So you're going to buy a train set? UPDATE 18/07/2015

[traction]

As some of you may know I have an N-gauge Thomas the tank engine and friends layout that I built for children to play with at exhibitions.

Its a copy of the Hornby TrackMat and works very well.

 

 

What I've noticed and it's becoming more apparent is parents saying they bought a Hornby train set for a birthday or Christmas present, but it's so big they have to dismantle it once finished with, this becomes a chore so it ends up back in the box and there it stays collecting dust until found and sold on Ebay!!!

 

When they see Thomas in N-gauge they can't believe how small it is and how it would easily fit under a single bed and wouldn't need to be dismantled.

 

Before any lurkers or those new to the hobby run out and buy a train set, please look at what space you have available!

A traditional oval OO layout takes up a lot of room!

Also remember there are more train sets available from just Hornby, such as Bachmann and Dapol.

Hornby and Bachmann have train sets in OO in both analogue and digital.

Bachmann; under Graham Farish banner and Dapol have train sets in N-gauge and can be analogue or  digital.

 

There are so many to choose from it's very difficult to know which one to go for!

 

 

As I've never built a DC or analogue layout I'm sticking with digital, all of my locos have a decoder in them, so I'm completely the opposite to most people who have too many DC locos that require fitting a decoder into.

 

You could build a micro layout or end to end shelf type, but having witnessed first hand that children want to go round and round as fast as possible, usually backwards then those types of layout may need to wait until they've grown out of that stage.

 

I started this thread by saying a lot of the trains sets bought as presents end up getting left in the box, as they do require too much space, it's been said to me so many times at exhibitions with Thomas.

What is apparent is the lack of knowledge that people have about what is actually available and not knowing about N-gauge!

The models are getting better all the time, not only in terms of detail and quality but the smoothness of running.

The range available is also increasing so it pays to give N-gauge a serious look if buying a train set.

 

As the children who play with Thomas are now asking if they can move from outer loop to inner and then to centre station I thought about building another layout, but not two loops!!

Having two loops and two controllers is great when they just want to go round and round, but when they want to start synchronising cross-overs and going into a centre station, then it really needs to be one oval and only one child operating, so they are not distracted by another person controlling another loco.

 

With all this floating about, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, build an N-gauge layout from a train set and show how I go about it with the intention of children being actually able to drive into the sidings, if so wanted or just run fast round the oval.

 

Leafing through the trusty Peco N-gauge Setrack plans book, plan 1a Lapford fitted the bill perfectly, single oval, with some great scenery which would hide the fact it's a basic train set oval.

The sidings were a bit limited in Plan1b so I will add extra so that the sidings are the same as plan 1b but without the two ovals.

 

The link below shows the layout and how the scenery might look, not too difficult but will be challenging with 3 bridges.

 

http://www.osbornsmodels.com/index.asp?function=PRODUCTIMAGEWINDOW&closedelay=20000&SRC=http://www.osbornsmodels.com/ekmps/shops/osbornsmodels/images/peco-new-plan-001b-n-scale-adding-the-second-oval--7679-p%5Bekm%5D328x500%5Bekm%5D.jpg

 

So I have a plan and the size of baseboard required.

Next instalment I shall show you how I built the baseboards, I'm no carpenter, but it's light weight enough and sturdy enough to be perfectly fit for purpose.

The main thing is it works and it's not too difficult, you can always get bits cut to the right length as well.

The layout as shown in the plan only requires a baseboard 106cmx68.5cm which is a really nice size and ideal to fit under a single bed!

It would be at least twice that size in OO and I personally just don't have the room.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

 

 

 

 

[traction]

I'm not saying this is the correct way or cheap way!!!

This is the way I built the baseboards, which I find fairly easy and quick and it works.

 

I buy from a local Wickes so that I can easily nip back there should I need anything else.

It's OK driving all over to find the cheapest place but if you stuck on a Sunday afternoon and need bits then buying local does have it's advantages.

 

I use 18mm x 69mm PSE as the frame and legs.

The strengthening ribs are 18mm x 44mm

 

The basic frame 1060mm long x 607mm wide. The end of the frames are all glued and screwed together, gives an almost square corner, as long as you don't look too close.

 

 

A rough test of where the points will end up so I can adjust the position of the strengtheners so as not to clash with the point motors.

 

 

The narrow strengthener, I cut a notch in the centre of each length about half the width on both, I was able to push these together to form the the cross shape. Take apart then glue it all up!

The ends are then glued and screwed through the side frame.

If you were to do this on a OO layout you would need to add more supports along the width, in the photo below that means going from top to bottom every 300mm or so to give more stability to the top as it would be much bigger than this, it may also be better to use a thicker plywood top maybe 9mm or 12mm.

 

 

The top is 5.5mm plywood and it comes as a sheet 1220mmx607mm, so I just used this cut down to the correct length, its not as wide as in the plan but as I'm only going to be doing a single oval the 80mm wont make any difference.

The track pins I use will go all the way through the baseboard, Once I've ballasted I do remove the track pins it just makes you swear when you forget one and drag your hand over it when wiring something up!

 

 

The legs are just the 18mm x 69mm cut to the same length and then glued and screwed together down one edged this forms a right angle that fits nicely in the corners on the baseboard.

They are held in place by 6mm set screws two screws on one side and one screw on another.

It's a nice fairly rigid structure and doing the legs like this I don't need to add cross braces.

At this size you could get away without the legs, and just put it on a table, but this just finishes it off and makes it a stand alone bit of furniture, and for less than £50 I don't think it's too bad and I still have screws/bolts etc that I can use on something else.

 

Next up will be the train set!

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[traction]

Having built the baseboard to suit the layout it was time to pick a train-set.

Fairly easy choice as it was N-gauge and digital.

 

I didn't need anything too over the top for a controller as I have a few DCC controllers so a Graham Farish set with the good old faithful EZ-Command would fit the bill perfectly.

 

This is the set I bought and it is a really nice set!

 

 

 

I have to say, if you're feeling down or need a bit of a jump start buy a simple train set, the excitement you get when you open it up for the first time will put you straight back to being a 10 year old and you can't wait to get it set up and the train running!

You just want to build a layout, it's really quite therapeutic, well that's what I told the wife

 

I also bought an extra couple of points and 5 x double straights which will allow me to complete the planned layout.

 

As any sane person would do, it had to be tested, to make sure all was OK you understand (it was far too tempting not to!)

It also gives me a chance to make sure it will all fit on the board and get it positioned correctly for the wiring up and point motor positioning.

I will be using a power bus and droppers, although I could as suggested in the instructions use staples in the points to make them all live, similar to the Hornby point clips, then just use the standard power clips to plug in to the back straight which will not be seen when the back board is in place.

For reliability and neatness going for the droppers.

 

 

 

This is the first run straight from the box once I'd got the track pinned down.

Very impressed!

 

 

Next time will be wiring, I'm writing this and taking photos whilst building the layout so it's coming to you as I'm doing it.

I might get a few bits done, but might not be much more until the weekend.

 

Lets see how we go.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[hornbyandbf3fan]

Hi Ian

 

Nice idea for a thread, lets hope it is of use to someone

 

If i may add something, I've found that at exhibitions kids are interested in shunting so it may be an idea to add some sidings in the middle if you have space. It should keep them occupied as they get older and grow tired of watching trains go round and round in circles so will hopefully stop them getting bored with the hobby. Anyway, just my   tuppenceworth and good luck with the rest of the project 

[altone]

You know, it's nice too see a thread here that's not about counting rivets but encouraging more people to enter the market.

 

Practically, I should be modelling N gauge but stuck with OO because it's what I remembered and my hands/eyes aren't up to 

actually modelling in N.

 

That Cornish Riviera set looks pretty good too, although personally I'd prefer steam.

 

The underbed layout is a great way to get kids using it regularly, on that note I'd suggest hinged legs with supports so it can 

quickly fold up and slide under the bed. (Much easier than unscrewing the legs at the end of each session)

 

Also as commented on before, shunting and a run around might keep the new recruits happy for longer.

 

Great job, and I hope you make sure when wiring up that it's reliable, 

Kid's just lose interest when stuff doesn't work straight away.

 

Cheers 

 

Gerry C

[Legend]

Yep , this is a great thread. I've got a large roundy roundy in the loft, lots of locos , would cost a fortune to go DCC. However if I started a small n guage layout..................

 

We do need a bit of fun. Opening a train set in a new gauge and setting it up could be just what is needed, especially with improved models in n these days

[traction]

Thanks for the comments.

 

As you can see from the plan there will be 3 sidings into the middle of the layout.

I've done this with a single oval on purpose so that as only one child would be able to play they will need to use the oval to shunt.

 

Having taken Thomas&Friends to exhibitions for the last 5 odd years there is no way to let two children loose while shunting as well.

As for folding legs........for me too much like hard work!

Much easier to just have removable legs which to be honest are easily removed (maybe a little time consuming) as there are only wing nuts holding the bolts on from the inside.

The layout is small enough so could be placed on a table or even run on the floor, the beauty of having the cross supports thinner as everything will be protected by the wider outer frame!

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[traction]

The wiring is now complete, for the track.

There will still be more to do when it comes to connecting up the point motors.

 

This is where if you want to you can fit the underlay, be it cork, foam or what ever else you fancy.

As can be seen I've not used any underlay.

I've used it a few times but for me I just fix it to the baseboard.

 

Before soldering any wires I did mark out the position of the points and tie bars so I could drill all the holes to fit the point motors.

These will be mounted below the baseboard, I have cut holes in the baseboard before and connected the point motor directly to the point but as these N-gauge points are quite small and the hole required is quite big, it can make the points unstable, so I tend to mount them through the baseboard now.

 

 

First thing I must say is that the train set doesn't come with any means of making all sections live!

It does say in the instructions that you can make 'point clips' from staples.

Well staples are too big, as in thickness of metal.

I had some Hornby point clips for OO-gauge and cut these down and bent them to fit.

It does actually work and the loco doesn't hit them, I wouldn't like to rely on it long term but for those who don't have a soldering iron at least you will be able to run the whole layout until you do get one.

 

It shows just how big the OO-gauge point clips are!

 

 

 

I have actually wired it using a copper tape power bus.

I know a lot of people will think this wrong, but on this size layout it really isn't going to be a problem, I have on my much larger OO layout used 2.5mm² ring main cable with 1mm² droppers.

 

I drill next to the track around the layout where I intend to fit the droppers,  this shows the end of the siding where I will attach the droppers, these will be mainly hidden by the buffer stop.

 

 

The copper tape power bus, for the time being the cable which goes to the controller is just hanging down in some connector block until I know exactly where it will be positioned, this will then be tidied up at the end.

 

 

Once all soldering has been finished then connect it all up and make sure the loco runs on every siding with the point switched in either direction.

Now will be the time to paint the track and rails if you so wish before the ballasting, or if not painting them then it's ballasting.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[traction]

Taken a while, but work gets in the way!

Although it does pay for all of this.

 

I have already made my buildings and for this layout , the bridges are all Scalescenes, but the buildings will be Metcalfe Models cardboard structures.

They are a reasonable price, easy to build and don't look too bad when finished and placed on the layout. Details can also be added.

I placed the buildings on the layout to give me an idea of how it would look and if they were the right size and would fit.

I marked the positions out and removed them to carry on with everything else.

 

Previously I had pre-drilled the holes for the point motors and located all of the dropper wires.

You can see I've just laid the track directly on to the baseboard, the choice is yours if you want to use cork or the high density foam to use as track bed.

The Peco foam underlay insert is being discontinued and it also has a limited life span before it starts to crumble( many years though)

 

The beauty of this underlay is the track just fits into it, there are pre-moulded shapes for crossing and points.

I've seen it used on an exhibition layout, where the baseboard was painted and the foam just glued down(sparingly) the gaps between the two lines was filled with fine ballast.

I have to say it was the smoothest running N-gauge layout I had seen, and like the operator said, as he changes his layout every 5 or so years and can very easily reuse the track and just replace the foam underlay.

 

I ran the longest loco around the track with a pen on the outside front corner and inside middle, this gives me a line all the way round the tracks, which I can lay the ballast up to. I know that anything past the ballast line will not hit the loco.

 

 

 

 

Once this is done, I just sprinkle the ballast over, brush it all in and keep it to the lines marked earlier, lines shown in red for clarity.

I then use a mist bottle to spray everything with water so it stops the ballast from moving when I apply the glue.

PVA with water and a drop of washing up liquid. I normally use 75% water to 25% glue as it doesn't then go rock hard, but will allow the track to be lifted fairly easily.

 

I then run a loco round the whole layout to make sure everything still works as it should, I've done this before and found that a section of track had lost all power!

I added another set of droppers to this section and all worked fine, never did find out what it was, so now I test after every stage as it's easy to just add a couple of droppers if required.

 

 

As this layout will have a number of bridges, I built these and fitted them into the approximate positions, and then ran the longest loco round the layout to make sure it wouldn't hit them.

Once correctly positioned these were glued into position, and the loco checked again just to make sure they hadn't moved.

 

 

 

There are lots of ways to tackle the landscaping, this is mine.

I now use card board to fill in the roads to join the bridges together as these will be high level.

I then use a combination of polystyrene, which is glued to the baseboard and rolled up newspaper to create the landscape, the rolled up newspaper is held in place with masking tape, didn't actually take a photo of the rolled up newspaper.....idiot!

 

 

Once this has all been done you can use the plaster bandage to cover everything, or strips of cut up newspaper which has been coated either side with watered down PVA.

The plaster bandage is very good a hardens very quickly, the only issue I found is if you want to you use small strips, it tends to just clog itself up and you can't then straighten it out, so the strips do have to be fairly large.

The other thing is it's white, so if you do happen to drip it on some of the scenery, you will need to either remove it quickly or paint over it later.

 

Using the PVA glue with just a very small amount of water to help this it, is messy but you can cut very small paper strips and brush the glue over both sides then lay it over the polystyrene/rolled up newspaper landscape.

The other nice thing, is if you do happen to get a bit of glue on any scenery, you can wipe the excess off and when it dries, it dries clear so you can't really see it!

 

I've used both methods and found both to be very straight forward, just make sure you buy decent plaster bandage, I got some sheets of Ebay and it didn't go hard!!

 

I lay the paper strips down one way then the other and once I've built up about 3 layers just leave it all to dry overnight.

I then check to see if any more needs to be added just to give a little more strength, sometimes it's OK sometimes I may add another few layers, but this time I use neat PVA brushed onto the existing land-form, place the newspaper strips on top then brush more PVA over that.

Provides a nice shell for painting and covering with the scatters, static grass.

 

 

Just need to wait for the glue to dry and then I can begin on the other scenery items.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[class"66"]

Looking realy good here

[traction]

A couple of photos to show how it starts to come together once the newspaper has been painted and the scatters are slowly added.

I start with normal scatter and then start to add different shades and lengths of static grass.

I normally use brown poster paint for painting, but I've run out, I did however have this burnt umber colour which is more red but looks quite good.

 

 

 

Just need to continue with the whole layout adding the scatter, then the static grass.

Once all dried I will add more static grass in different shades and lengths, spread over different areas, to give some colour and depth and variety.

I then start to add bushes and the like.

 

Thanks for the comments so far.

 

Ian

[AireValley1962]

This is looking so much better than I would have imagined(that is, if I had done it) - keep up the great work!

[traction]

Thank you for the comments.

It's quite amazing how much a layout changes with addition of static grass and trees.

 

From this:-

 

Which shows how I start with just the painted landscape, then apply the normal dark green scatter, then static grass on top.

 

 

To this:-

 

 

After one type of static grass is added, trees, hedges and fencing.

The white around the bases of the trees is just the glue still drying!

There's no planned way I do it, just stand the trees up and shift them about till they look about right, I do try and keep them in groups though, with maybe the odd one or two all on their own.

I use the static grass puffer bottle to blast the static grass below the trees to cover the roots or where they get glued into the base.

Everything else is just sprinkled on a bit at a time until it looks about right.

I do like to add a lot of trees, it seems to bring the layout to life and takes the bareness away.

 

Once all this is dry I can then add a bit more static grass of different lengths and colours, and some foliage over the static grass to give some more texture and depth.

I've used Metcalfe Buildings, which are fairly cheap easy to construct and look good once on the layout, none of which are glued down at the minute so I can change my mind and move them about, still need to work on the factory yard area.

 

 

 

Still need to make a controller shelf with switch panel, after this it will be all down to adding people and the little detail bits.

 

Just to prove it's still the same train set:-

 

 

Cheers

 

Ian

 

[ess1uk]

Great work as usual there Ian.

[traction]

Once you've got it to that stage, it's time to play trains!

Have fun, the details and point motors can all be added later.

If you don't stop to enjoy it, then it becomes a chore and you soon lose interest.

 

I've now built the control panel.

All made from 2mm thick grey card, glued together using Rocket card glue as it goes off very fast and is very strong, excellent stuff.

Just need to be careful as it is very thin and can go everywhere.

Painted it black then a couple of coats of varnish.

 

 

As can be seen I'm using Peco passing contact lever switches, these give a momentary contact in either direction, so you can move one switch down and the point will move, the switch will stay down, but there is no continuous power being applied to the coils as they would over heat and burn out!

They are not too expensive and work very well, also allow to be positioned in the console or as I've done with the cover plates.

Also using a separate 16vAC power supply to power the CDU that is inside the box.

The CDU slowly charges up and stores this charge so when you move the switch this stored energy is used to give the extra kick required to move the point, these point motors can take over 4amps to move, so a CDU is in my opinion essential.

If not used you could find that moving the switch doesn't actually move the point!

 

 

The point motors I'm using are the SEEP PM1 type with the built in switch, these are mounted below the baseboard.

To save me having to work upside down I prewire the point motor.

As I'm using Insulfrog points the switch will be used to operate LED's in the control panel.

 

Now the switch is not really a switch on these, its a washer that slides across and makes contact with a different part of the circuit:-

 

 

I've taken the bar out that moves left/right which operates the tie bar on the point itself.

You can see the washer laying on some silver circuitry which is part of the point motor.

When the bar moves left or right, it also moves the pin which in turn moves the washer, which touches either the right side or left side circuit.

 

 

There is a bit of circuitry at the back of the pin this is the common, the photo above shows the "switch" touching the right hand side contact.

The next photo shows how I've prewired the point, I do all of mine this way, the RED/BLACk & GREEN is to power the coils, the black is common the red and green will move the pin left or right.

The WHITE/YELLOW & BLUE is for the switch, where blue is the common:-

 

 

The cardboard is to keep the pin centered when fitting it into the point motor and finally fixing it to the baseboard.

On these I normally slot the holes at each end where the screws fit so that I can just slightly move the whole thing left or right under the baseboard to give me the correct distance of travel.

N-gauge points don't move that far and if these aren't positioned correctly they will switch the point but the built it switch won't actually change from one side to the other!

 

Once all connected up it's just a matter of making sure the points move in the required direction from the swtiches.

If not it's just a case of swapping the RED & GREEN wires over.

 

I've set this up so that when the Lever is in the down poisition the lower of the two routes will be taken.

It will make more sense once I've got the panel LED's which will fit in the two circles below the coloured boxes on the mimic diagram.

The coloured boxes relate to which colour lever switch you need to use to move that point.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[traction]

I forgot about the backscene!

 

Very complicated, 2mm cardboard joined together then a panel glued down the back across the join to hold the two together.

Cardboard was cut and glued to the back to act as supports, each braced with a small bit of card.

Along the bottom I glued in triangles which I drilled through straight into the baseboard, these are held in place with dowels as it's a ll a really tight fit seems to work OK.

The front was painted with tester pots SKY colour!

If I start to take it apart regularly then I will need to use bolts as the card will become too worn:-

 

 

 

A photo of the control panel fitted to the layout:-

 

 

Just looked a nice shot for me!

 

 

A short video of the train running, I never can remember what the correct way the train should run on a single oval!

 

 

Overall really impressed with this little train set, hopefully this has shown what can be achieved in a relatively short space of time with a basic trainset and a couple of extra bits of track.

The track plan is very basic but that doesn't really matter, adding the scenery and details are the transforming features.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[AireValley1962]

That is looking quite good.  It should really be spectacular when finally complete.  (Not that it isn't already . . . )

[steve1023]

Great work there Ian. Very interesting and giving me ideas......

[traction]

Great!

Hopefully it inspires folks to have a go at something new.

I think I worked out that the total cost of the layout so far is less than £400, and I still have lots of items that can be used on other layouts.

 

It's great fun, but can become addictive.

 

I hope it does give people the incentive to have a go.

 

Thanks for all the kind comments.

Still lots of detailing bits to add, but the main stuff is done and you can play trains now and do the detailing as and when.

It's not taken that long to build either, which is the nice thing about doing these sorts of layouts.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[Ramblin Rich]

Ian, this is a really good 'next step' tutorial, very nice result. Perhaps Bachmann should include your information in the set box...

[traction]

Thank you!

 

I've always wondered why non of the manufacturer's don't ask Paul Lunn to come up with a range of track plans for them.

He uses setrack for his plans, and his finished drawings really do inspire you to have a go, and they would look good on the box of a trains set.

A bit like the Lego kits, where you can see what it could be made into!

 

It would be fairly straight forward to have say 3 plans and the train set could be made into any one of the three, with the addition of extra track, with a list of possible scenic items that would need to be bought to complete the full layout.

Doesn't need to have loads more track, although with having 3 plans it could be small, medium and large; to get the final layout.

 

So many choices, and if the people buying the train sets are like me, having a guide or image to work to is so much easier than trying to come up with one myself.

I really don't have a clue about the real railway system or practices etc, it's very easy to plan a layout that just doesn't work, which is where the frustration disappointment and ultimately lets just forget it, mind set creeps in.

Which is why I like to use Paul's plans as they are mostly based on real locations that he's seen.

 

Lets hope this is useful to those who are looking at buying a train set for a birthday or Christmas present!

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[ian]

Only just found this thread Ian, good work.

 

Going way back to the electrical droppers, you friendly local model shop should be able to supply you with Peco PL-82 Pwer Feed Joiners - these are fishplates (rail joiners) with feed wires soldered on. You get 4 with red wires and 4 with black for around £6.

 

Pull the joiner off one end of the track with some pliers, slip one of these beasties on and drill a suitable hole in the baseboard to drop the wire through.

 

 

[traction]

Thanks Ian,

 

Forgot all about those!

In the picture it shows the wires coming from the side.

I did look in a shop the other day and they do come from the side, they would be much better if they were soldered end on to the fish plate so they were hanging straight down, still for those not wanting to solder its a really good way to attach droppers!

 

Thanks for the reminder.

 

Will hopefully get chance to fit the panel LED's over the weekend, although working on Saturday!

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[traction]

I've now fitted the LED's to the mimic diagram.

The point motors did need to be adjusted very slightly just to make sure when operated each LED did light up.

After tweaking the point motors, the switches now operate the LED's correctly, which is good news.

I'm sure over a period of time the switches/point motors will wear, but the way I've fitted them means they can easily be replaced if required!

 

 

 

These are the DCC concepts green 12v pre-wired LED's.

They come in a pack of 5 all the same colour, but there is different colours available.

They are good value for money as they come pre-wired with the resistor and the chrome bezel.

 

I drilled the hole 5.5mm and pushed them all through and secured with the lock nut on the back.

To make as few connections as possible I connected all of the neutral ((black wires) from the LED's together in some chock block, from this I then took one blue cable to the pluggable chock block fitted to the outside of the control panel.

 

 

I've then run white and yellow cables to each switch on the point motors and connected them through the pluggable chock block, this allows the panel to be removed quickly when required.

 

 

In the photo above the Red,Green wires go to each point motor the two white wires at the extreme right are the 16v AC power supply for the CDU.

Each white and yellow wire goes to it's corresponding white and yellow wire on each switch.

As can be seen below the wires coming from the point motor.

 

 

As shown above the wires coming from the point motor, all of these go into a chock block which is fitted to the underside of the baseboard.

I then connect wires from these chock blocks to the pluggable chock block on the control panel.

On the point motor there is the blue wire which is the common side of the switch, I have connected the positive side of the power supply to the common on each switch.

I've used a spare power supply, 12v DC 300ma to power the LED's.

The neutral side of the power supply connects to the single blue wire coming from the control panel.

 

Now when you operate the point levers, the point motors move and causes the switch to move turning one LED off and the other on.

so not only can you see the direction of the point by the lever position, you can also see by which LED is lit.

 

The layout is virtually complete, just a few detailing bits to put on, and the buildings to glue down.

I'm not going to do any of that, as this layout will now be sold to fund the next project.

 

I've not kept all of the receipts but most of them, from what I can remember the total cost to build the layout to this point is approx £380

This includes the train set, so controller, loco and coaches included as well.

Hopefully I will get that for it as that price is only covering the cost of all the materials.

 

Hopefully this thread has been useful to someone and inspired others to have a dabble at something else quick and easy.

 

Cheers

 

Ian

[47137]

I found the switches on the SEEP motors to be a real pain on an N gauge layout - not enough travel to give a reliable contact both ways. So well done for getting them to work! If the switches give trouble again, but they work reliably one way but the other, then you could use a hex inverter IC to drive the LEDs on the control panel. Something like the Texas Instruments SN5407 will sink 30mA or so, ample for any LED. Two inverters per point, so one hex inverter chip will drive the three pairs of LEDs.

 

Alternatively,for a "non-electronics" solution there are reed switches which have a single pole changeover contact. If you can fit a tiny neodymium magnet onto the armature of the SEEP motor (or perhaps a bit of stiff wire with a magnet glued onto it), there is another possible way out.

 

- Richard.