The permanent way

 So, finally after 9 months or so the track has been pinned and glued for the entire layout and I've also painted the baseboards.

In hindsight I probably should have done that to begin with, but hey ho. 

I need to take a break for a while as I've started a new job and my credit card needs some relief from buying things but my next steps are as follows:

1. Point control - I've decided to do this manually but there's a couple of approaches; wire in tube method or something like the Ratio 138 Point Control Unit set. I'm going to buy one of the ratio kits first to try out as it may require lifting the point work again so I want to get this sorted before I move onto the next step.
2. Ballast, paint and weather the track - I've never ballasted track before so this will be interesting I'm sure. I intend to do a test section on one of the fiddleyards to begin with just to get my technique right.
3. Finish off the signal box and buffer stops - this needs paints and interior detail so will require a few more purchases. I am tempted to try the Ratio N gauge kit for the interior details. The size difference isn't as big as it is to OO but I'll have to see how it looks. I also have some other Ratio N gauge kits on my wishlist to buy - telegraph poles and wooden plank sheeting with which to build the level crossing. I found on eBay some TT scale crossing gates too so that should come together nicely. There is a Noch crossing kit if the gauge difference is too big to look okay.

 And in other news:

My A4 from The Easterner set is poorly; since fitting the HM 7000 decoder for DCC control I wasn't happy with the noise and vibration during slow speeds. 

So I disassembled it to try and figure out where the issue was.

At first I found a random screw which I thought might be catching on the mechanism:

But removing this didn't improve things. So I diassembled it further until I got to the motor and it became clear this was the issue:

You may need to turn it up to appreciate the difference. Basically the motor is only smooth in operation above speed setting 25 in the HM DCC app. Now as my layout is end to end it's unlikely to spend most of it's time above this speed.

So I've emailed Hornby technical services for their advice and to see if they can repair it for me with a new motor.

In the process of the above (and removing the decoder to test it on DC vs DCC) I've also managed to break off the plastic lugs that hold the tender in place so it permanently sits skewiff now:

So I'm hoping they can help fix that too.

On the upside, they replaced my power track sharpish and I've sent the Hornby Select controller that I won on eBay for £30~ to them for a firmware upgrade so at least even if there are problems, Hornby's customer service is at least pretty good in resolving them.

More testing and wiring

 So today was pretty productive.

The track is still not fully permanent but dropper fishplates have been installed, wiring has been permanently connected and I even added a convenient little holder for the controller.

I've decided to stick with the included R7229 controller, because despite all of its faults its just plain nicer to use than the HM DC bluetooth app and even after fiddling around with all of the circuit PWM settings I'm not convinced its doing any better. I may upgrade to a nicer gaugemaster combi or similar at some point but it's not a priority now.

I'm pleased with how easy the wiring turned out, and I can easily add in the HM 7000 adapter cable in the same way too when I go to DCC.

Just awaiting a pin vice drill from Amazon and then I'll be sticking the track down permanently. I also want to paint the non-scenic areas with some primer just so it doesn't look quite so unfinished.

 

Track testing

 I've spent the last few days measuring and cutting track, attaching fishplates (which I hate!) and today testing the layout with DC power for the time being.

So, running from the left fiddleyard, down through the halt over what will be a level crossing before the points, past the entrance to the works sidings, and then out onto the right fiddleyard.

There's enough room either side for the Class A4 and 3x BR mk1 coaches so basically any train that would've been seen passing through this section can be accommodated.

And best of all, due to the modular nature - I can always add in a loop and expand the layout further in the future when I have space.

Tomorrow's job is to pin the track down permanently, wire it up for permanent DCC and DC power which thanks to the simple track plan is relatively straight forward. I may then start building the Peco signal box and buffer stops that have been sat on my shelf for months now.

 I've also ordered the ballast, spreader and PVA so at least the layout is finally taking shape.

 For point control, I've decided that wire in tubes will be sufficient for the 4 points - motors would be overcomplicated I think.  So I also need to work out how I'm going to accomplish that.

My only criticism so far is that the fiddleyard baseboards from Scalemodelscenery are a different height to the main baseboards. I've improvised and added some feet to elevate it to the same level but I've no idea why they didn't just standardise the height. They must have assumed people would use them together.

Building a collection

 It's been a while... sadly real life has an annoying tendency to creep up and get in the way of things.

However I've got a week off work coming up so track, underlay and some other bits and pieces are currently on there way to me.

 The rolling stock has grown too:

 

So what's planned for the week ahead?

Laying the flexible track and fixing the points with cork underlay

Building the two extra baseboards for the other fiddle yard

Working out how to attach and unattach those from the main baseboard

Fitting some kind of point control... not decided yet but due to the simplicity of the layout I suspect wires in tubes may be most practical.

 I'm going DC power to begin with using the HM DC unit I got a while ago, since Hornby aren't planning on releasing the 6 pin bluetooth decoder for the Class 08 until next summer (!!!!!).

 I will however be fitting droppers at each set of points in anticipation of moving to DCC in the future.