What did you do on your layout today? (N scale)

[JR 500系]

On ‎02‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 4:38 PM, Pauljag900 said:

I wonder if anyone can help me out here please gents?

as I mentioned earlier in the week I m putting a VERY small single lane bus system in,i have nt got it yet but I have enough track to mock up the oval but I do nt have the bus stop.

 

 

Apologizes I missed this mate! I will post later when I get home and have a clearer look on this...

[Pauljag900]

36 minutes ago, JR 500系 said:

 

Apologizes I missed this mate! I will post later when I get home and have a clearer look on this...

Cheers Sammy,if I have the measurements I can make one from cardboard and I ll be able to fit the buildings that I have here.

It ll be a while before I actually get the bus system,

thanks samy👍👍

[kvp]

On 12/2/2017 at 9:38 AM, Pauljag900 said:

help me out here please gents?

as I mentioned earlier in the week I m putting a VERY small single lane bus system in,i have nt got it yet but I have enough track to mock up the oval but I do nt have the bus stop.

This is only a rough estimate as i don't have a bus stop with me at the moment:

(ps: the depth of the stop is almost 1.5 lanes wide)

[Pauljag900]

58 minutes ago, kvp said:

This is only a rough estimate as i don't have a bus stop with me at the moment:

(ps: the depth of the stop is almost 1.5 lanes wide)

Cheers kvp,thats great,thank you,at least I ve got something to work with now👍👍

[JR 500系]

Hi Paul:

 

I've measured my bus stop, so unless there are many variants of the Tomytec bus stop, you shouldn't be too far off:

 

All dimensions in mm. just divide by 10 if cm works better for you ~

A) 100mm

B) 27

C) 25

D) 50

E) 22

F) 32 - I cant see where F ends exactly, so I guess it's the end of the track piece

G) 8

H) 24

 

Wow I must say KVP's answer is pretty very close even without a bus stop piece! Kudos!

[Pauljag900]

1 hour ago, JR 500系 said:

Hi Paul:

 

I've measured my bus stop, so unless there are many variants of the Tomytec bus stop, you shouldn't be too far off:

 

All dimensions in mm. just divide by 10 if cm works better for you ~

A) 100mm

B) 27

C) 25

D) 50

E) 22

F) 32 - I cant see where F ends exactly, so I guess it's the end of the track piece

G) 8

H) 24

 

Wow I must say KVP's answer is pretty very close even without a bus stop piece! Kudos!

Ha ha,

he knows his stuff hey Sammy?,thanks for taking the time to do that both of you,really appreciate it.

👍👍👍👍👍😀😀😀

[railsquid]

A teensy weensy bit more on the bit of the layout which thinks it's stuck in the mid-late Showa era.

freight-siding by Rail Squid, on Flickr

[Pauljag900]

Here we go again😂Over the last few months I ve been less and less able to maintain the main layout in the shed,so as winter Is fast approaching I made the decision to bring all the trains in and pack them away,I gave them all a good run,clean and lubricate where ever needed and put them away in their cases in the house.It was never an easy layout to maintain and required minimum dismantling to clean properly,something I was prepared to do to have a nice layout.However,due to mobility issues I m finding it hard to do.I do nt want to get to a point where I ccan t use it because I can t look after it properly.So I ve made the decision to dismantle it,AGAIN !!!! I need to design it so I can reach all areas from the edge of the boards.I ve spent the last few weeks designing some weird and wonderful track plans but with all of them there was always a reason or problem why it would nt work for me.So I ve taken the decision to keep it simple.In the beginning it was always about creating a nice layout but now I have about 30 Trains and I want to run them and see them more,so my priorities have changed.

this is the floor plan and proposed  layout for the boards.

 

The tram layout will sit on the left hand side at the front of the Shed and will be operated independently of the main layout.

the main layout is basically an 8ftx8ft square loop.The outer loop will be the Shinkansen line and set at 4inch height.The second loop will be for express and will be set at 2inch height.The two inner loops will be set at ground level.No ups and downs but they will cross over at the front for better viewing.

The widest board is on the LH side and is 3ft deep,so easily reachable.It will have some scenics on it as I intend to take the mountain with shrine and village off the present layout as one piece and also the farm and village and utilise them on the new layout.This gives me optimum viewing,easy to reach tracks and better access,the small board at the front will be removeable.

i can run 8 Trains at the same time and I can fit all my Trains on it,about 30,either running or in the sidings.I will be using grass banks,concrete walls,long bridges etc so it wo nt be completely boring,just not a very interesting track plan I guess.

today was warm so I disconnected all the power supplies and boxed them away,tomorrow I ll start dismantling the track.

my aim is to pack everything away and catalogue what I have and what I need over the winter and then make a start in the spring,by which time I should have had my surgery and be a bit more mobile.In the mean time I ll plod on with my tram layout on the dining room table😂😂😂

[nah00]

The only thing I would change is the sidings on the right hand side closest to the cutout. You may be able squeeze in more length on them if you went with a ladder yard. It may work the same for the other side too but I can't visualize the track geometry in my head.

[Pauljag900]

12 hours ago, nah00 said:

The only thing I would change is the sidings on the right hand side closest to the cutout. You may be able squeeze in more length on them if you went with a ladder yard. It may work the same for the other side too but I can't visualize the track geometry in my head.

Hi buddy,

i assume you mean like this,

 

I did actually drawer up a plan for both versions but could nt decide which one to use,but you re right in saying that this way means slightly longer sidings.So now,after taking your advice,I ll probably use this one👍👍😂😂

cheers buddy.👍

[Welshbloke]

Had a play with some very cheap LED lights in a Tomytec building. Planning to fit the rest of the string inside other buildings on the module:

 

They were sold to go inside old wine bottles and have a cork-shaped battery pack with three LR44s inside. Planning to wire them with a rechargable battery pack so the lighting remains self contained and plugs into a USB port to recharge.

[cteno4]

Welshbloke,

 

there are a lot of little usb rechargeable led flashlights out there that could easily be adapted for your purpose. I’m modifying one for a angler fish lure that my wife is knitting for a grand nephew. Usb socket will be in the mouth for recharge.

 

I’ve often though of going this route myself as a lot of my buildings go between layouts and wanting to light more is s hassle with wiring and being self contained is a nice option. Only down side is to have batteries accessible as they do t last for ever.

 

jeff

[Pauljag900]

1 hour ago, Welshbloke said:

Had a play with some very cheap LED lights in a Tomytec building. Planning to fit the rest of the string inside other buildings on the module:

 

They were sold to go inside old wine bottles and have a cork-shaped battery pack with three LR44s inside. Planning to wire them with a rechargable battery pack so the lighting remains self contained and plugs into a USB port to recharge.

Any lights are good lights! The whole appearance and atmosphere or the layout changes completely when lights are added.👍👍😀

[Pauljag900]

I ve also done a variation on the outer shinkansen line which will take it behind and over the tram layout,

 

Unfortunately I can t fit this until everything else is in place as I ll need to know where the clearance will be for buildings and track support piers.It ll be very easy to add in at a later date tho.

[Welshbloke]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

Welshbloke,

 

there are a lot of little usb rechargeable led flashlights out there that could easily be adapted for your purpose. I’m modifying one for a angler fish lure that my wife is knitting for a grand nephew. Usb socket will be in the mouth for recharge.

 

I’ve often though of going this route myself as a lot of my buildings go between layouts and wanting to light more is s hassle with wiring and being self contained is a nice option. Only down side is to have batteries accessible as they do t last for ever.

 

jeff

I have a couple of "disposable" phone chargers and a handful of charger PCBs designed to safely charge lithium cells, so I'll make space in the embankment to hide them. Maybe have a USB socket and a switch hiding in the abutments under where the next viaduct sections clip on.

 

I've ordered the next two buildings for the module, more low rise Tomytecs which shouldn't look daft next to the one I have. Need to sort the embankment and abutments out before I can fit anything at road level though.

[lighthouse]

I have made a few color adjustments to the masts. Now I still lack ideas for the design of the open spaces

[gavino200]

2 hours ago, cteno4 said:

Welshbloke,

 

there are a lot of little usb rechargeable led flashlights out there that could easily be adapted for your purpose. I’m modifying one for a angler fish lure that my wife is knitting for a grand nephew. Usb socket will be in the mouth for recharge.

 

I’ve often though of going this route myself as a lot of my buildings go between layouts and wanting to light more is s hassle with wiring and being self contained is a nice option. Only down side is to have batteries accessible as they do t last for ever.

 

jeff

 

I have a slightly related question I wanted to run by you. I'd like to put lights in my vehicles (automobiles and trucks) but I don't want to have them wired to the board. 

 

When my son was small we had a couple of night lights that could be recharged by placing them on a special plugged in base. The lights them selves had batteries and a switch but weren't wired. I think there are phones that can be recharged this way. Do you know what this phenomenon is called? And have you ever heard of anyone using this type of battery for N-scale use?

[Welshbloke]

I think it's normally just known as wireless charging, as I understand it the system uses induction between a powered coil in the base and another in the device. You can buy stick on coils with plugs to convert older phones, they might have potential for models.

[cteno4]

Gavin,

 

induction coils are a bit large even for n scale trucks. I’m sure there are smaller coils you could use to make your own, but would be a little ee work. Autos won’t have room for even a button cell—there is barely the room in them to do the wiring, smd led, and a smd resistor easily. Lighting vehicles does end up with a large pain of wiring. I would look at doing something like a removable chunk of roadway that has a power buss into it the vehicles wire to. Might be a lot easier than trying to wire a bunch of them under the layout. Making things easily come off in modules always helps a lot when you get fancy like this. One solution to your roadway issue is to make the roadway removable and like 10mm thick so you could do vehicle wiring easily.then just make sub bases for each building to bring it and it’s integrated base (if you use then) up to the correct height for the road/sidewalk. Using magnets to hold and wire the buildings also makes it easy to pull things up when needed or working on more detailing on buildings or moving them to different locations.

 

if you want to be able to move your vehicles around now and then you could use the disc magnet approach to connect them to power. Would probably have to embed the road side magnets into the roadway as the magnets are 1mm thick. Would be a tad fiddly wiring the magnets onto the bottom of cars, but once there in a standard template and orientation you could easily swap out cars. Still can’t easily move locations though...

 

jeff

Edited December 7, 2017 by cteno4

[gavino200]

1 hour ago, cteno4 said:

Gavin,

 

induction coils are a bit large even for n scale trucks. I’m sure there are smaller coils you could use to make your own, but would be a little ee work. Autos won’t have room for even a button cell—there is barely the room in them to do the wiring, smd led, and a smd resistor easily. Lighting vehicles does end up with a large pain of wiring. I would look at doing something like a removable chunk of roadway that has a power buss into it the vehicles wire to. Might be a lot easier than trying to wire a bunch of them under the layout. Making things easily come off in modules always helps a lot when you get fancy like this. One solution to your roadway issue is to make the roadway removable and like 10mm thick so you could do vehicle wiring easily.then just make sub bases for each building to bring it and it’s integrated base (if you use then) up to the correct height for the road/sidewalk. Using magnets to hold and wire the buildings also makes it easy to pull things up when needed or working on more detailing on buildings or moving them to different locations.

 

if you want to be able to move your vehicles around now and then you could use the disc magnet approach to connect them to power. Would probably have to embed the road side magnets into the roadway as the magnets are 1mm thick. Would be a tad fiddly wiring the magnets onto the bottom of cars, but once there in a standard template and orientation you could easily swap out cars. Still can’t easily move locations though...

 

jeff

 

Thanks. Doesn't sound like a viable option. I think I'll put the idea to rest.

[cteno4]

Well something in the shop for working on the layout! Finally got the new fence installed on my drill press table, the one that came wirh the table was a bit klunky to use and not quite square with the table. So I got s router fence and modified the attachment plate to fit the table. Only one trip to Home Depot, one bolt needed! Now it can get the arm extended when drilling Long pieces (like I need to do formthe final holes on the new JRM oragami base matrix) and have an opening with the shop vac attached to get rid of drill chaw easily! Even have a new small shop vac that is quiet and can fit under the drill press bench for easy access. Now just to pop an x10 onto the new shop vac to easily turn it on when I run the drill press!

 

jeff

 

[brill27mcb]

They still make X10 controls?

 

Rich K.

[cteno4]

Yep and I have a few boxes full from some work projects they were used in! Was cheaper to buy sets than individual components so I ended up with a lot of the extra stuff! They are a bit flaky, but do the trick for some dumb jobs and don’t have to worry about a ip hack!

 

jeff

[IST]

First attempt with the lavender field continued. Last time I finished the grass, now I added some lavender petals (from Scenic Express) which were ground by another member of the club, because I think originally it is too big. I used white glue in very small amount on the top of the grass and added the petals. I have to say that I am not pleased with the result, it is not contrasting enough for my eyes. Maybe I have to add another layer(s) of petals - I tried it, you can see the result on the bottom right corner of the 3rd picture.
I would really care how do you see my lavender field or if you have any ideas how would you do it, then let me know!

 

     

 

[Pauljag900]

24 minutes ago, IST said:

First attempt with the lavender field continued. Last time I finished the grass, now I added some lavender petals (from Scenic Express) which were ground by another member of the club, because I think originally it is too big. I used white glue in very small amount on the top of the grass and added the petals. I have to say that I am not pleased with the result, it is not contrasting enough for my eyes. Maybe I have to add another layer(s) of petals - I tried it, you can see the result on the bottom right corner of the 3rd picture.
I would really care how do you see my lavender field or if you have any ideas how would you do it, then let me know!

 

     

 

hey ist,

this is one of those things that s just trial and error buddy,only you can decide if it looks right really.For what its worth I think pic three looks pretty good mate.Not too much and not too uniform and that's the way it would be in reality,good effort mate.