Weekend Update 4/30/23

[up1950s]

https://www.pond5.com/search?kw=men-load-crates&media=footage

https://customcrateinc.com/custom-crates/

https://www.emeinc.ca/custom-crating

https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/2019.3.html

http://prototopics.blogspot.com/2019/11/load-for-mckeesport-connecting-railroad.html

https://www.alaskarails.org/fp/gondolas/CD-pipe-gondoals-1.jpg

https://www.alaskarails.org/fp/Gondolas

https://www.wrhistoricalsociety.com/the-state-line-generating-station

http://www.wrrc.us/smithsonian-railcar-restoration/

https://news.jrn.msu.edu/2023/04/amtrak-rolls-out-new-rail-cars-for-michigan-routes/

https://www.alaskarails.org/fp/passenger/passenger-roster-retired.html

[Albert in N]

  PSR solution during car shortage?

[u18b]

I had the opportunity and honor of evaluating a VERY rare brass N scale set for a friend.
R32 Subway cars worked a whopping 58 years in New York City and were only retired in 2022!!!
I can't get over the fact that this was last year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R32_(New_York_City_Subway_car)

Top speed is pretty fast like a lot of older N scale stuff, but very nice indeed.   
(I think my friend might be selling this soon.)

[chessie system fan]

I just got a new Photon M3 Premium, so I've had fun testing it on a smorgasbord of backlogged projects.  So far, it's improving with each print but I still need to tweak more settings to get what I need.

First up, a while back I acquired a copy of "Hiawatha - Nothing Faster On Rails."  It's the most impressive book of plans I've ever seen and well worth its cost. It's got drawings of every variation of every car Milwaukee built from 1936 to 1942.  My first print test was this 1936 mail and express car, numbers 1200-1204, printed flat with the standard settings and quickly spray painted to show detail.



There's a little waviness along the bottom, probably from the way it was supported, but overall pretty good.  The roof needs improvement, though. Just look at those print lines. I suspect the shallowness of the curves might be a factor.



I haven't printed it yet, but when I designed the mail and express car I also designed it's cousin, express cars 1300-1304.



My second print test was this ATSF 3700 series baggage car, this time printed vertically at the standard settings.



Vertically did better, but those roof print lines are still terrible.  It somehow got converted into a bunch of flat panels.

My third and final test so far is this ATSF 3800 series baggage car, now printed at 45 degrees and at a higher resolution than standard.  It's supposedly just a ten foot longer version of the 3700 car, but there are more differences between the two than I originally thought.







The higher resolution is an improvement, but those roof print lines are still there.  I never had any issues with that on my old Photon.  At first, I was thinking all this might be resolution or print angle issues, but now I need to troubleshoot and see if it's a software problem.

[nkalanaga]

Cotton isn't nearly as dense as wood, so I'm not surprised that they'd pile it as high as possible, if the line doesn't have clearance issues.

[BCR 570]

During this past week I was able to get the new control panels for Bond, Sundance and Septimus installed.  Each location has a central schematic indicating the station name, direction, tracks, and industries if any, and separate panels for each turnout or group thereof.  Here are the three panels for Septimus after installation:








The same was accomplished for Bond and Sundance:




With all of these installed, I was able to connect the toggle switches to the Singlet decoders and complete all of the turnout control connections, which is a big step forward.  Once the auxiliary bus is energized I will have to program and test the Singlets for correct throw, and ensure that the toggles are oriented correctly.


Tim

[up1950s]

I had the opportunity and honor of evaluating a VERY rare brass N scale set for a friend.
R32 Subway cars worked a whopping 58 years in New York City and were only retired in 2022!!!
I can't get over the fact that this was last year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R32_(New_York_City_Subway_car)

Top speed is pretty fast like a lot of older N scale stuff, but very nice indeed.   
(I think my friend might be selling this soon.)

I have that set too

[EJN]

Clearances are tight for a special train taking the interplanetary rocket Cygnus X-1 to the launch site for its voyage to Jupiter and beyond the infinite.

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]


Yes, it is a fully functional rocket, shown below with the recovery system - booster, 9 ft. shock cord, nomex chute protector, 2 ft. parachute, payload section. Flies on commercial F, G, & H size motors.


[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[John]

Set up the Middleburg Md for the first time in the BANTRAK FREMO-N Timonium layout.

[Lemosteam]

Giant milestone for the layout today. Installed the first elevated truss mainline tracks and soldered them to the berm wall track. I had been dreading this step for a long time!

Yes the twist was corrected after the photo.

Next is the last section of elevated track, which includes the deck bridge over the curved siding.

[Lemosteam]

The higher resolution is an improvement, but those roof print lines are still there.  I never had any issues with that on my old Photon.  At first, I was thinking all this might be resolution or print angle issues, but now I need to troubleshoot and see if it's a software problem.

I can almost guarantee that these ridges are not from the printer. This is from faceted curved surfaces that you cad tool creates. You might be able to increase the number of facets it uses to smooth out the surfaces and print again. Cut a section in cad perpendicular to the roof and you will likely see the facets. If the surface/section appear smooth in cad, it may be that your translator to STL is trying to minimize file size by faceting the surface.

[Chris333]

You can set the amount of segments a curve has. The more it has the smoother it is. A circle with 8 segments is a stop sign. 6 segments would be a bolt head.

[chessie system fan]

Hmmm.  So far I've been printing new car designs on a new printer with new Photon software.  I'll try printing an older design and see if it has the same issues.  If it prints great, then it means I'm the problem somewhere.

[crrcoal]

That was an awesome module. I was there today. Asked a gentleman standing there "Are you John from Railwire" and he said no, that John (you) would be there tomorrow. Thought I saw Ed K manning a table but wasn't sure if that was him.

Set up the Middleburg Md for the first time in the BANTRAK FREMO-N Timonium layout.

[bbunge]

Set up the Middleburg Md for the first time in the BANTRAK FREMO-N Timonium layout.

Ran and switched cars on John's module today.  Very nicely done!

Bob