After my last rambling post I’ve not done much more, other than occasionally stare at the track plan. I’ve also got the base boards 99% complete.

I now have the two 700×300mm boards, which are bolted together in the middle by two M6 bolts and wingnuts. Originally I was going to use M8 bolts, but I drilled the holes a bit off-centre from eachother. M8 bolts resulted in an un-even join. Enlarging the hole was a bad idea. However, the M6 bolts have just the right amount of play to make everything fit nicely. The three leg pairs I’ve built are also attached with the same bolts. I’d messed up building them, and spaced them the same width as the frame. This means the legs didn’t go nicely under the frame. However, one side will go under, and the back will go outside the frame. It still fits, so it works for me! The M6 bolts again allow for my wonky drilled holes to align properly.

Both boards are topped off with cork now, and align beautifully. It looks like one piece until turned over! I know from last time that as long as I make sure to include a spacer between the boards when laying the track join, it’ll all fit spot on once cut through. I’ve also made sure to mark up on the top side where the screws are holding on the ply, so I don’t try fixing through them (another thing I encountered last time).

As base boards go, it’s not going to win any prizes, but I think it’s a vast improvement on the last ‘attempt’.

Pictures will follow…

As for the track plan, this is what I have so far:

The blue shaded section is a hidden ‘off-scene’ section for a fiddle yard. It uses code 80 track. I intend making one or more of the tracks go off onto a cassette storage system. That can come later though.

The section in front of it will be a fuelling area probably. A through line will probably end at a dead end for now, with a view that it could be extended off-scene in future.

A bridge viaduct provides a scenic break to allow trains to disappear into the non-scenic area, or move into the fuelling area. This will feature under-arch shops.

Next at the back right, we have a small motive depot of some description. It has no headshunt visible – we can pretend that’s off scene or something.

On the far right we have a bridge/retaining wall thing. The bridge will cover over the end of the platform, and hide the fact the tracks don’t go anywhere (yet). It provides for future expansion again.

As mentioned, there’s an island platform. I’m considering a bay platform on the lower track, turning it into a siding. A station building could then sit in front of it.

The white areas are, as yet, undecided in terms of function. Indeed, the area above the blue fiddle yard will probably end up with something on top of it. I’m considering a retaining wall along the front of it (to hide it) so something sitting on top could be plausible.

I think it’s a pretty workable layout idea. It’s not exactly prototypical, but I think it gives scope to play around. I came to the realisation I don’t have the space to run long trains at speed. Short trains shuttling in and out will have to do! Besides, this is small, and very manageable. It gives room to spend lots of time on small features, without the feeling of having a lot to do to attain a good result.

I have a tendency to lose interest in some things if it drags on too long, as there was just too much to do on the previous plan. This is a lot more manageable. So much so I can break it into halves and work on part at a time.

Tomorrow I’ll lay out the track as much as possible, and make sure things fit. All going well, I’ll get on with laying track properly next. I just have to be happy with it.

I joked to a colleague before I went off on leave that my ‘plan’ wouldn’t come to fruition. My first week was spent tidying and clearing out rubbish as I’d planned. The second week was spent buying a new TV and other random things.

A couple of times I looked at the base board and every time I did just considered it a big job I couldn’t be bothered with. I quickly realised the layout was far too big for a ‘re-beginner’ like me. I should have started much smaller. Because I’d based the initial layout plan on the size of the sheet of ply I’d purchased, it’d started off far too big anyway, and just snowballed from there.

Plan B formed quickly after deciding I couldn’t be bothered with doing the work I’d planned. The idea was to create a small-ish diorama with some Scalescenes bits, which I could cut my teeth on. I drew a quick ‘impression’ of what it would look like.

A simple viaduct with a couple of tracks running along it, and various backdrop buildings.

I set to work hacking up some spare ply to make a base. The resulting base was 700mm wide, and 300mm deep. The under support was the simplest I’d built, being simple butt joints, screwed and glued. I also simplified screwing the top on, as previously I’d been faffing about trying to screw up into the ply, rather than down into the wood.

Having built a base, I set to work building the viaduct and shops. Having built a couple of arches and the shops to go under them (a bit of kitbashing was required for this), ideas started forming about building a whole new layout, using this base as a starting point.

Out came the tape measure, and I’d quickly settled on the idea of having two identical boards side by side. These will be bolted together in the usual fashion, but also free-standing. The previous layout had no decent support, and was warping and sagging all over the shop. It was causing trains to derail when I ran them.

So basically the new layout is going to be 1400mm wide, and 300mm deep. Granted, that’s not a lot! But it will include a hidden fiddle yard, and I’m considering building in a cartridge fiddle yard as an addon. The whole thing will be capable of storing out of the way though, so it should keep clean, and it’ll be small enough to work on and look after.

I have track plans coming, and layout design on the way, which I’ll post up soon. Tomorrow I’ll build the second base board and the legs though, so I’ll be ready to start.

The original design was doomed to fail really. Poor planning, and my over-enthusiasm were my own undoing. If I’d spent a while longer working up a plan, and deciding what I actually wanted to do, then I’d have been OK. Having seen so many other layouts since, and read various bits and pieces, I spent a lot of time thinking ‘why didn’t I do that?’.

Still, it’s a new beginning. Exciting stuff!

I’ve also added in the power droppers for the electrofrogs (the red wires on the left), which meant some VERY careful soldering top-side. ]

Some additional power droppers were added and joined up too, as well as the interconnecting cabling between the boards. Finally, all the cabling for the point motors themselves was added in, and labeled up accordingly.

I knew I needed to get connectivity to the control box I had designed. Originally I’d picked up a little pre-built unit from Maplin, but it just wasn’t big enough. I needed to fit in point control and indication, as well as eventual signal control, so there just wasn’t space on its A5-sized top. I fabricated a new control panel from some 6mm Ply, and some offcuts of the battens I had. Simply screwed together, it does the job. The top of the box was drawn up in Xara, then printed out and stuck on. I drilled out the holes for the buttons and LEDs, but the edges were a bit rough, so I purchased some small LED holders. The switches are fairly well presented anyway so they’re fine (the nut covers the rough edge). Only half of the top edge of the panel is used, the other half will be used for signal control. I probably should have fit the lot into one section, but I’m happy splitting them out.

Connectivity back to the main boards is via two female 25-pin D-sub connectors, and two straight-wired cables. The indicator and point control wires from the point control PCBs end on female 25-pin connectors, so the cables between are just standard male-male.

All told I ended up soldering 49 connections across the lot, plus all the connections within the control panel. Inside is, quite frankly, a mess. The layout didn’t lend itself to any sort of tidy wiring. I did try, but despite my best efforts, it just wasn’t going to happen.

The wiring used within the control box, and from the control PCBs is actually from a leftover section of 25-pair telephone wire. It’s single core copper, so ample to work the LEDs, and I think OK to work the point motors for short bursts.

It has taken me a couple of days working on it to finish all the wiring. First tests, it worked – ish. A few motors were firing opposite to what I wanted, a few LEDs likewise, and some were totally wrong. Fixing them was simple – I just swapped the wires on the PCB! I also found one motor seems to have either burned out, or just doesn’t work. I have spares though, so it’ll be a doddle to swap out.

There’s a few little wiring jobs left to do. The frog polarity feeds need connecting up, and checking they’re the right way round (don’t want any shorts!). I also have a dodgy joint which needs replacing. Other jobs to do include replacing the dud motor, and one seemed to be sticking, but may have freed itself. I could also do with making some sort of base for the control panel, otherwise I’ll only end up knocking out a wire. The LEDs need gluing in properly, as they tend to pop out now and then. Finally, I’ll finish the main track power feed and I might actually get some trains running round the thing!

These bigger main wires (there’s a few of them) were then soldered up into pairs, which went into screw terminal blocks, which all led up to a main point where the controller will connect. I need to add two other main power feeds which will go out to the addon boards, which will have a similar setup. It’s still slightly more cable than I’d like, but it’s fairly tidy, and it makes sense.

A few cable ties and screws held everything in place, and it’s done. I plugged up the DC controller and ran a loco up and down all the bits I expected to have power and they all work fine, even at lower speeds, so there seems to be good conductivity all through. I might check a multi-meter on it and see if there’s much voltage drop.

I’ve got one more point motor to fit, and then I’ll start running the power leads for the point motors. I’ll run them all to a central location. I have a feeling the labeller will be given plenty of use with all those wires!

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!

It’s fixed now…

The obvious option was to basically cut the board in half. However, the half-way point had a batten along it, so any cut would have to be offset from there. Not only that, but there’s a load of pointwork right above. I eventually found an area between two points about two thirds of the way along the board in a simpler area of the board. The track sections are straight, and the points are back to back.

The baseboard was already built so it was a bit of a retrofit. The underside battens were screwed to the top on both sides at almost exactly the point I needed to cut through, so the screws at that point were removed. I cut the whole thing in half, and then made up two new end battens to go on the ends. Whilst I was doing this I also drilled the holes for the bolts to hold it all back together. Everything was screwed back together and the end result is actually a bit sturdier I feel, my dodgy wood-working skills aside.

After a little bit of trimming, the two halves went back together fairly well. I installed the copper circuit board joiner and soldered it down. The track on the right of the joiner is glued down too, with suitable holes cut for the point motors to be fitted later. I need to pick up some more wing nuts and washers for the joint to make it secure.

The points were placed with a gap the width of the saw I used. When I cut through everything else, it all lined up flush, when pushed together. I run a wagon back and forth across it and it seemed smooth, so I’m happy. Some more soldering will need to be done to provide power feeds. Now I’m gluing track down I’m making sure to check the track butts up nicely by filing down the ends. Previously, everything was just rough-cut to fit. Some bits will need replacing and cutting down further as they don’t quite fit the gaps properly.

I did notice the track needs a darn good clean though, as it’s getting very dusty and mucky. Most of the rest has been dry-laid, so it’s just a case of pulling up bits and checking it, then gluing everything down again.

I’m now starting to think I need to build some sort of legs for the board as the shelving unit it’s standing on right now just doesn’t support it in all the right places, so it’s a bit up and down. Once that’s rectified, and track is laid, it’ll be onto the point motors and final wiring. Then I’ll have an actual working layout.

Fate had conspired against me though. I’d phoned ahead to make sure they were open (having wasted a trip over before to find they were shut). I drove over, and found they didn’t hactually have everything I needed – they’d taken a load of stock to Warley!

DAMN!!!

I managed to buy two points, and some set track, and slinked home with my purchases. I took a scenic route, which added about a million miles to my journey, so probably spent almost as much on fuel. But never mind! I later ordered the other bits I needed online, so they should arrive in the week.

Today I got into some more track laying, and cabling up. The extension board had no power, so I soldered wires onto the copper strips that form the join. I then joined them up to some Molex connectors, to allow for easy removal. I did a similar thing at the back in the fiddle-yard area. Unfortunately, I wasn’t thinking, and wired these back to front. I’d been using Black wire for the furthest rails, and Red for the closest. I did the same in the fiddle yard forgetting that it flips seeing as the track forms a circle. Rather than re-soldering, I just swapped them round in the terminal blocks, and all was well.

I finished off with laying out the other sections of track as much as I could, and pinning things into place.

I ran a few tests with my two class 67 locos. I ran the full W&S train around the end curve, with the EWS 67 going the other way with a couple of wagons. Thankfully, neither struck eachother. One issue cropped up with the join between Code 80 and Code 55 track causing the W&S train to occasionally de-rail. I beleive that can be filed down to make up the difference. Also, the fiddle-yard track seems to be dirty as it has gained a few dead spots.

One thing I have decided on, is that the rear fiddle yards will be partially obscured by a low-profile multi-storey car-park, modelled on the one in town. Along with the depot building, that’s two buildings I now need to scratch build. I just need to learn how to scratch build now!

I played around a bit with Inkscape, Xara, and Microsoft Expression Designer. I had some issues with the colour palettes in Inkscape, so tried Xara, which I just don’t like. Expression Designer crashed out changing a colour. The latter two I got free; Xara from a magazine cover CD, and Expression Designer I got under one of our licensing schemes at work.

I tried Inkscape again, and finally managed to convince it to do what I wanted. I made up a custom colour palette, using a Department for Transport guide to road signs as a reference.

I dug around and found a good picture of a roadsign, which I used as a reference, and got to work drawing up my sign:

It looks pretty good! The original is here on  the Mid Beds website.

Inkscape is a very good piece of software, and great for drawing things like this. It has a few bugs, but a new release it just round the corner and should address them.

Yeah, it’s changed a bit. But the explain. The bluey/purpley shaded sections are ‘non-scenic’. I could turn part of them into scenery, but the right hand side disappears under a shelf, and the left hand side is removable, so it’s a bit pointless I feel. So basically just the front is the scenic area.

As you can see, there’s a station area down front, plus the depot up the back. There’s a small headshunt for the depot. It’s simple, but I feel it’s not necessarily making the best of the space available. I can’t really think how else to do it. The thing is, Code 55 track has very shallow curves on the points; the rear storage sidings are quite tight, but they are Code 80. I want Code 55 in the scenic areas as it looks nicer.

I do have a large expanse of nothingness on the right, which would make for some nice scenery, so I’m not too worried about it being empty. Not sure what will go there mind!

I’ll need a couple more points, which I’ll probably pick up at Warley this weekend. Hopefully this’ll be the last change, and I’ll start gluing things down properly!

So, comments and suggestions?