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ChrisG

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Blog Entries posted by ChrisG

  1. ChrisG

    Work starts

    By ChrisG,

    Work has started on converting my loft to take the planned model of the line from Cowes to Newport on the Isle of Wight in 4mm scale (OO gauge). This is scheduled to take about 3 weeks......
  2. ChrisG

    Loft update - day 3

    By ChrisG,

    This is the state of play after Day 3 in the loft - this photo is looking towards the site of Newport Station. The trusses in the foreground will come out, the roof now has supports leaning on other brick walls which will leave the central space clear. The hatch will have a drop down cover for operating sessions so we don't lose anyone in the abyss!
     
    Taking stock today indicates that the finished size will be slightly larger than I had planned for, allowing a little bit of breathing space all around the layout. Which is nice!
     
    Chris
  3. ChrisG

    Revised trackplan

    By ChrisG,

    Been a bit quiet of late. The loft is ready. I have been assembling small shelving units to go under the baseboards and have moved all the railway "stuff" up from the garage into the loft. Still need to get a workbench and something to sit on up there. Baseboards are on order from Elite Baseboards whom I met at the Bristol show a few weeks ago. Installation is scheduled for late June/early July.
     
    I made reasonable progress on the model of Newport Engine shed but got to the point where the accumulation of small errors of measurement meant that the top level of the roof was just not working so I scrapped it and started again. Windows and doors thankfully were salvaged, however.
     
    The layout plan has evolved. Now the space can be accurately measured and all the obstacles like the hatch and the purlin struts accurately located it became apparent that I was trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot. So I went back to an earlier idea which is that Medina wharf would be represented by hidden sidings on a continuous run. Coal trains heading anti-clockwise towards Ryde or Sandown will travel loaded. They will therefore represent coal being delivered when they leave Newport and coal arriving from Medina Wharf when they arrive at Newport. Clockwise trains will run empty, representing empties from other Island locations when they arrive at Newport and empties to Medina when they leave Newport. One road will be kept for continuous running of anything for fun and running in turns.
     
    Chris
  4. ChrisG
    Giles and John from Elite Baseboards arrived with the boards and worked like Trojans in the sweltering heat. 29 degrees with the air conditioning unit on full blast! The boards are now installed for Cowes to Newport and brilliant they are too! Now it's up to me to get the track laid and wired up, make difficult decisions regarding analogue and DCC, etc. etc. Years of fun lie ahead!
     
     
    Chris
  5. ChrisG
    I'm busy wiring the hidden loops and staging sidings. This board has the most wiring of any because I am using electric turnout motors in the hidden sections, as well as infra-red detectors for automation, and a separate control panel for the hidden section which will hang off the Newport viaduct board. 10 turnouts, 8 infra-red detectors, spread over 7 separate boards, though most of them will have less wiring than in this picture. I'm keeping an index of connections and colours as I go, which from experience I know is invaluable. Peco motors and PL32 switches are being used - I have had bad experiences with SEEPs before and also with the cheaper and more simple Peco accessory switches.
     
    I was a bit worried about the quality of my soldering so I watched a few Youtube "how to solder" videos and found that most people seem to struggle in the same way I do. The joints are ugly but they are secure and that is what counts.
     
    Progress is slow in the sweltering heat. The two main assets needed for success are patience and method.
     
    Chris
  6. ChrisG
    From amidst the usual detritus of modelling, the hidden loops are emerging....... There are several cross baseboard track joints to be engineered in these parts. This will be the most intensive part of the construction for that reason, as well as the wiring.
  7. ChrisG

    Progress with wiring

    By ChrisG,

    Steady progress at the moment on wiring the hidden sections. The track is laid for the hidden return loops and the boards now dismantled with wiring starting in the farthest corner of the layout and gradually moving outwards, with a comprehensive wiring index being built as I go. In theory as the boards are completed they can be rejoined and when the final connection is made, the transformers plugged in and the trains working. We shall see - getting my head around the wiring of the IRDOTs was quite something for automatic shuffling of reverse loops.
     
    Chris
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