Seaboard Central 2.0

[davefoxx]

Thanks, S.!  I wish the crossing didn't have to be on those two sharp radius curved tracks, but that's life on a HCD.

DFF

[glakedylan]

but, Dave, that is a large part of the magic and craftsmanship you exhibit...no one would even guess it is a HCD that you are working with. your design and modeling seems to embrace a larger world of which your portion is much larger and incorporating more. super work! thanks for your continued sharing!
sincerely--

[[[I wish the crossing didn't have to be on those two sharp radius curved tracks, but that's life on a HCD.
DFF]]]

[davefoxx]

Thanks, Gary!

[davefoxx]

I spent most of the afternoon building another #8 (16"/12" radii) curved turnout that I need to complete the yard ladder at the south end of Hamlet Yard:



To give an idea of where it goes, this is what I'm trying to finish:


Here's where the turnout will go.  It looks like I didn't plan well enough, because the 16" radius does not appear to be a perfect fit on the second track.  Bummer.  Not impossible to fix, though.  The three tracks (from left) are the mainline, arrival/departure track #1, and arrival/departure track #2.  Once this turnout is installed, both double-ended arrival/departure tracks will be operational.  That will be huge for ops on the layout.



DFF

[Rich_S]

Dave,
    Looking good, you are becoming the hand laid curved turnout king. 

 

[Chris333]

I have never fully understood curved turnout radius. Sometimes I just draw them together to smooth out any problems. Problems = steam locomotives 

[davefoxx]

I'm not finished by any stretch of the imagination, but the turnout is installed.  The track on Arrival/Departure Track #2 is not glued down yet, nor are its rail joints soldered.  I also need to resolder one point that popped loose, but that repair hopefully won't be that big of a deal, poor accessibility notwithstanding.  Once that's fixed, I can install the slide switch ground throw and eventually get the frogs to these turnouts powered. 

This crappy video shows that I did have a modicum of success tonight, despite the broken point:

DFF

[davefoxx]

Heck, yeah!  I spent a couple of hours this evening finishing up the turnout project at the south end of Hamlet Yard.  I resoldered the broken switch point (which was a little tricky as I had to reach in over 30" or so of benchwork), installed the last slide switch ground throw, tuned up the turnouts by testing with all sorts of motive power and trains, and installed ties under the rail joints.  I'm actually shocked at the reliability of both of these hand-built curved turnouts.  Everything I threw at them so far, including my six-axle locomotive fleet, is passing through without derailments.  Whew!  What a relief, as this was a lot of work.



The exposed wires reveal that I haven't yet energized the frogs.  I still have to purchase a few more Hex Frog Juicers to accomplish that.  Eventually, these wires will be routed through holes in the foam to hide them and to reach the Juicers that will be mounted under the layout.  And, of course, there's still paint and ballasting.

DFF

[seusscaboose]

Very nice!!!

You need frog juicers?

[davefoxx]

Very nice!!!

You need frog juicers?

EP,

Yes, sir!  I haven't added up the total of turnouts that I have, but I estimate I'll need at least four Hex Frog Juicers.  I'm not so sure I want to go all in on the purchase, since Juicers aren't cheap.  So, if you want to put in a joint order, like we did before, to take advantage of the bulk discount, let me know.

DFF

[eric220]

DFF, maybe you covered this earlier, but why aren't you using the slide switches that throw the points to also switch polarity on the frogs?

[davefoxx]

Eric,

I could use the slide switches I'm currently using to power the frogs, but I like the automatic polarity reversing of the Hex Frog Juicer.  When I used Caboose Industries' ground throws on the Virginia Central, I powered the frogs through the contacts on the throws.  I had to be careful, though, because if I forgot to throw the switch and a train came from the wrong direction, a short circuit occurred and the DCC system shut down.  That seems to be hard on decoders.  Granted, if the points are thrown the wrong way, the train is probably going to derail, but that often doesn't result in a short and I have an additional one to two seconds to get the points thrown before that derailment.  I could also short the DCC system, if I threw the points before the last car/engine (if powered or lighted) hadn't completely cleared the frog.

The Hex Frog Juicer makes the polarity control idiot-proof and automatic.  I like that.

Oh, and did I mention that I'm lazy?  It's much easier to install and finesse the operation of the slide switch without having to fumble around with the wires connected.  There's also much less wiring involved with the Hex Frog Juicer.

DFF

[eric220]

Fair 'nuff.

[davefoxx]

I've been having fun just running trains this weekend.  I dug out my Twinstack cars (I need to buy some containers) and my 89' flats (I need to buy more trailers) to run some intermodal trains.  Despite the light (empty) Twinstack cars and the long 89' flats, these trains are running well on the sharp curves of my layout:

As a side note and an additional reason to get some containers: the flashing RR crossing lights that I installed a few weeks ago don't like the open bottom of the empty Twinstack cars.  It confuses the photocell sensors.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I took the opportunity with a day off from work today to do some modeling on the Seaboard Central. I had fully intended on beginning the scratchbuilding of the Seaboard station in Aberdeen, but I needed some sheet styrene. Luckily, I didn't have to drive the ninety minutes to MBK, because I found a local hobby/RC shop that stocked styrene.

However, while perusing the Plastruct display, I came across all sorts of pieces that would simplify the completion of a highway bridge that I was building at the north end of Hamlet Yard. I had used some leftover pieces of a RIX highway bridge kit and some 0.040" styrene to build the road surface, girders, and guardrails, but I was short the materials to build the piers. In the background of this first picture, you can see the beginnings of the bridge that I started months ago:



Well, now I was inspired to finish the bridge (I'll work on the station another day), so I trimmed the bridge to length with a razor saw and scratchbuilt the piers. I also used sheet styrene to represent the poured concrete under the bridge on each slope:



What doesn't really show well in the pictures is that the bridge is built on a skew to clear the curved track below. The following picture shows the bridge after I went at each slope with the first layer of lightweight spackling to fill around the bridge's foundation. Compare that to the previous shot to see the amount of fill. Once the lightweight spackling dries (probably a day or two), I'll apply a second coat to smooth it out and blend it better with the existing landforms. The bridge should pop out once the spackling dries, because I was careful not to "glue" it in with the spackling. By being able to remove it, I can still complete the bridge at the workbench and finish the hill without the bridge in the way:



DFF