The Very Last White River and Northern Railroad

[DKS]

That sounds like quite a light show!  I would  love to see that.

A few years ago I tried videotaping it. The video does not do it justice at all--it's a bit of a challenge shooting a dark field in the middle of the night.

[railnerd]

DKS,

Best synthetic fireflies I have seen since I was a 10 year old riding Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time.

Arguably much more impressive, since these are so tiny, and I'm 40+ years older and significantly more jaded now.

-Dave

[DKS]

DKS,

Best synthetic fireflies I have seen since I was a 10 year old riding Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time.

Arguably much more impressive, since these are so tiny, and I'm 40+ years older and significantly more jaded now.

-Dave

Thank you! I appreciate that. This was one of those projects where, if I couldn't nail it, I wouldn't do it.

[peteski]

Thanks for the video DKS - nice light show.  Must have looked  great in-person. The ones I saw last month were much sparser and they moved much slower. 

[wm3798]

At the height of the summer, we get a show like that in our front yard.  This literally gave me "warm fuzzies"...  thank you again for your inspired craftsmanship.
Lee

[DKS]

They are dying off, and will soon be at risk of becoming extinct.

Man, I hope not...

Unlikely in our lifetime, or even Aly's. But eventually:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320718313636

[DKS]

The Weldon Mill water wheel inspired me to take a crack at an effect I've wanted to try since practically forever. I'd wanted to make an animated waterfall around 75-100 N Scale feet tall, but that's obviously not an option for a layout of this size. The spillway is essentially a 16 N Scale-foot-tall waterfall.

This little project, which I began on 3 September 2020, was an interesting challenge. At first I built a complex device based on the principles I'd devised for a 100-footer. It didn't work. I tried a few variations on that theme. They didn't work. Ultimately what did work was unexpectedly simple—the KISS principle to the rescue. But although the mechanism is quite simple—particularly when compared to the original design—it still took many tries at every step of the way to achieve success. Nothing I did worked the first time.



First, I made a frame from ⅛-inch sheet styrene. I drilled the sides for roller bearings that press-fit in place. Then I sandwiched a drum made of 1" PVC pipe in between a fender washer and a gear, on a ¼-20 bolt. Because the PVC pipe is smooth and slippery, I created a rubberized surface by bonding lengths of elastic band to it with CA.



Next came the profile plate. This part serves three purposes: it shapes the water belt to the trajectory of the falling water; it has a graphic that shows through the belt to simulate the increase in the volume of white water as it descends; and it also provides spring tension on the water belt to keep it tight against the drum. I made it from 0.020" sheet styrene bent roughly to a parabolic shape. I created a graphic of fuzzy, irregular tapered streaks and printed on label material, then laminated it with clear plastic to protect the image and provide a smooth surface on which the water belt can slide.



The sharply-curved end of the profile plate simply rests on a styrene tube installed across the top of the frame; a pair of retaining blocks behind the tube hold the profile plate in place with no need to bond it to anything.



The water belt is simply clear Scotch tape wrapped around the drum and profile plate about 6-8 times, with the adhesive facing outward. This was the single most difficult step: I made probably a couple dozen belts before I got one of the right size with a minimum number of blemishes. Once that challenge was met, I installed the geared drive motor, and with the motor running, I dry-brushed on thin, irregular lines of white acrylic paint as the belt moved.



I then applied thin, wispy tendrils of fiber (plain old pill bottle cotton). It's surprising how little was required, because its purpose is to simulate mist, not water; indeed, I removed most of what I'd initially applied. Finally I sprayed the water belt with clear fixative, again with the motor running, to hold the cotton securely in place and to help keep it clean (a trick I learned when I was making static waterfalls back in 1975), as well as to seal up any remaining exposed tape adhesive.

[Chris333]

That's tits!

[mu26aeh]

That's tits!

On a Ritz !

[peteski]

DKS's modeling left me speachles so many times already, so decided to get vocal this time:  AWESOME EFFECT!!  The simplicity is also awe-inspiring.

[DKS]

Thank you, gents! Nice to know I haven't totally lost my touch.

What's exciting about the prospect of installing this on the layout is that it's sandwiched between the mill wheel and the firefly field. So that part of the layout should have a very relaxing vibe.

[Chris333]

I watched the video again at full screen. I thought the cropped image with sound was a real water fall. With the mechanism hid you can't even tell.

[keeper]

Jaw dropping!!!

[Lemosteam]

@DKS ,

All of these animations are so awesome. When the layout is complete, what electronic or mechanical wizardry do you have in store For us to operate each of these devices (the signals are the obvious)?

Are you planning a computer controlled actuation, or old-school pushbutton, a-la the Lionel layout in the local hobby shop?

I am imagining a menagerie of sounds and lights that might become indistinguishable from each other if they all run simultaneously.

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

[DKS]

@DKS ,

All of these animations are so awesome. When the layout is complete, what electronic or mechanical wizardry do you have in store For us to operate each of these devices (the signals are the obvious)?

Are you planning a computer controlled actuation, or old-school pushbutton, a-la the Lionel layout in the local hobby shop?

I am imagining a menagerie of sounds and lights that might become indistinguishable from each other if they all run simultaneously.

Apologies if this has already been discussed.

No "wizardry." Controls will all be old-school toggles and pushbuttons--in the vein of the Lionel layout in the local hobby shop, perhaps, but only where the controls are concerned. Hopefully none of the effects come off as Lionel-ish when operating. Furthermore, every single animation and special effect is user-controlled, even the few that would ordinarily run continuously, so you can optionally leave the whole layout "dead."

There should not be a "menagerie of sounds and lights". All sounds will be under user control. "Continuous" sounds include just the waterfall and crickets, which are simply gentle background sound. There will be very few "foreground" sounds, and they'd only be run intermittently. So far they include the jazz bar and gas station, and possibly the kennel, which would play very softly, so that you'd really need to pay attention and be right there in the scene.

As for lights, very few change or blink, so it won't look like a circus. Plus, changing lights are all subtle (no big blinkey neon signs, for instance) and wouldn't be left running anyway.

I can't think of any animation that's "in your face." Most of it is subtle, and only a couple would be left running all the time, e.g. the mill wheel and spillway. Many of the animations you really need to look for. The whole idea is for the layout to be a calm, peaceful place, unless one turns absolutely everything on all at once, which is silly.

Here's a list of all the animations and special effects so far:

1 Mill Water Wheel
2 Fireflies
3 Gas Station Car Lift*
4 Restaurant Ceiling Fans*
5 Mill Spillway
6 Window Fan*
7 Barber Pole
8 Turbine Vents
9 Grade Crossing Gates
10 Campfire
11 Police Car
12 Fluorescent "Shop" Light*
13 Desk Fan*
14 Welding in Enginehouse*
15 Rocking Chair
16 Fireplace in Cabin*
17 Train Order Signals
18 B&W Television Set*
19 Barber Chair*
20 Enginehouse Doors
21 Cooking Smoke
22 Rotating TV Antenna
23 Kiddie Train Ride
24 World's Smallest Model Train*
25 Year-Round Christmas Lights
26 Train Ride Station Door

Items marked * are contained inside a building, so you'd have to look for them by peering in a door or window.