What did you do on your layout today?

@Berkshirelover726 posted:

Her train has all the aquarium cars.

https://youtu.be/wAbstEUjBPo

I have to wonder how many amps that train needed.  I have thought about making up a train with nothing but aquarium cars but was concerned about how much current they draw (incandescent bulbs plus motor in each car).

@VinceL posted:

I have to wonder how many amps that train needed.  I have thought about making up a train with nothing but aquarium cars but was concerned about how much current they draw (incandescent bulbs plus motor in each car).

The Z4000 was showing about 3 amps at 14 track volts.

@Berkshirelover726 posted:

The Z4000 was showing about 3 amps at 14 track volts.

I would have thought that many aquarium cars would have drawn a lot more amps.  Once my layout is together, I will have to give a try with 15 or so aquarium cars.  Of course as you add aquarium cars, the volume goes up.  On our Christmas layout in the living room, just one aquarium car makes plenty of noise.

Made some progress in the new train room - with new flooring being installed. Old carpet out , new sheet vinyl in.   I would have liked to have done some painting & window coverings first, but nowadays when a contractor says he can come over & do a job - I say sure !

Rich in WV

Rich, looks nice. The new floor covering really brightens up the room.

What a huge difference. Looks great.

Bob

Rich, the new floor makes the room look brighter.  I think it is more practical for a layout room as well.

@RSJB18 posted:

What a huge difference. Looks great.

Bob

Thks Bob.  The best part is that we’re redoing flooring in 7 rooms & the train room flooring came in 1st !

Morning guys and gals, I know I am a day or 2 late on comments but I have been busy with family and just got home last night. So let me get started! LOL

@Steve Tyler Steve wonderful job on the smoke unit! Just wondering is there any way to slow it down?

@trestleking Rich, wonderful looking floor! With that color if you drop something I don't think you will have a problem finding it! Good luck on the 6 other rooms!

@samparfitt Sam that is a little rich for my blood but I do hope you the best of luck winning the cab ride!

Well guys  I went out to the train room before going to my sisters-in-law's memorial and found out the DPDT switch for the airplane movement had stopped working. I went to 4 different stores to fine one hardware store, one big we have everything store and 2 auto part stores and none of them had a simple DPDT switch! So this morning while I was on line I deiced to order a couple lighted ones, heck why not! LOL

I will probably run some wires for my isolated track sections today and that is about it, with the exception of running some trains with a cold drink! LOL

I hope you all have a great weekend and find time to have fun with your layouts and trains!

@mike g. posted:

@Steve Tyler Steve wonderful job on the smoke unit! Just wondering is there any way to slow it down?

Thanks!

The only way I've found so far to slow the speed down is to reduce the volume of mist and air flowing through the tube, which means either reducing the inner diameter of the tube, increasing the length of the tube, fiddling with the 'catch' angle of the tube at the transducer end, or dispersing the tube's output by partially covering the outflow. All of them work, but the drawback to all of these is that, to the extent you reduce the velocity, you're getting closer to the point that the mist output falls as it cools, so it's a bit of a realism trade-off. One other possibility would be to reduce the volume of the ultrasonic signal driving the transducer, but the unit is powered by a micro USB connection with no adjustment, so there's no easy way to adjust the input voltage to the circuit board (and I'm not sure it would have much effect any way). I suppose you could add a resistor or pot between the board and transducer, but I think you'd just end up with the same trade off as with the mechanical restriction methods.

I blew whistles for the 611’s return to Roanoke.  
The PW whistles sounded much better in person. I put them on the list for service.

I checked to see if the lionel 86' boxcars can navigate 048 FasTrack.

Confirmed, yes, they can. Need to plan what will be coupled to each end. If a car is too light, the 86' boxcar will pull it off the rails going around the curve.

Morning guys and gals, well it is another Beautyful Sunday! Or should I say at least here in Washington State!

@pennsyfan Bob, some great whistles, some are better than others, but they all do what they are meant to! put a smile on your face! LOL

@Jstewart204 WOW that sure is one long car! I run 072 curves mostly and am not sure if I would run that around my layout, Needs a lot of space on the insides of the curves so nothing close like buildings or autos! But a cool looking car!

Well guys yesterday I was able to get wires pre-ran for my isolation tracks so I can turn the power on and off. Today I plan on soldiering them to the rails. That will probably be it till next Friday as I start a new Job tomorrow and will be working 4-10's, by the time I get home it will be dinner time, shower and bed.

Things will be going slow threw the summer as it is only seasonal work, but gives a little extra $$ for some train stuff.

I hope you all have a great Sunday and find time to have fun with your layouts and trains! I will try to check in during the week!

Thanks Mike, it was fun doing it!

After listening to the wimpy whistle  on the MPC NW J 611; I noticed that I had a PW tender without a body. I was thinking that I could swap the shell. First problem, there’s a stiffing wall (very thin) in the middle of the shell. I could probably remove it and reenforce the sides. Two I’d have to replace the trucks. Three the 2046 frame is about a 1/4 short. I could probably install a shim on the inside of the shell. With all that said; is there a electronic replacement for the whistle? I would remove the sandpaper SOS.

Well, it’s sunday evening, and we’ve been doing some finishing touches on getting the old Bowser Turntable back in service. For many years, this old turntable would come close to stopping correctly but was always off a teeny bit, simply frustrating, and we always pushed it into position. It’s been on the layout for 20 years and I finally said, enough is enough, so, I called the maker of my indexing system, NYRS PTC 3-4 and he said it couldn’t be the motor, but, It was…. So, replacing the motor, the brake, the shaft collar, (I never liked the little shaft collar), I got with my buddy in North Carolina, The Harmonyards, Pat Norcross, and he designed me a super shaft collar. This one has two set screws holding the collar and shaft perfection straight, two set screws holding the shaft super steady and now, the turntable turn’s slowly and stops on target…See the pictures showing the motor, the collar, the set screws, the enforced heavy duty bracket… Pat has made my K-Line Hudson a stump puller with a Pittman motor and now he’s made my Bowser Turntable very reliable…. It’s friends in the hobby that makes our layouts come to life…. Thank you Harmonyards, your the Best… I’ll post more information on this project with videos soon. Happy Railroading Everyone…

@leapinlarry

It looks great Larry, happy to hear that it’s working correctly now! I have a friend, Jimmy Grillo, that can fix anything and is always there when you need him.

Wow, thank you all for the many likes, and I have many friends that have helped me over the years with the turntable project. We have added Atlas O scale Pitt rail, and given the bridge a solid shaft for stability, and the PTC NYRS indexing system to allow as many whisker tracks as necessary. No, it’s not a Millhouse product, but I sure wish it was. It’s too late in my lifetime to change it out, plus all the cutting and fitting of the larger diameter table. Have a great week everyone.

Very nice, Larry!

@Steve Tyler posted:

Well, I finally got my campfire smoke generator working on the layout:

https://youtu.be/gbMRmRF5tP8

It was a long slough, even after abandoning some form of locomotive-type thermal smoke generator in favor of a mist-producing ultrasonic transducer that is 'fueled' with plain water. The only downsides I've discovered so far is that the mist produced, being a bit cool from evaporation, tends to sink as soon as the transducer-induced momentum slacks off, and the mist condensing in the tube tends to periodically  'drown' the transducer and interrupt smoke production, but I've had the smoke from plenty of RL campfires act roughly the same ways, so I'll call it a win! More details on the build later, after my laptop gets back from the Geek Squad!

Well, looks like Menards is using the same type of system in another one of their new offerings, the Caboose Coffee Shop:  https://www.menards.com/main/p-1642874267364287.htm

From the video, it looks like they've had the same problem with the unrealistic velocity of the mist stream, but have just chosen to let 'er rip . . . Frankly, I think my throttled-back version looks better/more realistic, even though the 'tip-over' point for the mist comes somewhat sooner in mine (in the Menards video, you can see the stream start to bend over at the very top left of the picture, and I'll bet it heads down just off camera, so be forewarned if you go for this IMHO otherwise very nice piece!).

@leapinlarry- Nice work on the TT. The community that is this Forum is the best. 

@mike g.- good luck with the new job. Hope you get enough time to work on your layout too.

Nothing new to report on my layout, I did run a couple of trains last night. Still procrastinating on starting the S2's.......

Bob

@Steve Tyler posted:

Well, technically late last night/early morning, but I finished up landscaping a previously-bare corner of the layout, which kind of stuck out after I buried the speaker for a motion-activated camping sounds system in the foam base under that corner. So, I grabbed a bunch of leftover stuff and went to work:

The post and wire 'fence' was pre-existing, an early attempt to keep an over-enthusiastic engine from making a suicide plunge off that edge (so far completely successful! ). The three 'boulders' I had hastily formed much earlier from some left-over sculptamold as it hardened, so all I had to do was mix up a few acrylic washes to color them a bit (and also touch up a few chipped and damaged rock areas on the layout while I had the brushes out!). The cold campfire ring was an on-the-fly improvisation, using a few of the larger screened stones from the earlier ballasting to form the ring, a dab of ground-up charcoal from our IRL firepit in the center, a bit of finer grade screening from the crusher run stone around the ring, and a few 'logs' I'd cut from hardwood deadfall in the yard as rustic seating. The larger trees and some of the ground foam (the rest was WS) were hand-crafted train show purchases over the last few years, while the smaller grass clumps and shrubs were either my own earlier static grass creations or Etsy purchases. While I was at it, I extended the ground foam to cover a strip between ballast on two adjacent tracks as well. I used full-strength white glue to secure everything down, and plan to shoot a top coat of hairspray after everything is dry and to my liking.

Even with the additional materials over it, the buried speaker still has plenty of volume, and today I plan to secure the sound module and wires underneath the layout (they're currently just dangling). At some point, I might consider adding some pieces of 'firewood' in the pit and/or stacked at the side, and/or populating the scene with suitable "little people", but for now I'm satisfied to show the evidence of past use and let the viewers fill in their own back story!

Sometimes, it's the little things . . .

Steve, I was impressed with your post and finally dug out some electronics that I bought awhile ago. I was wondering if you used something like this for your sounds?

@pennsyfan posted:

Steve, I was impressed with your post and finally dug out some electronics that I bought awhile ago. I was wondering if you used something like this for your sounds?

Thanks! Yes, it's actually very similar:

The package I used ($16.98 from Amazon Prime) includes a motion sensor (bottom left), a hard-shell speaker (center left), a circuit board with push-button controls (top left and bottom right), and a battery pack (top right). Instead of powering the system with batteries, I use the micro USB connector on the circuit board, and the sound files I selected to be serially played are pre-loaded on a microSD card inserted into the circuit board. There are a number of similar packages available, but I liked this one because it has the hard shell speaker, which was easy to bury in the foam topping the layout and provides some measure of mechanical protection.

Most alternatives (like the one you highlighted) offer just a bare speaker -- certainly workable, but a bit more vulnerable IMHO. Also, it appears your system is button-activated, whereas mine has a motion sensor, and plays a random sound file when it detects motion near the sensor (I dropped the sensor into a section of caulk tube -- disguised as a redwood cistern -- to prevent it from being activated by passing trains and only by a viewer looming over the scene!). Good luck!

@Steve Tyler

Steve, the one that I showed came with three test recordings which I removed via directions. When I tried to load my own recording; a simple station announcement, there was an indication that the memory was full. I had made the recording on my phone and saved the file. The I was transferring it from my pc to the device using the supplied USB. Does yours work like that?

@pennsyfan posted:

Steve, the one that I showed came with three test recordings which I removed via directions. When I tried to load my own recording; a simple station announcement, there was an indication that the memory was full. I had made the recording on my phone and saved the file. The I was transferring it from my pc to the device using the supplied USB. Does yours work like that?

Generally, yes. I'm assuming you're using a USB data cable to connect the circuit board to the computer, which when connected should show the device as a separate 'drive' (caution: some USB cables with compatible connectors are *only* for charging, and *will not* provide a data connection!). If so, I 'm assuming that you've deleted the preloaded sound files and tried to upload the new files.

In my case, the alternate method to load new files (which IIRC I used after deleting the included sound file) is to download the desired audio files directly to a micro SD card (in a suitable adaptor) inserted in the computer's USB port, which is then inserted into the slot on the circuit board for use by the device. IOW, I'm using a micro SD card for sound file storage, rather than the on-board memory, so our situations are somewhat different.

To troubleshoot, I'd first check the properties of that 'drive', specifically the total size and available space. You may need to reformat the drive or empty the deleted file "trash" on your computer to remove all vestiges of the pre-loaded sound files, or there may be other steps needed. I'd check the instructions and any available info on the manufacturer's website. Good luck, in any event . . .

Finished two postwar repaints: a battered orange no. 202 Alco became a handsome Missouri Pacific, and a paint-challenged Madison car found a new life in Pullman green.

@RDM posted:

Finished two postwar repaints: a battered orange no. 202 Alco became a handsome Missouri Pacific, and a paint-challenged Madison car found a new life in Pullman green.

Nice job on both the engine and the coach.

@RDM posted:

Finished two postwar repaints: a battered orange no. 202 Alco became a handsome Missouri Pacific, and a paint-challenged Madison car found a new life in Pullman green.

A very nice job! If I may ask, is the white line pin striping? And how do you get rid of the heat stamped numbers and letters?

George

Leapinlarry,

I redid both of my turntables several years ago.

The old turntables were a real 'pain' as everything was by 'eye' for alignment and the 'bridge' would, sometimes, 'shift' causing a derailment.

Walthers came out with an indexed 130' turntable so I replaced both of the old turntables.

It was lot of work but 'worth it'.

The new table was 2" smaller than the old table so I needed to make an 'insert' out of wood and left the old table 'in place'.

The 2 'inserts' were drawn on some plywood.

Bandsaw to cut them.

Glued in place.

Initial testing.

Very nice turntable: can index for each track and then, after that, easy to, automatically, select a track.

Had to cut and solder many pieces of rail to extend the tracks to the turntable.

Some ballast to cover the edges of the turntable.

@GeoPeg posted:

A very nice job! If I may ask, is the white line pin striping? And how do you get rid of the heat stamped numbers and letters?

George

The MP stripes and heralds are Circus City Decals S scale set MP 64-01 for a GP18. The impressions from Lionel's original MP heat stamping are still visible from some angles, but not most. The original heat-stamping was not very even--only a few letters actually made an impression and these were softened by the primer, two coats of color, and the gloss coat.

On the Madison car there was even less of a problem. I used a variety of K4 decals. They aren't a perfect match for Lionel's original lettering--K4's extended railroad roman is more extended than Lionel's and their gothic has an oddly extended "O"--but the only place where the new decals didn't fit the original impressions pretty well was in the "Madison" name--and you have to ber within inches of the car to see the difference. Since this is an adaptation rather than a restoration I'm not picky. Of course, I didn't want to sand (or even strip) the Bakelite. Most of the edges of the paint flaking disappeared in the priming, but the roof is still somewhat pock-marked. Again, the car has to be standing still and your eyes have to be pretty close to the model to see these things.

Afternoon guys sure has been some great work being done here!

@leapinlarry Larry your and your friends have done a great job on your new turn table!

@Steve Tyler Steve the campsite is so inviting, and the sounds are nice and calming! LOL

@samparfitt Sam great looking TT Pit, sure takes some skills to get such a nice-looking pit wall. whether it be with a bandsaw, or a skill saw I could never get anything that nice! LOL

Well as for me guys nothing really new, I did get a relay board from @Bill Webb that I just opened but still haven't made it out to the train room yet. I am taking it easy today as my new job as a labor is kicking my rear, it definitely is not a job for a 59-year-old guy with gray hair! LOL I will get out there tomorrow and see what I can get done!

I hope everyone has a great weekend and finds time to have fun with their layouts and trains!

@mike g. posted:

@Steve Tyler Steve the campsite is so inviting, and the sounds are nice and calming! LOL

What, you find the bear sounds "calming", Mike??! 😳

[I personally find the geese sounds most triggering, since in RL my main 'exercise program' consists of chasing the "poop factories" off my lawn!]

Repairing an ailing 6468 Automobile Car

The Razorback Traction Company's private police are on full alert!  The notorious Simon Templar, aka The Saint, is in town!

Templar in his trademark sports car is seen speaking to his hench-giraffe, Fortescue J. Uniatz, who has just hopped off a fast freight courtesy of his cousin, Dinsdale Gi-raff...

Fortunately, Chief Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard is lurking in his Humber police car just behind the billboard, keeping an eye out for any monkey (or gi-raff) business... 

Vehicles courtesy of E.O. Costello, Esq. 

Mitch

@samparfitt, good morning everyone, thanks for chiming in on turntable rebuilds, they are a great focal points  on our layouts, yours are so nice. My turntable is a modified Bowser kit, 32 inch. We added Atlas O O scale track for the pit rail, Gayle Rotching from Cincinnati traded me a 5/16 solid steel  bridge shaft, and that made a huge difference. Then we added the NYRS PTC3 hi torque stepper motor and a memory indexing system. Then, to attach the bridge motor to the bridge shaft a great friend, Pat Norcross, “The Harmonyards” made with his extensive tooling a heavy duty Shaft Coupling, two set screws to hold the motor shaft, 2 set screws to hold the bridge shaft, it’s sturdy….Now with just a little bit of tweaking, the turntable works like it should…. Pat, with Harmonyards really knows how to work with metal and the coupling he made is ridged….It’s friends in our hobby that make it so much fun…. Happy Railroading Everyone

Just for the record, here are a few more pictures of the turntable rebuild with some pictures of friends, Pat Norcross, Mr. Harmonyards himself, Captain Will Porath, and myself. Have a great Sunday Everyone.

@M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

The Razorback Traction Company's private police are on full alert!  The notorious Simon Templar, aka The Saint, is in town!

Templar in his trademark sports car is seen speaking to his hench-giraffe, Fortescue J. Uniatz, who has just hopped off a fast freight courtesy of his cousin, Dinsdale Gi-raff...

Fortunately, Chief Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard is lurking in his Humber police car just behind the billboard, keeping an eye out for any monkey (or gi-raff) business... 

Vehicles courtesy of E.O. Costello, Esq.

Mitch

Such suspense ,such drama , such intrigue.........so hard to relax with all of this going on .    Nice Mitch .

Morning guys and gals, I hope your all doing well have having a wonderful weekend!

@Steve Tyler Steve I guess I am going to have to go get my hearing aids adjusted as I don't hear either bears or geese! Maybe it is my computer sound bar?

@RDM Wow, nice repair! Hard to even tell it was ever broken!

@M. Mitchell Marmel Mitch that is quite the suspenseful story! I hope things don't get out of hand! LOL

@leapinlarry Larry what a great TT Install and truly what a great group of friends!

Well guys yesterday I was able to get to the train room and thanks to @Bill Webb and @Mark Boyce for there schooling and complete understanding that I was just trying to do what they had already done with their AIU's and relays, Bill was nice enough to wire one up for me along with a small LED to confirm that things were wired up correctly on my end.

Well after getting everything mounted back on the back of my power stand and hooking up the relays I tested one first before moving on and low and behold it worked just like Bill said it would

So,  after things worked for me I wired my other 4 relay board into the mix and was able to pre wire all 10 relays for isolated track sections. 3 on the main layout and the other 7 from the ramp going down to the future 6 staging tracks! I tried to keep it nice and neat like theirs! LOL

Thanks again to @Bill Webb and @Mark Boyce!

I hope you all have a great Sunday and fine time to have fun with your layout and trains!

hand laying track experiment

@mike g. posted:

@Steve Tyler Steve I guess I am going to have to go get my hearing aids adjusted as I don't hear either bears or geese! Maybe it is my computer sound bar?

Dunno about your hearing aids or sound bar, but the campfire clip did not play all the sound files loaded onto the motion sensor-activated system. If you want to hear them all (assuming it's *not* your computer!), here's the video about the installation itself:

BTW, here's some of the noisy critters: