Freelance 00 layout

Two ratio kits combined with what was salvaged from the previous layout have been assembled and placed on the platforms to allow for wiring of station lights and buildings using a mixture of DCC Concepts station lights and LEDS. 
At this point all the station buildings are movable - the ratio kits held upright by the wiring for the LEDS

Some photos of progress -  ballasting still to be done… :roll:

( someone has thrown a luggage trolley on the track- fortunately platform 3 is not operational  ;-) )



Newsagent lease has been renewed and he will soon be back in business  


I'm now working under the bench to connect up the wiring to  ESU Switchpilot accessory decoders so that they can be controlled by via the computer

Looking good Dave…..but please dont mention Ballast!

Is the plan to hook up the lights with the TC Clock?

Cheers

John

Thanks John
At present I am using accessory on/off switches but yes eventually I will incorporate them into the clock 
I also have pedestrian crossings and shop lights that flash plus an assortment of lights for cars that will keep me busy.
I also have a bicycle with lights !!  
All the stuff I have accumulated over the past ten years!!  Finally enough time to incorporate into the layout

Best wishes

In post 63 I reviewed speedcat rolling road. Today I took a class 37 fitted with a Lenz silver decoder and ran the speed profiling of the loco on both Train Controller (TC) and Speedcat. The results where to say the least disappointing.

This is the profile from the rolling road - note how the speed flattens at the last three speed steps


This is the profile using the train on the track under control of TC


Whilst the profile is reasonable at the lower speeds, its the top speeds that cause me concern - the rolling road records a maximum of 54kph whilst on the track the loco is recording 77kph ( scale speeds of course).
Based on this test I will be using the old method for some time to come.. :sad: :sad:

That is really weird……..I automatically assumed that speed cat would produce results that were almost identical to the conventional method but with improved accuracy and consistency…..and quicker.
Clearly not the case……any ideas what may have caused this? Have you tried some single speed tests to check against the graphs? The max speed variation is bizarre particularly when the speed cat thinks max speed is achieved at step 24:shock:

Perhaps a test with another loco?

Cheers

John

Thanks for your comments John.
I have tried single speed tests at step 28 but the results were the same. Jury is now out for now.
Fortunately I had already decided to re-profile my locos and in some instances upgrade the decoders so I will find out shortly whether it was a one off or a major set back to my plans.

Servicing Locos


Now that the layout is almost fully operational again, with the tracks cleaned after approximately 30 months without being used. I spent some time today retrieving locos from the "shed" ( storage boxes ) and discovered that most are in need of a good servicing. Whilst the wheels are mostly clean, the majority of them do not run as smoothly as I require - especially the "kettles"
What do club members recommend?  - apart from checking the contacts should I be giving them another run in on the rolling road ? 
How often should you service your locos?

John ,
I'm not sure if its the upgrade to Train Controller but I have also noticed that most of the fleet will need to be speed profiled again. Maybe I am getting fussier as I get older. Checking my records some of the locos were profiled ten years ago!!

[user=540]gdaysydney[/user] wrote:

Servicing Locos


Now that the layout is almost fully operational again, with the tracks cleaned after approximately 30 months without being used. I spent some time today retrieving locos from the "shed" ( storage boxes ) and discovered that most are in need of a good servicing. Whilst the wheels are mostly clean, the majority of them do not run as smoothly as I require - especially the "kettles"
What do club members recommend?  - apart from checking the contacts should I be giving them another run in on the rolling road ? 
How often should you service your locos?

John ,
I'm not sure if its the upgrade to Train Controller but I have also noticed that most of the fleet will need to be speed profiled again. Maybe I am getting fussier as I get older. Checking my records some of the locos were profiled ten years ago!!

Hi Dave

In all honesty I rarely reprofiled locos unless they started playing up…….until the introduction of V9 which included enhancements to braking and speed control….but only if you reprofile!!!

Since V9 I have been progressively re profiling all my locos…..there is a little box you need to check in each locos profile screen before profiling to activate these enhancements

As far as general maintenance is concerned……When a previously reliable loco stutters I generally just clean the wheels and check the pick ups…..I dont have a schedule based on running hours although Iprobably should

Best wishes 

John

Slow progress on the ballasting of trackwork :roll:.


Meanwhile…. two night shots of Notmutley Station
  Passengers patiently waiting for the night train to Paddington  to arrive on platform 2.
 The local trains that arrive and depart on platforms 5 and 4 have  stopped for the night and the normally busy platforms are now empty. A  lone pannier is waiting beside platform 4 for clearance to Laira

Having had my quota of ballasting for the day I decided to continue with the signalling on the layout.
As you may recall form earlier posts I am using NCE's Lite It decoders to contol the signals on the layout and that they cater for a  positive common and unlike other more complex decoders there is no CV to change this to accomodate a negative common.
So all my signals, which are British outline and are wired with a negative common, have to be modified by rewiring the LEDs.
The exception to this are my old double header Berko signals that have two common wires and hence do not need rewiring however with eight wires coming out of the base I was finding it difficult to sort out which wires belonged to each signal.
That was until I had a Eureka moment - by pulling the offset signal off its mounting and gently pulling the cables up from the post ( not too much though!!) it was easy to see that the shorter leads belonged to that signal - that just left the working out  which of the common wires, that are both white, was the red signal and putting a dob of nail varnish on the end to identify it. Then repeat the exercise for the other signal.

Very ingenious:thumbs

I am envious of your signalling Dave……my cosmetic semaphores are a real let down.:oops:
Will yours be all hooked up to Train Controller?

Best wishes

John

Thanks for your kind comments John.

All my lights will be controlled by RR&Co although they can be controlled via the digital command station directly using the short loco addresses. (You may recall my posts on the Lite It decoders). As I will have about 20 signals its easier to have them computer controlled and this provides the additional challenge of getting the logic correct for the signal triggers.
 Lines that are one directional are a relative breeze but I am still working on the signalling for the lines where trains can enter from either direction.. :roll:
 I currently have one operational semaphore on the layout that is also controlled by RR&Co. Its a single home signal which has a wire running down into the board and connected to an ESU servo motor. The wire is highlighted below.  These servos are very flexible and you can program in the start and end of the movement and also the speed. I got the idea from Max who was looking at alternatives for point motors. ( He rejected these as they were not silent !)

The motor itself is driven by SwitchPilot - an ESU decoder which can drive up to 4 motors -currently I have only one attached as you will be able to make out form this under the bench photo. I am not the neatest on the wiring front so the wiring looks more complicated given the wiring mess !
The SwichPilot requires a seperate 12-15v power supply and connections to the BUS. I have attached mine to a thin hinged board which is secured in the up position when not being worked on by an old ice cream stick that rotates around on a screw with the help of two washers !!


The signal itself is an old Hornby model so no built in LEDs such as those found in the Dapol DCC ssemaphore signals.
It adds a bit of character to the layout and I intend to add three more on the "remote part " of the layout where time has not caught up with the signalling.

I had to design my own semaphore for RR&Co  as shown in the two screens shots below
   

Have I whetted your appetite enough for you to give it a go? 

:Red Card:It's a no no  Stop tempting me Dave!
Actually thats a very helpful explanation and I am now about to add the idea to an increasingly long list of projects……..any minute now Petermac will mention sound! :shock:

Seriously thanks for the post….its given me something to think about.

Cheers

John 

The night scene photos are particularly effective. Looks great 

[user=2057]TeaselBay[/user] wrote:

The night scene photos are particularly effective. Looks great 

Many thanks for your comments Chris.

 S’mae Dave

  Been out of action for a bit - yes, the night shots are really very good – I’m a big fan of operating a layout with just the lights of the layout – creates a completely different feel to things.

  I’ve got to admit that I have no idea what you and John are doing with all this computery electronics stuff, but I had to smile when you referred to your wiring as 'the wiring mess'…. That’s not messy! … this, on the other hand….


  
  .. IS!!


  It is the first thing folk see as they enter the loft, the underside of Hooton station…. Now that is properly messy! – the only way I know, I’m afraid. To be fair I have attempted to bring some order to the chaos by using a colour coding system for the wires (which may have a few variations) – and I have tagged everything, at least once, at some point.

As to signals, for me they make a layout – just so long as they work – however that may be.
  
Cofion

  Keith
   
   
   
  

Many thanks for your post Keith - I feel more relaxed about my wiring now although I suspect that by the time I have completed wiring up the lighting and signals it will be a contender for the "messy wiring " award  

I too set off with all the good intentions of having a colour coded system but found that I would be halfway through a job and run out of a certain colour but had reels of other colours sitting idle. _  So I feel foul of the " I'll use another colour for now and replace it later" approach  :oops:

Wow good work, I hate wiring but it’s a necessary evil

  Sorry Dave, I’ve got that award booked for at least the next ten years!

  The beauty of having so many switches – I gave up counting after 250 – with so many different functions is that every colour available gets used. My problem was the time between doing the fiddle yard board and ramp, to the mid-level board and ramp and then the top level board was such that I confused a couple of the colours…. But I think I’ve got it sorted now….. well, I've noted the differences, it's on a piece of paper…. somewhere….

  Keith
  

MICRO LEDS


Micro LEDS  are relatively cheap and normally come in strips. The down side is that they are fiddly to solder.

For Australian members who are thinking of adding lighting to their layouts I found these at my local Bunnings Store

For $10 you get 100 warm white micro LEDS that, with stiff wire already attached, can be cut up and will be ideal for lighting railway station buildings  and houses. For you money you also get 3 batteries and a battery holder - although I will be using the 5 volts supply from stationary decoders on Notmutley.