ess1uk Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Coming along nicely, like the look of the control panel. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Hi Sam, Very nice layout you've got and a great trackplan to, plenty of interest but not to complicated, i shall look forward to more updates. Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Thanks for the comments and the likes. A mini progress report - managed to test the continuity on the feeds from the point motors to the point frogs with the multimeter last night and amazingly, not one short was found! So on to the control panel. Diode matrix for controlling the point motors was next on the agenda.... Not too clear from the photo but I draw out the space for the connector blocks and then all the required connections & diodes in Powerpoint and then printed onto self-adhesive A5 labels. This meant I could double check all the right wires were in place. Next on the list is to wire in the two 25 way D connectors. There are 38 wires crossing from the boards to the control panel so 76 solder joints in the connectors plus the 12 switches & 20 led's in the panel itself. I wonder how many burns I'll give myself with the soldering iron.... TTFN 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattWallace Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Hello All Finally all the house decorating is finished so I can get back to the layout..... When I last worked on Laoson Valley I had wired up the point motors on the fiddle yard but couldn't get them to fire properly. A bigger CDU and more powerful power supply and problem solved......, well for about 15 minutes until is cooked the CDU. It turns out 24V AC is too high for the 20,000uf CDU. So the plan is try my original Gaugemaster CDU with the 24V AC power supply (the Gaugemaster one says it can cope with 24V). A couple of snaps during the 15 minutes it was working! 20140502_205451.jpg 20140502_205516.jpg And this is the spiders nest required behind the control panel 20140502_205621.jpg Thanks for looking Hello All Finally all the house decorating is finished so I can get back to the layout..... When I last worked on Laoson Valley I had wired up the point motors on the fiddle yard but couldn't get them to fire properly. A bigger CDU and more powerful power supply and problem solved......, well for about 15 minutes until is cooked the CDU. It turns out 24V AC is too high for the 20,000uf CDU. So the plan is try my original Gaugemaster CDU with the 24V AC power supply (the Gaugemaster one says it can cope with 24V). A couple of snaps during the 15 minutes it was working! 20140502_205451.jpg 20140502_205516.jpg And this is the spiders nest required behind the control panel 20140502_205621.jpg Thanks for looking That's a hell of a lot nicer than any manual control panel I've ever built! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted July 3, 2014 Author Share Posted July 3, 2014 Hello there Another mini progress report.... Both 25 way D sockets are now wired up and I've made a start on wiring the push-to-make buttons on the control panel. I've quite enjoyong the electrics but have to admit I can't wait to get them finished so I can play trains! Family holiday next week & then work busy season means that might be a few weeks away.... Thanks for dropping by. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 (edited) Progress is slow with the control panel, but getting there. In the meantime, I took the boys to see some big trains today at the DRS Open Day. Cheers <edit - managed to rotate the picture the right way round!> Edited July 21, 2014 by sdw7300 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Progress is slow with the control panel, but getting there. In the meantime, I took the boys to see some big trains today at the DRS Open Day. SAM_8197 (680x1024).jpg <edit - no idea why this is the wrong way round!) SAM_8171 (1024x680).jpgSAM_8173 (1024x680).jpgSAM_8176 (1024x680).jpgSAM_8189 (1024x680).jpgSAM_8195 (1024x680).jpg Cheers Nice photos my mate,think there was few of us there in the rain yesterday Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted August 7, 2014 Author Share Posted August 7, 2014 Layout update - At long last the electrics is finished! Several more sessions with the soldering iron since my last update culinated last night in plugging the control box into the layout and, much to my surprise, it worked! At the risk of boring you all with more wiring photos i'll add just a final couple: Inside of the top - red and black wires are for the LED's, orange & purple are for the point control push-to-make switches To make the wiring neater I twisted sets of wires together - using the drill made this alot easier! Final shot of it all wired up The control box in it's new home (a drawer which can be shut away when not in use) So what better way to check it all worked than get the latest impulse purchase out! The livery is too modern for the original stated era of the layout but, well, it's red so I had to buy it! 37419 pulls out the fiddle yard with a rake of engineering wagons. Now time to make a start on the scenics - this is where I step into the unknow as i've never done anything "scenicy" before.... wish me luck! Cheers 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Realy like your DB 37 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Work busy period is now over for 6 months, yippee.... In the odd hour I've managed to grab over the last few weeks I've knocked up a retaining wall and a bridge to hide the tight curve to the fiddle yard. Structure built with 3mm foamex & UHU then covered in brick paper. The girder is a Wills kit. I'm not happy with the road colour - needs to be a bit darker then the whole thing weathered in a bit. The plate girder will be going dark green but I'm out of primer. Bufferstop for the siding has been painted - I just need to wire in the LED and fit in place Overall I'm quite chuffed given it's my first ever attempt at anything remotely scenic! The eagle-eyed will spot the trunking which extends from off scene to where the only signal on the layout will be. Again 3mm foamex cut into a 3mm strip and scored every 8mm. Painted in Railmatch Concrete (although I think it looks a bit green for concrete!) Any comments / pointers as to where I'm going wrong are gratefully received! Thanks for dropping by. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Sam Looking good like the use of the over bridge to conceal the tight curve. The only comment is that the Concrete troughing would typically be located outside of the track as it is easier to install and maintain. If it needs to cross. The tracks an under track crossing (UTX) would be used, the following post shows example of a UTX http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88321-newgate-lane-lessons-in-modelling-the-modern-railway/?p=1568939 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
d winpenny Posted September 1, 2014 Share Posted September 1, 2014 Bridge looks good David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 Sam Looking good like the use of the over bridge to conceal the tight curve. The only comment is that the Concrete troughing would typically be located outside of the track as it is easier to install and maintain. If it needs to cross. The tracks an under track crossing (UTX) would be used, the following post shows example of a UTX http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88321-newgate-lane-lessons-in-modelling-the-modern-railway/?p=1568939 Thanks Gary - Useful knowledge. I have moved the troughing to the outside of the lines. I have cheated slightly and used some orange wire to represent the wire going under the line to the signal rather than an under track crossing. Whilst this might not be strictly correct I like the look of the orange against the ballast (when it gets laid!) Also added the buffer to the siding - I quite like the red warning light appearing out of the glume. I tried to spray the girder in primer but had an airbrush nightmare - I think I didn't thin the paint enough. Will try again later in the week. Many thanks Sam 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Sam orange pipe to the signal is correct it is used to run from troughing to an item of equipment. Been experimenting/practicing with airbrush myself certainly the way to go and the key is with the how well the paint is thinned. I have been referring to George Dents book and he recommends a consistency of skimmed milk which is pretty thin for primer most people seem to use halfords primer although it would require more masking than an airbrush Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 (edited) Afternoon I have diverted my attentions away from the layout for a few nights to build something which will become useful a bit later on. Homemade Static Grass Applicator I started with this pile of components: Mid construction testing: The finished article: Powered by a 9v battery and using a negative ion generator to create the static. It works rather well (with the very short grass I had - off to buy some longer stuff at the weekend) Anyway - back to the layout. Next on my agenda was the Ground Position Signal for the exit of the depot. Inspired by the fanastic efforts of jintyman on Wexbury I fancied having a crack at scratch building one. Below shows the current state of play. The signal are 8mm wide with 2mm styrene tube into which 1mm fibre optic cable will slot. I have ordered some red/white bi-coloured SMD LED's onto which the bottom right fibre optic cable will be glued (with a plain white / red SMD LED for the top / bottom left respectively). Looking forward to visiting RMweb Live on Sunday. TTFN Edited September 12, 2014 by sdw7300 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted September 16, 2014 Author Share Posted September 16, 2014 HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAOSON VALLEY Today marks 1 year since this Laoson Valley thread was started. Progress has been slow but given it's my first proper layout I can't complain. Managed to grab an hour in the garage tonight. Started a second ground position signal, tested and chipped my completely unnecessary impulse buy from RMweb Live and wired up some lights for the fuel point. Photos tomorrow. Thanks for reading/ following. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted September 17, 2014 Author Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thanks for the "likes" As promised, a couple of photo's from last night: Second signal The impulse buy from RMweb live.... well at £30 (new) I couldn't refuse! I also bought some longer static grass - seems to work OK in my homemade static grass machine And finally I managed a quick 30mins in my lunch break today to wire up the lights for the refuelling point Just needs painting now. Cheers 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 It's been a little while since my last update but I wanted to wait until I have some progress worth sharing! Whilst waiting for some LED's to arrive from China for the signal I've made a little bit more progress on the TMD board. The bridge Girder painted and a (very) light weathering applied. The girder and the brickwork now needs griming up. I'm going to give it a go with some Humbrol Weather Powders I got free with a BRM subscription more than a year ago! Low relief industrial units I wanted to avoid there being a flat baseboard butting up to a horizontal backscene and have seen some layouts using low relief industrial units to create some 3D effects. They have been made using corrugated plastic. Embossed brick plasticard to be added to the bottom of the buildings in due course. Refuelling point & Yard Refuelling point painted and concrete yard weathered using a very thinned wash of dirty black & sleeper grime. Join marks scored into the concrete at 40 foot intervals to give the impression of it having been laid in sections. The Refuelling point will be glued down at some point as I'm not sure the floating look works! Yellow lines added around the inspection pits - I used (cheap!) masking tape & brush painting however there is a fair bit of bleeding. Nevermind, I might paint the floor inside the shed, in which case i'll revisit the yellow lines then. Given I have never done any scenics before I'm quite pleased with progress so far. Any tips / advice / comments would be appreciated! Thanks for looking 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRail Posted October 1, 2014 Share Posted October 1, 2014 Sam, Looking good especially like the bridge and the short length of track and buffer stop which ends just under the bridge looks very prototypical. you don’t need the black and yellow stripes around the entrance doors to the shed however the does themselves would be yellow and black. Various combinations of yellow and black some have horizontal black/yellow stripes a few depots have diagonal stripes like the end of a shunter If you were to follow current standards you would have vertical black and yellow stripes with a horizontal red band (denotes stop to a driver) The image below is an extract from a depot we are designing at present. If it would be of help if you let me know the size of your depot doors I can send you a PDF file which you could print out and cut to size depending on the doors being open or closed 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted October 1, 2014 Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 Hi Gary. Thanks for your comments. The long term plan is to rebuild or at least improve t"shed" so any insider info is really useful. A PDF of current doors would be great. The openings are 53x75m. Many thanks 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
class"66" Posted October 2, 2014 Share Posted October 2, 2014 Very nice work!! looking forward to another update from this Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w Posted October 3, 2014 Share Posted October 3, 2014 coming along a treat, the backscenes look good will be following your progress. john. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdw7300 Posted October 4, 2014 Author Share Posted October 4, 2014 coming along a treat, the backscenes look good will be following your progress. john. Thanks John. The prewired SMD LEDs arrived yesterday (they are REALLY small!) so i did a bit more work on the ground position signal. Still a good hour's work left to finish them off then some photos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jintyman Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Nice looking layout. The wiring is superbly neat (wish mine was!!!!) Great job on the ground position signal, glad I've inspired someone!!!!!! Thanks Scenics are alien to me as well, although I am finding them therapeutic!!! Unfortunately they've stopped for the time being whilst I sort out the wood problem Keep up the good work, it's all looking great, following now Jinty ;-) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Clarke 1980 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 that's really nice im in the same boat with the children seems to take ages dosnt it sometimes I really like the concrete area I so want to do that to my tmd and maybe my dock area but haven't got the balls mines nearly done and I don't think I could go through starting again if I get it wrong all the best phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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