1st Op session debrief

After my first ops session, we all sat down outside with boerworse rolls, snacks and drinks for a chin wag and a debrief. Most of the issues were discussed in the previous article. Below however is Items I need to sort out before the next operations session as highlighted by my operators or found to be wanting by myself.

• Time Table to be drawn up. Not just the string diagram.
• Train Names to be put on the string diagram.
• Fit Digitrax Throttle panel in Essex.
• Place Infra red receivers better in the room.
• Fit Stryker panel together with push-buttons for servo motors.

My First Operating Session

Yesterday the 8th November, I finally hosted my first operating session. It is absolutely unbelievable how well it went! I had a buzz for the remainder of the day and spent a sleepless night thinking of everything I wanted to tackle today to make it even better.

Including myself, there were 5 of us that operated the layout. Kevin (my brother), Peter, Niel and his father Mike.

Niel and myself handled the yard and used coloured tags to place on the cars as they arrived to help classification better. It worked an absolute charm. As a rake of cars arrived, we would place the coloured tags on the roof and then proceed to shunt them into their required blocks. Once finished, we put the car cards together matching the block of cars and then removed the tags ready for the local engines to pick up the block and head out to start shunting.

Mike and Peter, together with Kevin on occasions, ran the mainline trains from staging through to staging. What was really enjoyable was watching everyone run at prototypical speeds. Also there were very few if any derailments. Those derailments that did happen were normally as a result of switches not aligned properly.

Niel took the Essex / East Glacier Park local and shunted both towns like a star. Kevin took the Columbia Falls and West Glacier Park local and I gave him a hand as Break-man. Kevin drove the loco and I told him what to do, as well as throwing switches, uncoupling cars and the like. Kevin actually commented how much better it was as a 2 man crew, which it was. It took a lot of the pressure off having to not only run the train, but also do all the pick ups and set-outs, change switches etc etc.

We all ran off a string diagram schedule I had drawn up. I did not actually convert it into a timetable as I wanted to see if there were any issues before doing additional hard work. I was quite amazed how everyone picked up on it and how easily they were able to read it. However, a proper timetable would have been a great help. That WILL be in place by the next session.

The fast clock was also fantastic. I purchase a 20m VGA monitor extention and ran it from the one area where my laptop was to a second monitor in a strategic position in the room. I ran JMRI's analogue clock and everyone commented how well it worked

The one Fast Clock monitor over East Glacier Park

The 2nd Fast Clock monitor over the helix from Columbia Falls to West Glacier Park

Above is one last photo of the staging yard (Stryker / Browning) during the op session: -

The day chosen, Sunday, turned out to be perfect. Everyone was relaxed and in jovial spirits. The guys arrived at about 09h30 for some coffee and a chat. 09h45 we started with a briefing and started at 10h00. The session was planned to end at 12h30 and we were actually about 5 min behind in the end.

To end off with, we all sat outside with boerworse rolls and cool drinks and had a good chat. Next session is booked for the 20th Dec and so far, everyone has said they will be attending again.

Till next time, and hopefully this time some proper photos of the opp session, keep well and best regards.

1st Operations session "Prep"

I really must write more often :-(

During the last club visit to my layout, and also a couple of months ago from my brother and a friend, the guys kept saying I must hurry up and get an operations session going. After a couple of false starts, I finally decided on a date being this coming Sunday the 8th November 2015.

If I new what I was letting myself in for, I may have kept quiet and not done it. I have been slowly working towards getting the layout operational, but as the date has approached, so have all the final jobs to be done grown and grown.

In particular is the cleaning. I must say, living where I do, dust is a big problem. However, I am slowly working at reducing that, in particular by insulating the ceiling as funds permit. Not only will it help in reducing dust falling through the suspended ceiling, but at the same time insulating the room.

Anyway, part of the preparation has been vacuuming, dusting and vacuuming! Wow, what a job! It has taken two solid evenings and still needs at least one more.

Some of the last minute projects done are as follows: -

• Fitted Microtrain couplers to the two outside couplers on a new 3 diesel lash up I purchased about 6 months ago. 2 off BNSF and 1 off GE ES44AC. Unfortunately I did not have enough to do all 3 locos.
• Repaired wiring to push buttons for the Tamvalley servo boards. I am using a wire that when hot gets brittle. I have another wire I will use, but no time to do the change now.
• Re programmed one loco to run in reverse. In a 3 unit lash up, the single loco facing one way is the lead loco and that number must be used. In this case, the loco behind the lead loco was running in the same direction and would definitely cause confusion.
• Re-programmed one of the switch motor CV's as it was not throwing fully.
• The switches to Stryker all have servos now, but the control panel still needs to go in. No time for that, so I marked with a pen on the bench work nest to each switch the number needed to throw it.
• Vacuumed to layout like it has never been cleaned as well as run the vacuum brush over wagons and diesels.
• Cleaned, cleaned and cleaned track some more
• Cleaned loco wheels using a paper kitchen towel over the rails and putting alcohol on.

And that was just some of the work.

Cross fingers for Sunday. Hopefully all goes well :-)

Scenery work

Over the Easter weekend, I decided to tackle some of my scenery. In particular, the covered helix between East Glacier Park and Browning. T put the hard shell down quite some time ago, possibly a year or two, however, no greenery or anything :-(.

Before starting, I needed to complete the colouring of the rock-work that I have put there, as well as in other areas of the layout. This involved the leopard spotting technique show on the Woodland Scenic's web site. I used "Yellow Ochre", "Burnt Umber" and plain old "India Ink". I am very happy with the outcome which can be seen below.

It was then over to adding some greenery. As per a YouTube video from Model Railroader, I bought some cheap brown paint, putting it down on the shell, then a coating of white glue and then Woodland scenic's fine "Burnt Grass". I also added some medium grass of various colours. Our local store currently does not have various clump foliage or foliage clusters, so I can not put down any bushes yet, so the scene is not complete yet. However, below are some photos.

The end of a very productive weekend!

Track plan alterations

I had a dilemma at the tunnel where trains heading West from Browning enter or trains heading east exit a tunnel from one of my helix's. As a train was exiting the tunnel, there is a set of cross over switches which will one day be signalled. The problem is firstly, the signal would be very close to the tunnel entrance, making it difficult for operators to see the indication, and more prototypically, if I have a 2 or more lash up of diesels and the lead unit stopped short of the signal, almost all the locos, including the lead would be sitting in the tunnel. I.e. choking themselves and overheating. Not very prototypical at all.

Looking at the very right track as it exits the tunnel, it can be
seen that there is no room for the train to stop without most
of the locos sitting in the tunnel.

My solution was to move the crossovers down the line, giving enough room for a 3 unit loco lash-up to exit the tunnel before stopping short of the signal.

Below, the crossover can be seen now moved further down the line with sufficient space for at least 3 locomotives to be out the tunnel. What can also be seen now compared to the photo above is a cutting I have added to the left. This will now be my new Eurika branch line. Looking down the bottom at the visible staging, Stryker will be on the left side with trains entering from the other side and terminating there. The branch-line to Eureka is at the end of that visible staging on the same side. Before, it used to be on the other side and can be seen in the above photo where there are 3 wagons parked. There were two issues for me. Firstly I did not like it crossing the staging of the other end of the layout (Browning) and secondly, it occupied my return loop, which I want to use for a future operations scenario I will talk about in a future post. So, I ended up with a win win situation.

Below is the track work complete. Just needs scenery now.

Putting Graffiti on my cars

To begin with, my current preferred method of moving cars around the layout is with the “4 turn Car Card system”. I have tried the “Tab on Car” system and although very good, I still prefer the 4 turn at present.

A problem I had is with my freight cars, in that I have many duplicate cars simply with different road numbers. For instance, I have 3 off 50’ boxcars of exactly the same road name, length, style etc, that when using them with the Car Card system, operators are going to have problems reading the small numbers denoting the car. With all the cars “currently” in use, I have specifically chosen different cars. However, there is only so far one can go. I also use photos of the individual cars to help operators know exactly which Car Card refers to which Car on the layout. So 3 photos of the same car on 3 different Car Cards was still going to cause a problem.

I hit on the idea of using Graffiti decals to individually identify each of the duplicate cars. For instance, in the case of the 3 exact same freight cars; one I would leave as is, and the other two, I would fit decals to.

I purchase 2 sets of the same Blairline Graffiti decals. The reason for two the same was that I would fit the same decal in the same place on both sides of the car, so that no matter which side of the car one looked at it, it would resemble the photo on the car card.

Lets get to some examples and some photos: -

Below are 3 off 50' boxcars which are exactly the same in all respects. The only difference being the road numbers. They all initially looked like the centre car which also shows the car card that was in use. The other two on either side were not being used as it would have caused great confusion. Here though, the new Graffiti placed on each one can be seen and now uniquely identifies the cars. Now all I need to do it take some photos of the other two and make up suitable Car Cards.

With the ones below, they also look like the ones above. However, on closer examination, it can also be seen that they are actually different. Not just in shape, but the BN herald below is smaller then the BN herald above. Again, by adding Graffiti, I increased my Car Card freight by a further 2 cars.

These are two 40' boxcars which are the same. Again, by adding Graffiti to the one, I have added an extra wagon to my fleet.

These two below are 2 of 3 MRL wagons I have. For some unbeknown reason, known only to heaven knows who, I only decaled the one. When I get home, I will do the last one (3rd of the 3).

Please excuse the photo below for it's quality, however, the rake of cars in the front are the cars once all of them were complete. So I went from 4 unique wagons in use to 10 wagons now available for use on the rail-road, and hopefully operators will be able to easily identify the cars against the Car Cards during an operating session.

As for the decaling. That was as easy as always. As mentioned, I used Blairline Decals. They are laser cut around the decal for easy removal. I would use Microscale "Micro Sol" and "Micro Set". Micro Sol really softens the decal so that it conforms to the shapes on the car body.

I would brush some Micro Sol over the area where the decal was going to go. Then place the decal in some warm water for about 30 seconds. From there I would take it out the water and slide the decal onto the car and using a knife blade, gently slide the decal into place. From there, I would add some more Micro Sol over  the outside of the decal and that was it. Put the model to one side for the day and end of story :-)

Tam Valley Depot QuadLN Loconet servo controlers and IO

I have been doing a lot of research for a cost effective switch controller and actuator that would give me the biggest bang for my buck.

What I wanted was the impossible. I wanted to be able to control a switch from either a control panel, the throttle or finally JMRI. I also needed to know what position the switch was in at any time, especially when booting up the layout for a session. Bottom line, it all came down to cost, not just for the controller, but also the drive that would actually move the switch.

The Tam Valley Depot QualLN and a SG90 9g servo fitted the bill perfectly.

Firstly the servo. I buy these form Hong Kong on Ebay. I buy a 12 pack and having purchased a pack last week, they come in at R33.82 per servo. End of story there.

Secondly and lastly, the QuadLN. What does this beast "not do" would be easier to answer. However, here is the list of what it can do and what I wanted it for.

• It can control 4 separate switch "areas". So if you have a crossover with two switches, one servo output would control both servos for the two switches.
• There are then 8 separate inputs and outputs for whatever you want. 4 of them are standard for the fascia controllers and LED's, but if you do not need fascia controllers and indicators, they are available for other IO's. I will be using these for the fascia controllers.
• There is then the additional 4 I/O's for something else. In my case I will be using these for Block detection. I can theoretically then detect a mainline, a passing siding to that mainline, and the blocks on either side of the mainline.
• The QuadLN is a Loconet device that can hook into the Digitrax Loconet and all messages are sent over the Loconet and not by hooking the device to the rail power.
• I do not need sensors on the servos to show alignment as this is remembered in the QuadLN when a switch is either thrown or closed. So no matter what, even if the power is lost, the QuadLN will remember the switch position when power is restored to the layout.
• Routes can be programmed directly into the QuadLN. so one press of a button on a ladder would change all the switches down the ladder if so set.
• And lastly and very importantly for me, selected switches can be locked out if required. So if I wanted to lock out certain mainline switches during an operating session, I could do so. This could put all mainline switches in the control of the dispatcher. The respective fascia controller push buttons would thus not be operational. However, when an operator requested track and time at one of the switch locations or area, the dispatcher could temporarily hand control back to the operator by turning on the push button functionality for the respective switches. Absolutely awesome.
• Lastly, with the feedback of switch positions from the QuadLN, this could be tied into a nice signalling system one day.

Below is one of the QuadLN's fitted under my yard at Whitefish. If you look carefully, you will see 2 sets of 2 servos linked together. This is to control 2 separate crossovers on this side of the yard. There are a further 2 servos controlling separate switches.

Scenery update and one Helix covered

There has been lots of work done on the layout since the last post, however, just not documented in this Blog unfortunately. I really must try to update the blog more regularly. There is too much to write and show in this one post, so they will be spread out over the next couple of posts which I will do in quick succession hopefully.

Well, I have been doing some of the scenery on various parts of the layout. The one helix on the visible staging side of the layout has now been covered. This has been a long time coming.

I basically covered it with Chicken wire and then newspaper draped over the wire before cloth was placed on top and covered in RhinoGLIDE. RhinoGLIDE is a product used for covering wall joints and is very smooth with no stones or grit like that in RhinoLITE. To give it the earth colour, I add yellowy/brown pigmentation.

Below is the hardshell covering. Just needs grass and trees now.

Then over at Columbia Falls, I have put in the commuter station and the base for the grain silos. I have also put in some roads connecting the two. I again used RhinoGLIDE to contour from the plywood base up to the road edge as well as the station parking etcetera. Again, what I now need to do is scenery.

Again, below are some photos: -

Here is the commuter station. This will not be an Amtrak stop but the RDC commuter between Whitefish and East Glacier Park will stop here.

This is the same area, but looking over the commuter station towards the small grain silos.

The Blue Train (Prototype)

Although not “model” train related, this post is “prototype” train related.

Earlier this month on the 4th, 5th and 6th December, Lindsay (my wife) and I got to spent two nights on the South African Blue Train and an awesome day at the Nedbank golf challenge at Sun City.

On the Wednesday, we all met up at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria at 15h00 for refreshments and snacks before being bussed down to Pretoria station at 16h30. The train left at 18h00 sharp and arrived at the Sun City Halt the next morning at 09h00. From there, we were bussed to Sun City 3km’s away for a wonderful day and being spoiled absolutely rotten.

At 16h30 we returned to our chariot with the train again departing at 18h00 and arriving back at Pretoria station on Friday morning at 09h00. Then back to the Sheraton to pick up our cars and the end of an absolutely amazing experience. 

Below is some additional commentary with photos. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Here was our arrival at Pretoria Station

Lindsay before entering the tunnel.

Red carpet nogal

It was then into the Blue Train waiting lounge. Again, snacks and drinks were waiting

Just before boarding the train.

This was our room for the next two nights. Also to the left, an on-suite toilet and shower which I unfortunately did not take a photo of :-(

Below is the Lounge car where we would congregate for drinks and much talking. First photo at night, the next one's during the day.

Next was the dining car. Again, one photo in the morning and the 2nd at night. Full 5 course dinner with all the china and cutlery. Like going back to the 50's!

Dinner was a formal affair with strict instructions to attend with Tie and Jacket! It was actualy quite something to dress up like this again. Can not remember the last time I wore a tie and Jacket.

Lindsay at breakfast ready for a day of Golf.

Here the blue train was departing Rustenburg station. Next stop, Sun City Halt.

This is Sun City Halt. It is about 3 km's East of Sun City and is literally a platform on the side of the main line. From here we hopped onto a Bus that took us along to Sun City. Unfortunately, due to cameras and cell phone restrictions at the golf, I was unable to take any photos there.

Below, we have just hopped off the train and getting on the bus.

Lindsay, ready for a day in the sun.

We left the train down a small dirt road before getting on the tar road. On the tar road, we back tracked and had to go over the train. Below, the train was directly in front of us. These photos just don't do justice to the actual scene. The sun was behind us lighting up the train.

After a long lovely day at the Golf, we arrived back at the train to glasses of refreshing ice cold Champagne. No Lindsay is not greedy LOL, she picked one up for me :-)

This was our beds made up, chocolates each evening and all the bells and whistles.

Each night after dinner, everyone would retire to the lounge car for Cognac and cigars. Lindsay and I would go the the "Non smoking' lounge. There were two on the train. 

And that was the end to an absolutely awesome 2 nights and one day. Lindsay says this is one more item deleted from her bucket list. What more can I say.

For those wondering, the trip from Pretoria Station to Sun City is very short, however, throughout the night we were constantly moving. On the return trip, I activated a tracking device on my phone to see what was happening. Well, they took us around and around Pretoria, Via the North, then East, and in particular, even going around Centrarand just East of Kempton park. Below is a image of our track. Please excuse the two straight lines which are data errors.