Building an indoor board in sections. How??

M

mzplcg

Registered
Hi All,
After the rapturous welcome I got a week or so back I have been collecting thoughts on how to make a board for internal use which can dismantle into sections for easy storage. So I thought I'd reach out to the collective for some ideas.
So far I've only ever done this on N gauge and had the issue of how to get power into all sections. No a major problem for me on a small layout but this has to be easy to assemble by SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) since I'm not always here to do it.
Nothing too complicated as it's mainly for bad weather and until the garden layout is working. 2 ovals in R1 and R2 so my Lad can run his Thomas and Percy. So far I think a pair of 1 foot wide sections for the straights and a pair of sections for the curves at the ends. Was going to use 9mm Ply and use brass screws where the tracks cross the sections to anchor them with solder. Sound good so far?
OK, then how to get the power between the sections please? Needs to be simple, preferably something which happens as part of the assembly process.
Oh the joys of a 2 bed cottage :)
Thanks in advance
Dom
 
track power? use fishplates, or as our local g scale socity club layout uses, railclamps....
 
I have been taking G scale layouts to shows for over 12 years. These are my experiences which others may not agree with but they work.
Boards 9mm ply with a softwood frame & ply upstand to prevent things falling off. Keep them light enough to carry.
The latest layouts have the boards aligned with pattern makers dowels. Track just screwed down through the sleepers. As long as any sharp corners of the rails are taken off with a file G scale is tolerant enough not require any further track alignment.
Interboard connection by plugs & sockets, preferably on the top of the board. Hide them with buildings over them. A couple of plugs & sockets is quicker than fiddling with fishplates or rail clamps.
 
I'd agree from personal experience with a portable layout that the trains will find their way across baseboard joins where the tracks on either side are merely screwed in place without physical joins. How many tracks cross each gap? How many control sections do youy envisage? Answers to these questions will point towards the type of electrical connection required. Having used miniature jack-plugs, which were not strong enough to put up with all the moving, I'd say go for the largest you can hide (under buildings/scenic features).

If you have sections joined by hinges, don't forget you can connect wires to the hinges (a ring terminal held by one of the screws holding the hinge in place will do) - so there's the potential to take a + and - track feed across a baseboard join. A good builders' merechant or electricians will have in-line plugs and sockets as used on power extension cables in two and three pin varieties, otherwise something used by the motor trade may be worth investigating, but Maplins (or similar) is probably a good start.
 
Using chocolate box connectors, are good bet with colour coded wiring:- does'nt need the soldering iron, and bodge fixes can be done, if as often happens at shows, layouts can get moved, and wires get pulled /snapped. Always put more chocolate box connectors on than you think you require, plus take some more in your spares tin/box, also a few long lengths/reels of coloured coded wire as backup plus the wire strippers. All the above was my way of doing 30 years of the Town & Country Show at Stoneliegh with LGB and live steam. Alyn
 
Can I ask a daft question!!!? being in a similar position myself (although the outdoor line progressed quicker than originally envisaged).

We just use the floor for the indoor layout and take it apart / put it back together each time it's run (about once a month - left out for a long weekend). Have you got space to do the same and save the time/money and effort towards getting started in the garden? You say cottage though so I'm guessing you might not have the 'clear' floor space but I remember as a child running my friends LGB around and under the dining room table to get it to fit in the room!
 
Cool. Thanks for these suggestions Chaps. Looks like I'm on the right lines then (horrendous pun intended)

So, the main reason I don't want to have to assemble track each time it gets used indoors is because sometimes the wife will have to do it. There are also 2 ovals for my Lad's Thomas and Percy to run at the same time. Also, the inner oval is aristocraft track which has those fiddly screws in the fishplates. Great for permanent connections but doesn't lend itself to a quick put together. The outer oval is LGB which has connectivity issues as the fishplates loosen up every time it's put together.

Anyway, I think the dowels are a great idea and then add some catches to hold the sections together. All good. As for the wiring, that connector link looks good which led me to think about some connectors which are built on to the boards and which mate automatically when the boards are assembled. Just trying to find something suitable now. :)

Thanks. Dom.
 
Do you know anyone who builds or tinkers around with PCs? Quite often, PC power supplies will come with extension cables for the main 20/24-pin power connector that goes into the motherboard. These extension cables are only used if you're building a machine with a big case, so they quite often end up unused.

If you take one of these extension cables, cut the wires in half, you can solder on or otherwise attach the wires for each section to the half-extension-cable, and the connectors just snap together/apart as you build/disassemble the layout.
 
LOL, yes. Me. I had thought about the power connectors for disk drives but they can be problematic when used for multiple connects/disconnects. Their design is more for leaving in place. BUT, remembering my days as an Audio Engineer I have recalled the Neutrik Speakon connectors which (although manual) are designed for rough environments and many connect cycles. 4 pole and good for about 50 amps if memory serves. So some chassis mount sockets on the boards and then some cable mount plugs for flyleads and this would also give the ability to plug in the power controller as well. If I call my old boss I could probably get then for a couple of quid per set. Happy days then. :)
 
jameshilton said:
We just use the floor for the indoor layout and take it apart / put it back together each time it's run (about once a month - left out for a long weekend). Have you got space to do the same and save the time/money and effort towards getting started in the garden? You say cottage though so I'm guessing you might not have the 'clear' floor space but I remember as a child running my friends LGB around and under the dining room table to get it to fit in the room!
Click to expand...
There are a couple of problems associated with running regularly on the carpet. One is associated with light coloured carpet - I remember a certain member of this forum telling me about the trouble he got in to after laying a track around the Christmas tree. When it was taken up for 12th night, a lovely track shaped mask was evident on the nice cream carpet left from the carbon pick-ups. He still has a Xmas tree train, but it is always laid on a paper base.
Also, carpet fluff can cause havoc with the loco's running gear. The second hand loco that I recently bought and turned into rusty Clai seemed to have spent much of it's life running on the carpet. When I took it apart it was crammed full of fluff. Not sure whether this had a bearing on the fact that the plastic gears were totally stripped?
 
jameshilton said:
....................................
We just use the floor for the indoor layout and take it apart / put it back together each time it's run (about once a month - left out for a long weekend). ............................................
Click to expand...
Blimey! take up the floor James. That's a big job! :bigsmile::bigsmile::bigsmile:

For connectors try the chocolate box connectors.
Wires go into one end of each block and 2 short 'pins' are tightly screwed into place in the other end of one block. These can then be plugged into the open ends of the other block.
Simple, effective and long lasting.
 
Realised it's motherboard atx connectors I used though used just the plugs and wired them myself
http://mobile.maplin.co.uk/module?moduleno=44019 < Link To http://mobile.maplin.co.u...le?moduleno=44019

If you need heavier current handling then the maplins mains connectors HL39 and HL40 are ideal but more pricy
http://www.maplin.co.uk/px0551-flex-mount-male-circular-connector-1386 < Link To http://www.maplin.co.uk/p...ircular-connector-1386

http://www.maplin.co.uk/px0552-panel-mount-female-circular-connector-1387 < Link To http://www.maplin.co.uk/p...ircular-connector-1387
 
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