The Hjemstad Line
#31
Love the way you built the benchwork. It looks very strong yet lightweight. Most of us just slap a bunch of 1 by boards together! You have taken benchwork to an artform!
Three Foot Rule In Effect At All Times
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#32
Looking good!

First operating session around Xmas-time? Are you going to be needing an extra conductor or engineer (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) ? :-)

Grin,
Stein
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#33
Gary; thank you for the kind words. That means a lot for me coming from a master modeller like you, your work is simply excellent!

Stein; I'd love to have you over for an operating session when everything is up and running here! X-mas is coming faster than you'd expect (like it does every year...), but I'll try to get it somewhat operational before the holidays.

Svein
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#34
Progress is still slow here, but finally I'm done with the woodworking and painting for a while. Now the fun part can begin; tracklaying and wiring!

I'm a complete novice when it comes to soldering, and spent over an hour prepping and wiring the first turnout. Here's a pic of my rather messy workbench this evening:

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I'm using Peco code 75 Electrofrog turnouts with PL-10W motors and PL-13 accessory switches. I haven't built the control panel yet, but figured it was a good idea to finish all the wiring at the workbench. I also cut out a piece of thin black cardboard and placed under the turnout to hide the motor and the hole in the benchwork:

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Since I'm using Electrofrog turnouts, I removed the connection between the points and the closure rails (to the right in the pic below), and soldered feeders directly to the stock rails and closure rails. The frog wil be fed through the purple wire shown in the above pic, which connects to the PL-13 switch:

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Funny enough; after I finished painting the framework and set up my soldering tools to prepare for the wiring, my girlfriend's interest in my layout suddenly got a boost. She put her embroidery aside and spent the afternoon browsing the web after pics of the model A Ford, looking for inspiration for the Jordan models she wants to build for me! And tomorrow she wants to go shopping for some paint and brushes, what more can a guy ask for!? Big Grin

Svein
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#35
Svein Wrote:Funny enough; after I finished painting the framework and set up my soldering tools to prepare for the wiring, my girlfriend's interest in my layout suddenly got a boost. She put her embroidery aside and spent the afternoon browsing the web after pics of the model A Ford, looking for inspiration for the Jordan models she wants to build for me! And tomorrow she wants to go shopping for some paint and brushes, what more can a guy ask for!? Big Grin

Svein

Enjoy it! My wife occasionally comes in the room and sarcastically asks me if I'm still playing with my "choo-choos" and then leaves the room... Icon_lol
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#36
Tetters, look her in the eye and say, "I am engaging in the the hobby of scale model railroading!" Smile

Ralph
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#37
I did something similar to my Atlas switches. Your soldering looks good. Thumbsup
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#38
Ever wondered what would happen if you put the lady in charge at the hobby shop? Well, here you go:

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OK, I must admit that some of the items were my suggestion and not hers (actually, most of them... :oopsSmile, but it was kind of nice to have her by my side as we were picking out colors and looking for other interesting stuff to bring back home. We also stopped by another store and bought some extra tools, wire, and a multimeter.

Svein
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#39
Your hobby shop carries the "Model Color Series" from Vallejo Paints? Your wife and those switches are cool too, but your hobby shop stands out. Icon_lol
Jens
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#40
Thanks, Jens, I'll let her know (btw, we're not married, and please don't give her any ideas..! Wink) Right now she's sitting at the kitchen table, removing flash from one of my Jordan kits Big Grin

My hobby shop is actually two companies sharing the same space; NMJ (http://www.nmj.no) and Smallsize Hobbyland (http://www.smallsize.no). While Smallsize is more into R/C and model kits (they have a great assortment of Vallejo paint, both the airbrush kind and the regular kind that we bought), NMJ is a big contributor to the Norwegian MR environment, and is responible for the development of many of the finest Norwegian models on the market.

Svein
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#41
Working with tracklaying, wiring and soldering, finished the first (upper right) section yesterday. I've tested all the connections and tried the motors, so far so good. I still have to finish the wiring on the underside, but for now I will just make some temporary connections, enough to finally run a train again! 2285_

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Meanwhile, my girlfriend is sitting at the kitchen table working on her Jordan model, and she refused to let me take any pics before the car is finished...

Svein
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#42
Now you're making some progress! Tell your girlfriend that the "in construction" photos are just as important as the "finished" photos. We love to steal construction techniques!

I've always thought the use of screws and solder tto secure he track ends on the joints between layout sections was a brilliant idea. I don't recall where I first saw that, but was in a magazine. Are those brass screws?
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#43
Thanks Gary. That's what I keep telling her, but she won't let me! -The next one, she says, -this one is for experimenting.

I picked up the screw idea from the FREMO concept, it's an easy way to secure the track ends. I've used regular screws, zink plated and hardened, 2.5x16mm. Maybe I should have used brass screws, will the solder adhere better to brass?

Svein
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#44
I am using brass screws. They are easy to adjust in height and they are easy to solder. A recommended practice.
Reinhard
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#45
Svein, did the solder actually stick to the zinc plated screws?
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