No PK there is nothing missing in the heading. My short circuit is on the layout in power district number 4. I was struggling to find out where the short was originating. Yes I have added three sets of lights to three signal boxes in this power district and they were all working very well. I also spliced in two sets of left hand points in the form of a crossover into Acacia Ridge Yard from track 3 to track 2. This is where I will park my sugar wagons that will travel up north before going back to be shunted off in Grafton. Not that I am modelling that area. I am just having the wagons dropped off and picked up on a local shunt train at Acacia Ridge.
So Monday's Public Holiday started off with me splicing in the 2 run around points into Acacia Ridge Yard. These were tested and operated well. I also started to install two switches that would allow the car and signal box at Fairy Hill Loop to be controlled separately. However I ran out of LEDs so I have only had the car headlights at this location controllable now. However, after looking through some photos of Fairy Hill that I luckily backed up from the internet in case it went down and the photos got lost forever, I realised that there was more detail for me to add to my Fairy Hill Loop scene. First there was a wooden shed that was located next to the signal box. There was also a wooden fence behind the signal box, no doubt this was around the house where the signalman lived. Another photo also showed that there was a trail of old sleepers that led from the stairs from the signal box across the two tracks. So I had to make all of those. So that was Monday morning’s job. I was quite impressed with my efforts in building the fence and the shed. I also cut up about 50 sleepers and stained then and left them to dry. On Tuesday I glued the sleepers into the track. I also planted a telegraph pole, the fence, as well as the shed I built. I also made 15 gas bottles for locating at each of the signal boxes on the layout. I also repainted about 100% of my layout pelmets black from the sky blue I had been using. The pelmet certainly looks much better and almost disappears.
I added two switches underneath Summerland Way which will control the lights in the car on that road and another for maybe street lights in the future. I also connected up three sets of street lights in Barker Street, Cassino and now I just need a few more switches from an outstanding ebay purchase to rock up so I can connect the street lights to an existing power supply.
Recently I have ordered two separate bundles of 0402 LEDs (actually 60 items) from Ebay and both those orders have been cancelled by the sellers. These disreputable guys don’t have the items and are trying to sell them online knowing full well that they don’t have any stock. They wait a week after the sale and then advise that they have to cancel the transaction. I just need to find someone in a different location that has some stock. Maybe third time lucky. I also have ordered some 0603 LEDs this time as well, but they are coming from 2 suburbs away. Hopefully they will arrive sooner than 2 weeks.
As mentioned earlier I spliced in the two sets of points into Acacia Ridge Yard on Monday, between tracks 3 and 2 and that was working after testing. I also added some toothbrush bristled in between the rail sin track 3 to stop a runaway of the 4 sugar wagons. once they get dropped there. The line is on a slope at that location, and without the toothbrush bristled, the wagons will roll away about 10 feet. However, after this was all done, now I have a short appearing in power district #4. That is from north of Kyogle Stock Siding to half way through Acacia Ridge Yard. A distance of over 30 metres. I have no idea where this is coming from. It troubled me for about 3 days. I had checked everywhere - or at least I thought I had. So late this arvo I went down to the shed and started trouble shooting again. I went to a local panel for Acacia Ridge Yard that allows me to isolate power to each of the four entry tracks here in the yard. So the switch for track 3 when isolated, made the short disappear. Hmmm! I’m getting closer to the cause. So I then scanned the track from one end of the yard to the other. There was nothing bridging the reversing loops at the northern end, and no other visible issues. I manually activated every set of points on track 3, back and forward, and after I did that the short was gone. No doubt, something had fallen across or into a set of points somewhere. But it is not there now. So PK, I had an operation and it is in good working order now and it is no longer considered short.
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