More carpentry work on the module

Work is steadily progressing:

Today so far, I've made a shelf and attached that to the bottom of one of the boards. On this I am planning to mount my DCC system and power supply. Here you can see my Lenz command station, which I received today, test fitted on it.
I've also cut extra pieces of plywood and glued these to the inside of both head ends of each board. This is to re-enforce these against flexing, and make them stronger. These are the surfaces that will join with other boards, and will also be the ones that get clamped etc, so I decided to re-enforce these while I am still in 'carpentry mode'.

 

Musings on DCC

The module boards I'm building are intended to also function as a small switching layout, and I was looking for a DCC system to do this with.  As I also knew that the majority of the other modules in my area are controlled with a Lenz DCC system, I knew I wanted to build in at least one or two  Lenz LA 152 fascia panels, so that a throttle can be plugged into the module when it's part of a larger set up.

I didn't however wanted to spend the full amount of a Lenz DCC system. Lenz has pretty much invented DCC, and is one of the best systems around, and carries the longest warranty of any system out there to my knowledge (10 years), which is re-asuring, but for a few module boards it is too much of an investment. 

However my plans slightly changed when I came across a demo set in a local hobby shop, available at a significantly discounted price, so I've bought this, a Lenz set 100, which is their top system. This is overkill for the module, but I will  install this on my home layout in the future, and use the currently used SPROG II for the modules when operating them as stand alone. 

For a comparison of the Lenz 100 to other systems, have a look at this article on Model Rail Forum.

height adjustment and securing legs

Here's a few pictures on how I've constructed the height adjustment (for uneven floors), and how to secure the legs to a module board.

I've used a couple pieces of scrap wood to construct pockets, which are as wide as the legs themselves.

These pockets are glued (and screwed from the outside) against the inside of the module board at the right height, and the legs will slide right in.


All that remains to secure the legs in place is to drill a hole from the outside through the module side, and through the leg and insert a bolt to 'lock' the leg, although I will try to do without that, I think the legs will be secure enough to use as is, but I'll try that out first.

Secondly I've used Tee Nuts inserted in the bottom of each leg, and used carriage bolts which have a nice rounded head to allow for height adjustment.  I might at a later stage hot glue some bottle caps onto these nuts, to have something a little softer in contact with the floor, to prevent scratching etc.  The legs themselves are made from 27mm x 27mm wood , and plywood cross braces. This makes them light enough to handle, but sturdy enough not to be too fragile. You could use heavier methods of course, but that is probably a little overkill, but also depends on the weight and size of your module boards.
I prefer them lightweight, as I won't be getting any younger.

Module boards on legs

Inspired by last weekend's modular meet, I decided to do some work on my module boards.
Today I made a second set of legs for my second board, that together make up my Wolter Springs module.

Here the are the pair of boards, on legs and test fitted for the first time in my dining room. (much more comfortable temperature than in the shed I made them in...).
 I still need to make slots on the bottom of each board to guide the legs better and set them to the right height easier, and then drill the holes in the head boards to that I can guide them together with dowels or a bolt and wing nuts, but it gives me a good impression on where it's going at this moment, and it's starting to come together.

Sub terrain mix

Earlier I posted that I had started to put my base scenery down on my home layout.
I use a method that I picked up from the 'Ten Mile Creek' scenery videos by Joe Fugate for my hills, mountains and other uneven terrain features.

The first mix of 'paste' that I mixed up followed the recipe closely, here it is once more for good measure:

4 parts Vermiculite
3 parts filling plaster
1 part portland cement
mix these up first, then slowly add water to get the consistency of soft (but not too soft) ice cream. Too thin, then add a bit more plaster, too thick, simply add a little water.

It is important to use filling plaster, NOT plaster of paris. The reason is that Plaster of Paris sets very fast, and the Portland Cement does too, so before you have a chance to apply it to the scenery, it will have set. (Don't ask me how I know, okay do, yes it sets VERY FAST, I had an unusable mix within less than 5 minutes of mixing, and that was my second batch).  I should have paid a bit more attention to the video (read stay awake as I nodded off while watching it :-)  ) , as it says to add a little baking powder (not baking soda) when using plaster of paris, about   a tea spoon of baking powder to the above 3 parts plaster is enough.
Filling plaster has a retarder in it, Plaster of paris does not, that's what the baking powder provides, so the mix stays usable for much longer.

Here's a picture of the mix that I made , and yes, this is the one that set after the picture was taken, so I had to make a new batch, this time with baking powder added....

Freemo meet Broadclyst, Exeter, 2012

Today I attended the local meet at Broadclyst near Exeter,Devon UK, where we had a fun day operating our trains on a layout made up largely based on the standards set by the local RS Tower group, and adopted by the NMRA British region. They are based in turn to a degree on a blend of FREEMO (US) and FREMO (EURO) standards.

Here is an overview picture of the set up, in the hall. 

Logging railroads

A fair amount of modelers choose to model narrow gauge railroads, and / or logging industries, not in the last place because of the use of the Shay locomotives and other types.

A nice blog about this subject is http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/   , if logging is your thing, have a look, it might just provide you with information or inspiration. Below picture was taken from that website to wet your appetite.