ISW

Ian, Yep, done exactly that on my layout where space constraints meant I had to use a settrack turnout instead of my usual electrofrog ones. I 'converted' the settrack ones (I did a total of 4) to behave just like an electrofrog, including the fitting of a microswitch to change the frog polarity. Here's a few photos to explain. This was my 'plan', but I didn't bother with the 'metal vee' part in the end: Topside of turnout, showing the location of the rail cuts: Underside, showing the cabling; red/black for power, green for the frog: It all worked out rather well, and my Class 08's don't have any problems stalling on them (so long as the wheels/pickups are clean!). Ian

Sorry, never watched it. Thanks for the information though; I've learnt something today. Ian

The terraced house has got me curious about another thing: I can't recall ever seeing a 'bay window' extending out into a pavement like in the Metcalfe model. I was under the impression that this only happened if there was a short/narrow front garden. Happy to be proven wrong, but it does look a little weird. Ian

Andy, That's one of the reasons why I made up male-to-male 'jumpers' that were then plugged into the female connectors on adjacent baseboards. However, the main reason was the ability to 'cut the power' across a baseboard join, without actually disconnecting the baseboards. Ian

Overbridge - 'Topside' Substantial Completion After 2-months of work/progress, the 'topside' of the Overbridge is now basically complete. There are a few 'missing' items that'll need to be added, including the zebra crossing belisha beacons and a fence along the 'island' of pavement. It seemed like a good opportunity to 'stage' a few vehicles on the roads and take some photos of the completed Overbridge, although without placing it on the layout (to provide easier photography!). Plan View: View from the Southbound Track side: View from the Northbound Track side: Street view looking along Station Street: Inside the station forecourt: The forecourt canopy can be easily removed as it only 'rests' on the station building and the columns are a simply 'push' fit into the column bases glued down to the road surface. The station building itself is removeable, being a 'push fit' between the Overbridge side walls, the pavement, and the wall upstand above the tracks. I've bought some laser cut fencing (from TheBay) that I can 'adapt' to look the part, so that'll be the next task. Then, finally, I can move onto the 'underside' of the Overbridge and create the columns and beams that (only in reality ...) support the Overbridge over the tracks. Ian

How successful was this experiment? I've a continuous supply of coffee grounds from my bean-to-cup coffee maker [1] and if they can be 'usefully' used on the layout then great. [1] - I've had the machine since 2013, and has over 10,000 cycles on it so far. My last 'maths' indicated that meant >3 cups of coffee a day for 10-years Ian

Andy, Because of the potential for electrical interference between power for tracks and MegaPoints Controllers, I kept the two entirely separate. I was careful to run the MegaPoints network cable and any jumpers (between baseboards) clear of the Power District Cables. [When I was wiring my Lower Level baseboards I managed to get the wiring of a 5-way connector (Network + Power) to a MegaPoints board the 'wrong 'way round, and fried a 12-servo board! Lesson learnt, and avoided that problem afterwards.] I used long 'chocolate block' connectors as they gave the opportunity to disconnect an entire baseboard with a single connector. This was very useful during the build process, when baseboards were being removed on a regular basis. However, I still wanted the ability to disconnect individual Power Districts (for troubleshooting etc), and so came up with the solution shown in the photo below. A veroboard with PCB screw connectors is used to 'tap' off each of the required Power Districts on each baseboard. Also note the fastidious labelling to avoid mistakes later when I can't remember the design: As others have said ( @Pete the Elaner ) adding additional cables would be a bit of a pain. That's why I did a complete 'design drawing' of the required Power Districts before I started to get my chocolate block sizes right at the beginning: You may see that I included a separate bus cable for 'under baseboard lighting'. In addition to it's intended function, it'll also be used to power any building lighting later on. I also did a 'design drawing' for the MegaPoints layout in order to optimise the locations of the 12-servo baords to reduce the number of baseboard jumpers to a minimum. I think I ended up with just a couple: Cabling for the MegaPoints was just a single 'C-shape' (not a loop) of network cable and the cables to each servo. The 12v power supply for the MegaPonts was another of the Bus Cables along with the power districts. Hope this helps. Ian

Andy, When I built my Lower Level baseboards I used these. They are plug-in PCB connectors, which I usually bought from Switch Electronics. See https://www.switchelectronics.co.uk/connectors/connectors/terminal-blocks/pluggable-terminal-blocks for a full list. Here's a 5-way one I wired up: However, when it came to my Upper Level baseboards I opted for something cheaper. These are 'chocolate' block type connectors and work really well, especially if you have several power districts (like I had) to connect. You can find these on TheBay at https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=erminal+Blocks+6A+Male%2FFemale+Pair&_sacat=0 However, I kept using the PCB screw connectors for the MegaPoints cables: Ian

Agreed. There are some good 'opportunities' to be had/found in the proverbial box of old kits/bits you see at most swapmeets and/or train fairs. I have to admit that when I started my layout, 5-years ago, I couldn't understand the fascination people seemed to have with those box of useless bits. How wrong I was. Those boxes are now my firm favourite and I've garnered quite a few kits and accessories from them! Ian

Overbridge - Road Textures Well, that didn't take as long as I expected. I was anticipating a few 'issues' to arise convincing the printer to 'obey' my requirements to print on long sheets of paper. But no, everything went as it should. The paper I'm using is 300gsm 'water colour' paper of size B3 (it was bought in Malaysia, hence the 'American' paper size). I taped 2-sheets end-on-end and then cut it to a width of 210mm, corresponding to the width of A4 paper, the maximum width my printer will accept. The resulting sheet is 916mm long, just long enough for my Overbridge structure of 900mm. And here are the 2 sheets of road texture: Hopefully, it'll look okay once glued down to the Overbridge ... Ian

Overbridge Structure - Forecourt Textures With the Overbridge 'structure' (aka plywood) removed, again, from the layout I have been able to tackle the forecourt and main road (named Station Street, rather predictably). My main 'tool', other than the usual Xara Designer Pro X10, was to make a 'template' of the entire forecourt area in paper. This was simply a matter of placing overlapping sheets of scrap A4 paper (I've rather a lot of that ...) onto the overbridge and taping it all together. With the Overbridge building in place (including the forecourt canopy) I could easily mark the 'extents' of the building onto the paper. I then marked out the pavements, using the 22-Chain Plan-View drawing as a guide. Each of the pavement elements were then cut from 'greyboard' I bought from a local craft shop. Yes, I know, shock & horror all around. I didn't use cereal packet! As I needed ~2mm thick carboard, and rather a lot of it, it was just easier to use greyboard. Then it was back to Xara Designer Pro X10 to draw up the various textures I'd need for the road, pavement, and kerbstones. Some of these I downloaded from the Google SketchUp 'library' and others were from the Xara installation itself. The road markings, for a zebra crossing and Bus Stop I drew up in Xara, using information from GOV.UK, of all places. They have the complete design specifications for all road signs and markings, so I've been able to 'draw up' correctly scaled and spaced road markings, which should help with realism. Here's an overview of progress so far: The 'rear' wall is now in place, complete with a 'representation' of the steel bridge parapet. All the pavements are 'built' and have kerb stones, with the exception of the rear long pavement. That'll be 'kerbed' later today. The 'bits' of masking tape stuck to the plywood are my cheap-n-cheerful 'filler' over the screwheads. I filled the holes with 'Tacky Glue' and then placed masking tape over the blob of glue to spread it flat-n-even. Cutting greyboard is not the easiest, especially when it comes to curves. However, I found that if you 'score' the right curve with a blade, it can easily be cut using an 'ultrasonic knife'. Such devices are a tad expensive (understatement ...), so I built my own using an old Philips SoniCare toothbrush we had in the house. Details can be found at: It cuts through greyboard like a knife through butter cheese, but you have to hold the greyboard 'in the air' and use the 'middle' of the blade length. Hence, scoring the curve first as a guide. Next will be printing out the road surface textures, on ~900mm long sheets of paper. Ian

Yes, I do like that. Very prototypical. Ian

For those of you who didn't follow my advice, you can now breath ... We had an old SoniCare in the house, so I thought I've have a go at a DIY ultrasonic knife. I took an old SoniCare toothbrush head and lopped the head off with a small saw. The same saw was then used to cut vertically into the cut end of the toothbrush head. A blade was then inserted into the 'slot' to establish a suitable location for a 2mm nut/bolt to 'clamp' the slot tight. Once marked, the blade was removed and a 2mm hole was drilled though the toothbrush head. The blade was re-inserted into the slot and the 2mm bolt/nut assembled. As it's going to see quite a bit of vibration I used a pair of nuts, locking them together. Here is a ultrasonic franken knife: I used an X-Acto blade as it has a suitable hole for the 2mm bolt. I suppose Swann-Morton could also be made to fit. But does it work? Well, it cuts just like the video in the link contained in the original posting, freehand cutting through cardboard without issue. It also cuts cardboard on a mat with much less pressure than you'd normally need. It works perfectly well to cut with a steel ruler, although there is a little noise. It's probably best used for 'freehand' cutting of curves. Total cost, £0.00, as I already had all the bits and tools for the project. One problem with the franken-knife is that the blade is ~75mm (3-inches) from the handle, which isn't ideal and takes some getting used to. Next time (?), I'd cut the toothbrush head much shorter to reduce the 'overhang'. A few words on safety: By design the SoniCare stands upright when not in use. The blade is therefore pointing straight up, where it is a bit of a hazard! However, it won't roll off the table ... Because it still 'looks' like a SoniCare (at a glance), it wouldn't be a good idea to accidently use it as a toothbrush! As a result, I'd recommend that the blade/head be removed from the SoniCare when not in use. Ian

I have a 'stash' of polystyrene ready for such a purpose in the attic of the garage, sometime in the future. However, I've also been collecting old egg cartons over the years although, at current prices (for the eggs ...) and lack of availability, such a 'stash' is probably now worth quite a lot. Anyway, I was thinking of using the egg cartons dipped in water (until they are soft/pliable) and building them up with cheap PVA. For large thicknesses, I'd probably use the polystyrene for the 'bulk' and the egg cartons for the 'skin'. A bit like a DIY version of ModRoc. The theory being that it cuts down on the polystyrene cutting, and resultant hoovering (why don't we call it Dysoning?). Ian

Jason, Especially if you decide to make it functional. That'd look good motorised ... Ian

True, but my columns are purely 'decorative' and only serve to fool (?) the viewer into thinking they are functional (a bit like most of a model railway!). Either way, they need to be clear of the KE to avoid unnecessary derailments and 'scraping' noises ... I'll be making them between 4mm and 6mm diameter, depending on the gap I have between the adjacent KEs of the tracks. They will certainly be 'robust' ... Ian

and there is a comment that "It can also start resonating side to side which makes fine detail work difficult.", which implies it literally does vibrate like a SoniCare toothbrush. I was thinking it was 'clever' and only vibrated along the blades axis. Ian

Unfortunately, while the track 'should' extend in a straight line to reflect reality, space constraints meant that the tracks have to curve to avoid falling off the baseboard! Thankfully no. The 9mm plywood is more than adequate to support itself and the 'flyweight' building is made from cereal packet cardboard and inkjet printed textures. Now I like that. It means I can make sure the columns are clear of the KE (kinematic envelope) of the trains, and get them in place without the Overbridge being 'in the way'. Yes, it'll be hard to see the 'detail' under the Overbridge, but I'm trying to incorporate sufficient detail that it doesn't look too bad when a loco is pushing a CubeCam around the layout. Either perspex or styrene. In reality (see photo in my first posting) there is such a longitudinal beam. ====================================================================== Many thanks to all who've taken time to respond, it has really helped me out. I was originally tending towards attaching the columns to the Overbridge, by simply drilling vertical holes (if I can keep the drill orientated correctly!) through the Overbridge plywood, and gluing styrene or wooden rods into the holes. This would have made alignment with the Overbridge beams easy, but would have been hard to get them correctly aligned with the tracks (and almost impossible to rectify afterwards!). This doesn't sound good. However, your replies have shown me that I really should connect the columns to the baseboard (using the same drilled hole through the plywood method) and install the longitudinal beam on top. The lateral beams, that'll be attached to the Overbridge, will be simple cut out shapes of cardboard (aka cereal packet) painted black (ish), and so the alignment can be 'close enough'. It's also fairly easy (and cheap) to rectify any misaligned cardboard beams. Ian

If (?) I get around to building a Sonicare 'knife' myself, I'll be sure to post some details and photos. Just don't hold your breath ... Ian

I don't think I've run any trains for about a year! I sort of got 'sidetracked' into this scenery malarkey and overlooked the railway. I even bought a (secondhand) Class 20 last year that hasn't been run on the layout yet (it came with a decoder that only accepted 2-digit IDs, which I had to replace). I'm not complaining though, as I'm quite enjoying the challenges of making bespoke buildings out of recycled materials, especially when the completed article looks as it should. I suppose I should be thankful that I'm not 'distracted' by running trains ... (there are already enough distractions). My railway modelling seems to go in 'phases' (or should that be fads?) until they are complete (ish). So far that's included: Design and drawing up in Xara Designer Pro X10 Building the support timber framework Building the baseboards Track laying Wiring MegaPoints Controller boards and wiring Ballasting Although (2), (3), (4), (5) & (6) were repeated 3-times over in sequence for the Lower Level, Ramps, and Upper Level. Ian

Interesting .... do they say 'how' they've done it and, in particular, what orientation they have the blade to the Sonicare? I've had a look at my old Sonicare, and can't decide the 'direction' of the vibration. I thought it would rotate round the axis is the machine, but it seems to simply vibrate in 'all' directions! In principle, it should simply be a case of cutting the toothbrush head off the plastic replaceable head, cut a slot into the end of the cut, insert a blade and 'clamp' it into place - maybe with a tiny jubilee clip or even wrapped with string. Ian

Makes you wonder if it would be possible to 'hack' an old Philips 'sonicare' toothbrush to achieve the same cutting ability? It might only be a case of attaching a blade (sawtooth or not) in place of the toothbrush head? Just a thought ... Ian

I'm in the process of building the overbridge / station combination for my layout based on the 1883 Burton-on-Trent station buildings. For reasons of access and maintenance, I want to be able to lift out the overbridge, so the overbridge is a basic 9mm plywood sheet with timber risers, as below: Installed on the layout: Underside: For the sides, these will be 'submerged' in ballast/soil to hide the join and provide necessary alignment. My problem is that the design of the overbridge includes support columns between the tracks, as seen is this photo: So, do I: Attach the columns to the overbridge or, Attach the columns to the baseboards? In (1) I have the problem of getting the columns to align with 'holes' in the ballast at the foot of each column. In (2) the problem is getting the column to align with the 'steel' cross-members that'll be attached to the underside of the plywood. In both cases, I have the problem of adequately attaching the column to the overbridge or baseboard, such that they won't get knocked. In either case, it seems to me that I'd have to be impossibly careful placing the overbridge back onto the layout without damaging those columns. As I have to stretch 'over' the baseboard to lift/place the overbridge, an entirely 'vertical' landing is not possible. Any ideas on how to overcome this problem? Ian

Overbridge Building - Bridge Textures Well, that took longer than I anticipated, mostly because I had to 'design as you go' instead of my usual 'follow the completed design' method. It would have been nice to have the whole of the bridge drawn up in Xara Designer Pro X10, but the inaccuracies of my woodwork would have meant a complete 'survey' of the dimensions; not really practical. Time was also used up waiting for the glue to dry on textures, before I could apply the next 'layer' (or even cut off the excess - cutting 'wet' paper doesn't go well ...). The recesses in the two walls were complicated to 'texture' in order to hide all the joins. The bridge has now reached the point where all the bridge sub-structure and side walls are now 'textured' and, yes, I have textured the inside faces of the support walls: View from The Gallery side of the station: Northbound side: Southbound side: Main forecourt entrance (with the forecourt roof not installed): As is typical for these things, I noticed the roof of The Gallery was not correctly fitted until after I'd taken the photos ... The next task will, probably, be to sort out the road, pavements, and station forecourt area as this involves lifting the whole bridge assembly off the layout, again. I want to reach a point whereby the bridge can be placed 'permanently' on the layout as I'm risking damage each time I lift the bridge on/off the layout. However, this will also entail detailing the underside of the bridge where the trains pass through. More on that later as it's causing me a problem ... Ian

If you don't have a router, but have a Dremel (or similar clone) then you can get a cheap router 'attachment' from TheBay from several Sellers. Something like this: I bought one, and it fits my Ozito rotary tool set (from Homebase a few years back) perfectly. Ian