Geoff - Extension board - wiring and sleeper separation
Stephen & Laurence - Platform board - wiring
During the week, Geoff had fitted the two 'new' point motors. He said that it is a fiddly job and a lot easier to do on his own - i.e. with no one to disturb him! Instead of using the plastic tube actuators, he simply soldered wires to the 'horns' on the motor. Once correctly aligned and with the help of a capacitor-discharge unit (he just threw together), they worked fine. The re-used H&M point motor below.
John often took a belt-and-braces approach to things, and his point motors were typical. Some people used the built-in motor switch to change the frog polarity and some used micro-switches. John used both, in parallel (below). We're keeping his existing arrangement and using the motor switch alone on the new ones.
Geoff had started to wire up the board and intended to complete it in the style of the layout he is building at a local school, but a detailed discussion took place regarding wiring up and operating Worton Court.
Geoff's preference is for a separate control panel with a captive wiring loom and separate connections to each of the four boards - agreed by all. A tot-up concluded that the two main boards needed up to 20 connections, the extension 8 and the fiddle-yard 4. On Cottesmore, RS connectors were used, but these are no longer available. A rummage through several boxes provided sufficient males/females and shells to complete the job.
In 'the old days', all model railways were operated from behind the layout, but 'these days', many operators control their layouts from the front, engaging the public as they worked. With no firm preference, it was decided to cover both options. Socket positions were agreed and wiring commenced. Old looms were cut-up for some locations, which saved re-soldering 20 wires.
Once his board wiring was complete, Geoff set-to with a Dremel and disk to cut through the copper on the printed circuit sleepers. A quick blast with a CDU showed up the odd copper-hairs that remained.
As a final exercise, Stephen dropped his embryonic storage building onto the extension board, to check it for size. Made from 5mm foam-board, the shell looked OK, so work can continue. Brick paper has been laser printed from PDF's generated on a website - www.paperbrick.co.uk - that offers free sheets you create yourself, from a wide range of options.
Inspiration for the building - a converted cart shed with a granary over.
