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Neil_S_Wood

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Blog Entries posted by Neil_S_Wood

  1. Neil_S_Wood

    Hanging out

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    This entry has taken me ages to get round to as its been a busy year. The new interest in electric locomotives has necessitated the installation of catenary. I bought a few components at the Sanddown Model Rail show from the Orient Express shop's stand. This enabled me to get started. I had a visit to Adelaide recently with work so was able to pop into the Orient Express shop to buy pretty much all the DRG catenary stock they had. The catenary is fairly easy to install. Fortunately it is also easy to uninstall as you will have to do this often to access track and locomotives underneath on occasion. Here are some shots of how it looks.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    When I was originally thinking about this I had ideas that I could make finer catenary myself from wire or guitar strings however I have found out a few things since getting this much catenary to try out. On one of the initial pieces I bought there was a slight burr. It was so small you couldn't see it but the loco pant's found it so I had to file it off. The slightest burr on the wire will catch the pantograph on the loco and put strain on the catenary and supports. My idea of soldering finer wire together just wouldn't work as the solder wouldn't leave a smooth surface for the pantograph to run along. The wire does look a bit thick for scale but I don't really see an option that would be sufficiently robust to use instead of this.
     
    These shots show the extent that I have installed the catenary so far. This cost me a grand total of $200 Aus. This has given me cause to stop and consider how much this is actually going to cost if I am to install this on the entire layout. I'm thinking this could a grand! I could get a couple of stealth locos or a decent sound one for that and have some change. I may reconsider this and just have it on the main line and a couple of sidings .
     

     

     
     
    I have also been looking for suitable platform canopies to go with the station. This one is the best one I have found so far. It's a Faller one and looks the part. I'll buy more of these kits to populate the main platforms with.
     

     

     
    I have been building more city street buildings for the section to the right of the layout. The idea is to have the trains weaving through conurbation on the way into the station. This way you will get glimpses of the trains between the buildings as they make their way in. This is where I am to so far on this. I have ordered more of these so I can build another set that will be an exact reflection of these to back onto the station.
     

     
     
    So the next step will be to finish off the town streets to the right hand side and get that all done. I will get the catenary finished on the main lines. I'm thinking I'll be right to start some ballasting now so I'll pick some areas to start on and get going with that. As always plenty to do.
     

     

     

     

  2. Neil_S_Wood

    Signals and wires

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    I had a few signals to install and have them all in place now and fully wired. They are all DCC controlled through the ECoS.
     

     

     

     
    My old ECoS had "issues" which made it unusable so I had to get another one. This one has a colour screen so happy about that.
     

     
    Much of the time recently has been checking wiring had a couple of wiress come loose and needed to bolster connections. Have been doing a bit of weathering as well on some locos. Plenty still need to get done though.
     

     
    Still need to add a few more signals. They will go in this area here. A couple have been installed already but I need three more I think.
     

     
    I did a bit of detailing on the coal crane. Still need to add coal to the bunkers though.
     

     
    Still making the street buildings. Two completed and another two still need building. Will be getting on to them next.
     

  3. Neil_S_Wood

    End of the line

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    Having now recovered from six weeks away I now feel a bit of an update is on the cards. I spent most of my time in Scotland with a week in Yorkshire and a week in Berlin. Railways were very much the theme of the visit and I managed to take in most transport museums in the areas visited.
     
    Glasgow's new transport museum was first up and was quite impressed by the architecture.
     

     
    I was also rather impressed by the large South African locomotive on show. This was the one that was on the Monster Moves television program.
     

     
    Next down to Sheffield to visit the wife's family. We stopped off in York first though and stayed right next to the station. This was handy for train spotting opportunities.
     

     
    It also meant that the Railway Museum was within easy walking distance.
     

     
    I was quite please to see this upon entry. Very nice. Always been one of my favourite British loco's.
     

     
    In Berlin I was quite impressed by the new Hauptbahnhof. Awesome railway station.
     

     
    On the way down the the Deutsche Technicks museum I stopped to have a look at all that was left of the old Anhalter station. It must have been an impressive sight in its day.
     

     
    The Museum still has turntable and sheds in good condition with a good selection of locos.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    This is a model of the Anhalter station before destruction.
     

     

     

     
    Like the National Railway Museum in York, there is also a cut open loco here showing how it all works. This is a KPEV P8 rather than a Merchant Navy though.
     

     
    I wanted to go on a trip on an ICE and went to Braunschwieg. This loco sits out the front of the railway station.
     

     
    Getting back to model railways, having arrived back to our house in Melbourne I was pleased to see a large parcel from Modelbahn Kramm which contained many items needed for the layout. Most of the stock I had was epoch 2 but generally based in the north in Berlin. I had bought a few items which were more appropriate for Bavaria so a Brawa Br 38 steam loco.
     

     
    I also bought a few electrics appropriate for the era. I has initially found these dull and uninteresting but now love them now. Especially the bigger ones. So a Roco E-94;
     

     
    Brawa E 73.
     

     
    and a Brawa e 77
     

     
    While inputting these locos into the ECoS I had a screen freeze which I have been unable to resolve. It occurred when trying to set long addresses to Railcom locos. The ECoS seemed to do a reset whenever I tried to program them with the long address. After one of these resets the screen froze and set on the track plan diagram and has not responded to any touch since. The loco that was on the prog track when the final reset and freeeze occurred was a loksound v4 so I wouldn't have expected that.
     
    I have spent a bit of time trying to resolve the problem but the screen will not move from the track plan mimic diagram screen unless given an external command when linked to a computer. I had managed to get the rescue mode screen and the initial screen after factory reset mode. I also had the screen calibration screen up but none of them will respond when touched. Having faced facts; it's eight years old and has served well in that time, I suppose I will have to get a new colour screen one.This wasn't factored into my budget so other things such as catenary and more signals will have to wait now. Unfortunate but these things happen.
     
    I have a load of signals to install which will complete the north side of the layout.
     

     
    The signals will all be digitally controlled so I need to get the new controller before I can set this up so this will all have to wait. I also have some kits to build. I got one of these sets which has four buildings in one kit as they are more economical and I need a few.
     

     
    I can start work on the kits now but will have to wait a bit until I can order a new controller till I start doing the rest of the signals. So plenty to do from here.
  4. Neil_S_Wood

    Show me a sign

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    Previously I had installed a three way signal on the layout and thought I'd show you how this comes up on the ECoS screen as it's a bit more interesting than the regular two position ones. This is the one to the top right of the screen. When you press it first it opens up to show three signal positions which you can choose from. Installing one of these signals uses two outputs from your point decoder. Once wired up it works quite well though.
     

     
    Here's the signal on the layout on the right of the below picture.
     

     
    Station signs were needed to start outfitting the station platforms. The signs were created using the Tannenberg font. I did a bit of a search on this and this is what the dreischeibe forum seemed to consider was correct for the period. Looks about right but not entirely convinced so if you know better, let me know what is a more appropriate font. This is the making of the signs and instalation.
     

     

     

     

     
    I tidied up the platform underpass entrances with sides and banisters. I made steps as well.
     

     

     

     

     
    The station building got some flower boxes and period railway posters. Still thinking about how to do the station surrounds. Will do a bit more research on this.
     

     

     
    The local historical society did a re-enactment of the visit by the Bavarian King Ludwig II with his entourage in his royal railway carriage pulled by the legendary S2/6.
     

     

     
    There was also a nostalgia special to Vienna for enthusiasts pulled by the S3/6.
     

     

     

     
    I was looking into point rodding and ducting and had a bit of a learning curve on the mechanisms used in the period for switching points and signals. I bought some of the Auhagen parts to see what they were like. I'll also order some of the Weinert ones to try out too to see cost versus detail and take it from there. I've installed some of it so far so here is how it looks with the rope pull holders and switching lanterns etc.
     

     

     

     

     
     
    Still looking at rolling stock and need to start building up more of a Bavarian Era 2 fleet. Most of the Era 2 stock I have is Berlin based rather than Bavarian. I'll need to start building up a fleet of Era 2 Bavarian stock so have my eye on a few to get once funds become available. I've ordered a couple of electrics which are appropriate and will start buying catenary to install. Might have to just install the masts initially and fill in the power cables later so I can keep access open.
     
    I will also have to figure how I'm going to manage the join between the new Fife layout and this one. I've made the baseboards for the new one and will need to allow clearance for trains to run underneath the new one. This might make the new layout a bit high.
     
    Well home beckons and I'm off back to Scotland for the next couple of months with side trips to Yorkshire and Berlin so nothing will be happening on the layout while I'm away. I'll be coming back with loads of goodies to get cracking with on the new layout when I get back though so plenty to look forward to. Just a couple more pictures to finish with.
     

     

     

     

  5. Neil_S_Wood

    It's a wrap

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    Time for a bit of an update on what's been happening on the layout.
     
    First up I had to extend the backdrop as it petered out in the middle of a street. The only option was the same backdrop I used before but I joined it up on the second sheet as the colour on the first was too light and there was a very obvious join. This doesn't look too bad. Merges fairly well. This concludes the backdrops for the Bavarian layout as it is now wrapped all around.
     
    Track laying was concluded a couple of entries ago so now getting to work on the station area.
     

     
    This picture taken from the net continues the street fairly well but the top of a couple of buildings has been lopped off in the picture. Bit if a shame as it would good otherwise. Trying to think of a way of hiding this. Probably a big tree would be best. I'll use this brick coloured wall to separate the tracks from the street but will have to decide what I'm doing first before cutting to size.
     

     
    Because I had set the previous backdrops at 10cm height I was committed to doing this with the rest. I've been able to hide this behind buildings and raised railway lines elsewhere but the lack of space between the railway line and the wall prevents me using anything three dimensional here. I'm thinking brickwork or foliage as the best way of hiding it. I added a new building here too. I'll probably add another street of four storey buildings to add a bit more depth.
     

     
    Being carrying on with painting my Preiser figures. Still have a lot more to go though. Added a couple to one of the flak wagens. I'll get more of these as it finishes it quite well.
     

     
    I started adding grass around the edges of the station and a wall. This continues all the way round. I used the Noch grassmaster as it gives best results for a large area. I also finished track laying with the service yards now being complete. I can start fixing in the buildings here too. I can probably start ballasting soon as it all seems to operate well. I just have to get positions for the signals and platform installed.
     

     

     
    I bought some Faller platform to see how easy it would be to make replicas of. I'll investigate options at the hardware store to see what I can come up with as it will be cheaper and probably more realistic to make my self rather than having to fiddle with kit platform.
     
    I painted the fountain as well. I saw the one in Nuremberg was painted so thought I'd copy that. I also put a fence round it too. I was going to add some epoxy water but now that I need it I can't find it. I'm sure I saw it in a box I was rummaging through the other week but nowhere to be seen now.
     

     

  6. Neil_S_Wood

    A couple of clips

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    I had been looking into this new Roco cab camera that is on their new E103 and was quite interested in that as it would be a perspective on the layout you normally wouldn't get to see. While I was thinking about it it occurred to me that Icould always put my handycam on the back of a flat in the meantime to see what it would look like from that perspective. Here's couple of test videos of the layout from this trial.
     
    http://youtu.be/mo9N1HjDsuc
     
    It's amazing how much you notice on film that you don't normally see. I've given myself a whole lot of work by doing this having to correct things I'd never normally noticed. I put my videocam on the back of a flat wagon and pulled it along with a Kreigslok. The balance of the wagon was poor because of its size relative to the flat wagon but I like the perspective. Steven Speilberg it ain't but if tidied up could give a new view on an existing layout.
     
    http://youtu.be/fR0Sq0TF0pA
     
    The idea was to have a few layers of scenery to create a false impression of depth at the back; a sort of three dimensional backdrop. It comes out a bit more in these clips than it does in the photos.
     
    http://youtu.be/wcNCnXizjkg
  7. Neil_S_Wood
    This entry follows on from the previous one in the main. I installed the walling along the side of the shuttle lines.
     
    While this is off the shelf stuff it is quite good and looks ok. I've cut it to shape where required and applied various washes for effect.
     
    I've also extended the road down the length of most of the wall.I'll continue this on later when I'm working down the other end of the layout.
     
     

     

     
    This is one end of the shuttle line. I've finished off ballasting and installed some of the Wienert buffer stops. Bit of a goods terminus. Needs tidied up still.
     

     

     

     
    I've also created roads which bisect the old town square. I'm not sure about road markings from this period so further research is required.
     

     
    I added more trees to the area where the big one was installed so it isn't so obvious.
     
    I created more flags and banners for the central square.
     

     

     
    I've done a small isolated section as a test to see what I need to look out for in the main square. The main thing seems to be the gap between the buildings and the ground. I'm using polyfilla to close this and then weather it in.
     

     
    I installed the old city wall and started weathering it in.
     

     
    The square is now more of a, well - it actually is, a triangle. The church and town hall will sit in these positions. I've positioned the Trix maypole temporarily so you can see where I intend putting it. It's temporary so I can move it if it's not suitable. If anyone is aware of someone offering brass etchings to add to this please let me know. This is how it looks now.
     

     

     

     

     
    These two buildings still have to be weathered in to the square.
     

     
    I've had another batch of kits arrive to finish off this area. I still need street "furniture' like lights etc but will buy and install these as funds arise.
     
    This is how it looks now from a couple of different perspectives.
     

     

     

     

     

  8. Neil_S_Wood
    This part is the bit I'd been dreading most of the entire layout. The issue is that I needed two shuttle lines right at the back of the layout next to the backboards, and, I needed to install the backboards after I had installed a fair bit of track. I had a fair idea of how I was going to do this and had spent a fair bit of time thinking about it so off I went to Bunnings (local equivelant of Homebase or MFI) to get all the materials.
     
    First part was to assemble the backboards. There were to be two of these which would interlock in the middle to provide a town backscene appropriate for a Bavarian town scene. I'd have liked a city scene but you have to work with what's available, and Rottenburg was available, so I took two of those put together. First up the one that would go in the back right corner. Here's the basic boards;
     

     
    ..and here it is again with the backdrop pictures applied;
     

     
    Yep the corner looks a bit messy but there's a plan to sort that. It'll all get sorted by the time this gets finished. Next up is the straight section which will go to the back left. This was easier to make;
     

     
    So far so good. Yep it's the same picture twice but there will be sufficient other items in front to prevent this becoming immediately obvious. Next thing now is to start on the shuttle lines. Due to the innaccessability of this area everything will have to be created, installed, laid, weathered, sceniced etc before instalation. These sections will have to be lifted in their entirity across a metre or so of track. Yep, it would have been a good idea to do this first before installing all the track, but this is real life and things don't work like that in real life. So I have now transported both backdrops through to the train room for further work. This is the left backdrop with attached base for shuttle lines as brought in from the garage/ workshop.
     

     
    From here it gets track laid and wiring done, ballasted, a bit of weathering and integrated into the back scene. Once this is done I raise it to eye level to finalise things before the big lift;
     

     
    Ok I have now laid the last two pieces of track to the right and the curved base and track section to the left. Now all installed and ready to go. Cables have all been labled for future wiring.
     

     
    This needed to people to lift clear across the other track section to the rear. The plan was to position the rear left part first. Once in position the rear right part would slide into a slot which would hold the two backdrops together. I did this initially and guess what: it was an inch too long. I had to remove the rear right backdrop and take an inch off it. That was fun!
     

     
    This picture shows the two backdrop sections fixed together. Rubbish lighting I'm afraid however that wasn't my priority at the time. I've glued the two sections together and held the top part with a vice. Parts of the base have been screwed into the baseboards to keep the structure solid. You will note that this backdrop pretty much blocks out most light from the window. That's intentional. Sunlight here is strong and will bleach colour and melt plastic. I don't want any of those expensive models wilting in the summer sun. The window goes down to the floor in any event and will allow some light through the bottom part.
     
    This is the join where the two back drops meet. I've used a tree to conceal the join however the sky doesn't match. Bit unfortunate but may be resolved by airbrushing at some future point.
     

     

     
    This is lengthways view from the right. The trees integrate reasonably well into the backdrop.
     

     

     
    View from the left now. Overlap joins more visible from this angle. I'll fix these up when mixing more wallpaper paste for the next batch of backdrops.
     

     
    Overall view of the entire backdrop. Looks ok from a distance. I intend to have different backdrops all the way around the layout. I think a decent backdrop makes a big difference.
     

     
    The plan from here is tidying up what I have done, scenic the back part and get the shuttle line operational. I have plenty new track and some more points and motors to instal so that'll keep me busy. I've got more building kits on the way so I can fill up the city area to the right. I'll add a further country backdrop to the left and forest over the join in the corner, then finish up the end of the shuttle line. Still deciding whether to have it go straight or to curve towards the operating area which may be more convenient for taking off and putting on stock.
  9. Neil_S_Wood

    Stocktake

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    It had been a while since I've been working on my layout I've forgotten what I needed to get and what I already have. I did have some of this information on spreadsheets but am not able to find them either now. For example, I could have swore that I had 4 Lenz LS 150's (point decoders); 1 that I'd broken and 3 that worked. Couldn't find the third working one so ordered another. Lo and behold, I'd just bought another one when I came across the missing one the following day! Inevitable really. So, after that, I went through all the storage boxes to see exactly what I had in them. Found most of what I had with soem nice surprises too. Still a couple of missing items though. Also changed over my stock from era 1 to era 2 as this is what I will be running mainly.
     
    I had a couple of base board areas which still required completion. One which would only hold buildings and was going to be constructed of lighter plywood. The other area was a square hole in the main station area which I'd left for access. I did have a square bit of chipboard on the floor underneath the layout which I had always assumed to be the piece which filled the hole. I tried it in the gap and surprise, it didn't fit at all. No idea how that came about! I then cut a new piece of chipboard to size and fitted it so the track work can continue when I get more in a couple of weeks time.
     
    The other bit that needed completion is the bit in the right hand corner here. I cut a piece of plywood to size. Doesn't need much strength here as only buildings on top.
     

     

     
    Now the plan was to have parallel shuttle lines running down the very back of the layout. I had already cut some chipboard for this. However, when I married up the cut chipboard with the bridge sections it seems that the bits I cut were too narrow. I'll still be able to use some of it but will need more.
     

     
    This picture shows where the shuttle line will go and the difference in size between the two bits of chipboard. This also gets further complicated because I will be attached the backboards with backscene to the back of this. I'm having a bit of a pause to think about this. My current thoughts are to scrap the previous stuff I cut and just buy more chipboard and cut it to the right size so that it fits straight on both sides.
     
    The section below will be the old town and have old world buildings. I have a few in storage which I can use. The plastic bridge to the left is the one which the shuttle lines will cross.
     

     
    While I was doing this I thought I'd pull out the buildings I had for this section to see what I had. I was going to order some more but am now thing the ones I made weren't bad so might make some instead. There's certainly some space to fill. The walls will go round the edge closest to the rail lines.
     

     
    This view shows how it will fit in with the main station area.
     

     
    On the opposite side of the station area I was going to put in some services like coaling sand etc. The size here will be limited by the curved shuttle line cutting in and arching round.
     

     
    I had already cut the base board for the shuttle line so this will give you an idea of the space available. I might have to recut this and make it wider next time though.
     

     
    Not completely convinced there's enough room but will build all the items and move them around to see how it all looks. I had originally intended to put the turntable in here but, clearly, that's not happening. I've run out of track now so in the meantime I'm building all my kits. Have a bit of a backlog of these. Might scratch build some new buildings but will see where I'll place the existing ones so that I can tailor the new ones to available footprints.
     

  10. Neil_S_Wood

    In bloom

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    I have been doing things but they're probably not all that noticeable. I had new lights installed in the roof which has really brightened the room up no end. The old lights were those single bulb enegry saver ones which didn't produce much light. I've now added a couple of strip lights which I salvaged from the old garage.
     
    Makes things a lot better to see and photograph although I'm starting to notice some pictures are washed out if I photograph too close to the light.
     
    I tend to have the blinds down all the time here as the railway room is north facing and the sun is very strong here. It could easily melt my stock that's stored below in boxes. I'm a bit forgetful at times so would inevitably forget about it if I raised the blinds. So, all things considered, best to leave them down by default.
     

     
    Also finished my shuttle lines and they're fully operational now. Still cleaning them up a bit as they got a bit messy in some parts due to painting and plastering behind.
     

     
    I had made a start on the wooded corner section but seasonal change has had an impact on this. I have done the plastering and a rough coat of paint to seal it but the weather then got quite cold so it won't dry quite as quickly, or worst case scenario; not at all, when I grassmaster it. I'll probably just jack up the heating for a bit to sort that out.
     

     
    While I'm down this end of the layout here's a couple of pictures of how things look from down here at the moment. Once the corner is forested I can get to work on this part. The stone wall will continue round and merge into tunnels.
     

     

     

     
    The most visible part is adding lots of window boxes with flowers to brighten the place up a bit. MiniNature do a great line in the flowers so a few different colours and a chopped up piece of walnut strip for the boxes and off we go. Did some touch ups of older buildings, repainted them and weathered them.
     

     
    I made the maypole that was mentioned previously. I used the Trix one along with parts from a Noch one to make the one shown.
     

     
    I planted the Bavarian flag banners too. I'll need to make more of these.
     

     

     
    Added a few more buildings too. Fountain and a public WC.
     

     

     

     
    I'm painting some Prieser people for inside coaches as well. Bit cheaper than the ready painted ones.
     

     
    Thinking to the future now I may add more building to this section at the front so that I have the trains travelling through city effect. I'll need another city back drop so that will be the third of the same backdrop I will use but I don't see any better alternatives. Here's some shots to finish with.
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

     
    A couple of cameos to conclude with.
     

     
     

  11. Neil_S_Wood

    Platforming

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    This blog entry follows on from the previous one in continuing with the fitting of the platforms.
    I had to etch them and paint the edges and create the slot where the underpass entry will be fitted later.
    All the other station platform paraphernalia can be fitted later too.
     
    Once the platform shape had been established I had to check for smooth running of pretty much all my stock with the tightest fit possible. I had got pretty close but my Kriegslok seemed to catch more than others and had to go back to shave a bit more off the edges. Still working on this as I'm trying it out with all my stock to ensure smooth running.
     

     
    The bright light from the railway room seems to have overlit the platforms so they look a bit washed out. I’ll have to figure out how to make adjustments for that but you’ll get the general idea.
    Having photographed it I can see several areas which will need tidied up. There are a lot of frayed bits along the edges which need sanded and repainted. A couple of bits need their curves smoothed.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    I also fixed up the light that wasn’t working on one of the signals. The signals are fine but costly. I’d calculated that it was going to cost me thousands to populate the layout with all the appropriate signals as I’ll also need point decoders to go with them. I’ve also thought that some electrification would be appropriate too and will install catenary on the two main lines. For these reasons I’ve decided to start another layout which is going to be more labour intensive than cost intensive. I’ve already bought the wood and ordered the track material. I already have the backdrops so can make a start soon while I’m building up funds to pay for all the station equipment and signals.
     
    From here I’ll have to patch up the track as it seems to have got bashed around a bit with all the other things going on. With the Tillig track there is a great shortage of sleepers so I need to go and fill in the gaps and straighten up the sleepers I've been bashing around. Also I need to add fishplates. Once that’s done I can probably start to ballast some parts. Here's some pictures with the locos now to conclude.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  12. Neil_S_Wood
    There's been a few things happening of late.
     
    I started off by correcting the end of street scene from last entry.
     
    I used one the vertical Bavarian banners to conceal the top join.
     
    It now blends in better than it did.
     
    The join being far better than before.
     
    Not sure how I'm going to do the other side of the building to the right though. Still thinking about that.
     
     

     
    I started installing the Veissmann signals I had bought previously to see how they went with digital control. I had a few problems initially. I had bought a Veissmann decoder as I thought it might work better being the same brand as the signals. How wrong I was. I had no joy at all with the Veissmann decoder. I tried all sorts of settings but the best I could get was to get it to work once on the wrong setting. To get it to work again I had to re-program it. Not ideal really. While doing a trawl of the internet I found a wiring diagram for using an LDT solenoid item decoder so tried that. Again no joy. Eventually I came across a thread on one of the forums which said that it would work with the Lenz LS150 which is what I use for my point motors. I tried this and it worked fine. Other than the Veissmann signals, I haven't had much success with their product; their S-88s had issues too. So now I've tried these out it'll be Lenz LS150's all the way. The signals are pretty good and well detailed. I'm quite pleased with them but they are costly and I'll need a few of them. Might have to spread the costs out over time.
     

     

     
     
    The other thing I've been doing is starting to make my platforms. I've been using off cuts from walls and 1mm ply with plaster coating. I've found period canopies but I'll need a few and cost will mount up so may shop around a bit for these. A few of these things will have to wait till I get back from the UK in November as I'll need to save for my trip home. So here's how they've been going.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    I noticed while photographing these last ones that one of the LED's in the signal has gone already. I checked the wiring and there was loose wire.
     
    The next step is finish off all these platforms and then start ballasting round them.
     

  13. Neil_S_Wood
    I decided I had to do something about the top left, or north west corner of the layout as it remained bare and I needed to work from the outside in..
     
    Once I get this part finished I can then get on with completing the trackwork for the service yards.
     
    To this end I carried on from where I left off before.
     
    I had got as far as plastering the area and applying a coat of paint to seal it.
     
     
     
     

     
    Next I used the grassmaster on it to get it to look like this.
     

     
    Some small bushes and plants and finally trees.
     

     
    Next step was ballasting the track on the raised shuttle line.
     

     
    I added a bit of pavement at the base of where the retaining walls will sit.
     

     
    Then added the retaining walls to continue on from the previous installation.
     

     
    I then put in paving for this side of the road. Once this was done I then definitely knew how much space I had for maintenance yards.
     

     

     
    I then installed more points and track to get this.
     

     
    A view from a different angle. This is where the station building will sit.
     

     
    Sort of an aerial view to show how it all sits plan wise on the western side of the layout.
     

     
    On the other side I added a further point to conclude my track laying for this side of the layout.
     

     

     
    Down this side I also added some new baseboards to build up this end.
     

     
    I need to get a further backdrop for this end before going wild with more buildings. I had my eye on the Faller Nuremberg fire station but availability and cost are issues. I could make something I suppose. Plenty of time to think further about what I'm going to put in here later though. I have lots of tidying up to do now. Here's some shots of the layout to give an overview of where I'm up to.
     

     

     

     

  14. Neil_S_Wood

    The new layout

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    We knocked our house down and built a new bigger better one and out of that I got a bigger garage with a bigger workbench, a room for computers and models and, best of all, a designated layout room inside the house which has air con and heating. No more of that layout in the garage nonsense. We moved in a couple of months ago and the dust has started to settle on the sorting the house out. As my time has freed up from house stuff my focus has shifted back to hobbies so I have started building a new layout. The room is 3.5metres by 4.5 metres and will feature two layouts on opposing sides of the room
     
    The plan is rough and ready at this point. Some parts are fixed and others I'm still figuring out how I am going to do. I have made half the base boards and will do the rest once I get some free time in December. This is one of the baseboards.
     
     

     
    Most of the base boards will be this frame format. It'll help to keep the weight down. The majority of the layout will be train line running through scenery. On one side of the room I will make a scene based on Lower Largo with viaduct and harbour. On the other side I'll have a German city scene modelled on Rottenburg. This will have a station with about six platforms. The main line from this layout will go round the back scene of the lower Largo layout. Both lines will go around the room. The current problem is the Lower Largo line will have to go round the front of the German station when it is at the other side of the room so I am looking for ideas to disguise or hide it.
     
    Anyway here are the two benches where the station and city scene will be.
     

     

     
    Ignore all the crap underneath. It will be covered over at some future point. The track will be 130cm high all the way around. The lower benches are 110cm high and will feature a raised track. This will allow me to have slopes coming down from the track bed.
     
    I'll also have to have some kind of a raising and lowering bridge for the track at the door to allow access.
     
    We'll that's it for now. I'll post some more once something noteworthy happens.
     
    cheers
     
    Neil
  15. Neil_S_Wood
    About the time of my last entry I got a whole load of kits to build to build up my town scene which will occupy the north east corner of the layout. I got a few other items too so this entry should hopefully be more visually stimulating than the last entry's track fest. The plan is to have several layers of buildings to this to give the impression of a big city's old quarter. This will be bound by two main roads which will merge round about where the station starts and run along behind the station with the main road eventually disappearing under the tunnel at the west end.
     
    Before I got started on the building area the key thing was to start at the back and work forward. There was a problem with the backdrop due to the way I had fixed the panels together. I had used screws to fix the sheets of hardboard. I later found out that pva would be sufficient to hold them and now can do a seamless join. However, this was my first attempt and the backdrops were already in place therefore I needed something to obscure the screws sticking through the backdrop picture.
    Previously I had used trees to hide errors so I decided to do the same here. I just needed a bigger tree. So here it is; twig from the backyard with sea moss branches.
     

     
    The next step was to establish where the buildings would go. I have been shuffling these around for months but having now completed the new kits have come up with a configuration that I'm fairly happy with.
     

     

     
    I still have some thinking about what to do with the town wall but other than that this should be fine. I've ordered a few more kits of half timbered buildings to add in round the main square. I'll use the church and Rathaus as centrepiece buildings.
     

     
    I finished painting and weathering the Wienert buffers so they are all ready to go in. Will weather these a bit further when they are in place.
     

     

     
    I also got some brick work to use as walls for the sides of the raised shuttle lines. These are off the shelf and ready to plonk but with a bit of weathering look the part.
     

     
    I have moved the station to this side of the tracks as there just isn't room on the other side and it looks wrong.
     

     
    This is a view of the first layer of buildings. You can see the tree I made earlier at the back.
     

     

     
    This has been a bit experimental in that I am using polyfilla for the roads and thought I'd use this area as a test to see if it worked ok. The other thing is that access is a bit limited here so I am putting the buildings onto thin MDF sheets so I can remove entire blocks for maintenance or modification if need be.
     

     
    I have elected to use Bavarian flags rather than nazi flags. It will primarily be epoch 2 but will also be epoch 1 a lot of the time too. And, put simply, there's no way I'm having lots of nazi flags round my layout so Bavaria it is.
    I still need to source appropriate street lighting etc but will add these items as funds become available.
     

     

     
    I'm trying to source more 1930's posters and shop front signs to change over the ones that came in some of the kits. I'm having to modify some of the older kits that I have as, when I built them, my attention to detail wasn't the same as now. Also having got glasses last year I can now focus on detail again. Most of what's seen in these pictures will be hidden behind the town walls and rarely seen but I still think it's important that it looks ok for those rare occasions when it is seen. So from here I can complete the city square and roads and tie up this end of the layout. The next bit will be the service yards at the other end. So there's a plan. Hopefully it will all work as intended.
     

     

  16. Neil_S_Wood

    Off track

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    Apologies in advance this entry's a bit boring I'm afraid. I've been focussing on my track and trying to get it all laid. I got another three points and motors which I've installed down the front of the layout. These were intended for the service yard but the points were far too big for the area I have so I used them for more express train platform access. I have also installed the point switching kits included with the points.
     
    I've stained the track and painted the rails on all the track. This was fairly time consuming but it's all done now. I'll hold off on ballasting until I've done some more running to check it's all ok, installed platforms and signals and done other related stuff. So here's the pictures. Starting from the right hand side view.
     

     

     
    Now over to the left hand side.
     

     

     
    This section at the front is the most recent addition.
     

     
     
    Some closer shots.
     

     

     

     

     
    Bit of an over view. The white stuff is to get painted and will be cable conduit.
     

     

     
    A few things were waiting on me installing another backdrop to the left hand side of the station area. I did this the other day so this has opened up a whole load of things I can be doing. First up was to finish off the shuttle lines.
    I've extended the raised shuttle lines round the back so that they are a decent length now. I've also wired them up so should probably get round to testing them out before ballasting. The other thing I will do before ballasting is scenicing them into the layout so that the ballast won't drop off the edges. As it currently stands the lines are sitting on a plank. What I need to do now is to add countryside to this.
     

     
    Just the day before a very large box arrived from Germany which had loads of buildings, buffers, walling and an ESU BR215, so well pleased to see that. The day before a smaller one arrived from Orient Express in Adelaide which had Viessmann signals and some more Tillig points. Unfortunately I didn't think to order the point motors as well so that was a bit of an oversight. Orient Express were nice enough to include a printed sheet with lots of information on signals and the correct positioning so that's a big help. I'd done a bit of research on the net already but this is quite handy. The Viessmann signals look great but are pricey and I need quite a lot. I don't see my layout getting populated with signals in a hurry!
  17. Neil_S_Wood
    Well, have done a fair bit more but it doesn't really look it. Most of what I have done has been rewiring and point instalation.
     
    I got four more points and motors installed. Went to buy some more Tillig flexi track from the Orient Express stand at the Caulfield show when I was there the other week but they had forgotten to bring the flexi track with them. Ended up buying some points and motors instead. Have them all installed and connected up now. There we go; that's 300 bucks there. Doesn't look it really, does it? We're looking at the bit in the top left.
     

     
    Installed the ECoS detector. Took the opportunity to tidy up my wiring at the same time. Went fairly smoothly but has made me have a bit of a rethink on the decoders I buy from here on. What has prompted this is that the ECoS detector has 4 ports which will show the loco in the block if the loco is railcom enabled. Initially I thought this was great , and still do, but what I then went on to notice was that very few decoders actually have railcom. In many I am finding that the railcom enabled box is disabled and astonishly this includes the ESU ones which have been provided to loco manufacturers for factory pre-instals. I have tried writing 46 to cv 29 but it won't take, I'm guessing because the decoder doesn't have railcom at all. This seems to include the Loksound 3.5 which are quite recent. My problem is that this seems to be the bulk of my stock. If I'd stayed with Lenz Gold instead of installing sound in them all I wouldn't have this issue now. The ones which seem fine are the loksound 4's. I've now been doing a stock take of locos to see how many actually have functional railcom and it's not much, five so far! So good that there's a new feature but not good that very few decoders respond to it. I did notice something on the ESU forum today which mentioned a product you can add to an existing decoder to allow railcom to identify the loco. Couldn't see anything on ESU's website about it though but I'll keep an eye out as I'll need a few of those.
     
    I was tending towards the Zimo decoders but am now convinced that there is a use for Railcom so will be heading back to ESU in future. I like the feature which shows which railcom enabled loco is on the section. Ideally I'd like to see a version of the ECoS detector which showed which loco was in every single block.
     
    I'd been looking at buffer stops and have decided to go with these Weinert ones. They're brass and dear but quite good. Most of the other options I had tried were a but flimsy or didn't really fulfil their purpose well. I'll go with these ones I think.
     

     
    This shows the trackplan and where I am up to so far. Still have to joing up some of these points as I'm out of flexi track.
     

     
    To the top left will be a service yard for coaling, sand water etc. This is the space I have for it. Not sure how many points I'll need but will get a few as it's always loco storage.
     

     
    Still juggling buildings and looking for the best arrangement. I've settled on a big square after the main gate and before the cathedral.
     

     
    This bit on front of the main gate is causing me the most grief as it's an odd shape, triangular because the tracks are branching out up towards the station building. What I've got at the moment is the backs of the buildings facing the tracks and the fronts looking towards the main gate. Still not happy with this and not sure where to go.
     

     
    I'll keep at it and see where it ends up. Overall view here showing how it looks looking east.
     

     
    So just waiting to get some flexi track to close the gaps between the points and create more storage space. Need more points to expand the service yard and add more lines to the station and do the rear shuttle lines. I also need to get onto the backdrops as they will need to go in next so plenty to do.
  18. Neil_S_Wood

    Back on track

    By Neil_S_Wood,

    I had a bit of a hold up with construction of this layout back when I was building it. Funding had become an issue as we just had our new house built and needed to buy lots of stuff for the house, create gardens, driveways paths etc. Then my wife got sick and was unable to work for a year however all back on track now and work on the layout had now resumed.
     
    There's a few things happening; lots of kit building for the city scene and railway yards, track laying, point instalation, electronics instalation, board building and backscenes.
     
    Kit building
    I'm building the kits with one coat of paint and not bothering to detail or weather them. This is more so I can move them around and get them in the right place before finally settling them in a permanent location. Once a permanent location is found I'll finish off the painting and weathering.
     
    Track laying
    Have laid two circuits of the boards and am in the process of adding yards as time allows. The wiring is loose and in choc blocks until I get my ECoS detectors after which a more permanent form of wiring will be done. I have already isolated all lengths of track in anticipation of the block sections.
     
    Point instalation
    Using my favoured combination of Lenz LS 150 and Tillig motors. Yep, they are noisy but then you know they've sprung. Ran out of LS150s the other day so more on order. Will finish of the last points I have when this arrives. Only two left at this point. Will get more later in the year.
     
    Electronics
    Had been thinking about moving to Zimo but don't think it gives me anything more and costs a lot. Will be staying with ESU for the duration. I don't think there is a better controller out there. I think my issue was that, having bought the ECoS when it first came out, it is the black and white screen version. I'd like the colour but don't need two ECoS's so can't really find a reason to buy a colour one. I'd like one but it's a lot of cash only for the colour screen. I'd get no additional functionality. I suppose I could get round this by using software which I was thinking of before. Maybe further down the track I'll get a lap top and use RR and Co? Anyhow having decided on sticking with ESU I've ordered the ECoS detect modules and am waiting on them coming. Will do a bit of rewiring then.
     
    Board building
    For this section of the layout board building is almost at an end. I made the last board for the rear right corner the other day. It's not been put in place yet as it will be in a difficult to access position. I intend to add an upper level which will be one terminus of the shuttle lines that will run along the back of the layout. I'l fix this in and also the back boards will be attached to this too. The plan is to try out all the buildings for this area before hand and come up with the best fit, do the paths roads etc before putting it in. Currently I'm using it as a workbench for kit building as shown below.
     

     
    Backboards
    I found some ok backscenes on sale from Modelbahn Kramm which I've ordered. I'll modify these a bit but some of them look ideal. The city I'm building is modelled on Rottenburg and the back scenes seem to be just right for this. Nice size too 40cm high, which isn't bad.
     
    I was just thinking the other day about how much better it is having a designated railway room actually in the house rather than having to go out in the garage. It's heated, has air con and I don't have to go out in the rain. If I get a spare minute I can just pop in and do stuff rather than it being a minor expedition.
     
    Here's some pictures of where I'm up to.
     
    This is the main station area. This will have platforms etc. The area to the left will be coaling yards and other services. The area to the right will be old town. At the very back of this section will be two raised shuttle lines where I'll leave two locos to shuttle back and forward. I will mainly focus on era 2 but will occaisonally run era 1 and 3 if I feel like it.
     

     
    This is the track laying at the main station area. Still ongoing and probably will be for a while.
     

     
    This is the duck under bridge just as you come in the room. It is still a lift out section but I will be nailing it down as it's not too hard to duck under. I've tried to make the layout pretty close to eye level as there's no point buying highly detailed stcok and detailing your layout if you can't see it. Besides if the kids can reach it, it's history. On my last layout the kids liked to play on the grass section with their dinosaurs when I wasn't looking! Triceratops can play havoc with your grass and scenery.
     

     
    This area is to the immediate right as you come in the room. This will ultimately be hidden behind backboards and another layout will be built at the front part. Still not sure what I'm going to do here. Originally I had wanted to build a Scottish coastal scene but am still thinking about this. Another option would be turntable and sheds but I'll leave that for now as I have enough to do elsewhere.
     

     
    That's where I'd got up to at this point. I aimed to pick up some more track at the Caulfield show as Orient Express usually come to that and they are the guys who I buy my Tillig track from locally.
  19. Neil_S_Wood
    I got round to finishing off the base boards. The track plan isn't really finalised and I have to do the initial tracklaying to see what will work. The layout, or rather the track I'm laying, is for the Bavarian layout. The plan is that this layout will occupy the main base boards as depicted below. There will be an eight track station with a city scene behind . Still deciding on whether turntable is feasible or not.
     

     

     
    These are the tracks that go round the edge of the room. There are remnants of the old layout here which I hope to incorporate into the new one.
     

     

     
    These take the German lines behind what will be the UK layout. This is the line that will go behind.
     

     
    There will be a backdrop on front of this to conceal it. In order to gain access to the layout a duck under or bridge was needed. This is it. It is not fixed down so can still be hinged to make a flap or as it is; a lift out.
     

     
    I found a good supplier of cork for underlay. It came nicely packaged in very precisely cut sheets.
     

     
    I am also still thinking about a large board for storing the ECoS and a laptop as the aim is to have it all computer controlled. This is the size and sheet of MDF I had in mind. One of the idea's I had in mind was to attach it to the underside of the layout however while pulling it out to take this picture I realised how heavy it was. I am now thinking about making it into a wheeled table that can be pulled out and stowed away when required.
     

     
    That's all for now, next step is to lay some track.
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