The Very Last White River and Northern Railroad

[peteski]

That reminds me of the thread that Dave started about railroad smells. If he has passenger/sleeper cars on that
early 20 century railroad he will have to have that chamber pot/outhouse smell to include with his models.
Even if there are no sleepers/coaches the stations and workers will require outhouses with associated smells. It's not really early twentieth century either. I had a SNCF  sleeper overnight from Vienna to Paris in 1980 that had that odor in my  sleeping
compartment . Yep, had a chamber pot in an enclosed cabinet under the wash basin.
Al

I can beat that.  Several years ago (but still in the 21st Century), I was on an airplane flying from Chicago to Boston. There was some problem with one of the toilets and the air was full of urine smell. That was not a pleasant fligth!

[CRL]

Maybe, if I get around to it...

If you’re having fun, just keep rolling. That’s all that matters.

[DKS]

Hey, is there gonna be any railroad on this model railroad? 

Maybe, if I get around to it...

If you’re having fun, just keep rolling. That’s all that matters.

Funny, but I was actually starting to think the same thing as @MVW ... I've been doing a lot lately, none of which has to do with the railroad per se. Now, I've already confessed (several times) that I'm much more of a modeler who likes railroads than a model railroader. But then again, as far as the layout is concerned, the railroad itself is just some track and rolling stock, and right now that's mostly done.

But I was reminded why the layout exists when, Friday night as I was doing some excavating to install a building, I accidentally mangled a turnout control. Spent the last several hours rebuilding it. So, I really have been working on the railroad lately... a little, anyway, and nothing photo-worthy.

[Philip H]

But I was reminded why the layout exists when, Friday night as I was doing some excavating to install a building, I accidentally mangled a turnout control. Spent the last several hours rebuilding it. So, I really have been working on the railroad lately... a little, anyway, and nothing photo-worthy.

I may or may not have sacrificed a turnout to the MRR Gods while dropping feeders this weekend when the drill dropped into the end of the turnout when it punched through the plywood under the foam.  I don't rebuild turnouts, so I had to break down and do an MBK order.

[davefoxx]

If we're talking about accidents this weekend, I was leaning over the layout yesterday and fell off my stepstool, taking out two turnout control knobs on the fascia of my layout in the process and leaving a pretty good red mark on my stomach.  Thankfully, I had some leftover parts, so both turnout throws were repaired in about twenty minutes.  I may have to go in and reinforce one of the actual Bullfrog switch machines under the layout, because its mount to the layout is cracked.  That turnout works for now, and I may just throw some glue into the crack.

DFF

[jpec]

I may or may not have sacrificed a turnout to the MRR Gods while dropping feeders this weekend when the drill dropped into the end of the turnout when it punched through the plywood under the foam.  I don't rebuild turnouts, so I had to break down and do an MBK order.

Shoot...wish I'd known. I could have sent them. I found a couple unused C55 Atlas switches this weekend in my track bin.

Jeff

[Lemosteam]

Today I built an enclosure for the MP3 player. I couldn't build it into the layout because 1) I needed access to the USB stick, and 2) the controls were part of the PC board. So I popped it into an electronics project box which had a nice 9V battery compartment, requiring that I include a 5 volt regulator in the circuit (tucked in behind the power switch, top left corner of the image below left). I also had to construct a set of buttons using tubular styrene. The finished enclosure is below right; I'll hang it on the face of the layout with Velcro, like a throttle.

   

Technical notes on the sound files: Because of the tiny speaker size, as well as the lack of volume control on the player, I processed the files quite a bit. First, I attenuated the volume to keep the music from being overbearing, as well as to reduce distortion. I also ran the file through an EQ to greatly reduce the bass, also to further reduce distortion. Then I applied some dynamic compression to keep the softer passages from dropping out and the louder ones in check. Finally, I mixed in ambient bar-restaurant sound, plus some light applause. I also included a couple of tracks of just the ambient restaurant sound to give the band a break once in a while. Thankfully the little player plays the tracks without pauses between tracks, so the the whole experience is seamless.

Not to question THE master, but I am curious why you did not choose a mini Bluetooth speaker for this. An old, used cell phone could play all day using a playlist of whatever sounds you desire, no usb sticks, nada.  All you would need is a wall wart to constantly charge the speaker so it would never need recharging.

[DKS]

Not to question THE master, but I am curious why you did not choose a mini Bluetooth speaker for this. An old, used cell phone could play all day using a playlist of whatever sounds you desire, no usb sticks, nada.  All you would need is a wall wart to constantly charge the speaker so it would never need recharging.

No, thank you.

First, Bluetooth has been a thorn in my side. Owned a number of Bluetooth devices, and not one of them ever worked right. Then, how is a cell phone better than a USB stick? I'd still have to load the phone up with the music and sounds I want, so how is it simpler? A USB stick means no fiddling with a phone--a major PITA to me. And it seems like a lot of hardware to do a very simple task, kinda like using DCC to run one loco... For me, just stick the USB into the little black box, hit play. Done. Also, this thing cost a whopping $4. Everything else was in my junk box or already at hand. I don't think I could find a mini Bluetooth and used cell phone for less. And the battery has the potential to last a very long time, with no need for two wall warts to recharge the phone and the speakers.

I have a feeling people tend to think a cell phone is the answer to everything...

[Lemosteam]

Nah, I was just curious, it was certainly not meant as criticism, and I get the frustration with these things. You had mentioned not being able to embed the sound unit into the layout, so I assumed that was a potential goal. 

I actually have no issues paring that $10 speaker to any of my devices.  I use it at Christmastime when I display my PE on top of the piano to play the songs from the movie.

[DKS]

You had mentioned not being able to embed the sound unit into the layout, so I assumed that was a potential goal. 

Actually, I'd only very briefly thought about embedding the player, but quickly realized the folly in that. However, I have a couple more of the MP3 units, and I may embed them in the layout to play environmental sounds, like crickets and rushing water.

I can see the advantages of your suggested setup for your own application; for mine, it's more trouble than it's worth. Especially the phone part--I do not like smart phones.

[johnb]

Too smart for us dumbies, too dumb for smartphones? 

[dem34]

Hmm, if the sounds all come off Flash drives via USB. Have you considered a fascia mounted "switchboard" using USB extensions? It could allow you to hot swap sound sets on things like Phil's without having the USB in a tough spot.

[peteski]

Hmm, if the sounds all come off Flash drives via USB. Have you considered a fascia mounted "switchboard" using USB extensions? It could allow you to hot swap sound sets on things like Phil's without having the USB in a tough spot.

Good idea, but David would still have to have access to the unit to change the batteries (unless you propose also mourning those remotely).

[wm3798]

And Phil's could host an open mic night!

[DKS]

Had a bit of a catastrophe this morning. I was installing the desk fan and slipped with a tool. Demolished the fan. The only parts I could keep were the cage front and the base; I had to re-fabricate everything else. So, as I worked, I attempted to make improvements. I switched from a friction drive to a gear drive, using watch gears. Also switched from four fan blades to three, as I has used up all of the parts I was using before, and used a different technique to assemble them. The results were worth all of the extra work, since it not only looks better, but runs more smoothly as well.

Photo (1). Watch gear assembly.



Photo (2). New fan blade design.



Photo (3). Base installed on desk in building.



Photo (4). View of fan through window.