West Kirby Town: narrow gauge is coming to town.

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

It's a while since I've posted on here!!  I've not done much on the layout since the last post, but model railway-related work has been ongoing.  I've been working on making the shed more secure (I've just renewed my insurance!!) - close shackle padlocks, bolts instead of screws on door hinges, etc.

 

I've also been working on refitting chips and speakers in some locos.  In my 37 I've got a Loksound v4 XL chip.  I had used 2 x bass reflex speakers with it and the sound was a bit muffled so I've left one bass reflex in and added an "ordinary" speaker to it (Sorry, I don't know the technical term!!  Can anyone put me right?)  Both are 8 ohm, wired in parallel and the sound is really good now.  I've used the same set up in my 31.  Previously I had 2 smaller base reflexes in it and the sound was very quiet - even on full volume.  It took me a while but I found the cause of the problem: the speakers were 8 ohm and, thinking they were 4, I'd wired them in series!!!   Ooooops!!  Now that I've used the same configuration as the 37 the sound is so much better.

 

I also found that it's useful to test the phasing of speakers before you fit them.  I have 2, already wired with a black and a red wire but the phasing was different!!  They are now in parallel with black to red twice - not what you'd expect!!   I test them by putting about 3-4 volts across the terminals and seeing which way the speaker moves.

 

However, in the 31, I seem to have CV problems.  Both headlights are on at the same time and one set of red lights won't come on at all.  I've checked the wiring of the reds and that's OK so, although it could be the lighting unit (tho' I doubt it as they worked previously) I'll wait until I see my mate with Lokprogrammer and try and sort them out that way.  I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I always put my red lights on a separate function from the whites so that I can switch them off when I've got a train on the hook.  I do not like seeing red lights on the back of a loco hauling a train!!!  It's a bit fiddly to do, but well worth it - in my opinion, anyway!

 

I've also got a Loksound v4 for my Ivatt tank - the "standard" one as the XL wouldn't have fitted into the body of the loco.  I've had the motor and gearbox altered so there is more room in the boiler so I've managed to get 2 x bass reflex speakers in.  The pic below shows how I've done it:

 

 

The motor and gearbox is under the chip.  The white strip is a "sticky fixer" that I've pressed the wires onto to 1) keep them tidy and 2) keep the chip away from the magnets in the speakers.  The chip fits up into the gap behind the speakers where the wires are coming out.  Even on level 128 of 192 the sound is loud - it got next door's dog barking when I tried it out!!!  The speakers are held in place with Bostik and a little drop of superglue.  These are the 2 that were in the 31, wired in series!!!  As I said before, they are now in parallel!!  (Note: the grey wire from the speakers to the chip should be black, but I've none left!!  Mentioned in case anyone thought I'd wired a motor lead to a speaker!!)

 

The tie bars arrived from JLTRT a couple of weeks ago but I've not fitted them yet.  I must admit that I have been playing a bit - well, that's what we build our railways for, isn't it??!!  I've got the camera for the fiddle yard and the TV monitor working - it just needs the camera fixing in place above the track now.  I'll post some pics when it's done.

 

Finally - I don't know if it's poor soldering or if the heat has moved rails, but at least 2 of the wires linking point blades with stock rails have become detached, with a loss of electrical continuity.  So I'm going to have to get the iron out again - and this just after I've sprayed the rail sides dark rust!!

 

Actually, setting it all down here, I have done quite a bit really!!  More than I realised, in fact!!  And I fitted in a visit to the DEMU Showcase at Burton.  Some really good modern image modelling, but very little 0 gauge.  And yet Heljan models of diesels are selling well, so where are the layouts??  I think that's probably a subject for another thread, though!!

 

More soon.

 

Rod

 

 

[Barnaby]

Hello Rod.

That's a great read and one I keep coming back to for an update.  Keep them flowing.

 

Regards

[two tone green]

Hi Rod,

 

Are you aware that the V4 XL Loksound decoder has two outputs for speakers. One on one of the end terminal blocks and the other on the side terminal block.

 

This allows dissimilar impedance speakers to be used and a volume control if need be. But also is useful when wiring things up as wires sometimes naturally fall so that the side is better than the end to wire things up.

 

I use a combination of the ESU 50036 Visaton SC4.7ND 41x70mm, 8 ohms speaker in the metal box in the centre of the Heljan locos or in a homemade baffle box in JLTRT locos.  

 

Also the 40mm round 8 ohm ESU 50323 mounted in the fuel tank pointing down in Heljan locos or beneath the fan in JLTRT locos. You won't notice the speaker under the fan as its black and the fan sits across the inside and under it.

 

Like I have mentioned above, I use both connections on the XL, one for the big oval speaker and the other one for the round speaker even though they are both 8 ohms.

 

The sound reproduction is very good with good bass response from the big oval speaker and the top end frequencies from the round one.

[Dmudriver]

Hi Two tone  - or do you prefer TTG??!!

 

Now that you mention it, I recall someone else mentioning the 2 speaker outputs.  However, I completely forgot about them when I was wiring up.   I hadn't realised that they allow you to use dissimilar impedance speakers, either.  Does that also mean it doesn't matter which way round they are wired, either?

 

I have to be honest and say that, at the moment, I'm still learning about speakers and the best combinations thereof. I got the 2 new round speakers from Digitrains - they're QSI 1.25" 8 ohm 1 watt.  I can't remember what the rectangular bass reflexes are, though.  Whatever, I did remember that I had heard talk about a mixture so I tried it and, as I said before, I'm very pleased with them.

 

Interestingly, having said that, the sound from the Ivatt, with the 2 bass speakers, sounds pretty good to me.  I do admit, though, I didn't try one bass and one round speaker as I got carried away with the 2 rectangular ones fitting so well!!  Not very scientific, is it??!!

 

But thanks for your comments - it's another avenue to explore.  That's what I like about RMweb - there's always members willing to offer advice and help, so thanks again.

 

Rod

 

PS    I'm going to send 3 Zimo chips off for reblowing to DMU sounds shortly (2 x 64x and 1 x 69x).  Do you know if there are any recommended speakers for those sounds?

[Dmudriver]

Hi all

 

Nothing for 3 weeks and then 2 posts on consecutive days!!!

 

I've fitted the camera inside the fiddle yard today and it does do the job it's intended to!!  Here are some pics to show where I'm up to.   The first shows the set-up inside the shed.  The monitor is on the wall above the points control panel for the fiddle yard and the sockets for the Lenz hand-held throttles:

 

 

Excuse the camera bag lying on the track!!  The second shows the fiddle yard with 3 roads occupied:

 

 

Next is a close up of the far end, showing the DMUs close up to the end and the camera above them:

 

 

Then there is the picture on the monitor in the shed of the same scene as in the previous pic:

 

 

Actually, the real picture is better than this photo of it, but I hope you get the idea of it.  Finally, an empty fiddle yard:

 

 

It is a bit disconcerting driving from the shed to the fiddle yard and watching only the monitor!!  You "lose" the train for a few seconds after it leaves the shed and before it appears on the monitor.  Judging where to stop is a bit nerve-wracking, too - I'm going to have to put some markers down to guide me!!

 

There's obviously more to do yet - the wiring needs fastening up on the outside tracks and then tidying in the shed and then I need LED strips for lights when the covers are on.  However, I have proved that it works, so that's another step forward!!

 

I have come across one snag, though.  The covers on the outside tracks are arranged so that when taking them off, I start at the shed end.  If I leave the cover on the camera lens then I have to take all the covers off to remove it, which rather defeats the object of the exercise!!  I'll try leaving the lens cover off for a while and see if it does get any condensation on it.  I've tried fitting the covers in the opposite sequence but it doesn't work!!!

 

More soon - though I can't guarantee it will be tomorrow!!!

 

Rod

[RandyWales]

 

I've fitted the camera inside the fiddle yard today and it does do the job it's intended to!! 

Rod

Hi Rod....

I've used the same solution for the hidden sidings on my 4mm Costleigh layout....

I didn't have the confidence/skills to use electronic train detection, and as I already owned a miniature colour camera bought for the Maenol Mine 7mm micro, I went out and bought a Swann CCTV monitor that has two camera inputs, so I can now switch back and forth beween images of either end of the hidden sidings. Works a treat... about an hour to set up, and no complex electronics.

I'd advise anyone to think about CCTV for out-of-sight areas.

Your images really show how effective they are.... congrats.

Randall

[two tone green]

Hi Rod,

 

I am not sure if the phasing of the speakers will make much difference at the size we are talking about but if you can hear the difference then still go for the positive to positive etc on the output terminals of the decoder. I try to phase the speakers but it does not really bother me if they are not.

 

But during my experimentation with speakers and the ESU XL decoders that did make a difference to me is the power rating. I did try 1 W speakers and found the sound a tad distorted at anything above quarter volume when compared to 2W speakers and its 2W and above that I favour.

 

Not that I run my locos at high volumes but the sound does sound to have less distortion, clearer, better quality with the little finer notes and tones easier to hear.

 

Really like your DMU's, very nice. I am building the EASYbuild 108 and have fitted lights in the cab, headcode panel, passenger areas along with head and tail lights. Sound as well of course but use the OO V4 Loksound decoders as it works well with my ABC Gearbox Power Bogie I have in mine. Speaker wise its the 8ohm Bass Reflex speaker SWD sell with one under each car towards the front so the horn sounds at the right end to match the direction of travel.

 

Your TV and camera setup is very nice as well. Lots of thought going into the operational side of things with your layout. I am well behind with the scenic side of things on my layout as I am still enjoying myself tweaking the layout for use with RR&Co and if I do too much scenic stuff it then becomes a real chore doing other things.

 

Good luck, really enjoying the progress you are making.

[garethevans1986]

Looks good Rod.

 

Gareth

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Yet another couple of weeks with nothing from me.  The modelling bug seems to have deserted me a bit, probably due to: 1) the glorious weather; 2) a few days' holiday in Scotland with my son and grandson; 3) a  number of family birthdays  and 4) having reached a stage where I know the layout runs well so there's nothing pressing to do (except play trains!!).  [Note, plenty to do, but nothing pressing!!]

 

However, I have ordered, and now had delivered today, a string of LEDs for the fiddle yard.  I thought I'd try them out tonight, just to make sure they worked.  And they do!!!  Here's a pic of them temporarily strung up in the shed:

 

 

I had the camera on automatic setting so it's compensated but if you look at the back of the layout the difference is quite marked.  I have a feeling they'll be perfect for the fiddle yard with the covers on.  So that's tomorrow's (main) job sorted!!!

 

I bought a 2.5m/8ft strip and this is a close up pic of part of the string. 

 

 

Tiny little LEDs but they put out a lot of light!!  The photo is, I think, a bit larger than life size!!  They're not actually switched on in this pic; the light is a reflection from the fluorescents above.   I'll post some more pics tomorrow.

 

 

Rod

 

 

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

An update as promised!  I've fitted the lighting strip to the fiddle yard, tested it (it works!!) and tidied up the wiring.  So I've now got an all-weather outdoor layout, except that the fiddle yard has to be used as in/out only in darkness/bad weather.    But that's no problem as I'll operate it with DMUs and the push-pull rake.  Here are some pics.  Firstly the view from inside the shed with all the covers on:

 

 

You can see the track just going through the hole in the shed wall on the left and a bit of the wiring before I tidied it up.  (I tidied the fiddle yard wiring first)  Then a view inside of that with the lights on:

 

 

Apologies for the fuzziness - the camera was struggling a bit!!  I've tidied the wiring here - it's fastened along the bearer at the top left.  I took the feed for the LED strip from the feed to the camera (they're both 12v DC) - it's the black coated wire from the left to the near end of the strip.  This pic was taken with the cover nearest to the shed taken off - no extra daylight gets in as it's too far away but it allowed me to get the camera in. 

 

Next, a bit of indulgence: it doesn't show much, but looks a bit atmospheric!!

 

 

That one was taken with the camera resting on the baseboard inside the hole where the tracks exit the shed.  Finally, the view inside the shed of the TV screen (from the same spot as the first pic was taken.)  Although you can't tell from this pic, the picture on the screen is sharper with the LEDs than it is with daylight!!  The 2-car 108 is in the same position in all the pics (even the first one - honest!!!)

 

 

I am really chuffed with this!!  I've just got a switch to fit to enable me to turn the camera and lights off when I'm operating in daylight with the covers off, but that shouldn't take long to do. 

 

Having got into some awkward positions fitting the strip to the roof and tidying the wiring, my back is aching so I'm now going to relax in a hot bath, then eat - I think with a (little) bottle of wine to celebrate!!

 

More soon.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

And another update!!  The switch for the lights and camera is now fitted, tested and working.  I've attached it to the side of the fiddle yard control panel.  Pic here:

 

 

Just indulge me with my "lights, camera, action" markings!!  Next is a picture of the whole current "foul weather" fleet.  This is all self-contained trains which don't need any work in the fiddle yard (unless, of course, I set a point wrong coming out of the yard, run through it and short the whole layout)  I'll just have to be careful, won't I?

 

 

Yes, that is a 33 on the push-pull rake , but it's only there because the Ivatt is having more work done on it.  Too much play in the middle drivers this time, causing loss of pickup (more investigation needed as 1 wheel not picking up properly shouldn't cause problems) and occasional derailments.

 

The next pic is the of the 37 and the inspection saloon.  I've included it just because I like it!!

 

 

And finally, a view from the top of the signal box steps.  It does emphasise that I must get on with the platform, signals, ballasting and other scenic work generally!!

 

 

Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed the word "current" above ("current foul weather fleet").  That's because I want to operate parcels trains as a change from a procession of passenger DMUs and I just happened to find last night, in one of my books, pictures of 1) 116 units converted to parcels work by taking seats out and coupling 2 GUVs between them and 2) a Class 122 bubblecar in Scotland converted for parcels use with an extra set of double doors, no seats and the windows all painted white (except the cab ones, of course!!).  Apparently 3 were so treated and reclassified 131.  The 116s were reclassified as 130.  So my brain's been working overtime!  Easybuild just happen to do 116s and 122s and there's at least 2 makers of GUVs, plus a Heljan one to come out, I believe.   Question to self:  do these come before or after platforms, signals, ballasting, etc????

 

The "fair weather" fleet includes the Mark 1s and 7 parcels vehicles, plus more locos and the 03 shunter, so when that fleet's in use some of this fleet will have to come off - possibly the steam push-pull, inspection saloon and the 128.  But we'll wait and see!!

 

Then there's the Thumper to come, too!!

 

Anyway, enough rambling!!  In spite of decent weather I'm going to operate the foul weather fleet again for a while!!

 

Rod

 

[Dmudriver]

Evening all.

 

I've been making more progress.  I've fitted the tie bars to the catch points and now I've fitted those catch points to the layout.  The Tortoise motors are fitted, wired up and are working correctly - I got one of the two back to front!!  I've added a couple more feeds to the DMU stabling area and tidied the wiring up a bit underneath the board (it's still not very tidy but at least wires aren't hanging down now!!

 

This is a pic of the catch points after they'd been fitted and the motors attached:

 

 

I've put a bonding wire across from the stock rail to the blade on the main running line so that I'm not relying on blade contact for electrical continuity.  In fact it's a piece of 5 Amp fuse wire!!  I've done it on both but here it's on the right in this close up pic of one of the points:

 

 

That picture also shows the tie bars quite well.  To finish off, I sprayed the sides of the rails (and sleepers, etc round about!) with dark rust.  It looks a bit bright and orangey, but once it's all ballasted and sprayed with Sleeper Grime, it looks alright - well, it did on my last layout!!  This is a pic of the station throat after I'd sprayed the new points:

 

 

Since the pics I've started doing some ballasting.  Not all of the track, but around where the signals will be - the idea being that it will be easier to ballast once the signals are in if I can keep clear of them.  Pics tomorrow (possibly!!)

 

More soon.

 

Rod

 

 

 

[two tone green]

This is looking very nice, well done Rod.

[Barnaby]

I'll be interested to see which ballasting method you will use so please take plenty of pics.

 

Looking very good Rod

 

 

Regards

[81A Oldoak]

Evening all.

 

I've been making more progress.  I've fitted the tie bars to the catch points and now I've fitted those catch points to the layout.  The Tortoise motors are fitted, wired up and are working correctly - I got one of the two back to front!!  I've added a couple more feeds to the DMU stabling area and tidied the wiring up a bit underneath the board (it's still not very tidy but at least wires aren't hanging down now!!

 

This is a pic of the catch points after they'd been fitted and the motors attached:

 

P1020504 - Copy.JPG

 

I've put a bonding wire across from the stock rail to the blade on the main running line so that I'm not relying on blade contact for electrical continuity.  In fact it's a piece of 5 Amp fuse wire!!  I've done it on both but here it's on the right in this close up pic of one of the points:

 

P1020505 - Copy.JPG

 

That picture also shows the tie bars quite well.  To finish off, I sprayed the sides of the rails (and sleepers, etc round about!) with dark rust.  It looks a bit bright and orangey, but once it's all ballasted and sprayed with Sleeper Grime, it looks alright - well, it did on my last layout!!  This is a pic of the station throat after I'd sprayed the new points:

 

P1020509 - Copy.JPG

 

Since the pics I've started doing some ballasting.  Not all of the track, but around where the signals will be - the idea being that it will be easier to ballast once the signals are in if I can keep clear of them.  Pics tomorrow (possibly!!)

 

More soon.

 

Rod

Very nice double junction.

[Dmudriver]

I'll be interested to see which ballasting method you will use so please take plenty of pics.

 

Looking very good Rod

 

 

Regards

Hi Barnaby.

 

I'll be using my tried and tested dilute PVA method, but I will take pics and post them on the thread.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Very nice double junction.

Thanks, Chris.  This is what it's modelled on (picture courtesy of Flying Signalman).

 

 

I've not modelled the 3rd rail and I've altered the siding area but I'm aiming to capture the "feel" of the station.  I'm quite pleased so far, but it's the scenery I'm not looking forward to - it never has been my forte - or really an interest, if I'm honest!!  But somehow, it will be done (eventually!!)

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

More progress yesterday and today.  I think I've got my modelling mojo back!!  Fair few pics so this might be a bit long.  I did some ballasting first - as I said, just around where the signals will be planted.  I hope I'm not teaching Granddad to suck eggs, but I'm mindful of what Barnaby asked (above) and also I recall discussions about this on other threads.  The first pic is the tools I use:

 

 

From the left, the tub of ballast; in this case fine granite chippings (but see below); an old medicine spoon that I use to spoon the ballast onto the track; a choice of 2 (old!) toothbrushes for spreading the ballast and tamping it; an old spray bottle and finally the dilute PVA solution with a couple of pippettes.

 

After spooning the ballast thinly onto the track - both in the 4 ft and the 6ft - I spread it out with a toothbrush (gently, otherwise it flies all over the place!) and then tamp it by tapping the bristles vertically down onto the ballast and brushing chips off the sleepers.  It is essential that the bristles are all the same length.  Differing lengths, though probably better for dental hygiene, are not much good for this.  Use the brush horizontally so that the bristles are vertical.  This is how it ends up:

 

 

As I hinted above, although the chippings are sold as "fine", they aren't really - they look too big to me.  However, as I had half a tub left, I decided to use them.  The masking tape indicates where the signals should go.  The next job is to spray the ballast with water - just plain tap water.  I've found it helps the PVA flow.  The PVA itself is diluted about 50/50 with water (I use warm but I'm not sure it makes much difference.)  Add to that a couple of drops of washing-up liquid to break the surface tension.  Then, using a pipette, dribble the solution onto the wetted ballast.  It should flow nice and smoothly so that you end up with this:

 

 

In that pic I've only done the 4 ft.  You can also see the drops of water on the rails.  The ballast goes darker when it's wet so it's easy to see if you've missed any!  The next pic shows some double track a bit later in the process.  Here I've done the near track and some of the 6 ft.  You can see there's a couple of areas in the 6 ft that I've missed and the opposite track isn't touched yet.  Basically, you can see where the PVA is filling up the gaps.

 

 

Then let it dry - which might take a while depending on the temperature and humidity: the glue does go right down to the bottom of the ballast and onto the cork underneath.  Finally, scrape any stray bits of ballast off the sleepers and then vacuum up any leftovers.  This will also show bits that have been missed!!

 

I hope that was useful.  It may not be the way everyone does it, but it's worked for me in the past and it's how we do it at the Club.  An advantage of this way is that, if you need to lift the track, you just soak the ballast with water (again, I use warm), let it soften the PVA, then dig the ballast out and lift the track.

 

Having done all that and the glue having dried reasonably well where I first did it, I decided to have a go at planting the first signal.  Not without some trepidation, I might add!!!  So I did a single ground signal, close to the front of the board.  And this is how it looks when fitted:

 

 

It's between 2 sidings which are at 80mm track centres, so space is a bit tight, so I thought I'd do a clearance test, just to be sure.  This is a pic of that test:

 

 

In my opinion, it's just right.  As traincrew you soon learn to avoid the ground signals - I nearly had a very nasty accident climbing out of a guard's van without looking at the track first!!  No more details - I'll leave it to your imagination!!  Since taking the pic, I've added some scrap sleeper between the tracks at the front and rear of the signal, just in case any stray ballast might find it's way onto the servo.  I'll not glue the signal down yet (if at all), I'll see how it stands up to operations first.   Apart from which, I've got to get them working - but I'll plant them first, then work on the operation.

 

So, that's it for today.  Hope it's been useful.  Any comments or queries gratefully received.

 

Rod

Edited August 19, 2013 by Dmudriver

[Jon Fitness]

Hi Rod,

Probably best to get the baseplate down to ground level and hide it under the ballast. Probably mean snipping the ends off the sleepers but you could glue them back down and "blend" it all in with the ballast. (Sorry about the big baseplate!  )

JF

[Dmudriver]

Hi Rod,

Probably best to get the baseplate down to ground level and hide it under the ballast. Probably mean snipping the ends off the sleepers but you could glue them back down and "blend" it all in with the ballast. (Sorry about the big baseplate!  )

JF

No problem with the baseplate, Jon.  Snipping the sleepers a bit more will be no problem as I've done it already.  That's the first job when I get started today.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

More work done this morning.  Taking Jon's suggestion, I've snipped away the sleepers and the base plate is now sitting on the cork.  Cue pic:

 

 

Then the usual clearance test:

 

 

And then, half an hour later, there were two!!!

 

 

It's really very satisfying!!  The plan is to fit them all and then get them working: ballasting will come much later once I'm happy with everything.  The next one will be across at the back of the board, but that will be for later.  Now, I'm off to look at some new carpets (for the house, not the shed!!)

 

More soon.

 

Rod

[David Siddall]

It was seeing some working ground-signals on YouTube that fired up my interest in 7mm scale in the first place!

 

Su... perb!  :-)

 

David

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Even more progress today!!  But first, a query for the signalmen out there who may read this.  The last photo in the last post shows 2 ground signals between 3 tracks.  They each refer to the track to the right of them, so should there be an arrow on each one, pointing to the relevant track?  As here:

 

 

I've looked in a book called "A Pictorial Survey of London Midland Signalling" and found only one picture of a ground signal with an arrow on it, although there are quite a few between tracks.  From my own point of view, having driven on a preserved railway, I prefer to be told, even if it might be obvious, but does "route knowledge" cover such things on the "real railway"?

 

Anyway, I've now got all 5 ground signals planted.  Here's a pic of the first 3, all controlling exits from sidings:

 

 

Then there is the double one on the Up Line controlling movements over the crossover:

 

 

And finally, the one controlling movements from the Up line into the platforms and rear siding.:

 

 

The close ups are a bit cruel, showing up the uneven cork - the track is laid on 1/8th cork, but I've none left, so I've used 2 layers of what I think is 1/16th cork (it's certainly thinner than the 1/8th).  Obviously, 2/16ths is bigger than 1/8th!!  I'll get some more 1/8th tomorrow!!

 

So that's enough modelling for today, time to catch up on "The White Queen"!!  The next job (probably on Thursday) is to plant the platform starters and the Inner Home signals .

 

More soon.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

It was seeing some working ground-signals on YouTube that fired up my interest in 7mm scale in the first place!

 

Su... perb!  :-)

 

David

Hi David.

 

Just to clarify - I'm only fitting the signals, I didn't build them.  One JF of this parish did that!!

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Evening all.

 

I really have got my modelling mojo back!!  More progress today, in the shape of more signals planted.

 

The first one I tackled was the Inner Home: the hole was a bit complicated, having 3 servos but I managed it.  It took a bit of measuring for the distance away from the track bearing in mind it's on a 6' curve, but this is how it looks:

 

 

And this is the driver's view as he/she approaches the signal under the road bridge: 

 

 

Caution definitely needed!!  Very easy to SPAD, I would think, but as there's a 10mph speed limit into the platforms, he/she should be going slowly, anyway.  I thought the caption for this pic could be "Going Nowhere"!!  AND I've just noticed the missing buffer beam on the buffer stop nearest to the signal!!  Must have caught it with my sleeve when working on the signal - ooops!!

 

The final inside signal was the bracket at the ends of the platforms. A lovely structure and this is how it looks, with the 3 ground signals in shot, too:

 

 

Then a couple of pics just for the fun of it - well, I like them!  The first is a view of those starters from a ladder (assume fixing a tube in the - non existent so far - platform lights):

 

 

The second a view towards the platforms from just outside the signal box:

 

 

Compare that with the black and white picture a few posts ago and I think I'm getting there!  

 

There are still 2 signals to fit on the outside section: I'll wait for a few hours' decent weather before I do those.  Then what??  Well, there's the signals to get working, but looking at the pics above, I could do with building the platform and doing the rest of the ballasting.  I'll see how the mood takes me!!

 

So I'm now off to lie down - not in a darkened room, but having been bent over the Club layout during the day and then this when I got home, my back is telling me I've done enough!!

 

More soon.

 

Rod