gordon s

I think we've all thought that at one time or the other Dave, but it turns out it is a 3 way turnout and is correct. Easy mistake to make, but Gilbert assured us it was correct.

DD, if it will help, I have copy of Pat Hammond's book on model trains. It's a 2006 version, but still handy to get guide prices or even find that one particular model is worth much more than that particular class. Think of Stanley Gibbons for trains and you get the picture. Happy to put it in the post to you for a long term loan if you believe it will be useful.

Glad to hear you have enjoyed this thread/blog Ian. One is never sure if others are genuinely interested in what you're up to and in a sense this is not so much a contributory thread, more a log/diary on the trials and tribulations of building a fairly large railway on your own. I also find it very useful as a time line, because in reality I'm sure we have no idea how longs things take. Yes, the outer tracks are totally separate from the inners and sit 40-70mm higher than the inners. I have deliberately planned it this way for various reasons. Much as I love gradients, they can be troublesome with steam loco's and long trains. The first build I attempted used 1:50's but a combination of curves and gradient meant steam loco's struggled. The second version went out to 1:100 and that was OK, but the run up length of over 8m meant compromises in the plan, so when the decision was taken to simplify everything, I made the decision to drop gradients completely, but still have a two level layout for viewing interest. I appreciate this will lead to some operational compromises, but it does mean long goods trains can trundle round the outside whilst I continue to build the inner loops. I will be adding some more industrial complexes around the outside as it develops, so there will be operational interest as well. The station has now expanded to include carriage sidings and the shed design improves access to the layout as a whole. Hoping to complete the rest of the point work for the storage approaches in the next couple of days and then work can commence on this boards.

No they had both breakfast, it's just that squeaky toy that sets Archie off (the nearest one). He has quite a loud howl and that normally brings Gollie from wherever he is in the house or garden. He has quite a pathetic little howl and it always looks like he's taking singing lessons from a pro.... For obvious reasons we have to hide away squeaky toys and then they are strictly rationed. It just happened Archie found one at the bottom of his toy box this morning.

Anyone fancy a singing lesson? All together now....

Enjoy your roast lunch, Don. Sounds good to me. Overcast and a bit grey, but at least it's not raining. 'Back to track, back to reality' this morning. Another four turnouts to complete, which will complete the other end of the storage loops.

Morning all. Seems like last week's horror story was not an isolated incident... This is another of our favourite walking places from a month ago. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2123756/Dog-hater-terrorises-idyllic-beaches-rat-poison-sandwiches.html

Oh, don't be so harsh on Alfa's. I loved my 164 Cloverleaf years ago. Wonderful drivers car with a beautiful six cylinder three litre engine. Love has a wonderful power of making you forget the appalling sales, service and support plus the five bob electrics that had a mind of their own. It was a tempestuous three year affair, that I still recall with affection. Of course that was back in the 90's and I believe they have improved considerably since then. They couldn't have got any worse after all. Some of the most beautiful cars on the road today. If you have the heart and mental strength to enter a passionate love/hate relationship, then go for it, but eventually it may break your heart....

A late addition Robert. I thought the road looked a bit bare so decided to add the siding in front of the buildings. Not sure where it's going to connect to as yet, but I have no concern if it just disappears out of sight as a simple feature. Thanks for the pic Chris... Now my turn. Many thanks for coming over and demonstrating your incredible talents. Even in the few inches of grass we played with, the difference is huge and you have given me the confidence to go ahead and do some myself. Of course the essential ingredient was the dog's toothbrush. They must be like gold dust, so I'm hanging onto this one. Of course the dog's not too chuffed, but he'll get over it.... Here's a sneak pic of Chris's transformation. Also thanks to John (Re 6/6) for his advice on upholstery matting. Once sprayed in red oxide and dipped into fine leaves, it makes an amazing wild bramble. Sorry John, it's taken a while but now I've seen Mr Nevard's magic, there will be lots more brambles appearing. Still loads to do, but just gob smacked what Chris can do in a few minutes.

I changed it again probably in January to make it even simpler as the time taken with what proved to be a still complex 'simple' plan was all consuming. I decided not to mention it all and got away with it until Jeremy spotted in in post 795. At that point I had to come clean and own up to yet another change. That was at the beginning of March. Hopefully this further simplified plan will take me towards completion in a much shorter timescale. I will still be able to use the station board but will lift some of the complex track formations and replace them with plain track.

Not heard of them Stewart, but I must let my BiL know about them... http://www.jigsaws.c...our_puzzles.php His passion are 'wasgij's' which as their name would suggest are backwards jigsaws. Somehow you have to guess as the pic on the front is only a clue as to what is going on... http://www.jigsawpuz...ij-Jigsaws.html I tell you what, that 'Virage' is a bit of a slapper. I thought she was in love with me, but how wrong can you be. Seems she'll go with anyone..... You must be very tempted, Dave... How do you stop this auto correction on a Mac? I'm fed up with it changing my words automatically...

Keep the wildlife updates coming DD. Jack bought this a few days ago. It's very well done and you may find it of interest. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdsong-British-Irish-amazing-sounds/dp/1849491348/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336111899&sr=1-2

Morning all.....Wide awake as usual in the early hours, but kept myself amused by reading more of the Veet reviews. I had tears rolling down my cheeks... Sounds like a good weekend in store for all the family (including Robbie!). Found out a bit more about the poisoning. Seems to point towards a deliberate act, but we'll wait and see... http://www.getbracknell.co.uk/news/s/2113103_distraught_owners_of_poisoned_dog_warn_others_to_beware

Glad you enjoyed it Robert. Apologies, here is a marked up plan showing the next section to be built.

I didn't know that Martin, so thanks for that info. In this case my omission came from ignorance, not necessarily ease of construction. Just thinking about it though, it's academic for my style of dummy sleeper/tie bar, as it will be hidden from view under the solder joint anyway

Hi Trev. The planing length for a C switch is 36mm and this is the side that butts up against the running rail. The bulk of material is removed from this side. Once that is done, I turn it over and this time it is a very shallow angle that is planed, just sufficient to remove the top and bottom of the bullhead rail, to form a flat, knife edge blade. I would guess the planing length on this side is much less, probably 20mm There is nothing to do to the rail foot. That only applies to flat bottom rail and I'm using bullhead.

Ah, yes that makes sense, Martin. Pete, I have two double junctions to produce at some time or other and I normally build those in one piece along similar lines to these I've just completed. Ahead of that I have a group of four curved turnouts to build and then I'll get back into woodwork etc. If you don't mind waiting a while, then I can do a similar job at the time, unless it's desperately urgent and I'll look at building a small one just for fun.

You're a man of many talents, Iain. That really is first class.... Cracking job on the wooden template.

Me too! A very Happy Birthday to you, Stewart. Hope you have a great day and don't worry, age is all your head. Ignore the fact that your body sags, your teeth fall out and you're never without pain and you'll be fine!

Sorry Pete, I didn't answer your question. I assume by plain crossings you mean straight ones? If that is the case, then I'll have to make one up as ET track plan doesn't have one single straight turnout, part of the freedom that comes with custom point work. Is there a reason behind your question as the process is exactly the same? Glad to hear you are going to try making your own, Arthur. I suspect you need to be a member of the EM gauge society to buy direct. I'm not, but managed to buy mine from Scaleforum. As Sandside suggests though, they are not entirely necessary and they can be produced as per Brian Harrap. Brian's track work is outstanding so his method clearly works. I'm basically lazy so usually opt for the simplest/quickest solution to a problem and the jigs have proven invaluable for me. They do occasionally come up on eBay, so may be worth checking there from time to time. They were originally made by Portsdown Jigs, but sadly the guy who made them died and so they are now made for the EM Gauge society by another supplier or indeed they may make them themselves.

...and so we reach the final instalment. By their very design, PCB soldered construction needs an isolation break between the two rails and from both rails to the frog. I use a small slitting disk in my Proxxon equivalent of a Dremel. Here I must admit to cutting a corner as the aficionado's will either fill the slot before painting or very gently sand away an area of the PCB sleeper to break the copper but leave a flat surface. I take my hat off to those who do, but with a large layout such as ET and the fact I'm working on my own, I admit to a compromise here as I don't have the patience to fill in hundreds of slots and sand them down. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.... What I do is to make the slit as near as possible to the nearside rail from the viewing direction. This means that from normal viewing angles it cannot be seen and even when viewed head on, your eyes are drawn to the bright, shiny rail surface and you don't notice the small slit off to one side. Of course if you make it your mission to look for it, then you will see it, but those who choose to take in the big picture won't see it as it is hidden behind the nearside rail. This is what you'll see...or won't see. Once these are all done, make some electrical checks with a meter/buzzer to ensure there are no whiskers or uncut slots between each of the two rails and that the frog is totally isolated from both. As you recall I use double sided tape to stick down the sleepers and this it does very well. So well in fact, you must be careful removing the paper plan from the back of the turnouts. Over time I have perfected this method which leaves the track in perfect condition. Whatever you do, do not try to slide a blade or a 12" rule between the sleepers and the template. It is likely you will bend the track and ruin all the good work you have just done. Cut the plan from your backing board or sheet of glass and turn it over so that the track is face down. Carefully lift one corner and once started you will be able to hold the track flat with your right hand and pull the plan upwards and back with your left, keeping the pressure on the track at all times. Don't rush it, just take it slowly and you'll have no problems. 'Scuse my hairy arms and stabbed finger... Final job is to thoroughly wash the finished track in hot soapy water to remove any flux residue or PCB dust from the slitting process. My wife's hobby is our two dogs and to that end we have a large Butler sink in our utility room in which she washes the dogs whilst standing up. This is perfect for washing down point work as it is about 3' long and 15" wide. Once dry, the job is finished and this is what you should end up with. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey into the world of making your own track. It's really not as difficult as you would first think. I spent years convincing myself, I could never do that until I eventually plucked up the courage to have a go and bought an SMP point kit. OK, the finished product was not in Norman Soloman's league, but a loco ran through it and the elation you'll feel knowing you made that and it works, will just be the start. The freedom custom made point work gives you in layout design is unbelievable and there really is nothing to beat smooth flowing track work. If you make a start and need some advice, then please ask away and I'll endeavour to help.

Thanks Alan I can say (based on personal experience) that most RTR stock will run through 00-SF without problem, as will Ultrascales and Markits. That was the sole reason behind my decision to go down this route as the thought of modifying B2B's on all my stock was horrendous. Not only that I've yet to find a easy way of doing steam loco's that does not mess up the quartering in the process. Here is a copy of the 00-SF benefits which should put your mind at rest. BENEFITS of 00-SF ============= Improved running characteristics, Improved appearance, especially of pointwork, WITH Unmodified "off-the-shelf" RTR locos & stock and also many "standard" 00/H0 wheelsets. AND WITH The option of using "off-the-shelf" 00/H0 track within the same layout. Generally, for "scale 00" wheels such as Alan Gibson, Romford, Markits, etc., they should be supplied set to 14.5mm back-to-back, and the flange thickness should be less than 0.7mm. THEY SHOULD WORK JUST FINE AS THEY ARE. For "RTR 00" wheels they should normally conform to the NMRA H0 standard with back-to-back set to 14.4mm and flange thickness less than 0.8mm. THEY SHOULD WORK JUST FINE AS THEY ARE. That's the whole point of 00-SF -- by changing the gauge to 16.2mm everything works just fine AS IT IS SUPPLIED. "Scale 00" and RTR stock runs equally well on the same track. The ONLY proviso for 00-SF is that you must look to EM practice as regards minimum radius, train set curves are not suitable at 16.2mm gauge and must be widened back to 16.5mm. [00-SF is sometimes referred to as EM-minus-2] Also of course, the back-to-back for 00-SF must be more than 14.2mm, which rules out some very old RTR stock.

I'm really pleased you have found this tutorial of use as others helped me when I first started down this route and I've always worked on the 'pay it forward' principle. It's been good for me too as it's slowed me down and certainly made me think about what I was doing and how to avoid the various pitfalls along the way. For testing, I use an old 0-6-0 chassis fitted with Markits wheels as a test mule and I have to say the running quality through these three points is exceptional. Once I've dealt with any obvious errors, my benchmark test is to close my eyes and push this chassis through the point work. My goal is to be able to do that by feel and not know when the chassis passes through the turnout. It should be completely smooth and you should not be able to feel a bump or hear any click whatsoever as the wheels pass through the crossing. Achieve that and you will have no problems from a running perspective with the track. Hoping to get these finished today and then start on the next group of four.

I'll swap you your 'cold' for ours Don.....

Another day, another dollar and we're in the home straight. Can't beat a good cliche..... Last night I tack soldered the two outer rails into position, carefully checking for kinks and any wandering from the smooth flow that I have set up in Templot. I've probably only soldered 10-20% of the total solder joints at this stage, as I like to retain flexibility, should anything slip out of alignment. The next step will be to plane up the switch rails, fit them in position and make up the tie bar. I used to hate filing the taper on switch rails and disasters include catching the file on the end of the blade and folding the blade like a concertina, or filing it to a point, slipping and stabbing my thumb or fingers with a few mm of nickel silver rail. Applying some logic to the problem, I 'engineered' this jig and it works perfectly. Blades can be done in a few seconds and injuries have reduced considerably. A piece of scrap wood has been marked up with the planing length for both B and C switches. Both the rail and the block are clamped to the bench and a few seconds with a half inch medium file can easily make the required taper. Once you have done that, make sure you remove all burrs etc from the edges and check for a smooth surface, particularly on the bottom edge, as this has to slide across the other sleepers. Likewise, I should have said to make sure there are no burrs on the other sleepers, as you will often find a small lip on pcb sleepers where the cutting tool has lost its edge. Once this is done, align the switch rail with the tie bar position, cut to length and using your gauges, tack solder the rail into position. Check the end of the switch rail aligns perfectly with the end of the wing rail in all planes. I normally leave 12 sleepers unsoldered from the tie bar and would suggest you mark the 12th sleeper on the plan with a big cross or you will find you get carried away when soldering and solder up the switch rail by mistake. I use some pretty high tech equipment to set up the tie bar, a 20p piece and a sliver of 120gm copy paper. The switch blade has to move freely across the adjacent sleepers and I've found that a small sliver of paper just gives that additional clearance to the switch rail once it is soldered up to the tie bar. As far as tie bars are concerned, I looked at most of the preferred methods and they all looked much better and more prototypical than mine, but to be honest they were fiddly and would take far too much time to make, particularly when you have 70+ of them to make, so I stayed with a dummy sleeper. I would not recommend this for solenoid motors at all or anywhere on the layout where the track is not easily accessible. I have designed ET to avoid this situation completely and I use slow motion Tortoise motors. OK, these have not had high usage, but I have never had one tie bar fail and even if it did, it would only take seconds to repair. Solder the tie bar to the switch rail in the open position using the 20p coin as a gauge (thanks for the idea MW!) and make sure the sliver of paper is in position. Repeat the process on the other side and we're getting nearer. Next stage will be to finish off the other two turnouts, cut all the isolation slots and remove the point work from the plan. Final stage will be to wash thoroughly, prime and paint and job done.