Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[C855B]

Need to make this a separate thread in the Crew Lounge. Seriously.

Meh. Didn’t bother me! Hopefully back to topic by day’s end.

[C855B]

Warts and all, here is a short vid of trains running through the junction at Gibbon:

Not a valid vimeo URL
Unfortunately the SL2's small view screen makes macro video a PITA - not enough resolution to follow focus using a lot of telephoto (and crap DoF). It is what it is.

I was going to lay a music track over it, but the live video seemed to underscore the smoothness. You might hear the break where I cut the video while both trains were negotiating the loop - about 20 seconds of blurred nothingness were removed. Good thing, the edited vid was only 8mb shy of the upload limit.

It took a little bit of tuning things around the crossovers, but generally I'm pleased with the operation.

[jagged ben]

Nice signal bridge.

[C855B]

Out-of-production NJI kit DKS turned me on to. Dummy for the shoot as a focus target. Sadly, too flimsy to put actual signals on, although it was a really good try as a product. Difficult enough to handle without breakage, one misplaced hand movement during track cleaning or whatever and it would be a million plastic splinters.

[C855B]

First real scenery bit in progress:



Very pleased. Surprisingly quick - the intent - with my super-duper contouring tool: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=43583.msg556357#msg556357

This small hill will be mostly smooth in its representation of the sand hills region of Nebraska, so no rock molds yet. Static grass supplies should be arriving on Monday, and Robyn is pumped to play with a new art technique.

[C855B]

Spending a fair amount of time working on the layout these days. First on our list is track painting, shown next to the above-mentioned hill, in bare-earth form temporarily on the layout. It's "temporary" since I will need to remove it to ballast:



Then there's some serious wiring going on. This panel is just to handle the reverse loops on the east end of Phase 0:



On the bench is the illuminated crossing gate I'm working on, as mentioned in @Mark W 's layout thread:



The static grass experiments were a learning experience, especially in the realization of how much fiber it takes to get a decent look. That hill and the surrounding geoforms will be mostly grass, so I'm trying to source the fibers in 55-gallon drums.

Next in the queue is laying-out and wiring multiple panels (more of the above, but worse) for the east side crossovers, although making more headway with landforms and scenery around the loop will be a welcome distraction.

Speaking of distractions, over the next two months "life" is going to get in the way. We have other major projects going with the museum, and family matters to address including relatives staying in town in the guest house currently lacking a kitchen... 'cause I have it in pieces, totally ignored since I'm working on the layout. Oy vey. 

[Cajonpassfan]

Then there's some serious wiring going on. This panel is just to handle the reverse loops on the east end of Phase 0:

Wait, wait: what are them orange thingies? I like the neat look...
Otto

[C855B]

Wago 221 lever taps: https://www.wago.com/221/en/ . They come in 2-, 3- and 5-tap versions. They're intended to replace wire nuts in conventional 110V/220V wiring, but their size range, 12 to 24AWG, makes them perfect for layout wiring instead of terminal strips, Euro-blocks or - heaven forbid - 3M "suitcase" connectors. Super-easy to use - lift the lever, insert a wire stripped to 3/8"-1/2", snap the lever shut. Holds firmly.

Another nice thing is they are rectangular. They're stuck to the panel with gray double-sided foam tape. Wago has an earlier model that isn't flat that doesn't work as well for this. Just search for "Wago 221" on eBay. One vendor lists a box of 50 5-taps for 38¢ each.

These are a fairly new product, in the last three or four years, I think. The older model was bulkier and more expensive. If I'd had the 221s when wiring the layout building five years ago the job would have been cleaner and much faster.

[mu26aeh]

Wago 221 lever taps: https://www.wago.com/221/en/ . They come in 2-, 3- and 5-tap versions. They're intended to replace wire nuts in conventional 110V/220V wiring, but their size range, 12 to 24AWG, makes them perfect for layout wiring instead of terminal strips, Euro-blocks or - heaven forbid - 3M "suitcase" connectors. Super-easy to use - lift the lever, insert a wire stripped to 3/8"-1/2", snap the lever shut. Holds firmly.

Another nice thing is they are rectangular. They're stuck to the panel with gray double-sided foam tape. Wago has an earlier model that isn't flat that doesn't work as well for this. Just search for "Wago 221" on eBay. One vendor lists a box of 50 5-taps for 38¢ each.

These are a fairly new product, in the last three or four years, I think. The older model was bulkier and more expensive. If I'd had the 221s when wiring the layout building five years ago the job would have been cleaner and much faster.

So do you think that they could be used for cutting in feeders to your buss lines ?

[C855B]

So do you think that they could be used for cutting in feeders to your buss lines ?

Yes. There is a small subpanel to the right of the photo that is a distribution bus to other feeders out of the loop management panel, and it has four 3-tap Wago connectors to handle two additional feeder sets in a 'Y' configuration (double track). With sub-buses due to occupancy detection, most of my wiring is going to be concentrated into similar panels, so it makes sense to continue with these as feeder taps.

A notable exception is yard wiring distribution where there won't be detection. I'm using a power block I found on eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/PCB007CN-1X-Power-Distribution-Board-2-Inputs-2-x-13-Outputs-for-DC-AC-Voltage/352373611149 . Nice thing about these is they have straight-line pass-through.

[rodsup9000]

So do you think that they could be used for cutting in feeders to your buss lines ?

 Yes, they will work for that too.

Wago 221 lever taps: https://www.wago.com/221/en/ . They come in 2-, 3- and 5-tap versions.

 They also come in 6 taps too. The Menards around here has them in stock. I've used at least 2 boxes of the 2 taps and almost a box of the 6 just for wiring turnout frogs.

[C855B]

6 taps? Hmm... not that I know of in the 221 lever tap line. Wago has a 6-tap in their 773 push-in line that Menards carries (for #14-18), but Menards doesn't carry any of the 221 models, they have the older 222 "lever nut" I mentioned. However, the 222 model is rated for #12 thru #28 (!!!), so if you were seriously mixing wire sizes you'd probably want the earlier type.

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks Mike, these are cool! I'll give them a try; hate the WWII era terminal strips or euros😬
What kind of "gray tape" do you use to mount them? Needs to stay put, right?
Great stuff one learns here!
Otto

[C855B]

By "gray tape" I mean the 3M heavy-duty double-sided foam tape. I think it's called "Scotch Outdoor Mounting Tape" in the consumer markets. The white foam tapes by 3M and others are too wimpy.

[DKS]

"Gray tape" may also refer to 3M VHB (Very High Bond) tape. Pretty costly (like $50+ per roll, IIRC), but it's also the most powerful stuff out there. Auto manufacturers use it to attach trim to body panels and other assembly.