4 Months since the last post.. Whats been happening?

Good Question!


I made a minor benchwork change down the centre of the layout which has given me more storage space underneath the layout. I replaced the centre legs with horizontal hardwood ply bracers, which gives me a clean run down the centre:

Consequently I had to move the detection system above the layout, which has now been fully wired and tested:

I used ethernet cable to wire the local detector circuits (which are installed adjacent to their blocks on the layout) back to the central detector circuits show above. There are approx 31 sensors on the layout, which has left me around 10 spare. These will be used for local control panels to detect input by the crews (eg. turning a key in a lock to request control to the switches)

I have also mounted the laptop underneath the workbench which gives a lot more space for the network controller to work in. its a fairly simple mount which also allows me to easily remove the laptop if required.

Whilst building this I went and bought a VESA mount on ebay which I have mounted to the brick wall behind the laptop. This allows me to attach the 22" Samsung monitor to the wall which is part of the dual-screen system for the network controller. The panel is designed to fit on a 1920x1080 display, which leaves the lower monitor for a train graph, which can be updated in real time.

The In-Progress train graph

The completed Network Controller's desk, with Wireless KB and Mouse

Along with these projects I have also completed the track work in all towns, which leaves me with Staging and Mendota (frmr. Steino) Yard to finish:

Meriden (Former Meridian) with extended width to support a bit more scenery

Earlville (Formerly Spencer) again with extended width baseboards

Plano Branch (formerly Theta Branch)

Plano (Formerly Theta) with new branch line loop and third track that leads to Plano Branch

Other End of Plano, with 2 Industry roads

Extended Width Staging with dead auto racks 

The next step is to complete staging, and finish with Mendota Yard. Once these are completed, the next step will be to terraform the scenery and install the facia on each level.


So thats it for now, there are a couple of more things on the list for the future so will try and keep the site updated..