11/06/08: Trackbed & Technology

The first lengths of trackbed have gone in along the back of the layout. They are 9mm MDF with cork tiles glued on, supported on various timber and ply gantries and risers. The Templot generated track plan is glued down on top of the cork ready for track-laying/building.

The building nearest the camera is the ScalescenesCorner Shop kit (TO21) which is comes complete with interior fittings. I am adding lighting, using SMD white LEDs for flourescent lights and ‘golden white’ 3mm LEDs for incandescent bulbs.

Behind that is the Council Offices - a Heljan Synagogue kit (I kid you not) which is being covered with Scalescenes brick paper.

In the distance is the old mock-up of the car park.shopping centre.

It may look like a bowl of spaghetti, but in fact it is the first of the DCCar decoders fitted to a Faller vehicle.

The decoder itself is smaller than my thumbnail - the nest of wires is because I've taken all the connections out to a piece of circuit board and thence to the various LEDs and other connections for testing. Apart from connections to the motor and battery there are front IR sensors, rear IR transmitters, brake lights, left and right indicators - I haven't connected head lights or interior light yet and don't think I'll need any of the blue or orange flashing lights that are so popular with modellers on the European mainland.

And to think people moan about installing standard DCC decoders!

Whilst I don't intend to use the DCC control feature I will use the ability to trigger functions from IR LEDs by the roadside so that vehicles slow, stop, speed up and indicate. Even with this testbed installation the effect is magical.

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