I could watch such scenes all day long!

One of the great things about living in a rural area is the chance to cycle along quite roads in traffic terms. However there is occasional congestion as i experienced out on a bike ride!

I had to wait at least 30 seconds to get going again!

Apparently, Leo the horse just stopped when he saw he JCB so had to be led around it! 

I could watch such scenes all day long!

Back at WMD the cable tie bases have started to be attached using screws to the Last Great Project Layout.

The wiring looms are then just hung off the bases using a cable tie.

It may not look attractive but it works. I could have hung the looms under the baseboards but as the area underneath is used for storage of  junk valuable items there would be the possibility of catching the loom whist moving things. I can certainly live with it and if I cant in the future I can always wrap the wires in a sheaf of somesort.

I was still able to use my trip to the Recycling Centre for a model making related purchase.

It has been a busy few days of vegetational butchery for me. Not that I have been to the rocks By rail Museum where my skills at the butchery of vegetation is now renowned. No this activity has been at WMD HQ where hedges are undergoing cutting and weeds are being pulled. And just to show Mrs. Woody who may read this post, this is just how much stuff has been butchered and went to the recycling centre. 15 bags in total and the rear passenger seats had to be put down to accommodate it all!

Whilst all this may have curtailed model making activities I was still able to use my trip to the Recycling Centre for a model making related purchase. With the wiring looms to the control panel for my model railway hanging in mid air there is a need to both tidy (that word is almost never associated with my Man Cave!) and provide support to them. 

I therefore called into the local ScrewFix (other similar outlets are available, etc.,) where I picked up some of these cable tie bases.

They have a self adhesive pad on the back of them or they can be screwed in place which is probably what I will do with them. Hopefully that will at least tidy that up!

Not exactly the James Bond lifestyle but remarkably satisfying for me!

The last few days have been a little like each other with gardening and control panel building being the main focus of activity. Not exactly the James Bond lifestyle but remarkably satisfying for me! Being creative in one form or another is something that most of us get a buzz out of and it is gratifying to see in one case a small seed planted weeks ago and nurtured becoming a plant that can be put in the garden and in another case a load of wire, connectors and switches that becomes a working (almost) control panel for my model railway.

So today saw more home grown plants put out into the garden which has pleased Mrs. W as her drawing up of a jobs list for me is her creativity outlet!

The control panel is now in  place all connected up and going through shake down trials which is another way of saying there are a few things that I need to sort out. Nothing major but the sort of small niggles that can take a bit of time to find where I may have connected the wrong wire!

There are still things to do such as a good tidy up and to get those wiring looms secured to the layout but that will come with time!

I must admit, that using the panel is taking some getting used to as I preciously just poked a point into the right direction for the train. Now I have to look at the diagram on the track plan and think about which switch controls which point. It will become easier with time and unlike poking the points with my finger I don't need to walk up and down the layout to get to the points. Working smarter as I get older!

Not so smart at the moment though is my workbench that is rapidly disappearing under tools, wire, soldering equipment and other things! I really need to be creative and get that tidied up soon!

Nearly finished!

It is mid June and the Summer is here which is obviously why Mrs. Woody turned on the heating today! I must admit I was happy that she did as I was feeling a bit cold too given the current weather! After yesterdays storms and turning on the heat today it feels more like Winter and also the persistent rain today meant that any vegetational butchery (AKA grass cutting) at the Rocks By Rail Museum was a bit pointless so I did not go in.

I have however finished wiring the control panel for my 00 gauge Last Great Project Layout!

I just need to tidy the wires up with some cable ties and then give it all a proper testing! That will be interesting and may lead to generous contributions to the WMD Swear Jar! 

Looking up top it is quite satisfying to see all those holes that used to be there now filled with wired up switches.

Looking at this project, which is tiny in comparison to commercial builds such as ships, does make me wonder how on earth do you sit down and design let alone install the electrical system for a large cruise ship? Much respect to those that can do that work!

Now, back to a nice warm WMD HQ!

The end is looming!

Well, the end is looming on work with the control panel to My Last Great Project layout! Just 5 wires to finish the last of the seven wiring looms and six switches to fit so a day or so may see that done or in Woody time it might be finished this coming weekend!

The whole project is certainly a complex one and I will be glad when it is finished and working! My previously reasonably clean and tidy work bench has become a somewhat unorganised mess in true Woody style!

I see a need to tidy it looming up once the control panel is finished!

Spot the difference!

It is a bit of a case of spot the difference with todays picture of the control panel compared to yesterday. However, observant viewers may note that three more switches have appeared up top and the complexity of wiring underneath has increased compared to a few days ago!

This is probably one of the most tedious projects that I have undertaken but the end results will or should be worth it if it all works!

I could say that nothing has gone wrong but this is WMD where I tell it like it is warts and all!

Ploughing along with the control panel to my Last Great Project layout and this is the fourth wiring loom of the seven I need to make to be completed.

As each one gets finished a few more point operating switches appear on the panel.

As they do appear they are also tested. Now I could say that nothing has gone wrong but this is WMD where I tell it like it is warts and all! So, there have been two switches that went into the wrong holes but that was fairly easily rectified. Apart from that, the rest of the creation of this panel has been uneventful but slow! Lets hope that continues although a bit more speed would be useful!

I just keep in my mind that I am dealing with one wire at a time!

The control panel slowly fills up with wires! It may look complex now but by the end it will look even more complex! I just keep in my mind that I am dealing with one wire at a time! 

I am also trying to keep things looking as though they are organised and tidy unlike my mind where the plan for all of this exists! 

At the present rate of progress I think another two weeks will see it finished and hopefully wotking and working as I envisaged! 

It will be magical!

 Work continues on the control panel with the jig saw of wiring growing but not to the extent of needing a picture to illustrate - yet! Hopefully as the wires are connected and soldered something magical will appear! Not sure what it will be but I am sure it will be magical!

In the meantime, back in mid May in a post (click here) I noted that on a bike ride I saw the local canal at a much lower water level than normal and commented that I would keep an eye on it. Well, two weeks on and 250 more miles on the bike since then this is what the canal looks like.

Magically the water has again disappeared! There is certainly now more mud than water!

Even this duck looks to be concerned about the lack of water! I will endeavour to keep  a continued eye on the situation and hopefully get some more cycling miles under my legs! That would be magic!

Well at least I have an excuse not to cut the hedge which is on Mrs. Woody's list of jobs for me!

Work on the control panel continues. Having got the main track power feeds wired in and proven to work the next stage is to get the four sectionalised hidden loops wired in. I could just have powered the loops conventionally but being hidden from my view and with DCC locos having an element of inertia which means even when you turn the throttle off they will still coast for a distance just like the real trains do, being able to turn the power off to the track is useful. First thing to do was add to the already existing looms of wiring.

The yellow wire denotes a feed to a sectionalised section of track. 

Within the control panel the wiring for the sectionalised track is added to the main track power feed and then to the central pin on the switch. The other pin will be wired to the relevant output.

Here are the four section switches from up top!

I had to put the control panel in place to test the track power feeds which gave me a first look at how it looks with the track diagram attached and it looks good to me anyway!

Whilst my work so far may look like a birds nest of wires, I have witnessed the pigeons that I blogged about earlier being busy in the hedge that runs behind the Man Cave. Having a bit of a nosey I was taken aback to see a proper nest with nesting pigeon!

Well at least I have an excuse not to cut the hedge which is on Mrs. Woody's list of jobs for me!

And so the jigsaw starts!

I have made many a jigsaw over the years and usually enjoyed them. However, the current jigsaw is not quite as enjoyable as it is the control panel to My Last Great Project 00 gauge layout.

Like a jigsaw it is a case of getting the right part or in this case wire, to the fit the right place. With most jigsaws you get a picture to work to but in this case the picture is in my head which probably is not the best of places for it to be! However, I have wired up the main track power feeds and tested them and amazingly it all works first time! I hope that is a good omen for the rest of the wiring!

This is the first and simplest. Always best to start simple!

In the exciting World Of Woody, I have not only been wiring and soldering switches but also making wiring looms!

This is the first and simplest. Always best to start simple! The loom will take the wiring from the baseboard terminal connector to the control panel terminal connector. In essence it means that I can disconnect individual baseboards from the control panel or indeed the the control panel from the baseboards all without too much fuss! In the interests of my sanity I have been labelling up the point motor wiring so that as I connect into the control panel switches there should not be a need for too much head scratching! I could just do with some time to get on with this but there is a severe lack of that at the moment for me. Just too much excitement too!

Most days in Woody's life are not that exciting anyway!

Nothing too exciting today, well most days in Woody's life are not that exciting anyway, but I have started to wire up some of the switches for the control panel to My Last Great Project Layout.

I have about 30 to do so that will keep me busy in my exciting World!

It actually looks like a control panel but at the moment that is it!

Progress on the control panel! The track plan was coated on the rear with some spray mount and mounted to the top of the control panel and the DCC input panel was also bolted into place.

It actually looks like a control panel but at the moment that is it! It needs to work which will involve lots of wiring and soldering so lots more to do!

All looks good!

When I last posted about the control panel for My Last Great Project layout I did say I needed to find a sharp 6mm drill bit. I actually found four without looking too hard although the first one was blunt!! The second was fine  though and I soon had the holes drilled. I also reamed then out with a tapered reamer and cut a hole for the DCC controller panel.

Temporarily mounting the track diagram and DCC panel in place brings about the look I was hoping for.

I just had to put a switch in to see how that looked.

All looks good!

I just now need to find a sharp 6mm drill in the WMD Tool Store!

This glacial progress but with other things to do other than model making any progress is good progress! And todays progress is that the track plan for the control panel has been laminated and cut to size. The holes for where the switches need to go have been punched out and the panel has temporarily been taped to the top of the control panel. 

I have now used those holes to mark where on the control panel I need to drill the corresponding holes for the switches. 

I just now need to find a sharp 6mm drill in the WMD Tool Store! That should be interesting!

I thought back in 2024 that I would go hi-tech with two way centre off switches!

If you are a regular pursuer of this blog you will probably realise my bike rides take me past a canal on occasions. It is always a nice to take a look at what is a little bit of industrial heritage that now is a tranquil recreational place and over the years I have seen the canal almost burst its banks and then turn into little more than a tiny stream. It seems at a mid way point at the moment. It is definitely down in level but not at a level where there is more mud than water! Not sure why it is down so much though. It is not as though we are in a drought. One to keep an eye on during further bike rides. Which reminds me I am just 6 miles short of 1400 this year so far. I was at about 800 at this time last year so a better year so far!

Back at WMD HQ I am still working on the control panel for my Last Great Project Layout and I have raided the WMD Stores to retrieve the pack of switches that I bough back in 2024 when I first started planning this! Nothing like forward planning!

In the past I have used the stud and probe method to control the point motors but I thought back in 2024 that I would go hi-tech with two way centre off switches.  

To fit the switch I will need to drill holes of the right size (6mm) in the top of the control panel. Drilling through paper, even if it is laminated as I will do for the control panel diagram, often leads to tears in the eyes of the driller and tears in the paper! So I broke out my punch set that conveniently had a 6mm punch. I was not sure if it would actually cleanly cut through the paper but it did on the scrap laminated sheet that I had to hand!

And more importantly the switch fits the hole!

Next stage is laminate the track diagram and cut it to size and then punch some holes in it!

It has only taken me about four years to think that one up!

A few more hours working on the control panel diagram that I posted about yesterday. It took some time as I had to move some elements around to make way for the arrows indicating which way the point would be directed by the switch being pushed in one direction or another. I think I now have it sorted though that may change as I actually start mounting switched! 

You may notice a tentative name for the layout too - Woodsville Junction. It has only taken me about four years to think that one up!

Its all in the planning!

Its all in the planning as the experts on various things always explain. Well, for once but don't tell Mrs.  Woody, I have heeded that advice in my control panel project for my 00 gauge Last Great Project layout. 

First off is to number each of the points with its own reference number. 

This may make things clearer on the top of the panel itself but the real advantage is under the surface so to speak. With each point having its own number I can then create the necessary wiring more easily as I can run wires from the actual numbered point and its motor to the control panel switch and be able to identify it much more easily. Well that is the theory! 

Next up I printed off the track plan which stretches across two A4 sheets. I then trimmed it down to see if it would actually fit the control panel top!

And it does! Just like I planned in the planning stage! The space on the right is where the DCC controller plug and socket panel will go - again, just as I planned!

Right, I better plan to do some of Mrs. W's jobs on her 'To do list' before I do nay more on the panel!

It may be an old utility but it is simple just like me!

 Back to building my control panel for My Last Great Project 00 gauge layout and I have had to put together a track plan so I can position the various switches. This is the first time I have actually drawn out the track plan which shows just how much track and how many points there are. 

I drew this out using Paint - it may be an old utility but it is simple just like me! I need to add some arrows and wording which should try my patience but at least I have a base to do it on!