The Changes They Are a Coming

On Saturday afternoon I had Darren and Anthony come over and we were discussing various aspects of my layout, the shed, and ways to improve the feeling when running trains in an operations schedule.  After their arrival, I shut the side gate, shut the shed door (the aircon was already on) and we enjoyed a beverage.  We got down to work.  Discussing various topics and I took copious notes and started to implement some of these as soon as they left about 3 hours later.  Some suggestions are very easy to do, other suggestions are much harder.  I had thought about some of these myself, but didn’t know where to start, or thought no I don’t want to do that.  However, after hearing it from these two well respected modeller mates, I didn’t need much more persuasion to implement some of these suggestions.  I asked the guys for their opinion on things that I thought should occur, so now they will.  I now have a list of items in a long To Do List.

So as of Saturday afternoon, I have relocated my DC transformer for the test track from in front of the loops at Grafton Yard, to below the yard – providing more room and less clutter.

The timetable diagram was removed from hanging on the Acacia Ridge layout fascia, to the shed door.  This will remove people from this central point, to a point where there is a bit more room for people to study the graphs if they so desire.

I removed the headshunt at Grafton Yard and that allowed me to extend the first three return loops in Grafton Loops by about 30cm each. 

The 240V power lead to the DCC system was relocated from just hanging down from the wall over the front of three levels of layout.  It now runs down over the pelmet and down an access hole and under the layout.  I never thought about this.  So simple, but very effective.

I removed a whole lot of clutter from near the Grafton Loops.  Track joiners, some old Fast Track point attempts that might not have passed muster, old rail offcuts, screws, pieces of paper etc.  There will be a small enhancement to the scenery on the edge of the Rocla Sleeper Siding.

Discussion turned to working on the trackwork at Grafton Loco.  I heard what they both said and I may well implement their suggestion.  But I need a set of RH points first.  I may re-align the Loco tracks at that location.  While we certainly have not used those tracks while doing an Operations Session as yet, there are two trains that actually do use those tracks.  I have train A and B in the long distance passenger trains, and the B versions do get some wagons from the loco sidings before their runs commence.  So far I have not yet included those cards in an Operations Session.  But maybe soon.  These sidings also hold some special wagons.  A dynamometer wagon, a heavy lift wagon, some spare locos and my steam fleet.  

I re-laid the loops in Grafton Yard today and removed some of the junk off the top deck around Acacia Ridge Yard.  I also attached two photos to the wall above The Risk Loop.  I also got some more black paint that I use for my fascias and did a couple of touches up today.  i also painted some structures that hold up the pelmet around Running Creek.  I also installed some new fascia in front of Acacia Ridge Yard and painted it.  I need to relocate the Staff machines panel and the points control panel onto the new fascia.  My only issue is that none of the wires are long enough to reach the new panel location so I need to splice some new wire extensions in.  A few more small tasks also got completed.

The layout might look quite different next time some of the guys visit.

I'm still waiting for some deliveries.  Some SPST switches from last year, a box of NOBX wagons and of course a few 44 Class locos, which the AMRM seems to say that they are in the country.  However I did receive some more LEDs (0603) and a stay alive for my Auscision Paybus.  PK might get a tap on the shoulder on Tuesday night to see if he can install it.

Busy Doing Nothing Much

This week, my on-again/off-again purchase of some 0402 LEDs from ebay finally arrived.  That was after two Sydney based sellers (probably the same company with two different seller-ids), did not have any to ship and they cancelled the purchase after 4 or 5 days each.  This was even though they advertised that they did.  They should be counselled by ebay, and suspended for a month.  However, a Melbourne based seller shot me 60 of the blighters real quick.  So today I installed one in the Fairy Hill Signal box, so I am very happy with the results.

I also bit the bullet and drilled out the headlights of a semi-trailer and installed two more of these 0402 LEDs into the headlights.  A test shows that are working very nicely.  The semi has not yet been put back onto the layout.  Plenty of time for that.  I still have some more ebay purchases on the way, some 0603 LEDs and some miniature switches.

Last week I thought that I might have to buy a new ammeter for the layout, but I realised that I might have one on an old unused test station.  I went looking one afternoon and sure enough I had one.  So that meter was cannibalised and that saved me $18.  I installed that panel meter on Saturday afternoon.  In the morning I went to the Club for our monthly meeting and had a good chat with a number of members.  At the Club I was blown away with the amount of work going on in the Club Workshop area.  I had never seen 8 people in there at the same time.  But sure enough they were all working away fixing various things.  Apart from that there were people running on the HO and N scale layout and people working on the N scale layout.  Someone was also working on the HO exhibition layout.

On the right here is the Club President - Barry.  Next to him, is Laurie McClean MMR putting lights in one of Barry's Locos.  This area has N, HO and HO 3 1/2 tracks for testing.  These can be switches from DC to DCC.  these are on the middle shelf around this room - seen at the back of the photo either side of the person standing up.  This area always has someone working on a loco.

During the week, I might have flexed the Mastercard a bit.  I purchased a stay alive that will hopefully be installed into my NSW Paybus.  This vehicle was critically chastised for its lack of consistent running around the layout on the last running day.  So I bit the bullet and will have the stay alive installed in the Paybus.  Who knows?  That weird guy from the north side that takes the Micky out of me at every chance might just do it for me.

Today I went in shares with some mates for a packet of SRA Red NOBX wagons in the Auscision rollingstock sale.  I just wanted one.  The rest will go to good homes.  I was tempted in a PTC Blue one as well, but we did not have enough takers.  I was close to also ordering another 442 class loco with sound, but the Mastercard gave me a dirty look when I went trying to work out a loco number to buy.  So I backed off.  Maybe next time.

This morning I was watching the NMRA-X broadcast and I was amazed at how interested I was with some of the presentations in the second half of the broadcast.  I had one eye and ear on the broadcast and the other eye and ear in the chat talking at Gordy and others online.  That was until a mate came over with his two kids for a tour of the shed.  I think the two kids 12 and 11 were impressed.

Next week, some progress of some more light installs, this time three streetlights to see how they will look, and I will be back acquainting myself with the Kyogle Station building.

Electrical Fixes

This weekend was a rather quiet weekend mostly spent watching the cricket on TV, and trying to track down some electrical gremlins.  I removed all the headset plug in points and inspected the wiring behind the panels.  I found one panel to have some wires touching.  So after firing up the headset system post fixing this panel, it magically fired up and did not short.  So let's call that now fixed.  But it perplexes me how plugging in and unplugging a set of headphones (even with a bit of force) caused those wires to touch behind the panel.  Anyway that problem seems to be solved, however there is still a buzz through the headsets.

The other task was to work out why there seems to be a fault behind my panel for all the meters on the layout.  I got under and behind the panel and identified where the loose wire came off from and that allowed me to fix the layout voltmeter.  However, my layout ammeter is not working.  It seems to be going in reverse if anything.  So I think it has died.  I will have to purchase a new one, and replace the current ammeter and see how that goes at fixing the issue.  I could not find any issues behind the panel.  

I also installed two gas bottles at each signal box around the layout, Fairy Hill, Glenapp and Border Loop, as well as two more for the signalman’s house at Border Loop.

I also got around to planting some trees behind Fairy Hill Loop Signal Box and installed a few more labels at particular locations on the layout.  These were installed on the layout fascias. 

My next task is to jump back onto completing the Kyogle Station building.  That must be over a year since I last worked on that project.  Once that is completed, I can then start work on the Cassino Station building that I promised twelve months ago I was going to build last year.

I've Got a Short

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.

Ops SessionWrap for 2022

Tuesday this week was my Ops Session. I spent some time on Monday working on getting some lights configured in the Risk.  This included the signal box, the Station building and a platform light post.  I have planned for two light sunder the awning on the platform, but time ran out.

So as the appointed hour approached, Marty was the first to arrive and we chatted while I cooked the snags on the BBQ.  The crew came in dribs and drabs and we had a full compliment.  But I had a big fail.  It totally escaped me that Geoff C had never operated on the layout previously, so I did not take him through the procedures, etc.  We also had Glen, but I knew he was a first timer.  Also in attendance was Jeff who had not been here for some time.  So when the clock ticked over, all hell broke loose.  The phone system went down.  So we through that out the window.  People need to yell out to the North Coast Control or even visit him to advise what they are doing, or at least seek permission to do that.  I thought I knew what caused it.  I pulled off one of the plug in point fascia panels and sure enough two wires had broken off.  But soldering them back on did not fix the system.  There is a dead short in the system.  I think it is another fascia plug-in panel that has suffered a broken wire.  I will keep looking.

Also during the session, the whole DCC system lost power.  Now that had me stumped.  I pulled the system apart.  It appeared that the DCC Ammeter on my panel had stopped working.  Also the DCC Voltmeter had also stopped working.  But if I cut out the DCC Ammeter power resumed.  So we did that and the investigation had been put back into the future.  I thought I had a cause, but it turns out it was not correct.  I do have a loose wire behind the panel.  I thought I knew where it should be connected, but when I connected it there, the system still does not work.  But by removing various components from the front of the panel, the loose wire had fallen down, and the ammeter now works, but the voltmeter is still offline.

At just after 4:00pm we pulled up stumps for afternoon tea.  The general consensus that I was hearing from the crew, was that they all had a good time.  That was actual inverse as to my opinion.  This session had to be close to the worst session.  With no phone and no DCC for about 15 minutes that is why I thought the way I do.

So after the session I collected the timetable cards and did some fixes around the layout.  During the session I fixed a KD spring to a passenger coach on NL2.  Post the session I adjusted the bogie packing under a coach on NL4.  I also spent some time working on the infrared detectors on my level crossing detectors, by packing them with balsa strip in the holes that they sit in under the layout.  My issues was that these seem to fall down over time and that causes them to go trigger my themselves when the detector is within the hole drilled between the tracks.  So hopefully I have now fixed that issue.  I had a chat to Anthony post the session and it was the inspiration to create a new training manual for the layout for new operators and a refresher for those operators who had not been around for a while.  So this document has started to be put together.  Actually it has always been around.  I have started pulling lots of previous documents together into a single document and I will see how that goes for the next session.

But post that I had been continuing the rush to install lights in various locations around the layout.  So the platform awning lights were installed in The Risk.  So that locations has signal box lights, station master’s room lights, platform light and two under the awning lights.  I added a staff exchanger platform light at Border Loop and also signal box lights.  I also finished doing the same at Glenapp Loop.  I am looking at also controlling the lights at Fairy Hill by the same method.  Once the station building has been completed at Kyogle, I will also do the same at that location.  I also have plans for lights along the Bruxner Highway south of Cassino station, lights at Barker Street pedestrian crossing, and maybe some more in some of the various streets backing onto Cassino Platform.

Border Loop with lights

Glenapp Loop Lights

Cassino overbridge with lights

The Risk Loop with station lights

Murwillumbah turntable

Five narrow gauge coal wagons with loads installed

I have also had Geoff C come back for his orientation briefing and I think he now understands a bit more about how the layout works. 

I also have an action plan inspired by Anthony that I will start working on over the next few months.  I also have a few more tasks to tick off over the rest of this week while I am still on holidays.

So today I ran four trains and fixed up a couple that did not follow the timetable card.  So the time on the layout is now 5:55pm.  I ran the first phase of the Steel train from Grafton to Cassino Yard and ran some light engines from South Brisbane Interstate to Loco Pilly.  One of the standard gauge Rocklea Shunt trains ran from there to Clapham Yard with some empty limestone wagons, and a shunt train ran from Fisherman Islands Yard to Clapham Yard with three container wagons, which were not dropped off there when the train ran through earlier.  So I had a bit of run for the start of the new year.  There are about 18 trains to run in the remaining 6 plus hours to complete the timetable before it resets and all the fun starts over again.

Mostly Electrical Work or Let There be Light

After completing work on Wednesday afternoon I started doing some modelling.  This included a styrene box shed that will have corrugated card glued to its outside.  This will be placed over the motor that runs the Murwillumbah turntable.  So I scratch build a box for the shed and aquadhered some corrugated card onto the box.  This has been painted an appropriate corrugated iron colour and is ready to fit over the turntable motor.

On Thursday I then started to cut up some styrene sheet into the shape for the base coal load of 5 of my QR coal wagons.  I test fitted the sheet styrene so that it could easily be inserted into the coal wagons and removed from the coal wagons.  These bases were also fitted with five legs (2 at each end and one in the middle) about 10-12mm high to enable the load to sit proud of the coal wagons opening, but below the lip of the wagon.  I then super-glued two metal washers under each end of the wagon load.  These bases were then painted matt black, as an undercoat before the fitting of some white glue and some coal to form the load.  I have found one coal wagon had a dodgy coupler at one end.  So I will need to fit a new KD spring to ensure that the wagon does not get failed when we operate that coal train.

I decided to do some electrical work on Friday.  I purchased some components from Jaycar.  When I got home I soldered everything together and I connected it to a 12V transformer.  I connected a multi-meter to the output of the components, and when I powered it all on, I got a 9V supply.  Just what I wanted.  That was tested on my layout headset system.  This will mean that I wont have to keep buying 9V batteries.  I also spent some time trying to find what is causing the awful noise in the headset system.  I failed.

The next task was to splice in a flashing arrow onto the back of a truck in a road works site.  I purchased this from Gwydir Valley Models at the Armidale Convention.  This flashing sign is controlled by an on/off switch on the layout fascia.  The item is powered by a rectified circuit from the track bus.

I also found out that 5 of my yet to be used power supplies that takes the track bus and rectifies it for use in DC power supplies, had a capacitor connected in reverse.  That was going to be an interesting occasion if these ever got powered up.  I have fixed them all now.

One thing that had been causing me some issues, was the lighting circuit to the Park Road Transhipment Shed.  The lights just stopped working.  I was connecting a battery direct to the building and it all worked.  But It would not work from my rectified power supply straight from the track bus.  I checked things.  I replaced things.  I swapped things around.  I had no success.  But it looks like the real reason was the plugs I have imbedded in to the baseboard.  These plugs allow my good shed to slot into to get a power connection, but it must have been a bad connection.  After almost two days of work on this project, it is now working.

I then started work on adding two switches to the light circuits at Cassino overbridge.  My street lights were put on one circuit and car lights on another.  I am considering adding a few more lights in some surrounding streets.

I am also starting to deploy lights to The Risk Station precinct.  More work to follow here tomorrow.

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope the big fella in red provided some much wanted items for the layout.  The cricket stars again tomorrow.

Murwillumbah Turntable Completed

Saturday I decided to remove 5 of the eco-lids off of my 12mm grains wagons, turning them back into coal wagons.  I grabbed 5 and completed that task easily while watching the cricket.  Once I had the lids off, I realised that the assembler of these kits had cut holes in the floor near the bogies, to allow the bogies to turn and rock and roll.  So that called for a new base layer of styrene in the hopper to cover those holes.  One of the wagons when I removed the lid, had the inside of the wagon was painted black.  Hmmmm!  That got the brain going.  I was going to paint the new styrene base in the hopper silver.  But now, black seemed to be so much more appropriate given that they would have been used in coal traffic for many years.  So I made up a paint mask, that would allow me to just spray inside the coal hopper and the white styrene floor of the hopper.  The mask prevented any over spray from going on the wagon sides, that had been nicely graffitied.

Simple task, quickly done, and now 5 wagons have moved into Fisherman Islands Yard, and all I need now is a 12mm loco to have then configured as the number two coal train.  Who knows I might do the same work to the other 5 wagons later this week.  I can then split the wagons over the two coal trains.  I do have to still make some coal loads for these wagons.  But that is a task for the Christmas hollidays.

Today I went down to the shed and turned the TV to the cricket.  I connected the track to the turntable at Murwillumbah, and connected the track bus to the turntable.  I cleaned the track on the turntable bridge, and the lead into the turntable, and the loco (X207 – close enough to X217) ran well onto and off the turntable.  I should try and 48 and maybe a 44 or Jumbo during the week just for fun.

I then connected my power supply which produces a rectified 12V DC from the track bus, to the turntable direction switch, replacing the 9V battery which was now only putting out about 6V, and was almost dead.  The power supply drove the turntable well.  Just like a bought one.

I still have plenty to do before next Tuesday but I have plenty of time to do it in.