N / OO9 Two scales one gauge

Today was spent profitably. 

A sheet of 9-ply was cut into strips, then cut to length as needed, sanded and has had the N-gauge backscene applied. No distortion of the wood; fewer and smaller air blisters to smooth out from the paper. So far so good. 

I have pinned the track from the lower fiddle yard through to the crossover outside the station. This has allowed the drilling of holes for power supply which will be fed to each toe-end of the crossover. That, by default, also feeds to the toe-ends of all other points without a need for more connections or a bus-line. 

Rails are placed ready to pin for the station and sidings. I have to invest in a Woodland gradient run for the mountain line and access to the upper (yet to be built) fiddle yard but everything else is just “measure and fit” at this stage. 

Electrics will be very simple. The spare Morley Vortrak controller will be under-employed as I only need two and not all its four outputs. Points will be powered by Rails clone of the standard Peco underfloor motors wired back to Peco passing contact switches.  The crossover will be managed with a DPST switch. 

No fixed signalling is envisaged. For the 009 Tŷ Bach mountain line control will be by flagman and telephone. For the N-gauge operation it will be assumed to be a tokenless block single line although if the freight train is “locked inside” at Boghouses sidings that will release the block and allow a passenger train to come up so both can appear side by side safely. 


   

Very similar, yet totally different, views of the 009 Tŷ Bach station area. The mountainous backscene is almost bubble-free and will do for me. 

The saddle tank has brought down another load of slate. The passenger train is prepared for its next trip - up the mountain or perhaps down the valley to town 

And the diesel stands ready on a general goods working. 

Looks good, Rick. I ruined some ID back scenes with bubbles, good to hear your's are OK.

peterm said

Looks good, Rick. I ruined some ID back scenes with bubbles, good to hear your's are OK.

From “Post #290,642”, 22nd November 2024, 12:26 am

I was very careful, based on past experience, to minimise the bubbling this time around.  Using ply meant I had a good hard surface to which the glue was applied and allowed to breathe for a couple of minutes.  I then applied the printed backscene sheet starting from one end and rolling it out.  There is ample "working time" with the adhesive I use - Deluxe Backscene Adhesive - to adjust the precise position of the sheet once laid.  I then start easing out any bubbles as they form using a linen tea-towel and working them towards the nearest edge.  It's not absolutely foolproof but it has done the job reasonably well this time.  

In other news tracklaying has reached the station area today.  I need to think very carefully about the levels here.  There will be two platform faces in active use although either scale could use either platform.  The platform structure has been formed from foam-board.  Two panels one atop the other give almost the perfect height for N-gauge; shimming the track up by inserting a sheet of art card beneath it will give an ideal height.  One panel will suffice for the 009 side where the passenger coaches are built for ground-level entry.  So this track rises onto one panel of foam-board and sits alongside a cut edge of the second thickness.  It looks good and there will be photos when it's a bit more complete.  

This does impose a few limitations.  The 009 stock is mostly wider than the N-gauge stock so the 009 passenger carriages can only serve the 009 platform.  The slate, skip and some other freight wagons will fit in the N-gauge platform as will the Baguely-Drewry 009 diesels so I can have two trains side by side.  If N-gauge stock runs into the 009 platform there would be a significant step down for passengers but nothing that isn't found at some stations to this day where portable steps are deployed.  Freight and light-engine movements into that side are not affected and means that I can also offer two trains side by side in the smaller scale.  

Modelling is filled with compromises.  I have to make some here.  The track is N-gauge (code 55 fine-scale) although there will be some 009 on the mountain branch which does not form a part of the N-gauge scene.  Ballast likewise will have to be credible for N-gauge but as the 009 line is to "light railway" standard then small ballast would be expected rather than the typical 00 "main line" size.  

Well here’s a right mixture!  

This afternoon I built the structure of the station platform out of foam-board. Some careful cutting to the curves was needed and the outer ends are sloped down towards ground level. As the 009 track is one thickness of foam-board higher than the N-gauge the height from carriages to platform is constant on this side as the track falls at the same angle. 


N-gauge class 158 unit showing the clearances suitable for this scale and 009 stock showing both the slate wagons (which will also fit on the N-gauge side) and the “bug-box” stock which has doors almost at ground level and which has necessitated the difference in height between the two platforms. 

On the siding is a newly-arrived N-gauge 08 shunter (which I unpacked only minutes before taking the pictures) with megabox wagons. 

Looks good, but you must have good eye sight to be using N gauge.

The redundant platform has now been added. Upturned track shows where there will be a mix of rusted rails and “lifted” trackbed when completed. 

Both Boghouses and Tŷ Bach have clearly seen better days. Old wagons are dumped on a short stretch of track alongside the nearest platform face. 

The scene here is all N-gauge except for the 009 station buildings. The N-gauge version will be rather sparse as typified the 1990s railways of the area. 

peterm said

Looks good, but you must have good eye sight to be using N gauge.

From “Post #290,646”, 24th November 2024, 12:53 am

Good enough, I hope. 

The Welsh mountain location of Tŷ Bach is quite busy. 

There are signs of life at the shed too. 

We need that much talked about 'like' button here.

peterm said

We need that much talked about 'like' button here.

From “Post #290,650”, 25th November 2024, 11:48 pm

It's the 'thumbs up' icon to the right of the date and time posted, Pete.


Ed

Ed said

peterm said

We need that much talked about 'like' button here.

From “Post #290,650”, 25th November 2024, 11:48 pm

It's the 'thumbs up' icon to the right of the date and time posted, Pete.


Ed

From “Post #290,655”, 27th November 2024, 9:00 am

Not sure if it's just me but while that is visible on my phone it doesn't show uyp on the desktop computer.  

I've just liked your post Rick and it's visible and working OK on my android phone using MS Edge and Firefox, and MS Edge on my laptop.

I've no way of testing Safari if your using iPad/iPhone/Macbook.


Ed
 

Found it, but it ain't easy to see. Thanks to both of you.

Some track power was wired up today. The scissors crossover has feeds at all four toes which by default means all other points will have power at the toe. Each track at each end of the scissors is currently connected together and wired straight back to the controller giving power only on the straight runs. In due course these feeds need to be wired through the four-pole double-throw switch to route power over the crossovers. 
 

Other issues arose. I had expected the points would behave as electrofrogs normally do and isolate a dead-end siding. But no. All routes are powered up. 
 

There is also a dead spot across them affecting operation of the tiny 4-wheel 009 locos. 
 

I had not expected that this would be a problem. There is also no power at all through the three-way. Trains stop at the first blade.   As the points are intended to be manual not powered I shall have to re-think a few things. Sidings can be dealt with using an insulated joint and a switch. The problem, and the reason for manual operation, being the absence of anywhere to put a switch panel for several points. The 4PDT switch will probably be up underneath the board. That isn’t ideal for more remote points. 
 

Notwithstanding those issues and with more power applied than is ideal to ensure it didn’t stall on the frog the first powered move was made from Tŷ Bach tonight. Rather than a 4-wheeler this was hauled by one of the Baldwins and led the bug-boxes out of the station. 



With a quick change of scene and scale the class 158 unit formed the first powered arrival at a very bare Boghouses station 

Looking ok despite the problems 




Ed

Ed said

I've just liked your post Rick and it's visible and working OK on my android phone using MS Edge and Firefox, and MS Edge on my laptop.

I've no way of testing Safari if your using iPad/iPhone/Macbook.


Ed
 

From “Post #290,659”, 27th November 2024, 4:16 pm

Apparently not supported on the Mac platform.  I can get neither the thumb icons nor the feedback.  I do however get the email saying "Your post has made  <someone> happy" so I still know.  

I have spotted the thumbs up on my macbook, but they're pretty difficult to see unless you know where to look. Thanks to you and Ed for pointing them out.

Now awaiting more parts.  The story of the modeller's life!  You do something, you find it doesn't quite work as planned and the "fix" requires more bits which you don't have to hand.  

I have point motors here though I didn't want to fit them owing to space issues below the baseboard.  But I might need frog switchers.  I am investigating whether there are alternatives to powering both the points and "juicing" the frogs.  

Also on its way is a Woodland Scenics polystyrene gradient to allow completion of the mountain line.  I have risers which are a constant height but not (yet) the inclined base.  Once that is in I can add the upper level fiddle-yard board and complete the track-laying.  I do need to test what happens with the points on this before fixing anything permanently as there definitely will not be clearance for motors underneath.  I could use surface-mounted motors but those are not compatible with frog switchers.  

Hey ho.  

In other news the upper level will also have a short (as in about 18") length of 00 track fitted purely for wheel-cleaning and to test locos intended for use elsewhere or sale.  

The gradient supports duly arrived and have been added to the layout. 


Without the benefit of groundwork this does look a bit bare but the Baldwin is attacking the newly-laid mountain branch with the bug-boxes while one of the Bagueley-Drewry diesels arrives with freight from down the valley. The 0-4-0 is on shed. 

For the N-gauge scene the shed will be removed and the ground-cover will hide the mountain branch.