WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wm3798]

We'll address scheduling where we address scheduling...  I just can't wait to start throwing darts at your track plan...  And they'll stick really well to that foam benchwork!

[wm3798]

Spent some more time in front of the boob tube soaking up some bloody battlefields, and soldering LED's...





Oh yeah...  Big shop buildings are a waste of space... ;D

Still lots more details to add, not to mention a floor to build.  But that'll come sooner or later.  Next job will be monkeying with click pens and brake cables.

Lee

[seusscaboose]

Y'all need to go back to building your door layouts...

Always with the Negative Waves Moriearty

[wm3798]

Tonight I started installing my first ballpoint pen switch actuator, borrowing a design discovered on Kevin's (JustTrainCrazy)'s blog...
http://ccsb2007.blogspot.com/search/label/Construction

I've modified the approach slightly, in that I'm using a bicycle brake cable to transfer the motion from the pen to the switch, and I'm adding a DPST at the turnout end to route the frog power.  I haven't gotten to that end yet, and it's going to be a little tricky, given that I'll be working above the staging yard and below the sloped ceiling.  The good news is that the plywood for this particular location can be trimmed back and removed so I can have better access to the work.

If you haven't checked out this design, you need to.  It's simply brilliant, and brilliantly simple.

Photos when the first installation is complete.
Lee

[diezmon]

Tonight I started installing my first ballpoint pen switch actuator, borrowing a design discovered on Kevin's (JustTrainCrazy)'s blog...
http://ccsb2007.blogspot.com/search/label/Construction
and I'm adding a DPST at the turnout end to route the

we talking a momentary toggle type switch here?  seems like the pen method wouldn't be strong enough to throw a switch.. I'm anxious to see the pics

[DKS]

I'll be interested to see how this goes as well. My gut says the bicycle brake cable is going to add considerable friction resistance to the system, and the pen clicker won't have the energy to move/hold it properly. Adding a SPDT (I don't think you meant DPST) switch to the mix adds even more resistance. Looking at Kevin's original design, there was only a piece of wire between the pen and the switch.

I should think that, since slide switches have proven to be sufficient to operate switches, it ought to be enough to just mount the slide switch underneath, add a steel wire to the switch lever to move the points, and use the brake cable to actuate it, without the need for the clicker. Just attach some kind of knob on the end of the brake cable to push/pull.

[wm3798]

The experiment will proceed, and I'll keep you abreast of developments.  The brake cable is moving in a straight line on the first one, and it's a high quality cable with a metal shield inside the black plastic, so it moves quite freely.  So far the pen is clicking quite robustly!
Onward to the summit!

Lee

[wm3798]

Doing more infrastructure work before proceeding with the yard and switch throws.  Tonight I added some more of the control bus, running enough cable to get all the way around the room with throttle jacks.  I've got to finish the tedious wire stripping and installation of the jacks themselves, which has to wait until I cut a couple of pieces of fascia.

I did find a source for cheap components to assemble my own 8-pin jacks (I'm using MRC Prodigy Advance), a local electrical wholesaler.  I got enough jacks and wall plates to add two dual jacks at each end of the yard for about $8.  This compared to $8.99 for a single surface mount jack at Rapio Shack.

Anyway, I also engineered adding a work light over the dispatcher's desk, and otherwise got a wee bit closer to being ready for ops.  I'm also working on a training protocol by which I will qualify engineers and tower operators.  The layout is really pretty easy to operate once you understand how it all works.

Onward!
Lee

[Philip H]

I've got s small under counter fluorescent taking up space in the basement. it's urs for the takin!

[wm3798]

Thanks for the offer...  Bring it on by next time you're through.  I've got the desk light already, but I do need a strip light under the Elkins yard...

Lee

[wm3798]

Here's a look at this weekend's progress.  This may be the last big leap forward for a little while.  The sun has come back out, and a rotten front porch beckons...  Of course, I'll have to publish a couple more articles to pay for THAT, so I guess the train room won't be completely ignored!

Anyway, to follow up on the brake cable/slide switch/click pen conversation, I've installed three of them, and they work like champs.  The only modification I made was to stretch out the spring in the pen barrel a little to increase the tension, otherwise, everything slides, clicks and switches just the way I want it to.

Here's the key component, the slide switch mount:


I used a square of 1/8" balsa to make a secure plate onto which I mounted the slide switch.  I used a very light dab of Gorilla Glue, then used the 1/4" blocks you see there to really lock it into place.  I used yellow wood glue for the wood to wood connections.  The piano wire actuator is a simple L, the top leg extending through the slide switch itself, then on up to the throwbar on the other side of the plywood.
Here's the top side view:

You can see the screw mount that connects the L to the brake cable.  The first connection between the click pen and the brake cable is similar to the illustration in Kevin's blog.  Once I worked out the basic set up, I whipped through three of these in a couple of hours' time.

With that task taken care of, the plywood base for the A/D tracks could be installed, and for those of you who know me well, that means that track followed shortly thereafter.  Here's the first train pulling through the engine terminal and into the yard:





So there it is, the West Local bound for Elkins, waiting for clearance at the west end of Ridgeley Yard. 

Lee

[wm3798]

Had a nice little impromptu run and gun session with our own RockGP40 and Randy Gustafson this evening.  Randy was in town consulting on a local short line project, and Brian, well, he was just loitering on a street corner as usual.


Randy brought his absolutely dazzling GHQ Pennsy L-1, but sadly, it is Digitally Challenged, so we didn't get to run it.  Also, dopey me didn't think to photograph it.  Brian brought some visiting power from the Midwest, though, to provide some more contemporary eye candy.





Happily, the layout ran great as Randy and I sent some freights around the main and Brian bumped cars up and down the Thomas Sub.  The A/D tracks and a run around for the engines are now installed and functioning.  Suddenly getting some class tracks in place is more urgent.
Lee

[seusscaboose]

how long is Randy in town?

[wm3798]

Heading back to Warren PA today... :-\

[wm3798]

Laid out the fan tracks for the 20 stall roundhouse last night.  Have to do some quick cosmetic work for a photo shoot, and a few more things to tidy up below decks, then the yard can get built, thanks to a generous influx of salvaged track from a friend who's changing scales.

They're working on casting a golden spike shortly...

Lee