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MattB

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Blog Entries posted by MattB

  1. MattB

    Ideas for Board 2

    By MattB,


    General
    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...

  2. MattB

    Brimming with ideas

    By MattB,


    General
    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.
     
     

  3. MattB

    Back to the LCB (part 2)

    By MattB,


    Layout Wiring
    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.
     
     


  4. MattB

    Baseboards continued

    By MattB,


    Baseboards
    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.


  5. MattB

    Next baseboard underway

    By MattB,


    Baseboards
    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.
     
     
  6. MattB

    Wired up a light bulb!

    By MattB,


    General
    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.

  7. MattB

    Back to the LCB

    By MattB,


    General
    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. 
     
  8. MattB

    A new baseboard

    By MattB,


    Baseboards
    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
     
     
     


  9. MattB

    Baseboard plank

    By MattB,


    Baseboards
    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....
     
     
  10. MattB

    Trains running for first time in months

    By MattB,


    Layout Wiring
    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.
     
     

  11. MattB

    Rewiring baseboard 1

    By MattB,


    Layout Wiring
    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.
     

  12. MattB

    Solenoids now working on test rig

    By MattB,


    General
    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.
  13. MattB

    We have made contact...

    By MattB,


    General
    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.
  14. MattB
    Well I had a problem with my CANAC8C and CANACC8 test rig which after some help from the MERG forum I managed to get fixed, dodgy wire at fault and me probably programming it wrong. 
     
    6 stock trays are now built and all my rolling stock has being unpacked. Some needs quite a lot of cleaning after being in storage but since nothing is running yet its not the priority.
     
    Have built a couple of other MERG CBus Kits and now constructing the first CANSOL. The plan after that is to test it on my 3 foot layout which has two point motors connected already and not as complicated with the wiring as the main board. And also get used to the configuration setup. Test board is small enough to be located right next to the workbench and as its small its easy to move it around 
     
    Have started with the DCC bus re-wire, this time I am having the microswitches from the PL15s point motors linked directly to the dcc bus rather than the track. At some point I need to unsolder the track wire connections. Also putting in a larger gauge wire for the main bus run. Bit of debate going on in my head at the moment for whether to use relays instead of the PL15 microswitches so bought a couple of 12V ones off ebay for a few quid so I can test that idea out on the test layout and link them up to the CANACC8. The only disadvantage I can see is that there would be a lot of wire going back and forth to the CANACC8. But eventually I want to use servos and relays for the rest of the layout so might test it out anyway.
     
    So anyway all this re-wiring and building up MERG CBUS kits (4 still to do) should take about 3 months I reckon and then the original layout should be fully re-wired and I can hoist it into place and rebuild the topside and get on with the baseboards for rest of the layout, plus the mimic panels.
  15. MattB
    On Bank Holiday Monday I made my first dividers for the stock drawers. Used 9mm ply for the ends and 3mm ply for the dividers. Measured the width between the slots as 45mm which enables enough room for me to get my fingers into the slot to pick up the stock. Haven't glued dividers in as they are tightly wedged (sprung) into the slots. Unpacked some Hornby stock some of which hasn't seen the light of day for a couple of years. Usefully I found that two Hornby coaches (the grouping sort) will fit into one slot but I cannot get two MK1, 2, 3 coaches in together. I have 9 slots in each drawer. I reckon I will need 5 drawers to take all my stock (but normally there would only be 3 in use at a time as rest of stock would be on the layout). Have 9 drawers so plenty of room for expansion!
     
    Also finished building my CANGizmo tester for my new layout control bus . Initially 1 of the LEDs didn't work (the white one) so I unsoldered it and put it back in again, tested it again and it worked. Ran full test and everything worked as in the instructions. This module is a standalone test module for network testing CBUS modules before one puts them in the main LCB. Started building the CANUSB4 so I can convert my CANACC8 and CANACE8C to FLiM mode. 
     
    Next plan is to get some 22 gauge red and yellow wire (these are my DCC track bus colours) so I can start re-wiring the DCC bus under Baseboard 1 (currently wired with wrong diameter). The drop downs are ok and will remain but the bus itself as well as being the wrong gauge is a bit of a mess plus I want it to run closer to the front of the board so I can get the main feed wires from the controller to it neatly. Will probably use normal cable tie pads but glued on to underside of board as the sticky pad tends to come away. Once that's done will move onto the layout control bus which is more of a mess.
     
     
  16. MattB

    Where are those bolts?

    By MattB,


    Baseboards
    Its taken nearly 12 months since my last post, but finding out that the roof of our new house had been left structurally unsupported by the previous owners extension has taken a lot of time and worry to sort out. (according to professionals this is a really rare case and very unlucky) So for 12 months I was very stressed out while getting this fixed and couldn't even work easily on my favorite hobby to take my mind off things. The only projects I worked on over the winter was a 16mm kit bash and (MERG) CBUS kits that could be easily packed away and wouldn't cause much mess.
     
    However since Easter I now have a railway room !!!!
     
    Painted the room (I call it a room though legally its still a loft) at Easter. Its light grey walls and white ceiling to get British weather overcast ambiance.
    Bought a cork floor underlay 10mm thick and laid it. The idea is this stops noise from transmitting to the rooms below but also adds insulation (and nice to walk on). Tempted to use remaining roll to lay another 10mm on the floor in the operating area. 
     
    So I now have embarked on two projects 
     
    Project 1 - Cabinets and Baseboards
    Project 2 - CBUS and Re-wire
     
    Project 1 - I am using kitchen units as I want to have something for storing all by train stuff and the baseboards will go ontop. Im waiting on some nuts and bolts so I can bolt all the cabinets together, and the next  task is to build up about 17 drawers of different sizes plus a few more units. I have found that the lowest kitchen drawer height nicely fits the 00 gauge stock with about 10mm clearance. I need to make up some storage slots from 3mm ply and glue them into these drawers to act as dividers.
     
     I have used AutoCAD to design my layout which incorporates the main board of the previous layout 'Mattington'. The layout isn't prototypical but I have based it off plans from railway books so that I have turnouts in the correct places where possible. The plan is to have four tracks round the room with a lift out section. 2 tracks DC and 2 tracks DCC. Separated by a vertical level difference. The DC circuit is at the rear and is mostly a simple tailchaser with very few turnouts. The DCC circuit is the one with a lot of shunting opportunities and lots of turnouts but also a tail chaser and somehow I need to fit in a fiddleyard but space is a bit limited so needs a bit more design. The plan is for baseboards to be modular and this is partly due to the size of the loft hatch which is just over 600mm square, (getting the existing board in was a tight squeeze on the diagonal). So I am using mostly using 600mm x 900mm size . The 900mm is the depth where I can just about reach the back, 600mm is the width which nicely fits on the cabinets. 
     
    Project 2 - So last summer I found out about MERG and CBUS, reading into it it seemed a good idea to incorporate their modules. Since then I have built and tested 2 modules which will be used for the general lighting. Im not going into details here of how it all works but this is going to cut out about 90% of the wiring and offer massive benefits into how the layout can be controlled. I had a wiring jungle on the last layout something which I don't want to have again. So the plan is to re-wire the existing layout board and add several CBUS modules. All the point motors I can leave in place but will be disconnecting the LED panel wiring from the PECO points as it will be redundant due to the CANPAN talking directly to the CANSOL. The DCC wiring also needs upgrading as I have realised the bus wires are too thin so probably won't take the load for a larger layout. All the wiring needs a general tidy up anyway as its a hotch potch of 15 years of building. Currently the layout is on its side so I can easily sort this out. Last night I took the transport cover off the bottom of the board for the first time since it went into storage over 2 years ago. Will be using the exhibition board (3 x 1 foot) as a testbed for wiring and CBUS, plus locomotive testing. As the baseboards are modular im intending to wire them up first and then slot them in. 
     
    Im using my vintage (1870) work desk for the first time this week. Soldering together a CBUS test unit, also was a good opportunity to try out my new magnifier / desk light which I am very pleased with.
     
    The photo shows the first 10 units, the layout on its side is going on the left side. The rear will be a steam loco shed and the right a second station / goods area. More units have just arrived to complete the square. Due to positioning in the room the loft hatch won't be in the middle of the layout so a lift out section next to the pink box will be needed. Access panel in floor at rear right - hence why units don't go up to the wall but baseboard overhangs.

  17. MattB
    Well - where to start. I have just checked my last blog entry and so much has changed since I published that one.
     
    First off - In June last year I decided that the double track I had laid on a narrow flimsy board round the room was annoying me and I hated having to crawl underneath the board to get into the room so all of that came out.
     
    In its place I started to construct some proper baseboards with separate removable legs out of 9mm plywood, the idea being that I could then build on them in the future & use them for anything really. By the end of the summer I had constructed 5 baseboards each about 1m / 700mm and 2 bridging sections. I then re laid the track but had severe problems with the bridging section across the door, a few derailments later (and some damaged stock) lead to a complete redesign of this section. Other commitments meant that I didn't get round to finishing this until April / May this year. 'The Bridge Mk2' was successfully installed using plywood and settrack, the other difficulty with it is that it crosses the doorway on an angle as it forms part of a curve so the rails don't line up at the joins - using settrack seems to keep it all aligned though.
     
    The second project is my long running station rebuild based on (EDIT Rothley) station on the Great Central - others had mentioned to me that it is possible to buy a GC station now but I countered this by saying that it is too long and wouldn't fit my scaled down platform. I visited the GC in August 2011 and took many photos of the architecture, I then produced some detailed scaled down drawings and proceeded to build the waiting room. I finished this only 2 months ago (apart from detailing) and instantly moved on the next part - the booking office and associated canopy over the end of the stairs. The canopy will be a modified Dapol kit.
     
    Other projects are 009 in nature and include building a small kit loco a 'Montania' (1.5 inches long) for my scrapyard boxfile layout
  18. MattB

    Embankment

    By MattB,

    Currently working on the embankment. Originally this was at the right hand end of the board but is now about 3ft from the new end. The embankment was there at the beginning of the layout in 2004 forming part of the backscene. When I modified the board end to add an extra 3 tracks I had to partially dismantle it and it looked empty without it there. So therefore I have resurrected it as the embankment to a disused railway that goes at rightangles to the main trackwork and will cross the running lines by a couple of bridges.
     
    I am at the stage of applying the scatter materials having already built it up from formers, chickenwire and plastercloth and painting it green. Will do a base layer of fine dark green or brown and then apply static grass with assorted vegetation ontop.
  19. MattB
    Im sure that I am not the only railway modeller who wonders whether their layout would look better with a plastic or a card kit. Im one of those people who would rather spend some time constructing something rather than buying a premade building as I feel that the half the fun of the model railway is about the building of it.
     
    When I first started building Mattington I was aware of many plastic kits produced by a variety of manufacturers but at that time card kits seemed to be just taking off in a big way so I tried a few out mainly for building the backscene. As time went on card kits seemed to be a cheaper way of building most of the items for a model railway, so as well as about half the backscene I have used card kits for the station as well. (which is in the foreground). I feel that the model railway looks good as there is a blend of plastic and card kits - (Key buildings that are plastic include engine shed, goods shed, coal merchants...)
     
    However recently I have noticed that some of the buildings that are made of card look a little tired whereas some of the plastic kits that I built up at least 12 years ago still look reasonably ok. The station seems to have suffered from a warping problem which means I am replacing the whole platform, and platform buildings with plastic kits. A recent article in Model Rail suggested vanishing card kits when built as a way of preserving them, something that I wish I had tried when I built them.
     
    Plastic kits also allow the model maker to paint them which looks good because often most of us use the same kits but they can look completly different if they are different colour or are changed in some other way. Sometimes it is not very easy to modify a card kit as there may be a blank wall and they are fairly difficult to paint to a high standard.
     
    So in conclusion - Card Kits - Intially they look great - varnish them to preseve them against sunlight / fading etc - Generally cheaper & quicker to build but difficult to modify?
     
    Plastic Kits - Depending on the modeller they can look very realistic and great deal of detail can be added. Usually can take a while to construct / paint. Can be altered to meet the modellers own eye of detail.
     
    Which 1 would I choose - but probably if card kits need replacing I will use a plastic kit or scratchbuild something out of a variety of materials.
  20. MattB

    Wiring ongoing

    By MattB,

    So continuing with the wiring.
     
    I had posted a query on the forum about an AC/DC converter unit and someone suggested making a rectifier. Not made one before and it took an evening of working out which way round the diode had to go and soldering it all up in the shed at the bottom of the garden. Good chance to test out the new adjustable temperature iron something which I have wanted since getting in to my head that I want to start making brass etch and whitemetal kits.
     
    Tested it out on a grain of wheat bulb and it worked first time
     
    Then continued with the wiring of the lights. Some people might be wondering why I can't do that at the end and its because of limited depth in the box itself. I have had to build the wiring into the frame as I can't bring it in underneath. I can't put the track down yet because the third level isn't constructed, I can't put the third level in because the wiring isn't in. Normally for the lights I would send in two feed wires and then have a terminal block splitter with the resistors for the lights near the lights themselves. In this case I want to have easy access to the resistors in case they go wrong or become unsoldered so I am going to add them to the tag strip at the top of the lid. All the lights will run off one switch after going through the rectifier.
     
    I made two cutouts for the point motors in case they become unsoldered or need replacing.
     
    The track wires are now in - Three sections (6 wires).
     
    Waiting for the lights to arrive in the post 2 short lamp-posts for platforms, 1 normal size lampost and one bonfire (without smoke)
     
    Tested the point motors ones a bit temperamental it does slide but only occasionally or if I give it a helping hand. Possibly a problem with the spring. Could swap round but might perserver with it at the moment
  21. MattB

    Wiring continued

    By MattB,

    I tapped some u shaped nails into the balsa second layer to act as a wiring conduit and started running wiring round from the point motors to the switch panel.
     
    I added a capacitor discharge unit as I don't want to burn the point motors out.
     
    I started adding wiring for the track supply (only 6 wires now required)
     
    I picked up some eye loop screw things for tidying up the wiring and also picked up some 6mm PE spiral and started tidying up the point motor wiring. The plan being that in the box lid there will only be a two to three wiring bundles on show.
     
    The next wiring to add will be for the lights. Any resistors will have to go into the lid. Planning for two lamp posts and 1 light in the house, plus possibly a fire in a barrel in the garden.
     
    Basically I can't glue the top deck down until all the wiring is in as maintenance access is from only a couple of points at the sides (only 10mm high between the decks).
     
    I need to get an AC/DC converter unit for the lights.
  22. MattB
    So to build the layout up in layers I made the unusual step of selecting balsa wood. Usually I would use plywood and softwood for a model railway But with the depths I was trying to achieve it was simply not possible to go for any other wood. I also only had a bike for getting planks of wood back home on.
     
    The bottom layer is for the pond constructed of 3 lengths of balsa wood. The next deck up is for the road and the stream bank, with the planks being laid at 90 degrees to the layer below and clamped and glued with PVA. Then there is a frame layer of 10mm / 10mm strip to conceal the wiring. I can't put the wiring at the bottom as there is a box of wood in the way. Nor do I want to use the bottom layer of the box itself. The next deck is for the main running line which sits 15mm higher than the pond and stream.
     
    I started constructing a panel for the point motor and section switches using scrap balsa wood but this basically was not robust enough, plus I needed to get access to it for maintenance. After building it and soldering the wires to the switches and sending the other ends to terminal blocks I decided to scrap this panel and start again using a dark 5mm ply on some scrap dark 25mm/25mm hardwood that I got from a reclaimation timber yard. I wanted this to match the box colour as near as possible so it wouldn't stand out.
     
    I had another critical look at the trackplan and realised I would struggle to fit in a third point for a siding so decided that I will scratchbuild the point blades for this and have it as non operational. Despite providing a switch and a push button for section control of this part of the layout. The push switch will be reused for the lights which will all be on the same on/off switch.
     
    After some of the solder connections came adrift on the seep motors I decided to make an access hole in the bottom layer of the balsa wood layers in case they come adrift again.
  23. MattB

    The Plan

    By MattB,

    So what to build in a layout that is small and in a box, that will look as realistic as I could possibly make it.
     
    The running line would be a loop
    There would be a passing place
    A station
    A pond
    A station yard
    A small goods yard?
    A house
    A garden with a potting shed
    A road bridge
    A bridge over a stream
    A small scrub land field
    A road
    Running line on an embankment
    Lights
    Trees and other vegetation
     
    Quite a list but I reckoned that I could fit it all in.
     
    I drew up on some tracing (baking paper) my design for the layout and also the design for the baseboard layers.
     
    I also discovered setrack 009 points that were much smaller than my streamline ones and this would aid the track layout.
  24. MattB

    The Box

    By MattB,

    For a few months I had being on the look out for a small box of robust construction, ideally with handles, a lid that would fit in with the rest of the lounge furniture and not look to obtrusive. A lucky find in Hay on Wye led to the purchase of just such an item. The depth of the box was important, it is about 100mm deep on the inside. I wanted to build a small model railway, being a 00 modeller and having a few 009 items of stock, 009 was the obvious choice for scale.
     
    The size of the box is small but not impossible. I wanted it to have section control, point motors and lighting. The only item that would be outside of the layout would be the controller, but everything else would be built into the lid.
     
    Several purchases of balsa wood and other models followed.
     
    I want the layout to basically be packed with detail
     
    I want it to take me a long time to build it with care taken over the design and build.
  25. MattB
    So what do you do with a 1ft 10' by 5 ft baseboard thats already filled with a curve of double track that has to get across the doorway.
     
    Simple! Build a big 3 storey factory with a chimney, have narrow gauge running into it from an siding and then jazz it up by having a 2nd 009 layout over the top of the 1st one and across the standard gauge - follow that up with a small loop for continuous 009 running. Have a cut out section in the middle of the narrow gauge loop with a small building in it as well to add some height contrast.
     
    As this is in the corner and a bit difficult to get to I have adopted the policy (apart for wiring) of starting at the back and working my way forward. Scenic section on the back is getting but needs some leaf scatter and fencing.
     
    Current plan is to have a gantry section with a working moveable modified crane kit between the two systems - constructed out of plastruct girders. But can't build that until the back section is done as it will get in the way.
     
    Also spent rainy morning today replacing baseboard 3 on the other side of the room by using a modified pasting table that I got for a tenner. Its gone in well which was a bit of a fluke and only required levelling.
     
    Edit - Apologies I had a compression issue with the gallery. Reuploading.
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