GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

Hi Brian

So good to hear from you. Glad you like Granby's progress.  I have been meaning to post on your layout thread but I was worried I might interrupt your track laying. :lol:

You have a great memory…..I am, indeed, almost all Lenz but I have had to get some different point decoders because Lenz arent great with stall motors.

As you can see from my reply to Dave I am using the Fleischmann Turncontrol unit as an interface with the computor……it works very well. I am so glad I dumped the Heljan……running a succession of locos through the turntable is such fun……….you can……….almost…….do it without checking. How does Itrain work with the Fleischmann turntable?

Best wishes

John

Hi John
The Fleischmann turntable works very well with itrain its fully supported and the LDT stuff does the business aswell but took my thinking head to work it all out. I think your controller looks a lot better probably a lot easier to set up i dont think that was available when i bought my turntable. I to have a spare Heljan turntable i seem to remember there were a few things on the web about converting analouge ones to dcc but seeing Pete Woggas Fleischmann one working made me decide to go for that.

Brian

Pete went down the Heljan route as well but very quickly replaced it. I wish I had followed his example! I wasted nigh on four years trying to get the Heljan to talk nicely to RR&Co
Do you ever hear from Pete? I lost touch a few years ago.

Cheers

John

I have attempted to make contact for a few weeks now John. The telephone number i had for him is now a dead number but i think that mobile had something to do with his work.
I tried sending him a message through Skype but no answer as yet. Last night i searched and found he has a facebook account i have sent a message on that but no answer on that at present.
Mind you if he anything like me i perhaps only log on to facebook once a week.

Brian

If you make contact do give him my best wishes.It would be great to hear from him

Cheers

Itried unsuccessfully to contact Pete via his email address last year - if you track him down please pass on my regards as well.

It was make and mend last week……or more accurately make, test,test again and mend. 

I have been muttering about bedding in the shed for a few weeks now

Here are the rear foundations and partially installed edge trim which will hopefully prevent damage to rather fragile paper vents





The unsightly gaps between buildings and base result from not being able to properly support the ply extension I had to add when I changed turntables.

Its unrealistic to bed the shed in permanently……inevitably there will be the occasional loco that will fall asleep in the shed.

The change in exit track geometry resulted in very tight clearances on some entrances. So the primary challenge was not so much cosmetic, but rather to ensure that when the shed has to be lifted clear it can be replaced very accurately.

I cut out, as best I could, 1mm card to precisely reflect the complex shape of the shed



The previous shed was completely floored. With a 3' foot viewing distance and narrow entrances it was barely, if at all, visible.  The continuous track infill created an additional and unnecessary operating hazard.

This time I adopted the philosophy of "what the eye cant see, the heart wont grieve about"
 


The rear edge of the narrow front foundations were laid to match up exactly with the rear of the front walls and have proved to be a very reliable placement guide

I sacrificed some track length to ensure I had reliable stop blocks



Using my Scalescene skills (and residual off cuts) the blocks are each made from 3 squares of 2mm card laminated together




Two pieces of foam line up with the buffers leaving enough clear space in between for the kadee coupler on the tender.

Not quite model of the year standard……..but quick to make and very robust.

The last job was to build the ballast up around the water columns and foundation edges.

! can now lift the building for maintenance and replace it with a great degree of certainty.However, I would much prefer not having to lift it ever! So lots of track cleaning and testing.

When operating, the locos leave the bridge at a scale 7mph and slow to 5 mph on entering the shed. The stop markers inside the shed are set so the loco just touches the buffers and then stops. I dont want them driving into the buffers but nor do I want them to stop short because I need the next loco to stop close to the shed entrance to avoid any possibilty of fouling near the turntable

  Lots and lots of testing




I spent the best part of a morning running these guys back and forth until I was satisfied





The sharp eyed will notice a missing water column in the left foreground

Missing in action I am afraid. During the course of the morning I became an unwilling expert in stripping and assembling Mike's Models Water Columns.

I did mention previously that these delicate models were hostages to fortune:




This hobby sure teaches one patience!

 Still struggling with the Water Column otherwise the only thing that still needs to be done on the GWR shed is to refit the doors….all 12 of them

Best wishes to all

Patience indeed John, not to mention skill.

I think your robust buffer stops will do the job John, I have a few of those peco plastic buffer stops ,they fall apart if i look at them too hard.  Hopefully this will prove well worth your efforts . well done i say. :thumbs

Top work, John.   :thumbs

Motivation, combined with skill, greatly increased one's patience. You just know that it's going to do as you command. Resistance is futile!

A complex job well done John.

Best,

Bill

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

The superglue on the WC is setting,yet again,  as I write this. :lol: Shades of Robert the Bruce and his spider!

Cheers

John

Brave man John who is doing a great job there.
A question for you on each of your shed tracks do you have a single block for each track or even further does each track have separate blocks within each track for use with your railroad & Co ?


Brian

Hi John
I just love your attention to detail.  Everything just looks right as a whole, and then your eye catches all those little things, one after another and it looks so real.  I can smell the steam and coal smoke.  It has been a real pleasure reading your thread - thank you!!

Regards

Michael.

[user=2137]Briperran[/user] wrote:

Brave man John who is doing a great job there.
A question for you on each of your shed tracks do you have a single block for each track or even further does each track have separate blocks within each track for use with your railroad & Co ?


Brian

Thanks Brian :thumbs

Not sure about Itrain but with RR&Co you can really only move locos from block to block. The ability to move a loco within a block is quite limited .

So to move a loco in and out of the shed without involving the bridge is best accomplished with a two block set up on each shed track.

Only the block connecting with the bridge has a contact indicator…..RR&Co allows you to set up virtual indicators called flagmen……flagmen are triggered/activated by a specified event. They are very powerful and versatile tools…….so I use them to indicate occupancy and stop locos when they enter the shed blocks.

I think Itrain has something similar to flagmen?

Many years ago Chris did a detailed comparison of Itrain and Train Controller…….I will try and dig it out

Cheers


John

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

Hi John
I just love your attention to detail.  Everything just looks right as a whole, and then your eye catches all those little things, one after another and it looks so real.  I can smell the steam and coal smoke.  It has been a real pleasure reading your thread - thank you!!

Regards

Michael.

Hi Michael

Thats very kind of you……thank you.

I must admit to enjoying detailing and it is very gratifying when it all comes together to create a believable setting or cameo

So glad you enjoyed my scribbling

Regards

John
 

Hi John
Yes Itrain and r & co and co a similar in that way but of course Itrain is not as sophisticated.

I should have described my question better,what i was really asking in your case with your engine shed is each shed track you have got a single block or have you split each shed track into say 3 blocks each track?

I assume in r & co like Itrain you can have multiple feedbacks within a block for more precise control.


Brian

Hi Brian

The shed tracks are all divided into two separate blocks.

Yes you can have multiple indicators in a block although I only operate with one actual contact indicator per block. In blocks that end in a siding I often just use a virtual inducator

Cheers


John

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

Hi Brian

The shed tracks are all divided into two separate blocks.

Yes you can have multiple indicators in a block although I only operate with one actual contact indicator per block. In blocks that end in a siding I often just use a virtual inducator

Cheers


John

 

Thanks John when looking at your shed trackwork i did think you probably had a couple of blocks within each track area. when you say actual contact indicator i assume that is he same as what is called a feedback in Itrain in which each feedback goes to an LDT S88  Block occupancy unit in my case but i believe you use Lenz occupancy units

[user=2137]Briperran[/user] wrote:

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

Hi Brian

The shed tracks are all divided into two separate blocks.

Yes you can have multiple indicators in a block although I only operate with one actual contact indicator per block. In blocks that end in a siding I often just use a virtual inducator

Cheers


John

 

Thanks John when looking at your shed trackwork i did think you probably had a couple of blocks within each track area. when you say actual contact indicator i assume that is he same as what is called a feedback in Itrain in which each feedback goes to an LDT S88  Block occupancy unit in my case but i believe you use Lenz occupancy units

Hi Brian

I use Lenz LB101 Block Occupancy Detectors connected to Lenz R101 Feedback encoders. Very robust and reliable …….I guess at most two LB101s have gone down in 10 years:thumbs

I used the phrase "actual contact indicator" to describe the feedback from the Lenz system to differentiate from a virtual or computor driven indicator.

With RR&Co if  a current drawing vehicle is reported on a block then that indicator stays ON until current is no longer detected.

Perfect for 90% of the time but what happens when you want a loco to enter a block that is already occupied…….for coupling perhaps or to double head?

I guess you could install a second occupancy detector on a separately isolated section at the start of the block or use an infra red dot……..but thats a lot more expense

With RR&Co you can set up a virtual indicator (called a flagman) in the block. Brake and Stop markers can be associated with the flagman just like a regular contact indicator. The flagman is activated when the contact indicator for the preceding block is turned off ie when the new loco leaves that block and enters the block that is already occupied.

A picture is worth a thousand words




The Brake (Yellow) and Stop (Red) markers for the Flagman are on the left.

Its a very powerul tool so I just use a Flagmen as the sole indicator for the second block on each Shed Track. The  flagman  being turned on when the loco leaves the outer block and the contact indicatort turns off

 How does itrain handle locos entering an occupied block?

Bet wishes


John