Track and wiring
Progress on the modules has been slow, for which read non-existent. With the looming date of the Seaboard Southern show in September, at which these are expected to not only appear but be operational, it’s high time to extract the digit!
Replacing The Electrics
The wiring on Erik’s layout was not what was originally planned, implemented solely to facilitate an operating session. Sure, it worked, but it could not be described as robust. It has therefore been completely replaced and Erik assisted with the tasks.
Installing the Gapmasters
Tim Horn‘s board kits have the centre line marked accurately* on the top surface to aid in laying track. The Frem0n30 standards demand that the track is laid right to the baseboard edge, which obviously makes it vulnerable in transit. This is where the Gapmasters come in, both aligning and anchoring the track at the interface.
Baseboard Joints
Everyone who’s ever built a sectional or modular model railway layout knows not to rely on pins or glue to hold the track down at the baseboard edges, as it’ll tear or break eventually.
Laying Some Track
After a three-month hiatus, it was decided that the Christmas period would be an ideal opportunity to make some more progress on Erik’s railway. So we invited Brian round for lunch and got cracking!
Green Gates Retired
Finally, the layout that I bought as Greengate from Colin Kennington at Narrow Gauge South West in 2011 and featured in the 7mm NGA Small Layouts Handbook, has now been retired.
Finishing Soldering Droppers
As mentioned previous, I’d started soldering feeder wires, often referred to as droppers, but I only got eight pieces of track finished before I packed it all away, and there it stayed!
Power Bus Wiring
As mentioned at the close of my last post, I’d ordered some wire for the power bus from an ebay supplier. Well, it arrived and it’s perfect!
Soldering Dropper Wires
Having acquired two 100m rolls of wire 10/0.1mm, one with red insulation, the other black, at a clearance price from Kyte’s Lights at the Woking REC show on Saturday, I’ve started to solder dropper wires from each of the pieces of track so that power supply is not reliant on just the rail joiners.
Planning Session
Today we put the track mat and the track together on the boards for some quick testing. Okay, so we played a bit too!