Weekend Update 10/25/26

[up1950s]

https://www.google.com/search?q=n+scale+railroad+boats&sca_esv=d7631e5fdb0e26e7&udm=2&biw=1912&bih=914&sxsrf=APpeQnuEhZ_zrFz8xGUJUmK0rst3Onk78w%3A1791899497062&ei=aTfOati4A9eoptQP0rKQ4A0&ved=2ahUKEwiYkfvnkbeXAxVXlIkEHVIZBNwQ4dUDegQIBhAN&oq=n+scale+railroad+boats&gs_lp=Egtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZyIWbiBzY2FsZSByYWlscm9hZCBib2F0c0i3MVAAWKkdcAB4AJABAJgBTqABsAOqAQE4uAEMyAEA-AEBmAIAoAIAmAMAkgcAoAdgsgcAuAcAwgcAyAcAgAgB&sclient=gws-wiz-img

https://www.iridetheharlemline.com/2016/01/27/planes-of-the-new-york-central-the-railroads-ww2-combat-bombers/

https://www.redbull.com/ca-en/plane-landing-on-train

https://www.reddit.com/r/trains/comments/13tgty2/plane_over_a_train/

https://historynet.com/flying-railroad-car/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGQ__j-PoaM/

https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-csx-tracks-in-alabama/

https://www.planesontrains.com/img/SamplePage3Vol2.jpg

https://www.planesontrains.com/

https://www.facebook.com/norfolksouthern/posts/piggyback-servicethe-transportation-of-highway-trailers-on-specially-designed-ra/10155920747097548/

[nickelplate759]

Not a very photogenic week - mostly wiring and some tracklaying.   Installed 5 turnouts and 4 more Tortoises (5th turnout is going to need some fancy linkage, as its throwbar is directly over a layout joist  ).
Here are a couple of the Tortoises:



The wiring harnesses are Ethernet cable.

[davefoxx]

My first attempt with Pan Pastels!

Before:



After:



I still need to weather the couplers, but the plan is to use a wash or thinned paint on those. 

[muktown128]

Dave,
I’m not able to see the after picture.  There is an error message showing instead.

[davefoxx]

Dave,
I’m not able to see the after picture.  There is an error message showing instead.

I think I fixed it.  I went back to Imgur, and the photo was missing!  Reuploaded.

Thanks,
DFF

[ednadolski]

My first attempt with Pan Pastels!
...

Woah!   That's got to be the best results w/the PPs that I've ever seen!   

(Edit: and no stopwatch, I'll bet!)

Ed

[davefoxx]

Woah!   That's got to be the best results w/the PPs that I've ever seen!   

(Edit: and no stopwatch, I'll bet!)

Ed

Thanks, Ed!  I’ve since gone back and toned down the reddish tinge with advice from Ed K., so I’ve now almost got two hours in it.  I’ll get faster, though, with more practice.  The second attempt:



DFF

[wm3798]

The discussion of moving TTrak modules caused me to dust off the Cumberland set, which needs some minor maintenance.
It was timely, though, since 1309 is all dressed up and ready haul some leaf peepers up the hill.


Hmm.  Maybe I'll take the dogs for a walk up to Helmstetters today...

Lee

[Sumner]

Not a very photogenic week - mostly wiring and some tracklaying.   Installed 5 turnouts and 4 more Tortoises (5th turnout is going to need some fancy linkage, as its throwbar is directly over a layout joist  ).
Here are a couple of the Tortoises:



The wiring harnesses are Ethernet cable.

Nice work!!

The problem of the throwbar right over a joist is why I went with elevating the layout above the bench-work joists....



.... with risers.  The risers attach to the joists and to the bottom of the layout.  If a riser is under a turnout or anything else where the riser is in the way in a minute or so you can move it out of the way easily by .....

..... removing the screws to the bench-work and the bottom of the layout.  Move it out of the way and reattach it.  It has saved me a number of times so far when placing track and turnouts with servo control under the layout but would work just as well with other switch machines.

Not easy to change an existing layout to one with risers but if one is building a layout I'd give it serious consideration. It is not hard or espensive to do.

More info starting here.....    https://1fatgmc.com/RailRoad/UP%20Canyon%20Division/page-114.html

Sumner

[peteski]

Not a very photogenic week - mostly wiring and some tracklaying.   Installed 5 turnouts and 4 more Tortoises (5th turnout is going to need some fancy linkage, as its throwbar is directly over a layout joist  ).
Here are a couple of the Tortoises:



The wiring harnesses are Ethernet cable.

Nice job George!

That reminded me of the time when we were building Ernie's MRL  layout. We ran into few similar situations with clearance issues.

Usually Ernie used just a piece of music wire in a plastic tube guide.





But got a bit more creative on one of them.

The pivot is a piece of flat brass with a brass tube soldered into it. The moving part is the next size up piece of tubing with the music wire arms soldered to it.  There is a hole through the pivot tube for a home-made "cotter pin" to prevent the pivoting part from falling out.

[Sokramiketes]

A step toward wiring up the real CTC machine is sorting out the programming.  So I figured a virtual panel would be the way to go... and then things escalated, down to the bubbles in the glass indicators. 

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If you want to run the Sturtevant CTC machine as the operator on a typical morning shift in 1950, well, give it a good test for me:

https://www.modutrak.com/ctc-test/a68-panel.html

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A note, the right half of the machine is newer and direct wire, so you don't need to hit the code button after aligning switches or signals.  The left half you do. 

[nickelplate759]

Nice job George!

That reminded me of the time when we were building Ernie's MRL  layout. We ran into few similar situations with clearance issues.

...

But got a bit more creative on one of them.

The pivot is a piece of flat brass with a brass tube soldered into it. The moving part is the next size up piece of tubing with the music wire arms soldered to it.  There is a hole through the pivot tube for a home-made "cotter pin" to prevent the pivoting part from falling out.

...

Thanks for these @peteski.   I'll use at least some of Ernie's idea.

[Dave V]

Nothing Earth-shattering for me this week. Worked on some N scale structures for Huntingdon, progress on which wasn't photo-worthy.

I did remove and adjust the outside track on this corner module. As the first module I ever built, the tracks didn't line up perfectly at the ends...the outside track had a decent gap that was barely closed with the Unijoiner. This time I used a piece of double track plate at each end to ensure the tracks were perfectly aligned and connected tightly with adjacent tracks. Hardly sexy work, but important:



And I did also solve the problem of space for my Digitrax Zephyr. It's fallen to my carpeted floor a few times and I had to put it on an adjacent table last week at the Colorado RPM. This is a little folding/telescoping computer table (it ranges 23" to 46" in height) I got on Amazon. The fact that the phone holder fits a DT400 throttle is just a happy coincidence:

[nickelplate759]

Nice work!!

The problem of the throwbar right over a joist is why I went with elevating the layout above the bench-work joists....



.... with risers.  The risers attach to the joists and to the bottom of the layout.  If a riser is under a turnout or anything else where the riser is in the way in a minute or so you can move it out of the way easily by .....


..... removing the screws to the bench-work and the bottom of the layout.  Move it out of the way and reattach it.  It has saved me a number of times so far when placing track and turnouts with servo control under the layout but would work just as well with other switch machines.

Not easy to change an existing layout to one with risers but if one is building a layout I'd give it serious consideration. It is not hard or espensive to do.

More info starting here.....   

Sumner

Great idea, but alas I didn't have the vertical space to pull that off.

[jpwisc]

I got to participate in a couple of great ops sessions this weekend. One on the ever-growing N Scale Mud Bay & Southern.
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And then a run on the 1:32 Consolidated Republic Mine layout.
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