mick Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 We're off! Great seeing some progress and a nice set of accompanying photographs illustrating the work. The station's are a good idea - wish I'd decided to add one at the beginning too rather than trying to decide where to put one now. With the vegetable plot and greenhouse recently added I'm fast running out of a suitable location. Looking forward to seeing the track go down and some ballast added. The curve round the back of the shrubs is going to make a decent spot for watching trains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 By amazing coincidence or planning, whichever way you want to look at it , the paving blocks are just the right width to take a double track, so we've been careful to make sure at least an inch of soil on both sides of the blocks is flat to allow for carriage overhang. The next stage is to dig out the trackbed through the soil on the back right of the garden to prep for the tunnel etc - the base will likely be half-width paving slabs rather than blocks as it will be naturally wider and then a block wall side, all hidden by tunnel mouths and retaining walls, with a cutting either side. We'll still pondering on the length of the tunnel and what type of 'ceiling' to give it. The station on the left wall will help break up a long straight - with a platform either side the track will have to curve in and back out again. It's also about scenery - the fabulous but delicate Skaledale footbridge will be here, and will be less likely to get accidentally damaged than up the back on the main town scene. Add a station building or two and couple of country cottages and we've got ourselves a little country halt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 An examination of the solar lights available in our local 99p Stores reveals a very basic solar panel, capacative charging battery, and a diode attached to an LED with it's normal 1" prongs still attached. This is good news! I can cut this halfway down and extend the length with wires. the panel and charging unit can be left in it's casing then mounted onto a thick bit of board, the underside boxed in and then mounted at the top of the garden fence. Figuring the country halt will have 5 or 6 buildings, I could build an array panel to mount the panels on, so it's one single case instead of half a dozen, and use a fully wired scart cable (minus the connectors) to run down the wall and across to the back of the town (i'm thinking a non-illuminated building like a shed or garage would be good to split the wiring back out to the individual buildings) - far sturdier and longer lasting than individual tiny wires all the way up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I'm always fascinated by the way some people can grasp the basics of electronics. I don't understand the difference between an ohm and an amp or a watt and a wotsit I can solder wires to the tracks (in my own way that is) and provided I adhere to the rule of wiring each side in different coloured wires so that I can keep them isolated from each other as and when necessary, then I'm fine, but that's about my limit. Perhaps I'll understand the concept behind it once I see how it all fits together but using the inners of a solar powered light to illuminate your buildings sounds like a brilliant idea to me and at 99p a throw then it's also a bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 1, 2011 Author Share Posted September 1, 2011 Computer engineer by nature and trade, so it comes naturally! Jaybee's wifey popped to pick half a dozen up today, so next time i'm over there i'll be taking measurements and getting handy with my wood, so to speak. I noticed that on (real) train tracks these days you see orangey coloured tubing running under the rails between sleepers to carry wiring - this spurred the idea to colour co-ordinate the two feed wires in black and orange, so the orange feed wire becomes a scenic item in itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 While the weather today is slightly ominous, the other necessary conditions are perfect for garden work - I'm off work, jaybee is off work, my wife is working and jaybee's wife is happy for us to continue construction (clearly the most important factor). Jaybee yesterday started work on clearing through the cutting and tunnel path, and laid the third slab at the back for the major town area: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040421.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040423.jpg' alt='URL>'> Today, he carried on with this while i painted up the remainder of the trackbed as far as had prepared so far, including the station area on the left side: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040426.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040425.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040429.jpg' alt='URL>'> We found the brickwork near the garage was conveniently the right level, and the old pond walling ended in just the right place, having carried out our scientific curve measurement technique of laying blocks and going "yep, that looks alright" http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040428.jpg' alt='URL>'> It also got us thinking about a possible industry, and will be giving a lot of thought to the possibility of laying the track coming out of the town ready prepared for a future extension to the railway around the front of the tunnel area to a coal mine or similar. With lunchtime rapidly approaching, we turned our attention to the bottom of the garden, and got the blocks laid for the turn here - rather than going behind the bush we've decided to run it in front, but curve in slightly to accommodate a better turn (translation: it would have been a sod to clean and less off-wall construction is needed by curving across the dirt): http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040430.jpg' alt='URL>'> After lunch, weather permitting, we'll get the gaps filled in with cement, and we're largely at a standstill while we wait for that to set so we're going to (hopefully) get a bit of platform and some track laid down. Phew! What a day! Good fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 Well this afternoon brought lots of rain, so we soldered up the joints on a couple of lengths of flextrack ready for laying - a small gap was left to allow for a little heat expansion, and the joint was then soldered: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040435.jpg' alt='URL>'> Then the rain stopped! So we headed out and quickly laid down the two sections of track, along with an extra metre, all glued in place and clamped 'appropriately'. We used Gorilla glue, so it will be interesting to see how well it has held when the bricks come off later tomorrow.... http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/Garden%20Railway/P1040437.jpg' alt='URL>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ba14eagle Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Guys, this might be a stupid question, but what does the blob of solder do between the 2 lengths of track If it bridges the gap between the 2 rail ends, surely it will stop the rails expanding or have I missed something. Good luck if you are planning on using Hornby Skaledale platform pieces I bought a load to construct my platforms, but I must say it really is rubbish You try and get straight edges - you end up with big gaps in the joins. Unless your base is absolutely perfectly flat, its a nightmare and very expensive to boot. I am seriously thinking of putting mine on ebay and buying the (equally expensive) plastic platform that Hornby makes - at least, from experience, I know it goes together easily, quickly and produces reasonable results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 4, 2011 Author Share Posted September 4, 2011 The solder maintains connectivity - as the track expands so will the solder, it's all metal, so will expand together and settle in nicely. it's also mostly fixed at the base of the track where the metal is at it's thinnest and therefore least expandable To be fair, unless the temperature hits 40 degrees celcius or above, which is damn unlikely, the track shouldn't expand anyway! Any gaps we end up with from the Skaledale platforms can be filled with a resin filler and painted to match - from past experience even on a perfectly flat surface they're not 100% square!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 For maintaining electrical continuity the soldered join at the fishplate would prove ideal but I too feel that it's not going to allow the rails to expand sufficiently and I would expect it to cause problems eventually. As the rails expand they'll close any gap previously left above the fishplates so in effect you'll need the solder to contract in order to allow that to happen. In addition, I think you'll find that you'll experience rail expansion at somewhat less than 40 degrees and you'll also experience rail contraction during the colder months which may possibly break the soldered joint. You really need a flexible joint between the rails such as a short length of bonding wire and not a permanently soldered one. Can't offer any advice regarding the Skaledale platforms but there's bound to be some difference in finished size due to the casting process. Have you considered a cast (concrete/mortar) platform? Some good progress made judging by the photographs. Should be something runnning there soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Have to agree, soldering the rail joints is going to cause you problems, especially on the sunnier parts of your railway and as Mick says the rails will contract considerably in the colder months. Hope you don't mind me saying but that soldered joint doesn't look all that good either! Did you clean the metal with a glass fibre pen or anything before you soldered? As for platforms I've used the cheaper Hornby plastic platform sections. They fit together quite neatly and you can get them quite cheap on eBay and the like. Good work with the rest of the railway, hope the glue works! Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 Nope soldered straight on - the solder took straight away, it's just my soldering skills that make it look bad, may have used a bit too much lol We'll keep an eye on it and if it does start causing problems then we'll bond the individual tracks. It's good to make progress, and we're looking to carry on at the earliest available opportunity! We've been thinking about block sections a lot, and last night i made a block plan to assist with wiring and to also help with running etc, so some insulated fishplates are going to be ordered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I have to agree, that looks like a cold solder joint. I bet if you tap it with a screw driver the solder will fall right off. Clean everything first. I use alcohol for small parts. Even finger oil is bad. Apply liquid flux to make the solder flow well and heat transmit properly. I use lots of flux no being shy here. My favorite is the brown paste, but all they had last time I was in a store was this blue liquid stuff. Heat things well and you'll see the solder flow into the joint. Keep a wet sponge handy to wipe your iron on and then flux and coat the tip with solder so it is well tinned. Your iron should look shiny silver when hot. You should do a bunch of test pieces till you get it right then go back to the layout and redo. Looks like the railway is moving along well. Good job guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
traingeekboy Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 For maintaining electrical continuity the soldered join at the fishplate would prove ideal but I too feel that it's not going to allow the rails to expand sufficiently and I would expect it to cause problems eventually. As the rails expand they'll close any gap previously left above the fishplates so in effect you'll need the solder to contract in order to allow that to happen. In addition, I think you'll find that you'll experience rail expansion at somewhat less than 40 degrees and you'll also experience rail contraction during the colder months which may possibly break the soldered joint. You really need a flexible joint between the rails such as a short length of bonding wire and not a permanently soldered one. Can't offer any advice regarding the Skaledale platforms but there's bound to be some difference in finished size due to the casting process. Have you considered a cast (concrete/mortar) platform? Some good progress made judging by the photographs. Should be something runnning there soon! I was about to make the same comment, but Mick got it right. I've seen pictures of indoor layouts where a rail popped off the sleepers because of expansion along a very long section. In fact here in desert places the real railroads sometimes do that since it's all welded track and becomes miles long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 I bow to the experience of you guys - i have been given dodgy info...... learning is half the fun of taking the indoor hobby outdoors We'll keep watch and re-do as necessary. Jaybee texted earlier to let me know the gorilla glue has done it's job well, with two to three areas of each track length secured with it, depending on the curves etc. Once ballasted the small bits of expanded glue will be covered nicely, so next trip out we'll be laying more track as well as continuing the landscaping! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 I'm surprised that we don't have a thread on the subject of track bonding... so I've just started one. http://www.selbygardenrailway.co.uk/sgrforum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=248 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Another sunday, another sunny day, so we've got together and carried on with some construction! First things first, we examined the laid track to check on the effectiveness of the gorilla glue, and it has to be said, top stuff!! Having been left in position with no clamping for the last two weeks, it has stuck fast and not moved one bit. Great news and a slight boost to the confidence of building outdoors on concrete! http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040445.jpg' alt='URL>'> This morning's work has seen the tunnel area completely dug out and levelled. We laid the slabs and blocks in place to check the levels and the angle of descent down to the garage end, which didn't look too bad: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040447.jpg' alt='URL>'> So we went ahead and laid them, and put the tunnel wall in place ready for concreting securely, possibly this afternoon if there is enough cement left! http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040449.jpg' alt='URL>'> That was our morning.... this afternoon's plan is to do some more cementing, as the section near the patio through the soil was laid but with a couple of chunky gaps to fill, any cememt left over will be used on the forementioned tunnel. Jaybee picked up tunnel mouth and retaining walls yesterday, so even if we can't secure them in place we'll be forced to try them to make sure they, errr, fit. Yes, fit. nothing to do with wanting to see how it looks before we've finished building at all. We also plan on laying another couple of metres of track. On a side note, as we've started track laying, my thoughts turned to block sections and the eventual computer control. With the words 'get it right first time' ringing in my head, i set about coming up with a block section diagram, so we'd be able to put insulating fishplates in the relevant positions and label up all wiring ready for attaching to the computer: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/BlockSections.jpg' alt='URL>'> As always, comments and thoughts welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzanoid Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Lunch clearly had some rocket fuel in, as this afternoon we've achieved A LOT. We did of course try the tunnel mouth in place to see how it looked: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040450.jpg' alt='URL>'> Then using the gorilla glue, since we had ran out of cement, fixed the tunnel walls in place and laid the tiles loose on top: http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040452.jpg' alt='URL>'> And, to cap the day off, we laid 3 metres of double track and an extra metre of single track - because of the tightness of the curves up behind the shrubs we realised we would have to lay the tracks one at a time, so we laid a piece on the outer ring first. Just as a note, by tight curves i mean tight for glueing, not tight for the trains! http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040457.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040456.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040459.jpg' alt='URL>'> Gorilla glue is great.... when it dries out, it leaves a foamy mess like below, but any foam not holding any surfaces together can be easily picked off like polystyrene. http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040460.jpg' alt='URL>'> And to finish off, a couple of arty shots! http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040454.jpg' alt='URL>'> http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i213/bazzanoid/P1040458.jpg' alt='URL>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Jeeezzzzz! I signed in to comment on your lunchtime post and find a whole lot more has been added in a follow-up post this evening - you guys are certainly cracking on! I have to say it's all looking very nice and as I mentioned in a previous post, I think that shot of the track curving round into the shrubs is going to make a great place for capturing photos and videos - especially once the track has been ballasted and nature has taken its course a little. The tunnel looks super and the roof tiles are a great idea - they really interlock well. I was a little apprehensive about your plans for a ground-level layout but it looks really fine and it's going to blend in to the surroundings much better than mine currently does. Keep up the great work and the welcomed posts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanR Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Great work guys and an excellent series of photos too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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