Well, I guess I'll take the plunge and join the 2012 resolution challenge. I'll probably regret it later on, but at the same time it's a nice kick in the butt to myself to finally getting something done. I realized today that it's been allmost two years (february 2010) since I started building my sectional H0 layout, and I haven't even finished the wiring to the point that the layout is operational..!

So, this will be my 2012 Resolution challenge. I intend to finish all the wiring on all three sections and make the layout operational, and to reach this goal I also need a control panel which will be built and wired accordingly. If time permits, I'll also try to get some basic scenery contours done, and build a temporary staging yard to get trains running, but this won't be my primary goal. All the material needed is allready here (maybe I need some more wire), including a bunch of switches for the control panel (old swithes from a layout I tore down for a friend some years ago, which all need testing and de-soldering first).

Here's my starting point as of today:

One section finished, still need to make the connections to the control panel (the two connection strips in the center of the pic):


I've also raised the water level on this section, it was 2cm too low compared to the other two sections (I decided to raise the water level after this section was built):


The second section has a bunch of loose wires underneath, and some leftover temporary connections from testrunning the layout a year (!) ago. I also have to connect a turnout motor and accessory switch to one of the turnouts (upper right in the pic):


The third section is the one I've started on today, still just a bunch of loose wires:


Svein

Good luck with the wiring, you are doing what I hate most about building a layout. If I could just figure out a way to make the trains run without wiring or soldering ..............................

Thanks, Mike. Actually I find it quite relaxing, I don't know why I haven't done this before. Putting on some music, having a cold beer at hand, and sitting down with one section at a time in a comfortable chair with no rush, what can be better..?

Svein

Enjoy :-)

Grin,
Stein

Not much progress to report here, I'm afraid. I haven't been well the last couple of days, and I'm on sick leave this week. Today I was feeling a little better, and got started on the wiring. Not quite finished yet, but it's coming along:



I hope to get this done by tomorrow, then I can get started on the last section, which is the one requiring the most work.

Svein

That looks like pretty good progress to me - my wiring looks like that in your first photos, and I hope to never have to work on it again.
Hope you're feeling better, too.

Wayne

Hope you feel better soon Svein!

Thanks guys. I'm feeling better now, and will try to get somewhat finished with this section by the end of this week.

Got a little sidetracked the other day, as my neighbour gave me an old resin kit of a Norwegian station house. The kit was allready built and painted, but I want to try and strip the paint and rebuild it. The prototype is used on several stations all over Norway. Kinda nice to get hold of one of these detailed kits, as they were discontinued and sold out years ago:







Spent a little over an hour disassembling the structure, next I will try and remove all the thick paint without ruining the delicate cast details.

Svein

That should be a great little building when you are done with it.

I hope so. It's a very classic and typical Norwegian style building, and there aren't too many of those available. Norway is a very small market, and most structure kits are modelled after more European styles.

Svein

I finished wiring the second section last evening, checked all the connections with a multimeter, and cleaned the track. However, I didn't get to take any pics or do a slow speed test run, will do that today.

Two sections down, one to go!

Svein

Test run was successful, ran my smallest engine on all the tracks and through both turnouts without stalling or light flickering of any kind. Feels good!

Here's what the underside of the section looks like with the wiring finished, connection to the control panel will be via the long connector strip in the center:


Now it's time to get started on the third and final section. First order of the day is to prep the last turnout, mount the motor and accessory switch, and solder some feeders to the stock rails and the frog, then I can begin to tidy up all those loose wires hanging underneath.

Svein

Got the last turnout wired and installed on the layout today:





I've used 1mm plywood in layers as shims for the transition down from the roadbed, figure since the whole turnout is on an even grade it should be OK.

Svein

Nice idea for transition Svein. I've worked with wood shingles so far, but your method is quite versatile.

Matt

Thanks, Matt. First I intended to use cork roadbed sanded down as a transition, but since most of the construction takes place in our home office which opens into our living room, I didn't want a lot of dust and debris flying around. The thin plywood is easy to work with, just let the track form a natural slope and slide the shims underneath to fill the void, then remove the track and glue the pieces down. I've used a lot of tiny scrap pieces in there as well, unsuitable for anything else.

Svein