Boardman River Branch switching shelf

[freedj]

I agree with you guys.  I will pull up that back spur and increase the center to center distance.  I am also considering pulling the right side of the layout out from the backdrop by around 1.5" to add a bit more depth to the backdrop buildings and make the tracks not parallel to the backdrop.

I've also cut in the first switch of the staging siding and am starting to think about turnout control and siding power.  Do most people wire the turnout motors of a staging track together to be thrown by a single switch?  How about removing power from the track if the switches are thrown against it?

In this photo you can see the start of the staging siding and also the layout pulled away from the backdrop on the near end.

[wazzou]

Is that an HO Scale water tower?

[freedj]

Is that an HO Scale water tower?

It started out as a HO water tower that I scaled down and printed.  My version is 180' tall (apparently 130' is average), and i think I may re-print it in higher quality with fewer joints, and possibly a bit shorter.  I am also considering giving it the slice and putting on the backdrop in the corner by the turnback loop.

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2989600

[dcarrell8]

Looking good!

[Hawghead]

I would wire the switch motors for the staging siding independently so as to allow movement in or out of one end of the siding while the other end is occupied with another train.  As for removing track power if one of the switches is lined against the movement for the siding, again it would prevent movement into or out of the siding if the mainline was occupied and either of the switches lined for the main.



In this example you couldn't move the train in the siding out onto the main because:
A: The siding track wouldn't have power because both of the turnouts weren't lined for the siding.
B: The east siding turnout couldn't be lined until the train on the main cleared the west siding turnout if you wired both siding switches to operate together.

Have the siding electrically isolated from the main and powered via it's own separate leads and toggle switch could be a good idea as you could kill power to the siding while occupied so as not to accidentally run a train in the siding through a turnout not lined for it's movement. 

Scott

[wm3798]

A fail-safe I've used in staging is a momentary contact switch that feeds power to the track you want to utilize.  Leave a 12" dead zone at the exit end of the siding, where the locomotive can sit without power until it's needed.
Then, set your turnout, depress the momentary contact switch to juice the track, and hold it until the engines are out on the main.  When you let go, the track segment will go dead, but the rolling stock being hauled out won't care.
With this system, you have to mindfully select the track you want, and actively participate in its use.
You could further set it up so the switch won't work unless the turnout is thrown in its direction.

Probably overkill, but a little redundancy never hurts... especially on hidden tracks.

Lee

[freedj]

Thanks for the input on the staging siding.  I've finished laying the track for the siding but have not done any electrical work on it yet.  I am convinced to keep the point control independent for both switches to open up all the operating possibilities.  I am trying to figure out how to use an on-off-on toggle to allow either track, or both tracks to be powered.  Up for the rear track, middle for both, and down for the front track.  It seems like I should be able to do it with a few transistors, diodes, and a toggle switch but my electrical engineering isn't that strong.  The obvious choice is to put in one switch for each track and simplify the whole thing

I've also printed out industry labels and run some trains based on the operating scheme laid out in the original article and its been a lot of fun. 

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I've started the process of trying to move my rolling stock roster closer to my region and era.    My first project car has been a CPR 40' box that i've stripped the roof walk off of and added and ACI decals to before really washing it down with some heavy dark brown.  The oil paint is still wet in this photo and the sheen is playing tricks on the camera.

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[freedj]

I added 90g servo switch machines to the staging siding.  This was made difficult by the siding having been added on later and it being really low profile.  There is only about one inch of usable depth of the benchwork where the switch machine had to go.  I ended up adapting the brass tube in sleeve method i've seen around here from time to time.  I wish that it blended in just a bit better, but I think i'll be replacing all the tortoise style throws with these because i've been having trouble getting reliable throws through 1" of foam.   Maybe  a drop or two of some dark color will make them more blendy.

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[freedj]

I made more progress making my turnouts more reliable this week.  The movement just transfers much more reliably with these than with the other style (background) servo mounts through so much foam.  Its possible that the other style would have worked well if I had drilled larger holes in my roadbed for the wire to move in, but as they were installed, the throw wires rose and fell over 1/4" in their travel.  This resulted in the wire pulling down through the throw bar on a number of occasions and one turnout where it would ALWAYS fail when i moved the points. 

I've designed and printed a new bracket to hold the 9g servo that also supports and holds the through tube in a 90* orientation.  This is coupled with a centering bushing on top that is a press fit into a 1/4" hole.  Installation is super simple.  Drill a 3/32 through hole, enlarge the top surface to 1/4".  Insert assembled servo/bracket/through tube from the bottom and press on the centering bushing on top.  At that point the servo mount will hold position all by itself and you can rotate / secure it using both hands.  The centering bushing is 3mm high, or an exact height match for the cork.  Hopefully it will disappear when I do ballasting.   Making the throw wire is still a bit fiddly but i am getting better at it.

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I've also spent some time on my rolling stock.  I've about finished this CP car that was on its way out to the trash due to some hamfisted airbrush fading by me a year ago.

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https://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=37409

I've also started work on a few more pieces of rolling stock.  Two old roundhouse / concor reefers and a ebay freebee with a failed weathering job.  I tried ISO to strip the weathering on the red car and it seemed like it was working, right up until it started to take the factory paint with it.  It will be interesting to see where that one ends up as im still trying to save the factory paint / decals.

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[freedj]

I've started work on Tri-Gas, my LPG distributor.  I've got current photos from street view from 3 locations and one vintage photo from 1948.  I've decided to build the medium sized dock from the current photos.  It has a small building and a covered concrete pad about the same size as the building all at truck dock level.  The covered dock is where they store the portable cylinders. 

I used the best photo of the small docks and imported into sketchup and then projected the building from there.  I've 3d printed the platform base, building, and roof structure along with some details.  I clad the platform with styrene to get a smoother finish and filled and filed out the building.   Im using some music wire for alignment and also roof support posts.

I have a friend with a photon who will re-print the details for me in a few weeks.

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[freedj]

I put together a spray booth last night to make working with the airbrush more pleasant.  Its fairly large since it's built around a 25 x 16 furnace filter and a window fan.  The cardboard sides come off and store in the air gap between the fan and the filter when its not in use.  Not bad for all materials i had on hand!

I always hated to use the airbrush because it made such a mess in my office (layout room).  Hopefully this will make me more likely to use it.

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[Hawghead]

Great low cost paint booth.

Scott

[Chris333]

So with the filter you don't need to port the other end outside?

Always wanted to build one, but didn't want to run a duct outside.

[freedj]

I am sure ducting it outside would be better than not, but this rig should move a lot of air and hopefully filter out most of the paint.  I'll be using mostly acrylics so i am less worried about getting the VOCs out of the house.

[wazzou]

I duct mine through a dryer hose into an enclosed, filtered 5 gallon bucket.