An updated version of the JMRI Switchpanel for Zity Edge RR is ready:

Buttons to set all turnouts for the different routes are included on the panel. The "reset" button set all the turnouts in correct position. It's also run at startup of JMRI.

Finally, I have installed all tracks and the High Line bridge, so I could do a complete testrun.

I took the layout out of the closet and moved it on the table in the livingroom, so I could install and clean all tracks.

Check out the short testvideo #3 from Zity Edge Layout.

A few photos showing the effect of the printed streets and the track in the middle of the road. Engine and car are AZL.

All images are taken with my Nikon D7500, 100ASA, AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1:1.4 G, using Helicon Remote and Helicon Focus, stacking 8-11 shots for each image, to give a good as possible depth of field. 1-4 sec exposuretime.

The only buildings that are plastic kit are the 2 Kibri factories in the front. All other are printed on paper and glued on a 3 mm foambase.

The last few weeks there have been a lot of activity. Now, more than 20 buildings have been created in their inital state, still missing roof details and other detailing, but the skyline and the back of the city now starting to find its final shape.

All buildings are created from images, some of my own, some bought from textures.com, and some grabbed from Google Street View, with buildings from Chicago, Baltimore and Philadelphia. One building is the Metropolitan Tower in Chicago.

All buildings are build using 3 mm papercard with foambase, kapafix is the brand.

The last days I have build many of the background skyline high-rise buildings using images of the fasades, photoshop to adjust the images, my laser printer, glue and foamboard. Added also some plaster rocks. Starting to looking better. In the back, you can see a model of the Metrolitan Tower in Chicago.

There have been a lot of progress installing the different streetsurfaces and the tunnelportals for the road. I have also started to install the basement foram for the church and the back part of the layout. Still much to do, but I start to see the city.

For the main lighting of the layout, I have installed a total of 7 LED-strips, 3 with Warm White LED's and 4 with adresseable RGB(W) LED's. The extended number of white strips gives a bright light as possible.

All strips are controlled using an Arduino microcontroller, where the 3 Warm White strips are controlled with pulse width modulation(PWM) and a IRF540 MosFet driver card, and the 2 RGB strips are controlled with the FASTLED library available for the Arduino. 2 more Led strips are installed a RGB-strip on the East Mountain backdrop and a 150 pixel RGBW, 17x9 pixels matrix are installed as a skyboard to simulate different colors and pattern, like sunrise, lightning and Aurora Polaris. On this homemade LED-matrix using a standard 5 meter long RGBW-strip(description will follow soon), I use the Adafruit NeoMatrix library. The initial tests look promising. I will come back with images soon. The programming are not finished and need further development.

The goal is to create animations that can simulate day, sunrise/sunfall and night. And some lights effecs, like ligthing strokes with sound and other visual effects. All controlled by a fastclock and swithes connected to the Arduino. Since I plan to run JMRI on a RaspBerry Pi, I am thinking about to create the userinterface on the RaspBerry Pi, connected to the different Arduinos on the Layout. The Arduino is so cheap to buy, so it will be easier to use several Arduinos for different tasks.

The different LED-stripes:(Table is under construction)

A test with an animation of the LED-strips behind the mountain backdrop. The current colors in the video are just to test to see how it could be. All lights are run by an Arduino microcontroller. I guess I need to use some time to develop the programs for the Arduino. The LED-strip in the video is a 144 RGB leds/meter, adressable WS2812B strip, with a total of 235 LED's.

Some more progress on the building of the new layout. Skyboard and mountain backdrop are installed.

The lights for the layout room and backdrop, are done using several LED-strips. For the overall white daylight, I have used 3 Warm-White LED-strips, for the colored lights, I have installed 2 adressable RGB-strips, one for the overall light, and one behind the mountain backdrop.

The High Line Bridge crosses three roads. Above the road, signs with Zity Edge is placed using Woodloand Scenics 5 mm dry transfer letters. After some weathering the white letters will blend better into the bridge beams.

Will the city skyline give the great feeling of a North-American City? I hope so, finally. Time is come to setup some sketches and mookups of building that could create and be part of the city skyline.

The elevation between the floors are important, and it looks like a standard elevation in commercial building is 10 feet, about 3 meter. In Z-scale, 1:220, I think 15 mm elevation would be fine. Commercial kits looks like they are much bigger.

Backdrop behind the layout is installed. I want to have curved corners and I used some flooring and have the backside out and painted it. I think it look fine. First layer of paint is done.

Time has come to test the placement of the High Line Bridge. The first layer of paint and a testinstall of some track, to see how it will be when finished.

The front side of the High Line Bridge is Micro Engineering 80-171 N-scale plate girder elements. The base is kapafix 3 mm foam/paper board. The foundation/beams are 3d printed and the columns are Evergreen styren H-beams, 1.5x1.5 mm.

Just finished the switchpanel for Zity Edge Layout using JMRI software. With a computer, NCE PowerCab, JMRI and NCE USB interface, the turnouts can be operated from the touch screen. Don't need to build a physical switchpanel.

All tracks, turnouts, motors and electric wiring are installed and working on Low level. All decoders and turnout motors are installed on top of the plywood, because all equipment will be covered by the high level. Access to the equipment will be possible via removable panels.

All the tracks are working well, no derailment in the turnouts. Its time to continue with high level and the installment of turnoutmotors and wiring.