Rodents' Vale

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Thanks. I'm sure I read about using mains wire on here somewhere, but the choice was also coloured by the fact that I have loads of it left over from wiring the building itself.

 

It works really well, too. It's rigid enough to make it easy to thread through fiddly spaces, whilst still being flexible enough to be easy to work with. It's cheap and readily available, robust, and the solid core nature should minimise voltage drop.

[BlackRat]

Great progress, I love following threads like these, you have the makings of a top train set!

[westerner]

Good to see another WR layout developing.

[Modelling Mike]

Hi, just found this thread and have to say I'm extremely jealous of your set up there! The layout looks very promising. Great use of space and plenty of potential. I'll be following this with much interest. Good luck with the rest of the track laying.

 

Mike

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Thanks chaps. A top train set is exactly my aim 😁

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Well, progress is still, err, progressing. Mostly, I've been working on my traverser. Two thirds of the tracks are fixed, and then its's soldering the ends to copper clad sleepers and rigging up the wiring.

 

 

The odd cut-out along the front edge is designed to take a cassette to increase the flexibility of the whole set-up.

 

I've also been planning a yard on another part of the layout, but there's nothing to show of that just yet except for a pile of Peco turnouts and crossings that arrived in the post today 🙂

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[BluenGreyAnorak]

All of the track is now laid on the traverser and I've done a bit of soldering of the rail ends too, but mostly I've been sidetracked into control panel design.

 

With the help of Mike the Stationmaster and one or two others in THIS THREAD I've been working on the design of the signalling and the mimic diagrams for two areas of the layout. That has resulted in these diagrams (not shown to scale), which were created using a CAD package:

 

 

 

 

 

The latter hasn't had the signalling details added yet.

 

I've also been constructing the panel that these diagrams will eventually be mounted on. The top is 3.6mm ply and both diagrams above will fit on, one above the other. On the right hand side is a simple bracket for my Prodigy Advance controller:

 

 

 

The top hinges up to reveal this wooden 'tray'. The idea being that all of the gubbins needed to make it work will be mounted here, for ease of construction and maintenance:

 

 

 

The whole assembly is mounted at a convenient operating position at one end of the layout:

 

 

 

All I have to do now is turn this lot into something that lights up!

 

 

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Updates are coming through thick and fast now 🙂

 

With a huge thanks to my friend Steve and his big soldering iron - well, bigger than mine anyway (no sniggering at the back) - the brass tubes have been fitted to my traverser to enable the power to be connected. This is what it looks like:

 

 

 

There is a substantial brass pin to transfer power to the nearest rail, whilst the furthest rail of each road will be common wired back to the DCC bus. Just got to wire it all up now.

 

As part of the same exercise, the twin tubes and pins were also installed to serve the cassette road on the near edge of the traverser:

 

 

 

Must build some cassettes now too 🙄

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[BluenGreyAnorak]

At the risk of talking to myself, I'm pleased to report that a nice little milestone was reached this evening when I completed the wiring to the traverser and the triangle that feeds it. I was so chuffed that I even made a video to show it working 🙂

 

 

With the help of folks in THIS THREAD, I sorted out how to wire the triangle and traverser, incorporating an auto reverse module to deal with the changing polarity that the triangle creates. I'm pleased to say that it all worked perfectly too, with no blue flashes or smoke escaping from any of the wires! I can now drive trains to and from 'the rest of the world' in both directions from the main part of the layout.

 

As an aside, non of the point frogs are connected up yet, and all of the points have been modified to isolate the frogs from the ends of the switch rails, but it all seems to work fine.

 

The wiring to the traverser is arranged so that only the aligned track is powered. The nearside rail is connected to the rest of the layout by the big brass alignment pin, whilst the other rails are connected to a copper tape bus beneath the deck:

 

 

 

This, in turn, is connected to one of the outputs of the auto reverse module, which I've fixed in place next to the traverser. I'm not sure if this will be the final location for this module, though. When the station board is built above it, it will be quite unobtrusive, but as it stands it looks a bit vulnerable to damage:

 

 

 

Next job is to lay a bit more track that will enable me to complete my programming track and then it's on to point motors. I can't wait... 🙄

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[pitbull1845]

I've just read the whole thread, how very interesting. You have made good progress and your workmanship is superb. I like the concept of the layout and the last video shows the fine running quality. I will continue to follow your progress.

[Kris]

Good to see that this part is now working. I know just how pleasing it is to see the first train move over a new section of track.

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Thanks, chaps. It is very satisfying to see it all working as intended, particularly as I've never built anything like this before.

[BluenGreyAnorak]

I thought I'd take a short break from wiring and track laying to attend to some of those other little jobs that have been on my to-do list for far too long.

 

First up was building some more stock storage. Ages ago I acquired a plastic drawer unit on which the drawers were just the right height for storing stock and I've been gradually fitting out each drawer with foam board dividers, like so:

 

 

Each drawer will store eight coaches or equivalent.

 

The glue's still drying on that one but, in the best traditions of British television, here's one I made earlier 🙂

 

 

Next, I turned my attention to some stock. Over the last couple of years I've amassed a little collection of Mainline and Lima parcels stock. I've now fitted new Bachmann Mk1 bogies to four Lima Mk1 full brakes and two Siphon G's:

 

 

 

 

(oops, not quite in the rails properly 🙄)

 

Then four Mainline BG's (two blue and two blue grey) were flush glazed with the kits from Southeast Finecast:

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with the flush glazing. I've never done any before and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to fit. I've just discovered that flush glaze kits are also available for the Lima Mk1's, so I've ordered some up for those too.

 

Finally, a completely gratuitous picture of my recently acquired Bachmann Class 37, posed with a Class 40 in the background 🙂

 

 

This loco is the current sound version, although I've bought it with the sound chip removed as I really wanted the split head code box type. As you'd expect with Bachmann, it performs beautifully, and it's been in service on my parcels stock test train 🙂

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[rob D2]

excellent stuff ! I too was given a Hornby HST set when I was 5 (1977 !) and would also love to create a WR homage from those years- watching with interest !

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Thanks rob. I think I was 8 or 9 when I got mine, which was around the same time.

 

In the late 70's we had a couple of family holidays in Dawlish Warren and the site of HST's storming along the sea wall has stayed with me ever since.

[BernardTPM]

Nice, but why fit the BR1 bogies to the Siphons when the Collett 'Pressed Steel' bogies (Bachmann ref: 36-010) would be more appropriate? A few had other GWR bogies too, but the 'Pressed Steel' type were the most numerous. Ideally those on the Hornby Hawkesworth BG would be perfect, but that's a lot of left-over to chuck into the spares box!

[owentherail]

The era and region are right up my street, ive the 37 and a 40 (and a 26) for my WR layout, i say inter regional freights!!!! superb...... ill keep my eye on your work.

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Nice, but why fit the BR1 bogies to the Siphons when the Collett 'Pressed Steel' bogies (Bachmann ref: 36-010) would be more appropriate? A few had other GWR bogies too, but the 'Pressed Steel' type were the most numerous.

Ah ha, that will be because I merely replaced what was fitted originally with what looked like a good match and didn't consider whether the originals were actually correct!

 

Thanks for the tip though - will have to go and find something more approriate.

[BluenGreyAnorak]

On 04/07/2011 at 08:00, owentherail said:

The era and region are right up my street, ive the 37 and a 40 (and a 26) for my WR layout, i say inter regional freights!!!! superb...... ill keep my eye on your work.

I know what you mean. The 40 is a bit out of place, but it's always been one of my favourite loco's (and I bought it before settling on a WR theme) so it gets to stay.

 

Also, from a practical point of view, it's 'many' wheels are a good test of the quality of my track laying 🙂

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[rob D2]

well, the 40s got to bristol, gloucester and severn tunnel junction fairly often and they are all WR !

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Ha, I didn't realise they'd made it that far. My layout will be set further west than that though, so I'll still have to bend reality to some extent.

 

Mind you, that will be nothing compared to when my Deltic takes a turn 😁

Edited February 26 by BluenGreyAnorak

[ess1uk]

wish my layout was this good

[Crompton48]

well, the 40s got to bristol, gloucester and severn tunnel junction fairly often and they are all WR !

 

 

40's got to Exeter Riverside Yard .

[shanks522]

Hello Darren,

 

 A great layout and fantastic build, very interesting indeed.

 

 

Graham.

[BluenGreyAnorak]

Thanks for the kind words, Graham. Unfortunately however, a house move since my previous update means that it never progressed any further. However, I'm currently working on a new layout, which will resurrect the basic idea. I really must get around to starting a new thread...