Turnouts Turnouting

 These were snap switches for so long that its actually nice to watch them throw in a more prototypical fashion:

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Yes sir! 

Nice to watch.

Dandy

Servoed

 Replacing all the old NJ International Snap Turnout Machines with Servos.

Lit! Turnouts installed and wired to the control panel.

    Last time I had just finished fabricating a disconnect cable between the layout and control panel. Next came installing this connector connection. This was much more difficult since each wire is a custom length between the connector and the servo. 

    Adding a disconnect cable between the layout and the control panel really created a lot of extra work for me. But I've gotten quite good at making a Lineman Splice!

The servos were mounted simply with a piece of Double Sided Mounting Tape. We'll see how that works out. If its a problem I'll use some sort of mounting bracket. 

    Spaghetti Bowl 2021. Servos only require 3 wires each for control and feedback compared to the NJ Internationals each needing 9 wires!  I thought the servos replacing the switch machines would clear up some of those wires, but those block occupancy detectors and street lamps have added quite a bit more wires.

    As each servo was installed and wired it was connected to the OctoIII for centering and alignment. I had to move the OctoIII from its original position since the plugs on some of the pushbuttons were resting on it.  But its still not right- its time to build yet another control center! 

I also added a steel ring as an anchor for the cable wires so should the cable get yanked it doesn't tear out the OctoIII.  I hope that doesn't happen, but should it, I hope it works!

I'm still fine tuning and working out some bugs with all this. But once that's done the turnouts will then be programed for DCC control. 

Yes Sir! Programed for DCC control!

Dandy

Control Panel ~ Cable Provider

 Constructing a Cable to Connect the Control Panel to the Layout.

A quick disconnect cable will allow the control panel to be removed from the layout to ease the transporting of the layout.

Recently I have installed the Octocoder and Singlet servo decoder and controllers to the control panel. Now I need to wire the controllers to the turnout servos on the layout. This is what this cable will be for.

This is the 37 pin twist-on cable connector that I'll be using for the cable. I'll only be using 24 of the pins for the turnout control. The remaining pins will be used for anything else on the layout that needs to connect to the control panel such as the on/off switch for the streetlights.

But first- I need to mount the connector to the layout. So I fabricated this wooden mount that will mount under the layout. The small part of the connector (center) fits into the hole in the mount and screws on. Wires from the servos (and anything else) connect to those pins. The larger part of the connector (right) twists on to it.

Now comes the fun part:

Soldering on the servo wires. But here's the problem. Whoever originally bought this connector installed the pins before the wires were soldered on (I got this connector second or third hand). So I have to solder the wires on in very tight quarters.

Dense. My first try I started with pin #1. But after the first row of wires were installed I wasn't able to access the second row. So I de-soldered the wires and started again. This time I started with the last pin and worked backwards. Which worked just fine. But keeping track of what wires are where is now a challenge!

Gold pins. According to the NASA tutorial I watched on soldering connector pins, the gold from the pins need to be removed first. Which I tried but failed at. But I'm not building a rocket ship- my layout isn't going to be exposed to the extreme conditions of avionics, so I decided to just leave the gold. A stripe of melted gold can be seen in the solder in the photo on the left. Hopefully this won't come back to bite me. If one of those wires detach from the center of the wire bundle there isn't room to solder it back on. Unless maybe I can fit my resistance soldering electrodes in there like this cool "old school" video demonstrates.

A Pin Designation Chart to help keep track of what wires go where. The turnouts are named (e.g. 1AR = 1st turnout, Block "A", Right turn) that coincide with their names with the Railroad & Co program. And where on the Octocoder the wires plug in to.:

And we got a cable! It's kind of messy, so....

Tucking the wires into this Split Wire Loom should make it all neat.

Much better. Let's plug it in...

Under the layout shot. Success- It's in there! But the cable is only half of it. Now comes wiring the receptacle. The servo wires will radiate out from here to the turnouts as they are installed. A lot of work that will never be seen. But it will be felt. Each trolley navigating its own route should be very cool to see.

Yes sir! 

Very cool to see.

Dandy

DCC Turnout Control

 With the Success of Automating the Control of the Streetcars, I'm Moving Ahead with the Automation of Route Control.

This means replacing the old NJ International Twin Coil 'Snap' Switch Machines with Servos and Decoders.

Tam Valley's Singlet II Servo Decoder with Servo oughta do it.  I have 8 turnouts on the layout so to drive all these servos I will use...

    Tam Valley Depot Octopus with OctoCoder. The Octopus allows for the manual control of the turnouts while the Octocoder allows Loconet to communicate to the servos decoders which will make computer control of the turnouts possible.  I lucked out as one of these setups will power up to 8 Singlets. 

Control panel with controllers installed. It's not lit up yet since I haven't installed the servo's yet.

    The instructions state that its best for the input wires to be short and the servo wires to be long. So I installed the Octopus inside the control panel next to the servo controllers.

    Under the layout, DCC turnout control will simplify this wiring substantially when I replace the twin-coil switch machines (four of which are visible in this shot) with servos. Each servo will have just 3 wires compared to the 7 required for each of these machines! The capacitor on the lower left will also be eliminated. The cable left of center is DCC from the command station to the overhead trolley wires and BDL168s block occupancy detectors. A couple of wires from this will go back to the Octocoder allowing for Loconet communication with the turnouts. The twin cables in the center was the turnout wiring to the old DC control panel. These will be replaced by a removable cable from the new control panel for the servo wires.

    The control panel is built to be removeable so that the layout can be more easily moved. So a connector is needed for the cable from the control panel to the servos. John McWhirter was generous enough to gift me this one (Thanks John!). Wires from the Octopus will connect to the large end of this. The small end is attached under the layout and wires from the servos will connect to it.

Alright- I've got a lot of dewiring and new wiring to do. So lets fire up the soldering iron and get to it!

Yes sir! Get to it!

Dandy

New Auxiliary Control Panel

A Quick and Dirty Control Panel for the New DCC Turnout Controls.

The old DC NJ International Turnout Machines are being replaced by Tam Valley Depot Singlet DCC Decoder and Servo Drivers. So as a result a new control panel is required for the Fascia Decoders.

Control Panels are way easier to make these days with a computer and printer compared to the old mask and paint method.

This new panel is drawn with the free vector graphics program Inkscape. This time I included labeling for the electrical isolated blocks as well as a letter designation for each of the four city blocks.

The drawing was then printed out and glued to 1/8" Masonite Board. And then drilled to accommodate the Servo Decoders. Done! Easy peasy. Well... except now comes the wiring!

This new auxiliary panel provides a manual way to control the turnouts since primary control of the layout will be controlled by the computer. But I know computers, and my experience with computers has taught me that a manual alternative would be a wise thing. Yes sir! A wise alternative!

Dandy

The Rise and Fall of Tarnation

Construction Begins in Earnest on the Oil Drilling Module, but then Stalls because the Fates had Different Plans!

The big layout of the Southern California Traction Club is a magnificent layout with its City quarter, Suburban quarter, Industrial quarter, and Country quarter. Naturally I want to build some modules for the layout too. So I designed a few, then decided to start in on this one first for the Industrial quarter.

Remember this building?:

The Tarnation Supply Co. warehouse was the first structure that I built for the module. Its location can be seen on the plan and historical photo.

Then construction began on the module:

The module was built to regular HO modular standards: 1x3s with 2'x4' Homasote.

Cork roadbed glued and pinned into place.

The turnout was located first since its placement is critical having to fit between tanks and avoiding having its frog in the road crossing.

SCTC club member George Jones rasping the cork so as to bring the siding track below grade.

It is prototypical practice to have the sidings below grade. One of the reasons is so that cars sitting on the siding won't accidentally roll onto the mainline.

After the flex track was installed, the next step was to locate the main road. Thin strips of wood (paint stirrers) were used as forms for the road. I then mixed approximately a 50/50 mix of sifted gravel and Durhams water putty and spread it into the form.

After the mixture had set up a bit but was still soft, I used a vehicle to imprint some ruts in the road.

A small glimpse of what could have been. 

Here is a test shot I took to see how things were looking. But that was as far as work ever progressed on the module. The module has become a victim of progress.

The City Quarter of the Southern California Traction Club by far attracts the most attention and comments. Visitors are always crowded around the City marveling at the cars navigating through the steep canyons of the tall buildings. It was decided to extract the City Quarter from the main layout and expand on it making it a layout all in itself. It has been exhibited at a few shows now with great success. I'll explain more in a future post, but its proven to have been a very good direction for the club to grow.

So I don't know what the future of the module is. Besides the club moving into a new direction, there are exciting new projects in the works that have now captured my imagination and enthusiasm.

Too bad. This module would have been spectacular. Yes sir. It would have been spectacular.

Dandy

Operating System

Just a quick shot of the temporary control panel for the layout.

This simple set up is what I used while building the layout. I didn't want to invest any more money into the layout until I knew if it was going to work or not. So I used basic DC and a control panel built the old fashioned way:

Masonite cut to size.
Spray paint line color (cream).
Use tape to mask off route.
Spray paint main color (green).
Peel off tape revealing line color.
Drill for and install push buttons and indicator lights.
Dry transfers for street names.

These days its so much easier to build a control panel by designing one on a computer and simply printing it out and gluing it onto Masonite or Acrylic. Or, with the capabilities of DCC, a lot of folks are foregoing with control panels all together.

Electrical blocks are indicated (along with the direction of travel) by the gaps in the lines. So as you can see, this layout will eventually be able to accommodate a lot of cars!

These buttons control the NJ International switch machines. The switch machines have a bank of electrical tabs that power the indicator lights in the control panel. This has proven to be most troublesome and are the cause of almost all electrical shorts. Since the layout has proven itself and actually works, The NJ International switch machines are going to be replaced with servos which require a different type of switch. So like I said, this control panel is temporary. Yes sir. Its only temporary.

Dandy

Repairing, Upgrading, Improving

Now that the layout is running regularly, the weak spots are making themselves known.

Specifically, my homemade turnouts are failing. Originally I just soldered the turnout rail directly on top of the post of the turnout link. But it turns out that those kind of forces are too much for the solder alone. So the engineering dept came up with a nub and groove design. The post has a rectangular nub filed on top and the rail has a matching notch. Then this interlocking design is soldered together. And that worked fine… for a while. But now with more frequent use, the hard snapping of the NJ International switch machines weaken that solder joint. And one by one, they are popping off again.

Above. This is the latest turnout point to pop off. You can see the nub and groove design (and I see that plaster from street paving got into the rail web). John McWhirter from the Southern California Traction Club suggested that I make a sleeve that contains the assembly, holding it all in place. Which I quickly dismissed as it would interfere with the flange-way.  But the more I thought about it the more it made sense.  So I thought I would give it a try.

This is what the engineering dept. came up with. A tube which slips over the post and is notched so that the rail seats inside. The sides of this notch fit snug against the base of the rail and is low enough to clear the wheel flanges. Simple.

The whole assembly is soldered together. So now, with this new nub and groove and sleeve design, things should be a lot more solid. (Eventually the old NJ Internationals will be replaced with the more gentle servo turnout motors, that should help too). The plaster was removed from the rail as well and everything is clean and shiny! We are ready to re-install.

The top of the hole is drilled out to accommodate the wider diameter sleeve, and the turnout point is installed.

A quick check to make sure everything is in gauge and... are you kidding me! We are out of gauge! You know, I noticed that the cars were bumping over some of the turnouts in the videos, this is probably why.

Yep, the hole is off center. How do you move a hole over?

The old hole is filled in with a same diameter dowel. Now I have a clean slate to start over with.

Then a carefully positioned pilot hole is drilled. That hole is widened with consecutively larger bits until the correct size is achieved. (This, by-the-way, is a real pain with the overhead in the way!) The turnout point is re-installed. The gauge is checked. And...

... we are back in business! Better and stronger than ever before. Yes sir! Better and stronger than ever before!

Dandy