transfer from paper to baseboard, and start into electronics.

So started transferring plan from paper to board...

   

What this showed me, was that what looks good on paper , not so good physically :-)  , so modifications to plan already! , As I have picked up a cheap 2nd hand turntable, (had planned a use for it in a future project..:-), decided to incorporate it here instead. Gives me a 'central' feature. So the change means instead of the 'idyllic' countryside I was originally planning, it's going to be a more industrial/working rail yard instead. Probably going to drop the top 'fiddle' yard, but as that was going to be bare board anyway it will be easy to re introduce..  So current plan now looking like: 

Lots of potential to shunt stuff :-) ..[ as noted above , probably drop Brown area for now, will see how I go, yellow is areas I can use Flexi Track instead of Set Track ( did I mention I was using Peko Code 80 ??) 

Which brings me around to electronics. in above [total of 13 points...] for playing around with shunting, that can be an awful lot of stopping and starting while manually switching points! . (and for those who know me, I am a lazy fecker ! ) So investigated using electronics. Now standard fare is set up using point motors attached to switches, But you also then need CDU(s) , to drive them , and  point motors/CDU's are not cheap ! . [Plus need to build a large control panel to 'switch' them all, and track which state they're in... [I did say I was lazy ??? ] I then came across an excellent YouTube channel, Budget Model Railways where the describe using arduino board and cheap mini model servo's , I was hooked ! :-) 

So quick stop to  Maker Shop to pick up an Arduino board for €6 , and a few servos at ~€3.50 each .Now obviously , as using electronics, there's a bit of programming required, but not too bad, and plenty of tutorials online on how to control servo's . [And as the day job involves programming, I should be fine :-) ]. 

After doing the board marking above, did a quick try of controlling a servo, followed one of the tutorials online, and had a servo moving in a few minutes ! ( mind you that won't control a point , need to be a bit more complicated than that :-) , but I'm still quite far away in the journey for that! 

One thing I did do though, was to pick up a €6 stepper motor that can be also driven by the Arduino, and will use that to drive the turntable! . 

So next stages, draw in the turntable, maybe adjust the plan a wee bit more, then do the recommended placing of cork down under the track, (using 2mm cork) this is to help deaden the sound and give the track a bit of bounce. .

I'll also need to experiment with creating the raised track, was trying it a wee bit today, and noted if you go too steep the train tends to stick ! :-) 

Enough for now, more anon!