Author Topic: Darth Vader Signals Pt. 1  (Read 5992 times)

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nkalanaga

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #15 on: August 21, 2016, 02:39:53 AM »
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I wouldn't be surprised if the lamp housing itself is (or was) standardized, since railroads would probably replace them more often than the signal itself.
N Kalanaga
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robert3985

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #16 on: August 21, 2016, 04:40:28 AM »
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Thanks Bob! That would be great!

Okay...here are the photos first...

Photo (1) - Left side of early D-Type Signal @ Weber Canyon:



Photo (2) - 3/4 Left side of early D-Type Signal @ Weber Canyon:


Photo (3) - Full Front of early D-Type Signal @ Weber Canyon:



Photo (4) - 3/4 Right Back Side of early D-Type Signal @ Morgan Utah:


Photo (5) - Full Back of early D-Type Signal @ Morgan Utah:


Photo (6) - Here's the official part of the drawing that applies:


Hope this assists...

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

robert3985

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #17 on: August 21, 2016, 05:49:13 AM »
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Bob, those are some really nice cantilever signals!!!

Thanks Jerry @jmlaboda.  I was lucky enough to get to crawl all over several UP cantilever bridges and take measurements before 911, and before they were removed.  This made scratchbuilding easier as there wasn't any guesswork.

Back to the thread, I'm just guessing that photos of these older signal heads on their mast might be of assistance also, so I'm posting some I took for my own reference.

Photo (1) - 3/4 Left Rear Whole Mast @ Morgan Utah:


Photo (2) - Base of Mast @ Weber Canyon:


Photo (3) - Large Relay Cabinet, Rear View.  One of two different types of relay cabinets in Weber and Echo Canyons:


Photo (4) - The Three Components of Every Signal Location Between Ogden & Evanston:


As the last photo illustrates, each signal location between Ogden Utah and Evanston Wyoming has a two-polled telegraph pole arrangement with a power/signal cable going either above ground or under ground to the relay box, and then the same aerial or subterranean cable going to the signal.  There are at least two sizes of relay boxes...the boxes in the previous photos being the larger version.  Since this is the area I model, I can't speak for other UP or other road locations.

Photo (5) - Short Masted D-Type Signal & Small Relay Cabinet @ Taggarts Utah:


Photo (6) - Small Relay Cabinet Front & Side of Double-Masted Telegraph/Power Pole:



Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore


dcutting

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #18 on: September 01, 2016, 03:03:59 PM »
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Hi Everyone,

The PCB's are finally in! I'm waiting on some solder paste that should have been here today, but once it gets here I should be able to put together one for a test. I only have Amber color LED's right now, so maybe we will need a B&W filter. I forgot that the solder mask would be put over the hood traces and didn't account for it, so in the mean time I will scratch the solder mask off.




David
« Last Edit: September 01, 2016, 03:05:30 PM by dcutting »
David Cutting

peteski

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #19 on: September 01, 2016, 06:25:29 PM »
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David,  how thick are those PC Boards?  They look quite chunky.

What do you mean by B&W filter?  LEDs emit fairly narrow range of wavelengths (of whatever color they are designed to be) so you can't use a filter to drastically change the color of the LED.
. . . 42 . . .

dcutting

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #20 on: September 07, 2016, 03:17:56 PM »
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David,  how thick are those PC Boards?  They look quite chunky.

What do you mean by B&W filter?  LEDs emit fairly narrow range of wavelengths (of whatever color they are designed to be) so you can't use a filter to drastically change the color of the LED.

I mean so that it looks like the lamps are lit and the color doesn't matter in a picture. Sorta just to hide the fact that the LED's are the wrong color in pictures.

The PCB's are too thick (1.6 mm), but this was just a first prototype before I dump $100 on .1 mm PCB's.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2016, 03:33:14 PM by dcutting »
David Cutting

gkoproske

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #21 on: September 10, 2016, 10:33:26 AM »
+1
I wonder whether the signal head hoods on your model railroad will make it difficult for the operators to see the lit signals.  In N scale it will be difficult to get down and look directly at them. 

Philip H

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Re: Darth Vader Signal Project
« Reply #22 on: September 10, 2016, 11:05:51 AM »
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I wonder whether the signal head hoods on your model railroad will make it difficult for the operators to see the lit signals.  In N scale it will be difficult to get down and look directly at them.

It really depends on layout height, layout depth at the signal location, and orientation to the aisle. @John has a bunch on his layout that are scratch bashed from a bunch of sources and I never had a problem reading them (the fast clock and timing printed on the switch lists are another letter).
Philip H.
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