Scenes from an obscure railway. Complete Closure - 10 June

[WardWorks]

Cheers Boss 👍

Works for me too.. Got a lot more dun so far than I thunk I would already today 😃

Might be back sooner than originally thought at this rate - we shall see what we shall see 🤓  The tube is normally blech over Easter... 🤭🙄😖

Awaiting the arrival of some supplies, but can do a lot before they git here as well... 😎

Best Regards
OB of back to the hot soldering iron ! 😉

[JCON]

Don't burn yer paws!!!

[WardWorks]

Howzabout A burnt thumb about 5 minutes ago ? 😲

Soldering iron mishap, thumb on rail, too close to where I was soldering a feed wire to it and oh ! the language ! 🤬🤭.. A quick bit of elastoplast (padded style) soon fixed it and there's no chance of it burning again ! The smell of Elastoplast being heated will ensure that (phew !) 🤫

Not really complaining, usual model railway tomfoolery involved - stopped for a coffee and then I'll git back into it til dinnertime ! ☕️

Regards
Singhiz Things, Chief Hot Item User and Madman at Large
TFNCoS Rly Coy 😉

[JCON]

I warned ya bout them hot bits!!!

[Robbo]

Nice work fella, your carpentry skills are very good, keep it coming

[BUCKY]

Hopefully, that will be your only burnt digit! Workplace mishaps do happen, tho!
At least now ya know which end of the soldering iron means business!!

[WardWorks]

Thanks Folks 👍

Matters Arising...🤔

Joe - Ya surely did, not to worry, woke up this morning wondering why the elastoplast was round the end of my thumb and took it off... No damage showing, so I guess it only just got me, that was more than enough, I hasten to add ! 😲

Robbo - Cheers mate, I'm just happy that you can't see underneath it and laugh at the true extent of the butchery involved... Think the Quayside is going to get a bit longer shortly, might just extend it along the whole 4ft frontage of the next board as well.. Still thinking about that one ! 😈

Bucky - I always knew which end of the soldering iron was the painful bit... Ever since I was under a mate's layout, sorting out some fault on the rat's nest of wiring he'd installed... I stuck my hand out and asked him to "Pass me the soldering iron please", only to have the hot end of a 100 watter carefully placed into my hand. Oh the high volume language that engendered ! 🤬😳... After my cremated hand healed (about 3 weeks) he got a short, sharp lesson on how to pass a hot soldering iron without anybody getting burned... Anyhow, long time ago now, he and I are still mates somehow... 😎

Moving right along, I managed to get some small, electronic components today, so the control panel and the LED turnout indicators and track section on/off indicators will work... 🤓

Regards to All
OB of hardly fond memories 😉 (the pain associated with the soldering iron burn detailed above is still as nasty in my mind as it was on the day it happened !) 😖

[WardWorks]

Hi Folks

All temporary wiring gone, permanent wiring in and ready for linking back to control panel. Points control (wire in tube) wires and tubes, ready for install tomorrow as are the two Cobalt point motors for the Quay end, where wire in tube won't work.

Jobs for tomorrow - install points control, wire crossboard plugs and make, wire, install and test control panel 🤔

Play Trai... Err... Test layout til Monday night.🤓

Regards to All
OB of getting ever closer now... 😉

[JCON]

Most excellent progress my friend!!!

[JED]

Looking good O.B

[WardWorks]

Hi Folks

Owing to a couple of Easter Weekend distractions (none of which involved churches in any way shape or form - proper heathen that I am 😈), things didn't git dun, so I'm hoping to get at least the wiring and panels in and dun by tonight... we'll see. 🤔 No rush at any rate 😗🎵🎶

Back soon-ish with whatever news is happening... 😖😳

Regards
OB of if this wire goes there, where the heck does that one go ? 🤬 😉

[JCON]

No worries my friend, will wait patiently until you are ready...

[WardWorks]

Here ya go then... Lot of catching up dun today 😃

Underside of both main boards...



Underside of quay board...



Underside of second board - white tubes have point control/movement - well the (2mm steel), wires in them do......🤓



Not quite finished yet, there's 12 more track power wires (Red and Black), to go on yet, then the 6 Green wires (point crossing nose polarity), plus the point control switches to go on (switches to move the point blades and change the crossing nose polarity). Later on, there'll be a rainbow cable from the point control switches to a track diagram, to indicate at a glance to the operator in which direction the points are set. 🤓

This lot works properly so far I'm glad to say 😆👍 - whether the rest of the wiring yet to be done will behave its rotten self or give me a right old case of the screaming abdabs remains to be seen 😖🤬

Regards OB of Frazzled 😈🙄🤯😉

PS - My (lack of) carpentry skills are fully on view - stop laughing dammit ! 😳😆

[JCON]

Glad its you and not me with all the wiring fella!!! Nice work!!!

[WardWorks]

So was I... until... 🤬

Secured the last wire, powered it up and blew a controller.. Traced that fault down, Blew a second controller... 🤯....

Traced that fault down, identified and fixed two more possible short causers, Plugged in controller #3 and powered the thing up - and promptly let the magic blue smoke out of that controller too !

Aaaaaaaaarrrrggggghhh ! 🤬🤬🤬 The air had turned a very deep blue by now 😳🤭 .. Started testing with a meter.. finally found what had gone wrong (own goal, no further correspondance will be entered into on the matter - ever !) 😫🤯😳🤭 Dremelled a couple of gaps into the track and she's up and running on controller #4 - The three fried controllers will each need a 20c transistor replaced, should be all back up and working tonight - Whew ! 🤓😆

Regards
OB of its funny NOW but I sure as heck ain't laughing ! 😉

[JCON]

Sorry brother!!! Glad you finally got it sorted!!!

[WardWorks]

I'm blaming it on not wiring a railway for ages and forgetting the easy bits ... 🤔

Typically it had to be the first thing I should have checked 🤬💥 ☠️☠️💩🤯

Ah well, as you said, its sorted now.. 🤓

Ya know it ain't yer day when you half strip a controller to replace a transistor, get it reassembled and the direction switch collapses and you have to pull the lot apart again - Kentucky Fried Controllers - Finger Singein' Good

Regards
OB of quitting whilst I'm still (very slightly) ahead 😉

[JCON]

Live and learn!!! LOL!!!

[WardWorks]

Yup ...

3 controllers fixed. Then I dropped the unbroken one, flattened the direction switch completely, so I replaced the switch, plugged the controller into the layout and promptly blew it up...

PCB sleepers, the bane of baseboard gaps, if ya don't gap the copperclad on the sleeper properly, its a direct short... Luckily for me, a fine, hair thin line of unbroken copper clad caught the light and my eye as I reached underneath to release the clamps holding board 1 to board 2... a quick muttered oath or two 🤬 and a fast scrape with a jeweller's screwdriver blade removed the offender and the last problem on the layout, so after I replaced yet another transistor in yet another controller,🙄 I happily spent the afternoon shuttling a small engineer's vehicle about the layout. Whew ! its back in business again ! 👍😆

Playing err.. testing the layout for the next few days.... 😈

Regards
OB of thank gawd that's over ! 😉

[JCON]

Hallelujah you found it!!!