Hidden Sidings

Updated 17 November 2021

I recently gave a presentation to our 3mm Society Virtual Area Group on my Hidden Sidings and specifically the sector plate. Since that is more up-to-date than the previous material I have used it to rework the following.

Templot

This is the current version of my Templot for the hidden sidings. They run the 20ft length of my garage.

The single entry track on the right hand side runs through the wall into the laundry room and on to the spiral.

There are 16 tracks feeding the sector plate on the left. The main track on the sector plate is drawn twice, once in the first track position and once for the last. There are 3 additional tracks for loco storage. A turntable will be included on the sector plate to the left.

This is work in progress and there are a couple of gaps in my Templot for the tracks feeding the sector plate.

The three loops at the top merge into a single track which will run round to a reversing loop in the adjacent room. A marshalling yard for sorting goods trains will be located off the reversing loop.

The two sidings at the top are for storing push pull trains.

The sector plate is used to marshall trains in the sidings. Trains will leave the sidings according to a sequence, run round the layout and then return to the sidings for remarshalling. With a full complement of stock remarshalling need only occur 3 times in the course of running the 24 hour working timetable for the line. That is when the local train from Bournemouth to Weymouth needs to be turned and sent back.

Baseboards

There will be 3 boards.

The right hand board is shown below. I used Templot background shapes to design the framework and it is built from 6mm birch plywood. The multi level structure at the bottom accommodates tracks on the Hamworthy Junction levels which I will describe later.

This shows the right hand board in position. The sidings underneath are the storage sidings for my O gauge.

The middle board will just connect the tracks on the right hand board to those on the left.

Track laying

The next picture shows my first steps in track laying. The plain track uses 3mm Society 14.2mm track bases. Points use Evergreen plastic strip for timbers and 3mm Society chairs. The rail is 3mm Society code 60 bullhead throughout. The templates and the track are stuck down with Pritt Stick.

The rail came in 18" lengths so I laid one length at a time. Each length has etched fishplates from Worsley Works soldered to one end. The other end is free to move in the fishplates from the next length of track.

I have painted the baseboards with Wickes Mould Protect Paint. The backs of my O gauge baseboards underneath the 3mm hidden sidings acquired a light covering of black mould and this paint seems to prevent it.

At the back of the hidden sidings is a mock up of the tray that will carry the double track from Hamworthy Junction via the spiral to Wareham. The track will rise from the left at 1 in 100 but level off to go through the wall and the laundry room into the back room.

Graham Shirley is experimenting with lost wax nickel silver cast crossings. Here is his first attempt. Unfortunately I used a 1:6 crossing on a 1:7 template and I have finished up with slight kinks after the exits from the crossing. However stock runs through it quite smoothly. The experiment looks promising.

Sector Plate Board

Here we have the current state of progress on the sector plate board. The sector plate itself moves from its current position to the left hand edge of the board.

Sector Plate

This is a closer view of the sector plate itself. There are 2 layers of melamine faced chipboard recovered from an old kitchen cupboard.

These are bolted to aluminium angle. There are 2 sets of ball races running on aluminium plates and a lazy susan at the far end.

The sector plate is quite heavy but runs freely as I hope the following video will show.

This shows the underside with the ball races at the narrow end

... and here about half way along

The turntable base is 6mm MDF bolted to its Lazy Susan with its control spindle sticking through the top.

This shows the Lazy Susan for the turntable. It is sitting in a recess created by the top laminate. The control spindle runs in a ball races either end of a brass tube.

The bottom laminate is bolted to another Lazy Susan which is bolted to the support platform.

This shows the underside. The control spindle for the turntable will project through the hole in the middle. I have a MERG turntable control kit which will be mounted within the Lazy Susan.

This shows the support platform. I have yet to cut out a recess for the motor and gearbox driving the turntable.

Turntable Controller

The next picture shows the PCB, programmed PIC and full instructions available from MERG for the Turntable Controller. You have to purchase the rest of the components separately. I bought the stepper motor and gearbox recommended in the instructions.

I had intended to operate the sector plate using the Turntable Controller. However I have not come up with an acceptable user interface. First you have to identify which of 16 tracks you are aiming at and then indicate that using a 16 way switch, 16 toggle switches or push buttons, or a key pad. There is too much scope for error in this process so I decided it would be better to have a lever with a release lock, a bit like a point lever, which is used as a handle to position the sector plate at the required track by hand.

That still has to be designed in detail.

I think the controller will be fine for the turntable.

Back Room Board

This is the first board out of the hidden sidings in the back room with the Templot sheets laid in place for the bottom level. The narrow part of the board at the far end will live in the cavity wall.

The plan was for the first point to lead into an MPD to be built in front of this board to service the hidden sidings. I am not sure if this will still happen.

The single track was then to expand into four tracks. The latest plan is for just two tracks. The right hand track will go up the middle of the spiral to the top before opening up into the two track main line proceeding through Worgret Junction and then into Wareham from the west. The right hand track will proceed up the outside to the next level before opening up to the two track main line through Hamworthy Junction and the single track Old Road which was called Castleman's Corkscrew and rejoins the main line at Hamworthy Junction.

The ledge at the back of the board is part of the support for the next two levels. The first level is the main line from the spiral to Hamworthy Junction and the second level is the return from Hamworthy Junction to continue up the spiral.