Progress!
I’ve been busy faffing about with a few things lately.
Firstly, I’ve gotten the bulk of the track glued down now. All the code 55 trackwork is down. The Code 80 track round the back is still to be done, but that also requires the copper joiner strip fitting, so I’m in no rush to do that yet!
The bulk of the power feeds are also in. Some are a bit messy, but it’s such a pain soldering to the track that they’re staying as is, and will just be hidden somehow. In most cases they’ll be buried in ballast, so should disappear. As much as possible I’ve but them on the underside of the rails.
I’ve also converted one of my Class 168 DMUs to DCC using a guide from RMWeb. I also added some feeder wires directly from the bogies to the DCC unit, bypassing the body block entirely. I don’t think it’s made any difference to the pickup as it stands, but long-term it might help. I’ve still got a few to convert, including a Class 60 and Class 66 both from Bachman which could be fun!
I might next embark on trying to fit the point motors, and get them wired up, as well as building the control panel. The box I have is a bit too small I think, so I might need to find another one, or make one up out of wood or something.
I’ve run a Class 67 up and down all the tracks, and there’s a few iffy bits, but I think that’s just dirty track as I have managed to get dabs of PVA on the rail tops occasionally, as well as the odd bit of Sharpie ink!
My biggest issue right now is storing stuff, so I could do with picking up some sort of storage pots, rather than the random assortment of boxes I have.
All good progress though, so I’m pleased so far!