chaz

Thanks for the comments, Stephen much appreciated. I will post on further progress later. Chaz EDIT - I've just used your link to have a look at your minimum space layout. Terrific stuff. You've done what I've not got round to and got some very convincing ground effects. I like your weathered stock, particularly that 16 tonner. When Dock Green is a better backdrop I will post some pictures of some of my rolling stock. I regret I have no use for a Lionheart Pannier as my layout is very firmly Eastern Region......

Spent the afternoon on some very boring but necessary stuff for Dock Green. I am going to "borrow" the Lenz DCC system off my home layout - the original plan was to build a new system using MERG kits but I just don't have the time to do this before the October show. So I have made a wooden box like a drawer for the Lenz. This will have a row of sockets on the front so that it can be quickly connected to the wiring on either layout. I am putting a shelf underneath DG, within the structure of one of the baseboards. I will make the connecting leads long enough so that they can be plugged in and then the wooden box slid onto the shelf. Once it is in place nothing will show. Chaz

It's a doddle! All the stock is fitted with Dingham automatics so coupling is (usually) just a matter of pushing the stock together. Uncoupling? I use a long hook to lift the loop. Now, if I was using 3 links, or worse still screw couplings..... In fact I don't anticipate doing much splitting up and recoupling with the cassettes. Each train will be seven and a brake van, which fits on two cassettes (four wagons in each). The locos have their own cassettes. Shunting and re-arranging will take place "on the stage", that is in the yard. Down trains can have a modicum of re-arranging by selecting different combinations of two cassettes. Most of the stock will be opens and vans (just like the real thing) so this subterfuge shouldn't be too obvious to the watching throng Of course I will need to move the brake vans from one end of a cassette to the other when an up train becomes a down. I have made a special cassette for this which will only be used on the stock table - I want to avoid too much handling of the stock. Chaz

Earlier in the thread I posted some pictures of the cassettes for Dock Green. I intend the cassettes to be used to transport the stock safely. To this end I have added some foam to make the wagons safe during transport. The photo below shows a cassette with four vans loaded. In the foreground are two strips of foam and two of corrugated cardboard, which I will insert as packing. First step is to slide in a length of foam between the wagons and the side wall of the cassette. There is enough room to do this without rubbing the side of the wagons, avoiding possible damage to paint or details. Close up from above showing the gap on both sides. Next a strip of corrugated card is slid between the foam and the side. This eliminates the gap, compressing the foam slightly and holding the wagons in place. Close up showing the wagons snugly held and, I hope, safe from damage during the journey from home to the show, and back. The foam is packaging grade, 12.7mm (half an inch) thick, from.... http://www.efoam.co.uk/ One refinement will be to glue some string to the corrugated cardboard to make it easier to pull out. It's quite snug in there! Chaz

I spent a good part of yesterday freeing off the point blades and tie-bars of the Peco points so that the servos, whose travel had been adjusted to be spot on, could move them properly again. Several of them wouldn't make it to the stock rail and at least two were very "notchy". My advice arising from this experience... Never, ever paint the slide chairs if you must paint the sides of the point blades use an airbrush and keep the paint thin and even never, ever glue ballast around or underneath the tie bar (keep ballast away from between those two sleepers) When you put ballast under the pivotted switch rails keep it very shallow I had to rectify all these faults before the points would work as well as they did when I fitted the servos. Yes, I did know all this, and NO I wouldn't have made these basic errors......(DONT ASK!)

On my home layout all the point blades are thrown by Tortoise motors. Although these are good reliable motors they have become rather expensive and, as there are nine required on Dock Green, I decided to use servos instead. These are a cheaper alternative but do require some work to adapt them to their point motor role. The photo below shows a servo (a TowerPro SG90) fitted to a piece of aluminium angle with 10BA nuts and bolts. I mount a piece of steel wire on the straight nylon crank provided with the servo. The end of the wire is bent at a right angle and slipped into the hole in the end on the crank and it’s secured with a couple of steel split pins. I cut the wire to length after it has been trial-fitted to the point – it needs to protrude very slightly above the tie bar. The second photo shows two servos fixed under the baseboard. Above them is a MERG Servo4G control board. One disadvantage of using servos is that you can’t just connect them to switches as they are designed to be hooked up to radio control receivers, which are programmed to drive them with electronic pulses. If you are a member of MERG they will sell you a kit to make a control board – this will control up to four servos independently. The ribbon cable leads of the servos plug directly onto the PCB. The MERG board can be programmed via a laptop to set the speed of movement and limit of travel of the servos using software which is a free download for members from the MERG website. A simple on/off switch for each servo is also connected to the board and changing the switch setting causes the relevant servo to throw. A couple of useful links…. http://www.merg.org.uk/ http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=SG90G&area=Servo Chaz

Some might appreciate a couple of photos of the magnet mechanisms in action with Dingham couplings. The first snap shows a wagon (an ex-GWR match truck) parked over an uncoupling magnet, which is down. The loop on the Dingham coupling is in the normal position for coupling. In this second photo the magnet has been raised by pressing down gently on the end of the lever. The magnet attracts the iron wire on the coupling and the loop is lifted. Usually I wouldn't try to stop in the right place over the magnet, propelling a train and raising the magnet just before the coupling passes over is very reliable providing the running speed is sensible. If a rake of wagons is propelled across a raised magnet every pair will uncouple. The latch tab on the other end of wagons prevents re-coupling so wagons can be propelled into position and left. If couplings are pulled across a raised magnet the overhang on the coupling hook is sufficient to prevent uncoupling. I like Dingham couplings. Providing care is taken to set the height correctly when they are installed they are very reliable. They are not too obvious (Kadees on British goods stock just look wrong IMHO) and will allow coupling to 3 links (especially useful if you are changing over and are part-way through a large collection of rolling stock). Yet again photographs are quite merciless – I will have to look again at the paint on those chairs and sleepers….. Chaz

Crude but effective… I decided early on that I would install magnetic uncouplers on Dock Green to work the Dingham couplings fitted to all the stock. I considered using electro-magnets but I didn’t want the added complexity of the wiring and switches. I bought some very powerful small round magnets which work the couplings really well. Snap above shows the parts for the business end of an uncoupler mechanism. From the left… The magnet The holder - a piece of brass tube slit along its length so that it will open up to grip the magnet, also cut away and with a short length of 8BA bolt soldered in The push wire with one end formed into an eye to fit round the bolt Strap and two short screws to secure the wire to the lever Underside of one of the baseboards showing an uncoupler mechanism in place. On the left the operator’s end projects through a slot in the inner skin of the side, but not the outer. To raise the magnet the lever is pushed down with a finger. On the right the magnet, in its holder, slides up and down in a brass tube set between the sleepers. The pivot support includes two woodscrews that can be rotated from underneath to set the limits of the movement (if the magnet moves too far, either up or down, it pops out of the support tube and jams). I found that if these magnets are raised so that their tops are level with the top of the sleepers they will uncouple a pair of Dingham couplings very reliably. Drop them about 10mm and they no longer have any effect. This snap shows a different set-up to operate a magnet which is very close to the operators side of the layout, where there isn’t enough room to fit the pivot in the usual position. The operator lifts the lever end to raise the magnet.

Yes, it does help Dave. I suppose the underside of the card could be coated in PVA before fixing it down, then the top surface could get similar treatment BUT the DAS would only be applied to the top - would this matter? I anticipate that one problem that using DAS as for the whole job and leaving out the card might be weight. The baseboards were initially fairly light but as work progresses they have slowly got heavier, and we are not getting younger! Chaz

Quite so, Don. In fact the bridges and retaining walls will never be be permanently fixed. By leaving the baseboards tops flat, or nearly so, all four of them can be stacked, three on their sides close together and parallel, and one flat on the top. The resultant block is 4 feet wide by about 2 feet deep and is about 2 foot 6 inches high. So I can stack them away between shows in the corner of a room. The scenic bits and pieces, the warehouse, bridges, walls etc will all be in boxes under my home layout in the roof. Some of them are fastened with screws (the retaining walls are built on plywood backing boards that extend down and are screwed to the vertical surface of the baseboard back. Other features like the warehouse locate on dowel pegs projecting from the top surface. As to sealing the card this might not be the best move. I think the top surface needs to be porous so that the PVA can bond to it and hold the DAS. I think some small CSK woodscrews through the card, spaced out at regular intervals with one in each corner at ends or joins will prevent the card from curling. I can't be sure but I think it was only when I applied lots of water as a wash for the acrylic paint that distortion set in. In any case it seems to have settled down again - probably as it dried out. I have a list of jobs that must be done before the first show at the end of October and some that I would very much like to do, but which could wait. Reluctantly I have to put the setts on the latter list, it just depends on how the other jobs go. Chaz

Well, thanks Peter. Comments like yours are most encouraging. I note that you live in Wimborne, Dock Green makes its debut there, at the Allendale Community Centre, on October 21st by which time I hope to get quite a lot more done! It's inevitable that some stuff will miss that deadline so it will go as a work in progress. Will I see you there? Chaz

Thanks for the kind comment Graham. I started in 7mm by building a brass loco kit as, at the time, unless you were very rich this was an essential skill. However things are changing and there are now some quite affordable RTR locos appearing. What will make Dock Green really come alive will be the rolling stock. When I get some areas nearer finished I will post some snaps featuring locos and wagons. Chaz

One of the problems that I am having working on Dock Green is that it is impossible for me to erect the whole layout anywhere in the house except the kitchen – where it completely fills the room (not sensible and extremely unpopular!). I have avoided the problem up to now by working on single baseboards. However when I want to sort out a feature that spans a baseboard joint (like the brick-built stairs on bridge #1) it becomes vital to have two boards set up and linked together to get an accurate fit. This will also be important when I start doing such things as ground treatments if I am to avoid obvious mismatches in colour or texture. Today I discovered that if I moved a few bits of furniture I could erect a pair of baseboards in the front room upstairs - and leave them up without them being a major obstacle. The picture above shows the two left hand baseboards set up on the support legs and locked together. In the middle distance is bridge #1 and beyond it is the warehouse. There is still a fair amount of work to do on the bridge. The short spur that ends against the bridge to the left of the stairs will need a stop block, probably a simple wooden beam. To the right of the stairs is the steeply graded line to the industrial estate (actually to a cassette based fiddle yard). The edges of the brick cutting will need either walls or railings. The track to the right of the industrial line is the headshunt which runs right to the far end of the baseboards, underneath the back of the warehouse. The retaining wall on the right is there to screen the cassettes which arriving and departing trains run from and to. This snap shows bridge #2 in place. The strange, squat water tower (unfinished) that sits half under the bridge is there to screen the exit of the “main” line. I did originally have three spans in mind for this bridge which would have given me a bridge pier do the job but I didn’t like the way the bridge worked out in three sections. There is still a huge amount to do but I am much encouraged by how it looks so far. Chaz

Thanks Dave. It will be even more "gloomy and unpleasant" when I have added the weathering. I don't think I will go quite as far as Belle Isle or Holloway Bank, which had truly awful cakes of soot adhering to the brickwork. Chaz

I spent most of yesterday working on bridge #1 and specifically on the brick staircase which would give staff access from the road down to the yard. The real function of this feature is as a view blocker. I hope that it makes it a little less obvious that there are a couple of tracks that go through the bridge and must also go right through the bottom storeys of the warehouse. There are a full set of steps in there, but from most angles they are invisible. I'm glad I didn't bother with a handrail! The doorway? Some small storeroom in the base of the structure - maybe disused and boarded up. I put it in there to relieve that large area of plain brick. You can see that the stairs will sit across a baseboard join. Above is a view from above the road.The doorway was built on a small piece of veneering ply' (thin card would have done just as well). Spruce sections were glued to both sides to make the frame, and narrow strips of 0.8mm ply' (what else?) were added for the door itself. I did also glue a tiny piece of paper each side in which I drilled a 0.5mm hole - to represent a lock plate. You can make it out in this snap but it's invisible from any sensible viewing distance. Memo to self - paint that unpainted bit of the frame that's visible and put bricks on the bare end of that wall. Yet again photography reveals! The road surface must be the most perfect in the whole of the UK. I will add a representation of gutters, some evidence of repairs, seams etc, and some weeds or dirt and rubbish at the base of the wall (it will hide that gap!). I am quite pleased with those (home made) drains. There is still some brickwork to add to the bridge and then, of course, the whole thing requires some heavy weathering. All the scenic features on Dock Green must be removeable so that the baseboards can be stacked out of the way and take up as little space as possible. Bridge #1 with the stairs fixed in place would be vey unwieldy to remove and store so I have made the stairs so that they plug-in. As the stairs are lifted away you can see the steeply graded line to the industrial estate - it actually goes to cassettes inside the base of the warehouse. As I have said before Dock Green is so tight a fit in the space available that some big compromises have been made. I always intended that the bridges would divide the layout into a series of small sections, each one to be viewed as a separate scene - a bit like a series of linked dioramas. Chaz

Well, yes. I thought a hint of what will be there would be good but I suppose a much better way of doing that would be to complete some of the DAS work even if there's not time to do it all. WTS Chaz

I intend to cover a siding with stone setts as per the sample (for details of how see above)..... ....but the area to be covered is about 3 feet by 9 inches. This will take quite a time to complete. Dock Green has its first outing on October 21st and before then I have quite a lot of stuff to finish, so reluctantly the setts must go somewhere towards the bottom of the list. I would welcome suggestions as to a quick, simple alternative to make the siding look reasonably acceptable. Obviously there is no point in ballasting it as it will eventually be lost under the setts - indeed it might well make the card packing under the setts more difficult to get level. The only thing I can think of is to fit the card packing and to add photocopies of the setts I did on the test sample. Later the paper would be pulled off and replaced with DAS. Chaz

I thought the end wall of the warehouse was rather plain and devoid of interest (it’s a big area of brick). I didn’t want to have any windows in this wall as they would betray the rather odd interior of the building and it’s lack of any internal detail. I hit on the idea of a fixed access ladder, from the main roof to the strange little triangular roof of the extension, as an interesting feature. You can see that I put a door in the wall – this has a spruce frame and is planked with the same thin ply’ as all the other doors on the building. The ladder and cage are from the Plastruct range and are, I think, to 1:48 scale. They are a little heavy in section but look quite acceptable I think. Above is a closer view. You can see that the workers who put the bitumen on the roof didn’t take too much trouble to finish with a neat line on the wall! As I think I've said before none of the brick buildings have been weathered yet (and doesn't it show). I want to do them all at the same time so that I can get a uniform feel to the grime. Yet again photography does a fine job in highlighting any little faults, which would otherwise go unnoticed. When the layout is "finished" (!) I will take a lot of photos of every bit of it and check them over for defects that need attention or hiding. The looped handrails are 0.8mm brass wire soldered into two short pieces of brass angle. I bent the wire round the plain end of a 7mm drill. The wires are extended down through the angle on the ladder side and fit into holes in the parapet stones. This allows the handrails to be removed when the layout is to be moved or stored. They would otherwise be very vulnerable to damage. The steps, being below the top of the parapet, are glued in place. I don’t want to see any jokes about swimming pools. Chaz

Thanks for the kind comment Mike. I am pleased to read about your methods. When you say you painted the back of the card, what type of paint did you use? You put neat PVA on the top and let it dry. Did you add more PVA for the DAS to bond to? Sounds worth doing. Chaz

Of course this has left me with a dilemna. I've got an awful lot to do to Dock Green to get it in any sort of state for a show at the end of October, even allowing for the fact that it goes as a "work in progress". My inclination is get straight on with the setts - the result of my little test was so encouraging BUT this must be resisted. I think they could easily use most of the time I have left. Ho Hum. Maybe I should take an axe to the TV...... Chaz

I suppose I could turn up a special roller to do the job, but being an idle s*d I will probably stick with a thin piece of card held in place to stop the DAS spreading up to the rail. NOW - another good reason for a test piece - came down this morning into the workroom (Oh alright, kitchen) and picked up the setts sample to admire it. The card in the "four foot" at the end where the setts start had warped to such an extent that the DAS surface was a mill' or so above rail height. I think that the water from the paint washes had soaked in and caused the problem. Memo to self - when fitting the card packing be generous with the glue and maybe add some countersunk screws (these will be buried under the DAS so will need a splash of enamel paint to prevent rusting, which could well bleed through later. We live and learn....and then we forget..... Chaz

I'm a bit confused. You say "On top then would be very thin york paving embossed plastic card". If you mean you are going to glue plastic on top of the DAS - why bother with the DAS? Chaz

An interesting idea Peter. When you say "a large flanged wheel" did you make a special one to give a little working clearance? I am very conscious of the fact that when I made a paved area on a previous 7mm layout I used card. Although this was supposed to be set just below rail height I did get problems with loss of electrical pick-up due, I think, to the card warping slightly. I expect the DAS to be stable but I don't want to take any chances - the thought of spending hours getting a good looking effect only to have it interfere with running is just not on. Chaz

Thanks for that TTG! I think the setting (drying?) time might well depend on how thick a layer is applied. I left mine for a few days before I attacked it (only 'cos I was busy with the platform planking) but I think it was dry the following day. I didn't roll mine out so I can't say for certain, but it is quite soft from the packet so I think it should roll flat easily enough, although you might need talc on the roller to stop the DAS sticking to it. I thumbed small lumps of it into place and then smoothed it out with wet fingers and tamped it with an edge, rather as you would if you were cementing a drive. Chaz

Crikey! This is going to take a while..... Had my first go at doing stone setts using DAS today and I must say the results are most encouraging BUT it takes an awful long time to do a small area. I fixed a spare piece of Peco O gauge track to an offcut of foamboard. To economise I glued card between and over the sleepers so that the DAS would only need to be about 1.5mm thick. I coated the card with PVA and then applied the layer of DAS. I used a straight edge to make sure that the surface of the DAS was a little below the rail height - to avoid any potential problems later with the running of stock or locos. First picture shows my setup for scribing in the setts. From left to right.... old paint brush to clear the scrapings away - otherwise you can't see what you have done pencil the track/DAS sample scriber steel rule and engineers square to aid marking out (under the steel rule) a scrap of embossed brick sheet to help measure out the rows And behind... a print of some of the snaps I took at Amberley - I don't intend to follow these too closely but a bit of reality always helps... a table lamp - provides oblique directional lighting, emphasising the incisions A couple of hours with the scriber got me this. No doubt I will get quicker but when I realise that this is a couple of inches of track done and the siding I want to inset is about three feet long, it's going to be a slow job. I think I may have made the flangeways too wide. I will put a wagon on the sample and see if they can be narrower. I thought it best to use water based paint on the DAS so I mixed up a light (!) grey with artists acrylics. Whilst the paint was still wet I washed some of the colour off the setts with a brush loaded with just water. The result is (I think) very encouraging. However I now realise why you don't see stone setts modelled very often! Chaz