Weekend Update 1/30/22

[up1950s]

https://www.trainsandtravel.com/2015/10/03/beech-grove-nuts-and-bolts-and-nuts/    -A Reel In a Diesel Shop

  -A very interesting string line animation to watch

https://www.vox.com/2014/3/31/5563600/everything-you-need-to-know-about-boarding-an-amtrak-train    -How to get around by getting around

  -Looks like it was a good place for a flower shop and a cemetery

https://www.ritebook.in/2018/12/steel-house-under-train-bridge.html    -Street upchuck appeal

https://ceilingtrainkit.com/    .With multi N track hanging a whole layout can be suspended

https://www.flickr.com/photos/2719/3809108644/in/photostream/    .A stream of trains

https://www.alamy.com/nutty-the-brickworks-engine-built-in-1929-by-sentinel-on-show-at-leighton-buzzard-railways-stonehenge-trail-of-trains-wagons-and-quarrying-image185136283.html    .The pick a vantage point and get a close look-see is a head scratcher

[rickb773]

BOOK REPORT

While sitting here watching the weather continuing to dump snow on my lawn I figured I'd write you a book report.



I'm a big fan of P.T. Duetermann's books on WWII naval themes. When I ran out of those, I figured I'd try this one about someone blowing up the railroad bridges across the Mississippi, the FBI trying to solve the case (naturally amid high level internal political intrigue), and the U.S. Army trying to get their "special" train across the river with an unusual cargo.

Train Man, another very good read from Mr. Deutermann.

While I’m on the subject of reading. I have a 3-part series of articles that began in the January edition of Model Railroad Hobbyist magazine (https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/). The first part is about what would cause a fool to tear apart a large 95% complete layout and rebuild 70% of it. The second part deals with the fool and his friends running the recompleted layout, and the third part starts a discussion on what to do with curves on a layout to keep it from looking toy-train like. If you enjoy any of them, please give them a “Like.”

And before I forget, thanks again to those on the forum who contributed pictures (almost 2 years ago) for the 3rd article to help illustrate the points made. A picture is always worth a thousand words (probably two thousands of mine  ).





Keep 'em rollin',
Rick

[John]

Hah -- I read that -- and thought man - what a fool    Congrats on the article @rickb773 .. and the book is on my list

[wm3798]

Added a flash of modernity to my fleet of old Trix B6 switchers.  LEDs were pretty easy to install!

[skytop35]

Finished a grade crossing project for the Modutrak layout

[peteski]

Added a flash of modernity to my fleet of old Trix B6 switchers.  LEDs were pretty easy to install!

Nice job Lee, but I don't see any reverse voltage diode to protect the white LED, or a capacitor to prevent flicker when running backwards.

White LEDs  can easily be damaged by excessive reverse current (voltage).  When a running loco loses contact with track, that causes the motor to generate a reverse polarity BEMF spike.  If that spike has high enough voltage, it can kill the white LED.  Hopefully you will be lucky and that won't happen.  I also might just be full of hot air methane. 

[rickb773]

Hah -- I read that -- and thought man - what a fool    Congrats on the article @rickb773 .. and the book is on my list

The resons for why all this transpired got dropped out of the article:

[brokemoto]

You could call this a Boudreau and Thibodeaux concoction, except that Minden is not in Acadiana.

[wm3798]

@peteski I don't run them backward.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I saw @seusscaboose go by at 100mph.
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[Frank Amato]

While waiting for some boxcar weathering to dry, I started detailing a "throwback" Reading GP7.  The big grab on the short hood is .008 wire (took a few tries to get it right) and the spark arrestors are from CMR Products.

I'm waiting on an Atlas parts package with the early side sill (no slots), and will prime everything next.

[peteski]

@peteski I don't run them backward.

Ah, so you are the "no reverse Lee"?  Rodger that!

[BCR 570]

With Chetwynd Yard sitting in place temporarily on its brackets, the new taller backdrop was installed:




It has been glued on top of the existing backdrop and is several inches taller, closing the gap between brackets beneath the upper deck.  At the far end, the joint with the original backdrop has to be filled and sanded, and the new backdrop can then be painted blue.


With the original Imperial Oil spur now re-purposed for B.C. Development Corporation, the turnout control panel was changed over:




And the Chetwynd Yard schematic was changed to reflect the new Imperial Oil and B.C. Development Corporation spurs:




This week also saw the bedroom wall which will accommodate Septimus painted the same shade of blue as the layout room:




Tim

[nkalanaga]

"I don't run them backward. "

I know you're joking, but for anyone not familiar with electronics, the BEMF/LED issue is real.  Watch the rear headlight of a DC loco with both LED lights and a flywheel, but no fancy electronics.  Whenever the loco hits a dirty spot, and loses contact, the flywheel keeps the motor turning.  It then becomes a generator, at reversed polarity, and the rear headlight flashes.  When they first started LEDs in locos, it took me a while to figure out what was happening.  If there is no rear headlight, there's no place for the voltage to go, and it can damage the single LED.  That's why the specs for LEDs, and usually regular diodes, list the "Peak Inverse Voltage" they can survive.

In an older model, with no flywheel, the problem is a little different.  The motor doesn't keep turning, but as the magnetic field decays, it produces a voltage spike.  That can do more damage than the simple reverse voltage.

[wm3798]

I have installed front and rear LEDs in one of my Trix FM switchers, which does spend some time going back and forth, and I have noted the flicker.  I suppose I could invest the several cents per unit that I suppose it would need.
I should also address the issue in my Trix F7s, which I have also equipped, because there are occasions when they run back to back, and again, the flicker is noticeable in the trailing engine.
For what it's worth, I'm running a bunch of 50 year old models, and I can buy a bag of LEDs for about $10.  As long as the issue doesn't lead to damage on the motor, I'm not terribly concerned about it.  It took about 10 minutes to uninstall and reinstall the LEDs in the B6 (I had an undersized resistor in them at first, so they blew out going forward!) and I'm not running any one thing with a great deal of frequency to the point that there's an immediate threat.
That said, if a recommended part number and source can be provided by someone who is more knowledgeable about such things, I can at least look them up and decide if I have room under the hood for one more gizmo.  I'm not interested in hacking up old frames anymore.

Thanks for the feedback....   about the feedback!
Lee