My layout in the making

[dynamite25]

I will be posting some pics as soon as i get my new camera this week which is a Fujifilm S5600 5.1MP Digital Camera,as i thought i should have my own camera that way i don't have to keep borrowing my brothers one.

 

[dynamite25]

Well i have ordered my camera from ebuyer and should arrive tomorrow morning or afternoon as i paid an extra £4 to get it tomorrow instead on monday or tuesday next week,so i will have progress pics for you all to see over the weekend.

 

[dynamite25]

I have my new camera now and i love it best camera i have ever used and so i will have some photos of my progress maybe tomorrow or sunday,as i still have two legs to fit and to pin down the track on the left side of the layout to complete one of the lower track lines.

 

[dynamite25]

Here's some Pics of the work i have been doing on the layout.

The fiddle yard entrance now has one track linking both parts of the fiddle yard together and the two main lines that will go onto the hinged section.

And i also connected the small part of the fiddle yard to the larger part by inserting two points,also the curved piece of track on its own will now become one of the lower main tracks that will be in front of the station.

In this pic you can see the two main lines and the section of framework i cut out to get closer to corners of the layout,and how much of a mess my layout is at the moment.

And this pic shows the fiddle yard track connected to the main line.

And the hinged section for the two lower main lines will be built once the point motors are fitted to the fiddle yard which i hope will be this week,but i still need to decide where i am going to have the switches and whether to use the switch housings i got or buy the switch mounting plates and make a bigger switch housing for them.

 

[dynamite25]

More track has been layed today up the incline and tomorrow i will lay the rest of the track around the up incline to the down incline,and then move on to fitting the point motors to the fiddle yard.

And hopefully start the hinged section by the weekend.

 

[new to trains]

steven

i notice in the image in posting #284 you have the track power clips, do you use these on your layout or are these just for track testing.... ?- do you find them reliable ?- i found all sorts of hassles with these, so i remedied the problem by soldering the power leads directly onto the underside of 2 fishplates, i then join 2 bits of track with the fishplates and feed the cables through a hole in the base board, a direct electrical connection and no more hassles- perfect !

 

[dynamite25]

I just use them to test the track once laid and once all track is down i will have permanent power feeds.

Here's some photos of the track layed on the incline.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

A nice track coming together here with enough interest to keep you going for a few years.

I know there is still a lot of work to do but I am looking forward to seeing the scenery come to life and building added etc.

Makes me want one again!!

 

[dynamite25]

I'm hoping to start all the scenery and adding buildings in a months time if i can get all track down and all the electric's done.

Got abit more work done today on the layout and i have got half the scenic boards attached and i am now working on the return incline and i have only 5ft 3" of ply to attach to complete the incline base,then i can lay the track on it so trains can run up the main incline and back down the return incline and i'll be starting on the hinged section on Tuesday but was hoping to start it this weekend.

 

[dynamite25]

Nearly finished the return incline but i couldn't resist connecting the track up and running my Class 56 around the layout up the main incline and down the return incline and it runs really well,and i will take some more pics tomorrow once i have cleaned the layout up again as i had to shifted the stuff back over the other side to do the incline so the layout is in abit of a mess again.

 

[dynamite25]

More Photos of my layout progress.

And heres the return incline

And finally one of my new train on my layout at last.

 

[Bluewavestudios]

Yep I will agree with Bunker on this one,

The Layout is certainly starting to look more settled now, I know you have had a few chops and changes but it is now starting to look very good, When the scenery is done, then it will really come alive. I have no doubt it will look excellent and give you many hours of pleasure.

I sold my trains years ago but I still admire a good layout !! (and for the smutty minded ones ...behave !!! :D )

Regards....Mark

 

[dynamite25]

I had a change of plan today as i was going to do some more supports for the upper level so i could lay the boards for the upper level but i decided to get pass the track laying stage once and for all,so i fitted 5 Peco point motors to the fiddle yard entrance but had to modify the arms so they work with hornby points and they all work ok.

Here's the photo of the 5 peco point motors i fitted today.

 

[dynamite25]

Been alot busy over the weekend getting the long side of the upper level done but still need to fit two more supports then i'll work on the otherside to complete all the upper level over the fiddle yard,also moved all my trains back into the loft and ran them around the layout twice on the inclines and then through the fiddle yard twice and not one problem with any of them.

But can't take any pics till next week as my battery's have died on me and i haven't got any more till i buy some on Friday but i might be going away for the weekend,so it will be after then and i will ordering some more switches and mounting brackets and the coach pack for the Northumbrian train when i get back.

I have decided to make a switch panel to fix onto the rafters above the layout so i can have my track plan on it and then i can place each switch where each point is,so when i flick a switch i know which point i have changed and to know which way they are set i will wire the switches up so up is straight and down is when they are set to another track.

 

[dynamite25]

Been working on my station track plan tonite and wanted a 5 track station with 5 platforms which will have a over roof and the entrance and exit are from the hornby track plan book,and this is what i have come up with but there is loads still to go on it and there will be two tunnels to split the town side from the countryside also my steam sheds and turntable will be on the countryside side.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v687/dynamite26/NewStation.png

Tell me what you think of it.

 

[Nigel.D]

Really superb steven I cant wait untill my mikey is old enough so i can build him a layout too (every boy should have a train set inc me )lol

 

[Bunkerbarge]

My Dad built one for me and my brother when we were young and I had many happy hours with it.

Great stuff for building relationships and passing all that valuable expertise on to the next generation!!

 

[dynamite25]

Hi guy's well it's been about two months since i last done anything on the layout and i am glad to say that work on the layout is recommencing at the weekend with the wiring of points and switch board and the start of the hinged section,because i want to run my train more better than i have been doing as i hate having to move back and to switching points by hand so now it is time to power them up and get them trains moving again.

 

[dynamite25]

Well didn't get much done this weekend as my stuff hasn't come yet so today i went into the loft to give the track a good clean and check my trains,upon running the merchant navy loco it started off ok but as soon as it got the incline it stopped moving but would back up ok.

So i took the loco off the track to have a look and start to take it apart to see what was wrong but then i noticed the drive gear had popped off the splined shaft,so i pushed it back on and put the loco back together and it went up the incline without a problem so that was fixed but while i had the loco apart i noticed it had the socket for a DCC decoder which i didn't know it had one fitted.

I also didn't know my Northumbrian train had one till i looked at a review on a forum and on hattons where i bought it from as i didn't really look to see if it was,so now that i know two of my locos are DCC ready i am going to buy the Mixed Goods DCC set on the 23rd December and try DCC for the first time.And then wire my layout up for DCC only if i find i enjoy using DCC then sometime next year i will get the Lenz set 100 or another system that will meet what i want from it and fully go DCC,but if i find DCC is not for me my layout will remain DC control and i will use the DCC set in my bedroom on a small layout.

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Steven, you are going to have to explain what DCC is to us that have never heard of it!!!