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Camdale layout


aussietmrail
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Was looking at the latest pics of the points and they had to be changed, just didn't look right, here are two pics of the change, heaps better and can access both tracks from the inner main line track, was going to go back to a cross over and came up with this idea, wow.

Haven't soldered in those brass strips yet will Tuesday afternoon.

Tony from cold down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

 

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The fiber glass brass strips were cut and soldered in place, drilling the holes and this time using a countersunk bit o countersunk the holes for the screws, much better way, very happy with the out come, after cutting the track pulled the modules apart and joined them up again, wow lined up perfectly. 

The idea with using dowels in stead of bolts has paid off as well, only need to get on my knees to plug up the wires, one day I will come up not needing to do that at all, will do a test run on the curved and smaller straight sections first, doing away with plugs, like the slot car track .

I am looking at using a switch you normally would use on lift out bridges. 

Breaking news, my friend has finished wiring up the control panel pic it up this afternoon.

The two modules are free , the last pic, a close up of the  brass pates with a cut grove to stop the shorting , big day on Sunday be setting up all the decking t start painting and Lying track, not far away now.

 

Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

 

 

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Hi Deano, thanks yes will be adding some building, hopping to model a branch line with small town , got a lot of kits from my late Uncles railway collection and of course my version of  New Orleans. I am not sure if I will landscape the spiral will wait till the spiral is built,  planning a large hill for the curve before the bridge approach  want to  put a castle on top of the hill and possible cable car, look good, that be down the track, also be painting on PDF board a city scene on the back of the house, will go to art classes for that project.

Heading over to the post I have in the thread  at the Planning stage, my mate finished wiring up my DC control plane, WOW just pure awesome, what a job he, no way I could of done the same.

Yes getting close even more now with the panel done out the way, Sunday I be setting up all the modules, curved and straight decking to see how it will all sit and begin joining up the decking to level them, fun begins nailing the track down and the bus wiring never ending.

It was dam cold today, 1 degree it dropped down to, much the same for the first day of winter and Jack Frost will pay us a visit, the end of the green grass .

On a high, tony from very cold down under keeping on moving a head

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Wow, decking for the layout is down worked out well no need to buy any more ply for decking, but need to buy some ply off cuts to strengthen the curved sections to stop them from bowing in the middle and trains from coming off when derailing, as what happened with my son's Thomas the tank engine when test running it last week, wasn't happy camper.

I ran out of time and it was starting to get cold in the afternoon in setting up all of the spiral , will leave that to when I start  joining up the curves of the spiral , be the next job after the last of the wiring of the station modules, starting today.

Pic two the spiral joining the curve after the bridge, pic three the curve after the bridge will have a hill and tunnel , fourth pic looking down the length of the bridge, not sure if I will build the bridge as a double deck bridge, build the bridge in such a way that I could  add the top road deck later.

More pics to come second post .

Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead.

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Five more pics, pic 5 looking down all all the station modules all linked up now, pic 7 coming off the bridge onto the S bend connecting to the car port , pic 8 car port decking down, pic 9 connection to the back of house corner module.

Now the fun begins joining up all the decking which is coded to make it easier when cutting and joining the same way.

Still a lot of work ahead, I don't think I will have the layout even up and running by July 19th my son's birthday, will give it a go, not going to rush it and stuff up, got this far, so close, wiring taking up most of the time.  I still have to connect the control panel which will be on the last station module , figuring out how I will tackle that job, plenty of wire and how I will connect to the panel from the module, keeping the cost down , might use those block strips with wire soldered to brass pins same with the other decking.

Tony from down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

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Morning Thomas, thanks I thought you were well ahead, I am not putting a time frame on now, just don't know when the first train will run around the whole layout, once I get past the main bus wiring on the last two modules will be full steam ahead int the last push, I need to buy more off-cut ply for the bridge sides and curve sections as well.

It wont take long once I start cutting the two pieces of ply that fill in the gaps between the spiral and other end of the layout.

On a high yet again, I was talking about in the two posts back on what I was going to connect  the bus wire to all the curve and straight deck section, bingo, I forgot I had some connectors, I did a test run today and wow they work well, I reckon I have more than enough connector to do the whole layout saving a lot of time in building those smaller bus wire panels .

Will use those connectors to connect the panel to the layout, making it heaps easier, all I need to do now is buy a proper crimping tool , will use up the speaker plugs I have left, wont need to buy any more, may even change the plugs over. 

On the last station module is where the control panel will ply into the main bus wires, will use those block strips in the middle of under neath the module for the bus wires coming in from both ends of the layout , all up 20 blocks, tomorrow will make a start on the back of the house corner module, 5 blocks coming in there to the block strip.

So close but still a while off yet, but well worth the effort I have put into the my dream layout, be buying two boxes of Peco flexi rack the end of June, hopping that be enough track to complete the layout , already have 30 full lengths of track, can't  wait to drive the Indian Pacific into the station.

Tony from cloudy down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

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The replacement Thomas the Tank engine shell arrived yesterday , only a week pretty good service, great seller as well , the new Thomas has a longer funnel than the Thomas my son had, must be a wreak spot because I see on eBay a lot of sellers sellers selling them with funnels missing  and the said he had a few as well. Thomas from Hornby will be a collectors item soon after 2018 as Hornby will be discontinuing Thomas and friends, very sad ad I had Thomas books when I was a kid.

My son's Thomas be the first train to run on the layout in July that is if I have the layout ready in time, don't think so, will give it a go, finely sorted out the spiral had to shift the spiral to get enough clearance on the second balcony hand rail  on the upper spiral level, too much work in cutting the legs down on the modules.

Today I be joining up the track on the approach track from the corner module to the approach module  to the station track so I can complete the wiring on both modules, take a week, truly them I be able to run a test loco along all the modules, WOW. 

Tony from cloudy down under keeping on moving ahead..

 

 

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Hi Thomas and Deano, yeah Thomas goes way back to my childhood days, never got any toys mainly books.

I managed to get some bus wire harness made up yesterday and today , stapled the wires in place and pushed then through he hols in the ply, just two more blocks to do on the corner module, then turn the module over off its side and star soldering the feeder wires to the track, got the feeder wire soldering down to a fine art now. Then move onto the approach module, a bit more work needed here, then onto the final module being the hardest module, this module will be the module that connects to the main control panel, will be using those block strips for all the blocks merging  onto, be neater this way.

I the mean time I be drawing up a track plan onto a piece of MBF board and the blocks be coded so, I may look into lights on each block when has power ,more wire., this panel will act for the point switched as well.

Tony from cloudy down under  keeping on moving ahead.

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Hi roddy, great to hear from you, how is your layout going, happy 70th birthday, I don't remember Sammy the shunter you still can get those books like every  thing something else always takes over another. 

You are 6 years on me, my 64th birthday is at the end of June, always ask for money so I buy what I want, will be will buying a two boxes of Peco Flexi track have enough track to complete the layout .

Keep tuned, soon the running of the first test loco.

Tony from cloudy down under keeping on moving ahead.

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9 hours ago, roddy said:

When I was a small boy in the early 1950s (I was 70 last weekend)  my favourite books were Sammy the Shunter.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_the_Shunter

I wonder why Thomas the Tank became so popular when Sammy just disappeared?

Hello Roddy!

For the german-speaking world my answer is:
Thomas made it to TV, Sammy did not.


From Sammy I had just never heard anything up to your post.

Regards

Thomas

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finely started work on constructing the spiral today, didn't start to late morning, was on the phone to a hobby shop in Perth WA and ordered two boxes of 25 peco flexi track and  Revell 1/87 scale Big Boy steamie kit, sadly the one I have my wife knocked over and broke the front drive set, wasn't happy, tried to sit it back in place couldn't, so bought a new kit .

With these two boxes will give me three boxes and 5 lengths of track plenty to finishing the the layout.

That took me quite a while to get right before cutting the long piece of ply, next step is to cut the piece that will join the curve to the straight piece and to keep the track join lined up every time I join them together.

The curves deck will half way between the first and second hand rail, grade be starting from the corner module , need to get up to the second hand rail which is the height of the bridge, plenty of clearance from the lower deck to the water line.

The next curve piece will have a 12 foot quarter curve, 7 foot in curve, onto a straight and other curve and another straight onto a curve linking the bridge, take a while, the double track will have to come off the single track in the middle.to the last curve onto the bridge will have double track branching off to the reverse loop and  vertical staging yard third stage.

Tony from cold down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

 

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Early morning Thomas, yes the track is flexi track , be taking both off, replaced with single, actually the curved decking was part of the old Tehachapi loop I first started modelling, 7 foot radius curve , be awesome to see the train tackle the spiral.

Have to get a move on hopping the construction of he spiral wont take too long, I nearly saved a lot on the buying the two boxes of peco flexi track $98 from that show in Perth, he did the same deal that was in their eBay store, I rang them up, because was also buying  Revel 1/87 scale big boy kit, my wife broke the model I had.

As close as I get to owning a Big Boy , RTR  one is out of my reach at the moment, unless our lotto numbers com e up tonight, big draw, just like win a share be nice.

Tony from cool down under keeping on moving a head.

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Camdale spiral is now well under construction, here is how I work on the grades to mark and cut the spiral legs, the jig for the level is 3 feet long an grade height is quarter inch a foot.

The third spiral leg is going to be tricky, I have clamped a shelf bracket, ran out of time today, sadly can't get back to the spiral till the weekend rain coming in tomorrow all week, I may be able to paint the straight section and nail down the track onto the curve section and cut the fiberglass brass strips to solder the track on the straight and curve join.

Yes I will have sides on the curve deck as well, buying a full sheet of 4mm   ply that bends this week and make a start on nailing down the  terminus platform track, since two boxes of flexi track are on there way, if I start ed earlier would of got the third spiral leg in place.

Hopefully can have the spiral finished with track and wiring done by the 19th of July be nice and the start of the single track curve in the car port as well.

Tony from cool down under keeping on moving ahead.

 

 

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