Thursday 8th May

Work log:
Complete repairs to dodgy points.
New power supply for the capacitor discharge unit.
Check-out a couple of odd track sections.
Mods to scenery.
Platform investigations.

Laurence was on baby-sitting duties this week, so it was much quieter in the workshop (!)

Firstly, photos from last week - the new capacitor array, the reused charging control circuit and the bolt-terminals at 'the business end'.

Geoff had already begun fitting a micro-switch to a point that had failed to switch the polarity of its frog. The on-board switches in the H&M motors can become temperamental and this is a standard solution. Several of John's points had this mod, so we were just continuing the trend. They can be fitted in a couple of ways, either onto the rotating horns, or directly on the end of the bar moved by the coils - it depends on what fits best.

Stephen had brought a number of potential power supplies accumulated over many years. The chosen unit was a 19v DC laptop power supply. It just needed a socket made. Fabricated from a piece of glass-fibre based printed circuit-board, a brass bolt and a strip of nickel silver, it didn't take too long. The bolt thread was turned down to the required diameter. The nickel silver strip collects power from the casing and holds the plug in place. 

The 'business end' was rearranged to allow the socket to be located next to the existing power input.

The new supply was tested satisfactorily, but another point started to play-up and will require attention.

The sections in the engine shed/workshop were investigated. One of the feeds must have failed long ago, and been joined to its neighbour as a repair. As we'd run the section wires through to the control panel without knowing, the separate supplies were reinstated, which will make running much better. There are actually 5 separate sections in the workshop siding!

With the electrics in a workable state, thoughts turned to scenic tasks. We had decided that a roadway was required between the workshop on the existing board and the new yard and road. In the way, was the old very steep road, which was cut away. It turned out to be John-made, i.e. very solid - mainly resin and glass fibre, but it yielded to a saw, chisel and mallet.

The platform is a big hole in the centre of the layout, and in Laurence's absence, Stephen had a quick look at the platform edging. Stephen's scratchbuilt brakevan didn't look very wide, so a pair of John's kit-bashed Gakken coaches were tried as they had much wider running boards. We'll get Laurence on that next week.