MattB

So I see we have lost all the images from the recent server problem. Oh well mine weren't that interesting just lots of wood frame and plywood! Nearly finished the 3 month marathon of building baseboards and other woodwork and getting it installed. I have now completed 14 baseboards and 15 top decks. Still to do are two 650mm long removable bridge sections and the main 1.2m long (x200mm wide) control panel. I was rather pleased that after all the builds around the room I was only about 10mm out horizontally. I decided to build basebuild 12 which is located next to the bench and will utilise cassette storage on the top deck and possibly a wharf for the bottom deck or other hidden storage could work but that's for the future I built baseboard 14/ 15 top deck with a gap in the support frame so I can run a spur under a bridge here. All level first time fit which was a plus. I had to rebuild baseboard 13 top deck with some extra supporting frame as it wasn't level - it is now! I bought a few more drawers from IKEA to increase storage - I can highly recommend using a cheap utility tray and got one that fits the whole tray - great for storing tools. The two photos: The one with the existing scenic layout (baseboard 1) butted up against baseboard 15 with 14 on the left. Top deck built last night installed but not secured yet. Baseboard 13 in foreground sitting ontop of a kitchen unit The one with the gap is taken from baseboard 13 looking across to baseboard 11, with baseboard 12 on the right and baseboard 10 on the left. All sitting on kitchen units with some of the new drawers installed on the right the idea being to empty the shelves for ease of access for wiring and maintenance. 2nd bridge for lower deck is wider an annoyingly straddles baseboards 11 and 10 on one side. Not yet finished the bridge support on the other side between the kitchen unit and the baseboards

Well I am still at building base board after baseboard. Work has progressed on baseboards 10,11,13 and 14. So I am nearly there. Baseboard 12 - I am not entirely sure what to do with it yet and it won't affect the main running of the layout so I am probably going to leave it for a while before constructing it. I am now at the more complicated end of the loft where I have to build the final corner which includes a removable bridge piece of the access walkway as well as being on a double deck. Some of you might wonder why the bottom board of baseboard 10 and 11 doesn't extend all the way to the back and this is because I need to get easy access underneath to do the wiring. Wiring will be fairly simple here as im only using insulfrog points and dc control on the top deck but there still will be quite a few lights and other animations that I am planning plus point motors. This is the design im using for the bridge, I have watched quite a few videos and this guys bridge seems to be the best method. Making my lift out - Part 1 - YouTube Ive used 12mm ply for resting the bridge on because I need to cut out the slots for the metal contacts I have sourced the dowels that he used and do agree that they are the best for lining things up. My 9mm ply and 12mm ply is just thick enough to take these dowels. However I don't have to worry much because there is a 2mm cork sheet being placed over the top as well. Baseboard 14 was installed and then I decided I didn't like one of the corners that is protruding into the room so its currently back downstairs where I can cut off a large chamfer and rebuild the frame. Baseboard 10 I got installed and then realised that I had built the top deck too far out and measured it wrong off the cad drawing so I had to rebuild it. (A lot of to and froing with the boards up and down the loft ladder!) but thats now in and butted up against baseboard 9 and 11. Baseboard 11 I mis-measured the top deck so had to cut a small chamfer but it will be fine once covered over with cork and scenery. Baseboard 13 I have a height difference to sort out and a leaning problem on the top deck so a bit more thought on the frame is needed here. Probably needs some triangular bracing. I had a general tidy up of the temporary controller area and added a auto reverse shuttle that I built from a MERG kit last year to the rear top deck track so I can go hands free despite not yet having a tailchaser loop. Did a lot drilling for wiring holes and bolts in all board frames

(Edit - 24-02-22 I wrote this blog post this on the morning of the day that my Mum passed away - Mum was very supportive of all my railway interests of model railways and volunteering I have literally just come back to my open computer and this was still on the screen) I only discovered about a year ago that its possible to use servo motors for controlling points. Several advantages: Less power draw than solenoids Ability to slide blade over rather than an instant jump (klack) so more realistic operation. Cheaper overall to procure Have now got two working under test one is mounted underneath a turnout on my temporary board. Have to link up the microswitch for polarity change. These first servos will be used on the DC part of the layout (top deck) Its powered via MERG CBUS modules CANPAN, CANMIO on a universal setup All work on lcb is now paused as I have decided to work on baseboards only and then have the ability to get a train running around the room. I have 12 out of 15 baseboard modules now constructed. Still to do are 4 top deck sections, 3 main baseboards and 2 bridge sections across the access walkway.

So I have worked out how many baseboards I am going to need altogether = 15. With an additional number of sections to complete the top deck. So far I have 9 baseboards constructed with the same number for the top deck. At some point I will have to get down to a DIY store and get some more 9mm ply (3x 1.2m x 1.4m or thereabouts) as I have almost run out and also need about 25m of 45mm x 20mm of softwood for the frames. So the next plan is to start working anticlockwise and construct baseboard 15 which will go on the other end of baseboard 1. Many years ago when I built baseboard 1, I found I had to construct the end 6 inches on a separate board (so it would fit in the car for transport) and this will have to be detached and binned because due to the geometry of the room I have to build baseboard 15 in in its place (and also start curving the track around sooner. This is going to affect the station so might have to have a rethink at some point about how that is going to work but more than likely I will probably just redo the bridge and the pedestrian entrance and add a curve to the platform. Most of last month has been spent on installing the loft ladder and then building and painting an inner hatch so when I am in the loft I don't fall down the hole. I have a mate who did just that, he stepped back to admire his layout....and fell straight through the hatch that he forgot was there (luckily he didn't hurt himself too badly). I had to make a second box piece to block off the draft that comes through and this fits over the top end of the ladder. The ladder itself is telescopic so it doesn't take up any space and can fold underneath the layout when its not in use. The inner hatch box is constructed in a way that means it cannot be slid if one kicks it, I am pleased with both ladder and hatch box. I'm laying 2mm cork on the top deck - I am not intending to have ballast shoulders as its a steam era layout so just one sheet for the track area is needed. Sorry about the mess on the layout photo (these boards are 950mm deep to the wall. Just about reachable to the back but wish there was a bit more headroom. Top deck at this point widens out a little to accommodate 4 parallel tracks and a station platform (for heritage railway)

I am about 2 baseboard modules away from the first turnout on the top deck of the layout. I want to use servo motors to power them and had purchased a CANMIO from MERG which I was yet to build up and figure out how it worked. I decided to therefore spend several afternoons in the Christmas / New Year Holiday setting myself the task of building it and programming it. Got it all built and tested no problem and then had an issue with the installed firmware so installed a different firmware (with some assistance from other MERG members) , found the right menus on the programming tool and hey presto got a servo working from the panel test unit. So that was very good news. I then started making an underboard servo mount which I need to test out on the test track board since this first point is quite a long way back from the front edge of the main baseboard. Once all thats working then its back to building baseboards. This one CANMIO will power all the servo motors on the top deck, as the top deck is DC (and not so prone to polarity change problems) frog switching is done by an in built microswitch but when I come to doing the DCC layout I might look at installing frog juicers.

It was a 5 page article in MERG journal Vol 55 No 4 page 31 , I can't reproduce here due to copyright reasons (memberships only £16 per year - bargain and well worth it) but essentially its down to where you place your isolators and using relays to power up different sections while linking to the signals

So I had to have a think about the priorities. Priority No1 is get (at least 1) train running around the room. Priority No 2 is get a 2nd train running around the room In order to do priority No 1, I need to knuckle down and build base boards. So for the moment all work on wiring, electronics and other railway modelling projects is paused and the main thrust of action is to get the lower deck baseboards and the top deck constructed. As its at the back the top deck (DC) will be fully constructed (with scenery, electronics and wiring) before I come back to the lower deck (DCC). The other advantage with this is I also have all the track I need in Code 100 and a mixture of insulfrog and electrofrog points. I now have an L shape on the top deck with two more baseboards (7 & 8) that need new top deck modules adding. Last night I installed the top deck on baseboard 6 in the corner. The more I build the more the room looks like a model railway room. I am currently flattening out my sheet of 2mm cork ready for cutting up and laying on the top deck. (Another priority this winter was to clear out all that plywood that is sitting downstairs in the garage taking up space.....) I was interested to read in the latest MERG journal about signals being used to control the layout through use of relays and CBUS. This is something which I was already working on anyway but I need to now re-route some power on baseboard 1 to make it into a parallel circuit. The idea being that the signal is put at danger and in the same switch the power is also turned off. I had planned that but hadn't thought to combine it with a signal (not that I have any signals) but to wire this up should be relatively simple so will futureproof it with isolators and make ready for relays when I put those in. Had a scenery idea for backscene after looking through some other layouts. Get a sheet of 1mm / 2mm ply, shape it and paint it and then glue on building sheets, fencing bushes and foliage to make it 3D. Attach to loft wall with command strips. Not to use the photo backscene and let the loft colour work for itself as a typical overcast England day. Basically I just want to get something running around the room while I work on the rest of the layout.

So my last post I said I was going to put in the big factory. Unfortunately I tested it and it won't fit in so I scrapped that idea. Baseboard building is temporally paused this month due to other house projects in progress. Hope to restart that in the next couple of weeks so I can push on with working on the lower deck trackplan. Lots of Code 75 track arrived from Rails. Tested this and its going to be great! The new plan for board 2 is to install a triangular module which I have on an older baseboard and put this at the back top corner. Its got the Ratio pump house on it, so all it needs is a bit of touching up, repair to the chimney (might need to make it shorter due to loft roof) that got damaged in transit during move and a bit of lighting. Plus a wall / bushes will need adding to disguise the front of the module which consists of 9mm plywood. I am making this removable so I can service it. Also on the top deck will be my Ratio ground level signal box again from an older baseboard, so the two buildings should compliment each other. I also plan to put in two signals for sections. Unfortunately I haven't got the room height to put in a distant signal on the outer line but might be able to fit one in on the inner line. The section signals will go on the curve where I have more height room Below the top deck the new plan is to install another module but in this case to make it a grassy embankment / side slope. Again I am making it a removable module in case I need to access the wiring behind (which powers the top deck. This will consist of 3mm ply for the base, upright formers and then my tried and tested method of chicken wire and probably plaster cast. Underneath / inside it I will be installing a CANVOUT Cbus module for powering all the lights and relays in this part of board. I might link one of the inputs on the CANVOUT to a detector so it would automatically put the signal to danger if there is something in the next section. However I am going to have place the signal about 20cms past the track isolator due to the height of the loft so I might get quite a few SPADs if I forget to stop the train! At the front of this module there is the disused railway bridges but I am going to change that into a farm track since the gradients don't tie up at the bridge end. On the other side of that I am going to put in a small set of oil tanks since this will be a stones throw from the diesel TMD. Its not quite where I would put them in an ideal world but I think such things should be close but not too close to the shed facility but sort of round the back. I need to do quite a lot of work to the tanks as when I got them they didn't have the walkway over the top but I have lots of spares so will cobble something together. This will have a siding extension from board 1 which goes under one of the bridges I made a relay work off the CANACC8 on the main board, which I quite pleased about as the plan is to use several of these for controlling the sections on the analog circuit. Now that will cut down on the wiring! Waiting for some more colours of wire to turn up in the post. Sorry similar photo to last time - the only visible addition is the outer track using a 30 inch tracksetta. I have now extended it to the edge of this board and then stopped. Soldering power dropdowns to the track connectors (fishplates) was a good idea. Imagine a peak belting around this top deck...

This is what happens when you have no model railway for 2 years.... So yesterday I was pondering about double slips and how I wanted them to be electrofrog and I was thinking well why don't I change the layout to code 75 and then I found a transition piece for code 100 to code 75 which I have never seen before. So I am now planning to use Code 75 for the rest of the layout on the bottom deck and code 100 for the top deck. Most of my bottom deck dcc locos are Bachmann with smaller rims than Hornby and most of my unchipped stock is Hornby or airfix which will go happily around the top deck. There are just a few limas and hornbys which I might need to change the chassis / wheels to a smaller type for them to run ok on Code 75 (pointwork always tends to trip larger flange locos and stock) Plus the wagons and coaches which are fairly easy to pop out the wheels and swap them if necessary. I think finescale will look great and less toy like and the Code 100 will be so far back that it won't be possible to easily see the trackwork. 1 length of Code 75 is now winging its way to me for testing purposes. I woke this morning thinking about the big (scratchbuilt) factory with the chimney and how I could put it on board 2 and use it for hiding electronic modules. Then I was thinking I wouldn't be able to put in a loading dock for it because it would foul the headshunt and make shunting difficult as the loco would get stuck.... so then I thought what about all that redundant 009 track and run it out into a tunnel under the top deck.... and how am I going to wire that up and should I get a simple controller from MERG to power it..... maybe an autoshuttle? Needless to say it was difficult to get back to sleep. Started laying out the trackplan on boards 2, 3 and 4 using code 100 pieces. Some are upsidedown as I don't have enough left or right turnouts. The only mistake I have made is not putting cork down for the top deck but also not giving it much allowance for bottom deck, so the plan is to ramp up slowly on one of the curves so I can get my cork underneath as I do want to use it. Maybe when I build board 5 I will remember to lower the top deck by 2mm to give it that extra space for the cork. Again - its so far back that detail here is difficult to pick out. Took the plunge and pinned down the inside curve on the top deck with the 24 inch tracksetta, this made life a lot easier so am waiting for 2 other tracksettas before doing the other trackwork. Have tested with a 'maintenance train and it runs smoothly. Isolators are at the joints as this will be a section divide and will have signals and probably a signal box in this corner along with the pump house scenery module from the old layout. Next plan is to start work on a CANMIO and try it out with a servo motor and build up a MERG servo mount for point switching. (The garage (currently a paintshop) is in occupation by my other half so baseboard building is on hold for a few weeks) Note the green 03 loco in the photo is on some temporary track for me just seeing where 4th radius curves would end up for working out positioning of the turntable.

So for the last few days I have been working on the electronics and wiring under baseboard 1 (the one with scenery on it). I have a small setback in that out of three MERG CBUS CANSOLs only one is correctly working. I have identified a problem with the MIC4426YN PICs which keep burning out which has led me to believe that this a bad batch, I think someone else in MERG has been having the same problem. So waiting for a few PICs to turn up in the post which hopefully will sort this out. I have a CANPAN, CANSOL and a CANUSB all installed and programmed and working on the main layout. I have another CANSOL wired up but this has the PIC problem and the third one is still on the test rig with the same issues. I am working on the main wiring bus to get it over to baseboard 3. Baseboard 2 has limited operations on it and will only consist of about 8 pieces of track. My bus consists of CANL, CANH, 0v, 12v for CBUS, 2wires Analog rear track, 2wires Analog Front track, 2wires DCC power bus. I could combine the CBUS with the DCC bus but I am not up to that stage yet so I am keeping them separate. Ive run out of colours so I have a few more coming in the post. Im using terminal blocks, the sort that push into one another to make the connections between the baseboards. Last night was extending the analog power bus from the baseboard ‘plank’ across baseboard 1 and reconnecting the controller. Also – following gaining a professional qualification I have treated myself to a Class 45 Peak that I got secondhand from Signals in Midsomer Norton. Good shop that one. Well pleased with my new engine, currently it’s on the analog track but I think it might have a dcc socket in it. Also Baseboard 4 is now installed and at correct level. This is the one where mimic / control panel is going to be attached to. Had an idea to use a CANPAN / CANACC8 to power up the relays for changing turning the power on / off for the sections on the analog layout. I need to test this theory out though, would cut down on a lot of wiring. Makes sense since I only need 2 outputs and the rest of the CANACC8 can be used to power up lights etc. The next plan is to lay out the track (drawn up in AutoCAD) and then work out where the wiring has to go. Then I will do the wiring for boards 3 and 4 by removing them and working on the side (much better than underneath) and get most of the main wiring in before replacing the board modules and laying the track. Also lay the track for baseboard 2 which consists of curves only. I have to figure out from brian lamberts page how to wire up a insulfrog double and single slip, I hope that the code 100 ones work with DCC.

Not a very imaginative title but anyway. First off I have to do quite a bit of home engineering design to get things to fit through the loft hatch so unusually my longer sides are the width and the shorter sides are the length... so I have to build a fair number of base boards for this layout. Last time I was working on baseboard 3 and when I tried to get it though the hatch, because of the top deck it would't fit. Luckily I had only (double) screwed the top deck on so it was only a matter of removing the top deck to get it up into the loft. A check on the measurements and I found I was 5mm over so the next board has got to be 590mm wide (for the length now its getting confusing) so I don't have to go back through the palaver of screwing and unscrewing it again. Have been working on the top deck for the baseboard 2. I measured everything up and cut out some legs. From a wiring point of view I only need four drop downs to power the track but I might run one CBUS connection up to a point on the surface in the corner (that I can disguise under a building). The plan for scenery for this section is to do modular construction because its such a difficult corner to get into. Trackwork is all going to be flexible to save connections as I want all rails to have power running to them There was a lot of fiddling over a few evenings to get the topdeck of baseboard 2 sorted out and it came out several times before I was happy with it. Baseboard 1 and 2 are now physically connected to each other and tie up flush and level. So last night I started laying the track on the top deck of baseboard 2. I have some isolators fishplates now installed on the end of baseboard 1 plank and cut the first section of rail on baseboard 2 top deck. Started working with the 24 inch track setter for the inner track, with the intention to use a 30 inch track setter for the outer track. (I must remember to paint the board before I lay the track though) CBus is ongoing although have several modules that aren't working at present but have started working on another CANSOL. I rewired my other CANSOL up to the test rig and thats all working again. I like to have CBUS switched on while im in the loft because its then 'under test' for long periods of time.

Started work on the 2nd baseboard using spare wood from older layouts. The construction I am using is the typical 9mm ply top with softwood frames. However at one end I am leaving the frame open as need to get access to the top deck from underneath. I have seen a lot of people build a second deck and then have to thread wires down through two boards but for me that would be an absolute pain so leaving the bottom board out with a gap seems obvious. Underneath the bottom board there is a crosspiece so the frame forms a square. I prefer to use handtools and im using joints to lock all the frames together together. Screw and glue (and countersunk screwheads in so they are flush). Bit of sanding to do now and the top deck to add. Hopefully it will fit through the loft hatch.... I want to get this board sorted plus the top deck of this one and the previous baseboard so I can start working on the wiring which I will probably do the majority of (the layout control bus and the DCC circuit bus) before pining down the track while the board is up on one side so I don't have to spend quite so much time working upside down under the layout.

So recently I haven't been up much in the loft, household jobsare keeping me downstairs, however last night I had a couple of short sessions. A few days ago my Cbus test rig had completely failed and I did some head scratching to work out what had gone wrong with it. I was using my gizmo test unit and it was flashing orange lights and the penny dropped when I removed it from the system and did a test of the tester and found that it was faulty. Not exactly useful. So I have now added in resistor at the end of the data network (the gizmo had been performing that task) and suddenly the rest of the system all burst back into life. Lights and all. (although my CANAC8C still isn't functioning correctly) So I decided to look at the next thing, only a small thing but it had puzzled me for a few weeks. How to attach a lighting unit to the CANACC8. Its had experimenter unit attached to it but I had soldered the terminal blocks to it but I didn't know which ports were the outputs and which ones were the inputs. A bit of testing with a grain of wheat bulb followed and I have now figured up that one of the ends is the input and all the rest are the output (or it might be the other way round.) Now wired up and working alongside the experimenter board. So this is really good news but when I wire it all up to the layout I am going to need a daisy chain terminal block to power up the single input / output as I won't want to be stuffing 8 return wires into one port on the board! At present I have 5 individual lights but might add some yard lighting and other features and have a series of lights running in parallel of one switch from the canpan I started attaching the boards to little pieces of plywood which have a command strip on the back of them the idea being that if I have to remove them from the main layout (for testing) I can easily get them off. Command strips are a little bit more secure than velcro and even though these will be secured by wiring I would rather they didn't fall off. Im still operating on the one main base board (with a 2nd short 800mm board at one end) but hopefully will be adding one side to the layout and then start the other side so the layout hopefully by Christmas will be U shaped and I can get going on the TMD Locomotive detailing is paused for the moment, i need some footplate crew for my 1F. I finally added some detail parts to this loco with the lamps front and back set for yard I have a Class 33 that I intend to start detailing at some point (subject to part availabilty) as a practice model as not done much detailing before.

Thanks - i have done just that and everything works fine. Bit of difficulty fitting the bodyshell back down so might have to re-solder some of the wires and make them shorter to save space. Plus trim back the function wires. I doubt I am going to be putting lights in this one.

Just wondering if I can remove the plate at the end that all the wires go to and substitute with the decoder. Obviously I don't want to remove something if its needed. Model is a 32100 class 08. I know which wires go where and I'm putting in a 2 function TCS T1 which should fit in nicely. Loco tested and runs fine in analog

After two weeks of recovering from an operation I finally managed to get back on my feet and able to climb loft ladders. I have spent the last couple of weeks (reading) and cataloging those old railway modelling magazines that I hung on to for the last 15 years. Work continued on the Cbus canpan which I managed to build successfully, I then built the experimenters board to go with it. Connected it up and did some programming and got it all working first time with no problems. Managed to switch a point back and forth on the test facility and also turn on lights on the CANACC8 (to simulate potential relays) I'm keeping the cbus modules on the test facility for the moment until I am more confident with getting lights and other things connected to it. I have now fixed all the dead spots on the trackwork as had accidentally removed some wires when I rewired the dcc bus plus a point polarity wire had come adrift under the board but luckily I am a whizz at soldering so it was a quick job to put it back. So finally able to have a small operating shunting session without any problems anywhere. Added a temporary track on new board for head shunt. I have decided I'm going to have 1 control panel at the end of the room and think this will work best. Will be easy to install the cbus to it but can't build this until I have done the baseboards. This side of the room I'm looking forward to constructing because it will be a steam loco shed but might try and fit in a passing loop as well, plus the dc circuit on the upper deck.

Cleaning of locos and rolling stock has been ongoing, plus using the new mini vacuum to clean up loose dust and grit. Started work on my CBus Canpan after deciding that this would be better than using the Canace8c as that doesn't have enough inputs. Work has slowed down a bit on the cbus but that is because i now have trains running. Plus i wanted to get the corner boards in before working out where the control panel is to go. So for a week or so i have been thinking about the corner baseboard and what it would sit on. Building it was easy, 9mm ply and softwood frame, glued and screwed. Remembered to drill holes in the frame for the wiring. Luckily we are demolishing the garden shed outside and in it were some shelves with wood brackets which i removed and transferred to the loft I like reusing stuff. Plus the screws were all in good nick. So i have the layout back to the 2009 length (but with much more detail than back then). Long enough to run trains in and out. So i had an operating session with a couple of two coach passenger trains laid on some temporary track Oh yes and i also added the disused railway bridge but this probably won't go here as it doesn't tie up with the upper track layout

Works train in action. All buildings dusted and checked, about half need repairs. Plan to repair one at a time in between doing other jobs ¹Many small details to sort out. Waiting for mini vacuum to arrive so I can continue cleaning. Fixed problem with baseboard frame on left end it had come away and was sagging. Removed ballast to enable relaying of track. Whole nearest end has to alter as loft hatch is in the way so have to start curving about 10 inches from end of board. But initial plan is to go other way at far end as I know more what I want to do with that end. So layout will be a terminus for the time being.

Operator error or decoder problem. Dcc Controller is working. Relieved.

Spoke to gaugemaster (great service thoroughly recommend them) - made the error of having tester set to DC rather than AC. What a numpty. Could be a problem with loco or track in that area but will give it another bash (well not with a hammer) later on and see if I can get this working. I want to get the sentinel and 03 shunter working with some wagons as headshunts are very short at the moment

Back in May 2019 I packed the layout away expecting it to be up and running again in about 12 months. Here we are over 2 years later and it's finally installed and working. A big pat on the back for me. It's being a crazy year what with house structural problems and other personal matters to deal with Here we are then. This board now in its 17th year and 4th home has been rewired with new merg cbus electronics soon to be installed. I've added a narrow board for the new analog upper level and that's all wired up and working (it's only 2m long) but might add a merg autoshuttle for the time being. I've just started adding the buildings, so much damage and repairs to do. I found a model of motorbike I can't even remember where that was located. So much tidying to do. Spent most of the afternoon tweaking microswitches and working on short circuit repairs Dcc controller is kaput which is a bit annoying but it's only reading 0.004 volt on the output so at the moment I'm running 1 engine (no sections as it's dcc) and my spare type e analog controller is hooked up However it's working and I can run trains on a 2m long board so I'm really happy. Next job is a bit more tidying and repairs and to get cbus modules installed. I'm using command strips attached to thin ply so I can remove the modules easily if I have to.

I had a good session yesterday afternoon. For the last couple of weeks is been a bit hot in the loft - bearable due to the insulation but still a bit hot but yesterday it was back to normal room temperature. With the re-wiring now substantially complete I decided to get the layout horizontal so I could easily take stock of all the knocks it has taken over the last couple of years after being moved around several times. I didn't want it in place yet as I wanted to build a 'plank' narrow baseboard to be attached to the rear (no construction access at the rear so layout is pivoted around at 90 degrees) to form the start of the upper deck analog circuit. A lot of sawing, screwing and gluing (using 9mm ply for baseboard top and bits of softwood for the frame) followed in the garage with me using rough joints so the frame would lock together. Feeling satisfied with what I had created it was back up to the loft and I used some brackets that I bought many years ago (for 14p each) to attach them to the back of the existing 150mm high back scene. I know these brackets will hold because they were holding up a similar plank with a heavy tunnel ontop for many years on an earlier layout. Fitted 4 of them to the back and luckily I have buildings to mask the screw indentations that slightly stuck out of the Mdf on the other side of the backscene. Was thinking of using some cork but abandoned the idea but might go back to it to give some rail height and deaden sound, started sorting out some track and then...... dinner time. So I haven't any photos as there was a bit of a rapid exit out of the loft as I hadn't realised it had got so late (3pm swiftly became 6.30pm how did that happen?). My next task will be to install my wall clock up there....

With the test rig now finally working and doing what it is supposed to be doing I decided to return to the re-wiring yet again of the Mattington layout. Baseboard 1 originally built in 2004, I think this is the fourth attempt I have had at re-wiring it but this time I hope it will be the last. Am installing a CBUS layout control bus alongside the DCC bus but I am re-wiring both of them and adding several more drop downs for the DCC bus as well as wiring in the polarity switches directly into the dcc bus rather than to the track. I have done about 2 thirds of the wiring now. The plan is to have three CANSOLS, one CANACC8 and a CANAC8C temporally controlling both the point motors and the building lights, (and a CANUSB and CANGIZMO) Temporally until I can get a CANPAN built (1 event will be controlling all lights in the meantime and other events will be controlling 2 to 4 turnouts). I have kept the original wiring of the point motors and the drop downs so some of it isn't exactly how I would like it if I was doing it all from scratch but I don't want to completely start all over again. Just got to do the data bus wiring for the L and H wires but that shouldn't be too difficult since its only got to go between 8 modules. Am doing it last because I want there to be a separation between the data bus and the power bus. Photo of where I am currently at. All the wiring on the floor is what I have stripped out as being surplus, am working right to left along the board. Red and yellow is dcc, blue are point motors, purple and green is 0 and 12v cbus power supply Layout is being installed ontop of kitchen units the biggest ones I could get through the loft hatch.

I bought several CANSOLs from MERG for powering the solenoids but unfortunately the first one I built had problem with one of PICs. I suspect I have a probably put in something else wrong but it ran hot and probably melted something, Voltage regulator was also very hot. Built a second CANSOL yesterday afternoon and today I tested it. This one ran cold but for quite a while it refused to go into FLIM. I eventually found the problem that one of the PICs wasn't quite seated in its slot, this done the GIZMO started flashing a green light meaning that the microprocessor was working perfectly fine. So I hooked it back up to the test rig and it went straight into FLIM on pressing the button. Wired up the solenoids and programmed it and its all working. Mission Accomplished! Its quite an achievement to have got this far having had no prior experience of electronics. I even set up one event to run both my test solenoid points in sequence which is probably going to be occurring quite a bit as a lot of my points are likely to be in pairs for loops or catchpoints etc So back to the main layout and the re-wiring project.

Spent Sunday afternoon working on test rig with the aim to get the CBUS electronic modules talking to the computer. I wired everything up and the power was working but for some reason none of the modules were going into the correct mode on the data bus. After quite a bit of pondering I decided that the cause could be one of three things. The software, the hardware or the wiring. Luckily I had made a gizmo to test the modules and this found nothing wrong with them. The computer was finding the USB module so I doubted that was at fault. I ran some resistance continuity tests and that was bringing up some funny readings. So I was wondering if the problem lay with the use of stranded wire. I unplugged the USB module and directly fed it into the producer module and this worked using solid core wire. So that was what was wrong - the wiring. I re-wired with some solid core data cable and I was still getting low resistance. I tried it again and again 1 module worked with the script all appearing on the computer like magic, I had time to link up a second one and this also worked. So I was well pleased - yellow LEDs indicating full implementation mode on the right hand modules and 1 green on the CANSOL still. So I have four modules now working on the network. The gizmo is wired in at the end and also provides the data termination point. I think the data cable is still too thin so I have some slightly thicker solid core cable coming in the post. Next plan is to program the modules that I have got connected and see if they will work after I disconnect the computer. For some odd reason 3 of the CANACC8 experimenter kit LED's are now on when the rest of the switches are off, so hopefully I can recycle any events and wipe them so I can program them properly. In this case I want to have the CANACC8 powering a relay to simulate throwing the polarity of a point Ran out of time but all useful and feel it is a good plan to do a test rig where I can make all the mistakes rather than do everything on the main board.