Pete Waterman's "Making Tracks 3"
Discussion
48k said:
Speedy11 said:
Track laying is easy, just make sure you don't smack the rail with a hammer if using track pins 
(thanks Pete)
(thanks Pete) 
Smaller hammer perhaps!
That's one failure mode I have already considered in my subconscious track laying process FMEA. /engineer
Drilling (at least) the sleepers helps reduce the force needed.
A pin punch is the correct tool, I have and use one.
And if the board is soft enough/hole is the right size pushing the last few mm with a pair of pliers can work and be easier to modulate.
Aren't YT videos brilliant
One thing I am still struggling with is getting a smooth join on a curve. Unavoidable as most are (much) greater than the nominal 914mm standard flexi length. I get closest by staggering the join and soldering the joiners but I can still see a change in spacing. I'm hoping it'll get better with practice.
For ballast I'm taking the easy (albeit much less aesthetic) way, at least initially, using ballast mat.
Speedy11 said:
If you have any questions just ask away.
Just watching the latest MegaPoints video showing people driving the trains - each one I watched had their train leaving the fiddle yard and was routed around and through platforms 5/6 at the station. ie. the train was always on the outside of the layout. Is that done deliberately, so that the other paths are cleared for the experts to run the other trains and provide interest and separation? Or was that just coincidence? ie. could a member of the public take a train and drive it in to the bay platform and reverse it back out again for example? Or is it the case that the public trains are always on the outside and just do a lap ?jet_noise said:
Smaller hammer perhaps!
That's one failure mode I have already considered in my subconscious track laying process FMEA. /engineer
Drilling (at least) the sleepers helps reduce the force needed.
A pin punch is the correct tool, I have and use one.
And if the board is soft enough/hole is the right size pushing the last few mm with a pair of pliers can work and be easier to modulate.
Aren't YT videos brilliant
One thing I am still struggling with is getting a smooth join on a curve. Unavoidable as most are (much) greater than the nominal 914mm standard flexi length. I get closest by staggering the join and soldering the joiners but I can still see a change in spacing. I'm hoping it'll get better with practice.
For ballast I'm taking the easy (albeit much less aesthetic) way, at least initially, using ballast mat.
For long curves I just laser some MDF templates that fit between the rails it makes getting nice long consistent curves so much easier.
48k said:
Just watching the latest MegaPoints video showing people driving the trains - each one I watched had their train leaving the fiddle yard and was routed around and through platforms 5/6 at the station. ie. the train was always on the outside of the layout. Is that done deliberately, so that the other paths are cleared for the experts to run the other trains and provide interest and separation? Or was that just coincidence? ie. could a member of the public take a train and drive it in to the bay platform and reverse it back out again for example? Or is it the case that the public trains are always on the outside and just do a lap ?
The layout is effectively 4 independent loops (Up/Down Fast & Up/Down Slow) we did this to make it as simple as possible for the volunteers to operate. There are a lot of "features" that would not be included if we didn't have to rely on volunteers to operate. The fast lines have 4 advantages for the public to operate. Mainly its on the outside so easier to see, fast lines uses passenger stock which are more reliable runners, some kids love driving the fastest trains and as they are the fast trains we can cycle more people through the layout. If it is quiet we don't mind letting people operate the slow lines which the bay uses that mainly happens from after 4pm.Speedy11 said:
For long curves I just laser some MDF templates that fit between the rails it makes getting nice long consistent curves so much easier.
That would mean just having a laser cutter I've attempted to make my own template the old(er) fashioned way. Made a trammel for my router but the results didn't seem too accurate. I may have another go.
I have a couple of Tracksettas but have not yet laid a curve of their radius!
I'm starting in the fiddle yard where looks are less critical. I draw directly on the baseboard (no mat) with a beam compass. Following that drawn curve works mostly, used map pins to hold/adjust the track until drilled & properly pinned.
48k said:
Just catching up on the latest videos - relaying the entire fiddle yard on Sunday seemed like a bit of an 11th hour project decision ! 
It was only the points at either end, so not the full length. They were Hornby set track points (which Hornby sent to us for MT1) which we change to long radius Peco. Some of the modern stock was struggling with them so we decided lets just change them and be done with it. It was on the to do list from last year but we forgot to do it 
Just got back from a nice morning at GETS. It was absolutely heaving. Lots of layouts being displayed and a ton of trade stands, not just in the main arena but in the side area and two balconies as well. Nice to meet Speedy11 and see Making Tracks 1, 2 and 3 altogether. It sounds silly to say it but you really don't appreciate just how big 152 feet is until you see it in the flesh. An impressive layout for sure. Looking forward to seeing next years epic already.
I did visit on the Sunday, glad I did, terrific achievement and I hope Pete W and friends carry on and build up more and more of the WCML.
Busy as I expected so you had to bide your time to get a decent view, particularly around the station of course.
The satellite destination boards didn't seem to be working, and I appreciate that the signals are authentic but trackside they are very difficult to see working, I'd have loved to see a line of four or five gantry mounted four aspect signals that you could see flick over the blocks as the trains go through.
Busy as I expected so you had to bide your time to get a decent view, particularly around the station of course.
The satellite destination boards didn't seem to be working, and I appreciate that the signals are authentic but trackside they are very difficult to see working, I'd have loved to see a line of four or five gantry mounted four aspect signals that you could see flick over the blocks as the trains go through.
Well its over, the layout is back at base all safe and sound. The layout didn't run as well as I would have liked, we had a few small issues which snowballed together but at least trains sort of kept running. All the problems would have been solved if I could have turned the layout off for an hour or so but once the doors were open it was too late. However it was great to see everyone there. I have never been to model railway show as busy on both days.
jet_noise said:
How do you protect the catenary?
Super fragile!
It's not that bad really, 90% of the masts are made from plywood so they are quite flexible so take the knocks well.Super fragile!
48k said:
Just got back from a nice morning at GETS. It was absolutely heaving. Lots of layouts being displayed and a ton of trade stands, not just in the main arena but in the side area and two balconies as well. Nice to meet Speedy11 and see Making Tracks 1, 2 and 3 altogether. It sounds silly to say it but you really don't appreciate just how big 152 feet is until you see it in the flesh. An impressive layout for sure. Looking forward to seeing next years epic already.
It was great to meet you and it was indeed rammed. We start getting the station ready for Christmas tomorrow and then planning for the NEC starts on Sunday.bandmbill said:
How much DCC hardware has been used on the combined layout - Z21 command station with how many boosters?
We used one Z21 command station with 1 booster at Chester but for the longer layout we got an extra booster. This second booster was brand new out of the box but the firmware was 10 versions out of date, it took all of Saturday for it to update which is why we kept having power issues. We were drawing ~ 5.5 amps of track power which was covered by the main and one booster, but every time we got a short and we turned it back on the inrush current caused it to overload. As soon as the update completed it solved all the power issues we were having.Hammersia said:
I did visit on the Sunday, glad I did, terrific achievement and I hope Pete W and friends carry on and build up more and more of the WCML.
Busy as I expected so you had to bide your time to get a decent view, particularly around the station of course.
The satellite destination boards didn't seem to be working, and I appreciate that the signals are authentic but trackside they are very difficult to see working, I'd have loved to see a line of four or five gantry mounted four aspect signals that you could see flick over the blocks as the trains go through.
Yea the boards weren't working as I just ran out of time, 2 days was just not long enough really to get everything sorted. Once the show opened at 9:30 you just can't turn the layout off to fix the little issues. It was the same with the signals, the brightness was set for the Cathedral but at the show the lighting was much brighter which made the signals look dim.Busy as I expected so you had to bide your time to get a decent view, particularly around the station of course.
The satellite destination boards didn't seem to be working, and I appreciate that the signals are authentic but trackside they are very difficult to see working, I'd have loved to see a line of four or five gantry mounted four aspect signals that you could see flick over the blocks as the trains go through.
I understand your pain! I was one of the team running a fairly large layout at Model Rail 2023. It runs automatically using iTrain software. Or it did until a brief surge in the power blew one of the Digikeijs feedback modules. For the next 2 days we had to revert to manual control. Another problem that arose was that the track in the fiddle yard expanded and started to warp due to the heat in the exhibition hall.
No matter how well a layout runs beforehand, things are sure to go wrong at an exhibition!
No matter how well a layout runs beforehand, things are sure to go wrong at an exhibition!
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