N Scale Hi Rail - Retro Hollow Core Door Layout

[wm3798]

Well now dammit...


After assisting Otto with his turntable documents, I've decided I need another Retro Retrofit project...

I have a second copy of the kit for parts, and the one that's installed, while reasonably well thought out, has a tendency to hang up, plus the business of how the track power is wired.  After doing some disassembly, I would venture a guess that the two issues are related.

On first inspection, it appears the originally installed bridge was trimmed at the bottom, I assume to improve its relationship to the fan tracks, which were not installed on any kind of roadbed.  (There is a noticeable rise where the rails rest on the pit apron.  The good news is I have an unmodified bridge from the parts donor kit, so hopefully as I refine the wiring and the drive mechanism, I can also clean up the bridge beams.  In a nutshell, here's my list of goals for the project:
1.  Improve the connection of the drive shaft to the bridge base so it rotates freely and evenly.
2.  Restore the contacts to use the brass tubes and brushes, eliminating the wires that can become twisted around the drive shaft.  (This may involve inventing an improved contact wiper using something spring loaded.  The bendy phosphor bonze bits from the original kit are included, but over time lose their boingy boings. 
3.  Use some micro plugs to make the bridge removable electrically, and mounting screws so it can be secured, yet removable mechanically.  (for maintenance, and in the initial stages, for modeling and detailing purposes... I did like how easily the newer Walther's turntable could be popped right out of the pit.
4.  Improve the appearance of the turntable bridge. 
      a.  Replace the track with c70 bridge track
      b.  Replace the big chonky railings with either Plastruct railings, or etched brass if I can find some.
      c.   Add walkboards and a harp that has better detail than the original.
      d.  Replace the clunky operator's shed I put on the original with something more refined.
5.  Improve the operation of the bridge itself.  There's a "rail" cast into the circumference of the pit floor.  On the old scratch built turntable I did a million years ago, I modified some freight car wheels to glide on a similar rail.  This helped balance the bridge and I think will help reduce the friction as this longer bridge takes its spins. 

So, as with all things Lee.  Let's not be in a big hurry to see immediate results.  But I think if I break down the project into these several bite sized steps, I should be able to report back on the various things as they get underway.  For now, I've just made a mess of my roundhouse module.  Oh well.

Back to actual work work, now.
Lee

[Point353]

BLW has some new-old-stock varnish for your layout:



https://www.brooklynlocomotiveworks.com/odds-ends.htm#ccsets

[wm3798]

I have those passenger cars already, and have no use for DL-109s.  But thanks for the referral.

I've got my eye on a couple of other dandies, though, and one major prize has been stalked and bagged, which I'm expecting to arrive on Saturday...  According to tracking, it appears to have made it to the right state, so I'm hopeful it will make it on time.

Lee

[wm3798]

Not exactly Hi Rail, here. 

But it was dead sexy and way under priced.  Glad I ran the price up a little!
Lee

[davefoxx]

Not exactly Hi Rail, here. . . .

But it was dead sexy and way under priced.  Glad I ran the price up a little!
Lee

I hear you, but that Conrail GP35 is probably more Hi-Rail than the Chessie (B&O) GP40-2 on the previous page with the printed numberboards.

DFF

[wm3798]

I'll go with that!

[CRL]

I saw a turntable once that was rigged with a phone jack as a pivoting electrical connection. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the details of the drive system, but it did allow easy removal of the bridge deck.

[Cajonpassfan]

What a great idea.  But forget phone jacks, go with something more precise. Music to my ears...
I think I’ll just sit here and watch Lee find all the pitfalls...
Thanks for your help so far, Lee,
Otto

[peteski]

It is not *THAT* difficult to scratchbuild a brushes/slip-rings unit. Of course this one is (in my typical fashion) overengineered for reliability.
All it takes is some K&S Metals telescoping brass tubing, rolled up paper impregnated with CA for insulator, some phosphor-bronze wire for brushes, pieces of copper clad PC board, and styrene sheet to hold it all together.

This one is installed on the end of the driven shaft, but it would be just as easy to install the slip rings in the middle of the shaft.  BTW, this setup is to supply power to an N scale carousel's lights.

[wm3798]

I'm going for a blend of simple and reliable.  I had built a scratch turntable using in a 1/4" headphone jack, which worked well enough, but it was a digital drive ( I used my finger).  For that to work with a powered drive, I would either have to drill out the plug to insert the drive shaft, or add some sort of gear head to set the motor off to the side.


I'll see if there's some time over the weekend to do some tinkering.

[nkalanaga]

That's the way I remember seeing the phono-plug turntable.  The one I remember was for a narrow gauge layout, and was strictly manual.  So was the prototype, so it fit the layout perfectly.

[wm3798]

Meanwhile, down at the mailbox, this arrived today...


This may be the capstone of my collection.  Just arrived today.  Arnold Pacific in B&O blue.  With the silver Trix cars, it closely approximates the HO Mantua set that my dad would run at Christmas time.






I had to replace the wires between the engine and tender, but once that was remedied, an a dot of grease applied to the main gear, she was off and running!

Lee

[nkalanaga]

Those old Arnolds seem to last forever, don't they?  I wonder how many of today's locos will run that well 50 years from now?

[CRL]

Arnold was top shelf quality back in the day.

[wm3798]

They are elegantly simple machines.
I'm going to give her a few more laps this morning!