Big Weekend

A momentous event!

Having completed the track last weekend, I wired it up this weekend, with only one wiring fault to speak of, and that was because I soldered the red and black wire onto a bit of track correctly, and then decided to use that same wiring in a different place, but unfortunately I reversed the tracks! Simply fixed though.

With the track successfully wired and a standard DC controller attached I used my multimeter to ensure everywhere had power, which it did. So, then came the moment I've been waiting for, testing my new (and first) completed track with one of my five new locomotives, under DC for the time being, partly because the locos need testing under DC and running in, and partly to test the track reliability.

What follows are photos of the completed layout, with my Black 5 hauling five coaches.! :)



The left side is the town/winter scene and the right side is the beach/summer scene. At the far end you can see the fiddle yard and sidings.





The cork underlay looks untidy but I intend to trim it down at a later date. I used the Black 5 for testing as it seem to be the one that derailed the most. So using that, I figured if I fixed the problem areas of the track for that then it should be OK for the other engines! Surprising there seemed to only be one or two problem areas, usually down to slightly uneven track. By the end the Black 5 was running smoothly. I also tested my 3mt tank and my Class 108 3 car DMU. The 108 is brilliant!

Unfortunately I came across something else that put a dampener of the event. Two of my 5 new engines are faulty. The Jubilee 'Mars' will only run backwards (albeit very well!) and The Royal Air Force doesn't move at all and causes the controller to cut out. I'm sure they could be fixed, its probably to do with the gears, but that's not the point, these are brand new and I expect them to work from the box. So a call will go in tomorrow to get them replaced.

Final layout plan

It had better be final because I have already laid it!


I am going to finish the wiring and test hopefully at some point this week.

Finished the new board

The fiddle yard area has been added this evening and filled in the gap for the track. The board now needs sealing and then I can start laying the track.

The new idea

I am beginning again!

The original 'Port Mallard' project has never got passed board three but I have not completely abandoned it. It is going to be moved into the loft once converted and turned into a fixed layout circling the entire loft. The reason for this is three fold. Firstly, after last winter, the idea of going outside to a cold damp garage isn't appealing! Secondly, whilst the system I finally devised for a modular layout worked, it was still a complete pain in the bum. A fixed layout will be easier to build and be more reliable. Thirdly, I can build something far bigger in the loft than I could in the garage!

But anyway, I digress!

So, in the meantime I have decided to create a small simple(ish) layout. It will be portable and give me something to practice and learn on.

And it will give me an opportunity to experiment with something entirely new to me... DCC! Instead of converting my existing Farish engines I have sold the lot, plus my DC controller and Cleaning Unit, and purchased all new engines from the latest Farish range that are 6 pin ready. A little word of advice for anyone who is thinking of doing the same - for the love of God - take the time to list them on eBay rather than part exchanging with a dealer! I was offered £270 by a dealer to part-ex 9 locos and a cleaning unit, which, for a dealer, isn't a bad offer. However, I decided to take a chance and put them on eBay instead - with the controller as well. After the dust had settled, and minus eBay and Paypal fees, I managed to total £525! I was pleased to say the least.

Anyway, I digress again...

The plan for the new layout is to be a basic oval of two tracks with a few sidings for industry, and a very basic fiddle yard at one end (on the curve). The layout will feature two separate scenes on either side of a dividing scenery board. One scene, “Port Mallard”, will be a seaside beach scene and rural seaside village with (hopefully) a harbour. This will be set in the height of summer. The other side will be a small town station, the name of which I have not quite decided on yet… although I’m leaning toward something like ‘Drakeswood”. This scene will be based in early winter, around Christmas. Both scenes are set in the late 50’s early 60’s.

The board itself will be approximately 2’10” by 5’6” with a useable track area of 2’3” by 5’6” and a scenery area of 2’3” by 4’. The summer scene has a two level area to allow for a beach and harbour. My hope is that by raising the scenery in the town scene and lowering the scenery in the sea side scene I will create the effect of different elevations of track with out actually changing the elevation at all!

The track will feature three sections. Firstly, the town scene will have a two platform station with station buildings above on a bridge over head. This will also feature a run around siding leading to industry – potentially a brewery.

The second will be the seaside with a small island station, and a single siding to the harbour.

The third will be the fiddle yard on the returning curve that completes the oval. I will be based on a 1’6” board that will be added onto the main 2’x 4’. Not entirely sure how this is going to arranged, I’ll just suck it and see. It’s going to be difficult given that I want to avoid using Radius 1 curves but I do want each line to split into two. But the board hasn’t been added yet so it can be any size I need it to be (within reason!).

The photos should give you some idea anyway.

Back to the future!

I am now back to where I was about a year ago, maybe a little further on, and with some important mod's!

Firstly, the latches are in place, and make the whole business of connecting the layout together much easier.

Secondly, I now have adjustable feet for each board, which makes leveling the connecting tracks a lot easier.



Third, and most importantly, I have placed a cork underlay under the track. This will hopefully make the ballast stand out more, and make for smoother running. This involved taking up ALL the existing track and placing the cork bed underneath... time consuming, but worth it!

On the progress front, I have laid and wired up the return loop for the 3 existing boards.





Finally I decided on doing a test run of the mainline :) I am happy to report that eventually, after much cleaning, both the diesel and the steam loco went around forwards and backwards without derailing! And the narrow curve was navigated with collision.






Cooking on gas...!

Restarting soon...

So, I am married! And its brilliant. The wedding was one of the best days of my life :)

However, to business! Now the wedding is done I can start again on the layout which has remained dormant and neglected for 3 months - bigger things to worry about! The garage needs a declutter first (again) and I need to assess how the boards have faired over the harsh winter. One of the unused boards was looking a tad uneven.

Honeymoon first, with a little inspiration from the NYMR, and then back to trying to do something each week....

Slow progress

With Christmas, new year and continuing wedding plans and busy at work, progress has been slow. Not to mention the snow and cold weather making the garage a very inhospitable place to be!

But some progress has been made!

The rewiring and relaying of the modular boards is now complete on the existing boards. The yard section has been removed in favour of a future industry and sidings. This will either be a brewery or harbour (more likely a brewery).

Each board how butts up to each other and is held firmly in place with latches. The power to each section is soldered directly onto the track on a board by board basis. This means I ma no longer reliant on power being passed via track joins.

The power connectors between the central board and the two side sections have been replaced with 24 pin power connectors, putting all tracks together in one single connector and leaving room from expansion (lighting circuits, point motors etc). The connectors they have replaced will be reused as controller power plugs and power connectors on the final board.

The plan for the final board is that it may not now be the final board! I am considering redesigning the layout in that section to allow for a fiddle yard to be added on the end. The fiddle yard would be accessed via a single track that connected to both main line tracks. This would allow for a scenic bridge over water next to the sea side scene I'm planning.

Finally, the return loop on the four existing boards is beginning to take shape. Just need to get my finger out one day and finish it. Then its onto the 5th board.