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Tawbridge - a new 00 DCC layout


mudmagnet

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Hi All

I am running my railway on the NCE Power Cab system and I love it and it's 100 times better than the dynamis. The thing I had with the dynamis is I kept losing signal, my trains was running out of control. I would like us to go with NCE Power Cab system but it is down to the members

The track work is in progress, I have made two more points the third is nearly finished and a catch point, will ready to put down on tuesday.

 

 

Hi All again

UPDATE

The members of this group have know decided on the NCE system.

The track work is done near where the turntable is to go, and we are thinking of witch turntable to put in, there is not a lot to chose from.

 

Ray 70B

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

It's about time for an update, with photos of the layout to follow later.

 

Most of the track has now been laid - final connection to turntable to laid when we have fitted the turntable. Likely to use the Peco version, along with control using MERG design and hand-held controller.

 

The wiring has now been started, with droppers being soldered ready for connection to the DCC bus-wires.

 

I have attached a couple of photos showing slow progress on the station building and signal box. The canpoy valences and brackets have been made from scratch in plasticard. Both buildings will be lightly weathered when finished as the paint is a little 'harsh'. Since the photos were taken, the windows on the signal box have been finished and a start has been made on the roof - photos to follow when the roof has been finished, hopefully by the weekend.

 

Mudmagnet

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UPDATE

 

I have done the track work as far as the turntable, but waiting to see what we are doing about the turntable so I have started on the wiring I'm puting the dropers in last tuesday night, and made three buffer stops so far out of nine.

Richard has made a very good job on the signal box and station building.

 

RAY 70B

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

Time for an update.

When it comes to wiring the layout there is often not too much to show until quite a bit of the wiring has been done, well we are now making progress (well Ray is doing most of it)! The first board (station) has been completed and now back on its legs, work on the second board is half way through (track feeds soldered back to bus wires, accessory decoder fitted and awaiting wiring to point motors).

 

The accessory decoders are assembled from MERG kits and are wired back to a seperate bus to the track feeds and will be switched through a short-circuit protection. So if there is a short on the track, it does not knock out the accessory decoders.

 

Hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to run the first trains!

 

Also, Ray has been busy making the buffer stops - three completed - and these have been soldered to the tracks within the station.

 

The first photo shows the completed first board, the second the board in the process of wiring on the bench and the third showing one of the buffer stops.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

Hi, it's been several weeks since our last update, but with wiring, the weeks seem to fly by and not much to see! However, engines have been seen running on two of the boards! A couple of tweaks have been necessary to the position of the point motors so that these throw properly and found that one of the dropper wires had broken off the bus wire (probably my soldering, not Ray's).

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Hello mate

Those buffer stops are the biz mate very nice work there. Are you going to simulate the bolts and things?

Hi less01

I'm glad you like the buffers they are esey to make, I made a jig of a bit of wood and trased an old white metal side onto the wood and put nails in where I need to bend the rail around the nails to make the shape. I had to make four of these for one buffer stop. Then I soldered two packing bit onto one side of one of the sides, but leave room for the up rights, solder second side onto that. know make the four uprights with a kick at the bottom to go over the running rail, put the side that you have made on to an old bit of track and solder the uprights into place. Do the same with the other side, when done put the two sides onto an old bit of track and solder the cross member on the two sides at buffer hight (a slepper length of copper clad) don't forget to cut an isulation gap on the copper at the back.

I don't intend the simulate the bolts.

Hope you understood the constuction of the buffer stops, just thourght you might like to now.

 

RAY 70b

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Hi All

I have made progress on the wiring we have two boards with loco's running to test the track and points at the moment. Done some twecks on the point motors and all is working very well. The loco's are running very nice and quietly on this foam type underlay (no idear what in is called).

The next two boards should not take to long to do, as one has two points the other has the turntable in witch we have not come to deside on as yet.

 

RAY70b

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update.

With the help of Brian, Ray connected up the next board and was running the track in. Some adjustments were made to the track. I carried on finishing the main wiring on the last board and soldering a short piece of track on the board they were running on. Each piece of track has a pair of droppers down onto the bus wires. This was one we missed.

We will test the track with various loco's and rolling stock before work starts on the ballasting.

Both Ray and Richard use the NCE controllers, However Brian, myself and others in the club will have to learn using this new system.

 

Here's to learning.

 

Chris

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  • RMweb Gold

I'm certainly looking forward to running some trains on the layout. Another job to then do is to work out where to put the magnets for the Sprat and Winkle couplings before we start ballasting. Still plenty to do.

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  • RMweb Gold

Hi less01

I'm glad you like the buffers they are esey to make, I made a jig of a bit of wood and trased an old white metal side onto the wood and put nails in where I need to bend the rail around the nails to make the shape. I had to make four of these for one buffer stop. Then I soldered two packing bit onto one side of one of the sides, but leave room for the up rights, solder second side onto that. know make the four uprights with a kick at the bottom to go over the running rail, put the side that you have made on to an old bit of track and solder the uprights into place. Do the same with the other side, when done put the two sides onto an old bit of track and solder the cross member on the two sides at buffer hight (a slepper length of copper clad) don't forget to cut an isulation gap on the copper at the back.

I don't intend the simulate the bolts.

Hope you understood the constuction of the buffer stops, just thourght you might like to now.

 

RAY 70b

Hi Ray

This is my efforts at a Midland Type in EM. I made a few of these a while back but the layout had to be broken up so I flogged them on fleebay. Hope you don't mind me posting a couple of pics

Regards Lez.Z. ^_^

post-1531-0-69008900-1299542582_thumb.jpg

post-1531-0-08970100-1299542632_thumb.jpg

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Hi Lez,

They look great. Much detail.

 

At the club to night I had a go at using the NCE system. I was a learning curve of which there were many mistakes. I do hope to have these ironed out. It will be good to run a few different loco types to fettle the track. Looking forward to have my West Country chipped and ready to use.

Hope to play more on Friday night.

 

Cheers.

 

Chris

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  • RMweb Gold

Hi

 

We had a good running session with the layout tonight - pretty much the first time that all four boards have gone back up with the wiring finished. Still got the turntable to do though. We are tempted to go with the Peco one, which will be motorised and wired through an index control knob.

A few minor corrections required to the track work and point motors where the blades are not throwing over fully in both directions, so a few tweaks to do before we are satisfied with the track work. We need to make sure that this is correct before doing anymore work on the track (e.g. painting / ballasting).

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  • RMweb Premium

Hi

 

We had a good running session with the layout tonight - pretty much the first time that all four boards have gone back up with the wiring finished. Still got the turntable to do though. We are tempted to go with the Peco one, which will be motorised and wired through an index control knob.

A few minor corrections required to the track work and point motors where the blades are not throwing over fully in both directions, so a few tweaks to do before we are satisfied with the track work. We need to make sure that this is correct before doing anymore work on the track (e.g. painting / ballasting).

Hi Mudders,

 

Thats good news, will the layout be shown at the Barnstaple show?

 

BTW Just had "permission" to bring Bridport to Barnstaple, will you available to operate?

 

Cheers,

Dave.

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  • RMweb Gold

Hi Mudders,

 

Thats good news, will the layout be shown at the Barnstaple show?

 

BTW Just had "permission" to bring Bridport to Barnstaple, will you available to operate?

 

Cheers,

Dave.

 

Hi Dave,

 

I'm not sure whether Tawbridge will be exhibited at our show yet - our exhibition manager is finalising plans (although I know a few of the layouts that will be there).

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Hi Ray

This is my efforts at a Midland Type in EM. I made a few of these a while back but the layout had to be broken up so I flogged them on fleebay. Hope you don't mind me posting a couple of pics

Regards Lez.Z. ^_^

post-1531-0-69008900-1299542582_thumb.jpg

post-1531-0-08970100-1299542632_thumb.jpg

 

Hi Less01

You done a good job of those buffer stops, what did you use for the bolt heads they like very impressive.

 

RAY 70B

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • RMweb Gold

Not much to show at the moment, but we have been busy testing and testing and testing! or in other words 'playing trains'.

 

We have found a few minor issues and being resolved as we go along. It will be another couple of weeks before we start painting the track and ballasting.

 

We used two NCE PowerCabs tonight - which was good fun. Just have remember to change the correct points though!

 

Hoping to make a start on the platform in the next couple of weeks, thanks to some offcuts of mounting card. I will post photos when some progress has been made.

 

Also, I will be assembling the Peco turntable and getting painted before fitting. Then we can then get this motorised and look at the control system.

 

 

Looks like Tawbridge will be making it's public debut at our show in July! So we had better get on with it! Will be far from finished and unlikely to have much in the way of scenery / buildings etc, but should be interesting!

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Hi Less01

You done a good job of those buffer stops, what did you use for the bolt heads they like very impressive.

 

RAY 70B

Hi Ray

Nothing fancy mate just thin slivers of Slaters microrod or whatever the round stuff is called. If you have a go make sure you use a sharp blade as it has a tendancy to "splinter" lengthways if you don't.

As I remember I used a pin vice to hold the micro rod and a bit of 6mm ply as a cutting board. I twirlled it on a needle file to "dome" the rod and then chopped it off with a Swann & Morton No.25 scalple blade its a big one with a sort of chissel point and fits the No.4 handel. Do a lot at a time coz you will find that about 30-40% are unusable. Float them into place with MEK or plastiweld and when its in the right place press it down with the handel end of the scalple and blow the excess MEK away and it should stay put. If you rough up the rail with a fiberglass pencil first and then spray prime it afterwards you can then brush paint the rust and weathering on and they shouldn't come adrift.

Regards Lez.Z.

P.S. It WILL do your head in :blink: but stick with it as the end result is well worth the effort. :D

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Hi Ray

Nothing fancy mate just thin slivers of Slaters microrod or whatever the round stuff is called. If you have a go make sure you use a sharp blade as it has a tendancy to "splinter" lengthways if you don't.

As I remember I used a pin vice to hold the micro rod and a bit of 6mm ply as a cutting board. I twirlled it on a needle file to "dome" the rod and then chopped it off with a Swann & Morton No.25 scalple blade its a big one with a sort of chissel point and fits the No.4 handel. Do a lot at a time coz you will find that about 30-40% are unusable. Float them into place with MEK or plastiweld and when its in the right place press it down with the handel end of the scalple and blow the excess MEK away and it should stay put. If you rough up the rail with a fiberglass pencil first and then spray prime it afterwards you can then brush paint the rust and weathering on and they shouldn't come adrift.

Regards Lez.Z.

P.S. It WILL do your head in :blink: but stick with it as the end result is well worth the effort. :D

 

Hi Lez

Thanks for that, I'll have give it a try.

 

 

 

Ray 70b

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