Big jim’s Garage conversion and layout thread

[big jim]

Had a running session this evening, ran the new Hornby biomass wagons and finally got the GBRf box wagons on the layout, I might have slightly underestimated how many I have, I put 6 packs on the tracks (12 wagons) and still have 4 packs left unopened! Might have to sell some of them! 
 

had to do a bit of track work to get the biomass wagons to run smoothly without derailing, still not perfect but got there in the end 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by big jim

[big jim]

Probably should have done a bit more track laying and wiring but as the layout is running I decided to get some more stock out of the cupboards for a run, stuff that’s never seen the light of day since I bought it!

 

decided on a nuclear session with my Bachmann flask wagons and accurascale KUA with Bachmann barrier coaches, also had the double fairlie trundling round and the C class on the heritage line 

 

 

I bought some really useful boxes yesterday so the likes of the Drax biomass, gbrf twin wagons and lobster wagons are now safely put away and within easy reach when I decide to have a stock swap, don’t have to mess about taking them in and out of their boxes, I’m gong to get some more storage boxes as I go along, just need to find something to line them with to protect the wagons a bit 

[big jim]

Couldn’t resist another running session while I was chipping up some locos, this time the northern belle with a Bachmann 57 and brake coach and 6 Hornby MK2s, then a hattons 66 with 9 accurascale PCAs and 5 Bachmann JNAs

 

 

Really need to sort that rear bridge out as the dip is getting a bit too much! 

[big jim]

A nice bargain off eBay this week, couple of low relief Metcalfe buildings, a pair of department stores built up into a single building

 

and a set of 3 separate low relief  buildings with corner shops which I’ve used to replace a couple of older low relief buildings along the back wall

 

other than that just been busy chipping up locos and reprogramming address’ if existing locos as can be seen in my workbench thread

 

got to get the rear bridge secured next with the spare noch piers I have to get rid of the dip in the track then finally get the track in on the branch line 

 

[big jim]

Not much to report with the layout, been mad busy in work and simply not had the time to have a play, I did however today make a small shelf below the baseboard for the lenz controller and programming track to sit on so I can start reprogramming my loco address’ as most seemed to still be on factory default 3!

 

I think when I do the scenics I might put the programming track on top of the base board to look like a couple of discarded track panels next to the narrow gauge embankment, that’s a long way off though

 

one thing I have done is an excel spreadsheet of my locos with info on so I can see what’s chipped, loco address, if it’s sound fitted etc as a quick reference guide. I’ve started to make my way through the locos, placing them on the track to see if they buzzed (no chip) and if they didn’t it was on the programming track to check or change the address, only done a few so far but it’s a time consuming job and I got easily bored, there are 125 diesels to check before I even start on the steam items, the default on the spreadsheet is not DCC fitted (Red) which I change to fitted (Green) and add the address next to it, there is also additional info on livery etc

 

I’ve just had a delivery of 6 x next18 decoders, 4 x 6 pin and a 4 pin which will get a few steam locos chipped up over the next week hopefully (if I get the time!) 

 

 

[big jim]

A little job this evening, laid what will be an abandoned siding next to the narrow gauge incline

 

it will be a test/programming track, wired up for DCC and analog 

 

Split in the middle to keep them separate 

 

The analog side has a basic Bachmann controller for running locos in on the rollers 

 

The DCC side is wired to the programming track output of the lenz 

 

Got a bit of a job broke out with the chips, 13 locos to do

 

Most are 6 pin, hoping the ones I have will fit my chosen locos, I do have alternatives to chip if they don’t!

 

some of the chips I’ve used adapters to go from 6 pin to 8 pin and a couple are next18 to 21 pin 

 

Should keep me occupied for a while! 

[5BarVT]

Suggest you have some sort of barrier between the two tracks: DCC systems and DC can blow each other up when cross connected I think. Just something to stop a loco accidentally bridging the gap.  When you apply scenics, it could be pile of Earth, dumped car, etc etc.

Paul.

[big jim]

2 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Suggest you have some sort of barrier between the two tracks: DCC systems and DC can blow each other up when cross connected I think. Just something to stop a loco accidentally bridging the gap.  When you apply scenics, it could be pile of Earth, dumped car, etc etc.

Paul.

I’ll make the gap a bit bigger tomorrow just to be safe, although saying that the programming track isn’t live unless I am actually programming something on there and the DC controller is unplugged if I’m not running something in 

[Bloodnok]

18 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Suggest you have some sort of barrier between the two tracks: DCC systems and DC can blow each other up when cross connected I think. Just something to stop a loco accidentally bridging the gap.  When you apply scenics, it could be pile of Earth, dumped car, etc etc.

Paul.

The other way to handle that would be to wire the entire track to the centre terminals on a DPDT switch, with the DC on one end of the switch and the programming on the other. That way the entire track can be set as either DC or programming depending on what's going on, and there's zero risk of issues if an errant piece of stock bridges the gap.
 

[big jim]

I did think of that but I’m not good with switches so i’ll just make the gap bigger 

 

Got a fair few locos run in and chipped today, the Terrier wouldn’t take the small gaugemaster chip I had so that’s gone back in the cabinet until I get a tiny imperium chip for it, not sure what to put the gaugemaster chip into yet, got one my 03s chipped with a spare chip I found though which was a bonus

Looking at my spreadsheet of locos, I’ve got 22 of my 35 steam locos chipped up now but only about 36 out of 130 or so diesels so far, there are others I’ve not confirmed as having chips yet, got to put them on the track to check, probably another 10 to add to the list i recon 

[big jim]

not done anything to the layout but had a sort out of my storage cupboards, got a couple of big ‘really useful boxes’ spare so decided to put the empty boxes from the coaches and wagons ive put in the smaller tray type boxes into those to make some more space in the cupboards, the useful boxes can be stored under one side of the layout once i tidy that up a bit more, ive ended up with a whole double cupboard empty for the trays now, stock thats yet to be decanted to trays are now in one cupboard and loco boxes are stored in another one, so much easier to swap stock about when i fancy a change

 

i then chipped a few more locos up and went through another couple of my display cabinets to see whats chipped up, pleasant surprise in that i found about 8 locos were chipped that id either forgotten about or didnt know and there were 4 more with sound i’d forgotten about too, only puzzle was the class 70 that i was 100% sure had sound didn’t, i seem to remember taking the chip out for reblowing and thought id put it back in but obviously not!

 

 

[big jim]

Not done a lot again, tidied up a few more boxes, wagons into really useful trays and boxes into the bigger storage boxes!

 

got a rolling road off Ali express for running in my locos before and after chipping, I can connect it to the DCC track with alligator clips to run in or to the program track for adjusting cv’’s etc 

 

I can unclip the alligator clips and connect it to an analog controller 

 

 

it normally lives under the layout, I think I’ll have to drop the shelf down a bit though! 

 

got a few new locos which I had a play with this evening, a 009 L+B Baldwin, Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 as well as getting my quarry Hunslet ‘Alice’ back from repair, ran it with a nice rake of 12 slate wagons

 

 

[big jim]

Put a new display cabinet up this evening, had it under the layout for about 4 years but haven’t needed it until now, just the right size for all the small tank engines and 009 locos I have, moving them into the new cabinet has given me a lot more space in the big display cabinets, I’ve moved things around in them too, plenty of space now for new acquisitions!

 

I’ve got to glue the wooden surround to the glass on the left so I can slide the glass front to the side, it’s supposed to slide out from the bottom but It’s easier to do it from the side 
 

I also had a look at the burned out Janus, it appears the issue is the circuit board, I removed the wires from it and joined them up motor to pick up, tested it on analog and it worked fine

 

I had a spare Hornby 4 pin decoder which had loose wires so I wired that directly to the Janus wires 

 

Not the prettiest of jobs but it works fine 

[big jim]

Did a job I’ve been putting off for weeks this morning, I’ve taken the last of my wagons and coaches out of their boxes and put them into really useful storage trays and stored the main boxes in big 64l useful boxes which will go into the attic, doing that has freed up 2 full cupboard spaces under the layout and gives me instant access to the wagons should I want to change what I’m running, I’ve left all the loco boxes in the cupboards under the layout 

 

nice to get out some stock I’ve not had out of the boxes before such as the Hornby 6 wheel coaches in LNWR livery, look nice behind the Webb coal tank 

 

Got a rake of 10 silver bullets I’ve never ran which I’m looking forward to putting on the layout as well as some of my older stuff like the rake megaboxes and 100t BP tankers (a’la sinfin tanks)
 

As you can see though I’ve got a very modern image layout! 

 

got to tidy around the floor and corner of the layout a bit and get some of the boxes of mixed ‘crap’ sorted and stored in the now empty cupboards then I’ll look at finishing the branch line and securing the rear bridge now I’ve got the incentive to run the unused stock I’ve unearthed

 

[Graham108]

10 minutes ago, big jim said:

 

 

Are the wagons just stored loose in those boxes? Given the detail on some of the more recent items available from people like Accurascale (there are others!) I'd be very reluctant to store them without them being secure and unable to move around.

 

But I like the idea of easier accessibility and changing of running stock

[big jim]

Yeah, loose for now, just wanted to get the job done before I put it off any longer (and I’m back in work tonight) I’m trying to source some foam at a decent price to make ‘compartments’ but it’s not particularly cheap given how much I need! 
 

I’ve looked at ‘pick foam’ but I think A4 foam board placed in the bottom of the box with cut down strips between the wagons would do the job

[CameronL]

4 hours ago, big jim said:

As you can see though I’ve got a very modern image layout! 

When your layout includes a heritage line, anything goes.

 

Have you seen Middlemark,  by Darius? There's a man who has a huge variety of stock and just wants to run it. I think you'd recognise the attitude.

 

Best wishes

 

Cam

 

PS Love that Kerr Stuart Victory.

Edited April 11, 2023 by CameronL
Typo

[big jim]

Done nothing for months with the layout however this afternoon I spent a few hours sorting out a dodgy loco sound chip in my Kerr Stuart victory 

 

part of the problem was the lenz controller internal battery had gone flat sending the chip haywire for some reason, this was about a month ago and today I finally got round to fixing it having had the replacement bits sat waiting to be fitted for weeks , the standard internal battery is a 3 legged unit thats soldered in place, managed to get it out by carefully heating up the solder and pulling it away

 

quite an expensive thing to replace so after looking at a few other threads about the same issue I replaced the battery with a holder and separate battery at a fraction of the price and when this one goes flat I can simply swap the battery, it should last a good 10 years before needing replacing again

I can be pretty sure I’ve invalidated the Warranty now though! 
 

the controller also needed a hard reset as the dodgy sound chip still wouldn’t work properly but once I did it the chip worked perfectly, I think the dodgy setting must have been saved in the internal memory despite taking the battery out 

 

other than that I really must get some more locos chipped (loads of chips waiting to go in again) then get some more layout work done, still not laid the branch line to the town

[big jim]

Nothing much to report again, I picked up a second hand display cabinet from picture pride at the Stafford show last weekend that I’ve just put up, they had a pair but I only had one wall left so just bought a single one but it appears I can actually fit 2 in the space so I may ring them up and have the other one too, this one is just big enough to get 3 small locos on each shelf (class 08, 03 etc) 

 

 

it’s freed up loads of space in my big cabinets now so I can keep on buying new stuff, if I get the second one I can move my other small steam locos into it which will free up their slightly larger cabinet for the bigger tender locos 
 

other than that I need to get some more small really useful boxes for new bits of stock to go in as well as a big one for the empty boxes, I’ve had a tidy up ready for the winter and I’m hoping to crack on getting the final bits of track laid to the branch line (he says for the 5th time in 12 months!) 

 

 

[big jim]

Finally had a running session this evening, had to do a bit of track fettling to get the 805 to run round without derailing or shorting out over certain points, it did get to a point where the unit nearly got launched out of the window as it seems like it wasn’t ever going to make it round but after a lot of packing of the train in a few places it managed to go round without issue! 

 

still need to pack the dipping bridge at the rear but quite happy to see trains running again

[Nova Scotian]

That Midland tank looks and sounds great

[big jim]

19 minutes ago, Nova Scotian said:

That Midland tank looks and sounds great

it is rather nice, I wasn’t after a sound fitted one, to be honest I wasn’t after one at all but when I saw it second hand for a fair price at topps trains I couldn’t resist! 

[big jim]

As usual, too busy to do anything on the layout, lots of new rolling stock though, latest addition is a rake of 4 scotrail MK3s from eBay but they were actually from @Tay Bridge on here

 

I’m going to update them into the LSL push pull rake (minus the hard to get DBSO), looks good with the saphos mk2 and Loram 37 already though!

 

[big jim]

Took the dipping bridge out this evening ready to replace it, the structure is a modified lazer cut thing that has warped as there no support below, I’m planning on putting a couple of batons across the gap and placing a piece of base board across the top rather than using the bridge again, I’ll just make it look like one cosmetically when I eventually get round to do the scenics

 

try and get it done this week while I’m off 

[big jim]

Figured out a way to use the original bridge again, ran a single baton over the gap

 

Which sat between the cosmetic lattice underside of the laser cut bridge

 

had to jnfill one end of the bridge as I’d removed its original plinth 

 

first I tried a layer of cork under the track to get it level with the approach tracks 

 

rhen I found a pack of black A4 foam board which I tried instead, loads better, not secured the track over the bridge yet but it’s certainly not dipping any more 

 

had a run of the layout, 805 again but also my rake of Dapol china clay silver bullets that’s I’ve never actually ran before, ran faultlessly!

 

Edited January 4 by big jim