Cadley Hill (Now owned by Peter BB) see Page 5

[PeterBB]

Over the past few weeks things have been a bit hectic so not much achieved, however I have been doing the odd thing on Cadley Hill.

 

The first following the storage 'boxes' as above that incidentally became useful as a 'bench' to work on once I decided that the bridge actually made the manual point operation difficult.  Decided that the Gaugemaster surface point motors ordered when the thought was first in mind had arrived were now the only option so the 'bench became useful.

 

I had a TRNZ point position indicator block in stock from some years ago and decided  to try and put it in - ... mistake, out of my comfort zone but continued and therefore needed a mimic board but where?  No diagram and using 12v DC and 15v AC with no diagram to follow.  Chased on the internet and eventually great help by provision of a diagram from Steve of  BLOCKsignalling   indicating  that the unit was Shockwave 3 and approaching 10 years old.  Carried on regardless and made some elementary mistakes in wiring that a club member has now, hopefully, put me right and in total have spent hours on various formats to now.  I've decided to check it out tomorrow but before I left it just now at least all the points were working  ... but did need me to glue some of the pull bars on a couple of the point motors stop them pulling off when power was applied.  One thing that has happened with all the wiring and undo and redo is that my soldering skill has improved.  Less than an inch behind the mimic board meant that I wired up using tag boards on the base.

 

Diagrams will be the mimic board, PowerPoint on paper glued to a bit plywood and the underneath with, hopefully, everything connected in the right places and the current (pun not intended) wiring situation.  Green return/ yellow is point motor common, TRNZ required the returns from both power sources to be linked for the system to work (find out if the lights work tomorrow.  Programming track is unlit.

Edited October 2, 2020 by PeterBB
'forgot' pictures!

[Andrew P]

That all looks a bit to complicated for me Peter, I would have gone down the Digital Route, Middle or Index finger digit, =  Digital Control.

[PeterBB]

'Digital' was the intention but the bridge does really get in the way but itself was not big enough to site the panel.

[PeterBB]

The control for the 'points plus lit track indicator' did not work so eventually decided that it was a no no with mojo waning somewhat as other things took precedence.  The mimic panel itself at that point also seemed to be a bit over the top without the lights and so was left.  Fortunately, as seen later, I replenished my stock of momentary on switches.  Eventually a long wide hole was made in the framework to take the switches with the idea of making a smaller board.

 

Today the panel below was designed to fit the framework and the old one to be removed once the switches were unscrewed and fitted into the now new panel ... they proved impossible to remove so new switches were put into the new panel and desoldering and 'new' soldering took place and followed by a check to see that switching 'up' moved the point to the back and 'down' moved the points to the front of the layout.

Great so now screwed into the framework, power applied, attached the Prodigy, put a loco on the track and YES, it all worked correctly.

 

 

I took on Andy P's Cadley Hill as track on a narrow baseboard with nothing in mind for some time.  Lockdown came and the idea that I had enough 'stuff' around to make it a layout without adding to the cost was born. The baseboard was widened to take scenery and then suddenly mojo returned and in a relatively short time became a working layout with a road bridge, tunnel off, coal merchant office added (Cadley Hill was a mined area) and small people cameos on the station. 

 

In running the bridge across made the points difficult to access so surface point motors were needed to replace 'fingers' and with only one Hornby one in stock, that of course did not fit PECO track, so 5 Gaugemaster were purchased that led to the above learning work 'projects'.  Having spent some money a Langley group of climbers were also purchased and painted to add a cameo to the scratch made rock face.

 

SWMBO says that she sees me happier building rather than running.  It therefore needs a new home so that I can build the one that has been in my head for years.

Edited December 8, 2020 by PeterBB
Multiple typo corrections

[Andrew P]

You really have transformed this Layout Peter, a real credit to you and I hope you sell it to get on with that next project.

[Barnaby]

I do like the mimic panel build you show above Peter, it's very neat and clear and is just the thing I'm looking to do.

I will probably add some leds too as the DCC Concepts control pcb's give I/O's for frog switching, leds and point switching all just plug & play.  I need to understand the on-off-on momentary switch working to be sure I have it working in the right way.  I think I will need a 2 pole version so I can switch the frog and point motor over at the same time, but i need to check out the polarities.

I've taken a photo copy of yours as an "aide - memoire" and will have a go using AnyRail to print out my mimic drawing for a panel.

Mine will probably be a mixture of your old and new panels. 

 

Thanks

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Barnaby
additional info.

[Ray H]

The DCC Concept's levers have three in-built switches. An (On)-Off-(On) i.e. passing contact, for solenoid motors and two sets of changeover switches which can be used for many things - although boiling the kettle probably isn't one of them!

 

You could use one changeover set for illuminating one of a pair of LEDs to highlight which way the points are set. The other set of changeover contacts could handle your frog switching.

 

Its probably best to set the solenoid the right way round first and then tackle the frog and finally the LEDs.

 

Unfortunately (as far as I know) they don't make a version with 3 sets of changeovers which would be useful for point operating mechanisms that aren't solenoid driven.

 

I have seen inside one lever but wasn't looking specifically but I wonder if it might be possible to convert the passing contact switch to a changeover switch by adjusting the wiper position or the contacts that the wiper makes.

[Barnaby]

Thanks Ray for your notes.

What I know about DCC Concepts SS point motors and driver pcb's is that they have 2 control areas per pcb ie 1 pcb can control 2 points.  Also each side of the board can switch the frogs and send a signal to the point motor and also has outputs to power 2 leds.  

They advise using their switches and leds and have them already wired and plugged.  They also have wire xt leads to plug into the leds and the pcb.

They also have a useful technical desk which I intend to send them my track plan and how I want to wire it up for their advice/approval.

 

I'd better stop here as Peter will have me up before the Station Master for going off topic.

Apologies Peter.

Thanks

[PeterBB]

Thanks Barnaby and Ray, some useful information.

 

For reasons that may (eventually) come to fruition Rothleigh is likely to be dismantled rather than finally completed as Rothleigh and Swithmore but if you use Megapoint boards a push and push off system not only moves the points but also changes the lights, green track open red track closed.  It is a good system but like everything these days you have to 'spend to accumulate'.  My 'head' layout will be able to reuse the Mega point equipment.

 

I have been over to Rothleigh and realising that the mimic panel had never been photographed, now done so - what you can do with a mobile with a camera - and added it but also added the picture below here.

 

Hope that helps.

Edited December 9, 2020 by PeterBB

[PeterBB]

Well Guys, on this one too not a post since December 2020.

 

Barnaby have you progressed on your mimic panel and DCC concepts motors?

 

As  posted elsewhere tonight Rothleigh has been totally dismantled while Deesdale Road is still a working layout although at 21' a bit long to run in a home.  I have ideas of a similar, not exact replica, in N-gauge and have numerous plans around but a sticking point of all are the would be board joins.

 

Cadley Hill has had a fair bit of running but more time has been spent on building 'boxes'.  The layout itself is hinged but not right down as I wanted to have as much 'fixed' scenic/features  as possible.  The bridge and the left rear scenic section fit in the boxes and with partition coverings are able to take the removable buildings and potentially the controls and an amount of stock.  The boxes were made to make transporting it for selling easier but have just not got round to that.

 

A more is afoot and in the short term it will be run ... I hope.

Edited August 19, 2021 by PeterBB

[Andrew P]

3 minutes ago, PeterBB said:

Well Guys, on this one too not a post since December 2020.

 

Barnaby have you progressed on your mimic panel and DCC concepts motors?

 

As  posted elsewhere tonight Rothleigh has been totally dismantled while Deesdale Road is still a working layout although at 21' a bit long to run in a home.  I have ideas of a similar, not exact replica, in N-gauge and have numerous plans around but a sticking point of all are the   would be board joins.

 

Cadley Hill ha shad a fair bit of running but more time has been spent on building 'boxes'.  The layout itself is hinged but not right down as I wanted to have as much 'fixed' scenic/features  as possible.  The bridge and the left rear scenic section fit in the boxes and with partition coverings are able to take the removable buildings and potentially the controls and an amount of stock.  The boxes were made to make transporting it for selling easier but have just not got round to that.

 

A move is afoot and in the short term it will be run ... I hope.

I hope it travels safely in the move Peter, and you may find that you can exhibit it at Shows down the West once your settled in, the same with Deesdale Road.

[Barnaby]

Hello Peter that's rather spooky as after a rather lazy period ignoring my railway and concentrating on some gardening and replacing the whirly-gig for the washing that had blown over for a change of work I was today getting to grips with the wiring set up. 

 

I sorted out all the plug and play leads I need so I can order up and try them all out,  fortunately 4 of the 5 points are on the middle of 3 boards and the single is on the 3rd board so with the drop down pcb panel fitting under the middle board I should soon be active and be live.

 

Best

Edited August 19, 2021 by Barnaby

[PeterBB]

Cadley Hill up and running but not too well.  It used to run with two trestles but the hinge end doesn't quite met up at the same level as the 5' section.  Nothing seems to be wrong but a third trestle has now been made out of bits and pieces/odds and ends.  Not yet put into place as there seems to be power on one of the tracks.

 

Over the last few months still having a DC loco or two have run it with and old 'Bachmann 5' and old Hornby controllers.  Not too sucessful because the potentionmeters all seem to have a fault either just go straight to full power or only work one way but it was fun to run the locos.

 

I run it with a Prodigy but added a support for an EZ Command Conttrol Centre with the controller area.  It worked quite well but the drawback wa renumber ing locos (with the prodigy) to run them.  The thought was to sell it with the EZ and an old loco a few wagins and a coach or two as a goung layout.  Would that be practical or a good idea?  Or just take it apart remembering that it was a project to do something during 'lockdown' ?

[Andrew P]

8 hours ago, PeterBB said:

Cadley Hill up and running but not too well.  It used to run with two trestles but the hinge end doesn't quite met up at the same level as the 5' section.  Nothing seems to be wrong but a third trestle has now been made out of bits and pieces/odds and ends.  Not yet put into place as there seems to be power on one of the tracks.

 

Over the last few months still having a DC loco or two have run it with and old 'Bachmann 5' and old Hornby controllers.  Not too sucessful because the potentionmeters all seem to have a fault either just go straight to full power or only work one way but it was fun to run the locos.

 

I run it with a Prodigy but added a support for an EZ Command Conttrol Centre with the controller area.  It worked quite well but the drawback wa renumber ing locos (with the prodigy) to run them.  The thought was to sell it with the EZ and an old loco a few wagins and a coach or two as a goung layout.  Would that be practical or a good idea?  Or just take it apart remembering that it was a project to do something during 'lockdown' ?

As I found out with Trewithen, I got more back by breaking the Layout up in Valuable bits to re use, i.e. Points, Point Motors, some Track, and other small items such as switches etc, and components to sell, such as the Buildings etc, than I would have done had the original buyer been able to complete the agreed transaction. Breaking it up was my most profitable option.