Train additions, new details & more

New on the layout

Yesterday I had a chance and inspiration to work on the layout for almost a whole day and therefore I managed to accomplish quite a lot. First of all, the fleet of trains has now grown to three as I welcome the M309 and M319 to the collection! I have owned these trains for a while, they've now been converted into 3-rail digital operation and yesterday I finally fitted the new road numbers for them as my decal-order came by mail.

However, I'm still not a 100% satisfied with the results since the white letter decals are only 2mm in height and the seller only provided one spare of each number, it was really a struggle to get all of them done correctly. I have now already ordered multiple replacements and am intending to replace some of the numbers that didn't end up pitch-perfect.

See the article on the new road numbers!

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I also worked on some new signals for the layout. I've been accumulating the N-scale Roco 20010 signals every time I've managed to find one and I now converted all five I had to resemble metro signals. Read more from the Making of -article I posted!

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Heart Cape and Flamewood Island -stations now
finally got the clock- and timetable displays above each platform. They indicate where the next train is terminating and how many minutes it will take for the train to arrive. These displays have been done from painted balsa wood, with self-made printings glued on top and tidied up with a permanent marker. Very simple and cost-effective. I also made some for the Hedgehog Avenue station that I will install later on.

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New on the website

- Added the Articles -section
- Added a "Making of" article about the signals
- Added another "Making of" article about the road numbers
- Pictures of the new trains have been added to the appropriate section
- Some more recent pictures have been added to some of the pages on the layout-section

Bus updates

New on the layout

My two bus models got a slight overhaul today as I tidied them up a little and added the missing road number to the other one. Both buses also now include some advertisements, which are positioned slightly out of place and make the bus look a bit more ugly - just as in real life!


New on the website

- Again some minor spelling mistake corrections
- Changed the "Public Transport" section to resemble current plans

Test-driving!

New on the layout

Today was time for some test driving regarding future modules. I set up a temporary test layout on the floor and figured out some things that I had in the list of things to do.

First of all, I wanted to determine the actual minimum radius required. The smallest one of 360mm was tested up to the maximum speed in both directions and the M300 can handle it just fine. This is good since I now know I can turn the train around in a small space when necessary. Naturally I won't be using that small of a radius in any visible parts of the layout because of the unsightly looks of it.

Next I tested the upcoming X-crossing and wanted to see how the train can handle it. The were absolutely no problems whatsoever, which was a nice relief. I also tried different methods on programming the switches and decided to have all the four switches follow a single digital address for maximum ease of use. I have altogether resorted to digitally programmed switches for the layout because of their ease of use and minimum amount of wiring required.

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Finally I programmed the Viessmann 26111 "Robel" work train and all the functions work just as they should. The acceleration and deceleration characteristics are very nice and the operations are altogether very realistic. I'm in the process of converting the Viessmann 26111 to resemble the "Tka 4" work car and will post pictures and a video of it when I'm satisfied with the results.

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New on the website

- Minor spelling-mistake corrections
- Deleted the info section about the Lindholm Lines -long distance bus since I no longer plan to use it on the layout

Robel & LED-lighting

New on the layout

Viessmann 2611 "Robel"

Viessmann 2611 "Robel" work car has been bought and added to the collection! This will be modified to resemble the Tka 4 maintenance locomotive found in the real metro system. More information, pictures and possibly even a video will follow after the modifications are ready!

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Flamewood Island with LED lighting

I installed a NorthLight IR-controllable LED-system lighting to Heart Cape and Flamewood Island underground stations. This system consists of 30cm LED strips that can be attached to each other for a maximum of eight pieces.

Both stations now have 90cm worth of strips providing nice interior lighting. I have covered the strips with plastic material to better resemble a real roof light found in large indoor areas. The lighting is controllable with an IR transmitter and can show various different colors. Naturally, I'll usually just use white but some of the other ones can be usable too.

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Modification work has started on two bus models, which are being modified to Finnish 'Veolia Transport / Transdev' colors from German prototypes. The other one will have an older blue/yellow color scheme while the other one will be of the newer gray/white/red -style. Pictures will follow when finished!

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New decals have now finally been ordered so soon I will be able to welcome my second finished train on the layout, the M300 number '309'. The following and currently the last M300, which is still under conversion to digital AC-operation, will be '315' after which I'll start concentrating on bringing the other train types M100 & M200 to the collection also.

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New on the website

- Information on the track maintenance equipment and plans related to them
- New information added to the Trains-page

First update!

Update to the content!

- Added the "Prototype" section
- Information added to the Trains and Public Transport sections
- Fixed some spelling errors and other smaller issues
- Updated the information to better reflect current plans

Welcome!

Welcome to the internet site of New Helsinki Metro, a modular subway/metro layout in H0 scale! Here you'll find lots of information, pictures and videos regarding my project and updates on future progress. Enjoy! :)