Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Stu,

Thanks for the information. Hopefully the photos below are near the mark. Tower with sub tower shown. Plasticard to follow.

I have gone into the mass wall construction business and am preparing the next 6 walls and towers.

Regards,

Anthony

Dear Stu,

Thank you for your reply. So I understand in some there are 2 doorways through the smaller towers onto the walkway of the larger tower and in others only one. The large tower walkway around the battlement does not lap around the exterior wall of the small tower. Once I have this sorted I shall add the top tower section.

Thanks again

Anthony

Stu,

I have a question for you. The photo below is one you posted in the thread a while ago.

How do you access the smaller tower from the interior walkway around the inside of the main tower looking over the ramparts. Does the walkway go around the small tower extension or are there 2 doors in either wall of the small tower extending the walkway through the small tower.

I have no photos showing this detail.

Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Dear PGH,

I have reviewed the photos you have provided to this thread and they are all really of outstanding quality. I have found that one photo of a part of a building  or wall may not reveal the subtleties associated with the structure. Depending on the angle of the shot, different features may be more of less apparent. Some particular features I have only seen after reviewing a number of photos of the same structure.  The photos you have provided  will faciltiate much better detail on the model and cover many areas I have not seen in any other photos. For instance the one above has a number of open areas on the right side of the castle next to the tower. I have been unable to see claerly the structures attached to the wall next to the most right placed tower. These may be the Kings toilet area, although I am not sure.  

Thank you again for your contribution to the layout as I am striving for accuracy, and given my location in Australia it is difficult to hop down and snap a few pictures. Mind you my wife has suggested on more than one occassion the layout is a good reason for a thorough visit to Wales!

Regards,

Anthony

David ,

That is fine by me. I agree it is one of the best pictures of the castle I have seen and I have over a hundred.

Dear PGH,

Thanks for the photo. I don't have it. Of course the trouble with photos is the colour variation. That is why I wondered if any one who has been there can comment. All photos of Conwy, Penmaenmawer and Bangor are most appreciated.

Regards Anthony

Dear all,

Can anyone tell me if the colour of the foundation stone work at post 265 is close to the prototype. I think it was originally under the foundation stonework still covering the tower to the left , but that material has deteriorated leaving the foundation stone work exposed, with dirt and rubbish partly covering it, but I am unsure. Any reply on this subject would be appreciated.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear All,

I have nearly completed the section of castle wall being worked on. I still need to add dirt and vegetation at the bottom of the wall but all the stone work on the wall itself is completed.

Photos below.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

A little more work on the castle. Photos below.

Ian the wood has disappeared. Plasticard has appeared instead!

Tower with stones inscribed on the battlement.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear Ian,

There are plenty more electronics where the micro switches came from!

More photos below as I have completed 1 tower out of 8.

Completed first tower which is the on the south east corner of the castle

aerial view of the tower showing the walkway on the inside of the battlements

Uncompleted bridge, tower and portcullis.

Tower in place with a 3MT hauling goods is front

Any replies are very welcome.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Pictures of my new lever frame and point clutch mechanism installed under a point.

12 lever frame. Build but not connected.

Point clutch for wire and tube manual point operation. The clutch has a piece of plastic between the wire and the screw, keeping a grip of the wire over the range off the point movement, but allowing movement of the wire through the clutch once the point movement has finished. This allows full movement of the lever without damaging any parts.

The lever is depressed in this photo changing the frog polarity. with the switch thrown the other way the lever will not be depressed changing the polarity.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - DEVELOPMENTS

Dear All,

Very exciting news from my point of view, as I have been able to get a manual point work via wire and tube. I have also set up a micro switch and have achieved automatic frog polarity. 1 down and only 150 more to go for the layout.

Regards,

Anthony

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear All,

Progress has again been slow with problems in trying to set up the manual point control using wire and tube. I have now sorted out the correct (I hope ) wire with polished stainless steel 1 ml- I was previously using wire 1.27 ml or .97 ml galvanised iron wire. They did not work. I think I need a second person for this with one above the layout and one below is required. Those in Brisbane will probably get a call.

Photos of more sea walls are provided below. I have been doing something I know I can get right.

Sea wall added to the left of the road under the rail tracks.

Some work on the castle has been done. I need to use dremel to get rid of the excess resin and cut the gaps to fit the wall into the tower. The windows should be fairly accurate

View looking the other way. I have added the plasticard and intricate designs to the bottom of the top of the portcullis through which the rail goes.

All replies are welcome.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

Dear Sithlord,

I am unsure what I shall bring at this stage. Perhaps some more wire for trees. I have acquired a whole selection from a power distribution board manufacturer. I also have 4 more sea walls as shown on the prior page of the thread. I am very happy with the effect. I wish I could say the same about my attempts at manual switching. Perhaps the polished steel wire will do the trick. I started another tower this evening by making the battlements. Cutting the plastic piping is not very easy and you need a very sharp blade. The sawing is easier although not practical in many places. If I focus on all of the towers and cut the rest of the battlements I might hone my skills in this area.The other issue limiting castle production is the need to mould some more castle stone walls. The weather is not very conducive to such activities.

I have now received the three China deliveries including 310 servos and 250 extension cords, 200 terminal blocks and 400 micro switches. I expect I shall use my share by the time I am finished. I also received my Fairburn today. I now have 4 locos to run in.  I shall see you Saturday.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

Dear 37038,

Thanks for the reply. I have started work on the castle. It is hard work cutting out the tiny slits in the castle walls.  Putting on the plasticard and painting is a lot easier.

Photos of progress to date.

There is 4 layers of ply in the walls making it difficult to drill and file through the narrow slits. The lines show the start of rock facings covered in vegetation. I have tried to make the openings accurate matching the 200 odd pictures I have of the castle..

The towers are plumbing piping. I should drill a slit in each battlement but not sure how to do it with the very narrow slit required. I might drill a small hole and then use the .2 ml saw which has a removable blade. I need to cast some stone walls out of Queen Bee to provide the flexible material to wrap around the towers

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAGON RAIL LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear Simond and All,

Thanks for the recommendations. I shall check out the web sites recommended for more ideas. I appreciate your comments. The reason I thought of threaded rod was the ease of locking in the metal bars connecting the pivot points ie the rods.

I have attempted again to set op a point using wire and tube with the help of Ross. Thanks for your assistance. I think both lots of wire I have used will not do the job. Both are galvanised iron wire. The first was 1.25 ml and would go through the tube but was just a little large in diameter. The second was .97 ml in diameter and would work the point most of the time but did tend to bend. I have yet to get the lever frame and will source polished steel wire .1m in diameter. I hope it will work. 

Accordingly I have stopped wiring and trying to do points for now. I focussed this week end on the sea wall at Conwy. Photos are attached. 

Ivatt 2 MT with small fuel train travels past Conwy castle.

I think I shall tackle the castle next and see how it goes.

Only the first section of the wall has been capped. I shall do the rest on the next modelling session.

The top of the turret was made with modelling clay and I am very happy with the effect.

Hope you enjoy the photos. At least I have moved on with something visible. Please add to the thread with a reply.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

Dear Simond,

This is my attempt to provide a clearer picture of the lifting section of the base boards.

Lifting section is flat and level with the left base board. The right base board is higher by the width of the frame. Of the 2 metal bars in yellow connecting the threaded rod, one is in front of the other as shown in my original diagram. They will  be held in place by nuts secured on the threaded rod. The brown sections are wooden blocks cut into V shapes to make the lifting process easier and prevent the lifted surfaces catching. The house is merely shown to show you the top of the lifting section. There are metal plates screwed into the framework providing stability for the threaded rods.

The lifting board section is raised in this diagram and rests on another wooden block cut to the appropriate angle secured to the base board on the right. The raised board will not be flat in the up raised position. The amount of the tilt will be dependent on the difference in the length of the 2 yellow coloured metal plates connecting the threaded rods.

I think this is the best explanation can provide.

Please let me know what you think.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

]WELSH DRAGON RAIL LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear All,

Stu thanks for your engagement with the thread entries. They were very much appreciated.

I have now finished all of the wiring for the hidden and scenic tracks apart from the point frogs. I need to set up the points with the switching mechanisms, both automatic and manual in order to position the micro lever switches to change polarity as the point switches. I have tried one micro switch with wire to the track and power source. It worked on the unengaged position and then switched polarity when I manually depressed the lever so I know it will work if I can get it set up properly with the wire and tube manual switching. I have enclosed 2 rather poor quality photos- it is hard to take good photos under the layout. They show a small number of the 15 or so  12 input terminal switch blocks. All of these are wired and labelled with the track number recorded in the wiring plan previously attached to this thread. I have attached a clearer copy.  

Wiring plan for Conwy scenic area. Main bus line is from the controller. There are then 4 sub busses form the main bus line. 2 are the main tracks one left and one right, the other two are the northern and southern goods areas. The green and yellow lines are the positive power line for the tracks with detection. the switches are on/of switches to fault find. As there will be 35 sub districts I shall have 35 on/off switches plus a few extra for the track detection modules. 

Northern hidden track wiring plan. The track detection module is very obvious in this plan.

Photo of a few of the terminal strips now all completed

Any posts to this thread are gratefully accepted.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

Dear Stu,

I think you are right. Then original post contained the following sentence.

"The access port will sit on 4 pieces of wood cut at 45 degrees with matching angles attached to the access port."

Do you think this will address the issue you have raised, as it should minimise any binding between the frames as the lifted section is being lifted?

regards,

Anthony

Dear SD,

I think I need to re-explain the lifting mechanism. The rod on which I have attached handles and the one to the left of it will act like an esky handle to lift up the layout section. Each handle is paired with another rod anchored to the base board to the left of the lifting panel. The 2 rods on the far left going through the stable layout board will act as a pivot point through which the lifted section will pivot up and over the anchored section. With an angle of say 60 degrees on the brown retaining blocks on the anchored layout section the lifted section will sit above the anchored one. The pivoting rods and the rods on the lifted section will be supported by metal plates either side of the of the frame work being lifted therefore reducing wear on the timber frames. The tricky issue is that with the lifting rods being different lengths the board will end up on a tilt once it is resting over the anchored board. This should not be an issue if everything on the board is properly secured. 

All replies or comments are most welcome as I am after critical comment as provided by SD. Hopefully this post explains the concept better than my original.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAGON RAIL PROPOSED FRAME TO ELEVATE AN ACCESS SECTION

Dear All,

Please find enclosed a plan of a proposed metal frame made from 12mm threaded rod and metal plates designed to elevate an access section of the layout. The light grey rectangular shape is the section of baseboard comprising the access port. The darker grey lines either side represent permanently fixed baseboards. The access port is designed to be lifted up and over the left side of the layout.

The metal plates will be held in place by welded nuts on the threaded rod. The threaded rod runs through the layout framework in 8 places as shown on the diagram. On each frame surface where the threaded rod runs through it there will be a metal plate either side of the frame work to take the weight of the frame as it lifts to prevent wear on the timber framework.  I am thinking of adding the type of hydraulic arms found in car boots to assist with the lifting of the access port against the outside metal plates connecting the threaded rod. The access port will swing up and over the left side framework as pictured. Wooden blocks cut at 60 degrees will take the weight of the access port. 

The lifted layout surface in the open position will not be horizontal given the different lengths of the metal plates joining the threaded rod. I do not think that this matters. Perhaps I should move the right side of the 2 frames closer together to minimise the difference in the length of the metal plates involved.

The access port will sit on 4 pieces of wood cut at 45 degrees with matching angles attached to the access port. 4 bolts will ensure the access port is properly seated.

Are there any comments or improvements that can be incorporated in this design. Do you think it is practical and feasible. I am after constructive criticism or concurrence with the plan.

Stu to answer your question on rail expansions we have had a number of days over very hot days ie over 35 degrees in the last week and there has been no discernible movement in the track. There is the occasion gap but none deliberately added. I hope this is not an issue as to date it appears to be OK. The shed is insulated but still does get hot on very warm days. Willing to listen to comments on this also.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

Dear All,

The Sith Lord very generously assisted with dextrous use of his light sabre (perhaps that was his soldering iron- I was too busy under the layout to notice) for a day in assisting with soldering the copper attachments to the wiring for insertion into the terminal strips. His very generous assistance increased the pace of the wiring by at least 5 times, as I did not have to cut wire to length, arise from underneath the layout, solder the components required and then disappear under the layout again to connect wires. I just sat there in my reclining in my purpose purchased chair, cut the wire to length after which Kevin handed me the ready components.  

He is right though, the heat was a bit of a shocker and my level of fitness with abdominal strength will continue to improve from a mediocre level to a quite high level,  with continued activity under the layout of the soldering variety. Who needs a gym when you are reclining  at 45 degrees for extended periods! I have also learnt an important lesson as alluded to by the Sith Lord. Always ensure you are looking at your soldering iron when reaching for it no matter how contorted that me require you to be. Artizen can be assured none of the boards constructed to date tilt or raise to assist with this process, although the next board on the left side will raise to enable easy access to the operational section of the layout. I might include a proposed design for the lifting mechanism in the next thread.

Once again thanks for the assistance Sith Lord.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAGON RAIL - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Stu,

Thanks for the comments above. Photos below are of some of the many terminal strips I have connected to the droppers. I need to secure the terminal strips to supports and then finish wiring the point micro switches and laying the tube and wire.

Photos below

First area to be completed with terminal input for each rail was the hidden track to the north of Conwy. These two terminal strips are 4 detection tracks in the same geographic region each comprised of 3 tracks. Tracks from inner to outer are orange/white for hidden loop down, purple and yellow for hidden loop up, black and red for fiddle yard loop down and grey and pink for hidden fiddle yard loop down. There is only one output to for each common 3 rails in the detection area and these for negative go to the bus , but for positive go to the detection module

Each input is clearly labelled with a track number recorded on the track wiring diagram. ie HUL8 = Hidden up loop track 8

I have yet to secure all of the terminal strips. As you can see some are still hanging down.

Next task is to secure the terminal strips, attach the busses to the terminal strips and wire the micro switches.

Please reply if possible as all comments are useful.

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAFGON RAIL LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS

Dear All,

Exciting news as I have received my 400 micro switches and 200 terminal strips. All of the 1st stage droppers have been attached and I can now wire up the 2nd stage droppers to the terminal strips for connection to the sub bus lines. The main and sub bus lines are also laid. I have many track detection areas for which the positive wire has to terminate for each track in the detection area in the detection module. I have yet to purchase these but am likely to go for DCC4PC as they provide Rail com feed back. I identify the location of each 16 input detection feed back module, attach the relevant mines to the positive droppers and run them back to a terminal bloc for temporary attachment to the bus. When I get the detection modules I can undo the terminal block and attach the detection module. That way I have trains running before I get the detection modules.

I have tried taking photos of the mass of wiring but they are very unclear and do not provide the scale of the wiring. I should finish connection to the terminal strips today. I have tested some flex track and a point hooked up to a micro switch back to the end of the strip terminal, checking the frog polarity on either route, powering them all off a single wire and they worked! There is not much to see for a lot of effort. Given this is my first layout I am feeling a sense of achievement after 12 months of construction.

Back to the wiring

Regards,

Anthony Ashley

WELSH DRAGON RAILWAY - LAYOUT DEVELOPMENTS 

Dear all,

Further work on the wiring for the layout. I have managed to terminate 4 detection areas each with three tracks into a couple of terminal blocks. I intend to put every rail through a terminal block to assist with fault finding as each rail can therefore be disconnected. I have also included a photo of my vehicle of choice under the layout.of 4 tracks with three.

Photos below.

The lowest chair I could find provides my vehicle for moving around under the layout for extended periods. It is quire comfortable and should facilitate further wiring under the layout I hope. Further experimentation required. it is quite a laid back affair.

My first 2 terminal blocks completed and tested. It contains all of the wires for the 12 tracks in the detection area (actually 4 detection areas, one for each line). I have grouped the rail for each track of the detection area one after the other  first with the negative and then with the positive. The lower terminal strip is the inside 2 lines and the top the outside two lines. Colours form bottom and left to right are orange, white, purple, yellow, black, red, grey and pink. The inputs from the droppers enter the top of the terminal strip and the outputs to the bus lines or to the detection module are on the bottom of the terminal strip ie 3 inputs become 1 output.

This photos clearly shows the output wires. I have tested each output and all pieces of track operate through the terminal strip. Very exciting to have something moving on more that one piece of rail.

Picture of the copper core cable used to go into the terminal strip. All wires have been soldered to these pieces of copper. Double loops are used where I can fit them into the strip. With three pieces of track needing to be connected electrically for track detection, I am using three terminal points. All 3 have an input with the outside two connected to the inner via a loop as shown joining the two inputs. One output is then required from the middle of the 3.

I shall be labelling each terminal output with for each piece of track recorded on my wiring diagram. The terminal strip will also be numbered with the detection area where relevant.

I have started running the main  bus and sub bus lines to connect to the terminal outputs.

I have also ordered 400 lever micro switches and 200 terminal strips from China to assist with frog polarity. 200 servos to follow!

All replies are encouraged as a bit of feed back is great and gets the tread to the top of the list again.

Regards

Anthony Ashley