Dave,

I have been truly inspired by your efforts in building a garden railway (something that I have thought about for a considerable length of time).

Fantastic achievement!!!!!!!!!

:doublethumb

Regards,

Michael Hurley

Mittagong NSW

Australia.

 

 

Picture 2 is my favourite it could be real ! Just the right mix of space and crowding

John
RJR

Thanks Michael dont think about it too long though. It's taken me two years to get this far! Tonight I decided to temporaly wire in the signals at Byerley Parkway station………


The red on the left is for the branch to Cobblers Hall. This line will be bi directional so should be fun wiring that one up! The green on the right is for the down main line. This signal is switched via the automatic station stop system that I built earler in the year. However as the system has only two outputs red/green I need to modify it to work the yellow aspect. Im going to wire it so that instead of showing red all the time it will now display yellow untill a train leaves the garage. On entering the wall section the train will trigger a latch that will change the yellow to red. The train will then approch the red signal as before at the end of the platform. The timer is then activated via a reed switch. This kills the track power for a pre set time. After about thirty seconds the timer changes the signal to green whilst also switching the power back on. The train then departs and resets the timer system that puts the signal back to red. I will be fitting another signal further down the line so I can use the reed switch for that signal to also reset the latch changing the red back to yellow. Sounds ok in theory just have to fit the extra switches and see if it works!

Lovely picture Dave the aspect signal looks really good.

You are now in the horrible time of year for garden railways now all those infernal leaves falling on the track. Have you got a big hoover or is it the poors mans dustpan and brush?

cheers brian.W

I actualy use a hosepipe! The trackbed at the rear of the garden was sealed with thompsons water seal so a quick blast with a hosepipe washes away the muck, snail bodies, etc. When dry it just needs a quick rub over with a sanding block. Last winter I sprayed the track with WD40 that made a big diffrence when cleaning it in the spring.

Hi Dave. Thanks for the info on this website.

It's nice to see your railway getting the praise it obviously deserves!

Steve(Sankey)

I like the signal Dave, Are the LEDs waterproofed in any way or are they good enough as is ?

And welcome Steve, you picked a good thread to make your first post in !!

John
RJR

the signal is top job,looks good in the night setting,
:thumbs:lol::lol::lol::cool:

Wow that's a pretty phenomenal layout Dave.  Love the station, it is like Kings Cross.

Thanks guys and hi Steve (already left a message in the welcome section;-)). No John the leds are just as they come as they are already sealed however the paint helps to cover the wiring anyway. The signal used was the one I built in the tutorial section that origanaly was to be used for st Davids station however since the track remodeling it became redundent. A new gantry is being planed for its replacement. Another tutorial perhaps? Talking of tutorials would it benifit anyone if I did one explaning how to automate the signals operation?

Dave, I would certainly be interested in both tutorials (Gantry and automated signals) as this is something I've never done on a layout before, but intend doing eventually on my current layout.

Although I've not posted much on this thread, I'm an avid reader. An outdoor line is something I've always wanted to do, but up till now the garden has been the design brief of SHMBO. I sense a willingness for a more "easy maintenance" garden on her plot lately, so there's hope for the future :exclam:exclam

Ok Jeff I'll see what I can do.;-)

A definite yes there Dave. Tutorials and photographs are the life blood of the forum.

I have done a small tutorial showing how to build a control module for four aspect signaling. After a sugestion by Robert I have moved it from the scratchbuilding section to the signaling section although it will proberly be added to the index at some point! Now all I have to do is build the rest of the signals to go with it.:roll:

i want to do some gantrys but i don't know how to start:oops: do you include working signals on these? as a time saver have you looked at the irdasc-5? this is what i use, they change signals 3 aspect, stop a loco before a red light. you just daisy change them.

automated irdasc-5

Hi Matt I will be doing some gantries over the next few weeks. These will have working signals fitted. I did think of using the ready built signaling system but anyone who knows me knows I like a challange (like converting a hornby 86 to a 87!) Another problem with the ready built system is it uses ir dectectors located under the baseboard. With a solid concrete track bed this is sadly not possable however the reed switches will eventualy be discuised as aws ramps! The advantages of a home built system is it is taylor made to suit the layout. Also the cost isn't as bad when desigining a large system as the more leds/reed switches you buy the cheeper they are if bought from a big supplier like RS components. The cost of the relays wasn't too bad from maplins as I bought 5 for about £8.50.

After building the signaling module I decided that it was about time I started building some more signals to go with it! Each signal is unique to the location it will eventualy be located in as there are variations in heights, bases, etc. For example here's one I made yesterday……



This signal is for installation at the end of the viaduct just before the short cut and cover tunnel. The track bed at this location is about a foot deep of solid concrete so a way had to be found of concealing the cables. The solution was to mount the signal on some U section the route the cables underneath then hide them under the tunnel. The wires for the reed switch were brought out through a short piece of pipe.






The diodes and resistor for the signal were mounted on a small piece of strip board that fits into the junction box……









Part of the track base was chipped away to allow the signal assembly to be located…….






This is actually the third reed switch that I mounted as I broke the other two. As you can see I cut away a space between the sleepers for the switch to fit in. It is held in place by melting the legs into the plastic sleepers at each end. Once sealed with some araldite the switch will be hidden under a AWS ramp. Also today I ran the cables up from the control box to the signals…….




The next job now that they are working is to fix in place with some araldite provided that I manage to pick some up tomorrow! The signals operation has been tested using a coach fitted with a magnet and looks quite realistic changing to red as the coach passes the signal. Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish off the signal gantry that I started tonight. Just one final thought. I quite fancy having a go at building an automatic level crossing for the back of the layout. The only real problem would be getting the barriers to move outdoors. Anyone had any experience at building one of these on there indoor layouts?

Dave,a very nice signal,well made and certainly looks the part.
:pathead:lol::lol::lol::cool:

Dave great self made aspect signals im sure there are not many garden railways that have fully working aspect signals

I sense a nightime video coming on soon when you have finished installing and making all the signals

cheers Brian.W

Level crossing ? How about memory wire, Ive never used it but saw some at the Manchester Show over the weekend ?? Im sure someone as used it and will offer an opinion, but there appears to be no mechanics (hence seizing or rust)

John
RJR