This is what 4.5 hours of wiring looks like...

Today I continued on with installing the push buttons for the Tortoise Motors on the Fascia Control Panels along with a few more power feeds to some of the Tortoise Motors that needed to be rewired from other SE8C's.

One of the things I need to accomplish is wiring that is tucked away and not hanging down underneath the layout benchwork, as the area is going to be used as storage I don't want anything catching and breaking delicate detection and signaling wires.

The below photo shows the "York" - Fascia Panel with the push buttons installed, with the exception of two push buttons (located on the panel to the right) all the wiring in the shot is associated with the Digitrax SE8C on the right.

The area directly above the SE8C has no less five (5) crossovers, these can be seen by the small black cable ties denoting twin pairs of Tortie connected to a common turnout position in the SE8C.

So the moral of the story is, if you don't like wiring don't install detection, signaling or Tortoise Motors...

Jas.

Crew Lounge Facilities - Operational...

Well this week after getting the electrical connections ran and connected the Crew Lounge Facilities are all installed and operational.

There is a small bar fridge, kettle & coffee maker installed to make visiting that little bit more enjoyable and refreshing.  There will be room later on for a microwave.

Still requires finishing off the surrounds and a small LED light above the kettle area.  And of course some operators to test it all out...

Jas.

More Fascia Control Panels completed...

During this week I have begun a big push to complete the layouts Tortoise Fascia Control Panels.

On the 8th of December I am hoping to have a few of the guys over to give the layout a good test ops session.

So the first two panels complete are Carlisle Junction & Shippensburg.

The Carlisle Junction - Panel is the busiest as far as track work & Tortoise switch machine density is concerned.

The first step is to punch out the centres for the Tortoise Push Buttons.

Both panels service the area taken up predominately by the York Haven - Pulp & Paper Mill.  

There are another three panels to go before finishing.

Jas...

Crew Lounge Area takes shape...

So yesterday I started to install the shelving and setting out the configuration for the Crew Lounge beverages & snack area.

The main task was to get the shelf in that supports the small bar fridge & coffee making facilities.

 



This will be located underneath the Rutherford Yard extension, there will eventually be a microwave also to heat up food if needed.  This will make the layout self sufficient for ops sessions and save the walk back up to the house.

 

Next step is to get power to the little nook for the fridge, and then I can enjoy a cold beverage at the end of day...

 

Jas.

Last of the main layout area fascia installed...

Today I worked on finishing off the remainder of the fascia in the main layout room, with the fascia control panels ready to be installed this was the last step before that could occur.

The fascia is 10" (250mm) high and houses the Fascia Control Panels, PTP mini panels for the NCE throttles as well as storage boxes for ops sessions.

Next stage will be to install the turnout fascia control panels.

Jas...

Last of the Fascia Panels completed...

Today I worked on creating the last of the Fascia Panels for the layout.

This panel is the Carlisle Junction panel and is the major interchange between Conrail/Reading & Chessie System/D&H railroads.

This panel is one of the busiest for push button switches too, it is also has the most signals in an any of the areas too.

Jas...

Last section of Bench Work for the JL&T...

So for a little change of pace and to have a quick break from wiring and signaling installs I decided to make a start on the extension to the Harrisburg Yard & the Crew Lounge Kitchenette.

This area actually forms the new entry to the entire layout, it is the new crew lounge area and also the main staging yard.  The opening to the new extension of the layout shed has a small roller door for the opening which is about 8' (2.5m) in width.

The opening is great for moving large items in and out, but I'm now at the stage that this doesn't need to occur anymore.  The other issue is that it allows the dust and dirt in, and hot air during summer and cold during winter.

So yesterday I started by framing up the new wall and small nib wall.  The kitchenette will sit behind this wall and will have a small bar fridge, microwave, coffee machine and storage for everything required to keep operators and guests happy.

The section extending from the left to the right will be the addition to Harrisburg Yard, I will be adding a internal corner piece on the right to allow for the curved yard to extend another 4' (1.2m).

Today I finished up the entrance wall and wrapped it ready for cladding, the cladding will be 5/16" (8mm) MDF board.  This will stop the elements and hopefully most of the dust and dirt from getting in as well as adding to the security of the layout.  

In the shot below you can see the extra storage space we have above the crew lounge area.

The photo below is looking back towards the shed opening from the original/main layout room.  The space will hold a couple of operators for the Harrisburg Yard, and another two operators waiting to be called from the crew lounge.

As a value add for the layout I've recently had the security system upgraded and also had smoke detectors added to it too.  In the next stage this will have a 4G auto dialler added so that I can be alerted anywhere.

The new opening into the main entrance/crew lounge will also be getting a very special makeover that is purely inline with our layout and one of it's fallen railroads too...  More on that soon.

It's article time again...

You know when its article time again when your work bench looks like this...

And to give you an idea of what its all about this time...

The time taken to photograph the individual steps, and get the composition right is huge.  This sequence took about two hours to get right...

And when there is twenty (20) odd pages of content, and 2000 odd words in the article that adds up to a fair chunk of time to complete.

Stay tuned for it hopefully in a publication soon.

Another fine example of great planning & attention to detail...

A truly great friend of mine is Alan Bailey, many of you will have seen his LK&O Railroad taking shape on his website.
Alan and I have struck up a great friendship even though we are some 16000 odd kilometres away from each other, it's amazing how much we have in common in our lives including our layouts!  I hope one day we actually get to meet in person...

Alan's next module "Module 5" is another fine example of great planning, astounding wiring skills, and a fine level of detail for installing wiring that is rarely seen on a layout, it is a work of art in itself, in fact I would spend hours just looking at the wiring...

Check out Alan's latest post:

LK&O Railroad - Module 5...