Preparing fascia for toggle switches

Before I could wire the switch machines I needed somewhere to put he toggle switches. In turn meaning I needed a fascia.

I used hardboard for the fascia. Fortunately I had a few strips left over from when I did the fascia for the previous layout. I started by clamping the hardboard to the bench work. With a pencil I then traced the terrain contour on the back of the hardboard. I removed the hardboard strips and cut them along the pencil trace, and clamped them back again. This is a picture of the progress at that point.

To make things more convenient while I worked along I flipped the whole layout over, letting it rest on its back. I marked the locations of the toggle switches, and then drilled pilot wholes right through both the fascia  hardboard and the bench work.

With the fascia once again removed I then drilled larger holes in the bench work, using the pilot holes to find the proper location for each hole. The holes are large enough to contain the toggle switches.

To avoid damaging the switch machines and wiring when the drill bit eventually came through, I clamped an extra piece of wood "below", as can be seen above. I could then stop drilling when I reached into that piece and avoid to falling through with a bang.

Making these large holes turned out to me a rather messy affair.

But when all the sahavings had been cleaned away it all looked rather neat.

Then it was time to put the fascia back for good, after I had enlarged the pilot holes so that the toggle switches would fit. Here CNW 1316 is posing above a newly test installed toggle switch.

While I was doing the fascia I took the opportunity to expand the layout at one end. The bench work for this layout has been taken from my previous layout, after having been cut down to make it less deep. But the backdrop at one end is still sized after the old layout depth. So now I made a small extension. Like this.

And then letting the fascia curve out like this.

I want the main line, that runs along the edge of the layout, to not just come to a dead end at the backdrop. The extension will help me build some kind of structure or building that the tracks can disappear under. Or something else like that... Anyway, I think the extension, small as it is, will come in handy.

All switch machines in place

Today I got all the switch machines in place, although not yet electrically wired. Here is a photo of seven of them. There are two more of them further to the left.

Switch Machines

I have begun to fit the Tortoise switch machines. Since I have no plywood or board of any kind beneath the pink foam I needed to add some before I could proceed. I cut pieces of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), two for each machine. One piece for the actual Tortoise and one for the terminal strip I already had connected to each machine. I did that for a previous layout and the strips come in handy when the machines are moved to a new layout. Makes the electrical connection much easier. The reason I used MDF was just because I happened to have a piece lying around.

Here is a picture of the two pieces of MDF for one machine, glued to the foam with "No Nails". The hole for the actuating wire was made from above, at an earlier time when I built the turnout (in place).

And here a switch machine in place. Tested and working on the first try, but not yet permanently connected electrically. 

The second machine was not that easy. The actuating wire needed some tweaking before the turnout worked as it should.

Wiring

With all the frog rails done, for all of the turnouts, its was time to turn to wiring. The layout is not attached to the shelves which it sits on, it just, that's right, sits on the shelves. This makes it possible to turn it over, letting it rest on the backdrop, so that the underside can be reached. But for this to be possible I needed to get all of the tools and loose stuff out of the way. I took the opportunity to take a photo when everything look tidy for once in a while.

Then I turned the layout over to reveal all the loose wires. There is one wire for every single piece of track. Here are some of them.

After soldering them to the bus wires it looked better. Not "nuclear plant standard" but good enough for a model railroad. At least for mine. The loose green wires are coming from the frogs. Each such wire will be attached to the corresponding switch machine, providing electricity that changes polarity when the switch is thrown.

The larger holes is were the actuator rods from the switch machines will be. To install the switch machines will be the next task. I think I have seven Tortoise machines, meaning I need to get two more. I'd better go and count them.

Frog rails

Some of the turnouts have got their frog rails in place. Each such rail has to been filed to a sharp point and slid into the styrene frog block. I equip one of the rails in each turnout with a feeder wire, and then solder the two rails together by flooding solder between the rails at the point were they meet. I will connect the other end of the feeder wire to the corresponding Tortoise, and thus get a frog that changes electrical polarity when the turnout is thrown.

Here is a picture of one of the turnouts with the frog rails installed.

And a closer look that clearly shows the gap in the rails that keep the frog electrically isolated from the other rails.

Last, a shot of the cross-over.

Three more frogs to do. The I can start to wire rails and install switch machines, and finallý get the (single) train running.

All code 70 track in place

Not much new to see, but all code 70 track is actually in place, including the turnout stock rails. I have also installed the points and throw bars. Still missing are the closure and frog rails.

Here are some pictures.

A closer look at the points of one of the turnouts...

...and down the main line, which disappears off scene.

Turnout building and track laying

Turnout building and track laying is making steady progress. Once the cork was in place I glued down all the turnout tie blocks and the track tie strips, except were I will install code 55 track. I left those stretches for later, since I think it will be easier to get a nice transition between the different rail heights if the code 70 parts are first in place and sitting tight.

Once the turnout tie blocks were installed I glued the frog blocks in place, followed by the points. The points need to be cut to length and filed to get a good fit. I also soldered a feed wire to each point rail, as shown below.

I cut the excess wire and bent it 90 degrees so I could thread the wire down the hole I had drilled through the foam. Here is the point in its final position, but still with the wire "above ground".

And here the wire is disappearing down the hole.

With all the points in place I could proceed with the stock rails. I omitted the piece of metal foil that is supposed to create the required electrical contact between the stock rail and the future closure rail. My experience from building the first two test turnouts was not that good when it comes to that detail. Instead I will solder a wire to each closure rail and thread it down through the foam, as for the point rails. Tedious but guaranteed to deliver juice to the rail. For each closure rail I removed the connecting web between two ties so that I could drill a hole through the foam, directly under the rail.

Here are some general progress photos, showing turnout building and track laying in various states towards its completion. Note that I build the turnouts in place, meaning I can have long uninterrupted stock rails, spanning several subsequent turnouts.