A logging layout? Have you gone mad? No! I'm working on inspiration. Also, sign up for the Bay Area SIG meet!

It's been a while since I've posted and it may be quite a surprise to read that in the interim I have been making good progress on my logging layout!

What???

That makes no sense. This blog is about building the B&OCT in N scale.

Bear with me. 

The past year has been littered with a number of events that got me off my main thesis.

In November 2021, I had rotator cuff surgery. It was when I was spending hours icing my left shoulder that I took a dive down the Japanese railroad and model railroad rabbit hole on Netflix and YouTube. I have a layout plan in the works. 

I was making good progress in the shoulder surgery recovery, when in March 2022, I was hit by a car while riding my bike. That sent me back to the recuperation zone. I was not doing a whole lot of anything.

A cortisone shot in my right shoulder in early August accelerated my recovery. It opened the door for me to resume more than arm-chair model railroad activities. I participated in an ops session on the Central Vermont and discovered that my ops skills were horribly rusty. Nearly fossilized. I had to do something to rebuild those skills. It was embarrassing. 

Around this time, I started to work on the final testing of the Barr Staging. I was snake bit in that I could not find an Atlas locomotive in my roundhouse that could be used for that task. I had four locomotives ready at hand -- each one had some kind of problem. Fixing those turned out to be beyond my abilities. I needed some outside help. I got bogged down and lost momentum.

Concurrently, planning for the 2023 PCR San Francisco Bay Area Layout Design & Operations Weekend Meet was ramping up. I'm the clinics chair. 

With all this my the plate, the feeling was of shoveling sand against the tide and losing.

I needed a win. 

That's what brought me back to the long-idle HO logging layout. I originally pulled this 12-inch by eight-foot layout together in 2006 when living in an apartment after my first marriage fell apart. I have a thing for Shays. The pike would feature this locomotive engaged in slow-speed switching. Lots of fun to watch the operations and the locomotive do its thing.

The layout reached the final stages of track work. But, life interceded -- a new marriage, moving to a new house, raising kids, work, another layout (N scale), etc. 

The logging layout (seen on the lower right) once occupied the space where the shelves were installed on the far wall.

16 years later, the logging layout was occupying space intended for storage shelves in the garage. It had to be moved. It was put on shelving brackets that will not see B&OCT benchwork for years. That move brought the layout down to a more accessible level. And the lightbulb lit!!!

Here was my "WIN"! 

Could I get this in shape to host an ops session for the SIG meet? Possibly. 

My goal: create a good-enough layout that will be fun to operate. 

My favorite steam locomotive - the Shay - at rest on the locomotive service track.

I checked out the track and it was mostly working. There was one spot where the Shay regularly stalled and another where it regularly derailed. Both problems have been resolved. Check!

Looking down the length of the logging layout from the yard. This is a small, but busy railroad.

The hills are coming alive. A look down the layout from the log loading area. The aluminum foil tacked to the bottom of the above shelves will help reflect light from to-be installed valance lighting.  

How about the scenery? Initial landforms were in place and a first coat of Sculptamold was in place. This was a good base from which to start. I had plenty of scenery material on hand. Check!

How about structures? They need work. The basic forms are in pieces needing to be painted. Cold weather has temporarily shut down spraying operations. 

The ops plan? It was an idea in my head, not formally fleshed out. A couple of visits with Jim Radkey resulted in the creation of a challenging ops scheme. This should be a fun layout for one or two SIG meet operators. 

LET'S PAUSE FOR A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS:

The PCR and Layout Design Special Interest Group will be hosting a meet the weekend of Feb. 3-5, 2023. That will not interfere with the end of the NFL playoffs because the event will be held on the bye week between the conference championship playoff games and the Super Bowl. 

The meet will be hosted in person at the Golden State Model Railroad Club in Point Richmond, CA. On Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, the meet has a tour scheduled at the Richmond Pacific Railroad. That will be followed by a dinner featuring a presentation from Justin Fox, president of the Southern Pacific Retired Executives Club. 

Saturday, Feb. 4 will feature at day of clinics and a layout design challenge at the Club. This activity will be presented in person. It will also be available virtually for folks out of town or who are not comfortable coming to a large gathering. That will be followed by layout tours. Those attending in person will get a box lunch -- provided in the registration cost. 

Sunday, Feb. 5 is a day of operations.

The early-bird in-person price is $35.00 until January 1, and $40.00 after. In-person tickets include box lunch. Because of space limits at the museum, in-person attendance is limited.

The early-bird virtual price is $15.00 until January 1, and $20.00 after.

You can register here: http://www.bayldops.com/

Circling back -- how does this logging layout relate to the B&OCT in N Scale or the Takadanobaba in Alameda? I got some easy wins. The scenery is coming along. A number of easy detail projects are mostly done. The layout is workable. The model railroad juices are flowing. I'm more prepared to tackle those larger projects than I have been for a while. 

Hope to see you at the SIG meet.

I'm my own worst enemy!!

The process of building a model railroad has not been as linear as I had expected. There are numerous obstacles that present themselves.

Sometimes the obstacles are external, sometimes internal. 

Let's talk about the external ones: no power to the garage. Can’t do work. 

Nearly two weeks ago, the main circuit breaker to the garage tripped. I tried to reset it, but it would immediately trip. The fact that it was immediately tripping suggested either a bum breaker or some other source of an open circuit. But, I did not know how to diagnose or fix the problem. I’m not about to dive into fixing a 100 amp household circuit. That’s a task better left to a qualified professional I asked a friend to recommend an electrician.

Someone should be by next week. Hopefully, the problem will be easy to fix.

With power restored to the garage (and the irrigation and garden lighting systems) I can test the Barr staging and move on to building a helix. This “external” obstacle is pretty defined and definitely fixable. 

Internal obstacles are a worse problem. These are the roadblocks that I create. 

I’ve had an irrational fear of dealing with DCC. I think the concept is great. Yet, it's a mystery to me.  I have a Digitrax Zephyr system. Up to a point, it works well. I don’t think that Digitrax is the most user friendly system. This is not meant to be a rant against Digitrax, but rather a look at why I don’t roll up my sleeves and figure things out. I’m going to use a Digitrax Zephyr to run my HO logging layout. 

I’ll eventually install an NCE system for the n-scale layout. Meanwhile, I’m using Digitrax to test the layout. It’s doing the job. 

But, one of the things that I needed to do was connect it to my computer, so I can have a better look inside the Zephyr and inside the decoders in each locomotive. 

I have been testing the Barr Staging section track. I want to run more than one locomotive around -- in order to ensure that I have debugged the trackage for all locomotives, not just the primary test engine. The problem is that the slots were full on my Zephyr. The easiest way to solve that problem is to connect it to the computer. I have an old Acer designated for the job. But, it's clunky. Then I created a massive roadblock in my mind. This would be a hard task - given some of the issues with the Acer and the bias against Digitrax.

I could look for a DCC guru to help - but that’s hard to do in this Covid time. I decided to take the plunge and try to solve my problem. 

We took a family trip for a few days last week and I made myself a little DCC travel kit. A couple of locomotives, a test track and programming track, a locobuffer USB and my old Acer computer. 

I tried plugging everything together and firing up the older version of JMRI on my computer. Not much was happening. Then I did a quick search on YouTube and found help.

In about an hour and a half, I had downloaded the current version of JMRI and Java and followed the instructions and I was up and running. DCC is less scary for me now. I may even start installing decoders. Now, on to the testing.

This is not the first time I have created mountains out of molehills. I see that some of my other procrastination relates to these internal obstacles. 

Barr Yard Staging -- another step closer to completion

I'm trying to take a different approach to building a model railroad.  Speed of construction is not the goal. Precision of the finished product is.

As I have discovered in modelling N-scale -- the tolerances are more precise and there's less room for error. Much to my surprise I can work in this smaller scale. 

With this approach in mind, this summer has been consumed with putting the final touches on Barr Yard staging. This has involved hours of testing the track.

For the most part, the testing went smoothly. An eight-car freight train made more than 90 circuits of the staging yard. It found tight clearances with wiring drops, a turnout needing a guard-rail shim, a switch machine to switch linkage needing replacing.

The big fix centered around the entrance to staging track 9. As the train entered the track, I was mildly concerned about the freight cars snaking on to the track. 

I assembled a consist with full-length passenger cars -- and boy did I see the effect of an inadvertant S-curve.

The cars never uncoupled, but it didn't look good. This will be a covered section of layout, so I didn't want to leave any landmines.

A track re-alighnment was required. 

Cut out the right hand switch that created the curve , installed a lefty on an adjacent track. Carved out the cork to provide a channel for the throw rod. managed to correctly bend a throw rod on the first try, updated the arduino data file and things are back in action.  The white styrene rectangle covers the throw rod channel. (See photo).

The last issue, which seems to have been resolved is fixing a dead spot on the frog of the switch leading into track 0.  I shimmed the reverse route guardrail and painted a dot of fingernail polish on the frog. 

The takeaway lesson -- this will be the only section of the layout built with PECO track. I have had good experience with PECO before. I decided to use PECO code 80 track for the staging yards because it would be more forgiving.

The flex track does work great, but the turnouts have their deficiencies. I have solved most of the issues, but I know that I will not use this system going forward.

The plan -- to be discussed in a future blog post -- will be to have standards. From a track perspective -- it will be Atlas Code 55, FastTrack #6 minimum switches. 

Here are a few pictures as things currently stand. 

This photo is looking at the entrance to Barr Staging. The track on the left is the return loop track. This track that will lead from the bottom of the helix, loop around by the wall and approach the staging yard ladder. Note the wiring bridges and servos in the background. In the background on the right is the control panel for the servo routing.  

This photo is looking down the length of Barr staging toward the staging yard exit. The Pennsylvania passenger train (on the right) has been performing yoeman work testing the trackage. Note the wiring bridge. This was originally intended to supply power to that section of track. Originally Barr Staging was built in 3 sections that would come apart. That idea was abandoned. The wiring bridge will remain as a power distribution system. The plywood panel beyond it is temporary, for now. It is stabilizing the uprights holding up the benchwork.

Barr staging exit. This shot shows the track and servo arrangement at the exit of Barr staging. Note the wiring bridge carrying power and communication to the servos and servo activition boards. The routing control panel is in the middle background. The servos are friction fit into 1/2" aluminum channel, screwed to the benchwork. The servos are shimmed with 0.01 styrene.

All of this leads to . . . 

The double-tracked helix (yet to be built) that will bring trains up to the scenicked portion of the layout -- at 75th St. tower. The pile of junk in the middle of the photo is where the helix will rise. 

Why all the wiring bridges and surface-mounted servos? The below picture should help explain. This is the L-girder support system awaiting Barr staging. This will be about 20 inches off the floor. No way am I crawling under that to perform maintenance. Hence, the deliberate progress on this first section of layout. Access will be difficult. So, get it right. 

The next step is starting helix construction.  More to come . . .

Layout development ideas -- from RBTB

The NMRA 2021 RBTB convention is over. A lot of hard work, got to meet some really great model railroaders. And I still have a bunch of videos to watch. I didn't even make it to 25% of the clinics.

From the clinics I did attend, I got a bunch of good ideas.

1. Layout concept -- I remain steadfast in my commitment to the B&OCT. Nope, not switching to narrow gauge, steam in the early 20th century or KCS in the 2020s.

2. Standards --From several clinics - including Joe Fugate's Make it run like a dream -- Very important to establish standards for benchwork, track and rolling stock. 

    Benchwork standard is 1/4" plywood over 1/2"x3" plywood framing. It will be sealed to minimize dimensional adjustment.

    Track standard - Staging -- code 80 Peco flex and Medium insulfrog switches. Visible track -- code 55 Atlas Flex and FastTracks #6. Grades 2%, Minimum radius - 15 inches.

    Rolling stock and locomotives -- Digitrax decoders, Atlas Locomotives (predominantly), eventually get to body mounted couplers. Before running on the layout: All rolling stock to have a basic coat of weathering, metal wheels, resistor on one wheelset, properly weighted, coupler height checked, wheels roll freely. (More to come on this).

    2A. The layout will have NCE DCC and signals. I suspect that my signal needs will be less than I had imagined. 

    2B -- TEST, TEST, TEST -- test everything multiple times, ensure that everything is solid and works properly. It will payoff when operations begin. 

3. Goals and To Do List -- need two sets of goals -- long term and short term. Need to do lists to support the goals. The to do lists are those projects that can be picked up and set down in less than an hour and those that take 90 minutes or more.

4. Layout design -- I'm pretty happy with the layout design. 

    Need to check on the whether I have enough crossovers on mainlines. 

    Need to add a Brighton Park crossing view scene on the helix connecting the upper level and middle level. (This will provide operational interest and give operators a chance to check on train progress while in the helix.) Predominantly, the signals will be set to proceed. But may have a restricted or even stop indication. 

5. Operations 

    The highlight of the layout are the interlocking towers. They are a part of keeping train runs interesting. These might be operated remotely. Let others play.  

    There will be switch jobs and yard jobs. But, there will be a big need for transfer runs. These enter and exit the visual area from many locations. They will pick up and drop off cars at the main yards. They will need to navigate a busy mainline, need to follow signals. 

    Passenger trains will always get the priority and will run to whatever timetable and time system is decided upon. The B&O passenger trains will have to visit servicing facilities -- so it's not just a simple run onto the layout and run off. 

    Communications -- another major emphasis is communications. The tower operators will need to report train passage to other operators, yard masters and the dispatcher. They may be the point of contact for road crews. Eventually there will be some kind of phone system. But, there's more to this -- Yardmasters will expect to report car counts to the dispatcher -- who will be assigning locomotives to over the road freights. the dispatcher will have car counts from inbound transfer runs -- no surprising the yard masters. In fact -- that's a big goal -- as problems arise -- they are properly communicated across the system and a team approach is taken to solving problems. The goal is to minimize surprises. 

6. Documenting the layout -- This blog is one tool that I expect to use to keep ideas and document layout progress. I may try to post videos. I dropped in to a breakout room talking about YouTube videos during the convention. I was encouraged to try making some videos. Ok, here goes -- look for one by the end of the week.  

7. Keep perspective -- No job is outside my capabilities. I have friends who can offer advice and help. This will be the largest layout I have ever attempted to build, but in context of others, it's on the large end of medium. It's very achievable and probably in a shorter time frame than I might think.

8. Take a break -- work on my logging layout. I have an HO logging layout -- in the steam era. That's an opportunity for a diversion. 

A new feature for this blog -- I will close with a goal and an update on a previous goal.

New goal - complete track testing of the Barr Yard Staging by July 26.

Progress check - Barr Yard staging testing: 39 of 140 forwards runs complete, so far. Another 70 reverse runs to complete. The first 39 runs revealed the need to paint clear fingernail polish on the frog of switch 0 to eliminate a short. Switch 3 at the turnback end had one derailment -- cause unknown. 

Testing the servos and replacing two more switches

I'm doing things differently. 

The old way was ready, fire, aim. Hope I got close to the mark. Or I didn't know what I was doing. 

Today, I'm trying it the traditional way -- ready, aim, fire. And I'm working more on process in an effort to get a satisfactory final product. The old way was to try to be careful and hope that I get a good result. That worked a number of times, but when it didn't I'd get frustrated. The new approach reduces the pressure I put on myself to do it right and perfectly the first time. The goal is to improve my skills and reduce the luck involved in the process. 

The projects that are the subject of today's blog: testing the servo installation and replacing two more reclaimed switches. First testing the servo -- A success! To be clear -- Steven Cox is a great coach. He suggested that I set up a test bed to ensure that my servo installation and linkage to the switches work. When the Barr staging is properly installed it will be difficult to maintain -- not impossible -- just difficult. The idea was to ensure that the servos and linkages are robust enough to handle the load. How would we know? I built a testbed that was designed to see if the system would break.

Steven whipped up some arduino software code that would throw the turnout normal and reverse every 1.2 seconds. I set it up and left it alone for 3 hours. What would the result be?

When I came back -- the servo and linkage were still doing their thing -- after more than 9,000 switch throws. I doubt I'll ever throw the track switches in Barr yard that much in the life of the layout. Check out the results. 

Testing the servo and linkage to switches 

This video shows the testbed in action. 

the servo test results - three hours, more than 9,000 switch throws. 

That's the first part of this tale. The second part is that I need to replace two more track switches -- on the Barr exit throat. This is my fault - twice over. The first switch I cut the throwbar short so it would not interfere with a nearby switch. I had a spare switch in the track bin. A quick fix -- just unsolder and pull off the rail joiners on the surrounding track. 

That's when things went awry. The soldering iron was nice and hot, the first three rail joiners came off easily. The last was on one of the frog rails of an existing Peco insulfrog medium LH turnout. Insulfrog = plastic frog -- susceptible to heat. A tight spot, I put too much heat on for too long and the frog melted. ARGHH!!! Thank goodness for the internet. I found an online retailer with supply -- ordered four replacements (I might need an extra or two). Now, I'm waiting for the merchandise to arrive and can finish the staging yard. 

 One other development, the data file has been updated for the Barr exit throat. The switches now throw the correct way. Yea!! So, two big steps forward -- two minor steps back. I'm ahead. See you next time.

Working on Servos - on the Barr Yard staging (Lower Level)

Barr Yard -- on the B&OCT prototype is a major classification yard on Chicago's south side. Interestingly, it was a flat yard. B&O long-distance freight trains originated at Robey Yard -- a modest yard on Chicago's Near West Side. Almost all eastbound B&O freight trains stopped at Barr to drop off inbound cars. The exception was the New York Trailer Jet (NYTJ)-- a priority train that carried piggyback and reefer traffic. The NYTJ picked up reefer traffic at Robey and piggyback flats at Forest Hill -- a piggyback yard immediately south of 75th St. Tower. On the inbound side -- every freight stopped at Barr except the Chicagoan and Chicago Trailer Jet. 

The 75th St. Tower is the end of the modeled portion of the B&OCT in N Scale, anything railroad east of that point is represented by staging -- called Barr Yard. A more detailed discussion of the prototype will be the topic of a future post or two.

This much introduction was needed to give context to today's post -- which is about installing the servos which will control the routing of trains in and out of Barr staging. 

This project required outside help, provided by Steven Cox. Thanks Steven.

In addition to helping with the track plan design, he volunteered to write the software that drives the servos. There may have been an expectation that I would learn how to write code to operate an arduino nano. That never happened -- the job quickly exceeded my rudimentary grasp of the concepts of computer programming. I took one class in computer programming (Fortran) in the early 1980s when I was at the University of Maryland. At that time, the coding was put on to punch cards and passed over the counter to the students working at the computer center. My takeaway was learning how to operate a key-punch machine. That was a memory best forgotten.

I spent many Zoom meeting hours helping (watching) Steven develop the code. The software is ready for a real world test. 

And now things have moved into a realm where I'm much more comfortable -- setting up the hardware. For the past two weeks, I have been installing servo holders and servos at the exit to Barr staging.

Servos installed at Barr exit 

At the turnback end -- entrance to the staging -- the servos are already in. But, the servos need to be connected to the track.

Those connectors are mostly fabricated from paper clips 

and some servos need to be re-positioned because the holders are either too close to or too far from the track. 

screwing in a re-positioned servo holder

The two photos above show the servos, a wiring bridge and servo connections to a PCA-9685, which distributes commands to the motors. Next up -- testing the routes. So far, I've found a couple of servos are throwing backward and one servo is not responding at all. All these issues will be tracked down -- and will have to be documented. 

It will take a session or two with Steven to de-bug. The layout will have four staging yards that will use this prototype to control train routing.