N scale handbrakes on grades

[Chris333]

So does this mean progress on Ross Run? 

If you do it with a crank like Bob posted you could just use a piece of coat hanger out to the edge of the benchwork. Those flexi wires are only needed if you have to twist and bend.

[mmagliaro]

I like the mechanical linkage/wire idea, but consider this.
Mount a switch machine (like a Tortoise) on its side, so that it's heavy plastic thing pushes
upward and downward relative to the underside of the layout, instead of side-to-side.
Now, a thin piece of piano wire goes right down through the center of the track between the ties
where you want your "brake".  Underneath, it just bends and hooks onto the hole in the
Tortoise bar.

The alignment isn't even very critical the way it is when mounting it as a true switch machine.
The wire pokes underneath, and unless you are a mile off, you just bend the end and shove it into
the tortoise hole and it should work.

Now you flip a toggle and the tortoise raises the wire up or down.  A minor clip of the wire can fine-tune
the length.  And you could still open a larger recess with a patch of weeds glued to the end of
the wire that pulls down between the ties (I like that touch!)

Don't get me wrong, the mechanical linkage idea is elegant.  But when you consider buying those pieces
and getting that all mounted and working, it might be easier to use an electric machine.

[randgust]

Chris, yes, Ross Run is seeing real progress.  I have about a month before what little workbench space I have is taken up with all molding.   Track is all in, switches in, finished the last of the heavy wiring tonight.    I really want to get the pre-scenery work done soon so that I can run it hard and test it this winter.     Early testing proved that vertical curve on the passing siding hung up the Atlas shay but good.   Trackwork on this thing has to be beyond bulletproof as the operating speeds are slow, locomotives light, grades steep, curves tight.

Max, I've already got six Tortoises mounted for switch machine powering, and they are OK, noisy,....but that metal wire thrown up between the rails is like a brick wall to couple against.   And lord help you if you throw it up in the wrong spot and hit a car axle, instant derail.   I want something a little less absolute.   They'll work for sure, just looking for something better.    I used to use them all over the place on the ATSF layout positioning trains on hidden storage, ended up tearing them all back out and putting in detection units instead.

[TiVoPrince]

Thinking
about combining the ideas too.  For myself I would be seeking a big bright orange rod that was obviously in the up or down position.  A stiff bristled artists paintbrush (as the vertical stopper) might be more difficult to adjust opposed to a rod.  That may say more about my skills than anything.  A brush could be easier to disguise and simply look like a clump of weeds most of the time in retracted or extended mode...

[Zox]

that metal rod thrown up between the rails is like a brick wall to couple against.   And lord help you if you throw it up in the wrong spot and hit a car axle, instant derail.   I want something a little less absolute.   They'll work for sure, just looking for something better.

Combine the ideas, perhaps? Use the switch machine or control-rod linkage to push a length of monofilament line/thread (instead of a rigid wire) up to catch the axles. You could use a sleeve from track level down to make the assemblage rigid enough to push.

You could even have a single actuator push up multiple threads, spaced a couple of inches apart, to provide more than one catch point. Sorta like having multiple arrestor cables on an aircraft carrier...

[TrainCat2]

Randy,

My thought is to bring the wire up in the middle of the car and as you uncouple, the uphill axle catches the wire. When you go to couple, you have room to push against the car, drop the wire, and away you go.

[haasmarc]

I hear you on the noisy Tortoises.  I stayed away from them for a long time because I didn't like the noise.  Then one day I started to experiment and found that 5 volts is all you need to power them and they are very quite and even slower when running at that voltage.  Now I use them all over the layout.

[davefoxx]

I like both ideas.  As far as the manual version, I probably could cobble something together to build a linkage for nothing without having to order the RC airplane parts.  But, now I'm really thinking about the Tortoise idea, for two reasons: 1) the thickness of my HCD layout with 3-4" of foam in this spot shouldn't be a problem (just make the wire longer), and 2) I could decoderize the Tortoise and avoid having to put any knobs, selectors, or switches on the fascia.  I like that idea on a layout that is to remain as portable as possible.

DFF

[DKS]

I hear you on the noisy Tortoises.  I stayed away from them for a long time because I didn't like the noise.  Then one day I started to experiment and found that 5 volts is all you need to power them and they are very quite and even slower when running at that voltage.  Now I use them all over the layout.

Same here. I used them for grade crossing gates, building doors, and a number of other animation effects, in addition to being plain old switch machines. I also ran them on 5VDC.

[DKS]

I like the mechanical linkage/wire idea, but consider this.
Mount a switch machine (like a Tortoise) on its side, so that it's heavy plastic thing pushes
upward and downward relative to the underside of the layout, instead of side-to-side.
Now, a thin piece of piano wire goes right down through the center of the track between the ties
where you want your "brake".  Underneath, it just bends and hooks onto the hole in the
Tortoise bar.

The alignment isn't even very critical the way it is when mounting it as a true switch machine.
The wire pokes underneath, and unless you are a mile off, you just bend the end and shove it into
the tortoise hole and it should work.

Now you flip a toggle and the tortoise raises the wire up or down.  A minor clip of the wire can fine-tune
the length.  And you could still open a larger recess with a patch of weeds glued to the end of
the wire that pulls down between the ties (I like that touch!)

Don't get me wrong, the mechanical linkage idea is elegant.  But when you consider buying those pieces
and getting that all mounted and working, it might be easier to use an electric machine.

This.

[delamaize]

I know this is coming out of right field, but what about modeling it as a minimal used siding, with weeds growing up though the ties? same idea as the monofilamen, but a lot more of it, and not nessasarly clear fillament. something like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81167076@N00/450528730/

[Kisatchie]

Hmm... I'd just use a
wad of bubble gum...

[Chris333]

I know this is coming out of right field, but what about modeling it as a minimal used siding, with weeds growing up though the ties? same idea as the monofilamen, but a lot more of it, and not nessasarly clear fillament. something like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/81167076@N00/450528730/

But he has to drive a shay over that same track.

[delamaize]

But he has to drive a shay over that same track.

what about weeds on the sides of the tracks, interfearing with the sides of the trucks? I dunno.....

[nkalanaga]

How about a real manual process - an N scale skate for the brakeman?  Take a piece of thin brass sheet, fold it into a channel to fit the railhead, and solder a wheelstop to it.  If it fits fairly tight it wouldn't slide, but could be picked up when not needed.  Drill a hole in the top of the channel and you could hang it on a hook mounted on a post by the side of the track.