CITY PROGRESS

Alan, you have made a lot of progress.  Having worked with you on our searchlight signals project for my layout, nothing that you do surprises me like it used to.  Your creativity, attention to detail, and ability to navigate the tools and procedures required for a project like this is outstanding. 

I had to search out automationfx vehicles to get a better understanding of how this works.  Do you actually control the vehicles with a controller of some kind?  It looks like they run with batteries and are guided by the metal wire under the streets?  And there are switches where you can pull into a gas station for example?  Do they sell vehicles or do you have to retro fit existing diecast cars and trucks?  This will add an outstanding feature to your city!  Have you seen them demonstrated anywhere?

Great project!  You never cease to amaze me.  Can't wait for progress reports.

Art

Spectacular craftsmanship!

Art

AutomotiveFX system is a "sort of concept" copy of the Faller HO system but with O-gauge cars as well.

As of August 19, 2024, the AutomotiveFX web site is down due to their moving.

the cars are battery powered rear drive with magnets connected and turning the front axels, the forward wheels spin independently so there is no sway to the car going thru a curve. They have a reed switch underneath the car or truck chassis that can be triggered by another under-street magnet to stop the car. They have left and right turnouts that can be magnetically triggered as well.

AFX sells parts to change any car or truck to an AFX vehicle.

All you need are mild steel (magnetic no stainless) rod embedded in the street where you want the cars to travel.

Alan thanks for the info, I can't wait to see them in operation.

Art

now that I routed out the 1/16" straight lines on the streets for the AutomotiveFX steel rods; I need to route-out the TURNS at the intersections, roadway that are not straight and the driveways at the two Gas stations.

to do that, I used CorelDraw to design the template below. the Template will be laser cut on my GlowForge in 1/4" clear acrylic. The slot fits my Bosch Colt router's Precision Brass Router Template Bushing Guides, the 1/16" bit is centered in the guide.

The actual cut will be upside-down from what is depicted under the street matching up with the straight routes that are already routed.

not all of my intersections are the same, and also, I do have some curved roadways. Each unique curve or turn will require another template. Each gas station has an "in and out path to the pumps.  Those paths will need templates too.

Since my entire city is in a CorelDraw 2D model, making the template models is fairly easy to do. I place a curve where I want the router to go. Then make the curve the thickness of my router guide; then Corel converts the curve outline into an object whose shape is subtracted from a rectangle that is laser cut to create a physical template.

Finally finished all the easy straight routing and the curves as well as the intersection curves to connect.

Will be inserting the mid steel 1/16" rods and gluing in to the routed

This leaves the  gas stations turn-outs and other Stop sections.

Working on a new 3D design for traffic signal heads; that I'd like to use round red, yellow, and green EL panels instead of LEDs because of the signal thickness.

3D traffic design that would use RED YELLOW GREEN Electroluminescent dots.

  I have enough trouble just keeping my trains running. This is pretty impressive getting autos and trucks involved in the action. This looks like the automobile version of hand laying track.