I did not have a thin enough drill, so I soldered on a "hook" made by thin wire to the throwbar. Here is a low quality image that show this. There are still some work that should be done to cover the hole.
Thank you Svein-Martin. Very nice and useful photo. I was wondering if you put the wire between the rails or at the side of the track. I'm thinking about using the hook on the Märklin switches. That means that I need to bend the wire 90 degrees. With a big hole like that then maybe I don't have to worry about the wire going in the wrong direction. Are you using a soft wire that bend and work as a spring too or a stiff wire that move very little? What does it look like underneath?
There have been slow progress on the layout the last months, but finally I have started with some balasting and coloring: A test mockup from the mainyard with some test paper buildings. Coloring of the rocks have started. Check out my blog: http://www.platelayer.com/project-blog.aspx
2 images from my new layout. A lot of detailing have been done the last weeks. Check my layout here: http://www.platelayer.com/project-blog.aspx
Svein, did you ever fill the hole shown in your picture? If not, may I share what I did to remedy the same situation on my layout...... I hate large holes in the landscape and I decided to use Sculptamold to fill the hole under my turnout throw arms. I mixed it fairly thick, (it will thicken quickly on its own) and used small instruments to fill the hole. I allowed the Sculptamold to surround the throw arm, and as soon as I had the hole covered I began to activate the throw arm back and forth to create just a narrow slot the throw bar moved back and forth in. As the material hardened a little more, I carefully widened the slot with a narrow blade until I made sure there was nothing hindering any movement in either direction. Tinting the Sculptamold as it is mixed with water gives you a head start in coloring the Sculptamold after it is set up. Result is a barely visible slot that allows freedom of movement of the arm with minimum hole diameter. I guess one could also place an oblong grommet or hand made styrene box around the control rod as the hole is filled with Sculptamold. Just one way to do it.
No, I have not filled the holes yet, so I don't make photos of it. . Thank you for your recommendation. Covering or filling this holes are on the (long) list of things to do. The last weeks I have made a lot of rockwork coloring and landscape cover. Nice to see some progress.
I love the test mockup yard photo! It looks like a photo you would see in Model Railroader. Very cool! The layout is coming along nicely! Rob
Thank you Rob. It takes some time and the last weeks I have been able to use some time on the layout. Soon I will do the real buildings for the skyline, starting with the city around the turntable, like this image just shot. Here there are 3 paper mockups and 2 real buildings making the skyline.
You would hardly guess they are mock ups. Also I think that dip in the fascia to show the rock work is fantastic.
I watched the video you posted in 2012. It sure is a smooth operating layout. It is really neat to see how your scenes are developing around it now. I am looking forward to more of your postings. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing it here.
Thank you for he good Words. Its fun to build and play With the Trains. I was just looking around in the Archives on my site, www.platelayer.com, and want to share this images from 2004 with you all, night and day from the same spot:
Svein, Those are some very nice contrasting pictures. The night time is especially striking. Thanks for starting out 2014 with some fine photos of some excellent workmanship. Kudos to you.
Not so much progress on the layout at the moment, but I have mounted a TCS Z2 decoder in AZL-61011, SD75M. Read about it here: Mount TCS Z2 decoder in AZL-61011, SD75M
Slow progress on the layout and no time to use on Z-scale the last year, but here is a rerun of my latest video from the layout, shot in 2014. Enjoy(again):
Finally some progress on my new layout. Check it out. http://www.platelayer.com/jakobs-creek-work-in-progress.aspx
Some progress on the layout. Check out the blog: http://www.platelayer.com/bridge-work-progress-2-on-jakobs-creek-1.aspx