This week has been spent on two main area
- Pondering the wiring of the layout got me
thinking about Power Districts.
- Staining sleepers prior to track laying.
Firstly on the subject of Power Districts I’ve decided to
have seven. You may wonder why I’ve gone for seven on such a small layout but let
me explain my thinking… I’ve only had the privilege of operating a couple of DCC
layouts but one of the main issues I experienced was electrical shorts. On one
layout the short brought everything to a standstill, on the other it shut big
sections down that in essence stopped much of the layout functioning. My thinking
is that there will be a number of locos drawing current simultaneously, not all
moving but with some a sound element running e.g. quietly simmering away. With
more locos on the layout there might be a greater chance of a short. The aim of
the seven Districts is that in the event of a short the offending District can
be quickly isolated either automatically or manually so that it will not affect
other areas where locos might be live. This should keep the effect of the short
on the overall operation of the layout down to a minimum. With the seven Power
Districts there will be a good chance that locos will still be able to move
on/off the shed or around the shed while the short is being rectified.
Well that’s the plan…
Note on sound: the
intention is to try and create a subtle soundscape. A soundscape that will convey
the experience of viewing the engine shed from afar on a hot August day. If it
ever gets to an exhibition the hope is you will have to be within a few feet to
hear any sound emitting from the layout (not from the other side of the exhibition
hall). Possible easier said than done me thinks…
Staining sleepers has progressed reasonably well with a good
1000 stained but I’m not getting all the results I’m after. I’ve been using a
number of colour references in books by Peter Gray and Hugh Ballantyne
published by Ian Allen. Colour reproduction and type of film used aside, the
pictures in these books do show a generally darker shade than I would have expected.
Above is a sample selection from three different batches of
stain that I’ve concocted. I’ll be using these mainly for the Engine Shed area and
possibly the main line but I’m after a different colouring for the sidings at
the front.
I decided to visit our local Preservation Railway Line to
gather photographic references (see below).
These are the colours I would like to achieve for the three
sidings at the front of the layout: sleepers that have probably seen better
days but were deemed good enough for use in lightly used sections of track and
storage sidings. I’ll be trying to portray sleepers that have faded in colour
to something like the above photo. I might even try to create a few splits in some
of my sleepers with moss/weeds poking through.
To try to achieve something like the above I’ve ordered a
few samples of stain that is used to distress furniture or wooden planking for
internal walls. These stains have the exotic titles of: Mushroom, Storm Cloud, Gunstock,
Tudor, and Gunpowder. Hopefully these will arrive during the week and more sleeper
staining trials can continue.