Progress - At Last!

With one thing and another, the railway has had to take a back seat for several weeks now.  However, I did spend a couple of hours today working on Hannerton New Street.  I've constructed the road area at the one end of the station under which the trains disappear as they leave the station.  Roads and pavements are only placed temporarily.

General view of the station area.

GWR Hall class departs Hannerton into the depths of the tunnel.

More Gardens

I've not done much scenic work recently because I've been concentrating on wiring up Hannerton New Street.  However, with the first phase of the wiring complete, I've now turned my attention back to a few scenic issues.  One area I do want to address is Essington Village.  There are 2 areas that haven't had any scenic treatment:

1. The back gardens of the 2 houses on the left side of the High Street (number 9 and 11).
2. The area behind the chip shop including the rear section of the river.

First to be addressed was the back gardens.  The fences were made in the same way as described before (see here), but - for a bit of variety - the owners of number 11 have painted their fence green.  The owners of number 9 have gone for the more traditional brown.

A rather bare garden has been laid behind the one house, but the residents of number 11 are still waiting for the landscapers to arrive.  Rumour has it, they will be having a pond.

Cardboard Gardening

In preparations for finishing the gardens in the village, I've printed off some more fencing and two more sheds. The more observant amongst you may have noticed the error with the previous sheds (see this blog entry) - the planks on the door run left to right, not up and down. This error has been corrected for the two new sheds!

Plastic Surgery

A couple of plastic kits occupied a couple of hours this afternoon.  First up is a conservatory from a Wills kit.

Assembled conservatory ready for waiting and glazing

The completed kit attached to No. 6 High Street.  It looks like a old couple  live there.  George is sitting out in the garden taking in the sunshine

The second kit was for coal staithes.  This one is from a Peco kit.

Assembled kit ready for painting

Painted coal stathies in the goods yard at Essington.  The coal is 'real' coal crushed.

Electrics Update

No photos this time, but a short update on the electrics.  All points are now wired up and working (one of the point motors is sticking and will need some adjustment).  The next task with the electrics will be the signal control.  I'll prototype this at work before building the final circuit on the board that fits inside the control panel.

IR Detectors - Update

All three IR detectors are now in place and working.  There are two sections in the tunnel at the east end of the station.  These illuminate yellow LEDs on the control panel that indicate the section of track is occupied.  In the first photo both LEDs are illuminated.

The third detector is at the west end of the station and is intended only to detect when a train passes a certain point (rather than a section of track).  This will be used for setting the signal back to red after the train has left the station.  For this detector there is no LED transmitter. The detector pokes up between the sleepers.

IR Detection Circuit

'Tract Circuit' indicators showing the presence of a train in the tunnel

IR Detector poking between sleepers

IR Detectors

I've started work on the train detection system for Hannerton New Street.  This will use Infra Red (IR) LEDs and receivers.  The detection circuits serve two purposes:

1. Before a train departs the station the relevant signal will be 'pulled off' - or in other words, it will turn green.  Shortly after passing the signal, the train will activate the sensors and the signals will automatically be set back to red.  This is how real railways work - except they don't use IR.
2. In addition to this, where the tracks disappear into the tunnel at the west end of the station, the sensors will operate LEDs on the control panel to give a visual indication that there is a train in the tunnel.  There will be two separate sections in the tunnel, the first will indicate that there is a train occupying the point work, the second will indicate that there is a train in the tunnel, but that it is clear of the points.

For those who are electrically minded, the circuit is actually very simple.  The IR detector is a photodiode.  This means that the amount of current that flows through it varies depending on the amount of IR light falling on it.  This detector is connected in series with a resistor and so consequently the voltage varies as the amount of IR light varies.  This voltage is fed into one input of a comparator chip and another voltage is fed into the other input.  This second input allows the sensitivity to be controlled.  The output of the comparator controls a transistor which controls the power to the indicator LED.

I've now got to build three of these circuits on the stripboard in the control panel (see Control Panel Progress 3).  All three circuits will share the same comparator chip as it has multiple comparators within it.

Prototype IR Detection Circuit used to confirm that the system would work as planned. 

A transmitter and detector mounted on brackets made out of stripboard.

Sensors Blu-Tacked into position ready for testing.

The HST passing between the detectors

Lucas Wagons

Another Lucas wagon to join the fleet, this time an open wagon in corporate bright green. If you're wondering why I should be collecting Lucas wagon it is because I work for Lucas. Or at least I would work for Lucas if those pesky Americans hadn't bought them!

Success!

I've brought the control panel home and I've been able to try it out. I had a couple of wires swapped over, but other than that all. so far, is OK. The switched track section all work and the 3 points with motors also work.

Finished!

I've finished wiring up the control panel for Hannerton New Street. I'll take the box home and get it working on the layout. The brown circuit board that can be seen in the photograph will now be removed. This will mean I can build and test the circuits for the train detection and signal control during lunchtimes at work. The circuit board can then be taken home for testing in the box on the layout.

Hannerton Electrics

In preparation for the completion of the control panel (surely not too many more lunch hours needed?) I've added the shelf that will support it.

I've also made a start at fitting and wiring up the point motors.

Hannerton Bridge Mock-Ups

First off, I've boarded the section of roof over Hannerton station. This is primarily to make the area a bit brighter and less dingy. It will get painted white at some point.

Thinking ahead I've mocked up the bridges and tunnels at each end of the station area. This will allow me to check for clearances before committing to the final structures. At the west end of the station the tracks disappear under a road bridge.

And at the east end of the station the lines disappear into a dingy tunnel under the city streets of Hannerton.

Whoops - I forgot about that!

It occured to me while I was wiring up the Hannerton control panel that it would be useful to indicate to the person operating Hannerton whether their own controller was connected to the track, or whether the Essington controller was 'in charge' Essington is the master control panel and has a switch to make this choice. Since this wasn't on the original control panel I've had to add a label. Two additional LEDs will be added, a red to indicate that Essignton is in control and a green to indicate local control.

Holiday Arrivals

I got home from 2 weeks holiday to a couple of packages. One was the colour light signals for Hannerton Station. I've temporarily mounted one.

The other new arrivals were two more Lucas vans, giving a total of four.

Control Panel Progress - 3

More wires!

Bits and Bobs

Lots of little bits in this update. First up is the river which has now had the 'water' added. This was made using a special modelling 'water' that melts at low temperature (around 60 deg C) and can the be poured into the river bed. It then cools and sets. It looks pretty good to me.

Next job was to finish building the last house for the village.

And I've finally got around to finishing the station building by adding the clock tower and chimneys. And a very grand structure it is too!

And finally, the zebra crossing in the village has now been adorned with belisha beacons. This is the timer circuit I built up to control them.

The crossing, complete with belisha beacons.

And finally, the flashing lights 'in action'.

Loco Maintenance

I had the morning off work to try to locate the wasps nest. After studying the outside of the roof for several minutes without spotting any wasps I ventured up into the loft. No wasps, no buzzing - nothing. While I waited in the loft listening for buzzing noises I thought I'd make use of the time by doing some loco maintenance. First job was 'Defiant'. I started work on this loco several months ago with a strip down and lubricate. Now I've changed the brushes and springs and she's running beautifully. There's still a bit of an issue with the bogie which seems to lift the front of the loco up in the air, so for now it's running without the bogie fitted. Tweaking of the bogie will follow.

14th July update: This has now been fixed - the bogie was catching on the screw link coupling and vacuum pipe. This was pushing the front of the bogie down and the back of it up.

Next I turned my attention to Pannier Tank 7752. This has never run well since I retrieved it from my parents house last year. I'd previously identified that the frames were bent and resolved this. I've now fitted new brushes and springs to this loco as well and she runs pretty well. There still seems to be a bit more play in the chassis than I would expect and occasionlly there's a clicking noise which I think is the conn rods catching on the brake rigging. More investigation required!!!

Control Panel Progress - 2

CDU now finished and tested. All 3 diode matrices completed. Now started top wire up all those switches, connectors and LEDs!

Wiring Started - But Wasps Stop Progress!

I've started wiring up Hannerton Station. First job was a 12 core cable that runs round from the Essington control panel bring various supplies and other signals. I've then started wiring up the various sections. Three d-type connectors (2 x 25 way and 1 x 37 way) will be used and once completed almost all of these connections will be used.

However - we came home on Saturday to find 30 wasps in the house and it seems we have a nest in the loft. I've not found it yet - and until we've git rid of it I'm not too keen on spending any more time in the loft than is absolutely necessary!

Control Panel Progress

The control panel for Hannerton New Street has now been drilled out and almost all of the switches and indicators have been added (3 more switches left to fit). This means that (externally) the panel looks pretty much finished.

The reality of the situation is somewhat different with a multitude of connections needing to be made inside the box!

I've started work by making up the the diode matrices that will control the points. The plan is to wire up the control panel at work in numerous lunch breaks and wire up the layout at home completely independently. Then I'll take the control panel home and see just how many mistakes I've made!!!!

For information there are:

• 7 toggle switches
• 18 push buttons
• 84 LEDs

I may be some time.....

Hannerton Control Panel

I've started the control panel for Hannerton. It follows the same construction as the Essington control panel using a self adhesive label that can go through a laser printer. Lots of wires still to go in this panel!

More Hills and More Grass

Well - I've finally 'grassed' the other side of the valley in which Essington sits, plus I've been working on a few smaller details. I'll let the photos do most of the talking!

An overall view of the village and adjacent caravan site.

The river bed is now complete - it just needs water now!

In amongst by box of bits were a few pieces of stone walling - seemed a pity not to use it somewhere.

A recent bargain eBay purchase was this car with working head and tail lamps.

A general view looking across the valley to the newly grassed areas.

Another general view showing the new road complete with hedges.

The Christadelphian Hall car park is now complete with fencing and a shed.

And I've finally replaced the paper slide with a metal one (made from a metal food tray).

HST Services Resume

After being out of service for several weeks, the Virgin HST has now returned to service. The failure of the power car was caused by the small drive cog slipping on the motor shaft. Now rectified, the HST performed faultlessly. She is seen in the photograph below passing over the viaduct.

I've also started forming the hill on the left hand side of the village.