Weekend Update 10/14/18

[up1950s]

https://www.bradleylifting.com/industries/transportation-industry/

https://www.worlifts.co.uk/rail/wheelset-lifting-beam/

[C855B]

This week's project... no, let me rephrase that... a task that has taken over my MRR life for the past two months has been our club's quarter-scale crossbuck, an attention-getter for train shows. Overall it's been showing its age for a while, but the electronics gave up the ghost at the last show, and I foolishly stepped up to the task of fixing it. Of course, that turned into a complete rebuild and repaint, no good deed goes unpunished.

A pile o' parts after disassembly, awaiting rewiring, cleaning and/or repainting:



Delivered this afternoon to our show venue for this weekend's event:



Original configuration was 110V-powered and a direct replacement for the electronics board was located, but there were other issues with the 110V system, plus a desire to convert to LED. On finding appropriate 12VDC LED assemblies (semi-trailer taillights!), I figured the Circuitron FL-2HD flasher board might do the trick. It did, and on initial testing was the discovery that the current draw was so low at 10-15mA, so the whole thing could run on eight D-cell batteries for 15-20 days continuously. Fitting the battery holders into the base was a fabrication challenge, but it worked, the finished photo above taken after a week of uninterrupted operation.

Now maybe I can get back to working on the layout.

[SP-Wolf]

This project is actually from last weekend.
I'm thinking about changing out the ginormous ladder. It is bugging me -- LOL




Thanks,
Wolf

[Cajonpassfan]

Lol Wolf, and while you're at it, make it stand a little more upright. This looks scary...
Otto

[draskouasshat]

remove the ladder, we linemen don't need ladders to climb poles!!!!!!!

Drasko

[mark dance]

I will have to keep my eyes open for Tim's Diesel house Richie...to compare notes !

And thx for posting those photos of the traction motor and wheel lifts

While we were traveling last weekend I got back to the Insulbrick-wrapped Section house finishing it save final weather and proper "planting" in the Coykendahl scene.



Here is what I am going for…


And where the scene is at (with a portable station standing in for the operator’s shack ... which I will build after the diesel house)…


Speaking of the diesel house, decent progress this week

Added the laser cut CPR logo…


It is a bit thick so I may have it recut in something thinner…


Then back to wall assembly.  Two largely complete this week (just need to add the corrugated metal inserts on the Northern walls).

The components of the North stores wall…


And that wall waiting final assembly step…top element is the outer wall which will be glued over the lower laminate of inner wall/middle wall/printed wind pane inserts


Which then looks like this …


All the long walls are now pretty much done.  Short ends next.


Which brings us to this point…




 

 

 

 

Have a great weekend!

md

[Spades]

Mark H

Your diesel house. Profiles in Sheer Modelling Awesomeness.

[mandealco]

Mark, that is just stunning.  You're taking photos in the real world and somehow making them look almost like models!
Cheers
Steve

[milw12]

Mark, what stands out to me is how massive that locomotive looks compared to its surroundings, like the real thing, well done. And of course everything else is a thing of beauty as well.

-Lucas

[soo]

 
Just simply amazing!
Y-it

[Jbub]

remove the ladder, we linemen don't need ladders to climb poles!!!!!!!

Drasko

Yup, nowdays you have bucket trucks 

[MK]

This week's project... no, let me rephrase that... a task that has taken over my MRR life for the past two months has been our club's quarter-scale crossbuck, an attention-getter for train shows. Overall it's been showing its age for a while, but the electronics gave up the ghost at the last show, and I foolishly stepped up to the task of fixing it. Of course, that turned into a complete rebuild and repaint, no good deed goes unpunished.

A pile o' parts after disassembly, awaiting rewiring, cleaning and/or repainting:



Delivered this afternoon to our show venue for this weekend's event:



Original configuration was 110V-powered and a direct replacement for the electronics board was located, but there were other issues with the 110V system, plus a desire to convert to LED. On finding appropriate 12VDC LED assemblies (semi-trailer taillights!), I figured the Circuitron FL-2HD flasher board might do the trick. It did, and on initial testing was the discovery that the current draw was so low at 10-15mA, so the whole thing could run on eight D-cell batteries for 15-20 days continuously. Fitting the battery holders into the base was a fabrication challenge, but it worked, the finished photo above taken after a week of uninterrupted operation.

Now maybe I can get back to working on the layout.

Have you consider using a small 12V deep discharge lead acid gel battery?  About the same size as eight D cells.

[CONRAIL FAN]

Very nice. What would be the correct process to restore an old dwarf signal and maybe light it up?

[C855B]

Have you consider using a small 12V deep discharge lead acid gel battery?  About the same size as eight D cells.

Been there. Never, ever, ever again. 

Back before cell data was "a thing", I designed portable sensor arrays for field deployment with 2-way radios and special modems for data comms. We ruined dozens of these small gel and AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries. No matter how often we scolded everyone about battery care, after events the equipment would get stored in a closet or whatever, and not immediately recharged. Storing a mostly-depleted PbHCl battery is nearly always fatal to future use, and these batteries are not all that cheap.

With too many field failures due to batteries that wouldn't hold a charge, I modified the design for D cells, and we installed a fresh set for every event. Worked like a charm, and the batteries would last the entire two- or three-day event with power to spare.

Since I'm frequently the one who hauls the crossbuck, I knew its duty cycle, and it was the same situation as the sensor/telecom system - infrequent, on-demand use for 2 or 3 days at a time, and then hastily stored with no access to recharge power. The solution - well, at least to me - was obvious.

[C855B]

Very nice. What would be the correct process to restore an old dwarf signal and maybe light it up?

If you're looking to be portable, change the bulbs to suitable LEDs and build a base to hold the batteries. For fixed use, I would build a base anyway 'cause it would look nicer than just sitting on the floor, use LEDs and power it with a 12V wall-wart power supply. Relatively straightforward.