Worsley Dale Garden Railway

[cleanerg6e]

When you put your platform sides together Mick, use a scalpel blade to open out the little holes on the tabs. Just a few twists will do it and using Liquid Poly cement to fix them together is a much easier way of doing it than try to get them to snap together.

Roy.

PS If I got in front of my video camera the lens would probably shatter.

[mick]

Thanks for the tip Roy. I'll see how I get on. I'm not sure when I'll be starting on the platforms because with the weather being pretty settled I thought I'd try to get the outdoor track extended a bit more round past the weather station. It would have been done by now only I had to stop when the rain started and haven't had chance to do it since then. The 'under cover' jobs can always wait until the weather turns again.

I couldn't make up my mind about which platform side to order. At first I was tempted by the masonry ones until I realised they only had printed sides. I thought they would be embossed brick/stonework. I know I could have added plasticard overlays but that would have defeated the whole object. In the end I've gone for the concrete sides which proved easier to get hold of along with the ramp sections. I don't suppose it really matters as I'm not following a prototype location, in fact I just want to get it done and have something running before the winter is upon us.

[mick]

As I intimated earlier this morning I'm taking advantage of the nice weather and I've started extending the outdoor section around the weather station up to the point where the outdoor station halt will be situated. This halt will also signal the end of the double track section and from here it will make its way round the garden as a single line before entering the main station via the rear of the shed.

Forty feet of track has been laid so far from the viaduct round to the weather station and todays work has added another 8 feet to that. The following photo shows where the present track ends and ahead of it the new 8 feet length of baseboard fastened in place and covered with roofing felt. This section of the layout is closest of all to ground level and the curve round the weather station is at a radius of eight feet.

Ahead of the new section of baseboard is just a short section of concrete foundation upon which the next section of baseboard will be laid. It's here where the outdoor station will begin and it's also the start of the downhill slope towards the bottom of the garden. You can see how far I have to go and what I have to navigate around. The outdoor station will be on a gentle curve so that I can extend the border to the left away from the fence and have more width for planting.

[mick]

The base extension has been covered in roofing felt and left under a layer of bricks and blocks overnight in an attempt to ensure it sticks well. If it's okay in the morning I'll trim it to shape, fold over the edges and seal everything ready for track laying. I've still to cut the additional piece of plywood for the remaining length of concrete footing but I've yet to decide on how the base will move forward from here and I'd prefer to keep the plywood lengths as long as possible to reduce the number of joins. It's something I'll have to think about.

After I'd fixed the roofing felt it was time to catch up with the gardening again so it was out with the mower and strimmer. There's also the task of constructing a new wall in front of the patio and a new step onto the lawn beneath which the railway will run within a short tunnel. I've made a start clearing the ground. Had it not been for the wet summer then I'm sure I would have been much further forward with this.

[george356]

I think you are right about the poor weather hindering us, Mick, but despite that we ALL have made progress. 3 months ago I had a bundle of track and a dream, today, well yesterday really, I am running trains.

Sure, I am not as far on as I would have liked to be, but to have trains running at all is a victory in my book. Your layout, when you have got the ends joined and can really run a train out of one portal, around the garden, and back in another portal, will be awesome.

[doublecee]

this time last year..... model rail wasnt even on the radar... it was a distant teen memory. I blame James May's great train race!!!

[mick]

What a beautiful day but even so I've not made a lot of progress today. I've fixed the roofing felt along the 8 feet of additional baseboard I put down yesterday but that's just about the sum of my efforts. The felt is fixed down along the sides using a good coating of adhesive and some staples and then the gap between the felt and the base sealed with bitumen adhesive. That should keep out any moisture from the adjacent ground.

We went out this morning and purchased some fish for the garden pond. The pond has been devoid of any fish since the filter was installed and I thought it was about time that we got hold of some inhabitants before the cooler weather sets in. Once the 3 small Koi were released into their new home I started doing some work around the pond and before I knew it tea time was upon us. Still, there's a few days of sunshine left to get something else done.

[cleanerg6e]

That trackbed is looking good Mick. Have you got a UV filter for your fish pond as I've heard it keeps the green growth down to a minimum. The fish can eat some of it but not all and without a UV filter the water becomes full of green slime. I have too many meat eating birds here especially the Kookaburras which used to stand on the side of my dad's fish pond and wait for a fish to come near the surface and then they'd grab one through the wire mesh. Mind you though water lilies look nice especially when in flower. We have a water lily pond near to where I live and during our 10 year drought it didn't dry up due to an underground stream which feeds it.

Roy.

[mick]

 

cleanerg6e said:

...Have you got a UV filter for your fish pond as I've heard it keeps the green growth down to a minimum...

Yes, the filter has a built-in ultra violet lamp Roy, which does help keep the green algae at bay. Haven't seen much of the fish today as they've decided to stir up all the sediment at the bottom of the pond.

[mick]

Would you believe that during the 2 warmest days we've had for some time I've managed to do no more than lay 2 lengths of flexi track? I know that every little bit helps but this is ridiculous

The reason for my lack of progress is that I've been trying to sort out the garden around the pond and it all needs a bit of planning. The railway has to skirt around the perimeter of the pond at a height of approx 3 feet and so I have to be careful what I put and plant where. There's also the fact that when it rains heavy the surrounding soil has until now been splashing up and into the pond. I'm trying to sort that and create some gravel pathways before we get any more rain, especially now that we have fish in residence.

On the loco front I finally obtained a sound chip for one of my class 33 locos. I've had it for a couple of days now but I haven't yet got round to fitting it. I'm looking forward to hearing what it sounds like.

[chris]

You got more done than me. When there weather is this good I just end up playing with my trains.

[doublecee]

Day started of great, but the weather turned and I was forced to retreat.

[AndyR]

Trains running round ponds look pretty special Mick. It will definitely be worth the effort in the end. I have a large pond, but it is in a different area of the garden and formal, raised and surrounded by paving. Maybe I should dig another in the middle of the railway

[mick]

Not a lot has happened over the past week but how many times have I said that before! I have times where I can't leave it alone and times when I wonder what I'm trying to achieve. I think sometimes it's good to take a break from it otherwise you end up doing something you later wish you hadn't.

From the outset I'd envisaged the layout being entirely DCC sound but I'm beginning to realise the limitations of the current sound chips and find that they're not really doing it for me. I've spent some time fitting one of my class 33s with a sound chip using a bass enhanced speaker in the fuel tank. I first tested the chip using the standard speaker and it sounded dreadful but coupled up to the bass enhanced speaker it was much better. Running inside the shed it sounds okay, not as good as I had hoped it would be but acceptable. However, outside the shed it's barely audible even though it appears to have sufficient volume - the sound just doesn't seem to come across outside and it's disappointing. I've read that the fuel tank is one of the best speaker locations for getting good sound reproduction but I wonder if this applies only to indoor layouts? Perhaps outdoors, especially at ground level, we need the speaker facing upwards, possibly through the fan grill? I'm beginning to wonder if I should spend any more money on sound chips as few of them meet my expectations but the fact that some of them do shows that it is perhaps the quality of the sound itself rather than any ridiculously high expectations I might have.

[doublecee]

Pointing upwards through a grill (to me) sounds like the most directional method, and more prone to the sound getting lost in the ether. In order to work effectivly, sound reacts not only with the air but also surfaces in its path. Fpr sound reproduction, we do all we can to dampen the sound and minimize reflections, especially in the cinema and theater. But in this case, we would actually want those surfaces to work in our favor. Would it be possible to have a downward firing solution? That way the sound would leave the body, hit a hard surface and in effect be less diffuse than just filtering out into the air.

Just guessing.

[jimbob]

Would have to agree with that. I'm not technical but we are used to sound bouncing of walls etc, so in a confined space it sounds louder. Putting a speaker in a loco is a bit like taking a radio out in the garden, close up you can hear it but move more than a few feet away and you need to turn the volume up much more than if you were indoors. So do you face the speaker down so the noise bounces or would it be better up into the body work allowing it to use the body as an amplifier?. A question, but no answer sorry.

[doublecee]

I think mick has come up with quite a dilemma.

We built a cinema in our home in 96, and the money I spent accoustically treating surfaces still makes my eyes water.

Housing is important. Open would be better, as opposed to a fully closed enclosure. Maybe the quality of the actual speaker driver is also in question. I would always favor a more sensitive speaker. However, I have a dcc 9f with sound, a recent commission from youchoos. Im a little worried now that I may have to retro fit a better speaker.

[traingeekboy]

 

mick said:

Not a lot has happened over the past week but how many times have I said that before! I have times where I can't leave it alone and times when I wonder what I'm trying to achieve. I think sometimes it's good to take a break from it otherwise you end up doing something you later wish you hadn't.

Oh boy, how many times have I decided to work hard on the layout with no real mental focus and then later had to tear out entire sections.

Quote

From the outset I'd envisaged the layout being entirely DCC sound but I'm beginning to realise the limitations of the current sound chips and find that they're not really doing it for me. I've spent some time fitting one of my class 33s with a sound chip using a bass enhanced speaker in the fuel tank. I first tested the chip using the standard speaker and it sounded dreadful but coupled up to the bass enhanced speaker it was much better. Running inside the shed it sounds okay, not as good as I had hoped it would be but acceptable. However, outside the shed it's barely audible even though it appears to have sufficient volume - the sound just doesn't seem to come across outside and it's disappointing. I've read that the fuel tank is one of the best speaker locations for getting good sound reproduction but I wonder if this applies only to indoor layouts? Perhaps outdoors, especially at ground level, we need the speaker facing upwards, possibly through the fan grill? I'm beginning to wonder if I should spend any more money on sound chips as few of them meet my expectations but the fact that some of them do shows that it is perhaps the quality of the sound itself rather than any ridiculously high expectations I might have.

The first time you hear sound in a loco it's very exciting. one of the employees at my local shop has a very large layout and he says he's sick of sound in diesels, because it just turns into this racket when you have 10 or more diesels running on a big indoor layout. I think the best effect is to have a shunter with sound because it gives you feed back on what you are doing as you shunt cars and there's a lot of starting and stopping involved.

Years ago I had a friend who made stereo speakers with small speakers glued to the ends of plumbing tubes. It made small speakers reproduce low frequencies. I've always considered having a sound coach with a long tube in it and a decoder. something to utilize the acoustics of a sound chamber to really make things loud. So instead of lots of sound modules you'd only need one in the sound car.

For me it's the train sound of toy trains that makes me happy. All my vintage lima stuff has steel wheels so you can really hear it hissing along the rails on a longer train.

[ba14eagle]

Mick

I am interested (and disappointed) to hear of your unhappiness with the dcc sound for your class 33. Can I ask who's it is? I find placing the speaker, face up in the body is more than adequate for good sound reproduction. The real locos were not very "base" in their output - more "rasping" and sometimes sounding a little asthmatic! Fairly similar to a class 25/26/27. I do agree with the comments regarding too much sound just becoming a "noise". I tend to only have the sound on 2 locos at a time and then not leave them running for too long a period on full chat - this can become especially boring and noisey (especially steam locos). I tend to drive the trains a little more - something I think Griff alluded to, when talking about shunters - this is when sound is at its best I think. For garden railways where the operator wants to relax an denjoy the sight of the train running around the garden, I think sound is unneccesary.

[cleanerg6e]

You once wrote in a reply to me that perhaps we expect too much from tiny speakers and the chips. If you can get a company or an electronic engineer to put sound that YOU have onto a a sound chip then you don't have to settle for what some people sell. I've heard of a local company that will even use the real sounds from the Peter Handford collection. If you can get hold of any of the Peter Hanford sounds on CD they are 100% genuine. Some say that process infringes copyright. It would if you were making 1000 CD's to sell for profit but your only taking a miniscule number of sounds and using them on your own locos. The one thing all locos lack in OO/HO scale is bass and even a bass reflex speaker gives no where near the amount of bass of the real loco be it steam or diesel. So it's all a compromise.

Roy.