№ 9 ~ Decoder for De Motor

 Installing a Tried and True TCS KAM4-LED Decoder

with built-in Keep Alive, auto-adjusting BEMF (Back Electro-Motive Force) motor control, Quiet Drive, and built-in resistors to power LED lighting, all in a tiny-tiny package.

Alright, № 9 has been running on the layout since 2020 (and is my best runner!). But apparently I neglected to write a post about installing its decoder. I found this out while performing some maintenance on the car and researched this blog to refresh my memory about it, but it wasn't there! So- here I am to right that wrong.

Stanton Drive installed. The two pairs of current collecting wipers can be seen rubbing on the back side of the wheels. One pair is wired to a red wire and the other pair to a black wire.

Grounded. Since I run off the overhead and not 2 rail, all 4 wheels are tied together electrically by simply soldering the red and black wires to the trolley car frame. 

Connected. The orange and grey wires from the Stanton's motor are wired to the decoder. Normally I would use a micro-connector here so that the floor could be disconnected from the body of the car. But I'm not sure that doing that is worth the extra effort. So- we'll see how it goes.

Positive and Negative Power Connections. The red wire from the decoder is soldered to the trolley pole bushing in the ceiling of the car. And the black wire from the decoder is soldered directly to the body of the car that is grounded to the wheels. Back in DC days the trolley pole was the positive (+) and the track was the negative( -) . But DCC is AC so "positive and negative" no longer applies really.

Decodered. The white wire is connected to the front headlight and the yellow wire to the rear headlight and both ground to the blue wire. Those lights I did post about. But the interior lighting I just realized I also neglected to post about! So I'll do a write-up about them when I refamiliarize myself with what the heck it did with them! Then the decoder is tucked up out of the way into the clerestory ceiling and glued into place.

Operation. Between the Stanton Drive and the KAM4, № 9 is a smooth operator.

Yes sir!

A smooth operator!

Dandy

Backesto Block Bldg ~ Windows of Opportunity

Modeling Open Windows

Modifying the Models Closed Windows into Opened Windows.

Modeling the building with opened windows adds a lot of charm and character.

And realism since this was the main factor for regulating the buildings temperature back in them days.

Repeating window patterns.    Here is what I am faced with.  Let's break up that monotonous pattern a bit.

Printed Closed.    Because of the 1mm minimum thickness required for 3D prints at the time, I had to model the windows in the closed position.

Flat File.    Taking advantage of files that have the smooth sides, we can file in one direction in the corners.

De-sashed.    The lower sash is filed away. Then the sides of the sashes are filed up to the desired height of the opening.  The flat side of the file helps us to not file into the window frame.

Sashed.    Then the lower sash is replaced by an equivalent length of styrene.  Because the upper sash would be behind the upper window, I'll add it after the window glass is installed later.

That lived-in look.    The random opened windows resemble musical notes to me (oh dang!- I should have arranged them as a bar of some popular music.).  This will help give the building that lived-in look.

Yes sir!

A lived in look!

Dandy

#135 ~ Test, Adjust, Test, Adjust, Repeat

 Making the Necessary Adjustments to Help Make № 135 a Reliable Runner.

In the last post about № 135 we were trying to troubleshoot why it couldn't negotiate the left-hand turns.

After determining that more weight was needed, it turned out that a little more work was also needed on the frame to allow the trucks to swing more freely.

After some work, № 135 successfully negotiates a left-hand turn.

Turning the power truck with my fingers, I could just make out that one corner of the truck was rubbing on the frame. Normally I would remove the truck before filing the frame, but an extra weight I had just installed made removing the truck a bit complicated. So I kept the truck in place and carefully cleaned up after the filing. I don't want all that debris getting into the gears!

With its trucks swinging more freely, № 135 successfully negotiates a left-hand turn with № 426 making an opposing left turn, while № 9 makes a right.

№ 135 is becoming a much better runner. Occasionally it will still derail while making a left turn, so more adjustments will be needed. In some places, I'm beginning to suspect that the track itself may be the culprit and that it is what needs adjusting.

It's a constant battle: run, troubleshoot, adjust; run, troubleshoot, adjust; run, troubleshoot, adjust. Slowly but surely, things keep getting better and better.

And then one fine day, it'll all be perfect!

Yes sir! Perfect!

Dandy

AshNoir & Chill

 A Short Video Featuring the Recently Completed Watts Building and the Grand Union Intersection

My photo of the completed model with a little help with the atmosphere from PixVerse ai.

The Video series chronicling the modifying of the Walthers Ashmore Hotel Kit to resemble San Diego's Watts building has wrapped up over on the Dan D. Sparks YouTube Channel. And for a 'Grand Finale' I made a Noirish 1 minute video featuring the building in its new location on the layout next to the Grand Union Intersection.

Above is the 1 minute 'sensationalized' YouTube version of the video. 

But for those of you who enjoyed the 3 minute finale in Part 10 of the series, here it is as a stand alone video exclusively on this blog (though I reserve the right to make it public in the future). This is the slower, all noir version:

The electrical arching in this video was unintentional. I didn't notice it until I was editing the video. I'm not sure what happened there. Something must have gotten on the contact wire. But I liked it so much that I added the appropriate 'zzzap!' sound effect for it.

I hope you enjoy!

Yes sir! 

"Zzzap!"

Dandy

Backesto Block Bldg ~ Grey Area

 What Color Was the Backesto Building?

Studying Historic Paint Color Charts and Deciphering Black and White Photographs for Color Information.

There won't be a definitive answer as to what the color of this building was. So I'm going to have to make an educated guess.

The Latest Historic Colors.

By Bernard Gagnon - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25747618

Tan-grey with white trim and blue-grey accents. Despite using historical colors, I don't believe these are the original colors of the building. Grey is a very trendy color these days (Millennial Grey) for clothes, cars, houses, etc. So the owners, wanting to attract tenants, have pushed the colors toward grey. The designer as well seems to have made some artistic choices such as the corner pilasters being the same color as the main body of the building but with the 'unexpected' white accent in the mid-section. Also the dark blue grey accents below the windows doesn't seem to be a historically accurate choice either.

By David Lyman - Backesto Block Building c1980s

Light tan with dark tan trim and oxide red accents.  Here is a photo of the building I shot some time in the 1980s.  It appears to me that the buildings of the Gaslamp Quarter during this time were a bit over-painted. Very colorful.

But What Color WAS the Building?

Somebody knows. But I don't know that somebody.  Looking at historic photographs though I can glean some clues.  Such as...

The building was definitely two-tone. In this 1910 photo the frieze (facia?) and cornice appear lighter than the body of the building.

In this (unfortunately low rez) photo the corner pilaster and quite possibly to window hoods also appear lighter than the facade. Also notice that the recesses of the corner pilaster are not painted a contrasting color as they are in the 1980's color photo.

And finally, the window frames are clearly a dark color which was common in that era.

So my takeaway from the old photographs are a light facade with a lighter trim and dark window frames.

Historic Colors

Looking at a lot of historic color charts as well as restored historic buildings I have a pretty good idea of what the colors were being used back then.  So using this knowledge I'm able to formulate a reasonable color scheme for this model:

 

Cream Body

White Trim

Oxide Red Accents.

Yes sir!

A reasonable color scheme!

Dandy

#135 ~ Right Turns Only

No. 135 runs like a dream—until it meets a left-hand curve.

After a fair bit of troubleshooting, adjusting, and modifying, I’ve finally made some progress. The car can now negotiate the right-hand curves without much trouble.

But the left-hand curves? That’s a whole different story.

#135 runs beautifully in most respects, it’s smooth, steady, and reliable. It just refuses to cooperate when it comes to left-hand turns.

To get a better look at what was going on, I set up a camera trackside and ran the model past it. Watching the footage back gave me a clearer picture of the problem:

What I’m seeing is the car starting to climb the rails on those left-hand curves. That leads me to think a bit more weight might help keep it grounded and tracking properly.

The challenge is figuring out where to put that weight. I’ve already packed quite a bit into the roof, and I’d really prefer not to load up the passenger area if I can avoid it. So now it’s a matter of getting creative and finding a solution that works without compromising the look of the model.

But that’s part of the fun, right?

Yes sir! ~ It's all part of the fun!

Dandy

Two Building Builds!

 I've Been a Busy Boy!

Busy with Blog Posts, Recording YouTube Process Videos and Building out the Layout.

The Backesto Block building (pictured left) is being chronicled here on this blog, while the Watts Building (far right) is being featured in videos over on the Dan D. Sparks YouTube channel.

San Diego & Southeastern #107 rolls into a bustling downtown San Diego scene.

The full scene set up. Cobbling together what I had on hand, I was able to create a pretty nice scene. This shot was taken from the tripod at the front of the layout.

On the left is the Backesto Block, scratch-built using 3D printed parts. In the center is my Bank of Santa Monica model, originally built years ago as a kitbash of Walthers Merchant Row II—it fit the space perfectly, so back into service it went. On the right is the Walthers Ashmore Hotel, finished to resemble the Watts Building in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.

Autos come from a variety of manufacturers.

SD&SE #107 is a Suydam PE 414 model, backdated to its original San Diego appearance.

A Little Whimsy. And for fun, there’s a couple dashing across the boulevard—actually a dancing pair of figures from Preiser!

So yes… lots of entertainment coming from ol’ Dan D Sparks.

Yes sir~ lots of entertainment!

Dandy