Fablewood (Coed Y Chwedlau)

[David Hennessey]

14/02/2015

Yet more track laying was to be done. But first, a test of the fiddle yard, using the Peco 'Lynton & Barnstaple' style carriages. They're just about the right length for the loop, and only just spaced out from each other on their respective tracks:







Then it was onto the rest of the track laying. One example is seen here:





During the course of the work, some isolating fishplates were added to one of the points. It remains to be seen whether or not they will work when the power is wired up.







As well as some pieces of set track (Peco Code 80), flexible track was also used, cut and trimmed accordingly:





Once the track was down, the layout was flipped over to enable the installation of the point motors to take place (Peco PL-10 on PL-9 mounts):





Having threaded the pins to the points (in which a slight mishap occured when a point blade got knocked out of position, which thankfully was fixed back in the right place), small holes were marked and hand drilled, to enable the screws of the mounts to do their job:









Four point motors were fitted successfully, but a slight issue arises with the fifth (but will be rectified in due course):





And voilas! Track laying complete; just the wiring up to be done, before any testing can be carried out. The pins of the point motors will not be cut yet, until I'm satisfied that all the pointwork functions properly.





As usual, more progress as it unfolds, and comments welcomed as always. Time for a well earned pint!  ;D

[Stan Williams]

At this rate David, Rainhill 009 Members Day on Saturday 28th November 2015 looks a strong possibility.

Come and have a chat at the Rainhill Show on the 7th/8th March or at Rainford on Saturday 18th April.

Stan.

[David Hennessey]

At this rate David, Rainhill 009 Members Day on Saturday 28th November 2015 looks a strong possibility.

Come and have a chat at the Rainhill Show on the 7th/8th March or at Rainford on Saturday 18th April.

Stan.

Thanks Stan. Still a bit of a way to go till it's ready, but really pleased that the labours so far are beginning to bear fruit...

[David Hennessey]

25/03/2015

A minor update. Progress on the building of Prenchedwl has been a bit slow as of late, but the work continues nonetheless. As I type, I have sent the baseboard away to my uncle, to have the pointwork wired up. Once that is complete, I intend to put power to the track and test everything before proceeding further. I also have updates over in the Prenchedwl stock list thread: http://www.009society.com/forum/index.php?topic=2061.0

The track is to be controlled by a Gaugemaster 'W' type single controller (and also an adapter plug, to eliminate the need to permanently wire the controller feed to the track), and the power is to be supplied via an 'M1' type 16v transformer. Both of these items were acquired from Model Rail Scotland 2015 and Hatton's respectively.







More progress when it resumes.

[David Hennessey]

Having just found out that 'Pren' in Welsh actually means plank, I've had to alter the Welsh title of Fablewood, to Coed y Chwedlau.(Wood of the Fables). The concept however remains intact, and the project continues as normal. The layout will now be referred to as Coed Y Chwedlau.

My humble apologies to any Welsh members for any misleading or confusion caused.

[David Hennessey]

02/07/2015

After several weeks being away for wiring up, the baseboard has now been returned from my uncle, who has done a splendid job with the electronics. All sections of the track are working, although in order to activate the goods yard, the points into and out of the station have to be set to the inner loop.
















Closer inspection of the loop on the left hand side of the layout, revealed a rail sticking out of one of the fishplates. This was quickly sorted out.






The control of the layout is done by the handheld Gaugemaster Model 'W' hand held model, and the pointwork is controlled by five switches. This will be looked at in closer detail, in the next update.







And finally for now, a small bit of scenics. Before I had the baseboard sent away, I marked a space in the middle of the 'station' loop for an island platform to be placed. This takes the form of a small strip of balsa wood, measured accordingly to length and clearance. This will eventually have brick sheeting around the edges, and the top surface painted. On this occasion, it was merely a dry run to see if it fitted well, which it does.







A short period of testing (or playing trains if you will!) will be undertaken, to ensure all the track and pointwork functions as it should, before the ballasting and scenic work begins. The locos and rolling stock are having their chance to stretch their wheels as we speak!

Till next time, comments welcomed as always.

[David Hennessey]

15/09/2015

Time for a bumper update...

Fablewood has been under test for many weeks, to ensure all the trackwork is working properly. Minor issues with points, dirty rail heads and odd instances of losing power, but other than that, all is well.

A small start has been made on the scenics front. The main station and goods yard have received platforms made out of good quality balsa wood from Hobbycraft; measured and cut accordingly, painted grey on top with white edges, and the sides topped with Metcalfe brick sheeting. The main and island platforms also boast station fencing and lamp posts (with signs and benches yet to be added).

The main station building itself is an old, small Hornby waiting room, rejuvenated with Metcalfe brick and slate roof sheeting, with the chimney bases, and the door and window frames painted red brick. Also, a pair of Wills Lamp Huts have been built; one for the station, the other for the goods yard. As we speak, a Metcalfe stone cottages kit is under construction.

A level crossing was fashioned out of spare off-cuts of balsa and Metcalfe tarmac sheeting, cut and painted black before gluing into position. All locos and rolling stock can cross over it without any trouble.

On the rolling stock front, a Parkside Dundas L&B style open wagon joins the ranks, painted in a custom blue livery.

All the trackwork has now been painted (rails, sleepers and points), in preparation for ballasting.

Here is a small selection of photos chartering the recent progress:

































Comments welcomed as always.

[B.Meldon]

14/02/2015


During the course of the work, some isolating fishplates were added to one of the points. It remains to be seen whether or not they will work when the power is wired up.

Perhaps this is one of your problems:

Unfortunately the Peco N gauge isolating fishplates need to be shortened to fully engage with the Peco points as they hit on the plastic webbing preventing them from going all the way on to the rail.
If you do not do this you will get a gap in the railhead that the wheels will drop down and could result in other wheels on a loco losing electrical connection to the track.

Another very common problem that you may have is that the points are unreliable when it comes to switching the power to the tracks. The only long term cure for this is to keep cleaning the side of the rails and the side of the point blades or to fit frog polarity switches to all the points.
Personally I always fit frog polarity switches to every point on every layout I build. However you will find that if you fit the Peco accessory switches to the Peco point motors fitted directly to Peco 009 points the throw of the point is not in the correct place to switch the switch and you will have to adjust the switch or the point motor relative to the point to make it work. (The more expensive Peco micro switches have some adjustment built in.)


Brian Meldon

[David Hennessey]

14/02/2015


During the course of the work, some isolating fishplates were added to one of the points. It remains to be seen whether or not they will work when the power is wired up.

Perhaps this is one of your problems:

Unfortunately the Peco N gauge isolating fishplates need to be shortened to fully engage with the Peco points as they hit on the plastic webbing preventing them from going all the way on to the rail.
If you do not do this you will get a gap in the railhead that the wheels will drop down and could result in other wheels on a loco losing electrical connection to the track.

Another very common problem that you may have is that the points are unreliable when it comes to switching the power to the tracks. The only long term cure for this is to keep cleaning the side of the rails and the side of the point blades or to fit frog polarity switches to all the points.
Personally I always fit frog polarity switches to every point on every layout I build. However you will find that if you fit the Peco accessory switches to the Peco point motors fitted directly to Peco 009 points the throw of the point is not in the correct place to switch the switch and you will have to adjust the switch or the point motor relative to the point to make it work. (The more expensive Peco micro switches have some adjustment built in.)


Brian Meldon

Thank you kindly for your advice Brian. Something to remember for next time...

[David Hennessey]

22/09/2015

A minor progress update...

Monday 21st and Tuesday 22nd September 2015 were spent doing one of the most tedious (or enjoyable, depending on how you look at it) jobs any layout builder will know... Ballasting.

The ballast itself (Woodland Scenics medium gray fine ballast) was scattered into place days before, but the application of the glue mixture (the usual combination of PVA glue, water and a dash of Fairy liquid) was applied over the last 24 hours. The application started off using the Woodland Scenic Sprayer, but this proved a bit messy on the curves leading to the fiddle yard either side. Therefore, I had to settle with using a small Sabre syringe; a slower, but less mucky process in the long run!

The fiddle yard pointwork, the level crossing and the platform surfaces were masked over in advance, to avoid the glue mixture making any unwanted mess.









As I type, the ballast is in the long process of having the glue mixture drying out. Any touch-ups to the rails and sleepers will be made, if necessary. Otherwise, not a bad job!

On the rolling stock front, I finally completed one piece of rolling stock I'd been working on for some time. A Parkside Dundas 'Ffestiniog' style 3rd brake/observation car had been under construction for weeks. A few days ago, I stumbled into some suitable 00 scale 'sitting' people to fit inside the vehicle; three Hornby and two unknown figures were found from a leftover project, and incorporated into the vehicle before the roof was permanently fitted.




More progress as it unfolds. Comments welcomed as always.

[gastwo]

Great ballasting David.

I have a feeling however that some of your people might be holding down two jobs - they were spotted one evening at St Dogmaels on the Teifi Gorge returning from the day shift at the quarry...



Sorry!

Shaun.

[David Hennessey]

Great ballasting David.

I have a feeling however that some of your people might be holding down two jobs - they were spotted one evening at St Dogmaels on the Teifi Gorge returning from the day shift at the quarry...



Sorry!

Shaun.

Those two like to get around, that's for sure!  ;D

Thanks for the comments on the ballast. Rather messy to start with though; using the Woodlands Scenic Sprayer bottle was a bit of a mistake since it sprayed bits of ballast everywhere on the curves leading to and out of the fiddle yard. Had to settle for using a small Sabre syringe in the end; a slow process, but less mucky in the long run!

Will be doing more testing when the PVA is completely dried out.

[gastwo]

I use the syringe method as well - I found that spraying coated the rails as well, and that was a b*gger to remove. I do spray the ballast with meths though, before dripping PVA on - seems to really help break the surface tension. Make sure it doesn't affect anything else, and you have to put up with the smell for a while!

Keep it coming
Shaun.

[David Hennessey]

I use the syringe method as well - I found that spraying coated the rails as well, and that was a b*gger to remove. I do spray the ballast with meths though, before dripping PVA on - seems to really help break the surface tension. Make sure it doesn't affect anything else, and you have to put up with the smell for a while!

Keep it coming
Shaun.

Thanks Shaun. Good tip about the meths, something to remember next time (and to use a well ventilated space of course!)...

[David Hennessey]

29/09/2015

A small start has been made on the scenic work of Fablewood, beginning with landscaping. Hills and cuttings are obviously required, and these have been fashioned at the 'bottom' end of the layout (and some of the top end too), using a type of styro foam cut with a stanley knife. These have yet to be glued down, covered over and painted. I'm not sure if the gradients look right, so any advice would be appreciated. Whilst marking out and cutting the foam material, particular attention was paid to both track and stock clearance as well...

In the station area, two foot crossings were formed, using Metcalfe tarmac sheeting.

Here are a few snaps:













More progress, as it unfolds. Comments welcomed as always