The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[garethashenden]

I'm impressed that the kudzu hasn't taken over that pipe yet...

[John]

  B) The Juice Train: Those orange reefers behind SBD B30-7s and B36-7s is still hawt.  But, I model the S-Line, not the A-Line where the SBD ran this train.  That said, the SCL started the Juice Train, so the white reefers behind U-boats is just as cool and would scratch that itch, if I really had to have a Juice Train that needed to detour up the S-Line.  But, like an intermodal train on my layout, I don’t really have anywhere for a Juice Train to go besides the roundy-round, which jams up the layout.

Your N Scale juice train will run on the Western Maryland Midland some day    

[davefoxx]

I'm impressed that the kudzu hasn't taken over that pipe yet...

That’s ’cause I’m lazy and still haven’t built the trees necessary to start scenery in this area.  I am going to add more kudzu.  In fact, the gentleman that worked on the NS and responded to me on Facebook just posted, “Wish you could have joined us for lunch. This is good looking work. Between the patched asphalt and kudzu makes you feel right at home. We knew all the A&R fellas, they would some days come down to the Seaboard yard on their local the same time we were there. The grill where we ate lunch on our local is where the blue vehicle with white top is situated on your fine layout. These were good days and times.”

That’s cool that I can spot the NS and A&R power near each other in the Aberdeen yard and go to beans!

DFF

[davefoxx]

Your N Scale juice train will run on the Western Maryland Midland some day

Looking forward to seeing that.  I don’t have an HO scale Juice Train, so I’ll live vicariously through you.

DFF

[davefoxx]

We are back home after several days at Iowa State University for my daughter Aly’s Odyssey of the Mind World’s Finals competition.  In their Division and Problem Number, they came in 4th place out of 48 teams!  An impressive finish that literally was against teams from around the world.  Congratulations, Aly and friends!

In the mornings, before events started, I was able to get out for a walk and found the nearby Clinton Subdivision of the UP where it passed through Ames, Iowa.  My favorite railroad-related picture from this trip.



And, I found a small hobby shop in downtown Ames and purchased this Walthers Mainline UP 40’ modernized boxcar as a memento of our trip.  Here it is after receiving some Sergent Engineering couplers and 33” Kadee wheelsets.



DFF

[davefoxx]

With the trip to and from Iowa this past week for Aly’s Odyssey of the Mind competition, I’d completely put my SCL F-units out of mind.  So, the LokSound 58821 DCC Direct decoder showing up in the mailbox from ESU this afternoon after a reprogramming was a nice surprise!  This decoder has been between here and Colorado a couple of times, but ESU got it right this time and programmed this decoder with American specs to match the rest of my fleet, e.g., the inclusion of CV2, 5, and 6 for a three-point speed curve.

This evening, I got this decoder installed into the F7B, tweaked some sound settings, and consisted the Fs with a GP9.  The F7A will have to be a trailing unit until I get LED lights installed.  I didn’t feel like messing with all of that and an expected ton of wires for the lighting until the decoder issue was resolved, especially in the event that I gave up messing with these 58821 decoders and gutted the locomotives again to add 21-pin decoders.  Thankfully, patience won the day and both decoders are now back from ESU, programmed to my satisfaction.  Thank you, ESU!



DFF

[davefoxx]

A Broadway Limited Imports order from Tony’s Trains was received today with a piece of rolling stock that I have long desired of a prototype that I have long admired.  The Georgia RR Business Car No. 300 is in the house!  I’ve got to figure out how to install Sergent Engineering couplers on a unique coupler system on the car.  I don’t think it will be too hard, but it’s different.  Film at 11.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Here it is!  The Georgia 300!



With quite a bit of filing of the coupler shank, I was able to install the Sergent Engineering coupler on the end connected to the train.  As you can see in the photo, I still need to install the coupler on the other end, but this one wasn’t needed to get the car running for tracking tests.  The car runs well, and, conveniently, my Sergent Engineering magnetic wands can turn on all of the lights, including marker lights, interior lights, and underbody inspection lights.  The interior lights are well done, as they’re not over the top and blindingly bright.

This makes me happy, so kudos once again to BLI.  And, next month will see the release of the last car that I need for my bicentennial train- the ATSF exhibit car painted to match SCL U36B No. 1776 in the bicentennial scheme.  I look forward to this release, too!

DFF

[davefoxx]

This poor Geep.  Although it has a bland paint scheme, I like this model of Georgia RR (GA) GP40 #751.  That said, 751 has been decommissioned from the fleet twice.  The first time, temporarily, because I needed a decoder (they ain’t cheap), and, the second time, because it had become an anachronism.  I had patched 751 for the Seaboard System with “SBD” reporting marks when I weathered it.  Now that the layout is set in April 1971, the SBD is almost a dozen years into the future.  So, 751 sat and eventually was harvested for parts.

This morning, I randomly came across a video of 1970 footage of a GA train.  That inspired me to recommission this GP40 once again and to remove those reporting marks.  It’s important to note that the GA was a subsidiary of the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) and came under the Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) after the ACL and Seaboard Air Line (SAL) merger in 1967.



The MicroSol on a paper towel trick (shown above) worked perfectly to remove the reporting marks.  I let the paper tower sit on the SBD decals for thirty minutes each, and they came right off with minimal scrubbing.  Scrubbing can cause a glossy spot where the factory paint is rubbed to remove the decals, which is why I let them soak for half an hour.  This worked so well this time that there was only a little “clean” spot in the weathering, which I blended with 70% IPA and dabbed with a paper towel.  I also took the opportunity to remove some of the weathering from the GARR lettering, because, in 1971, this Geep is only six years old or so.

That being successful, I stole a decoder and couplers from a CSX GP40-2 that’s not useful for the 1971 era.  To the programming track 751 went, some adjustments to the sound file to restore SBD 751 as GA 751, and here we are! 



I don’t believe that GA locomotives strayed far from their home rails, but, being an SCL subsidiary and part of the “Family Lines,” it’s not implausible that a GA Geep made it to North Carolina.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I caved in and purchased a Walthers Mainline RSC-2 decorated for the SCL.  I knew, because this was the “Mainline” (economy) line, it wouldn’t be a highly detailed or road-specific model.  That’s okay when the price is right.  Why I wanted this Alco in the fleet is because the RSC-2 survived on the SCL up to 1974, and, while the majority of the SCL Alco fleet worked and were serviced in Florida, some of them were seen around Hamlet for power on light North Carolina branches, e.g., Raleigh to Henderson.

Keeping the outlay of cash down, I bought the DCC Ready version, so I didn’t pay for the economy ESU decoder that would have to be replaced.  I also liberated a 21-pin LokSound V5.0 decoder from a Seaboard System B30-7 that is not being used on the layout.  I downloaded an appropriate sound file from the ESU website and reprogrammed the decoder.  For a basic model locomotive, it does run well, and the mechanism is quiet.

Problem #1:

This came as a complete surprise.  I plopped the locomotive on the track for the break-in run and noticed that the motherboard and decoder are visible in the cab windows!  I didn’t expect a detailed cab interior, but this is ridiculous.



The only option to resolve this problem is to gut the electronics.  Here’s what the OEM mechanism looks like before the carnage began.  We sure don’t need that monster motherboard.



Quickly discovering that a Decoder Buddy is too tall to sit on top of the motor, if I want to get the shell back on, I pondered over an alternate layout of the components.  This would require some frame milling, so I got an excuse to make use of the Dremel and my full face shield.  The shiny bits in the photo below highlight the cuts.  Yes, I completely tore down the locomotive to the bare frame to keep the metal dust and bits out of the motor and gears.  There goes another warranty. 🤣



What I came up with was to put the Decoder Buddy/decoder in the nose of the long hood (the front of an RSC-2) and the speaker enclosure on top of the motor.  I pulled an ESU speaker and enclosure from my parts box, which does clear the shell when double-stick taped to the top of the motor.  This also puts the sound right where the prime mover would be on the prototype and not far from the horn.



That was quite a bit of work, but the end result is an open cab.  Much better!



Problem #2 is to replace the LEDs.  I’m not crazy about the color or the look of the LED waaaaaaay back in the shell, creating a strange look in the light housing. I was unable to capture this look in a photo, but, in person, it’s obvious that you’re seeing back into the open shell hollow with the LED some distance from the lens.  It’s weird.  This will be today or this weekend’s dilemma to solve.



DFF

[davefoxx]

Several hours and multiple attempts later, including the death of two LEDs, because I neglected to note that the Decoder Buddy that I took from an old project lacked resistors onboard, and we have working LEDs on RSC-2 1109.  These warm white Digitrax LEDs are much better than the yellow OEM lighting.



DFF

[wm3798]

Nice problem solving, if a bit labor intensive.  At least you have some room to maneuver under that ginormous HO shell.

Me?  I'da put a piece of black tape over the board in the window and called it Christmas.  But that's what separates the Engineers from the carpenters.

Lee

[davefoxx]

Nice problem solving, if a bit labor intensive.  At least you have some room to maneuver under that ginormous HO shell.

Me?  I'da put a piece of black tape over the board in the window and called it Christmas.  But that's what separates the Engineers from the carpenters.

Lee

Haha!  I actually tried that first.  I grabbed a piece of black 3M friction tape that I have on the workbench.  It definitely hid the guts, but it felt so N scale by reminding me of those light shields found in the cabs of N scale diesel locomotives.  Nope, we can do better.  So, I did.  😉

DFF

[packers#1]

Nice problem solving, if a bit labor intensive.  At least you have some room to maneuver under that ginormous HO shell.

Me?  I'da put a piece of black tape over the board in the window and called it Christmas.  But that's what separates the Engineers from the carpenters.

Lee

Haha!  I actually tried that first.  I grabbed a piece of black 3M friction tape that I have on the workbench.  It definitely hid the guts, but it felt so N scale by reminding me of those light shields found in the cabs of N scale diesel locomotives.  Nope, we can do better.  So, I did.  😉

DFF

I know this is one of my favorite things I've discovered about modeling in HO scale; there really is so much more space under those shells! It makes me that much more amazed at what some are able to do in the tight confines of N scale units though. But not much (except off-layout subwoofers) beats Scale Sound Systems speaker enclosures!

[davefoxx]

As I documented in a thread in the DCC/Electronics forum, https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=61234.0, I have an issue when powering up the layout, if one of my Rapido passenger cars is in the reversing section.  The PSX-AR auto reverser trips its breaker and tries to reset unsuccessfully every two seconds.  I think it’s a current spike caused when power is applied to the car at power up, because something in its wiring (probably a capacitor) doesn’t agree with the PSX-AR during power up.  If a Rapido passenger car is anywhere else on the layout at power up, there’s no problem.  If the layout is already powered up before the car enters the reversing section, there’s no trip.  I tried adjusting the trip current and the length of delay of the polarity reversal of the PSX-AR, but there was no improvement.  Since the passenger train’s staging track is within the reversing section, I’m sure you can appreciate how annoying this is.

The solution?  Well, besides banishing the Rapido cars from the layout.  I cut the passenger train’s staging track out of the reversing section, which took a bit of rewiring.  Here’s some of the new feeders I dropped, plus I cut two rail gaps in the stub track.  Actually, what you’re seeing is a pair of jumpers between the first and third track.  Only the second track will be in the reversing section here.  I was careful to match the polarity of the first and third tracks, because one route through the wye could be shorter than the train.  Matching the polarity here prevents any problem.  The wye’s other leg is longer than the passenger train, so there’s no problem there when the polarity at each end of the reversing section do not match.



To create separate blocks on the staging shelf, I added another set of wires through the RJ12 phone jack to now power TWO sections.



I also had to create a new pigtail of phone wire (the RJ12 jack allows a quick disconnect when dropping the shelf), using four of the six wires, as opposed to only using two conductors on the original version.  The existing terminal block under the shelf made it easy to reconfigure the shelf’s track feeders to separate the blocks.  When I originally built the shelf, I used multiple jumpers between rail sections, due to the crossover’s turnouts causing dead sections.  I only had to cut one of the jumper wires, to isolate the staging track from the other tracks on the shelf.





The first passenger train successfully made it into staging.  Powering up the layout with a Rapido car in staging is no longer a problem.  It worked!



I also ran a freight train onto the staging shelf, and other than needing to reverse two wires on the terminal block to make the polarity of the reversing section match on each side of the break at the shelf’s hinge, we’re good!



This took several hours to complete but 100% eliminated an aggravating problem when running the layout.  I already appreciate the convenience of not having to worry about what’s in the passenger train’s consist or creating shelf queens.

DFF