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I'm sure it's correct that most mechanical signals went with electrification, but there are always exceptions (which I rely on!). According to the captions, these were in 1972 and 1984 respectively (both from the Le Train issue 'Les BB Midi'. My period is mid-50s to mid-60s -ish, much the same as my UK modelling. As for masts, my collaborator Re6/6 knows far more about catenary than I do, but for positioning, terminations etc we will be making close reference to the comprehensive installation guide produced by Sommerfeldt. I won't be needing any termination masts because my sidings will be non-electrified! For an intro to French signalling you can do a lot worse than refer to the Loco-Revue 'Hors Serie 69, La Signalisation du Reseau' from 2019. I got my copy on Ebay. Thanks both for your comments. Do you have a thread for your layout, wagpnmaster?

While stuck in the house (as opposed to the modelling shed) waiting for a delivery, I've been researching heurtoirs. I've only found two photos including any in my book collection, and even those are very 'peripheral'. The first is clearly rail-built, with two rails for the beam. The stanchions (including vertical) are quite spindly and appear to form an isosceles triangle. This one may be concrete with a rail-built beam, but I'm not 100%. It's much 'meatier' compared with the first. Anyway, neither match any of the offerings by Decapod, and besides at €10-20 each plus postage I'm not keen! I only need two, but buffer stops don't come into the same category as catenary masts and ogives! So I looked at the range on the Lanarkshire Models website and the closest to the first picture is (oddly enough) a Southern Railway one, so I've ordered two of those. I can modify them to make them a bit more symmetrical, and ensure the beam is the right width and at the right height for the H0 vehicles.

Recently I've been adding the wiring in advance of all the other things it will control - signals and the level crossing - as well as replacing the Seep solenoid point motors with Tortoises (the Seeps were just too 'clunky' for me even though they worked fine). This is all three boards stood on end before I put them back together, with the control panel and the looms to connect the panel. And the middle board with three of the Tortoises. I think I've used one cable tie too many because the inter-board D-connector won't quite reach its counterpart on the next board, doh! The coloured stripey things are diagrams of the wiring going to the tag strips and other connectors to aid troubleshooting - easier than having it in a manual that might not be convenient to hand. I've been acquiring some road vehicles as well. These are all from a French company called Norev, which I hadn't heard of before - diecast and good value too I think. Also some Noch figures, most of which are suitable for France around 1960 (John can have the miniskirted women and the man in lederhosen for his Swiss layout!). And this little beauty from SAI - 1952 Citroen Traction 11B.

Thanks BT, it's obviously been a regular comment, and good to see it's been addressed by Tim. Too late for me on this layout though! Recently I've been mostly wiring underneath the layout, and replacing the Seep point motors with some second-hand Tortoises that I acquired on Ebay. Not very French, but I can put some photos up if anyone wants to see! That task then went into hiatus because I ran out of wire - now resupplied so I can get back to it.

As you may or may not realise, we are a bit leftfield on this project. We have already bent reality a bit by retaining the tramway overhead in Balcombe yard, assuming it survived into operational use; and added a headshunt to increase operational flexibility. In a further development in our part of the multiverse, partly to keep us enthused in the current period, we are looking at a revision of reality where the LBSCR overhead electric system was not abandoned in the 1920s in favour of the third rail, but was retained and expanded, including the Brighton main line. Details are still to be worked out, mainly a means of avoiding the cat’s cradle of catenary, but we will be retaining and modifying existing stock. Some reconfiguring of motor coaches may be required to allow for the different equipment, but essentially the trains will be the same. As a flavour, this is a very preliminary conceptual mockup, using a Sommerfeldt pan, part-built Midi (French) mast and a length of phosphor-bronze wire:

Confirmed from the manufacturer at Rotomagus that the illumination in the first photo above is indeed wrong - the yellow only lights when the carre is 'off' and the avertissement is 'on'. So that will be done through the wiring of the relevant switches.

Today I glued in the LEDs and wired them up. That was fun. Four very thin wires (supplied with the kit) just about went through the hole in the signal baseplate. More fiddly were the jumper wires connecting all four negative tails and the two reds on the positive tails. I don't think the illumination here is correct - it would seem logical that if both banners are 'on' then there is no need for the yellow light. Note the green is masked by the carre banner - presumably a failsafe in case the lights get into a mess. Here the carre has cleared but the avertissement is still 'on'. And here with both banners cleared. The LEDs are quite bright, but they will run quite happily on 3V DC which dims them down a bit. Strictly speaking they should only be on at night anyway. The signal is very delicate so it's difficult to hide the wires. It will be better when it's all painted. I've also been building the servo controllers (MERG kit) and testing the servos prior to setting up the mechanical operation. If that works I'll have to put up a YouTube link!

And today's random modelling topic is signals. We're away at the moment so I've been making one of those Rotomagus signals in the odd spare hour. Rather fiddly, especially with the etch being in thin and softer brass than I am used to with British kits. It would also be more easily done with an RSU, so I'll do the others at home. Can't wait to have even more fun fitting 4 LEDs and all the associated wiring ...

Received today a copy of Loco-Revue Hors Serie 69 from last October entitled 'La Signalisation du Reseau' which looks very useful.

Thanks Stu. We're looking to get the catenary infrastructure as 'finescale' as possible, in general appearance and in appropriate design, but for the 'tunnels' compromises may be possible - we haven't decided yet. Sommerfeldt have ideas but I like your lateral thinking! Another issue will be the crossing of board joins - that will probably be done by 5 mins of soldering on each occasion.

Attempts by Re6/6 and myself to anneal 2.5mm x 2.5mm H section brass with a gas torch were not especially successful. The brass 'failed' quite dramatically before it even got orange, and while it could be restraightened and the heated section was definitely easier to bend than the unheated section, getting it to form the right curve and remain flat was difficult to say the least. So I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy the kits for the two other ogives.

That's very helpful and interesting David, many thanks. Rightly or wrongly I've acquired the kits for the two carrés/avertissements shown in my diagram, and one carré violet for the industrial siding. All I can say is that it will be fun to do, and may be justified by the imagined hazards beyond the layout and the unusual intensity of traffic! It could be that I will be challenged as to their authenticity when the layout is exhibited, in which case I will be pleased to learn more; but it is all very complex (and dare I say very French) and possibly why you rarely see mechanical signals on French layouts!

Thanks Stu - I think that would work fine for a simple tramway system, but I still need to accommodate the other catenary wires above the contact wire. But it's certainly something to think about.

Thanks for those links (it helps to know what they are called) - 'un vaste sujet' as one of the images rightly refers! Some look like UK ones, others like Exmouth Junction products on steroids. Some research needed!

Today I got the jigsaw out and cut out the holes at both ends of the layout for the exits to the fiddle yards. At the double track end I marked out the outline of the ogive for the hole, but for now only cut it to 90mm above rail level. This should be enough to give headspace for the catenary but it can be extended if needed. I nearly caught myself out at the single track end because I had laid the track so close to the end - initially I cut it above rail level to avoid damaging the track, with the intention of just carefully drilling a series of holes for the lower section, but fortunately the first drilled hole caused the glued joint to fail at that point and the remaining piece just fell out! The double track exit is very close to the front of the board, so I can't disguise the hole in the sky with a tree or building, which means you can see into the fiddle yard with all the cassettes, the operator's coffee mug etc. So I tested an idea to mask this using a 'black tunnel' from a sheet of plasticard I had handy. Ignore the green tape (pretend it's a bit of vegetation) but a properly built version would probably solve it, and could also include the system of rising contact wire to allow pantographs to engage and disengage safely. The details of this are yet to be designed ... On another subject the 'playing trains' has revealed some stock needing wheel replacements because the flanges are too deep for the Code 83 Tillig. I knew the Jouef 'Picasso' was one, but it also affects this set of Fleischmann all-steel 6-wheelers (originals built in the 50s!) that I picked up on Ebay a while ago - and I have a photo of some on the Beziers-Bedarieux line. So I've ordered a quantity of replacement wheels. I'll also have to replace some older couplings and try and standardise those a bit more. And I must remember to block the exits temporarily to stop me inadvertently driving trains off the end! On that subject what kind of buffer stops would have been used in the yard? Anything that is similar to UK prototypes of will I have to scratchbuild them? I'm conscious that these posts are all a bit scattergun in subject, but that's how it is! To continue in that vein the next one might (or might not) be about annealing H-section brass to make my own ogives (only two more needed); and while I'm on holiday in a week's time I plan on making the signals if we are prevented from going out by adverse weather.

After all the wiring, played trains today for the first time. Just one or two minor glitches to sort.

BTW I see my 16-year old half-built semaphores are still standing. Don't feel any obligation to keep them for my sake, I'm sure you guys could do a better job now (as I also could!).

Rather than run trains on the first board, which would have involved an inconvenient set of jump leads, I moved on to wire up the centre board and do the control panel. I still need to fit the point motors on the centre board, pending the arrival of some milling bits for the drill to make cutting the slots easier - I also discovered that in concentrating on not having droppers conflicting with the underside framework I forgot about the tiebars and ended up with one right over the top of one. It's then that you find how difficult it is to remove a chunk of the framework to make room for the point motor (cf previous post). Suffice to say that a bit of imagination and use of old Xuron cutters, tin snips and pliers came into play. But it's done now - bit of a mess but nothing too serious. So, on to the panel. Very simple, plasticard (quite thick, 60 or 80 thou I think) fascia and bits of odd timber for the frame. Most of the switches were recovered from the old DC panel for Balcombe, although I had to buy some new ones for the points and signals. Here's the front, with the track plan made from self adhesive tape designed for decorating radio controlled cars. The 25-pin D-connector is mounted on the underside and connects to a 1.5m cable linking to the centre baseboard - so I can easily move the panel to anywhere on the layout as the situation requires. The switches are all colour coded - blue for controller selection (centre-off, moving left to right), black for points (centre-off with sprung bias), red or yellow for signals and white to enable isolation of either of the two yard sidings. I might add some labels but there's really no need. The business side looks like this, with all the track and points wiring done. The big 4-pole switches are for the signals in due course. A bit OTT but the carres need 3-pole to allow for the mechanical rotation and light configurations. Wiring is gathered together with cable ties to bring a bit of neatness. Exposed D-connectors will have covers fitted when it's all tested and working. I have used a ribbon/rainbow cable loom for the connection to the layout. This one has 20 wires and of course the number of connections required is 21. So I'm using separate (and heavier gauge) wires for the two positive controller track feeds, and combined two of the ribbon wires for the only common return connection to the panel (for one of the siding isolators). I've not really used ribbon cable much before - it's quite light gauge compared with normal hook-up wire and I hope it doesn't result in any voltage drops. If it does I'll just have to replace it with individual leads bundled together. I have acquired some servos for the mechanical component of the signals, and some controller boards from MERG, so it will be fun setting those up (another new experience). These will need another D-connector, probably a 15, for which I have left room to fit.

Very nice work by all concerned, although I nearly shed a tear over the demise of the original 3-arch bridge (it needed a refresh/replacement though). Very impressed with the fencing wire dispensers - Mark you should build a working model of a cotton mill! Look forward to seeing it again soon. (Ahem) when will you be on the exhibition circuit?

The Eridge blog is now running at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/blog/2520-kent-area-group-eridge-p4/

Earlier this week John Farmer (Re6/6) came round and we started to map out the catenary. I probably only need two more ogives, which will be hand-built, and the three masts I have, plus a pull-off mast which I can make out of some MSE lattice signal frets that I bought before I found out about the CJ Atelier kits (I've also now found the online instruction downloads for the ogives and the masts, especially helpful for the latter!). But before any of that can be installed, I need to get back to track wiring and ballasting first, so today I have been mostly wiring ... I was deliberating between operating switches etc mounted on the front of the layout boards and having a separate (detachable) panel. I've decided on the latter because it will be more flexible between home/exhibition, one operator/two operators, and front/rear operation. If operating from the back and if we can't see over the back of the board I can also incorporate a camera with the monitor on the back so the operators can see what they are doing (and the panel will be upside down in this situation!). So, starting with the left board following on from the 4 February post I soldered the droppers and fitted the single Seep point motor for that board. Some scribbling on a layout plan gave me a rough idea of the scope of the underside wiring. The droppers and point motor wires were all collected to a tag strip near the right hand end of the board. The other side of the tags will be linked to a suitable D-connector to plug in to the centre board, which will be the 'nerve centre' because it has three of the four points and parts of all five cab control track sections. The control panel will connect to the centre board but via a long enough cable that it can be attached virtually anywhere on the layout as required. The Tim Horn baseboard strengthening framework provides convenient half-moon shaped apertures on the underside of the trackbed which virtually eliminated the need for cable ties and other devices for keeping the wires out of harm's way. I'm not one for these super-neat rectilinear wiring loom attachments underneath - as long as it works and everything is labelled it can go anywhere. Having decided on a separate panel, I wanted to keep the layout front entirely clear, and in order to operate from front or back I put the left end controller DIN socket underneath as well (this photo also shows the point motor). I retrieved the DIN sockets from an old panel (and the two-way selector switches for allocating each section to either of two controllers) - actually the panel for Balcombe from the days when it was DC - and then found that the cross-members were more of a hindrance, especially when drilling a 16mm hole for the socket. A right-angle drive on the drill helps, but that's quite bulky as well, so the hole was at a bit of an angle, but the wood is quite thin so no real problem. Maybe I should have planned all this in advance and avoided this, but nobody thinks that far ahead - do they? So next is the D-connector and then a thorough continuity check on all the wires; then I can hook up some temporary power and check up top that the trains run and the point works as it should before moving on to the next board.

Thanks Keith Looks like a Servo4 and a single will do fine. I (will) have two signals on one layout board, each of which has two rotating boards, and one on another board which has one rotating board. The doubles are like this, where the square chequered board (a carré, like a stop signal), and the yellow diamond (like a distant), rotate to be edge-on to the driver when in the off position. Cheers

Thanks Nigel. This will be a first-time use for servos in my case, so I'm learning! I take it Tower Pro SG90s would do the job? This isn't a DCC layout, does that matter if I use the MERG Servo-4?

Hi, I'm looking for a suitable servo that will impart a 90 degree rotation on a vertical rod (from a French mechanical signal that rotates from face-on to side-on). What can you recommend from your own experience please? Thanks.

Thanks John! At least I now have the fret and template so it should be possible to make up our own with suitable H-section, channel, strip and wire; somewhat cheaper than three more kits!