Ready for the Running Session

Yesterday and today I spent time in the shed getting the last few items ready for the running session next weekend.  Just as I write this I realised that I forgot to do one thing.  Yesterday and today I wired up the point motor for the Peco point located at Dutton Park back to the NCE Snap-It.  I also wired up the southern control panel for the Dutton Park point.  This was connected to the same Mini Panel that I have controlling various out of reach points at the locations of Cassino, Murwillumbah and Kyogle.  I wired the small control panel at the southern end of Dutton Park back to the Mini Panel, but forgot to code it up with the Normal or Reverse setting for point number 2001 – the point located at Dutton Park.  I will have to do that one night this week, and then test the control panel.

 

I also did some work on the point work at Clapham Yard at each end.  The dual gauge points were fine tuned and a couple of trains run through them – both forward and reverse at various speeds. They seem to be working quite well, certainly better than they were behaving at the last running session.  I also laid the track for the third standard gauge track through Clapham Yard and I can run standard gauge trains through all three tracks so far connected.  This is only temporary as I will be relaying this area after the running session when I get another couple of points. 

 

A few locos laying over in Loco Pilly.  The two coupled 80's are off the Brisbane Limited Express, as they ran back light engine from South Brisbane Interstate on the last running session.

This is the throat of where Loco Pilly diverges from the main line and starts the northern end of Clapham Yard.

I also spent some time recoding up the accessory addresses of the points at Park Road on the DS64 to different accessory numbers and then recoding the Mini Panel with their new addresses.  I did reverse the order of throw for the two points at the southern end of Park Road that I said I would do two weeks ago and it has overcome my issue of the second not throwing due to it being slightly sticky.  I think it gets a bigger zap when it is thrown first instead of being thrown second.  So that issue is all resolved.

 

Heading further north, we come to the northern panel for Dutton Park (not yet connected) on the left and on the right the southern panel for Park Road Sidings.  No expense spared with my panels!

Here is the panel for the northern end of Park Road Sidings.  Below Park Road we can see Fairy Lane with road work underway.  An ambulance is stopped at the level crossing checking for any rail traffic.

Yesterday I decided to test the track since it has not be run for quite some time.  The process of testing it actually gives it a bit of a clean as well.  I took the paper train, lead by a 44 class and a Jumbo (442 class), from Grafton Yard express all the way through Cassino, up the helix, through Fairy Hill, through Kyogle, through Border Loop and into Acacia Ridge Yard and then through Clapham Yard.  That is where I had some issues with two wagons going through the dual gauge points.  These wagons were found to have wheels that were under gauge.  So I every so slightly widened the gauge and voila.  Just perfect.  It was at this point that I also realised that I was missing the last wagon on my train.  I searched and searched and could not find it.  I traced the trains route and could not find it.  It just vanished.  I eventually found it near the Cougal Spiral.  After adding the wagon back to the train I run up the grade through Dutton Park and into Park Road Sidings.  The loco was run around and the train was run back the other way until it got to Cassino Meatworks Siding.  The train was left there overnight as I got called up to the house as we went out last night.  Today I took it back to Grafton Loops ready for the running session.

 

Today I did some testing in South Brisbane Interstate Yard by running some wagons back and forth through the curved point throat.  There were issues with a number of wagons.  So I shimmed the check rail with a piece of 0.066'” x 0.011” styrene and all is now working very well.  Simple solution.

This photo shows the throat into South Brisbane Interstate.  4499 is sitting in the loco siding, NL1 in the platform and a few other wagons and another loco (candy 8018) scattered around the yard.

This is the panel for South Brisbane Interstate with another view of 4499 in the loco siding.

This afternoon I noticed that the staff machine for the section Clapham to South Brisbane was not working correctly.  Sure enough a wire had come off one of the switches.  That was quickly fixed and that is now all good for next weekend. 

 

So far I only have three confirmed attendees for next week - a long way short of the crew required for the session.  I will prompt the guys during the week and see if we can get closer to the 10 or so bodies required.

 

As a surprise I have some average video to show of the run of the paper trains through some of the section runs from yesterday.  It is hard to control a train and video camera at the same time.  The first one is the paper train exiting Running Creek Tunnel and passing the local naturalists and entering Border Tunnel. 

The second video is showing the paper train passing through Kyogle and making its way towards Fairy Hill Loop.  On the left of the paper train is a 44 class in the siding at Kyogle.  The 44 is hauling the rail set train.  The crew of this train is waiting for lots of other traffic to pass before they run around their train and head back north dropping rail on the way back to Acacia Ridge.

The third video takes the paper train out of Fairy Hill Loop via the main, overtaking another train which remains in the loop, passing over Fairy Lane, past Ron and Marg's B&B on the left (where PK has hired a room for the night - wait is that someone peaking in his bedroom window?) and then through the first level of the helix as it makes it's way towards Nammoona Ballast Siding.

The next video shows the paper train coming round the first level of the helix through Nammoona Ballast Siding where a 620/720 set is sitting in the loop.  This rail motor is on the down morning Mountain Goat run from Cassino to Border Loop.