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.

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.