ISW

Although, back in 1999 (according to Google Earth) said DMU was not stabled. The siding was still very long though. Ian

Drew, Just be aware that you need to allow for the gradients to get over the Mainlines; the red lines as marked up below. Me thinks you 'might' need to 'raise' the junction at the back of the depot to make it work. Ian

Andi, I hadn't, but thanks for the idea. There happens to be sign maker not far from me, so maybe I need to drop by their place to check about 'off cuts'. Ian

As this is your first layout, I'd recommend a 'test plank' so you can practice all the key elements, and make all your mistakes on that instead of your actual layout. Here's the one I built before I started on my layout. Track view: Underside view: It's nothing complicated, but did teach me how to join baseboards, wire up turnouts (Code-100) for DCC, make my own point motor assemblies, and practice my plans for wiring using PCB connectors. There were many lessons learnt that I was able to correct / avoid on the actual layout. Ian

Drew, I'm a bit of a cheapskate, so I went with servos and a microswitch assembled into a self made bracket (heavily influenced by the original MegaPoints design). This is the design: And here is one installed under one of my baseboards: Obviously I've working on 00-gauge, but I can't see why it would not work in n-gauge. It's major advantages are availability of the parts (all off-the-shelf) and overall price. The whole thing is less than £10 for each assembly. Ian

Ian, There has to be a 'back' or 'end' span between the outermost piers and the adjacent embankments. Length would vary depending on the topography but not very long. It would be supported on the embankment by a small retaining wall. Ian

Good point. However, since my options are either self-sticky labels or paper with manually applied spray adhesive, I think I'm stuffed either way ... I have tested the stickiness of the labels, and it is quite good. I do have a few things in my favour. The size of the label when cut for glazing will be quite substantial (50x30mm), and it will be applied on top of of the flat clear plastic so gravity will be on my side, for once. Ian

Ian, I was always under the impression that there is a cross-member between the 2 outside trusses located at the base of each vertical member of the truss (and at each end). There is also generally some horizontal diagonal members between these cross-members to increase the stiffness. For example, see: http://www.mvlbridges.co.uk/pony-truss-girder-bridge.html and https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Design-a-Basic-Truss-Bridge-With-Fusion-360/ Ian

Sticky Labels With the platform staircase finished [1], thoughts are turning to the platform canopy. [1] - not really, but it'll have to do for the time being! The canopy is really large and will need several duplicated sections. It's a glazed canopy, so I'll be using clear plastic from old Peco turnout packaging. On my 'test' sample, I used my Cricut cutter to cut out some white paper for the glazing bars, and then glued these on with spray adhesive. Refer to: I've seen may other people using sticky labels for this purpose (and window glazing in general) so maybe I should be considering this method instead. While browsing at a local car boot last weekend I come across a seller (booter?) with some old rolls of sticky labels, so I bought one. I 'think' it'll last a lifetime (and probably longer) ...: Bit of a bargain at £1. The next trick will be to try some in the Cricut to see how/if it can cut out window glazing reliably and accurately. Ian

Does that mean that 'full contact' is necessary, or will the 'fumes' also be enough to life the paint? I ask because the former means you can't reuse the paint stripper (I'm guessing 'filtering' is not possible), whereas the later means that, maybe, you can. Ian

Drew, A couple of comments, as marked up on your layout plan: Additionally, have you checked / verified that there is sufficient space (track length) either side of the 2 overbridges to allow for a suitable gradient? Yes, I recognise that the addition of the crossover at the 'back' depot connection makes this issue a little harder ... Ian

Getting Some Trains Moving again While I've been faffing about with the platform staircase, I've not been running any trains whatsoever. I don't think I've moved anything under it's own power for about 6-months. So, when I came to move something, a few problems reared their ugly heads. Firstly, one of my MegaPoints 12servo boards started acting up. After a bit of troubleshooting (disconnecting power & MegaPoints networks between baseboards) I determined the particular one that was 'crashing' the Lower Level MegaPoints system. It's no surprise that it's the first one I ever installed on the layout! I tried the time-tested method of crawling under the baseboard, lying on my back, and unplugged the servos to see if one was causing a problem. After a while I'd found a culprit, but the act of unplugging had dislodged some wires from a 3-way socket. Did I mention this was my first servo board installation ... There was no way I was going to be able to effect repairs working under the baseboard. This is where having separate baseboards comes in really handy. I disconnected the jumper cable between the baseboards, removed the M8 bolts, and pulled out the baseboard: It's about 5-years since this baseboard has been out-of-the-layout. Anyway, it was swiftly turned over to allow 'repairs' to be conducted: I then made up an extra-long baseboard jumper cable to allow me to power up and test the MegaPoints 12servo, which worked perfectly once again. It was then just a matter of putting the baseboard back into the layout, reinstalling the bolts and re-connecting the baseboard jumper cables. Secondly, any attempt an running trains resulted in a lot of stuttering due to loss of power. A thorough clean of all the rails was the order of the day. I have @61656 to thank for the tip of using white spirit (I'd be previously using IPA), which went very well, apart from the smell that'll take a while to dissipate. Finally, I could run some trains ... Ian

Platform Staircase - Complete, although not perfect Having left the red paint to dry on the staircase, it's obvious that the 'wavy' staircase steps are not going to straighten themselves. Ah well, will just have to live with it; until I can think of a good 'repair' solution. In the meantime, the staircase has been plonked on the platform (it will need to be 'sunk' into the surface in due course). I moved a few trains [1] in the station to take a photo: Getting there, slowly. [1] - moving a few trains was a task in itself. I've not run any trains for months! Ian

Not had to do this myself (I'm only using Code-100), but would the following method work? Using a dremel cutting disk, slice horizontally through the web of the 'larger' rail section for a length of ~7mm. Place the rail upsidedown on a solid base (steel ...) and gently hammer on the foot of the rail to close up the gap in the rail web. In theory (?) if the width of the cut in the rail web was correctly calculated, the 'larger' rail should now be the same height as the 'smaller' rail, and normal fishplates should work (the rail foot side may need filing down). Soldering up the fishplates afterwards would then finalise a permanent 'rail adapter'. Indeed, you could make up short lengths into 'adapters' that can then be fishplated between the 2 rail sizes. Ian

I'd be downloading all of them and saving them in their own 'Lowestoft' folder for several reasons. Offline browsing and backup come to mind ... Ian

Here's what Google Earth shows for ~1999: If you 'zoom in' to the above panorama, you'll easily make out the track layout. Ian

In my area, well, yes. If you have a Boyes department store nearby you may be in luck. The Chesterfield shop has been selling 250ml bottles of 99.9% pure IPA (Bird Brand) for the past 5-years or so. However, I've noted that some of their other branches don't seem to stock it. Ian

I've got plenty of 'lengths' of 12v LED underneath my baseboards to light up the Lower Level, all wired in parallel off a single 12v bus wire. I too am considering installing same inside some scratch built buildings (cereal packet ...), but will watch out for: The double-sided tape on the back of said LEDs is not to be trusted. It has a nasty habit of peeling way, particularly where the wires join due to the weight / stiffness of the wires. Use the smallest wires you can get away with, say 7/0.2 wire. The LEDs do tend to get fairly warm, so it's probably a good idea to 'tame them down' with a suitable resistor (see also below) The LEDs are probably too bright for the interior of a building so, as above, it's probably a good idea to 'tame them down' with a suitable resistor LEDs do fail now and then (although I've not had any fail under my baseboards), so it's a good idea to make them 'accessible' after the building is assembled. All my building have removeable roofs to provide such access (and allow me to retrofit the LEDs later). As an alternative to a resistor in 3) & 4) you could use an LED dimmer (which I've already bought a few of), something like this: In TheBay use the search term "Mini DC Motor Speed Control Driver Board 3V-35V 5A PWM Controller / LED dimmer". Ian

Here's a close up of the station (circa 1999) from Google Earth: The tracks (top to bottom) would be: Down (NB) branch line # Down (NB) slow # Down (NB) fast Up (SB) fast ## Up (SB) slow & Up (SB) branch line # [they combine just north of the station - note that this differs to the 'current' arrangement] # with platform ## with out-of-use platform (if you look at the current arrangement, there is a fence along this side of the platform, confirming it's OOU) Ian

Now I like that layout; looks operable and is a fair representation of the actual railway. Ian

Drew, A good starting point would be the 'actual' layout (circa 1999 I believe you are using), so here it is from Google Earth (screen captures 'stitched' together into a 'panorama'). I've rotated it so it, sort of, matches your layout plan: Note how the 2 'branch' lines peel off the 4-track mainline, with the SB one hugging the side of the depot. All the depot connections can be seen in the photo. What you'll have to do then is 'imagine' the junction on the RH side, such that it achieves the moves you want/need. Same at the south end of the station, where you'll need to compress the many actual junctions (over several miles ...) into a singe complex that, again, meets your needs/wants for train movements. Ian

Drew, I'm struggling to see how you plan to 'operate' this layout. I've marked it up as follows: Take the NB Fast, for example. Try drawing a route round the layout and you end up on the NB Slow. Is this intentional? If you wanted to keep a train operating on the SB Slow, there doesn't seem to be a complete circular route either, without going through the depot. And, a SB Fast train ends up at the back of the depot. Really? Plus it runs 'wrong line' on the double-track above the 'Storage Sidings(?)' Then there are the trains you may want to operate to/from the depot (from both ends). If a train leaves on the SB Fast, where is it going? If you want to bring a train into the depot from the south, how is this done, as there appears to be no viable route. I was under the impression that you planned to have trains 'circulating' around the layout, while you operated others manually/intermittently. That doesn't seem to be possible at present. If you do plan to have trains 'circulating', then the first step needs to be to identify (and colour up?) those routes to make them clear. Then you'll be able to see 'alternative' routes and potential(s) for other routes as well. Put yourself in the position of 'operating' this layout. What trains would you run? Ian

I had the same issue with my 00-gauge Code-100 insulfrog double & single slips. All my other turnouts / points are electrofrog, the same as yourself. What I did was to simply treat the insulfrog as an electrofrog. Underneath the acute crossings are wires connecting the vee rails (point & splice) to the wing rails. I snipped these close to the wing rail connection, twisted the wires together and added a connection wire (just as I would in an electrofrog). I did this to both obtuse crossings (obviously), and this provides power to just the acute crossings. Then, I added 2 power wires, one each to the obtuse crossings, to provide power to the double/single slip. Installation was thenceforth as per electrofrog, with insulated rail joiners on the back of the acute crossings. Power to the acute crossings is provided through a microswitch activated by the servo on the 'opposite' switches in the double/single slip, as you have to think of a double/single slip as being 2 turnouts installed toe-to-toe, but overlapped by ~60% of their length. I hope this makes sense (i don't have a suitable photo unfortunately), and that it helps. Ian

Have you tried model fixings at https://www.modelfixings.co.uk/machine_screws.htm They have 1.2mm cheesehead screws up to 16mm long and 2mm (slot pan) up to 30mm long, plus they have packs of 10 or 100. I've used them many times (just a customer ...) and been well pleased with their prompt deliveries. They also do UNC bolts / nuts down to 2-56 and up to 3/4" long at https://www.modelfixings.co.uk/unc_machine_screws.htm Ian

That little snippet was a real eye opener for me. I was trainspotting in the early 1970s at Burton-on-Trent, so the thought of missing Falcon going by is 'disappointing'. I was only redeemed in the knowledge that 27th September 1972 was a Wednesday, so I'd have been at school! Ian