04-22-2023, 09:36 PM
I spent the last couple weeks finishing the fascia and wiring in the Narrow gauge section.
I used the same high-grade plywood. The side was a simple rectangle and the rear piece that is partly covering the shelf was reused from the previous layout.
On the front I had to make the facsia in two parts. The lower strip to match the rest of the fascia, and the upper to cover the scenery former.
I had to shim the lower part of the upper fascia to match the lower but it worked out in the end.
After that I started some wiring. I had last added the final siding the the Blackwater industrial park. I then needed to add the feeders to it and another length of track that I had previously forgotten.
Wiring with DCC is so easy when compared to DC, as I was soon reminded. Here is was probably only 15 minutes to add the four feeder wires. You can keep your DCC wiring neater as well.
On the other hand, I had to re-wire the small control panel that I had made for the DC branch line. I had originally used single-strand telephone wire to wire the panel and the return terminal block. This time I used some 22 gauge multistrand that's a bit more flexible.
Then I installed it back onto the layout. All of these components were removed from the previous layout and boxed up 2 years ago.
Then I routed the wires through and soldered them to the track.
The common return wired were also replaced and routed through another home-made terminal block. The tricky part of this operation is that the narrow gauge is just overhead of the standard gauge mainline (the curved piece of roadbed) I had a hard time routing the wire in a way that it won't drop down and interfere with the track below. That and asking a 6'9" body the work in a confined space is rather difficult.
With that done I added the transformer and walk-around throttle. The transformer is an old Athearn Road-race unit. I has a standard 12 volt output and a 'drag-race' output of 16 volts, with a flip of a switch. I'll probably tape over the switch so there won't be any accidental locomotive drag races!
The throttle is an old unit from pacific pike. It was wired up to a telephone cord with the wall connector so I can remove it quickly.
After that I turned it all on and tested it with my Athearn 'mule' I found that I had to repair some of the track that had gotten knocked out of gauge during the dismantling/storage/ reinstalling process, and I has wired two sidings backwards, both easy fixes.
Next is the spiking of the short extension and maybe starting on the scenery.
I used the same high-grade plywood. The side was a simple rectangle and the rear piece that is partly covering the shelf was reused from the previous layout.
On the front I had to make the facsia in two parts. The lower strip to match the rest of the fascia, and the upper to cover the scenery former.
I had to shim the lower part of the upper fascia to match the lower but it worked out in the end.
After that I started some wiring. I had last added the final siding the the Blackwater industrial park. I then needed to add the feeders to it and another length of track that I had previously forgotten.
Wiring with DCC is so easy when compared to DC, as I was soon reminded. Here is was probably only 15 minutes to add the four feeder wires. You can keep your DCC wiring neater as well.
On the other hand, I had to re-wire the small control panel that I had made for the DC branch line. I had originally used single-strand telephone wire to wire the panel and the return terminal block. This time I used some 22 gauge multistrand that's a bit more flexible.
Then I installed it back onto the layout. All of these components were removed from the previous layout and boxed up 2 years ago.
Then I routed the wires through and soldered them to the track.
The common return wired were also replaced and routed through another home-made terminal block. The tricky part of this operation is that the narrow gauge is just overhead of the standard gauge mainline (the curved piece of roadbed) I had a hard time routing the wire in a way that it won't drop down and interfere with the track below. That and asking a 6'9" body the work in a confined space is rather difficult.
With that done I added the transformer and walk-around throttle. The transformer is an old Athearn Road-race unit. I has a standard 12 volt output and a 'drag-race' output of 16 volts, with a flip of a switch. I'll probably tape over the switch so there won't be any accidental locomotive drag races!
The throttle is an old unit from pacific pike. It was wired up to a telephone cord with the wall connector so I can remove it quickly.
After that I turned it all on and tested it with my Athearn 'mule' I found that I had to repair some of the track that had gotten knocked out of gauge during the dismantling/storage/ reinstalling process, and I has wired two sidings backwards, both easy fixes.
Next is the spiking of the short extension and maybe starting on the scenery.