Howard

Excellent series Nick. From my collection of tools used for MERG kits, I have a pair of ceramic tipped tweezers. These are non conducting (both electrically and thermally), so I find them very useful for the sort of work you are doing here. Howard.

That is probably Techsoft's 2DDesign, which I use for my laser cutting projects. I have found it an excellent product and very intuitive to use - far better than the majority of software I've used over the years. If you do buy your own laser cutting machine, make sure it can handle 2DDesign files - not all of them can. Howard.

I don't see any screws between the aluminium and the wood - I presume you are relying on glue. What adhesive have you used? Howard.

Ah, I missed that. It means you don't have a gap in the middle of the sleeper to fil. Also - if you've got the geometry right - the copper lifts the track above the sleepers so the sleepers will be (can be) the same height as the fiNetrax ones. Howard.

How are you going to ballast, now you've removed the sleepers from between the rails?

or the "Track Mop" made by Mill Lane Sidings http://www.mill-lane-sidings.co.uk/mlstrackmop.html Howard

or the "track mop" made ny Mill Lane Sidings http://www.mill-lane-sidings.co.uk/mlstrackmop.html Howard.

The ballast already had indentations for the sleepers. If this is a new Foam track base it looks very realistic. When can we buy it in the 2mm shop?

At least 4 of us in MERG have taken these signals apart to find how they operate. Basically the instructions are wrong - they work perfectly happily on 12V DC. The first part of the internal circuitry is a bridge rectifier which converts the AC to DC, and supplying this with DC is fine. We are looking at ways to convert the signals to a form of operation that makes them better suited to DCC and automation, i.e. 12V DC supply and a toggle switch to change between "stop" and "go" Its a pity we (MERG) were not approached beforehand otherwise we could have advised on this.If Dapol wish to involve us in future electronics we are more than willing to cooperate - our advice is free. This picture shows the internals. What is missing is a small black piece of plastic that fits around the motor shaft and between the phosphor bronze springs to act as a limit switch. (we found the black plastic after taking the picture!). One worry is the longevity of the phosphor bronze springs. The motor (and internal electronics) work off 3.3 Volts. Note the motor is held in place with sticky tape. The back of the PCB contains some very small surface mount components. We are not sure of their exact usage as they do not all have labels. Howard.