Nothing positive to report this week either. We spent the afternoon tracing wires across the undersides of the two boards and through the loom. Progress was made, but we don't have a complete solution yet.
Wednesday 10th December 2025
Unfortunately, this week, there is nothing 'interesting' to display as we continued to investigate the existing track sections and wiring within the crossover, in order to bring it in-line with the other points on the layout. This was made a bit more difficult as the crossover spans two boards and links have to be used.
A new track break was cut and some repairs were undertaken, but it was a frustrating session and the crossover is still not functioning fully.
Wednesday 3rd December 2025
Other commitments prevented the previous weeks session taking place, but we were ready for this week!
Continuing with the crossover alterations and new switching, Geoff worked on the second frog and had completed it in no time.
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Attention turned to the control panel switching. At present, there are 4 rotary switches, (M3-4, M5-6, M7-8 and M9-10) one for each point motor. The idea was to replace these with one of our normal multi-way switches, wired to facilitate the required three positions. Stephen found an old switch and cleaned it up. This was then fitted into the centre of the existing 4 switches to allow wires to be re-arranged.
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| The four central switches will be replaced by a 12-way switch like the white one on the left. |
Stephen fitted the new switch centrally between the 4 existing switches. The future point routes will be Centre = both tracks parallel, \ diagonally sloping left and / diagonally sloping right. Temporarily, the white bar will be extended across the whole top of the knob, but a new, larger knob will, no doubt, be made in due course. We'll see how things look once it is in operating.
Stephen had tried to work out how the switch wiring would be altered, but soon stopped when a headache developed. However, it did take Geoff quite a few attempts, but the process Geoff used was fascinating and educational and required a chart to assess the functions. The wiring was actually far simpler than we both expected!
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| How the cross-over rails are electrified and the 'simple' switch wiring. |
We had run out of time, so the actual switch rewiring will take place next week.
Wednesday 19th November 2025
Progress 'normalising' the diamond crossover.
The first job was to cut away the insulating material in the two frogs, which a disc cutter in the right hands made short work of. Various pieces of NS rail laid upside-down were trialled to fill the gap and create the new frog. These will be filed down to the correct shape in due course.
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| Insulation removed (left) and frog rebuilt (right). |
Geoff had worked out that we only required one more wire between the boards and the control panel to complete the new switch wiring. Fortunately, the 20-way socket on the board had a single spare pin and with the help of a record drawing/schedule, it was relatively easy to add the wire.
The rewiring of the crossover is to suit the future switching arrangement designed by Geoff. A three position rotary switch on the control panel will enable:
Position 1. Diagonal right to left track route.
Position 2. Middle, straight through running on both front and rear tracks.
Position 3. Diagonal left to right track route.
Wednesday 12th November 2025
Today, we started to modify Johns points, which started with a discussion about the problems and the solutions.
Issues:
1. Modification: The solid metal tie bar is silver soldered to the blade rails, which might be difficult to separate, but we need the blades for rebuilding the point.
2. Operation: The blades are not electrically separated and are also linked to the frog as a single unit. Dismantle blade/frog unit retaining blades for re-use.
3. Bond diamond cross-over frog rails together.
The main operating issue is that when switching john's points, a short circuit usually occurs, which manifests itself as a track power outage and meaning any moving loco stops momentarily. Although there is now a 50/50 mix of old and new points on John's two original boards, operators have to learn to ensure loco's are stationary before changing points in this location. This is not a major issue at present, but if we decide to try operating with a DCC system, there would be a much longer delay to normal power while the controller resets itself, which would not be desirable.
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| John's configuration |
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'Normal' configuration on all other boards |
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| Cutting the blades unit to allow for its removal and to form the electrical separation required. |
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| Unsoldering the solid tie bar for reusing the blades. |
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| The cleaned-up point ready for reassembly. |
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| The blades were soldered to pivot pins in the new sleeper tie bar. These reduce the stress on the printed circuit board as the blades move. |
Wednesday 5th November 2025
Another quiet session this week. Stephen had discovered a rake of 3 x 2-plank wagons with stone loads in a box in his workshop. It transpired that they were from the most recent 3D printed chassis set that Geoff produced. We had Geoff's three in operation at the last show and could have had a whole train of them. The loads will need to be stained first.
On an allied subject, Stephen noticed the semi-transparent box with the tea-stained blocks in looked a bit odd. On opening, black mould was growing on the blocks! They will be thoroughly dried and the mould sanded off, or the other way around.
Finally, we got around to discussing what we should do next on Wednesdays. Whilst options generally were not limited, something for the layout should come first. Another board/diorama? The estate quarry? A single board (for now?). We threw a few ideas around. Maybe too soon?
On a tangent, Geoff had offered to explain DCC to Stephen in detail, and use the layout as the testing area. However, the main station, and Johns pointwork in particular, had a John-ism that ruled this out. The tie bars were made of solid metal (un-gapped) and were silver-soldered to the blades, which caused momentary short circuits as the points were changed. This caused a minor break in the power supply and paused any loco that was moving at the time. The 'temporary' solution was to keep all loco's stationary when changing the station points. There was also a diamond crossing with insulated frogs, which caused a problem. Both of these issues had ready solutions, which will be tackled in the forthcoming weeks.
Wednesday 29th October 2025
It was all about plugs and sockets this week. At the recent Farnham show, we had experienced an occasional interruption to the track feed and the controller DIN plug/socket on the main control panel was deemed to be the culprit. Geoff proposed replacing the DIN units for 4 pin XLR units, which had been used for the power supplies. These were ordered and had arrived in the week and so changing them all over took place.
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| The substantial XLR plugs and sockets |
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| The old DIN plug on one of the 5 controllers. |
There were 2 sockets for the panels and 5 plugs, 1 for each controller. It took the whole session, but they will be well worth the time and money.
Wednesday 22nd October 2025
Finish installing the replacement uncoupling magnet in the platform.
This was a permanent magnet that has become a nuisance as it regularly uncouples trains running over it rather than when the train stops and backs-up.
The new magnet frame had been printed and assembled.
The unit was then screwed into place and tested for the correct amount of movement.
Following the recent exhibition, there were a lot of questions asked by the public, which is always nice. However, sometimes we didn’t have enough time to answer properly or in enough detail, so we are investigating the provision of ‘Viewing Notes’ on the blog so that they can be accessed on a phone. Sample items have been added for testing. We envisage a viewer accessing the blog using the existing graphical link on the layout front and then accessing the item relevant to where they are along the layout.
Some are informative and some are to encourage the viewer to look at or into something to appreciate more of the layout. The topics are on the right hand panel of the blog.
Wednesday 15th October 2025
The post exhibition meeting means unpacking and stowing away. The back-to-back board units were separated, checked for damage and put away. Everything else was consigned to its usual place.
The wooden frame unit (AA-BB) was assembled to form the base for the workshop centre table. As there was a minor delay when assembling the unit at Farnham, the legs were given additional markings to ensure it goes together smoothly next time.
Geoff offered an idea for the next project. The fixed uncoupling magnet at the end of the main platform (Fiddleyard end) had been causing trains to be split when not required, which annoyed him greatly. The station board was up-ended, the area assessed and the fixed magnet removed.
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| Standard fixed magnet unit... |
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| ...And the hole it came out of, tight to the timber frame. |
Geoff confirmed that there was space for a hinged unit and set about finding a spare. However, it was then noted that none of the styles made to date would fit in the location due to its close proximity to the board frame. A new unit needed to be designed and 3D printed.
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| Geoff about to modify a standard unit. |
Once the new design was completed, the old filament printer needed to be set up, primed and set in motion printing the new bracket. We returned to the workshop and worked out what wiring was required and where to route it. 2 new signal wires were laid from the magnet position, through the loom, to the point switching connectors on the control panel. The now standard micro toggle switch was used. They tested fine.
With the session ended on a successful installation, Stephen decided to take some homework home. The large stone block loads were ok, but the crushed material from, supposedly, the same quarry were slightly tinged which Stephen decided to colour the 'sandstone' blocks.
After an afternoon cuppa, the teapot leas were poured into a dish and a few stone blocks dunked in the liquid. As the colour appeared to be suitable, the rest were coloured too. Three of the larger stone did not take on the same colour depth as the smaller stones, possibly due to a slightly different mix? Maybe a little PVA? If they are not suitable, some more can easily be cast to match the rest.
Farnham Show - 11-12 October 2025
On the Friday morning, Geoff and Stephen loaded their cars and drove to Farnham. Photo records of previous shows helped, but some modifications were required, and new record photos taken! Note two of the boards stacked vertically in their travelling frame.
The first stop was our hotel to book-in and meet with Ted, our guest operator, and have a cuppa! The school venue was undergoing serious work on a new building and access/parking had been fluid in the run-up to the event, but on the day, it worked out very well. Good access to our space meant unloading was 'short and simple' so the layout set-up went smoothly. We were amazed how much space was in front of us, an excellent working and viewing environment.
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A new timber wall, part of the full-length 3" front extension, which did get used and was very handy on occasions. It also allowed stock to be displayed closer to the viewers. |
Geoff had cut the duvet into 4 pieces, for ease of putting it over layout. However, as we wrestled with how to install it without crushing the scenery, a passer-by suggested we hang it over the fascia/lighting frame, which worked perfectly. Why didn't we think of that?
As there was good access to the storage area (fiddle yard), this view was readily available. It shows the three holes into the fiddle yard. Left: the quarry line, Centre: the route to the rear yard of Edwards factory and Right: the mainline, connecting to the 'rest of the world'. The cassettes are aluminium angles on an MDF base and have plug-in end caps for safety. They can be stored in the fiddleyard or moved to a separate table. Empty trains can be set up ready to go, saving time. Many just get moved from one portal to another!
It was an excellently organised and run show. We had a great time and received more enquiries for other shows, which we will consider. There was a lot of attention from a video team who will let us know when it's available on YouTube. It was also the railway clubs 50th Exhibition and they have already created a celebratory video of the show: Farnham show 2025 video.
Finally, our thanks go to Ted, who without his help we might not have been able to attend. He definitely eased the strain of a 2-day show.
And, of course, we wish Chris a speedy recovery and look forward to him joining us for a running session and hopefully, a future show.
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