Going Japanese!!!

[Pauljag900]

Hi Jeff,

Yes I m going to chop the corners once the glue Is dry,should have done it before but did nt realise till I d assembled it and compared it to the kato one.I messaged the guy earlier today regarding making some pieces for the top, he said just let him know what size and he ll do them,i was thinking 4 or 5 cross pieces about an inch wide,what do you think?

Paul

[Pauljag900]

After running the layout for a week or so I decided to widen it on the left hand side,mainly to try and disguise the fact that the two small inner loops are just a basic square loop,now it runs under and behind the viaduct.

 

Also decided to make a master board with all the power supplies in one place.

The top connector blocks have all the supplies and transformers going in,the bottom blocks have the power going out to the six tracks and the four modules,so each one can be wired seperately and anything breaking can be replaced with minimum effort.Eventually the board will be hidden behind a cover.

 

 

[Pauljag900]

Having made a few adjustments and modifications to the track I ve run it daily for about two weeks in total without any major issues I m happy with it as it is.I ve had to butcher the rd plates a bit to utilise what I ve got and I've placed them in position with a few buildings just to see how it looks.I ve also placed the tram track in position ready for testing and fixing down.There s no room for a loop with the tram so both trams will run in a back and forth configuration.the right hand side where I ve place the polystyrene will be a hill/rock face rising up to the mountain area which will cover the front right hand corner and the shrine kit and some older buildings will live on there.

The rd plates got a bit of detail damage when removing and storing them so next step is to repair/replace stuff on them one at a time before glueing them down.The plan is to now complete the main station area before moving on to the sides and then the front.All the wiring for each of the four modules is now in place so will be just a case of tipping each of the boards and wiring in the buildings and street lights.

[Bruno]

Very nice changes

[locidm]

Do you mind giving a brief description of how your lighting system works? I see you have a few control units other than the Kato controllers, are they for lighting control? Where do you buy your leds? Thank you.

[serotta1972]

Can't wait to see the layout all lit up again and all the trains running.  The bridge really stands out, good good stuff as always Paul!

[Pauljag900]

Do you mind giving a brief description of how your lighting system works? I see you have a few control units other than the Kato controllers, are they for lighting control? Where do you buy your leds? Thank you.

Hi mate,

No problem at all.

Regards,

Paul

[Pauljag900]

Can't wait to see the layout all lit up again and all the trains running. The bridge really stands out, good good stuff as always Paul!

Cheers serotta,

The bridge needs another couple of coats of paint and some cross pieces on the top which I ll sort in due course once I get to that board.

The lighting may be a while yet as I only intend to lift the boards and wire it once! So I need to make sure each module is finished before I do.At least that's the plan,we ll see,I m bound to forget something!

Also managed to find some twin core red and black cable,it s actually speaker cable but is being sold as 12v car accessories cable,half the price of buying two reels of normal stuff,works a treat to,I ve used it on the controllers and point switches with no issues so far.

No more winding the cables together in the drill!

Edited November 28, 2016 by Pauljag900

[Martijn Meerts]

I still think you're progressing way too fast ...

 

Or maybe I'm just progressing way too slow :D

[Pauljag900]

I still think you're progressing way too fast ...

 

Or maybe I'm just progressing way too slow :D

Or maybe a bit of both ha ha

[Pauljag900]

Few pics of progress on the re model,not all buildings fastened down yet,just shuffling them about a bit trying to fit them all in.trams in and sorted,the runs are a bit short and probs would nt have bothered but thought I may as well as I had them.Next step is foam board to bring all the ground level up on the LH side.No idea how I m going to get a rd up to the mountain top and shrine area as it's a bit steep for a rd so I m thinking maybe a car park at the bottom and a gravel path with trees etc up to the mountain,any ideas gratefully recieved.modified the control board slightly too,all power supplies and controllers wire in at the top of the block and power fed to the four boards from the bottom of the block,each board will then have its own 3/6 and 12volt supply,just makes things easy if I lose a supply or bulb as I won't have to chase down long wires.

[cteno4]

Paul,

 

I can just picture you in the middle with trains going round and round you!

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,you wanna see me getting in the middle!

 

Edited December 24, 2016 by Pauljag900

[locidm]

Good stuff Paul! What do the black boxes below the turnout controls do? Also what is that silver controller next to them?

 

I'm waiting for the last components to arrive before testing out lighting per your recommendations. :)

 

Oh and merry Christmas!

Edited December 25, 2016 by locidm

[Martijn Meerts]

Looks like you're almost done to start working on my layout :D

[Pauljag900]

Good stuff Paul! What do the black boxes below the turnout controls do? Also what is that silver controller next to them?

I'm waiting for the last components to arrive before testing out lighting per your recommendations. :)

Oh and merry Christmas!

Hi mate,

The black boxes are the controllers which eventually will be changed to kato ones,these are just Hornby basic controllers but work just fine.The silver one is a hammant and Morgan clipper controller,these have nt been made for about twenty years and in the day they were considered the best controller around,they have a half power switch and also a high/low frequency switch that gives fantastic control at low speed.I was using these until I decided to swap for the Hornby ones,purely as a space saving excercise.I kept this one to operate the reverse ladder on the storage area and also they have a 12 and 16v accessories out puts which I ll use to power the two bAck and forth tram modules.

Good effort with the lighting mate,would love to see what you ve bought and how you get on with it all,

Merry xmas mate,all the best to you and your family,

Paul

[locidm]

Thanks Paul for educating me. :) by the way great idea with mirrors as background, can't tell you how many times I see you pics and see a larger layout than it really is.

 

Once everything arrives I will take a pic and hopefully make progress!

 

Unfortunately I gotta take down my temporary layout for the next two months. During the time without a layout, I will get some hands on practice with lighting buildings and trains!

[JR 500系]

Looking great Paul! Very nice indeed! Those posters really made the entire place a very sweet and nice place to play trains in!

 

I think you need more Japanese buses though ... U know me...    :P

[Pauljag900]

Hey sammy,

I got a load from another good friend of mine last year,serotta,but they re safely tucked away in their boxes with the majority of the trains until I finish all the messy stuf,something you just do nt want to glue down!.

Thanks for the comments sammy,means a lot,

Merry xmas to you and your family buddy,

All the best,

Paul

[Pauljag900]

Thanks Paul for educating me. :) by the way great idea with mirrors as background, can't tell you how many times I see you pics and see a larger layout than it really is.

Once everything arrives I will take a pic and hopefully make progress!

Unfortunately I gotta take down my temporary layout for the next two months. During the time without a layout, I will get some hands on practice with lighting buildings and trains!

I have nt educated you yet mate,

[medusa]

Mirrors as "background" is an amazing idea for dense rail traffic setups...

[Pauljag900]

Well it took two weeks, mainly due to the cold weather but I ve finally got my control board/work table finished.

All nice and neat,

However,the back tells a diferent story,

 

But at least they re out of sight

Edited January 8, 2017 by Pauljag900

[cteno4]

Sorry Paul, front is too neat and back is not a rats nest as I can trace wires too easily!

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Hi Jeff,

Ha ha I always start out with the intention of keeping things neat but I think there just comes a point when it's impossible to keep it tidy!

I just need to run the 3v and 12v supply to each of the four modules then all the power feeds will be in place.

[Pauljag900]

With the addition of five new trains and a kato controller from my good friend serotta the control board Is now complete.

The last of the main ballasting is done and some of the buildings have had lights fitted and are now fixed down.

I ve also now managed to get the two trams working properly with their back and forth control modules.

 

https://youtu.be/SPbGjiL9IzE