Progress (or otherwise) on Jeff's new layout

Thanks. Would love to buy or make some of those.

After experimenting visually with some track and a suitable point, I have spliced the trailing point into the outer track to provide a short refuge siding. This also involved converting the point as per the rest on the layout and wiring in a another auto-polarity switch, and while I had the soldering iron out, adding some extra dropper wires to the track farther round the curve (which I had made provision for when wiring everything up before the BRMA meeting in March).

Having laid the extra track, I now have to add a couple more dropper wires to feed the siding (although technically I could get away with just one wire and rely on the fishplates, because only one side is insulated at the point itself). I had put the soldering iron away so I could do the track laying, so I'll have to set it up again tomorrow to complete the job.

A quick test through the point in both directions with a Peckett proved it was all working perfectly.

You may also be able to spot the Hatton's P class crew added to the Peckett - they fit in absolutely perfectly.


Additional Siding Added 08-04-18 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


IMG_20180408_222042 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I finished wiring the new siding this morning, a relatively simple job. The Peckett pictured yesterday propelled the wagons back into the siding under its own power all the way.

I also went under the layout with a multi-meter at the church end of the storage loops to try to track a dead point frog. I thought I had found the problem (a dud contact on one of the bus wire connections) but there is still no power to that particular point frog. It's not a huge problem at present, but it means I can't run short wheelbase locos through that point.

On a different note, a parcel arrived from hattons with some more surface-mount point motors, some wagons, some static grass, two motor coaches (The Kings Ferry), and a Dapol First GBRf class 73. A couple of bits came off during handling, one of which I have no idea where it goes! 73 141 Charlotte tested fine on DC on the rolling road (run for an hour or so each way), so a Zimo MX634D decoder was installed and tested. As expected, the direction of running was reversed with the headlight and headcode also illuminated at the wrong end, and the cab lights remained on at all times. I did the a couple of the same mods I did with my previous Dapol 73: a piece of tape was placed on the cab light contacts as a temporary block to the power, then the brush wires were swapped on the PCB connections (labelled M+ and M-). The cab light circuits will gain further modifications as per the first 73 later on, as this involves cutting tracks on the PCB and soldering new connecting wires.

73 141 was then put on the container train being hauled by 66 725, Sunderland, and handled it with ease. 66 725 was posed for a better photograph on the programming track.


Bachmann Class 66 125 Sunderland - Portrait by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Dapol Class 73 141 Charlotte on Container Train - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Dapol Class 73 141 Charlotte on Container Train - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr​

The container train from the other end, still being hauled by 73 141. I must weather a few of the wagons, especially that bright blue megafret pair. This gives a view over much of the layout. At present, it is pulled out from the right hand wall so I can get in behind it to troubleshoot the points I referred to earlier. 


Various Container Wagons Behind 73 141 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Watching trains go by near Newton Broadway:

Hornby 700 class 0-6-0 30315 is seen passing different locations with a local passenger train, made up of a 'van C' and a Maunsell 3-set 237.


700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


700 Class 30315 on Local Passenger - 4 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


This was followed closely by M7 30108 propelling Maunsell P-P set 615.


Maunsell P-P Set 615 with M7 30108 - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Maunsell P-P Set 615 with M7 30108 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Travelling in the opposite direction is an EMU made up of ex-Southern Railway stock. 2 BIL 2134 is leading, with 2 HAL 2639 in the middle and 'tin' HAL 2694 trailing. 2694 has not received its unit numbers at this stage.


2 BIL and HAL Multi - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


2 BIL and HAL Multi - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Passing the other way is D6520 propelling two 4 TC units.


4 TC plus 33 D6520 - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Following the SR EMU sets is rebuilt West Country pacific 34026, Yes Tor, with a parcels and milk train.


WC 34026 Yes Tor on Milk Train - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


WC 34026 Yes Tor on Milk Train - 3 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


More modern units (although not by much) are represented by MLV 68006 leading 4 CEP units 7128 and 7126.


MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

MLV plus 4 CEP x 2 - 4 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Coming the other way is 'King Arthur' N15 4-6-0 30764, Sir Gawaine, with a race day special consisting of horse boxes from several other regions and BR mark 1 4-set 869.


N15 30764 Sir Gawaine on Race Special - 1 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Following the MLV+8CEP is S15 4-6-0 30830 on a mixed goods working.


S15 30830 on Mixed Goods - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


S15 30830 on Mixed Goods - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Some very lovely trains you have running there. Have you ever considered, for a lark, having that S15 pull the container train?

[user=1916]ZeldaTheSwordsman[/user] wrote:

Some very lovely trains you have running there. Have you ever considered, for a lark, having that S15 pull the container train?

 It's funny you should say that; I tested the S15 earlier on the lower level (before the upper level was operational) and it did quite well.

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I have taken a quick video of one of my Hornby Pecketts running around the inner circuit. this shows off several features, including:

• The Hatton's crew intended for their P class looking perfectly at home in the Peckett cab;
• The Smoothness of the Peckett itself, which is fitted with a TCS M1 decoder;
• The smooth operation of the Gaugemaster aut-frog-polarity switching modules, and;
• The latest little bit of scenic work on either side of the new siding.

The Peckett, No. 5, Alice, was renumbered and named using plates from Narrow Planet.

The video itself was taken on my mobile phone and edited using Microsoft's Movie Maker, which works well in Windows 10, in spite of what Microsoft say.

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[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

[user=1916]ZeldaTheSwordsman[/user] wrote:

Some very lovely trains you have running there. Have you ever considered, for a lark, having that S15 pull the container train?

 It's funny you should say that; I tested the S15 earlier on the lower level (before the upper level was operational) and it did quite well.

Excellent! I always find it an enjoyable sight when modellers have steamers pull more modern freight like that.

I decided to try out the Bachmann Wickham trolley, which ran quite nicely in spite of the fact I know one of the electrical pickups is not working properly (something I need to investigate when I am inclined). Then I thought, "This is worth capturing on video.", so here is another quick vid of trains running on Newton Broadway high level. 

The Wickham was sharing the track with the Hatton's P class 0-6-0T, Bluebell and its train of 'birdcage' coaches. The Wickham has a TCS Z2 decoder hard-wired into it, and the P has a standard Bachmann 36-568 6-pin decoder.

I have been doing a little more static grass and other scenery  around the new siding, but the glue was still wet at the tie of the video, so the effect is hidden by surplus grass.

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Running the little Wickham trolley has had an added benefit: my other half came in to watch it going around, and I said I had plans to replace the false ballast load with a sleeper load, something like what has been described in a recent magazine and in a topic here on RMweb. She said I should leave this one untouched, and buy another Wickham to do the operation on! I have not just permission, bu an instruction to buy another!!  :lol:

While I like the idea of a green or maroon one, both Kernow Model Railway Centre and Rails of Sheffield have the yellow one with wasp stripes going at reduced prices, so I think that may be the way to go (I already have a few expenses coming through, including two Andrew Barclay locos which have just been deducted from the plastic.). Fortunately, I bought a very small CT Elektronics decoder at the recent exhibition at Sandown, and that may just fit in in a similar fashion to the TCS decoder I used on the one above.

I have been fiddling with a few different small jobs on Newton Broadway and its stock.

Two of the Hornby Pecketts, No 5 Alice and No 6 Alexandria in my fictional industrial fleet are pictured in the next three photos: No 5 has minimal weathering added at present and has a Hatton's P class crew added, and they look as if they were designed to fit in the Peckett cab; No 6 has been more heavily weathered with a mix of powders, but has not, as yet, gained a crew.

Some of the newer scenery can also be seen.


IMG_20180422_233401 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


IMG_20180422_233349 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


IMG_20180422_233332 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


At last Saturday's BRMA meeting, Standard 4MT 2-6-4T 80032 disgraced itself by refusing to move. I had it on the programming track to sort it out (she has had a bit of oil and a good wheel clean) and it now works again, although I think I need to open her up and put in a different decoder. While I have the lid off, I will clean and oil the motor bearings and gears.


BR 4MT 2-6-4T 80032 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


And a slightly 'dated' version of the same photo:


BR 4MT 2-6-4T 80032 BW halftone by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


While I still have the SECR  birdcage set on the layout, I thought it was a good idea to run the Hornby H class 0-4-4T 308 for a while, now the re is a good long continuous run available. I still find this loco a little 'tail' heavy, and it really needs a small spring over the rear bogie to force the balance forward slightly.


SECR H class 308 on High Level - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


SECR H class 308 on High Level - 2 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

For a long time I have had a Bachmann N class 2-6-0 loco in Southern Railway olive green livery sitting in the drawer, waiting for me to convert it to DCC. I have already done two BR liveried Ns, using Digitrax decoders (a brand I'm not all that keen on). In every case, the decoder has had to be hard-wired to the motor, replacing the pcb that sits next to the vertically mounted motor in a rather tight space in the firebox of the loco. Digitrax DZ123 and DZ125 decoders fit nicely, although in hindsight I should have opted for TCS M1 decoders.

Anyway, now I have a source for the absolutely tiny CT Elektronik decoders here in Australia, I have purchased a few for these difficult jobs that require small decoders to fit in very limited spaces, so the SR N has been fitted with a CT Elektronik DCX74 decoder and runs very nicely. The slightly larger DCX75 would also have fitted. The DCX74 has a rating of 0.8amp continuous, with a 1.5amp peak, which is more than adequate for the N.

I have owned a set of three of the beautiful Hornby Maunsell coaches in SR lined olive livery, and purchased two more at a swap meet last Thursday, an all-first and an all-third. The Bachmann E4 in LBSC livery looked quite good on this set too when on test after a decoder swap, but the N, No. 1829 was really the loco of choice for this rake. I did have some difficulty with the lighting for this relatively dark-coloured train.


SR N class 1829 and Maunsell Coaches - 5 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


SR N class 1829 and Maunsell Coaches - 6 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


SR N class 1829 and Maunsell Coaches - 7 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

The new Hatton's Andrew Barclays on parade, lined up with the Hornby Pecketts for direct comparison. The ABs are straight out of the box (apart from decoder fitting), whereas the Pecketts have been renumbered and named, had etched plates added, a little weathering applied and two have crews added.  

Hattons Andrew Barclay and Hornby Peckett Line Up - 1 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr  

Hattons Andrew Barclay and Hornby Peckett Line Up - 2 cropped by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr  

Hattons Andrew Barclay and Hornby Peckett Line Up - 3 by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Another gratuitous photo of the two Andrew Barclays: the red one is in service hauling the preserved rake of SECR birdcage coaches, while the blue one (shorn of its "C crest R" markings) rests in the siding with the blue Peckett behind.


​Andrew Barclays in Service by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


The second Wickham trolley arrived at the same time as the ABs, but was only converted to DCC yesterday, using a CT Elektronik decoder hard-wired in, Learning from the experience of converting the previous trolley, I cut the decoder wires shorter to ensure that all of the new soldered joints occurred within the base of the trolley  passenger unit. As before I added soldered wires from the pickups to the decoder black and red wires, but retained all of the Bachmann wiring from the motorised trailer this time. As before the PCB was removed altogether, but initially I retained the support arm on the chassis, until I realised it was interfering with my attempts to thread the decoder and wires back through, so it got the snip in the end!

A test on the programming track revealed all was well, and it was allocated an arbitrary number 24, to follow on from the earlier trolley which carried a number TR23 on its body; the new one has no such number, but I may add one simply to make identification easier for visitors to the layout. I tested each pair of carrying wheels for their pickup properties, and found that the leading pair weren't picking up properly to power the motor, so tweaked the pickups carefully to fix that. With the earlier conversion I managed to trap one of the pickup tags and bend it over double, and, while I fixed that at the time, there was a similar problem with lack of pickup on the leading axle, so that also got some attention. I can report that both units now pick up electricity from all available wheels.


Wickham Trolley with Wasp Stripes by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

I have posted another video to YouTube of a trip around the high level tracks, this time behind one of the Hatton's Andrew Barclay locomotives.

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Great video. And an interesting perspective from the camera

Cheers
Evan

I have been doing various smaller jobs scenically lately, including adding more layers of static grass and a few figures. I really want to add fences but it is probably better to leave them a little longer until I finish having to lean over the layout edges to do more track laying and wiring. 

The first photo shows the results of adding some lighter grass around an area that will be fenced off.


Static Grass - Lighter Colour Added by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr


Next, some children with bikes playing on the public footpath that runs beside the siding. This also will gain fences on both sides (can't have the kiddies running onto the tracks or over the embankment and retaining wall on the other side!). I also intend to have some trees and bushes along the ridge, eventually.


Children Playing Beside the Siding by Jeffrey Lynn, on Flickr

Just popping in here to record, for those of us not also members elsewhere, that I continue to follow and comment of Jeff's work on his RMweb thread.  And mighty fine work it is too, having been lucky enough to see much of it first hand.

Thank you for those kind words, Rick.

Likewise, I continue to follow your comings and goings with the same sentiments. 

:cheers