Model Railway Forum

Brian, I presume you are asking about the connection to the baseboard?

The wire umbilicals from the D-sub plugs at the rear of the control box are hard wired to solder tag strips under the baseboard. There is enough slack to allow the baseboard to stand on its side while still connected to the panel. The plugs allow the board to be completely disconnected if I need to move it out of the shed.

With hindsight I should perhaps replace the tag strips with more of those D-sub units, that would avoid the possibility of a trailing umbilical getting snagged.
Maybe next time.

The whole thing Steve. A lesson in how to wire neatly.

The control box sits on runners under the frame that the baseboards sit on. Slide it out, lift the lid and two hooks hold it in place against the layout while in use.
Close the lid and slide it out of the way when finished - hence the need for umbilicals for the wires.

Very clever system.

Walkingthedog wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 8:09 pm Very clever system.

Almost deserving a video of its own.

All action ‘unboxing’ of the mimic board.

https://youtu.be/j3m-sj1fFYQ

Very good - as your signature says, very versatile. R-

I think we’re slowly beating this thing into submission.
I’ve connected up a few LEDs on the panel that correspond with a couple of insulfrog points as I can use the inbuilt switch in the Seep point motor. I also have a dozen Gaugemaster autofrogs on order so I can fit them and repurpose the PM switches for the LEDs. The wiring for these is all in place and just needs to be connected up.

2021-05-24_03-35-55 by Steve Mumford, on Flickr

Andof course, as one stage of the build nears completion I’m thinking about the next - there’s some work to be done testing the layout once all the lights and switches are in place, and I do have a couple of small scenic foundation bits in mind around the viaduct and coaldrops.

But the next ‘big’ thing will be point rodding. Previously I have used the Wills kit but that works out to be very expensive in the long run. Consequently I have ordered a significant number of rodding chairs (whitemetal) and cranks and pulleys (etched brass).

This is where the challenge now arrives - trying to find straight, square section brass or steel for the rodding itself. It is available in small quantities (no idea how much I will need yet) or on a roll which may not straighten enough.
The alternative is to use round section straight wire which is available in longer lengths.

Looking back at prototypical practice, pretty much everything I have ever seen is square although I believe round rods were used in the very early part of the the last century.

But will it look right?

Great progress Steve - it really is looking very neat and tidy. If you try Google Images "round point rodding" it does appear to have been used on the GWR.

That all looks very neat and tidy, I do start off wiring as tidy as I can but it sometimes ends up like a birds nest.
Seeing your work makes me want to do better.
The progress you are making is remarkable.
Puddles