahead of the basic kit I’d bought to use as a basis. With a few Bachmann 37’s and the new Accurascale one on the way I’ve got the stock and long been planning a new OO layout  

[grow45]

1 hour ago, Rammstein2609 said:

 Next on my list is Crianlarich as I would quite like to make a layout based on there.  I've already made a start on the engine shed by counting bricks from photos I've taken and I managed to physically measure up all the other buildings so have plans for these too.

 

 

Railway Modeller for September 2014 has a set of drawings for the engine shed which may save you some brick counting.

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

Slow progress has been made over the last two months as and when I find time to do anything.  I've been focussing on finishing the track laying in the fiddle yard which is now complete.  Attention then turned to wiring up the whole layout so now I just have to finish off the straight fiddle yard board and scenic board which are actually the simplest boards to wire up.  Each board will feature a DCC bus, 12V DC bus and LocoNet bus.  The only wires connecting each board together will be each of these Buses and everything else like turnout control and block detection will all be kept on board with all data being transferred via DCC bus or LocoNet.  

 

A few weeks ago I decided to lay the fiddle yard out on the floor and place some trains to see what would fit and I've figured I need a bigger fiddle yard!  I knew this was happen anyway and the plan was never to build a massive fiddle yard for such a small scenic section.  instead I utilised some of Tim Horn's curved baseboards I purchased a few years ago for a 2mm project which never got started.  The idea with this layout is to test block detection and automation so the fiddle yard may seem excessive but there is sound reasoning behind the madness.

 

I've also spent some time adding DCC sound into most of the fleet (only a few locos left to do).  I've used Loksound V5's with double iPhone speakers supplied by Rainbow Railways which sound great and have a good degree of playability.

Thanks
Martin

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

Another quick update is the physical control panel I've been working on over the last week.  I like the idea of controlling the whole layout via a Raspberry Pi running JMRI but also being able to take local control via the DCC handset or a physical mimic panel.  Therefore I have developed my own plug & play system compatible with LocoNet which allows me to use push buttons to change turnouts, signals and other accessories such as platform lights and station building lights. 

 

 

The only two cables required from the layout to the control panel are a power cable and LocoNet cable, everything is kept inside the control panel to reduce complexity.  I have uploaded a short video to YouTube showing me cycling through the push buttons then showing how the panel reacts when the turnouts are switched via the DCC handset: 

I have also incorporated some push buttons in the middle of the fiddle yard roads which will be used for route setting.  All I need to do with this system is add the physical buttons to the control panel and program a DCC address to each.  This is then assigned to the appropriate route which is set up in JMRI meaning all I need to use is a single DCC address to set each of the routes.  This also means that any adjustments can be made in software meaning I don't need to change the physical panel.

 

So far the system works as intended so I'm happy.  A few clearance issues with the DuPont connectors have crept up so I will modify future versions of my PCB's to take this into account.

Thanks
Martin

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

 

Progress on Tulloch Bridge stalled for a while but an impending show debut imposed a very tight deadline to get the layout to a presentable state.  Tulloch Bridge will be appearing at the St Andrews Model Railway exhibition this coming weekend so pop by, have a look and say hello.

 

The scenics aren't finished yet but the layout is at least presentable.  I also never had time to finish the automation part of the layout so it will all be driven manually using DCC.

 

Here are a few photos taken this morning to show progress:

 

Thanks

Martin

[PaulRhB]

Unfortunately a bit too far to get back for a 3pm shift but have fun. Appreciate the same general busyness will have delayed progress but how are the buildings going? 

Edited August 12, 2022 by PaulRhB

[billywhizz]

Looking great Martin. Good luck with the debut at St Andrews. A bit too far for me to travel to but look forward to seeing the layout in the future. 
Cheers. 
Bill. 

[D6775]

Fantastic little layout. Giving me ideas in 7mm!

[Rammstein2609]

13 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Unfortunately a bit too far to get back for a 3pm shift but have fun. Appreciate the same general busyness will have delayed progress but how are the buildings going? 

Yeah normal day job stuff has majorly slowed things down then I was trying to get the layout done before this weekend.  I reckon I’m a few weeks away now.  Just need to cut a kits worth of parts for a final test build then should be good to go.  I’ve got all the packaging ready to go too so not long now.

 

I’ll keep you updated when the buildings are ready to go.

 

Thanks

Martin

[Rammstein2609]

Here is a quick photo of the layout all setup at the St Andrews show this weekend.  The layout seemed well received by the public and lots of conversations were had which is great.  I've also received three invitations to take the layout to future shows so watch this space.

 

Also, Thanks to @MRDBLUE17 Mark Darragh for loaning me some of his brilliant rolling stock for the weekend as I didn't have enough time to sort mine out in time.

Thanks

Martin

Edited August 14, 2022 by Rammstein2609
Additional thanks

[shed64a]

Saw this at St Andrews, brilliant looking.  Didn’t get a chance to say hello as you were deep in conversation.

 

Would love to know more about the control panel and how it all works.

[Rammstein2609]

19 hours ago, shed64a said:

Would love to know more about the control panel and how it all works.

Hi

 

It would have been good to speak to you at St Andrews but the layout proved to be more popular than I expected so most of the weekend was spent speaking to people about its construction - this is the reason I operate from the front as it gives everyone the chance to ask questions and gain ideas.

 

The control panel has been a long process to get to where I am but now I have a process I will be using this on all of my layouts going forward.  Before I try to explain how I built it, I think it may help to explain the main reason why I've gone down the route I have.  I operate my layouts using DCC and really like the idea of adding a degree of automation to everything so the computer can drive trains and signals and all I have to do is focus on driving my train.  In order to do this, I want to be able to change turnouts, signals and accessories using either the DCC handset, physical control panel or touchscreen.  If I use one particular method I want everything else to be automatically updated across the whole layout so there is no conflict.

 

In order to achieve this with a physical control panel I had to find a way to incorporate push buttons rather than toggle switches.  I stumbled across this website describing how to build various open source LocoNet compatible boards to control many things on a layout: http://www.lucadentella.it/en/2021/05/14/impariamo-insieme-lncontrolpanel/

 

I have taken this idea a step further by incorporating the Microprocessor and inputs/outputs onto a single PCB which then has a box built around it and a reverse engraved front panel is added to the front to finish it all off, producing a very nice and professional looking panel.  Once the panel is built, the software is loaded onto the microprocessor then I plug in a serial programmer where I can program what each input/output does.  I have simply set these to Turnouts, inputs are push buttons and outputs are display LED's.  Each input/output has a DCC address programmed to it so the PCB itself is basically just an accessory interface which tells the command station that something has happened and the command station does the rest.  I have also incorporated buttons to trigger routes which are set in JMRI and accessories such as station and platform lights.  This is done in the Arduino IDE serial monitor and is very easy to complete.

 

This is the back of the PCB.  All power, processor and communication circuits are on the left and all resistors for the LED's are SMD to easy construction.

The front of the PCB during testing.  The LED's illuminate which route has been set.  The DCC addresses for accessories and routes are also visible.

This is the menu when you connect the control panel to the Arduino IDE serial monitor.  As you can see, IO can be set to be used as a turnout or a sensor and the individual pins can have their own DCC address.

This shows the screen after you have programmed all of you IO.  These are the DCC addresses I'm using for Tulloch Bridge.

 

I have tested the expandability of the software and can reliably get a panel with up to 112 inputs/outputs working on an ATmega328 processor.  It starts to run out of memory at this point so if you want to incorporate up to 128 inputs/outputs you need to upgrade to something like an ATmega2560.  The 128 inputs/outputs is a physical restriction of the I2C bus I believe as each of the MCP23017 IO expanders needs to have its own address which is physically assigned on the PCB so can't be changed in software later.

 

The PCB is built into a laser cut box which produces a solid control panel.

The whole control panel is only 30mm thick.  The only ports are on the right hand side, these are for power and LocoNet.

This is the front of the panel once the reverse engraved panel has been added.

A photo of the layout with the control panel attached to the front of the layout.  This isn't a very good way of attaching the panel to the layout but I finished the panel on the day of setup for the St Andrews show so had to quickly attach it somehow.  I will develop a better way of attaching it to the layout.

 

The end result is a sleek looking control panel which only required a power cable and 6pin telephone cable to connect it to the layout.  There is no need to run hundreds of wires to and from the layout to switches and LED's.  The beauty of this system is its  modularity.  If you have a large layout you could use several small localised control panels positioned around the layout rather than have a single large control panel.  Or you could have one large master panel and lots of smaller localised panels for depots, yards, etc.  

 

I hope that helps, if not please let me know and I'll try to answer any other questions you have.

 

Thanks

Martin

Edited August 21, 2022 by Rammstein2609
Spelling

[shed64a]

@Rammstein2609 thanks for that very detailed reply.  Lots to think about and explore.

 

chris

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

 

It's been a while since I've updated this topic but I have been slowly working away on some rolling stock in preparation for several shows this year.  I had a quick photo session outside in the garden tonight before the light disappeared and thought I would share them to show some work is happening behind the scenes.  The layout still needs parts finished before everything will be weathered together.  Not all of the rolling stock is ready for photos yet so I've borrowed a rake of TTA's and OTA's from @MRDBLUE17 for these photos.

 

[Rammstein2609]

Here are a few more photos from tonight:

 

Here is a sneak peak at the MK2's I've been converting for the sleeper train:

 

These are almost ready for paint, they just require a few more spots of filler and sanding.

 

Thanks

Martin

[rob D2]

Great photos ! 
I don’t think the sleeper passengers would like the choice of 37174, be freezing their asses off !

[MRDBLUE17]

It’s looking very good Martin.

 

Like the MK2 conversions.

 

cheers

Mark

[billywhizz]

Looks great Martin. Looking forward to seeing the layout at Showcase in June. 
Cheers. 
Bill. 

[Scott]

Looks fantastic, excellent detail!

[5BarVT]

On 19/04/2023 at 20:48, rob D2 said:

Great photos ! 
I don’t think the sleeper passengers would like the choice of 37174, be freezing their asses off !

Just need an ETHEL.

Paul.

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

 

Some work has taken place on the layout in preparation for this weekends DEMU ShowCase where Tulloch Bridge will be appearing.

 

A couple of new control panels have been made since the original was a little too large.  These have used the same construction methods as before, custom PCB built into a box with laser engraved front panel and 0.8mm plywood veneer.  These only require a LocoNet cable and 12V DC power cable, everything else is handled by the onboard microcontroller.

I also like the idea of having information boards on either side of the layout so have drawn up the below in Photoshop and had them professionally printed onto 5mm foamex.  These have been attached to a plywood frame which simply screws/unscrews onto either side of the layout.  They also act as a small scenic break from the fiddle yard so the next train passing through is a surprise.

Lastly, most of the work has taken place on the rolling stock.  I have been weathering everything, cleaning wheels and changing speed tables to allow me to thrash the locos which have sound fitted.  The below shot is a favourite of mine since these autoballasters took two days to weather and I thought I had ruined them half way through.  I've got them to a point I'm really pleased with.

As mentioned above, Tulloch Bridge will be at DEMU Showcase this weekend so pop by for a chat and a look at the layout.

 

Thanks

Martin

[Rammstein2609]

Hi All

 

Tulloch Bridge has been loaded into the car for the trip South to DEMU Showcase this weekend.  If you're attending pop by for a chat or just to have a look.

 

Thanks

Martin