Category: Planning Book

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book6 Comments

Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

traiNmaster

Last weekend I installed the track bus on all 3 modules (Segments F to H). This week, I added the feeders from the terminal points to the rails using AWG20 (0.5 sq.mm) wires. Each wire was connected to the respective points on the terminal strips. The DCC buzzer was helpful to detect any shorts while wiring. For such wiring, you would not normally make mistakes but as the layout gets larger and more tracks need to be wired, it is always good to have such buzzer. Thus, I started getting use to the habit of using DCC buzzer now. As … Continue reading Build #16: Wiring and Weathering (Part 1)

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book4 Comments

Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway

traiNmaster

It was a nasty Saturday this weekend but it was a good time to spend indoor. I corresponded with Jason Reis about DCC wiring my modules some 3 months back and in between, I let the notes of our discussions set for awhile. A recap of those notes: The bottom level (pic below) will be divided into 5 small power districts. For circuit breakers, Jason recommended auto tail-light bulbs. Cheap and effective. The top level (pic below) will have 4 small power districts. I started with the bottom level wiring first: the track 2 (dark blue marking). I have read … Continue reading Build #15: Good Wiring is An Essential Lifeline to A Model Railway

Benchwork, DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning BookLeave a comment

Build #13: Maiden Power Test Run on First 3 Km

traiNmaster

The first stretch 1.8m (or 3km in real-life) (each track) is ready although not ballasted. While waiting for the World Cup games to start, I spent some time cleaning the excess glues of the tracks and tested the pickup connection. At full throttle, it registered 17V (I am using Fleischmann analog DC transformer for tests) This time, Kato E8/9A volunteered to make the maiden trip, to and fro. I am happy with the result. It is a baby step but an important step for me. It is a sign that I am progressing rather than procrastinating. Continue reading Build #13: Maiden Power Test Run on First 3 Km

Benchwork, Layout Construction, Planning Book5 Comments

Build #12: Track-laying Begins

traiNmaster

In the rest of the world is today Father’s Day. Here in Germany, the Father’s Day is celebrated on 29th May each year, which is the ascension of Jesus to Heaven. I guess it is the Holy Father that we are celebrating then. Anyway, the German Father Day is a day where fathers (those of us who are on Earth) took out the beer cart and enjoy a full-day drinking. As for me, I continued working on my layout. It was time to lay some tracks. Sometime back, I bought a pack of 3mm cork wall tiles from Hornbach. For … Continue reading Build #12: Track-laying Begins

Layout Construction, Planning Book2 Comments

Build #11: Dive! Dive! Dive!

traiNmaster

It has been exactly two months since I did any serious work on my layout. Checking back on the Build #10, I stopped at one-half of the staging yard track arrangements. I am happy to reduce from 7 originally-planned tracks to 6. This time around, I went back to the standard modules Segment F-H. I disassembled all the 3 modules and took them to the front garden for further work. The nice thing about having a modular home layout is, you can remove them anytime and work at a more comfortable location. I avoided having saw dusts flying around the … Continue reading Build #11: Dive! Dive! Dive!

Benchwork, Layout Construction, Layout Planning, Planning Book2 Comments

Build #10: Staging Yard

traiNmaster

I have now reached the staging yard, one of the critical part of my layout, after months of weekend construction. This yard is important, although it would be hidden, as it would consist of 6 tracks – 3 per direction – and hold low priority trains. The initial plan was 7 tracks but I decided to forego this track for cost consideration. Just like a real railroad, any track extension involves cost and whether it is economically viable to do so. Furthermore, the tight radius at first track resulted in me pushing the positions of all 6 tracks further up … Continue reading Build #10: Staging Yard

Benchwork, Layout Construction, Planning Book1 Comment

Build #09: Rise, My Child, Riseee!

traiNmaster

Today was a beautiful sunny weather here in Frankfurt. A good time to spend outdoor, and outdoor I did spend. A good 8 hours working on my layout. Part 1: Foundation of germaN160 completed! Finally, I have completed the standard modules for Segment B to D. These standard modules would be the final pieces, which connected Segment A end module to Segment E end module. Segment D Segment C, which is at the entrance to the balcony Segment B I built Segment B and Segment D modules first and then positioned them. Then I measured the space between them. Normally, a standard module is … Continue reading Build #09: Rise, My Child, Riseee!

DCC and Electrical System, Layout Construction, Planning Book, Product ReviewLeave a comment

When No Sound is A Good Sign

traiNmaster

Wiring for a DCC layout will be top on my germaN160 layout construction program. Everywhere I read about DCC wiring, one of the essential tools to have is a audible short tester. How does this tester function? In short (sorry, pun intended here), the buzzer will be audible when you connect the feeders to the wrong track bus polarities. Model Railroad Hobbyist (MRH) magazine provides an excellent explanation and video on how this work and how to build one. Source: MRH March 2012 – Issue #25 So I bought my parts from Conrad for less than 10 Euro and soldered … Continue reading When No Sound is A Good Sign

Benchwork, Layout Construction, Layout Planning, Planning Book4 Comments

Build #08: Heading Towards the First Milestone

traiNmaster

For the last 2 weeks, I had not been seriously working on my layout, for the fact that I had other personal commitments to attend to. During their period, I allowed my layout to “take a rest” and “absorb some sun and humidity”. I think it is important to allow the wood to so-call “breath and adjust to the new environment”. As my friend and fellow N-scale modeller from UK said “that once you have cut your wood I wouldn’t leave it unsupported or leaning on anything. Try and keep it on as flat a surface as you can. Wood has … Continue reading Build #08: Heading Towards the First Milestone

Benchwork, Layout Construction, Layout Planning, Planning BookLeave a comment

Improving Gradients

traiNmaster

I read in many forums as well as from various modular standards such as FREMO, Ntrak, etc., it was uncommon to have multi-levels. In fact, gradients were typically kept to minimal (please correct me if I erred). Ntrak did specify a “mountain division” track . On the other hand, segmented layout is actually a layout broken up into many equal or unequal sections without common end-profiles that allow for interchangeability. In essence, this is what my layout germaN160 is. I have in total 8 modules – 6 standard modules and 2 end modules. Each module supports 2 levels. My challenge … Continue reading Improving Gradients