esngblog

Not much to report.  I’m back to fighting fit after my vaccination – little in the way of side effects – but haven’t been able to get much enthusiasm for track laying.

I’ve added some more rails….

Added the bases for the rest of the points – together with frogs and some rails….

And tried out the plain track jig.  Easy to use and effective.  My patent chair picker is in the foreground.

I guess that I’ve paused now as I have 14 point blades to file and fit.  Not my favourite job,  but having made one, and rejected it, I think that with the Finetrax jig it’s not too bad a job.  I just need to get on with it.

Still, I’ve made some money selling surplus model railway stuff this week, and come up with yet another layout idea!

Train spotting isn’t the same nowadays.  Not only have the Merchant Navy’s gone, but also school caps!  And you could almost eat your lunch off that platform….

Back another 20 years, and the electric train was something new, and special….

Perhaps I’m just suffering lockdown cabin fever?  I’m beginning to drool at the thought of a full English breakfast and a nice cup of coffee.  And the ESNG faithful are getting desperate for curry…..

And can you guess what it is, from the picture below?

I’ve decided to go DCC for this layout.  I’ve already got the point operation bits to operate them on DCC, but I’ll also go for digital train operation.  Why, on a small layout:

• Easier wiring for a terminus that will need one or more isolating section on each platform and siding.
• Easier wiring for the traverser/sector plate.
• Easier wiring between baseboards.
• Can keep more than one loco/EMU parked closely on a track.

It will be easy enough (if a little expensive) to convert the stock to DCC, as most are DCC ready, anyhow.

So the picture above shows the two power buses, one for track, one for points.  I prefer to keep them separate, so that any electrical problems are easier to locate.

I decided to build the trackwork in-situ, but the board for the station throat on viaduct is not fixed, and I can work on it on the workbench.  Here, I’ve trimmed the Finetrax bases to fit the track layout, and glued them down.

A little fiddle was needed to wire up one frog.  It lies on a road bridge, so I used solid wire and chased it into the bridge soffit.  Not very neat, but will be hidden.

The frogs have a wire for power soldered underneath and fed through the baseboard.  I’ve also added the check rails.

First length of track in place!  The end of the board uses some pre-cut copper-clad sleeper sections that I bought from the states a while back.  The sleepers are too close, but this track will be hidden by the trackside buildings, and will form a strong end to the board.   One reason to lay out the point bases early in construction is to use as much ‘continuous’ rail as possible, and avoid joints and extra droppers being needed.  Here, the rail runs from one point up to the frog of the crossover.

A close up of the frog.

Getting the individual chairs into place is a fiddly job, and I’ve lost a few as they ping across the room.  However, like many other jobs, it’s a matter of working out a technique, and using the right tools.  I have found it easiest to place one chair at a time, but to thread each one onto a short length of rail and then locate it into the sleeper base.  The rail threads through the chairs easily enough, providing one files the rail end slightly to allow it to slip into the chair.  After getting the rail in place, a wash of solvent fixes chairs, and actually the rail as well.

Next adventure will be to try and file up a set of point blades.

First, a contrast in packaging…..

Believe it or not, these two packages, each from a well known box-shifter, have the same contents.  Namely, two of these aquatic creatures….

They’re lovely models, but I wish that I had remembered that I’d already ordered two.

Meanwhile, back at the railway, I’ve made my first lengths of Finetrax.  Two very short lengths, that was a helpful exercise to get the idea of threading the rail through the sleepers, and also getting the rail the right way up.

The reason for the short lengths?  It’s to take these two ex-LSWR buffer stops, a very nice etch from the 2mm Association.

One buffer stop complete.  I’ve replace the metal buffer cross-piece with plastic card, as it’s neater than layering up the metal one provided.  This picture is, of course, cruel, but it is probably larger than real-life size when you look at it.

And two buffers.  The whole etch is very neat.  The side rails are six layers of metal thick, but the etch is designed to fold over on itself to get everything lined up.  Held together with solder paint, it works very well.

I’ve also discovered a new toy – some of this UV-activated glue that you can get.  It’s much as the stuff they fill your teeth with these days, and my tube came with a little UV light to cure the glue.  It seems better than superglue, as it is adjustable until you apply the light.

The other job that I’ve done is to mark out the track again, using the proper Finetrax track spacing of 23mm, that tidies up the geometry a bit – and gives half-an-inch extra on the platform length.  Next task will be to try and build my first point.