Laundry Lane in OO

[stevegant]

A couple of other views around the room :

[Lofty]

I am not sure how I have not seen this thread before.

I think that you have done a great job in a relatively small space.

I particularly like the plaster wall, are they your own castings or is it a commercial product?

[stevegant]

I am not sure how I have not seen this thread before.

I think that you have done a great job in a relatively small space.

I particularly like the plaster wall, are they your own castings or is it a commercial product?

Hi - the castings came from that well known auction site !

[stevegant]

Here's a quick video that gives a cab ride around the layout :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZAhTV6VEF4&feature=plcp

[LNERA4]

great layout... really couldnt stop reading about it . could i have a plan of your layout maybe?? id love to get a idea based on what you have done for my steam layout around the room . plus i need the misses to know i dont take the hole room up an im able to still use it as a bedroom

[StevieDay]

You've made a lovely layout Steve & I like the video.

[Jon37686]

Hi Steve,

Superb layout and some nice rolling stock too, the video was very good and shows the layout well, I did a video of my last layout with a cab view but never saved it or uploaded it to youtube

Cheers, Jon.

[GordonBigBoy]

A bit more progress was made at the weekend .....

Started work on the control panel. Basically a sloping project box with the layout plan produced in Excel and then covered with a sheet of perpex from an old photo clip frame :



Going to be fun to wire this lot up :

Steve, your layout is a real inspiration for a beginner like me. I am still in the planning stage and living in rural SE Asia I will need to do a lot of shopping in UK. You mentioned you can buy a similar box in maplin. Can you please list the names of the other switches and components you have used for all the points work both at the box and beneath the track - please be aware I am a complete beginner. It will be a major project for me but I am not deterred; I'll take your pics to maplins and hopefully I can buy all that I need to replicate yours. Then I will need a crash course in wiring! My layout will be 00 using the Hornby Elite and I plan to install a DCC Bus. Hope you can help.

[stevegant]

A bit more progress was made at the weekend .....

Started work on the control panel. Basically a sloping project box with the layout plan produced in Excel and then covered with a sheet of perpex from an old photo clip frame :



Going to be fun to wire this lot up :

Steve, your layout is a real inspiration for a beginner like me. I am still in the planning stage and living in rural SE Asia I will need to do a lot of shopping in UK. You mentioned you can buy a similar box in maplin. Can you please list the names of the other switches and components you have used for all the points work both at the box and beneath the track - please be aware I am a complete beginner. It will be a major project for me but I am not deterred; I'll take your pics to maplins and hopefully I can buy all that I need to replicate yours. Then I will need a crash course in wiring! My layout will be 00 using the Hornby Elite and I plan to install a DCC Bus. Hope you can help.

Hi - have a read of this section of the New Railway Modellers Site. http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/el ... motors.htm This will give you an idea of what's needed to motorise your points. I personally used the SEEP point motors and some mini toggle switches. The switches are normally sold as "Mini Toggle Switch (on)off(on) SPDT". These switches are momentary switches - i.e. the are sprung to return to the centre position. I also have a capacitor discharge unit to ensure that the points switch in a positive consistent manner.

[GordonBigBoy]

Hi Steve, thanks for the guidance which has been really useful. I now have a much better understanding.

Not wishing to hijack your thread I have opened another one here: http://www.newrailwaymodellers.co.uk/Fo ... 44&t=38886 This is for fellow beginners to look at a very rough price comparison I compiled between a home design points setup similar to yours, and the Hornby Accessory Decoder solution. I also included some more links which I hope others will find useful. Grateful for any further input to that. Good luck with Laundry Lane - Awesome!

Cheers
Ian

[stevegant]

It's been a while since the last update but today I have had a chance to play !

Having recently purchased some of the excellent Bachmann MK1 coaches I set about close coupling them. I opted for the replacement draw bars from Keen Sytems. These are a direct replacement for the exisitng draw bars and have the advantage of putting the NEM pockets in the correct place. I have opted for Kadee coupling at the end of the rake as this is what I use on all my stock. I used the knuckle couplers supplied by Keen to join the rest of the coaches in the rake.

This is what Keen Supply :



A gave them a quick clean up with a file and then set about removing the bogie from each coach and replacing the draw bars with those from Keen. It's a bit of a fiddle to get the self centering spring back into place but by the time I got to the third coach I was getting better/quicker each time.

The end result (nice close coupling) :





And this is the effect as the coaches open up slightly to negotiate curves :



I am very pleased with effect.

I did find that the knuckle couplers need a quick swipe with a file to allow a pair of them to engage easily.

[thebritfarmer]

They do look good, were they just a straight swap?

[stevegant]

They do look good, were they just a straight swap?

Hi - yes a straight swap over ! I have also been advised that using the Hornby R8220 couplings on the standard Bachmann drawbar will achieve close coupling but will not put the NEM pocket in the correct place which the Keen Systems drawbar does.

[thebritfarmer]

Thanks Steve for the info.

These manufacturers need to get there acts together, how difficult would it be to do a universal coupling

[dan8400]

Hi Steve.

A whole year has passed without any news. Hope you are still running Laundry lane.

If so is it finished? Or have you been tinkering with it at all.

Thanks
Dan