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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9272 Posts |
 Posted - 11/17/2011 : 11:16:48 AM
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| That really looks great Bill! As Joe said, the trackwork flows very nicely and it's an interesting looking 'junction'. Trains should look really good flowing through all of that. Nicely done! |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3665 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2011 : 2:29:36 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkF
That really looks great Bill! As Joe said, the trackwork flows very nicely and it's an interesting looking 'junction'. Trains should look really good flowing through all of that. Nicely done!
Thanks Mark. Funny you should mention 'junction'. Tower SS244 "Hartford" is going to be modeled here and a tower/operator position would be available during op sessions. There was a junction here at one time that routed passenger and freight to Springfield, MA. and Willamantic, CT (and other points)from here. I am modeling that tower to. That person would be responsible for routing the trains and taking care of the industries in the area. |
Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
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Dutchman
Administrator
USA
23230 Posts |
Posted - 11/17/2011 : 3:59:59 PM
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Wow, lots of progress, Bill. I think that this photo shows that nice flow of track that the guys are talking about.
Very nice indeed. |
Bruce
Modeling the railroads of the Jersey Highlands in HO and the logging railroads of Pennsylvania in HOn3 |
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Tim Kerkhoff
Fireman
USA
5869 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2011 : 04:07:36 AM
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| Nice looking trackwork, looks like a civil engineer has been at work. Those sweeping curves are always a favorite, nice work. |
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Harsco
Fireman
USA
1101 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2011 : 07:00:11 AM
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| Bill...it took a bit of staring and ruminating, but I think I figured out that those round disks in the center of your track are screws with washers to "clamp" the glued track down, correct? If so...that's a great idea <vigorously slapping head>.... |
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3665 Posts |
Posted - 11/18/2011 : 11:01:54 AM
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Thanks Bruce and Tim. I'm not a civil engineer but I like sweeping curves where I can get them in too! I actually deviated from the track plan for this and removed one track. It was just too 'busy' here and didn't flow. Removing that one track alignment really helped.
Rick, You are correct. (You can stop slapping your head now) Doogh! I had that same reaction about half way through my layout build. I got tired of having to poke holes in the ties and hold the track down with track nails. Because that means having to fill all the little holes or cover them somehow in the ties. I hit upon the idea of using #4 x 1/2" Phillips head wood screws and #80? washers to 'clamp' the track down with while the adhesive caulk dried. The screws are driven in between the ties and just enough to see the track 'seat' when the glue gets pushed out from under the ties. This works well with hom-a-sote or Calf roadbed Hom-a-bed which is what I use. I don't know if it will work with cork because I don't use it. Anyway, I space them about 3 to 5 inches apart, closer to 3" on curves, and just remove them after the adhesive has dried. You can leave them in until the glue has dried clear in hours, overnight or days. It doesn't matter. What you get are small holes that fill in with the ballast and no nail holes in your ties! Perfect solution! I got 200 of each and that will clamp down about 15 feet of double track with 3" spacing between the screws. Its really pretty slick. |
Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
Edited by - nhguy on 11/18/2011 11:03:48 AM |
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Twist67
Engine Wiper
Germany
118 Posts |
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3665 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2011 : 1:24:47 PM
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Thanks Chris for the comments. The screw and washer method works well. I used a cordless drill on slow speed with a Black & Decker (or similar) drill screw combo tool with a smaller Phillips bit than a P2 normal size. You DO NOT have to pre-drill the screws hole. They will not hold if you do. When you screw them in go slow until you get the hang of it. You don't want to over screw them in or they wont hold. If you do, and it over spins, start a new hole. You just want ti see the glue squeeze out from under the tie. That will tell you it seated down in the glue. They will fill in with the ballast and your ties won't have holes in them.
Note the size difference of the Phillips bits I think it's a P3 size
The magnetized bit holds both the screw and washer
The screw and washer is driven snug, not overtightened
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Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
Edited by - nhguy on 11/20/2011 1:38:42 PM |
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Dutchman
Administrator
USA
23230 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2011 : 5:55:18 PM
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Great minds think alike, Bill.
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Bruce
Modeling the railroads of the Jersey Highlands in HO and the logging railroads of Pennsylvania in HOn3 |
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dlwrailfan1
Crew Chief
USA
574 Posts |
Posted - 11/20/2011 : 11:44:47 PM
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| Great idea Bill and let me congratulate you on those nice sweeping curves. [:-thumbu][:-thumbu][:-thumbu] |
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MarkF
Engineer
USA
9272 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2011 : 12:46:14 PM
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| I'm curious why the screws to hold the track down. I use weights. Specifically, I have a collection of old window weights (the one that used to be used in the old wooden windows as counter weights). I glue the track down and carefully place them on the track. When dry, I simply lift them off! What am I missing? |
Mark
See my homepage at http://home.comcast.net/~prrndiv/
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Dutchman
Administrator
USA
23230 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2011 : 2:30:06 PM
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| Mark, speaking for myself and not Bill, I use the screws/washers to 'live with' a track plan for a while before adding roadbed and ballast. If I end up wanting to change the plan, I simply remove the screws and make the changes. In the meantime, the screws keep everything stable enough to support operating sessions. |
Bruce
Modeling the railroads of the Jersey Highlands in HO and the logging railroads of Pennsylvania in HOn3 |
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3665 Posts |
Posted - 11/21/2011 : 5:00:17 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by MarkF
I'm curious why the screws to hold the track down. I use weights. Specifically, I have a collection of old window weights (the one that used to be used in the old wooden windows as counter weights). I glue the track down and carefully place them on the track. When dry, I simply lift them off! What am I missing?
Because I don't have weights. Although I have used vegetable cans. Screws are cheap and It just goes faster when using flex track to me. |
Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
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nhguy
Fireman
USA
3665 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 02:27:50 AM
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OK guys. I'm hoping for some help here. I purchased a brand new Logic Rails Technologies Grade Crossing Pro module, bell module and Tomar double sided crossing lights. It won't work. The LED's are fine, the bell module is fine, the GCP won't work properly. No flashing of the lights and the bell module stays on all the time. You put it in the SETUP mode the the red LED on the board will not go out. I tried shorting out the photo cells and the red LED will not go out. That is supposed to troubleshoot the photo cells to see if they are good. This test indicated they are. Can you test them with a meter? How?
It says the chip might be bad. New unit-not impressed. Has anyone install one of these that might be able to help me out here? |
Bill Shanaman
Superintendent, New Haven RR in the 1948 to 1952 era
PMRA President 2013-14, OpSIG Member
NCE User Since 1999
Sugar City, Colorado |
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HobbyDr
Engine Wiper
USA
230 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2011 : 07:27:08 AM
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The photo cell in this application is essentially a resistor. Do an ohms test. The difference between covered or not should be pretty dramatic. If there is not much change, it could be the photo cell. (I'm not counting on it though.)
Don |
Visit HobbyDr's Workbench http://hobbydr.blogspot.com/ |
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Topic |
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New Haven RR Constuction
