The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

I can’t seem to get the throttle and the receiver to connect on WiFi to the ESU command station.  Ugh.  Stand by.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Password issue on the ESU CabControl resolved.  For some reason, the default ESU password was not working.  Thanks to Nathan Holmes and Michael Petersen of Iowa Scaled Engineering for working directly with me to diagnose and fix the problem.  Off to play with my new toy.  Might not get much sleep tonight.   

DFF

[davefoxx]

Duuuuuuuuuuuude!  This ProtoThrottle is sweet.  I'm having fun configuring the decoder and the throttle to work as I prefer.  Excellent.  I've got everything working, except the dimmed headlight feature.  But, that's just experimenting with function mapping.  I have the front and rear headlights (bright) and the GyraLight working with the knobs on the ProtoThrottle.

I haven't experimented with consisting yet.  I have a feeling that I'll have to consist the locomotives on the ESU throttle and then takeover with the ProtoThrottle.  Not sure yet, but that will have to wait until another time.  It's late, and I have Court tomorrow.

DFF

EDIT: Dimmed headlights figured out.  I have independent lights (dimmed and bright) in both directions and the Gyra Light that are now non-directional.  Just like the real thing.

[TLOC]

Congrats, it does feel good doesn’t it. I read your question and the responses from ISE on the ProtoThrottlegroup.io. Those guys are amazing how fast in how they respond and have yet to see them give up and say it is the modeler’s issue. I don’t run consists but believe that yes you have to consist via the Cab Controller.

Tom

[davefoxx]

Congrats, it does feel good doesn’t it. I read your question and the responses from ISE on the ProtoThrottlegroup.io. Those guys are amazing how fast in how they respond and have yet to see them give up and say it is the modeler’s issue. I don’t run consists but believe that yes you have to consist via the Cab Controller.

Tom

@TLOC,

Yes, I had gotten frustrated and just about given up for the night, when I signed up for groups.io and posed the question in the ProtoThrottle forum.  I couldn't believe that I even received a response last night, let alone interaction from both Nathan Holmes and Michael Petersen of Iowa Scaled Engineering to identify and address the issue.  Those guys get an A+ for customer service, especially considering that the problem was on my end and not the fault of their product.  I was up late, but I won't go home tonight to more frustration.  Yay!

DFF

[davefoxx]

 I just asked @LIRR to let me know how he will build a pulpwood yard on his layout.  I like the yard he built on his N scale layout.  So, to avoid thread drift on his layout thread and to save information for future reference, here's my inspiration:



This project was started with the gravel/sand parking lot that I installed a couple of weeks ago.  Go back to Page 49 of this thread.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I’ve got consisting working well with my new ProtoThrottle, including lights, horn, and bell functioning only on the Bicentennial leader.  See my long-winded post explaining how to do this with a ProtoThrottle, an ESU CabControl system, and a LokProgrammer in this thread: https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=47576.0.  By the way, adding middle units is easy, and all you have to do is not activate the horn, bells, and lights in the middle unit(s) in the consist without messing around with remapping functions.  Then, only the leader has the working horn and bell.  In the thread referred to above, I explained how to set up the trailing unit for lighting in reverse direction without having to go back to the programming track.  The knob on the ProtoThrottle for the front lights controls the lights on the front of the consist, and knob for the rear lights controls the lights at the back of the consist.  No more hopping between locomotives on a DCC controller to control functions on individual locomotives or the whole consist.



Also, after more than one year of procrastination, I finally got around to tearing down No. 1776 to replace a bad worm gear in the front truck.  This engine would run okay at up to probably 30 smph, but if above that speed or when consisted with other units, the front truck would sometimes growl and grind.  I bought the parts from Atlas forever ago.  But, it's done, and No. 1776 is running like new again!

So now, I’m letting 'em rip, Seaboard-style.  The speedometer shows this train at 69 smph, which is right at my 70 smph top speed set when speed-matching individual locomotives.  You just have to love a brace of U- and B-Boats!  JFRT!

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DFF

[Point353]

So now, I’m letting 'em rip, Seaboard-style.  The speedometer shows this train at 69 smph, which is right at my 70 smph top speed set when speed-matching individual locomotives.  You just have to love a brace of U- and B-Boats!  JFRT!

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Those must be some high-priority woodchip loads.

[TLOC]

My pulp yard and PT.

[davefoxx]

@TLOC,

Excellent, on both accounts.  Once I get the base ground cover completed, I'll have to start cutting up twigs.  I have a Chopper II, and, hopefully, that will suffice without cutting off a finger. 

Thanks,
DFF

[davefoxx]

Those must be some high-priority woodchip loads.

@Point353,

Well, I had to keep them moving high-speed in the video, so you couldn't tell how poorly rendered the load inserts of those wood chip cars are.    They'll need a coating of sawdust or something of the like to hide the plastic sheen.

DFF

[TLOC]

DFF

I tried my Chopper ll on the branches from the yard and soccer park down the street, too tough. I used a old set of rail nippers and snipped each one of the pulp sticks. In Central Wi., the paper mills use 100” sticks not wider than a 24” diameter. Seemed kind of silly at the time but it worked out fine and did the snipping over the course of watching NHL games. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Tom

[davefoxx]

@TLOC,

Rail nippers!  Genius!  I'l have to check to see what size pulpwood that the SBD hauled, but, if I were to guess, it's less than 24" diameter.  The smaller the better from a cutting standpoint.  More research needed, but I've got some "Lines South" publications from the ACL/SCL Historical Society with articles on pulpwood.

Thanks,
DFF

[CRL]

You might want to make a foam or wooden form painted flat black for the interior of your pulpwood pile. Then just glue a couple of layers of twigs over the outside of the form.

Might save you a few thousand cuts.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

The speedometer shows this train at 69 smph