Model Trains

[MarkF]

Ahh another DC automation PIC man!   . . .

I don't have much in the way of automation.  From the wireless throttle you can select one of the track blocks to set the speed and direction.  To ease the load, I also have several pre-planned routines that can be selected.  If a route is selected, the laptop will adjust the speed and direction of each track block contained in the route.  The challenging part was detecting conflicts when more than one throttle is used at one time (i.e. multiple people).

One thing I built into the throttle is that it is impossible to switch from full forward to full reverse.  You turn the knob clockwise to increase your speed.  Then you turn the knob counter-clockwise to slow down, stop, and go in reverse.  No direction button.

   REVERSE -> IDLE -> STOP -> IDLE -> FORWARD

[MarkF]

This is something you don't often see.

I rather enjoyed it!

[andy3055]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing   

[andy3055]

Here is a short clip of my working merry-go-round.

https://youtube.com/shorts/BUpNOx-wSSE?feature=share
I have it slowed down and it is much quieter now.

[Analog Kid]

This is something you don't often see.

Impressive. That must take some real weight and power (look at all those locos).

[MarkF]

He weighed just the plow in another video. He had 9 lbs of steel and stones in it.

[MarkF]

Here is a short clip of my working merry-go-round.
 . . .
I have it slowed down and it is much quieter now.

I would slow it down much more if I could.
The kids would be flying clear out of the park at that.

Maybe it's just me slowing down. . .
But I'm much more interested in how slow I can run my trains.
That's one of the reasons I went through the throttle speed steps analysis.  I want to be able in the first few speed steps run the locomotive at a walking speed you would see in yard switching.  I'm close to the performance of DCC equipped speeds being able to have the locomotive take 1 or 2 seconds to move from tie to tie.
 
The faster they go, the more 'toy like' they look to me.
It's interesting that my new locomotives do not run as fast as my old Atherean Blue Box ones. 
More prototypical I suppose.  I never measured their speed to see how fast they are (the old ones).

[andy3055]

I did slow it down. I will post a new video soon.

[Analog Kid]

Maybe it's just me slowing down. . .
But I'm much more interested in how slow I can run my trains.
That's one of the reasons I went through the throttle speed steps analysis.  I want to be able in the first few speed steps run the locomotive at a walking speed you would see in yard switching.  I'm close to the performance of DCC equipped speeds being able to have the locomotive take 1 or 2 seconds to move from tie to tie.
 
The faster they go, the more 'toy like' they look to me.

Absolutely agree.

Toy trains race around the oval next to the Xmas tree at super-unrealistic speeds (before they fly off the track).

The slower, the better. Without stalling, of course.

Speaking of realistic vs. toys, in the G-scale videos, I find those Chessie locomotives to look very toy-like; maybe it's because of all those crappy Bachmann "train sets" that had Chessie locos and cars, but they all look like toys to me. Which is unfortunate, as it's actually a pretty nice paint scheme ...

Give me some Espee or C&NW locos ...

[andy3055]

How about this?

[andy3055]

A few stills:

[andy3055]

Here is a great YouTube clip to watch. Pay close attention to the commentary.
https://youtu.be/CbUzmwO5bKw?si=plISQf48caMr4U3V

[MarkF]

That's some engine.

I wonder if a wooden stick in the throttle was part of the original design?   

"Fire water in the fire box." 
Where else would you keep it when you have a steam engine in your living room.

[andy3055]

Yep. The man is really dedicated to his job and the engine... even after retirement. There was a mention of a Pensylvania company earlier in the commentary.

[MarkF]

Yep. The man is really dedicated to his job and the engine... even after retirement. There was a mention of a Pensylvania company earlier in the commentary.

Was that the Baldwin engine?

[andy3055]

Yes, Baldwin Co.

Another thing I noticed is how clean the trackside is!

[MarkF]

What I noticed was the ballast.
There was a lot that looked like just dirt.
I don't know if it was just stone covered with sand and ground or what.

And they mentioned they needed the big engine for all the grades.
But most of what they showed looked pretty flat.
There was only that one loop where it returned and went under the track.
And the temporary funicular while they laid the track.

[andy3055]

Probably the loop was to get rid of the steep grade.

[Dougmc]

In Cincinnati there is a place called
EnterTRAINment Junction
Do a Google map search has much better pictures than there we site.anyway it's closing
Jan 5..maybe stuff 4 sale..he had been trying to sell the business
I took the grandkids there years ago.it was neat

[andy3055]

Some prices are not bad but some are too high. Anyway, shipping to the west coast will be too much.

[MarkF]

Ballast...  Oh what fun!   
I'm coming to the end now.  It's been taking about one hour for every foot of track to lay and glue.

I have the tops off of the tunnels for painting.  You can see the 3D printed blocks for the walls.

A couple photos showing my 3D printing madness:

• Road crossings and small pedestrian crossing.
• Need to glue and paint the office building.  And get the movers to take the furniture inside.
• Steel coils for the gondola car.
• Jersey barriers.
• Concrete curbs for parking lots.
• Extended platform for freight station.
• Railroad crossing signs.
• Updated thinner case for throttles (new one on the left).

[andy3055]

I decided not to lay balast as it was too much work and in case I have to do any modifications,  it has to be easier to clean up/redo. Instead,  I did some mix of "stones and foliage") in some places. This is not in the middle of the track but outside. I use dried up tea in places where I want to see some gravel. When dried,  it has a beautiful chocolate brown color.

[MarkF]

I haven't done much painting yet.
Ya. Days on days of hand painting the sides of the rails with a tiny paint brush.
I didn't want to spray everything like most people do.  I didn't make a big difference in the look.
It DID make a big difference.  Much more realistic.

I've been getting the cheap Apple Barrel acrylic paint from Walmart.  $0.50 a bottle.

I've been gluing everything with a ModPodge and water mix wetting the area first with a spray of 50% IPA.

[Analog Kid]

I haven't done much painting yet.
Ya. Days on days of hand painting the sides of the rails with a tiny paint brush.
I didn't want to spray everything like most people do.  I didn't make a big difference in the look.

You might want to try altering your technique there. I sprayed my rail sides, with a rust-brown acrylic paint, and it made them look very realistic. You ought to try it; it'll save you a hell of a lot of time (unless you enjoy brushing scale miles and miles of rail).

Just put masking tape on top, set your airbrush for a very narrow spray and spray lightly.

[MarkF]

I've have found that it is much less work to just wipe the tops of the rail
with a cloth while it is still wet when painting and ballasting.
Very little, to no, cleaning the rail afterwards.