Monday 7th April 2024

Worklist: Fit uncoupling magnets and sleeper retaining wall.

Geoff worked on the uncouplers, experimenting with different numbers of magnets. 2 stacks of 3 magnets proved to be the most successful. Getting the correct sideways movement in the opening part of the coupler was adjusted with different sized spacers between the two magnet stacks. Eventually, both uncouplers worked satisfactorily.

Meanwhile, Stephen worked on the sleeper retaining wall. Firstly, an electric file was used to shape the plywood upstand and adjacent ground. Holes for the vertical rail posts were drilled and the sleepers glued in place.

The rail posts will be fitted next week and the adjacent ground blended-in.

Wednesday 2nd April 2024

Worklist: Fit an uncoupling unit. Lay the ground on the bridge extension. Add a sleeper retaining wall.

The original magnet suppliers no longer offered the exact items, so Geoff had rummaged through some boxes for old uncoupler units and selected a couple for the long siding. However, initial/manual testing did not go as expected. The flat rectangular magnets were not consistent - the overall size was ok, but the thickness varied. There was also doubt about the size and material of the central spacer. Lots of investigating and testing took place, but Geoff will experiment further, before next week.

Stephen turned to the bridge extension and applied a layer of plaster, attempting to emulate the texture of the existing ground.

A discussion about the banking around the back of the water tower took place and it was decided that a sloping grass bank just wasn't going to work, so a sleeper retaining wall was agreed. Geoff found a scrap sheet of hardwood and ran-off some sleeper sized strips on the band saw. Taking note of a similar existing wall, some code 70 flat bottom rail was sought and found to become the vertical retaining posts.

Foam cut away for the sleeper retaining wall.

The last section of fence was removed.

Wednesday 26th March 2024

Worklist: Complete stonework on bridge extension. Add scenery to new sidings.

Stephen continued to work on the new stonework. Once completed, the coping stones were glued in place.

Meanwhile Geoff removed half of the fence between the station and the new sidings. The insulation blocks were trimmed to shape and newspaper strips glued down with PVA.

We were surprised how natural the new point and sidings looked once the fence was removed - no longer something happening through a hole in the fence. The final task of the day was to mix some brown paint into the remaining PVA and paint the newspaper (sorry - no photo) , which enhanced the scenery further.

Monday 17th March 2024

Worklist: Progress bridge extension, paint the new track, start forming trackside ground levels.

Stephen was disappointed with the coping stones he'd produced the previous week and decided to remake them. Happy with the new pieces, the plywood bridge parts were glued in place.

The new Slaters coursed stonework was then assessed, but no exact 'match-up' was possible, so the walling was laid in a few strips. Some cutting and carving of stones might be possible to reduce the look of the joint; if not, option 2 is a pier and option three is rambling foliage.

Meanwhile, Geoff mixed some paint and worked his way over all of the new trackwork.

The short siding.

The long siding board, still on the rack.

He then cut up some rigid insulation and started to infill the trackside areas.

The area is coming together nicely. Ballasting next week?

Wednesday 12th March 2025

Worklist:

Fit the point and uncoupler units. Assemble bridge extension parts.

Geoff had been busy making up the MERG units in the comfort of a warm kitchen. There were some differences with the original batch, but they made assembly easier.

Finding spare 3D printed servo holders and bracket-arms for the points and uncouplers wasn't easy and entailed a trip to the loft. Enough for the 2 points and 3 uncouplers were eventually found. Fortunately, Geoff had taken assembly photos which made the job easier.

Holes were drilled for all of the anticipated wire-ways.

The installed servos were then tested with the fine adjustment unit and everything worked beautifully.

Meanwhile, Stephen assembled the 9mm plywood components for the bridge extension that he'd made at home. Adjustments were required, but it all went together quite well.

A batch of coping stones were made and glued in place, together with a ground profile. The siding stops well short of the bridge, so we see the ground rising quite high on the face of the bridge. 

Piers are planned to cover most of the vertical stonework joint. None of the extension pieces will be glued in place until the plastic stone sheeting has been glued on. 

Wednesday 5th March 2024

Worklist: Fit the three siding magnets.

The uncoupling magnets need to come up reasonably close to the underside of the track, so holes are required in the plywood base. The position of the magnets was carefully assessed to suit operations and avoid any framework underneath. 4 holes were drilled in the corners, then a small handsaw was used on the sides, before cleaning up using an electric file. 

The printed circuit board track is laid on thin cork, but as the Peco track sleepers are thicker than the printed circuit board track, it is laid directly on the plywood base. When everything was aligned, the Peco track was pinned down.

Thin card squares were slipped under the track where there were magnet holes. This will support the ballast which is laid later.

The completed new trackwork

The long siding has been given two uncouplers in case something needs to be left at the very end. Note: the Peco 0-16.5 Flexitrack sleepers were separated and moved to a more realistic spacing. 

Geoff is ordering more servos for the points and uncouplers and had purchased two of the 4-servo Merg controllers, which he will assemble in due course. Stephen had purchased more Slaters coursed stone plastic sheeting and will make a mock-up structure to extend the bridge over the new front board unit.

We were pleased to hear this week that Chris and Ted, who helped to operate Worton Court at the Birmingham NEC show in 2024, are available for the Aldershot show in October 11/12 2025. It will be great to have them on-board again.

Farnham MRC show at Aldershot

Monday 24th February 2025

Geoff had been going through his 'stock' of various 3D printed components for the point motors and magnetic uncouplers, and decided we needed to check which designs were the most suitable for the new board units. The arrangement of neodymium magnets in particular needed to be confirmed. The main board was up-ended on the bench and a survey carried out. 

Point motor

A rather messily modified uncoupler

We then went straight into fitting the new mainline point. To match the existing track 'underlay' (make unknown) meant 3 layers of thin card rather than the thin cork we had anticipated.

The final position of the point showed that more of the scenery peninsula needed to be removed and the big belt sander had to be used to trim the plywood edges down.

Thin cork underlay was glued down and the refurbished point fitted in the siding area.

An old length of Peco O-16.5 flexitrack, with sleepers respaced, was used for the short siding.

Wednesday 19th February 2025

Worklist:

Start work on the new point cross-over.

After double checking the position of the new point, Geoff's first job was to cut the ends of the insitu point with a Dremel and cutting disk. Stephen then carefully removed the redundant point parts and the old track bed down to the chipboard base.

Matching rail was sourced from two old yard lengths of track. However, it was discovered that both had 1 side of nickel silver and 1 side of steel rail. Geoff's second job was to unsolder the NS rails for reuse.

With the new point offered into place, the unwanted areas of mounding and foliage were marked and removed. This also involved removal of some of the ply upstand.

Geoff constantly checked the track clearances to maintain their 'legality'.

The point on the extension board is located close to the existing board edge to allow the sidings to deviate from parallel to the existing trackwork, for visual interest. The final position will be agreed in due course. (We have a couple of lengths of Peco NG flexitrack to play with).

Wiring/electrics was also discussed. New track sections were straight forward. 

Existing board: 1 new point motor. 

New front extension boards: 1 new point motor and 3 uncoupling magnets across the 2 new boards (all servo controlled). Instead of buying a MERG master servo controller, Geoff suggested 2 of the new controllers (one on each board). These smaller/cheaper units that control 4 servos and would appear to suit our situation well. Geoff will investigate further. Plugs and sockets for local wiring and switches for the control panel will also be addressed in due course.

Wednesday 12th February 2025

Geoff had been busy making one of the two new points required and this was reviewed insitu, together with an old leftover point. We'll have to make sure the point 'motor' can be accommodated on the extension, but Geoff is happy it will work. We also considered the magnetic uncouplers - one for the short siding, but probably two for the long siding - TBA.

Next up was trimming the edges of the station board extension. After a long discussion, a decision was made, pencil lines applied and the excess jig-sawed away.

The road area is assumed to slope down further...

...and the route of the disused siding was accommodated at the other end. There are still lots of details to be resolved, but the basics are now there.

Platform board: The fence will be removed in due course, so there is a bit of scope for the alignment on the main siding. Geoff was keen not to just make it parallel, and after confirming the point end, soon had a couple of ideas brewing. An 'S' line was interesting, but we settled on a diagonal alignment as it offered options to accommodate the higher ground on the existing board which may also have to be reshaped. The face against the existing boards was marked just below scenery level and cut away. A retaining wall will be built around the base of the water tower. The outside face was cut down to a notional gently sloping line. 

 

The short head shunt length was fixed and the inner upstand cut down to match the existing ground.

The end still needs resolving, but we'll cross that bridge in due course (!!!).