gismorail

for a change

All I can say regarding those missing sheep is: MINT SAUCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well there might well be grass on the fells by the spring but as they were no fells this year it's going to be a bit short of sheep as you missed the 'tupping' season Now who's been 'committed'

Spot on with this post ....... the model railway community is a very supportive group of people and I honestly believe that one gets to met people at there most honest and genuine state of mind when it comes to friendships. Many of the people that I know in this hobby come from so many varied walks of life and social status but there's something about the love of the hobby that makes a strong bond between us as a group. Interesting that this subject should appear at this particular time as Ben Jones was talking about how many people benefit from the 'therapy' that can gained from out wonderful hobby.

I have not had any problems with the Peco lever switches I think the important thing is to make sure the brass tube goes right to the very bottom of the plastic base

I think the Peco switches with a brass extension is the way for you to go Andy nice and simple but effective. I presume you have used tortoise motor's so it will feed them the ' juice ' required no problem. If you mount them on some nice ply all you need to do is cut enough space for the switch bases to fit into and the top of the frame will screw on either side top and bottom. If I remember correctly I had to sand / file the switch levers down a touch and then carefully insert the brass tubing over the prepared switch lever with a touch of glue, then insert some brass rod into the open top end of the tube and it looks like the handle of the lever.Ifyou refer to the pictures I painted the brass tube the required lever colour and did the brass rod handle in silver. Make sure you paint them first before setting them into the ply panel. Once they are all set into the panel it's very effective. If you need any help with the electric inter-locking let me know. Its fairly simple, you just put the power feed to the blue locking lever which in turn sends it to the required point / signal. Best of Luck sure it will ' mega play value'

The other option on the level front Andy is the Sprate and Wrinkle Brass level frame. Will need putting together but does look like a proper level frame. As far as switches you would need to fit brass rod to the end of the levers and fit slide switches for the electrical operation with a hole drilled through the plastic toggle and the movement of the level throws the switch to the correct polarity. (Hope I have explained that ok if not I will photo a switch that I made a trail run with) I have in the past tried the Hornby levels and had the same problem I believe it's because it is a passing contact rather than an on / off switch type

Hi Andy, As promised I have dug out the old control panel that I was talking about. I built it for my 0 gauge garden layout at my previous house and managed to build in a type of electrical locking system all be it somewhat crude. The levels are made out of Peco on/off swiches with brass rod extending the plastic switch and as can be seen have been set in a panel to represent a level frame. The way I made a locking system was through a locking lever for the points that required it .In the unlocked position the power was fed to the point motor and once the point had be switched to the required position the movement of the locking lever into the 'locked' position switched the power to the signal motor therefore it was not possible to move the point into a conflicting position. Simple and maybe not prototypical but added a little fun into the operation. Hope it maybe gives you an idea and I'm sure you could add some led's onto the panel diagram for added effect.

O.M.G. What a wonderful ' mancave' .......'bunker'........'escapist room' .........model railway studio even. Wow what a layout developing here and with such speed......do you have time to attend any form of employment Amazing those helix and just amazed as to the way you have just gone ahead and built them , what sort of haulage are you getting upwards etc Not sure how you would deal with a major incident on them though. !!!!! Will follow with great interest as I feel that a couple of helix on my forth coming Chester Northgate layout is the way forward in dealing with junction and triangle formation. Keep up the excellent work and I hope the music is played loud and proud

Interesting that you are going to build a lever frame for the points operation. Something that I did for my garden railway in the last place of residence. I simply used some Peco switches and extended the levers with brass tube. I will dig out the control box tomorrow and post a picture

kisses between themselves

Ok who's been filming me .......this was the prototype model .......

This layout is really starting to take shape now I think that you have already started to get a good atmosphere. The re-spaced Peco track does make a massive difference it's a shame the point work cannot have the same treatment Excellent work will follow with interest

See what I mean it's all getting to near ....... building a layout

Hope you have a good show Mike, that's a show I keep meaning to get over to see as I've heard it's worth attending. Yes Doors are a must do job I have left them off until the floor was fitted just for the easy of access to be honest. The guttering is still to be ordered as I'm going for 4mm lengths so that there are less joints as I feel that it will make for a stronger job, it gets fairly windy up on the mountain. Totally agree that baseboards are top priority, still to decide what form that they will take to be honest but I following the new thread on here about just that subject, very open minded at the moment.

Well I'm not hanging around with this build what to get it finished before the weather closes in for the Winter. The main room will be a sorting out the junk area once the electric's and doors are hung and I can make it secure. The workshop will take time to organise as there's a lot of stuff to go in that small spare and want to get it right first time. Still got a bit of work on the roof to finish now that the missing gable end above the workshop is been delivered plus the gutters are still to be ordered. Electrics are the next big job all going to be set in trunking still got to plan that as yet. Once again thanks for you advise

What am I like hitting the wrong buttons again. Well after some timely advise from my on line mentor Dave who has 'Saved my Bacon' on several occasions during this build & design project (Many thanks Dave your a Gentleman and I don't care what other's tell me about you' I think I owe you a couple of beers ...... After a quick start again on the flooring in the main railway room I managed to complete both floors today The main railway Room............. Workshop area Have to say it's starting to feel like a railway room now that the flooring is in place .................wow might have to start thinking of building a layout soon

Yes it is a stupid question to the stupid person who's laying the floor........ Dave I came in at lunchtime today having very nearly finished the main flooring and while I was eating my soap and toast I thought I'd have a quick browse on RM Web Had a quick look at your post and I suddenly realised what I had done .........what a plonker I am bl--dy knew that there was something wrong with that floor...................Went back out and started again and did it properly this time

Yes it is a stupid question to the stupid person who's laying the floor........ Dave I came in at lunchtime today having very nearly finished the main flooring and while I was eating my soap and toast I thought I'd have a quick browse on RM Web Had a quick look at your post and I suddenly realised what I had done .........what a plonker I am bl--dy knew that there was something wrong with that floor...................Went back out and started again and did it properly this time

I have to admit that I did'nt notice this point but one could always butcher the porters trolley by making it narrower therefore the depth of field trick comes into effect .again !!!! I would strongly recommend this course of action as H&S will be making a station clearances inspection and you will have to post the following signs on both sides of the bay window... Andy !!!!!!!!!

I bit of progress over the last two days as I have started to install the insulated floor in the main railway room. Had to go and spend MORE money at the builders merchants yesterday. Getting to know the lads there quite well now as I think they think I'm a builder as I get a bit of discount now......thank heavens ...... Bought 29 sheets of Caberfloor that's the one with water proofing just in case I spill anything ....... coffee beer etc I have laid 4 x 2 timbers down as a joists over the concrete base and then insulated between them with 80mm insulation span type boarding the same as the walls. Spent a long time checking the framework was as level as possible before bolting the whole to the concrete using 120mm frame fixings Well at least it will help when layout building starts It's always the way on jobs like this it never matches exactly Never mind it will be so much better than bear concrete and nice and cosy too Cheers all should get flooring completed by weekend

You really are a clever chappie aren't you Andy. Love the way you have positioned those houses at an angle does give an impression of distance. The church is looking excellent and now the back scene is in place gives a real depth to not just the corner area but the whole village. Excellent day's work mate, I seem to learn so much from you when you go into scenery mode and I'm sure that other's feel the same. Have a good night at the club Cheers

Well I think I will rest my case

This has been an excellent thread with some great detailing ideas coming though from fellow members I just could'nt understand the negative comments being made along the way and felt that there was a danger that it could suddenly turn into a Hornby bashing thread ,nothing to be bemused about. Maybe my personal modelling standards and expectations are not a high as some and I'm the first to admit that my knowledge of the prototype is limited .... but I have learn't a lot from fellow members on this thread.

I remember LSD as a type of drug in those days nasty stuff just like money