Wednesday 25th June 2025

Worklist:

Infill roadway and adjacent ground.

Progress wall extension.

Add scenic materials to new sidings.

Upgrade electrostatic grass dispenser.

Stephen mixed a batch of plaster filler and brown paint powder, and applied it to the the road and grass bank extension. The wall extension panel he'd been working on was checked for size and alignment before being glued in place. A triangular wood core was made for the large brick coping and also glued in place. The plasticard brickwork will be added in due course...

Meanwhile, Geoff made a start on the grass/foliage for the new boards. Exactly matching landscaping materials were available in small quantities, so a mixture of old and new were used. 

Geoff has a specific look in mind for the siding, bordering on 'un-passable', but he knows what is passable, so it is realistic. The 'fresh' ballast will also be covered in a wash of 'dirty thinners'.

Geoff also found the electrostatic grass applicator and upgraded it from a battery to transformer power supply. Additional scenic material will be obtained before the next session.

For clarification, the 'Aldershot' exhibition is organised by the Farnham & District MRC at the Alderwood Leisure Centre, Aldershot, on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October 2025. 

(Link to club website)

Wednesday 18th June 2025

Worklist:

Review Geoff's work on the new ground surfaces and paint them.

Adapt the workshop storage frame to the new board depth.

Geoff had completed the paper mache covering to the new scenic areas. It was now hard, allowing us to trim and sand the edges. He then painted the areas with brown powder paint mixed with diluted PVA. Grass and foliage will be added next week.

Meanwhile, Stephen worked on the extension to the wall at the end of the station. The new base panel was sanded to the correct thickness and a piece of 'English garden wall bond' plasticard cut to size. Contact adhesive was used to glue them together. A brick coping and oversailing brick course will be attempted next week.

We then moved on to the storage rack in the workshop. The extended boards now stuck out proud of the frame and prevented the cover screen keeping the dust out. The frame was moved off the wall and timber panels added to enclose the sides and shelves. 

Wednesday 11th June 2025

Worklist:

Set up all of the boards ready for a visit from Chris and Ted, the additional exhibition operating team, who were travelling down to see the progress.

Chris and Ted had only seen the work carried out since the NEC show on the blog, so after a brief description by Geoff, they were let loose on the controls. They seemed impressed with overall progress and everything went well, until they found a dead section on the mainline into the station. One short rail section at the frog was still fed by the point switch and so was ineffective when the point was switched to the siding. A great spot lads! A rail break was later cut and a jumper wire will be fitted in due course.

Ted and Chris getting to know the 'new bits'.

Chris had brought along his latest loco - a mainly 3D-printed 0-4-0. (More details at the bottom of the page). The test run was a success for the chassis and the Kadee couplings.

We then retired to a lovely riverside pub for lunch.

Geoff and Stephen later discussed Geoff's proposal to move the vertical display case forward, in more detail. It would keep the front of the layout flush and simplify reorganising the front drapes. We will look at it in detail in due course, but it seems like a good idea.

Monday 2nd June 2025

Worklist:

Review extension framework for Edwards boards.

Infill voids with foam.

Check ballast from last week.

Design, make and install scenic point equipment for new points.

Geoff had been busy making the extension frame for Edwards as previously described.

While Geoff worked on the previously laid ballast to remove stray 'stones', Stephen started infilling the Edwards framework voids with insulation foam blocks.

The new quarry water panel and how it will fit into the enlarged hole was discussed. A sheet of Perspex was found which would be perfect for the base.

Geoff moved on to the scenic point operation equipment and assessed the options and available fittings. Finally, a manual throw lever was agreed and found for the point in the sidings. However, it was a chunky white metal unit rather than a smaller/neater plastic unit, so Geoff filed away the visually surplus material. Components left over from the station lever frame were found and assembled into a 3 lever frame for the mainline point into the sidings. (1 lever for the frame lock, 1 for the tie-bar and one for the point lock). The latter caused Geoff the biggest problem, as it operates at 90 deg to the tie-bar and required cranks to achieve it. A choice of cranks were discussed and made. The tie-bar lock itself was made from plasticard and fitted in place.

 

Wednesday 28th May 2025

Worklist: Scenery, track ballasting and the Edwards board extensions.

Stephen started work on the scenery, applying plaster coloured with brown powder paint laid on a coat of PVA. He then moved on to the station road extension, infilling voids with foam and making a panel to extend the wall. 

Meanwhile, Geoff sourced wood to make the front extensions for Edwards Yard. Instead of 9mm ply, some offcuts of 9mm MDF came to hand. As another change, rather than a full ladder, the attachments to the existing boards would be bespoke wooden brackets. The shape of the extended 'pond' was also agreed so that the edge profile could be cut out.

When the plaster had dried, we both started laying proprietary ballast. Isopropyl alcohol was sprayed over the ballast which then had diluted PVA dribbled over it. Extra care was taken around the critical areas of the pointwork.

Wednesday 21st May 2025

Worklist:  

Continue with electrics - test all track sections and servos.

Update diagram on control panel.

Track sections were generally ok, and it became a useful exercise to a reinforce our knowledge of the wiring system and track breaks. This was especially true of the area around the signals and the switching for the 'no-mans-land' between the station and Edwards yard. However, the servo test failed 'unusually'. Investigation found that power to the two station-board servos had been taken off the station platform lighting rather than a common supply. Having to turn these lights on before operating the magnets would have been a talking point, but ultimately a 'right nuisance'. This was easily corrected. 

Testing of the uncouplers and sections by 'playing trains' took place, which went well and gave us a good idea of future running operations. Markers for the three magnets will be a priority.

Stephen still had some of the vinyl from previous panel work and made the required additions. At the same time, alterations were made to the existing mainline section to more accurately reflect the section positions. Hopefully, it will all make sense to all operators.

A rewarding days work. What became evident was that Geoff's original assertion that the station needed a siding that could take a whole train of quarry wagons without clogging-up the station area, works well. It does change the overall appearance of the station, hopefully, for the better.

Wednesday 14th May 2025

Worklist: Continue to wire-up the new track and points to the control panel.

Geoff had made a start on the work as a diversion from his "big project", but things weren't going to plan and investigations were required. We had a few initial problems with the section switches and a few un-gapped PCB sleepers on the new points didn't help. Strangely, we found an existing track section that had been modified in connection with the fitting of the signals, which required re-wiring. After correcting the anomalies and completing the wiring, it all slowly fell into place and we were able to successfully test everything.

Wednesday 7th May 2025

Electrics:  

Add outstanding track wires.

Review required switches and check availability: Illuminated, latching, push-button section switches - 3 required and found. Point switches and knobs - 1 required. We didn't have the exact rotary switch used previously, but we found something suitable. Point knob - we had previously used guitar-tuning knobs, but there were none left so another knob was found. Uncoupling servo toggle switches - 3 required and 3 left-overs found.

We added track feed and common-return wires to the new track sections.

The new track layout was sketched on masking tape and the component positions agreed. Holes were drilled and the switches fitted.

We then had to add wires to the loom for the new items.

New wiring loom section being made to add onto the existing loom. (2 more needed for the other boards).

We needed a shell for the new 20-way connector. Geoff discovered that the American company had sub-let the manufacture of the range to a company based in Kiev. Assuming a long wait, he drew and 3D printed his own shell.

Stephen had painted the garage, but it didn't meet Geoff's minimum standard for rust colour authenticity (it's too red). We'll have to see which mellows first the rust or Geoff.....

Wednesday 30th April 2025

Worklist: 

Install 2 server control units.
Complete track feed wiring.

Check plug/sockets/loom capacity for new components.

The fault in the servo programmer had been repaired, requiring just a wire to be resoldered.

The station board was tackled first, which has 2 servos for uncoupling magnets. Positions for the servo controller and voltage regulator unit were agreed. The main accessories power feed (19v DC) was located and a feed taken to the voltage regulator and then to the servo controller position. The servo controller was fixed in place and the servo connector cables fitted. The voltage regulator was adjusted to 11v. Using the programmer, each servo was setup and tested.

The bridge board has 3 servos - 1 point and 2 uncoupling magnets. The same procedure was carried out.

Feeds to track sections were also completed. Fortunately, we were able to accommodate all extra wiring on the existing board connectors. It was quite a long slog, but completing this work was very satisfying and a great relief.

Wednesday 23rd April 2025

Worklist:
New wiring for servos and track feeds.
Review a new building.

Geoff had ordered some Jones plugs to match the existing fittings, which extended the existing main socket to 20-ways. A suitable 'common' track feed was chosen, the new wire routes planned and holes drilled in the board frame to accommodate them all. This often required a right-angle adapter because we forgot to drill holes before the frames were assembled!

The new feed position holes were drilled beside the track and wires soldered in place. 

Geoff then started to run a full test on the servos (points and magnets). This required the new MERG servo controller which had been assembled, but not tested. Unfortunately, this did not operate correctly, so Geoff will have to spend some time on it.

Meanwhile, Stephen made a pair of buffers for the two siding ends. The long siding buffer was fitted.

Stephen had been thinking about the ground behind the coal stage which connects to the access road and a corrugated iron garage had been produced.

It was dropped into place, but it immediately obscured the coal stage, which is a strong feature of the area. However, Geoff thought the idea had potential, so the garage was moved around to different positions. It was then realised that we were looking at the baseboard in the storage racking, at a higher elevation to normal viewing level. With no room on the work table, a full investigation will be carried out at a later date.

Wednesday 16th April 2025

Worklist: 

Fit rail posts to sleeper wall.

Apply coloured plaster to trackside areas.

Trim down/reshape plywood upstand along front of layout.

Apply insulation foam to station board area and apply newspaper strip/PVA surface.

Start extension to sleeper wall.

Fit sleepers to end of siding and fit sub-lengths of rail.

The electrified siding ends at the board joint. The buffers will be installed on the adjacent track section. The lugs on the Peco track that holds the rails was removed from the sleepers without rails, which required the holes under the lugs to be filled.

The road and wall extension needs to be decided. The area behind the coaling stage is still being discussed. Stephen suggested a garage with road access, while Geoff suggested an area to store some of the farm machinery that we have lying in stock boxes.

Once the 'paper-mache' has dried, it will be coated with plaster. Note the short sleeper wall extension.

The storage rack with the three extended boards in place. They stick out a little, but the ripstop curtain still functions normally.