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Ray Von

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Blog Entries posted by Ray Von

  1. Ray Von
    Having been busy of late, work on the layout came to a bit of a halt for about two weeks.  
    I've had the materials waiting in the wings (play sand, brown spray paint and Copydex glue) and I'm pleased to say that I've finally ballasted one (the larger) section of the layout!
     
    I've been apprehensive about it for a few reasons: I've never used latex based glue when ballasting before, I'm worried that the "peculiar" smell that Copydex has will linger, I've never used sand as a ballast before and I've certainly not pre-painted ballast myself prior to laying it!
     
    So, here's the method I applied:
     
    I got 2kg of play sand off of eBay (a lot more than was needed, but it's there for future endeavours I guess!)
    I tipped a few cupfuls of this sand into an old baking tray and placed it into a hot oven for about twenty minutes.
    After it had cooled I then gave it a few coats of brown spray paint - the method for this was spray, agitate, spray etc. 
    In hindsight I think I should have been more patient between sprays, because there was some "snowballing" of the sand, where the still wet particles stuck to one another and formed small granular clumps.  These were crushable, but a bit of a pain, another way to avoid this would have been to lay the sand in a larger shallow tray, meaning less passes needed with the spray paint.  
    However, I was very pleased with the overall result - especially the colouring that I achieved.
    This painted sand was then returned to the oven (I wasn't sure if it would burst into flames!) and left to cool down, as it turned out - for a week or so!
    Eventually the sand mixture was applied by means of thumb and index finger - sprinkled along all the track centres, any stray ballast was tidied by hand too and I pushed an old freight wagon along the track to test for wheel clearance over the ballast - any "crunchy" bits were immediately attended to!
    I experimented with different ratio's of Copydex to water mixes on small sections of track and found that 1-3 to 1-4 was good (anything greater than this produced plastic-y shiny looking ballast that was lacking texture, luckily one of the great things about this method is the easiness of removing the ballast and starting again!)
    I didn't pre-wet the ballast and I think I probably should have, as there was a lot of "shifting sand" when applying the glue-fairy liquid-water mix (incidentally, this was done using a small syringe.)
    I allowed it to dry for a day or two and the results were good, if a little uniform. So, I found rewetting the ballast with glue mix, and then sprinkling some dry unpainted sand in a "haphazard" manner over the whole layout and then drying further added more variation of tone.
    The track edges were done in a similar manner, but these were pre watered!  The glue mix was more readily taken up and movement was less, I tidied up the edges a little bit afterwards using an old "Nectar" card to straighten the lines.
     
    At certain points on the layout there were holes in the baseboard where wires were fed through, even though they were small - sand still managed to simply disappear down them!  I mixed some sand and thick glue mixture together to make a filler, which I applied to the holes using a wooden coffee stirrer stick and sprinkled on dry sand as mentioned above to "hide the join."
     
    I'm very pleased with how it looks, there's still some tidying up to do and there will probably be more weathering in future and obviously there's still the other track section to do.  As a first time user of this method, I can say that it's going to be my chosen way of ballasting in future.
    Pros: Quick drying and easily removed if alterations are needed.
    Cons: Haven't found any yet!
    (Also, the smell disappears on drying!)
     





  2. Ray Von

    No Sticking Points!

    By Ray Von,

    28th April
     

    Today, I have fitted four Peco PL10e point motors - with no major incident! I think this was aided by the fact that I also purchased a pack of PL9 point motor mounting plates and some PL34 wiring looms - no need for soldering!! (Smiley face)
     
    So, my own method was this: I turned the whole layout over on a table (on a towel, to​ protect the surface mounted motors and the track) with the section of track I was working on overhanging the table so as to access the points, and one by one I assembled the point motors into their mountings. This involves bending of metal pegs, two of which are not needed and were easily bent with needle nosed pliers, and four more that grip the mounting plate (the diagram that comes with them shows pliers being used for this as well, but I used a flat precision screwdriver tip - as the recess you are working in is tiny, just a few millimeters, and even my smallest pliers were far too big to effectively do this) after that was done and with a bit of steady aiming I managed to align the EXTENDED pins (that's what the 'E' is for in PL10e) through the holes in the baseboard and up with the little holes​ in the throw bars.
     
    Then, holding the unit by the mounting plate it was just a matter of making sure that the solenoid part of the motor could move freely and that it could adequately work the points. Once accomplished, I pencilled a line around the mounting plate and also marked the position of the screw holes in the same. There are three screw holes in the mounting plate, but I only marked out two - as this is what is shown in the diagram that comes with them. The screws are included in the pack as well, brass ones with a slotted head, I've never really liked slotted topped screws and was regretting having gnarled up the tip of my precision screwdriver when bending all those metal pegs earlier...
     
    But, with a few pilot holes made with the Archimedes drill ahead of screwing the motors into place it was an easy job. I tested the travel of the motors and the throw bars once more - no adjustment needed, good.
     
    Next came fitting the wiring looms, I bought four of these, as I thought there was one in each pack - there​ are actually two per pack, for future reference. These were easily slotted onto metal tabs on each motor with a pre-soldered fitting on each coloured wire, and the instructions were straightforward.
    I wasn't intending to wire up the motors to their individual switches today, instead, I made a "temporary switch tester" - basically a connector block with three long wires of one red, one green and one black connected to an already established and working switch. This saved me a lot of faffing around at this stage, where I just wanted to know if the points would all work!
     
    So, with the layout back the right way up and the wires of each of the new point motors and those of the switch tester all grouped into their own bunches and laid out in front of me from under the baseboard, it was just a matter of going along the line - connecting the motors up to the tester one by one. And they all worked, bar one. For some reason the motor on the set-track set of points, just before the curve, would only work in the one direction - nothing in the other.... So, after the tried and trusted "rearrange the wires at random" approach, I flicked the switch again and SUCCESS! I haven't a clue why, but there you go!
     
    At some point over the weekend I will set to work connecting each motor to its own switch and I also need to cut about 4mm off each of the motor pins, that are currently protruding above the throw bars. I'll probably consult RMweb about that...
  3. Ray Von

    Done it!

    By Ray Von,

    May 5th
     

    So, here we are at the one month mark! I am happy to announce that I am now the proud owner of a fully working 'N' Gauge Layout!!!
     
    This morning I VERY carefully whipped the tops off of those super-long point motor pins with the Dremel (note to future readers - NEXT time I will position the point motors, mark the cut off point with a thin marker pen, remove the motors from the layout THEN cut the pins down to size on a workbench and replace, the method I employed today was NOT very clever!)
     
    But, it worked.
     
    Next came the long awaited sidings, these are three lengths of Flexi Track. I laid it in position and marked in pencil where it overlapped the points (by quite a lot considering they come in yard long sections!) I cut it down with the dremel and squared off the ends with it too. You need to stock up on fishplates by the way, as Flexi Track and Streamline Points do not have them already fitted in the same way that Set Track bits do. Also of note, the pencil marks I made on the rails completely vanished under the glare of my LED work-light, so I would advise using that thin marker pen once more! Again, somewhat against my own advice, I trusted my instinct and cut it by eye - the section fitted, but it was a siding and I had the luxury of it not mattering if it came up a couple of mil short or long - I wouldn't advise this approach when precision counts! The next two sidings were produced in the same way, I had two yard long sections of Flexi Track and that allowed me to make all three of the sidings with a piece about 15" leftover​. They are held in position by double sided tape running the length of the straight section of each - this will stay where it is and be covered when the track is painted and ballasted.
     
    And there it was! All that remained was a quick test run with the Class 08 shunter and some wagons! The point switches all did their jobs, that was my main concern as I felt haunted by unexplained wiring malfunctions, but no - it all works like a charm! I have a secondhand Capacitor Discharge Unit coming in the post, but don't really need it. I think I will fit it anyway (belt n braces!) I'd also like to have a signal light connected to the non-scenic point motors, but I think I'll consult the forum on that.
     
    So, if anyone is reading this who is thinking of commissioning a build - my advice would be DON'T DO IT! Many of you out there might already know why I say this, but there is more to it than just that. I went to my local timber yard exactly one month ago, and came home with a sheet of board and some 2 x 1 batten - and in that short time I have made this layout, AND it doesn't represent an actual months work either, far from it. I have pottered around on it just at weekends and the odd day off, sometimes for ten mins sometimes for two hours, so let's call it a few days at most - and I've enjoyed it all immensely and I now have a layout that I KNOW. If someone else were to do it for you, I don't think that it would be the same at all - and if you were really unlucky, your layout could be made by someone who just doesn't care whether you get what you paid a lot of money for, or when you get it.
     

    Unfortunately, there are people like that out there - but I like to think that the law is now closing in on them, fast...
     

    So, Future Reader - you CAN do it!!!!
     
    (.....And if you can't - PM me, and I'll build one for you!)
  4. Ray Von

    Electrickery!

    By Ray Von,

    April 30th
     

    Strewth! It took some doing, but one or two hours and a few minor injuries/profanities later......
     
    The points all have their own allocated switches!!!!
     
    I absolutely loathed the prospect of tackling the wiring and electrics on my layout, and my hesitance was not completely misplaced - despite doing my best to avoid the dreaded soldering and therefore buying myself the pre-soldered Peco wiring looms, I still had my work cut out for me.
     
    I won't say it started well, as I found myself getting my wires muddled up from the off! So deep breath, a stern talking too - and try again ....bit better, not much. The issue seemed to be that I wanted the row of switches to reflect the order in which the points are placed on the layout (that's not too much to ask, is it??). Well, "yes" as it turns out.
     
    However, once I got my head round the fact that my layout was upsidedown ​and backtofront in relationship to the left-to-right order of the switch panel things went, adequately.
     
    I decided at the off to replace the connector blocks with larger ones, as I would be putting two wires in one terminal in a few places. That was a good decision, except the ones I got (from Wickes) were made of a very brittle plastic, and at the screwing in of the last point motor wire in the block - SNAP! Two quid in the swear jar. Moved every wire in the block down one, and set about fitting the wires for the switches, gingerly.
     
    Well, once it was all wired up and powered and the right way up - I tested all the switches (five switches for six sets of points with two sharing one) Fine, fine, fine, fine, CLICK BUZZ. Was it too early for alcohol? Probably.
     
    Layout over - wires jiggled, swapped, disconnected, re stripped, re inserted. Nothing, "set of points number one" - the ones that refused to work with a surface mounted motor, the ones that only seemed to cooperate with the green wires reversed was at it again. One more go, CLICK CLICK! Ooh. CLICK CLICK! Hallelujah!
     
    Layout back the right way up. CLICK BUZZ!! CLICK BUZZ!! What the ....Dickens?!!
     
    Right! Layout BACK over, threats of "A Damned Good Thrashing!" administered, wires re jiggled etc etc etc until - wire jiggling and switch throwing coincided and, hang on, when I hold the wire and throw the switch ....CLICK CLICK! A loose connection! A loose connection in the Peco wiring loom green wire! And I'd accidentally bought too many - yes!
     
    New green wire fitted and, my God, I needed a pint. ALL of the points were working, the spare room looked like an explosion in Frankenstein's lab, but - they ALL WORK!!
     
    Have I changed my mind about wiring? Well, let's just say that I know to expect the unexpected now!
     
    Cheers!
  5. Ray Von
    Went about the task of adding third rail today.
     
    I used British Finescale track for this as I've used it before with good results.  The rail is simply super glued to the sleeper parallel to the existing rail.
     
    It was a fiddly task, but I hit upon the idea of using Blu-tak style adhesive to hold the track in place while gluing and it seems to have worked well!  The Blu-tak was removed after a couple of hours drying, and left no residue - except where it had mixed with super glue!  This combined to make a nasty immovable gum, which I'm hoping to be able to remove with a stiff brush later on....
     
    I think I did reasonably well with the third rail around point work, at a glance anyway it looks pretty good and after a test run with an EMU, there were no derailments.
     
    I also tidied up missing sleepers around the joins in track work, using Peco replacement sleepers (I forget the serial number...) They are intended to slip over fishplates so have a large opening to accommodate these and the rail.  In places where sleepers were missing but not near fishplates, I slid a thin piece of stiff card underneath the sleeper to raise it into contact with the rail and then applied watered down PVA to each, to hold in place prior to ballasting.
     
     
     
     






  6. Ray Von
    I am currently rebuilding a layout from round and round to shelf format in N gauge.
     
    I am using sections of an old bookcase (turned shelf) as the base - not the ideal material but so far so good....
     
    I thought people might be interested to see some pics of the most recent part of the project - making Peco Uncouplers (Sort of) Remote Control.
     
    I began by removing the small 45 degree overhang at the rear of the ramp with a scalpel, this gives the ramp much more range of movement.  I also cut a sliver off of the barrel section to give a better fit between the rails.
     
    I drilled small holes opposite one another in the plastic of the rail bed and fitted the ramp pretty much as per the instructions.
     
    Modifications are, removal of sleepers along the ramps length and one from behind the pivoting section. Insertion of a panel pin horizontally through the rail bed (as it turned out the gaps were already right where I needed them to be!) 
    A neodymium magnet was glued to the underside of the ramp, this would be attracted to the panel pin and ensure that the ramp lowered back into position after lifting.
     
    The raising mechanism consists of brass rods and small lift off hinges, to make a sliding arm - controlled through a hole in the baseboard.
    The rods meet up with the head of a round map pin.  The shaft having been removed and replaced by a short length of brass rod.  This rod goes up through the baseboard via a small hole and pushes the ramp "up."
    A hole large enough for the map pin head to fit into was drilled to the right depth of recess, and when the arm is retracted the pin simply drops down. To prevent the pin dropping to the floor, a small section of sleeve from electrical wire was slipped onto protruding end of brass rod.
     
    Hey Presto!
     
    It's not without its faults, it seems to only work with coaches - smaller wagons simply lift with the ramp.
    Also, for greater reliability - I have removed the peg from all loco uncoupling hooks, this means that they don't get raised along with the coach uncoupling hooks, when this happened they tended to "lock."
     
    I'm very pleased with it and looking forward to tidying it up. :-)
     
    Images below show the uncouplers themselves, and the rods under the baseboard.






  7. Ray Von

    Forgot to Mention:

    By Ray Von,

    This is where the other two lengths of 19" 2" x 1" bracing will go, after all the wiring etc is done. As mentioned in the thread, the majority of track (first radius curves and points) are setrack, which will be non-scenic - the inner curve is flexi track made into an approx 15"(?) curve, which works fine with my class 08 and farish 16t mineral wagons in testing. :-) I'm pleased with that. The scenic area will be 3 x streamline points and flexi track sidings.
  8. Ray Von
    April 14th.
     

    Today, in UNDER two hours - I fitted two peco PL-11 surface mounted point motors ....that might not sound much to you, but to me it's source of great pride! :-P
     

    I went to Maplin first thing this morning, for more wire - not that I don't have enough wire but I didn't have any blue or any green. I purchased this for my own sanity as much as pragmatism, each wire serves a different purpose and goes from one "thing" to another "thing" and as you can probably tell, I know absolutely zip on the subject of wiring. In fact, I fear it.
     
    So - armed with red, black, green and blue spools of wire, battle commenced. And I have to say, it went very well!
    Step one involved marking the position in pencil of the point motor, putting it to one side and drilling a 5mm hole for the FITTED wires to go down. Then, chancing my luck, the motor was track-pinned to the base board in position - no mounting plate, no gouging out of cork board, nothing... It seemed to fit and go back n forth ok, when manually worked.
     
    The wiring bit was not the most straightforward exercise, but it was done and - as you can see in the pics - it may not be text book! And is in need of tidying up a bit.
    I should mention that I have never handled a soldering iron in anger, and thank God for the Eze-wire point switch box (pictured) - I found it accidentally on eBay, and can't praise it enough. It's great if you are unsure of your skills, or you are working on something that you may need to alter in a hurry! It also has the fitting instructions on the box.
     
    Well, when I click the switches the points change! What more can I say? I'm feeling rather proud of myself. :-)
  9. Ray Von

    [Sleeper] Smart.

    By Ray Von,

    21st April
     
    The Peco Joiner Sleeper Sections (SL308F) arrived the other day, so this morning I had a fairly easy time of siting them on the scenic section of the layout, to hide the gaps mentioned in the previous post.
    I used the tried-and-trusted "bits of double sided tape" method to get them into the right positions (using tweezers) and I'm pleased with the results. In this case I will be leaving the tape where it is, as it will eventually be entombed in glue, ballast and / or scene scatter.
    The curved section of set track is especially visually improved, particularly as I replaced the "ugly" bit on both ends of that piece of track (this had nothing to do with me removing the wrong end in the first place - no, absolutely not!)
    After the new sleepers were in place it was just a matter of going over the track sections with the Archimedes Drill at regular intervals, making holes in the FIXED sleepers ready for track pins. I somehow managed to break the drill bit at the very end of this procedure :-( but it is still usable, if a little stumpy!
    The end result is, however, that the layout is now nearly done - from the point of view of running trains, and I'm well pleased! Just the sidings to do, for which the flexi track arrived​ just a couple of hours ago. :-)
  10. Ray Von

    A Name at Last (and a Burger Bar!)

    By Ray Von,


    Low relief building
    I finally decided on a name for the layout, and added name-boards to the station today.
     

     
    I settled on a French influenced one, inspired by a local road which in turn is named for a medieval landowner whose legacy is the road name and the remains of a gatehouse.
     
    I think that the name fits in well with the Southern Region near-coastal setting.
     
    The signs are "Knightwing" white metal (8 pack) and are grey primed with a bit of white dry-brushing (thanks to RMweb for the info on that subject!)
     
    I produced the signs using an Android phone app called Phonto, it's really handy and easy to use.  They are printed on regular paper, mounted on thin white card.
     
    In order to ensure that the signs were placed uniformly, I made a simple card template for drilling the post-holes:
     

     
    I really like the way they look on the station - they make it look more "real!"
     

     

     
    Other jobs attended to today were the addition of a "Wimpy" bar (the back scene is nearly complete!)  
    I used a bit of artistic license - I don't think that there would prototypically be signage on the rear/side of the building, but what the heck!
     

     
    Thanks as always for looking in!
     
     
  11. Ray Von

    A Hotel on Platform One....

    By Ray Von,


    Painting and Weathering
    Just kidding!  I've had this "Monopoly" hotel kicking around for ages in my box of scraps - I think I picked it up off the pavement years ago...
     

     
    Today I set about converting it into something useful for the layout - a newsagent kiosk.
     
    Step one was to drill a hole in the side of the hotel and then square the circle using a file.
     
    Next, I sanded down the surface of the building - prior to gluing on corrugated styrene sheet, to represent wood panelling, and a door from spares.
    I left the hotel roof as it was, and then primed the whole thing with grey aerosol spray.
     
    Once dry - I painted the sides green and dry-brushed the roof black. This was followed by white dry-brushing over the whole model.  
     
    A counter for the service hatch was made from card, some guttering from styrene rod, and I printed off some signage and newspaper headlines - these were mounted on thin card and fixed to the building.
     

     

     
     
  12. Ray Von
    April 16th Happy Easter!
     

    Not much to do today, so I thought I'd face the inevitable and tidy up the mass of tangled wires hidden, in shame, under the layout.
    If I were to tackle making a layout again (and I'm almost certain I will) I would take more time and care over the wiring. I feel that I planned out the actual technicalities of the task quite thoroughly - but the actual doing of the job was not my most methodical work!
    Basically, I was cutting the wire at completely arbitrary lengths and fitting them in haste - they performed as they needed to, but were a right mess to look at!
    So, today I set about gathering the wires into bunches relating to their purpose and then cable-tying them together at intervals along their length, as this was being done the varying lengths of wire became obvious, and it was just a matter of snipping the whole bunch, or half of each pair, to the length of it's shortest one.
    The end result was far less baffling to the eye, and much less of a mess.
     
    The attached image shows this, and indicates the wiring under the layout relative to its purpose above it.
  13. Ray Von

    Whatever Happened to Tommy Gander...?

    By Ray Von,


    Detailing
    For anyone who doesn't know, Tommy Gander was a fictional Music Hall comic, a character that featured in the 1941 British film "The Ghost Train" portrayed by real life comic, Arthur Askey.
     
    On his way down to Newquay to start a new sixteen week season of his act at The Pier Pavillion ("Well, we'll see how I go Monday night...") Tommy gets caught up in the events that unfold in the film (or was he instrumental in causing them...?)
     
    Years later, Tommy Gander finds himself performing regularly at the increasingly popular "Holiday Camps" that have sprung up all over post war Britain.
    It's while doing a season at Dent-de-Lion's "Smuggler's View" Holiday Camp, on the North Kent Seaside Circuit - that Tommy decides that there's money to be made in this game, and eventually buys up the camp - lock, stock and barrel.
     
    Renaming it "Gander's" and trading on his popularity as an entertainer, Tommy "runs the show" as it were - headlining in the nightly cabaret, as well as booking new acts, looking after the guests, and taking charge of the day to day running of the park.
     
    At its peak, the camp was full to the rafters - train-loads of guests from London, the North of England and beyond would regularly disgorge at Dent-de-Lion station and spend a week-long summer break in the sun at "Gander's Holiday Camp" - many returning year after year.
     
    But it's "now" the late seventies, and package holidays to the Costa Brava have taken their toll on the holiday camps.
    "Gander's" is still in business, and maybe a little less glamorous than in its heyday, but Tommy still takes to the stage nightly during the summer season, to entertain the appreciative (but dwindling) crowd.
     

     

  14. Ray Von

    Traverser

    By Ray Von,


    Wiring
    Constructed and test ran a new traverser today.
     

     
    The parts I used were the top and base section of a bookcase (the main baseboard is made from the side panels.)
    The traverser base is wall mounted with reinforced brackets, the deck is fitted with heavy duty drawer runners. 
     
    *EDIT - 8/2/21: Magnetic connector snapped at weld, see posts for 8/2/21 and 9/2/1 for details on repair and improvements!
     
    Power is supplied from a connection block wired from the main controller, the cable is fitted to two magnetic terminals via the metal inserts from a connection block. 
    The terminal wires are fed through small holes in the base of the traverser - supported with semi-rigid plastic sleeves (cotton bud sticks!) 
     

     
    The track receives power from 20mm bolts that go through the traverser deck and protrude by a few millimetres, making contact with the underside of the rails (the plastic webbing is cut away to make this possible.)
     

     

     
    Today, I have only laid the front and rear sections of track - mainly because these were the slightly more complex pieces to do, and their position governs that of the other lines.  Other lines will be added in the future.
     
    The rearmost track receives power from a direct connection to the front track, as well as (when drawn forward) from the magnetic connecters.  It also has a siding that works in the traditional way, leaving one track unpowered and one line live - depending on the position of the points.
    Connecting the rear track to the front was the simplest method I came up with to allow traffic to use the rear of the layout without more complex and separate wiring, switches and terminals.  
     

     
    The height of the deck is adjustable by two brackets on the underside that are fitted with rubber washers for added support.
     

     
     I've built and used a traverser like this before and was very pleased with it.  Looking forward to adding the middle lines and getting on with some less restricted operating! 
     
    Cheers for looking in. 
     
     
     
     
  15. Ray Von

    Not So Lucky Me!

    By Ray Von,

    April 22nd
     

    I have spent a couple of hours (at least!) trying to get a third Peco P11 surface mounted point motor to work on the layout! I should say, that the previous two I have used have worked without incident and I am very happy with them.
    But, as you can see from the images and the chunks missing from the corkboard - this most recent addition was a total flop! It just kept randomly jamming. Click, click -BUZZ! Click, click, click -BUZZ! BUZZ! Click, click etc... In fact I even went to my local model shop and bought a fourth motor and tried that! No better.
    I can only assume that it is a question of position, as I can categorically say that this particular motor has been placed in all possible sites around the set of points to varying degrees of success. The one position in which it worked and didn't jam up? - SMACK where I want my siding to go.
    Something about them, in my experience today, seems to make them only work when they are situated to the left of a set of points....
    As it is, the whole battle really was just a matter of principle - as I already have a hole made in the baseboard for an underneath-mounted motor. I was just seeing if I could save myself the effort, how wrong I was!
  16. Ray Von
    April 13th
     

    The 2 x point motors arrived today -thank you to the good people at Hattons- :-) I'll be fitting them this weekend, and then pressing on with track laying (I am planning to fix the track methodically, starting at one curved section and working my way round to the starting point). It seems like a good idea to me...
    I've just placed one motor where it will be sited and it looks fine, it doesn't even seem to need the digging into the cork underlay that was predicted. But there's a world of difference between placing a thing and fitting it so that it works! We'll see.
    As it is, it is already obvious that a bit of jigging of track plan will be needed further down the track (see pic.) as the Peco point motor will never fit there! Either way it is placed, it impinges on a curve. That's where the methodical track laying comes into play: this part of track is only hand-pinned down, and can be easily re-positioned.
  17. Ray Von
    April 12th
     
    Ok, so not much to do until the point motors arrive. So for the benefit of those reading this in the future and maybe undertaking their first layout, here is what I've personally learned so far:
     
    1. Peco Flexi Track, it has a right way and a wrong way to curve it! It's pretty apparent when you are curving it the wrong way. When making a curve the rails need to be cut at different lengths (longest on the outside) sounds obvious but there was much head-scratching when I first tried to form a curve and expected it to fit straight away! I used a Dremel sanding disc on low speed to cut and finish the rail.
     
    2. Local timber yards are much cheaper than many DIY places (well mine was anyway). And was very helpful too.
     
    3. Cork tiles expand and contract in heat and cold. Decent interior grade strong wood glue -I used Wilkos own brand- took care of this in my experience.
     
    4. Double-sided tape in small pieces is very good for temporarily fixing track in place and testing a layout until you are ready to permanently fix it.
     
    5. Be aware of the relationship between your track plan and your base board! I have hit this obstacle, but luckily at an early stage and it has been get-round-able.
     
    6. Forums (or is that Forae?) Are invaluable sources of knowledge, don't be afraid to ask what you may consider to be a daft question - there is always someone ready to help.
     
    I'm sure there'll more of these little lessons to come! :-)
  18. Ray Von
    Quick "aerial" shot of the layout.
    The main line leading in will be fed by a traverser - there is a two island station with three arrival and departure platforms.  
    These lines are isolated at about half way along their length and the isolated sections controlled by on/off toggle switches.
     
    Opposite the station are three sidings, similarly isolated.  Two of the sidings will, at busy times, serve as a holding areas for waiting EMU's and diesel locomotives (plus or minus coaches.)
    The "top" siding will represent an area unused by the railway, having since been taken on by a scrap merchant.  There will be a couple of engine sheds, converted into workshops and the siding itself will be occasionally visited by a shunter collecting or delivering small amounts of scrap metal, waste oil etc.
     
    I've had a play around with it and, even without the traverser yet installed, it's a lot of fun to operate.  
     
    With only one way on and off the layout there's a great deal of scope for running to a good timetable (along with dealing with all the "unforseen circumstances" that might arise on a normal day!)
    I particularly like the way that the scrap yard siding becomes a "trap" that the shunter can't escape from while the adjacent line is occupied by a loco and coaches.  Like an old lady crossing a busy street, he has to nip in and out quick! 
     
    Have included a shot of the wiring too, not very neat I'm afraid - but it works as planned! 
     
    Next job will be adding third rail...
     
     
     

  19. Ray Von

    Bottletop Signal Box

    By Ray Von,


    Modelling
    It's been a long while!  Today I made a completely fictional, unprotoypical Signal Box - from a few odds and ends found around the house.
     
    The main inspiration came from a clear plastic lid I found that had an inner segment - I forgot to take any pictures prior to starting this project, so this vague description is the best I can offer!  Here is a pic of the lid, masked and primed:
     

     
    Alongside this clear plastic lid is a small eyedropper bottle, which - as luck would have it - was a perfect fit for the inner section of the lid.  I fixed an old offcut of brickwork plasticard, left over from another project and already painted and weathered.  The plasticard had a tendency to "unping" when I attempted to glue it onto the body of the bottle, so I employed a cable tie - which became a vital part of the building itself!
     

     

     
    The roof for the building came in the form of a vitamin pill lid, this was primed white around the edge, and grey for the rooftop.
     

     
    The parts that were to represent concrete were painted in my tried and tested way - Beige Acrylic with a wash of Brown Earth, this was was also applied to the roof edging too.
     
    Here is the nearly finished article:
     

     
    As you can see, the building is total fiction!  I'm fairly pleased with it though.  I can imagine it perhaps being a product of elegant, modern 1930's design - offering 360 degree visibility of the surrounding rail network.  (Access by the way is via an internal spiral staircase.)
     
    I added some very thin, square styrene rod for the window frames and sill - the vertical struts are held in place by double-sided tape (I'll glue them permanently, the day I finally get them straight!)
    I might add more architectural details at a later date, vents, pipework etc...
     
    Here is the building in situ, I inserted a tube of coloured paper with a doodle on it of some trackwork to represent a map and a small clock, made from a circle of plasticard.
     

     

     
    I think it looks pretty good, I just need to add a footing for it to stand on.  Thanks for looking in! 
     

     
  20. Ray Von

    Relocation of Scrap Yard.

    By Ray Von,


    Scrap metal merchant
    So, it's been a while!  But today I finally got around to adding the Scrap Merchant Yard to the layout.  It existed on a previous layout, which I decided to dismantle and "rejig."
    I enjoyed doing this area of the layout today, but it is by no means finished.
    The goods shed (adopted by the merchant) is just a temporary fixture, I bought this model second hand and would like to repaint it.
    I have yet to add a surface to the area outside of the engine shed (also reappropriated by the scrap yard.)  
    For the pictures I have "plonked" some trees in situ, but will landscape more deliberately in the future.  There is an incomplete tyre heap that needs attending to as well.
    As for the rest of the layout, I'm waiting on parts for the traverser, also I have to find a wide platform section in order to complete the station and I need to have a play with kitbashing my Kestrel Station Kit, so as to neatly fit it into the corner of the layout.  Along with various other jobs(!)
    In the meantime, here's some pics...




  22. Ray Von

    Detailing

    By Ray Von,


    Detailing
    Some pics of details added to the layout today, signage, air conditioning units and the obligatory "lady in a bra" billboard (sorry!)

  23. Ray Von

    First Hurdle

    By Ray Von,

    April 9th
    Posted a thread about the layout on RMweb. Noticed that holes made for point motors are far too close to the 2" x 1" bracing for under board point motors to be used! Images show first hole drilled and the next intended... No problem though, this has led to the discovery and purchase of 2 x peco PL11 surface mounted point motors (on the plus side : no soldering needed!) I may however, have to dig up some of the cork tile to mount them properly. Awaiting delivery of the motors....
  25. Ray Von

    In the Beginning....

    By Ray Von,

    Weds 5th April (or thereabouts)
    Got some materials from the local timber yard, 1 x 12mm ply 4' x 21", 2 x lengths of 2" x 1" @ 4', 5 x lengths of 2" x 1" and 4 x metal L brackets. £9.98.
     
    From my local Model Shop I had already purchased the "peco starter pack" Gaugemaster controller plus fishplates and track pins and online, some flexi track and 3 x streamline points.
     
    Finally, from eBay - a pack of 9 300 x 300mm unsealed cork tiles.
     
    And I made this:
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