Rain, Rain Go Away - Just Upset Putin's Day

Well I have no idea what I did over the last week.  It just seems to have been washed out of my mind.  This damn rain needs to stop.  There cannot be any more rain left up there.  I have a couple of little puddles in the shed.  It is coming up through a couple of cracks in the concrete floor and creating a small droplet about 2 inches in diameter.  Nothing serious. 

Yesterday I went on a trip to two local hobby shops.  I picked up a second hand bargain from Modeller’s Warehouse, and then picked up some rail joiners from Hobbyone.

When back in the shed I installed the new dual gauge point (made by PK) for access to Rocklea Sidings.  This replaced another point that was given me the irits.  The new point was cut to exactly the same size as the one it was replacing.  So I spliced it in, and went to turn on the layout power and it was registering a short circuit in that power district.  Bugger!  Odds were that the point was causing it.  I slept on this issue and formulated a plan of attack.  So today I thought that I must have a sleeper that needed to have its isolation cut made bigger.  While I was cutting through the last sleeper in the point on the straight direction, the loco I was testing it with started moving.  So first problem was solved.  I could run a train into and out of Rocklea Sidings with no issues.  The best and smoothest it has ever been.

However, once I got past the point on the main line from Clapham Yard heading towards Acacia Ridge Yard, I had no power.  When I started to measure the power, I had both rails the same polarity.  This was odd and that had me confused.  So I traced a few wires around and came to the conclusion that there was another isolation joint in the point between the two diverging tracks that needed to be cut.  I did that and after I connected the power rails to the point again, I had full power back to the section of track between Rocklea Siding and Acacia Ridge Yard and I could run trains in that direction as well.  Problem Solved.

Yesterday I also set up the next dual gauge point (also made by PK) to be installed, using my test jig and verified the operation was working correctly from a Peco point motor with a Peco PL10 base plate with a over centre spring in it, and with a Peco PL-13 Accessory Switch mounted on top.  That is next week’s task, to replace the existing Dutton Park dual gauge point with this new one.  It is also in a difficult location on the layout.  The Accessory switch is linked to a pair of LEDs high above the layout that advise which way this point is set.

While I was working on the Rocklea Sidings dual gauge point yesterday, I noticed that another dual gauge point which was made from a Peco standard gauge point with an extra rail super glued through it for the narrow gauge route, was damaged with the narrow gauge rail coming loose.  This point in for a standard gauge train to go from the mainline (track 1) at Acacia Ridge yard to the dual gauge track at this location.  So I will tart up the dual gauge point I just removed from Rocklea Sidings and this will be used to replace this point at the southern end of Acacia Ridge Yard.  I have deduced that this old dual gauge point from Rocklea Siding which was just replaced was working quite well.  It was the point motor and actuator that were not working well and causing problems in my operations session.  I will need to devise some sort of new point actuation method for this new point I will be installing, as the motor – a Peco point motor for the current point was installed below ground and there is no room for an above ground motor like I have with all of my other dual gauge points.  I also need a locking mechanism for the point, as the dual gauge points we make don't have one.

I did just remember what I did on Friday afternoon, I had planned to work on the Tillig point at Acacia Ridge Yard.  I had issues and the original actuator bar broke.  So I did have to build a new one out of PC board sleeper.  So this was done and the actuator bar hooked up to a DPDT slide switch via an omega loop to compensate for changes in the actual throw distance and it seems to work quite well.  So hopefully this issue is now solved. 

Hopefully the rain will ease tomorrow and the shed will dry out before I can get down there next weekend.

Dual Gauge Track Work Almost Complete

So on Monday afternoon after work, I went down to the shed and added my sleepers to the Acacia Ridge Yard point.  I also faffed around with the two new points being installed in Fisherman Islands Yard. 

During the week I had to pick up my son from various sporting events after school.  Tuesday was a 2hr volleyball game at school, and Friday was an AFL game which was cut short by a lightening storm. 

I had a trip over to Ipswich on Saturday morning for the monthly NMRA meeting.  Once I got there I skipped over to the local hobby shop only a few hundred metres from the meeting location.  This was my first visit to Vogler’s.  It is a hobby shop dealing with a number of different hobbies and when I was there, I saw another 4 NMRA guys in there buying stuff.  I saw a sheet of Slater’s Flemish bond brick card and the type I need for my Cassino Station building.  I still have three sheets on back order.  So at least now I can progress the initial part of maybe one side of one of the two platform buildings.

The NMRA meeting was well attended and we had an interesting presentation from Bob about 3D plan it.  It was very informative.  I also was presented with my next two AP awards.  This was Dispatcher and Electrical.  Lunch provided by the Ipswich club was brilliant.  They also had a number of their layouts on display and running.  They were well sceniced and detailed.

When I got home, I went to the shed and hung my two certificates on the wall next to teh other certificates.  I then decided to apply ballast to the replaced point in Acacia Ridge Yard.  Then this was glued down.  I ran trains through after the gluing and they all still continued to run when pushed through.  On Sunday morning I cleaned the track here- removing any glue residue and ran narrow and standard gauge trains through the points.  All worked OK.  I just need to arrange for Arthur to come and check it out again.  I think I need to hold my fingers behind my back and cross them.

So this is the finished set of dual gauge points at the northern entry to Acacia Ridge Yard.  The photo is a little bit out of focus but it shows what it entails.

Later on I got to working on the two sets of points in Fisherman Islands yard.  These are now working satisfactorily and both narrow and standard gauge trains are traversing these well.

This photo shows the two dual gauge points.  The one of the right replaced a Peco point that I added a third rail to and I think it was causing a short.  The upper point that flows into this point, was new and allowed me to add an extra 12mm siding, of almost 1m in length.

The next task was to look at a set of Tillig points at the far end of Acacia Ridge Yard.  I had planned on installing a new actuator bar made from PC board sleeper, but upon looking at the set of points again, I just I think permanently affixed the floating points blade to the existing actuator.  I remove the points from the trackwork so I can get everything working well.  I made a new point throw rod from a paper clip, and that has been inserted into the actuator bar and is ready to be installed into the actuator switch.  That is next weekend’s job.

This is the location where the Tillig point has been removed from to get operated upon at the workbench.  It will go back next weekend.

This shot shows the new dual gauge point that I spliced in last weekend to allow for standard gauge locos to run around a small train on the dual gauge.  

Late this afternoon, I started cutting out the various lengths of Flemish Bond sheet for the Cassino station building.  I need two strips for each side of the building.  I will gradually mark out the windows and doors and use my nibbler to cut out the windows and a knife for the doors.  This task will perhaps progress during the week. 

Thursday Day Off and Beyond

I did my Lotto duties (which resulted in my not being able to retire), and then hit the hobby shops.  Firstly to Hobby One.  They did not have the brick sheets I had ordered – still on backorder.  I went to Modeller’s Warehouse and bought a set of second hand Peco medium points.  I then went to Aurora Trains and they did not have the paint that I wanted.  But I gave George a hand pulling his layout apart before it was shipped out down south.  Note to George: ‘Best to remove the zip ties that were between the layout modules holding them together before you try and pull the modules apart’.  They come apart better that way!

When I got home I went down to the shed and spliced in the second hand point (it was actually brand-new) and then spliced in my scratch built dual gauge point next to this point and made a cross over from the dual gauge main in Acacia Ridge Yard to Standard Gauge Track 1.  I then readjusted the track gauge (3^rd railed laid outside a length of 12mm track) on the entry to Acacia Ridge Yard and connected it up to the previously installed dual gauge point – now known as Arthur’s point.  I can now run standard gauge trains into Acacia Ridge Yard from the north again.  I then soldered up all the jumpers that I had to remove to splice in the two dual gauge points.  Trains were tested through this area and they work.  However the running of trains, may have revealed that I forgot to add an electrical jumper between where I dual gauge point was added and its cuts around the frog, and the rest of the track in that siding.  So Maybe that track is now dead until that jumper is added.  Maybe one night this week.

Later in the arvo I painted the rail on the dual gauge track (Arthur’s point) that I installed last weekend.  I then painted the copper clad sleepers a dark wood colour.  The new sleepers that I made and stained last weekend have been slide in between the copper clad sleepers on this point.  Ballast will follow in the future and then I can get Arthur back for round 2.

I resumed my track building position on the kitchen table, and made another dual gauge point while watching some Winter Olympic racing.  Actually I used the grinding wheel in the shed as well to shave the point blades, and to notch the stock rails.  This will be the first point I will add to Fisherman Islands Yard to create another 12mm siding.

I have also decided that there are potentially two more points that need to be replaced with some of my mark-2 scratch built dual gauge points and hopefully this will provide better operations on the layout.

On Saturday I went to the Club for our monthly meeting.  I picked up some more code 83 and code 70 rails and some Copper clad PC board sleepers from PK.  While at the Club waiting for meeting time, I started cutting up PC board sleepers for my next layout dual gauge point, and then also started cutting up rail lengths.  When I got home I ran the rail through my grinding wheel to trim the flanges etc. and created all the joins for the various V’s in the point.  These got soldered together later that night while watching some more Winter Olympics on TV.

While at the Club, Greg brought along some 3D printed stuff for a couple of members, including some 12mm height gauges and some 12mm re-railers.  He also had his RM 55 railmotor in G gauge – all 3D printed.  It looks very nice.  It is big and it is getting close to having its run.  Next meeting it should be running around the outdoor track.

Today I got down to the shed and spliced in the last two sets of points I created to go into Fisherman Islands Yard.  I have pushed both standard gauge and narrow gauge rolling stock through the turnouts and they run adequately.  I also installed a homemade over centre spring in one of the points here.  It seems to lock into place.  I also added 2 more over centre springs to the new set of dual gauge points in Acacia Ridge Yard from the dual gauge to standard gauge track 1.  They seem to allow the point to stay locked in either position as well.  I will create a few more of these over centre springs for the other point at Fisherman Islands later tonight.  I will then create a few more to have up my sleeve for other points around the layout.  These were created out of 0.020” Phosphor bronze wire bent into the same shape as a Peco over centre switch spring - just bigger.  I still need to check that I gapped all the PC board sleepers correctly in those two new Fisherman Islands Yard points and then connect the track jumpers back up, and run powered locos and trains through the points.  More jobs for during the week.

A Few Points to Make

So on Tuesday my plans for the week went haywire.  I usually have Friday afternoons off, and I had planned on picking some stuff up from PK’s at that time.  But work moved an important scheduled Tuesday meeting to Friday afternoon.  So Tuesday afternoon was now free.  So was PK.  So I clocked off for the afternoon, and drove over to the other side of town, to PK's, for a coffee and and picked up my stuff, and some stuff for a couple of others.  Then I got a call that someone wanted to talk to me about something, so when I got home, I needed to attend another meeting for an hour and a half.

Due to this re-arrangement, I was able to start making a scratch built set of dual gauge points using PK’s fast track jigs to replace my dodgy one, that Arthur kept derailing on, earlier than planned.

So I cut all the sleeper PC board frets and cut the rails to length.  I then soldered the points up and they seemed to work well.  I then started on a second set of dual gauge points that I needed to add into Acacia Ridge Yard as I wanted a crossover from the dual gauge track to a standard gauge track.  That didn’t take that long to put together either.  I’ve also cut out everything for a third set – this time a standard 12 mm set of points.  This set of points is for Fisherman Islands and a new narrow gauge siding.  I'm all out of PC board frets now.  So I got 3 complete sets of points out of the one set of Fast Track frets.

So on Saturday I’ve removed the troublesome point from the northern entry into Acacia Ridge Yard and I spliced in the new set of points that I made. I connected up the 3 rails at the yard end.  I’ve connected 4 of the 5 rails at the outer (Clapham Yard) end.  I connected the actuator up and the point switches back and forth.  I resorted to pushing wagons through the point.  Narrow gauge trains go through on its one route well in both directions.  Standard gauge trains go through in both routes in both directions, but I have 1 rail to connect up to fully run through the point on the curve position for standard gauge, so it is not fully tested yet.  There is some more geometry work to do in this area, just north of the points on a large curve.  On Saturday night I cut all the sleepers to go under this point.

On Sunday morning I stained the sleepers, the last rail has still not been connected, and I am yet to add power connections to the point and also to power the frog from the point actuator switch.  However, the point still gets power from the track on either side.  Guess what?  There was a short!  I looked at the point, there was one sleeper that I think I soldered across my isolation joint.  So I cut that with a knife, applied power again, and all good.  The trains have now been run through under their own power. 

They run well.  I then had to go to my older sister's anniversary celebration put on per her daughters.  50 years married.  So I still have work to do next weekend.  I also plan to re-visit the point that I took out and see if I can work out why it caused trouble.  What I did find was that one check rail was missing from a narrow gauge route, so I added that this morning.  But that route was running well.  It was the standard gauge that gave trouble.