Last running day on my layout - 2025-11-15

I had some train friends visit my layout for the last official running day:

(Photo credit: Erich Scherer)

Friday evening:

Ed, Boyd, me, Hing, Hein, Erich

Saturday afternoon:

Paul, Ed, Richard, Hein, me, Erich

Richard, John, Raman,George, Bruno, Boyd

On Monday Hein and I started packing trains away.

Working HO scale platform signs

Since I constructed my underground S-Bahn station in 2003, new technology has enabled some exciting upgrades. After creating a miniature arrivals and departures sign for my HO scale main station, I decided to also make some platform specific signs for both platforms of my underground S-Bahn station. This enables the passengers to see what the next arrival or departure is.

Making small signs

When I was adding my distance markers, there were some places where there was no catenary mast or tunnel on which to affix the signs. They thus had to have their own mounting pole.

Distance markers

One of the details on my layout is the inclusion of distance markers along the tracks. These signs tell the locomotive engineers where they are. They typically appear every 200m along the track. The upper number indicates the number of kilometers from the origin and the lower number indicates the the additional hectometers.

Main station tracks laid

Much of the work thus far has been on parts of the layout that are functional in nature but contribute less to the overall visual impact. That is now changing as I have completed the hidden sections of track and can now start building the visible areas of the layout - making the work much more interesting and at the same time, more demanding.

The main station area has no had all eight tracks laid, wired up, measured, defined in the software, and tested under computer control.

S-Bahn completed

Today I added the second platform and its end walls, thus completing the underground S-Bahn station.

Camera can't handle the high contrast of the bright LED lights so pictures are still poor...

S-Bahn rear platform

I have now completed the rebuilding of the rear platform of the underground S-Bahn station.

(I am not very happy with the sharpness of the images and I plan to make do them over too.)

First of few images of the completed platform....

S-Bahn redo

My original S-Bahn station turned out well, but I used the wrong glue to stick the printed platform onto the wood and it soon lifted and looked ugly. So with the move to the cabin I decided it was time to redo the station.

I have laid and tested a double line loop that branches off the hidden track area below the town, so now it was time to rebuild the station.

 Previously the roof could be carefully lifted out the front but this needed two people to do and was rather difficult. My new plan is to place the roof onto some drawer runners such that the roof can slide back behind the rear wall of the station.

I decided to use the same (heavy) roof structure but replace the old rope light with newer LEDs.  I pulled the old rope light out and inserted the LED strips into the same grooves.

Browser access to the layout!

Nine years ago I wrote an app for my Hewlett-Packard Pocket-PC that communicated with my train layout control software and could thus be used as a wireless mobile controller for the layout. It worked fine, but with time, the HP device is no longer current, can't hold its charge and is not really useful. I thus decided to replace the app with a plain browser-based solution. This would mean that any browser based device could be used, meaning that any modern smart phone could be used. Visitors to my layout can use their own device to operate trains!

This means that I essentially had to add an HTTP server to my software, and generate the HTML pages dynamically. It took a couple of weekends and I am very pleased with the results.

The main functional features are:

1. Switching the layout power.
Power can be switched on, off, or the 'halt mode' can be set on. These controls are available at the top of every screen (including the '404 not found page!).
This ensures that the power can always be switched off in case of emergency, such as a derailment.

S-Bahn layer tryout

As my track laying efforts approach the S-Bahn station area I decided that I need to see how it will all be laid out.

The S-Bahn station is an underground station underneath the main station. Trains will enter and leave the area from the hidden station at one end or from the mainline in the opposite direction. Apart from the side view of the underground station from the side, all the track will be hidden from view.

This shows the old S-Bahn platforms and backdrop positioned where the S-Bahn station will be. It has two tracks which both connect to the mainline at the back of this image.

Power!

Now that I have the Betriebswerk in place, I am able to run the power cables along to where the control center is, and actually connect the Intellibox to the layout.


I fetched a loco to test that the track actually has power and it does... loco lights come on and the loco moves...

S-Bahn station (old layout)

These images are from the S-Bahn on my old layout. The station has since been remade in order to fit into my new layout,

Some pictures of the S-Bahn interior now that the floor, backdrop, roof and people are in place...

HO scale escalator

In December 2001 I started looking for a nice HO scale escalator kit and I have not yet found anything to date so I decided I would have to make my own. In a CAD program I created the side profile of an escalator, touched it up in a graphics program and printed it out on an inkjet printer on plain paper. I did inside and outside versions and then glued them to some card and cut them out. I still have the difficult task of making the actual steps.

I placed them on my new S-Bahn platform to see how they look. The platform is  a ¾" maple plank with the edge routed out for the platform edge. On top of the wood I intend glueing some inkjet made platform floor so I laid a sample of that on the wood too.  I added a couple of commuters and some Kibri ticket machines (I have not yet added the graphic to the machines)...