Sunday Surge of Activity

Perfecting a repeatable process, and improving it as I move on has allowed me to make great strides in a relatively short time.

The only constant that I cannot overcome is the time for glue to dry; while other, faster setting product are available, the ability to "undo" with a little water makes the waiting worthwhile.

Sunday Surge of Activity

I prepared eight points for servo installation over the course of a few hours on Sunday, while literally waiting for paint to dry on a domestic project.

I also hung four doors, and installed a bathroom cabinet, but that is another project, and as there are no pictures, you will have to take my word for it.

In addition to this work I managed to run a train, briefly, as since most of the servo installation has mean a cut main line, I have not had much opportunity lately.

Sunday Surge of Activity - Second Part

In addition to the yard ladder, I prepared these four turnouts on the station approach tracks. This entailed removing the last of the Peco twin-coil motors, as seen by the larger footprint of the mounting pad in the top of the picture, between the red push pins.

All boards are fitted in the cut holes while the last of the glue sets on the cork, so I can whisk through mounting the servos on the next visit.

The next group will be the four on the left-hand side of the picture; the two in the coach yard, the platform 1 and 2 turnout, and one at the top edge, that allows access from platform 1 to the coach tracks.

More Progress, and Two Firsts...

After the radical decision to change my choice of servo control boards for the more turnout intensive areas of the layout, I made a surge of progress on the East end of the yard.

Just Another Crossover

One of the two remaining on the mainline, and will be controlled from the MegaPointsController that runs this end of the yard.This is also the first to have the new Hobby King servos installed, which in operation do seem a touch quieter than the previously used models.

Moving In To The Yard - First Replacement

This is the beginning of the totally automated yard; I chose this end to start as there are fewer turnouts located here, and it is a good distance from the bulk of the action. I also removed the first of two Peco twin-coil motors, as you can see from the left most hole in the roadbed. These devices were deemed unusable due to the large footprint, with half of the motor located under the adjacent track, and would have caused havoc in crowded turnout locations.

The turnout still in place, a Shinohara #6 that leads to the departure/receiving track, was already servo powered, and now will be controlled by the MegaPointsController board. 

Back To Where We Started

Even with the odd-sized hole to not disturb the already mounted and working turnout, installation went quickly. I used common paper towel, brushed with PVA, to cover the holes in the foam near the first turnout mounting. This keeps scenery material from falling through the layout onto the HO layout below. 

The next phase will involve the platform throat, and adjacent turnouts to the small coach yard. The other Peco twin-coil is located in this area, and since no other turnouts are currently automated, progress should be a lot simpler, even in the crowded locations, due to the ability to use a small mounting board and the ability to mount servos vertically.

Stay tuned...

More Crossover Powering

I added the servo motors to control the crossover near the site of the freight siding.

Servo Motor Installation Example

One placed on second crossover, second in progress. You can see how the servo motor is mounted, and how this will throw the turnout once the track is placed.

Crossover and Freight Spur Complete

Crossover in place, motors tested, surrounding track glued in place. Won't get time to re-wire (short section between crossover and spur has no power yet) so run testing will have to wait. Just need to power the spur and the section of track immediately before it, as the original block has been split. The section of mainline will allow small amounts of switching without fouling the mainline crossover.

With this complete I left the glue to dry (resisting the temptation to mess with it) and moved down the mainline the next crossover, going the opposite direction.

Powering Another Crossover

And on to the next crossover to get powered; you can see the tools I use to cut the foam, the servo mounting pads, and the gaps where the turnouts should be...

Opening the Mounting Pad Locations

Cuts made for the mounting pads; the combination of a saw and sharp knife does wonders.

The Hole Detail

Detail of the hole for the mounting pad; you can see the lip that supports the foam core board.

Roadbed Restored

Roadbed splices cut and glued. This cork sheet cut into strips approximately as wide as the track ties.

By this point Imogen (the British have started naming winter storms…) was putting too much cold wind through the attic, so I retreated downstairs, since the glue was taking longer to dry. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll get this and the maybe even the next one done.

More Crossover and Related Trackwork

In previous posts I discussed the addition of a pair of crossovers and a siding for a freight house/team track and showed the beginning stages of construction.

Over the weekend when not stripping tiles from a bathroom wall, or hauling bags of said tiles, brick, and other related sundry to the dump, I managed to temporarily fit the turnouts for the crossover and siding, as well as do all of the preparation for the servo mounting on the foam - core boards:

and cut the gaps for the second crossover further down the mainline:

The siding turnout will be manually controlled, so I was able to lay the siding track. It served as a great well-lit spot to take pictures of a new acquisition. Here it is with it's likely mates, as seen in prototype operations across Minnesota on the Dakota line (which eventually became DM&E/CP):

It will probably be a few more weeks until everything is running again, as this work involves running more wire and more Intermediate Block panels, both for block control (DC/DCC) and turnout control.