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Tarry Mill Loft Layout

Discussion in 'Members Personal Layouts' started by eddien9750, May 22, 2017.

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  1. May 22, 2017 #1
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    I have started a loft layout. It is about 25 feet in length and 2 and a half feet in width, running down two sides of the loft. It is joined at each end with 6 foot lengths.
    This gives me a walkway down the middle of the loft so I can access the whole layout. It will be DCC controlled, and I have some track already laid and tested. So far so good. I have even started some basic landscaping, and I can assure you it is very basic....
    I have named it after a farm my mother lived on. it was on the East coast of Scotland near Abroath.
    The layout is going to be set in the 1950's, predominantly steam, and controlled by DCC as I am a complete novice when it comes to wiring.
    I have attached a photo of one side of the layout with some basic landscaping in place, mostly using spray expanding foam
    I shall endeavour to post its progress as it grows, and you never know I might even contribute something along the way.
    Regards,
    Eddie

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
  2. May 22, 2017 #2
    Ron

    Ron Full Member

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    Looking good so far! How many levels are you having??:)
     
  3. May 22, 2017 #3
    Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Nice long run. Mind and keep the progress photos coming. This looks like it could be an epic. :avatar:
     
  4. May 22, 2017 #4
    Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    Great start Eddie. So will you be running coach stock or goods?
    Kim
     
  5. May 23, 2017 #5
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"Hi Kim, style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"
    style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"I will be running both. One innner raised track for goods with a cross over to an outer main line. Plus another two main lines for coaches. style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"
    style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"There will be another outer raised line leading into two town scenes at both ends of the layout. style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"
    style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"It's pretty ambitious, I hope I haven't overstretched myself.... style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"
    style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"Eddie
     
  6. May 23, 2017 #6
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Hi Ron,
    There will be an outer raised level that runs round the whole layout, and a smaller raised section running down one side.
    Eddie
     
  7. May 23, 2017 #7
    Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    Eddie, with the space you have a couple of 5-7 coach trains are going to look very impressive.:thumbs:
    I had a similar smaller scenic length of approx 5m (15' approx) on a oo gauge layout and I ran 6 coach trains plus 20-25 goods wagon trains, looked really nice. The down side was been able to store all of them off scene.
    Its good to have ambitious plan, just take it slowly and careful, make sure the track-work is level and any curves are as gentle as the space will allow. As you plan to run it on DCC, make sure every piece of track-work and points have their own dropper wires, don't rely on fish-plates to carry the power, this is a large layout you are building and you need to make sure there are no dead zones or areas where the power drops off. Better to do this now before ballasting and scenic work takes over. :facepalm:Keep us posted on how your are progressing and don't forget we all love pictures. :thumbup:If you need any help or guidance we're all here to help. :thumbup:Kim
     
  8. May 23, 2017 #8
    gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    G`day Eddie,

    That`s a great length of room you have to play with there. I have seen a number of very good loft layouts on YouTube and this looks like another one in the making.......:thumbs:

    http://www.click:tophat:Gormo
     
  9. May 23, 2017 #9
    Keith M

    Keith M Staff Member Moderator

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    This just goes to show that you CAN produce a layout in the loft of houses with "trussed rafter" construction, which most modern houses now use. It must be quite fiddly to build, having to work around all the struts with long lengths of baseboard, but it shows that if you're determined, there's almost always a way around the difficulties. In my own loft I had no such problems, although there were originally two large double chimneys within the area. As part of the work I undertook on the bungalow, I had previously completely removed these chimneys right down to ground level, leaving no trace, so when I began layout construction, I had a clear loft area to work in, which made life much easier. Full marks for your ingenuity in building your layout Eddie, I'm watching with interest.
    Keith.
     
  10. May 23, 2017 #10
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Kimbo,
    I have run dropper wires attached in the middle of every length of track. I am using flexi track, about 3ft lengths.
    I tried soldering the wires to the track joiners, then joining the track, but I always seem to get a short, do I went back to the first method, soldering direct to the outside of the rail.It all seems to work well, hopefully it will continue.
    At this point I am unsure of installing point motors and switches. I am sure I can pick this up from the site though.
    Cheers Eddie
     
  11. May 23, 2017 #11
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Gormo,
    Coming from you that is praise indeed....
    I follow your videos all the time, they are really good and I have learned a lot from them.besides your sense of humour has me falling about.....
    Keep it up, you make my day.
    Cheers Eddie
     
  12. May 23, 2017 #12
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Thanks Keith.
    It was a bit of a challenge installing the base.
    I built at waist height by running strapping between the struts. I had some loft flooring boards left over from when I floored the loft and they are an ideal size to manipulate around the trusses.The beauty of them is the interlock, once they are glued and fixed to the strapping they are quite strong.
    Cheers
    Eddie
     
  13. May 23, 2017 #13
    Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    Off to a good start Eddie. :thumbs:

    One problem with soldering to the fish plates/rail joiners is that they become weak over time and you would eventually have poor electrical conductivity. As you have already soldered to each piece of track (flex) do the same on any points as well. You can improve the power flow on the insulfrog points by linking the switch blade to the corresponding stock rail. This will improve running to no end, especially if you intend running little 0-4-0s, such as the Hornby Sentinel.

    Must have been a right pain in the behind painting that back scene !

    Remember, if in doubt, ask away !

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  14. May 23, 2017 #14
    Kimbo

    Kimbo Staff Member Moderator

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    Hi Eddie. Soldering to each track is the best way to go :thumbup:. (soldering to fish-plates is not recommended as there is still a chance that the rail going into the fish-plate might not make a good electrical joint.)
    Point control. Several choices here:-
    • Wire in a tube. Ideal for smaller layouts or if you only have a few to operate and can reach them easily. - Gary has used these to great effect on his small show layouts[/*]
    • Snap action, solenoid type, several brands available, peco, hornby, gaugemaster. Probably the most often used, but they will require a capacitor discharge unit to operate correctly.[/*]
    • Slow action, Tortoise, cobalt. Toto is using Cobalt's on his new layout.[/*]
    • Servo motors. Paul and your's truly are using these at the moment.[/*]
    Each have their merits, some easier than others to install and operate and cost can vary from a few pence to a few pounds per unit .:facepalm:
    Its worth thinking about how you want to operate the points. Manually (wire in a tube or with the hand of god) or electrically (the rest on the list) Do you want to be able to use your DCC System to operate them? or do you want a panel with switches and possibly lights to give you a mini display of your track plan ?
    What type of points are you going to use ? ie are they insufrog or elctro frog points.? If your not sure post up a picture of them and we can advise you how best to wire them up for a DCC layout to work correctly.:thumbup:
    Kim
     
  15. May 23, 2017 #15
    ianvolvo46

    ianvolvo46 Staff Member Moderator

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    Hi Eddie really good start and total admiration ref the wiring etc. Thats going to be a very satisfying project however you do realize that you'll be drawn to the dark side by going dcc... good luck.

    :scratchchin:http://www.click ian vt
     
  16. May 23, 2017 #16
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Hi Guys,
    I do have a mixture of points, Hornby Insulfrog and Bachman electrofrog.I have used the Hornby point clips and they seem to work fine.
    I have some Seep PM1 under mounted point motors which I have not yet installed. To be quite frank I am avoiding the issue because I am unsure of how to wire them up....
    I intend to use surface mounted motors also, but I have still to purchase them.
    The back scene was a pain to paint because of the angle of the roof, also I racked my brains about what to put there. I could only come up with a supposed blue sky with smudges of white here and there to simulate clouds. Because of the angle I think anything else would not have looked right.
    As I live in Scotland it makes a change to see blue sky now and again.....
    I have attached a close up of my first attempts at rock face scenery using spray foam insulation...
    Cheers
    Eddie

    Attached files [​IMG]
     
  17. May 23, 2017 #17
    eddien9750

    eddien9750 Full Member

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    Hi Ian,
    I like the comment about the dark side...
    The force is with me though....
    Eddie
     
  18. May 23, 2017 #18
    Gary

    Gary Wants more time for modelling.... Staff Member Administrator

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    The Hornby point clips have a tendency to work loose over time. This is not good in relation to DCC. If one does become loose, it will/can cause all sorts of issues, first one being where to locate the fault that the circuit is shorting out, somewhere...

    Cheers, Gary.
     
  19. May 23, 2017 #19
    Toto

    Toto I'm best ignored Staff Member Founder Administrator

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    Lots of good advice coming through Eddie re the track feeds and points. As far as the point control goes, take your time and get a good understanding of their capabilities as it could end up expensive trying to change later.

    I run with Cobalts and I'm very happy with them to date. They are a little expensive compared with solenoid motors but offer more flexibility.

    How many sets of points do you think you'll need ?
     
  20. May 23, 2017 #20
    gormo

    gormo Staff Member Administrator

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    G`day Eddie,

    I know a guy on another forum who doesn`t use rail joiners at all!!!....he just fixes the track down and lines it up properly, but he has to rely solely on dropper leads to connect it all up.....and it works.!!

    Personally, I like the rail joiners for track alignment and keeping the whole thing together as it were, but I also use dropper leads for electrical integrity. Doesn`t matter then if a rail joiner has a dodgy electrical connection, because the dropper lead takes care of it.!!!

    http://www.click:tophat:Gormo
     
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