Wednesday 27th November

Worklist:
New cassette socket
Track laying
Dig out the quarry

Back to three again and a good, productive session it was. Laurence continued with the cassette connector, which was finally completed after a few tweaks/adjustments. At the same time, Stephen dismantled the electrical feeds from the existing sockets, leaving the other ends connected to the 8-way socket underneath. He then added another pair of wires for the new cassette connector. We still need to design a switch and indicator unit for the three roads.

Geoff fitted a diagonal brace in the quarry aperture he'd formed the previous week. He then cut out the hole for the other half of the quarry. Stephen suggested that having the board joint through the centre of the lake wasn't ideal, but the shape of the perimeter did lend itself perfectly to having a single, slide-in water surface piece. Although not immediately accepted, the idea with elevated to the status of "worth looking into".

When Laurence had completed the connector, he supervised Geoff fitting it. 

Stephen prepared a section of track to complete the Mason's yard trackwork, which Geoff also fitted. 

The absence of track in the engine shed was now evident, and a discussion ensued about pits. Geoff drew cross-sections of an ash pit and a longer and wider inspection pit. It was agreed that an inspection pit would be employed in the engine shed, with a short ash pit between the shed and the adjacent point. Construction and dimensional information is now required so that the pits, including the rail support steelwork can be made. 

We were very happy with the look of the two new exhibition boards. As we now had end-to-end track, it was decided to try and have a running session next week, although a lot of temporary electrical jumpers would be required. Or, as Stephen suggested, make some battery loco's.....

Wednesday 20th November

Worklist:
New cassette socket
Track laying
Dig out a quarry

Stephen tied up with builders this week, so just Geoff and Laurence. Laurence continued to make the connection unit for the mason's yard track into the fiddleyard.

Geoff laid some more track in the masons yard siding ...

... before moving on to cut out the quarry.

Some reinforcement on the corner.

Wednesday 13th November

Worklist:
Continue laying track.

A cold morning, but we were nearing the end of track laying. First, we set up the boards required for the final push. Boards #5 & #6 (new exhibition extension boards) and the fiddleyard were laid out down the centre of the workshop to provide maximum access. The fiddleyard was required to provide the location of rails running onto it. The black box on the edge of the fiddleyard containing the track isolation switches and LED indicators was unscrewed. This is now in the way of the new track running through the masons workshop that will allow hidden full/empty wagon exchanges. A new switching unit or system will need to be designed and fabricated in due course.

At this point, Laurence took on the task of making another cassette 'socket' for the new track and went off to find the materials from the 'left-overs' box.

Geoff continued with track laying, initially tackling the crossovers at board joints. Stephen got on with laying the rest of the cork underlay, going on to laying the quarry track and then assisting Geoff.

 

Above - A PCB strip anchoring the ends of track on board #6 abutting fiddleyard cassette socket.

Below - The Masons yard point ended up close to the board joint. The rail-ends had to be trimmed with a Dremel and separating disk before being soldered to brass screws at the joint. Never a good idea to abut rails on a joint, but the flexitrack beyond was successfully shaped and secured.

Above - The catch point siding for the engine shed on the left should be just long enough for a small loco.

Below - the engine shed track is still being decided. We're keen to have a pit, so this will be fabricated as a complete unit and a hole cut in the baseboard before installation.

Hidden quarry line on the left, the Masons yard line awaiting track (and a cassette socket) in the centre and the mainline on the right. The sexy little curves in the middle go around the edge of a flooded quarry, the hole for which has yet to be 'dug'.

We're close to running something all the way around!



It was a cold morning...

Wednesday 6th November

Worklist:
Modify fixtures between boards #5 & #6.
Continue laying track.

An abnormally cerebral week for the three of us with the morning spent modifying the fixings on the last two boards, but in the afternoon we tackled the the subject of the electrics.

When bringing together boards 5 & 6 (engine shed and masons yard) in order to fit tee-nuts, it was noticed that the bolt hole and locating pin positions on the 'inside' clashed with a proposed cut-out in the board edge that would become the banks of a flooded quarry. Even paring the space for the water to a minimum did not work, so the decision was made to move the fixings further in-board. The locator pin/socket had knurled casings which had been wood-glued in. These were tapped out and re-fitted in new holes. Likewise, new holes for the bolts were drilled and tee-nuts fitted.

The boards were temporarily laid across the racking legs and track laying continued. While Geoff fitted the final point on board 5, which had the cork underlay already fitted, Stephen transferred the salient track setting-out information to board 6, to show the line for the cork underlay.

Lunch intervened before we could get the cork underlay fitted, and we retired indoors. Still at the dining table, Stephen presented a layout showing the trackwork indicated as two rails, to aid scheme development. He also had two options for electrical connections and hence control options for the junction between the main station and the satellite area, each of which would have its own control panel and operator. Being the first time the matter had been discussed in earnest, voices were occasionally raised as different scenarios and solutions were thrashed out, but soon two main options were derived:-

A) Create a change-over area where a whole train could be sent, held and then collected by the other operator. (Previously identified as boards 2 & 3). The need for some additional switching to facilitate the handovers became obvious, but the physical nature and location of the switches was another matter, hence Stephens idea of small switch boxes on long leads, that could be fitted in different positions (with a bit of Velcro) for on-going trials.

This did not take into account any consideration regarding how the sections on the two new boards would be handled in terms of through trains and local shunting when in an exhibition format. This lead to further discussions which in turn prompted scheme B.

B) Have a single electrical break between boards 2 & 3. Each panel could control tracks up to the break. The Local panel would employ 3-position rotary switches to determine Main, Off or Local control of each section (As used on the original Cottesmore layout). The Main controller could then run trains right through to the fiddle yard whilst the Local panel could shunt in the masons yard or engine shed.

Another complication was the fact that operation in the workshop with all of the intervening boards was a different scenario to an exhibition, where both panels would be next to each other. The second solution worked perfectly for both workshop and exhibition situations.

The meeting finished amicably and with interest in refining a solution honed for the next meeting.