Model Railway Forum

I only need three servos for the layout so i bought a Peco kit of four plus driver board and configuration device.
All the parts I need are in the kit ( some were missing when received but now replaced ).
The servos work very quietly and smoothly and the spare servo will be used to rotate a wagon turntable through 90 degrees.
I think Chops mentioned the road/rail crossings and controlling traffic. I have some colour light signals that I bought for my main layout but are not suitable so I will use these as traffic lights and have programmed a small PLC ( Programmable Logic Controller) to operate them.
The weather is so nice today I have not worked on the layout ( cutting lawns and washing cars) but may have a go later in the week.
I have found a "Steamsound 79" unit I forgot I had. This produces steam loco sounds and can be set for 2 or 3 cylinders , even beat and whistle and safety valve sounds. It still works so may use it on the layout.
Regards, Colin.

Remarkable. Am I understanding that you might automatically control
the bus traffic?

Am I understanding that you might automatically control the bus traffic?

That's a good idea !
After a bit of thought I decided that I can control the bus power through the PLC so that when the lights are Red , power is cut to the bus circuit.

The missing parts for the servos arrived today so have fitted them. A bit of a fiddle for the first one as I have not fitted them before but the others went in fine. The wagon turntable works but may need some adjustment to the servo mounting for the required 90 deg. movement.
Now I can start ballasting and getting the traffic lights and buildings installed.
I must order some trees and street lamps to add to the building scene.
Regards, Colin.

I await your next progress report with great interest.

Servo woes !
Hi all. I have made some progress on the layout and had some problems.
The track is ballasted and the viaduct finished with combined 16.5 and 12mm track for display purposes - I may even add a catenary for my swiss H0m models.
Initially I was happy with the servos for point operation but some problems of over travel on power up causes the operating wires to come out of the point operating bars and then it is a job to re-fit the servos and wires !
I have decided to ditch the servos and have ordered slow-motion point motors instead.
The servos will be used to operate the turntable and some barriers across the road/rail crossings.
I tried using some 3-aspect signals with the LEDs turned the other way ( red at top) as road signals at the crossing but they looked a bit too much for a simple narrow gauge crossing so made some simple flashing lights from some copper tube, a washer and some rod I found in the garden which threaded nicely at 6 BA. A red LED fits in the tube and the wires are hidden by shrink-sleeve on the post.
Some photos of the layout with buildings in their intended places.



Bendy Trolley bus and flashing crossing signal. Bus overhead wires will be fitted last as they are fairly delicate.



Working wagon turntable and station approach



General view of layout - next step after fitting new point motors is laying out the gardens and fences.
I went out on my bike last week and took photos of scenes which will be printed and used as the view through the viaduct arches.

Regards, Colin.

Like the viaduct idea. I may pinch that idea on the one I am building. (if you don't mind be breaking copyright )

Like the viaduct idea. I may pinch that idea on the one I am building. (if you don't mind be breaking copyright )

Feel free !
I probably got the idea from somewhere else so it is more a case of "copied right" than copyright .
All servos now removed except for the turntable and wiring and switches modified to suit.
Regards, Colin.

Most delightful, well done.

Nearly done !
The layout is taking shape nicely and all features are working.
I added some barriers at the crossings and used the redundant servos to operate them .
The wagon turntable is operated by another servo and the points are operated by slow action motors which work very well.

Full view of layout - next to be added are trees, people and the trolley poles. All complete houses are illuminated and the street lights work.



Station area.



Crossing with barriers down and warning lights flashing,



And one for Chops !



Regards, Colin.

Hi all.
The layout is complete except for final touches and tuning.
The trolley bus circuit runs perfectly but the H0e track needs a bit of work on the road crossings where some of the older locos ground on the track infil.
Most buildings are illuminated as are the street lamps. I run them on 5 volts although they are rated at 12 v which gives a softer less bright light.
Here are some photos.

Overall view of layout.



Left end of station.


Trolley bus at station.



Right end of station with wagon turntable.



Viaduct with SBB C5/6 loco and train



Regards, Colin.