Dmudriver Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 We have yet to decide how we are going to operate the points in the fiddleyard - whether to keep the previous point motors or go for some kind of manual control incorporating micro-switches. We haven't been entirely happy with the reliability of the PECO solenoids and accessory switches we have been using. Like Chaz, I've used microswitches in my fiddle yard and in my DMU stabling point where I've got hand operated Peco points (picture below): . A different design of switch but the principle's the same and it's glued down. In fact, I'd probably say Chaz's are better as they don't have the long arm as on mine - if you're not careful it catches on the sleeper. On the "scenic"** part of the layout I've buried the wires in the ballast as there's a 4" x 2" beam underneath. I've used Tortoises on the main layout but in the fiddle yard I've used Peco as I had some left over from the previous layout. An advantage is that, if I'm operating with the weather covers on, I can hear them banging over!! I've set them on top of the board and I've used Peco microswitches for frog polarity but in this case fixed to the top of the Peco motor: I've had no problems at all with these motors or the microswitches. As it's the fiddle yard, I've left all the wiring where I can see it - it helps fault finding! The 2 points to the right are the hand-operated ones: the microswitches were fitted after the photo was taken. I've also used Minx Microdrives on one of the Club's layouts, as CME and Bottlewasher refers to. I like them: the only problem is hiding the control unit, but they've all gone under the layout. The point actuators themselves are small and neat and when set up, operate very well. Rod ** "Scenic" is a word used very loosely as, at the moment, there is no scenery!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 The points in the original fiddle yard were all operated by Peco motors with the Peco switch on top all surface mounted. The whole system powered from the 16v ac socket of my controller via a CDU. These seem to work most of the time but are not 100%. The first point in my "new" fiddle yard is still operated this way and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The second point is now the new Marcway 3 way which is already "wired" so that the point blades switch the current to the set path. They do not however have the centre spring so we will need to fit some sort of point levers to ensure the blades stay in place. So far so good. The next two points come immediately off the 3 way adjacent to one another with too little room to mount the point motor so will have to have a remote one or be operated by hand (see Howards diagram on the previous page). More anon. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 16, 2014 Share Posted June 16, 2014 (edited) Since my last post I have been working on the fiddle yard baseboard to get it widened baseboard screwed into place. The long beam coming towards the camera will be trimmed to length to allow this part of the baseboard to be tapered into the main part of the fiddle yard. This will avoid sharp corners which could be a health hazard when finding a book from underneath. Until I have completed this task I am not able to determine whether or not I will need to introduce a leg to support the front but I am hopeful that this will not be necessary. The photo is slightly lop sided and gives the impression that the board is sagging a little but in practice it is level, honest! Time will tell. In the meantime I will have to get cracking to get the rear 4 tracks powered as it needs to be ready for the next visit of members of EXG0G at the end of the month. Edited June 16, 2014 by railwayrod 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 We have had another session today and a little more progress has been made. We have decided that the foddle yard will be hand operated - at least for the time being - and Howard had a rummage in one of his boxes at home and found some ancient Gem point levers which he felt would be OK for the 3 way point. He spent the afternoon fitting these and preparing the way for the next point which will lead to siding 5. I on the other hand have been busy cutting a piece of 12mm ply for the remainder of the fiddle yard which is the bit nearest the camera in the photo in my last post. This will taper into the main board and supported in the same way as the bit in the background of the photo. Railwayrod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daifly Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 We have decided that the foddle yard will be hand operated - at least for the time being I want a foddle yard too. Plans please! Dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 You can't beat a good hand-operated foddle! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 There he goes again! Lowering the tone!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 You started it! - (If not intentionally!) I must have had those GEM point levers I used for getting on for half a century! (God, I suddenly feel old!!). I have two more of a different design which I must have bought a year or so earlier which are priced at 2/4 (that's just under 12p to you young whippersnappers). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 (edited) We did a bit more this afternoon and have now fitted a microswitch to one of the PECO points coming off the 3-way so we now have the rear four sidings in the foddle fiddleyard usable. There wasn't room to fit the microswitch right next to the point so I have used a wire-and-tube arrangement to put it on the other side of the yet to be laid adjacent point. Edited June 19, 2014 by HSB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I did a little more work on the tapered part of the fiddle yard baseboard this afternoon and this is now ready for final screwing into place. I hope to have this done before Howard comes round next week so that we can lay siding number 5 which will have to be finished before EXGOG come round on the 29th. Will post a photo when this is done. Railwayrod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Rod has finished extending the fiddleyard baseboard and today he has stuck down most of the new underlay. Meanwhile I have now got five sidings down and wired up plus a temporary short sixth siding in place. Edited June 25, 2014 by HSB 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) I have to say that the work which Howard and I have carried out during the last couple of weeks has improved the look and the operating potential of the layout/fiddle yard considerably. The capacity has already been extended even with the five sidings so far laid and I now have 5 long ones and when completed will have a further 3 shorter ones (the shortest of which will be longer than the fifth siding on the original yard). These 8 tracks will be supplemented by at least two and possibly three short sidings which will kick back from siding 8 (the one nearest the front). These should hold at least a loco and perhaps a DMU. The points have not been electrified as yet but are operated by hand and our thoughts are now turning in the direction of "do we need to electrify these anyway as when operating we will have to be within the vicinity of the yard in order to uncouple locos etc. In this case it will be just as easy to change the points by hand instead of returning to the control panel on the other side of the room. We will see. Edited June 26, 2014 by railwayrod 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 We had another session on the layout this afternoon. Unfortunately I found I had made a boo-boo yesterday when I thought I could get away with moving one of the points so I could get that fifth track down quickly. Today I discovered the new configuration wasn't going to work as it would result in a large gap between tracks five and six so I had to remove part of track five so I could install the point where it should have gone in the first place! The good news is that we now have that point installed and working and the fiddleyard now has six tracks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 We now have the seventh fiddle yard siding laid and almost wired up. On test we have found that some of the Bachmann couplings may need to be adjusted as we appear to have a problem on the S curve just inside the fiddle yard. We will have to investigate this carefully next week but in the meantime the FY is at least operable. Howard will post a photo later this evening which will show the yard to date. A big tidy up now so that all is ready for the EXGOG visit on Sunday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 (edited) As Rod says we now have another point and a seventh siding laid with a temporary wiring lash-up until I can install a microswitch. The problem with the couplers is due to the rather wide swing on long vehicles running through the two S curves being too far for these couplers to cope with leading to some vehicles derailing. We may have to find an alternative coupler for the vehicles affected. Edited June 27, 2014 by HSB 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Todays EXG0G visit is sadly over but a good time was had by all enhanced by Maggie's goodies - banana loaf and lemon drizzle cake!!! We had a few visiting locos and I have posted a couple of pictures of ones that are of particular interest to me being a mad fan of all things LMS. Hope you like them. These two locos are the work of Jim Calverley and were built from kits and he has made a fantastic job of them We also had a Southern Q1 and I will post a picture of this as soon as I have had time to edit it. This loco is owned by Trevor Tew. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Decided that there is no time like the present so I have edited the picture of Trevor's Q1 loco in ex works condition. It must have taken a wrong turn as it left the Southern main line and somehow ended up at Ramchester! 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 29, 2014 Author Share Posted June 29, 2014 (edited) Here are some pics I took of the same locos. Contrary to what Rod posted earlier the model of 10000 was actually scratch-built apart from the bogie sideframes (JLTRT). Edited June 29, 2014 by HSB 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 My mistake. Yes Jim did scratch build 10000. Sorry for my error Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted July 1, 2014 Author Share Posted July 1, 2014 We had a short session this afternoon in which we explored the best ways to get over the problem of the Bachmann couplers causing derailments on some of the longer vehicles when going through the two S bends in the fiddleyard. I have been experimenting with the wider Hornby couplers which I think will solve the problem when running in to track 2 but not the other S which will probably require the modifying of the track layout to allow the insertion of a length of straight track as per the diagram below:- Ironically, it would mean the five rearmost tracks will be more-or-less back in their original configuration except for the addition of the three-way point! The exact layout of the kick-back sidings has yet to be decided. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted July 4, 2014 Author Share Posted July 4, 2014 (edited) We started modifying the fiddleyard today as per my last post. We have had to take up some of the track we only recently relaid but the new configuration is taken shape fairly rapidly with the first point now back down only requiring the microswitch wiring up. The next two points (on the right in the picture) have just been placed in position ready to connect up next time. I have also been experimenting with various types of Hornby coupler for possible use on parcels and passenger stock in place of the Bachmann ones. Edited July 4, 2014 by HSB 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Hi Rod & Howard, Sorry to hear about the issues with the couplers. Just a thought - would it be possible to make the couplers pivot in any way? Kindest, CME Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted July 5, 2014 Author Share Posted July 5, 2014 (edited) Hi CME, I have fitted Hornby medium width couplers between one of my Mk1s and an SR parcels van and run them through the S curve into track two without any problems so they are one possibility. I have since discovered they also do a narrower coupler the same width as the Bachmann ones but on a flexible neck which I will experiment with after I get back from my hols. Edited July 6, 2014 by HSB 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Did a bit more on my wagon this afternoon and fitted the Bachmann couplings. The only remaining job to do on this wagon are the vac pipes and a couple of detail fittings. Then it is over to the paint shop (Howard). However he is going on holiday to the Rhein for a few days so I guess this will not progress much further until he gets back! I know he wants to complete the station building which has been lying dormant while we have been relaying the fiddle yard (still more work to do on this with 3 more tracks + the kick back sidings to install.. So much work to do and so little time in which to do it! Railwayrod 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Managed to fit the vac fittings to both ends of the wagon this afternoon. It is now over to Howard in the paint shop for completion - I hope. Having a debate with myself as to whether or not to install a turntable as part of the kick back section of the fiddle yard. I do not want - at this stage -to alter the main station layout as this would require a great deal of work. A turntable in the fiddle yard would mean that tender locos would have to run "light engine" off stage in order to turn. I envisage that this will only affect "London bound or expresses to the far north or across the Pennines but in my mind I have a triangular junction a short distance "down the line" where larger tender locos could turn. It would be interesting to hear what you all think about this. Any comments would be welcome. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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