I was able to move the table and start getting things reset. First was adding the bridge to give some stability to the upper oval.
I got the 3656 stockyard and stockcar fixed. Still needs some tweaking. I’ll post some videos of it soon.
The biggest project was getting all 8 022 switches operational. Last year I went through each switch, re-soldered where needed, cleaned, and lubed each one. If I remember correctly, 6 if the 8 had broken solder joints on the curved control rail. I also had to replace 6 of the switch controller’s wiring. This was a time consuming process but the results are sweet! Video below.
In another forum post, someone mentioned using @TinMan3rail ‘s barrel plug to supply fixed voltage for the switch and also a separate track voltage. What a great idea. Tinman’s service was quick and the product works great. I daisy chained the fixed voltage and separate track voltage to each switch. I just connected them with wire nuts. It still took twice as long as I expected.
I started off using 20v fixed for the switches, but that was much more than needed. The bulbs were getting very hot. I moved the connection to a different transformer binding post, the switches snap nicely at 14/15 volts. This was a very satisfying project to finally accomplish fixed switch voltage and working controllers!
I also made a small switch box that I was going to use for controlling the passing sidings, but after getting all the wiring put together, the toggle switches were bad. Cut it off and into the trash it goes. I picked up some better toggle switches to control the passing sidings. Success at last. Full track and switch power to the layout. I tried to keep the wiring neat and orderly, but it still is a bit of a wild nest under the table.
Old toggle box:
New toggles:
Testing the switches:
I need to clean the track and get my son to help hooking up some of the accessories.
Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em
