Continuing Saga …

The photos are yours. You are not giving up ownership. However, I would be careful about posting photos that you may be submitting for an article. Magazines generally prefer unpublished material.  

Thanks Dennis! As far as the pics, I'll be careful going forward, but regarding the past... there's about 2,000 pictures (literally) already on posts in many forums. We'll work something out. My main argument is that they're reaching different audiences for different purposes. We'll see how it goes. I'm not cutting and pasting my text. I'm writing all the articles from scratch.

My grandson felt that my post lamps looked too city-like to be in the substation. He thinks they should be street lights in the town. I always listen to my grandson. He then offered an idea to use the LEDs with the thinner tubing. His idea was to make a hole in the tube near the lamp end and run one lead on the outside for a little bit and then loop it into the tube through the hole. I started working that idea today and realized I didn't need both wires to run the length of the tube, just the insulated + lead. The - lead could use the tube as a conductor since both leads couldn't fit into this diameter tubing.  I trimmed the LED's leads shorter and tried this. The + lead is fully insulated with heat shrink right to the top. 

 

I used the RSU to hold the - lead tightly to the tube while I used rosin-core solder. The LED leads are a bit springy the RSU's clamping action stabilized it until it cooled. I then soldered the rest of the - circuit to the tube's bottom. All of the them tested perfectly. I used a miniature tubing bender to put the curve in the brass tube.

 

The next step involved making the lamp housing out of Super Sculpey, a clay that hardens when you bake it at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. It was a bit of a long shot. I was originally going to make a master, bake it and then use it to make molds for the rest, but instead, simply modeled each separately. I made six to get four decent ones. 

 

I used the ball peen end of my jeweler's hammer to form the bowl. Here's the rough-made housings.

 

 They're quit rough here, but after baking and sanding they do look more regular.

 

After baking I finished shaping them using a sanding drum on the Dremel, and then various sanding sticks and flex-files of various grits. They're very fragile! Anywhere there was a discontinuity in the clay eventually broke. I ended up using CA to put three of them back together. I'm also using CA as a filler for pieces that couldn't be re-glued.

 

I then using wine-bottle lead topping as a reflector. I cut a rough square, make a couple of triangular slices in it and then used the same ball peen hammer to form the reflector directly in the housing. Medium CA holds it in place. I trimmed the overhang with a sharp #11 bladed modeling knife.

 

 

 

No doubt... they're kind of crude.

 

Here's the first completed one.

 

 

When painted, they'll work. I'm going to mount the light poles onto the gantry towers. Meanwhile, the other lampposts will first be applied to light the train station parking lot and driveways. Those miniature white/white LEDs are quite bright and produce no heat.

 

Tomorrow I will finish them up and paint them. I'll mount them onto the substation and then get cracking on putting in the bus bars.

 

Lee, I sent you a private message. Did you get it?

Trainman, I guess I didn't get your message. Can't find it.  Was it an e-mail?

Yes. I sent it to your eMail address on your profile. I'll re-send.

Love the lights, this is really quite a project.  It'll be interesting to see it all in print.

 

Ray,

I think the detailed work you are doing on this railroad is spectacular. I do not think you should call this the continuing saga. You should rename " the continuing masterpiece'

 

Alan Graziano

Alan and Ray, many thanks! Because I have been dutifully recording the build progress on this forum, the magazine has rescinded its invitation to write a series of articles. I am not happy about this decision since I think it is fails to recognize the new world of communications in which we live. I believe there is interest in having a bona fide magazine series as well as reading the daily grind I post here. That magazine reaches a different audience, and I like magazines for different reasons than reading things on forums. I look at the forum as a diary with commentary. A magazine article stands alone. It makes me have to reconsider posting other builds that are upcoming for fear that I cut myself off from formal written publications.

 

Meanwhile, great things happened in the shop today. The lights were finished, painted and installed. They work great and will give great illumination.

 

 

 

They're bright, but not as bright as my iPhone makes them appear. I opened a space in the foam that lies below the substation on the platform to clear the junction block that serves as the wire hookup point. The four lights are wired in a series pair and then paralleled at the junction block. Each series pair works through a single 330 ohm resistor. I relieved the foam core lowest base level to clear the ferrules I used to join the series connections and a place for the current-limiting resistors to nest.

 

 

With all of this functioning and complete, I finally was ready to work on the bus wiring. I first tried to go with some thin solid aluminum wire, but when I flattened the ends sufficiently wide to accommodate the hole sizes I would need to connect to the equipment, the aluminum fell apart. I planned for this eventuality and also had some 1/16" aluminum tubing. This, when flattened, had sufficient heft to handle all the holes I would be drilling.

 

Here's the very first bus connection showing how the ends are prepared.

 

 

From this point it went surprisingly fast. I got 80% of the high voltage section complete with only a few more to finish tomorrow. 

 

 

The tubing doesn't look too big. HV buses are quite prominent and in looking at pictures, it looks similar. Also... nothing looks like aluminum more than real aluminum. All of the turnings, fittings and buses, being natural metal, really works in this instance. When I finish laying in all the HV connections I will go back and CA all the joints. Right now they're just sitting there. I didn't want to glue anything until it was all laid out. When that's done, I will put down the ground cover and put it on the layout. Not before I take some more beauty shots for the portfolio. The fence will go in when it's one the layout. It's too fragile to install and then manipulate the model into position. Something will break. The end is near! And in this case, that's good thing.

On the way to a train show Sunday, we drove past a power distribution station. Guess who I thought of .

 

 A step by step, like you have done, is quite long on a forum, and runs a few tangents to boot. I think the interest in a more focused, condensed version would be worth the effort same as a continuation. The only purpose a long one could serve I see, would be a two part story. A good article may sell a few extra print copies, & I doubt anyone would cancel the electric sub. over a few repeats. We repeat facts on a regular basis already, so do the mag.s, its how the new folk learn.    

I was afraid that would happen. It's not a matter of reaching a different audience, it has to do with exclusivity. That's exactly why I don't publish anything online. 

But... let me give you another view. The substation probably wouldn't have existed at all had I not posted the construction. I had no thoughts of taking close to a 1,000 pictures of the construction for an article that was a long shot to be accepted. It wasn't until I started on the journey and got lots of feedback from the forum readers that I decided to keep going. The same goes for blogging the layout build itself. I wouldn't have had a swing out door like it has had it not been for the input from the forum.

 

The forum is a conversation, not an article. It's like having a bunch of railroaders over the house for a bull session when they live all over the map. I still subscribe to three railroad magazines even though I'm on the forum daily. They're not mutually exclusive and meet different needs.

 

I still think that the publisher is out of touch with current communications. And I think the articles I already written and submitted would make a terrific series and would say a lot about their magazine's willingness to step out of the typical model railroad mold. It's their loss, and I'm not over fighting for it.

 

I have other projects in the works, and if, and only if, I get a green light on their publication, I won't post build details and publish a real article. But these projects are very typical model railroad faire; engine house, tavern, model homes I've lived in. The only one that is almost as novel as the substation will be the Bourbon Distillery. The distillery is a long way from materializing since I'm exploring getting some of it laser cut.

 

BTW: The chain link fence looks terrific, but won't be installed until the substation is in position on the layout. It's still very fragile.

Oh, I completely understand what you're saying.

 

And, it's not just model railroad publishers. I think you'll find that true of any national magazine. You have the right idea for your future projects. Regardless, one should always check with the editor before preparing an article for publication. 

 

I'm happy that you're pleased with the fence. You're right--it is fragile.

The station under your lights looks so realistic I felt like I was there, just as I had been so many evenings and nights in younger days!  The high voltage bus looks great!  It has really become quite a project, I don't know if there has been anyone make so much so convincingly for a model railroad.

 

In reference to the canceled articles, I wonder how many of their readers would have appreciated it for what it is.  Yes, it is hard for some to embrace other forms of media.  oh well, we have enjoyed the trip, and you have the satisfaction of a job well done!

 

I surmised as much, that if you hadn't been documenting it so much for us, you may have made it a lot simpler and moved on to other projects.  I'm glad you have led us on your journey, but will be pleased to get onto another project with you.

Trainman2001, your postings here and your work is fantastic. No article could cover what has been posted here on this  forum. I am not sure why the publisher is being so picky. The details of how you are doing your different projects are lengthy but extremely  interesting to those of us who are serious about the hobby.  Most of the articles in the magazine are nice but  pure fluff. They do not go into detail as you do here. Let alone the number of pictures that you publish. I agree with you that an article could be published with a link to the forum for detailed information for those who are truly interested in excellent craftsmanship.

I agree, Ken.

 

Myles, correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't it O Scale Trains that was going to publish the articles, not OGR?  If I'm right, they probably wouldn't want to link to another magazine's forum.  I am guessing on this, not really knowing anything about publishing.

Gentlemen,

 

You should understand that an internet forum and a magazine are two entirely different animals. You can do things on a forum that could never be done in a magazine. This build with all of its detailed descriptions and many photos is a perfect example of that difference. Even a series of articles in a magazine can't afford the space to devote to that type of minutia. 

 

The lesson to be learned here, if there is one, is for you to determine who your ultimate audience is and then pick the appropriate platform.

Dennis, Very good point!  I think you are exactly right!

I do understand this part. And I understand the magazine wanting to have 'exclusive' articles. What I don't understand, since they are two entirely different animals, is why they can not compliment each other. I have read a few articles from magazines on other scales where the article provided links to an authors website for further details. Going to the site, just about the entire article was there and additionally a lot more information.

 

I suppose I do understand where this being a forum s provided by an O gauge magazine could be a competition thing. However there are so few O gauge magazines, and they are all fairly different in content, I really don't think folks are going to switch their subscriptions. If anything I think they would add a subscription rather than switch to another magazine. I really think O gauge is such a small market there is room for everyone to work together and share ideas and information. However I am not a magazine publisher and have no idea what they are thinking or how they operate. Just adding a few extra thoughts here.  

I was just trying to say something similar to DennisB, but you are much better at it than I (and the same goes for modeling). Personally I think the magazine subscribers would be missing a lot by just reading an article of a few pages with a half dozen pictures as opposed to reading your detailed posts here. And you would be missing out on the conversing with and suggestions of all the other great modelers here following the thread.

 

Sure seems to me like they could very easily compliment one another and everyone would all be better off with a lot more details and knowledge being shared as a bonus.

An author's personal website is not a public forum that is associated with a magazine.

 

 

Figured the Forum being part of another magazine might have something to so with it.

Great back and forth discussion. Lessons in life are sometimes hard to learn. There's a couple of ironies at work here. First is the impetus for writing a substation article was from you guys. I didn't think about formal publications until the readers brought it up. But of course, by then I'd already posted several hundred pictures and shot myself in the proverbial publishing foot. The second irony is what I mentioned earlier. If it wasn't for posting and the continuous feedback received in this medium, the substation would have come out very different and wouldn't be worthy of publishing. It seems to be a classic "Catch 22".

 

Since I've come this far, I'm going to finish writing about it and posting pictures. Once complete, there are many other sub-projects to be built besides a large mountain and more landscaping. I've sold my Santa Fe on eBay and got the price I was asking... amazing! With that $$$ I'm going to replace the engine and possibly take the plunge into MTH DCS. I will have 4 engines with Proto 2 (and higher) and the rest with QSI and Proto 1 (one TMCC Atlas which will run conventional). So there's lots to write about. But... I will probably not post any projects that are pre-approved for publication. I really would like to get paid once in a while for doing this to help feed the hobby.

 

Now back to the substation. As I noted yesterday. I would finish the bus wiring today and I did. I also got the first layer of gravel laid down, but there's some more touch-up work for that. I'm considering doing some light weathering, but I'm not sure where or how much. I don't want to screw anything up.

 

Here's the complete HV bus system in place and CA'd. The HV system went together much easier than I anticipated, even though I had built it in my head several times. It was really important to make a drawing of this whole affair before building. Even though were some "as built" mods made, the design followed my original drawings pretty closely. Careful consideration to the equipment placement was also helpful in getting a neat looking high voltage array.

 

 

It almost looks like it's ready to be energized... I have some high voltage signs to add to the fencing.

 

I also thought about the MV bus a lot, switching between using small diameter insulated copper wire or black iron wire. I settled on 28 AWG black iron wire. It's easy to form eyes and maintains the bend you put into it. Bus wiring is large gauge and fairly stiff so the iron wire won out. Very small diameter, solid core, copper wire would also work.

 

There are four different diameters used for connection points throughout the bus system. All the MV bus is connected to 0.032" brass wire except for the connections to the disconnect. On the HV side, there are four diameters ranging from .032" to .061". I had to be very conscious of the bus termination point and drill the correct size hole.

 

For the MV bus, I twisted an eye using the drill of that size as a mandrel. This worked pretty well.

 

 

I formed the eye at one end, bent the wire to the approximate contour, and then wrapped the wire around the terminating end to get the correct length. I would then form the terminating eye around the .032" drill twisting with a pair of needle nose pliers or a hemostat.

 

Here's the first runs from the MV transformer bushings to the gantry.

 

 

Here's the MV bus from disconnects to the breaker and out.

 

 

Here's another view.

 

With the bus wiring complete, all that's left is the ground cover. I temporarily plugged the fence post holes, brushed down some W-S Scenic Cement and liberally sprinkled the surface with fine gray ballast. I then tipped the whole deal over and dumped off the excess gravel and moved onto another spot.

 

 

It's a little uneven in spots with the cement still drying. Tomorrow, I'll sprinkle additional gravel to the light areas, wet with "wet" water, and add more scenic cement out of squeeze bottle, just like ballasting track. So all that's left is some light weathering. I'm thinking about having some transformer oil stains under the drain valve. Some oil stains on the concrete drive, but not go overboard. I like the pristine look of a recently built substation. 

Agreed; enough on the article.  :-)

 

Since your transmission line is imagined, and your high side switch is closed, I would say it is energized!  Don't get fried!  I say that because it is that realistic.

 

i agree, I would hate to weather it too much.  If you wantEd, you could plant some weeds, maybe brown ones that were sprayed.  Also a dead squirrel with a blown off foot laying on the top of the breaker would be too much.  Black snakes loved the cable troughs as well.  They looked just like control cable, so make sure you are touching a cable not a snake.

 

it is looking great!!

  I don't think I expect weathering as much as some(not all) aged equipment. A fresh paint job but rusty cracks, etc and even new, a few small rust bleeds around some bolts, and seams happens fast.  Era and/or "your story" can write any ticket you choose though.

 

 Thank you Trainman, for making your impressive efforts, and having the drive to want to share how you did it with us. 

Momentous Day! I am declaring the substation complete! I finished the gravel work, added some very minor weathering, mounted the High Voltage signs all about, and installed the fencing. I reconsidered my decision to hold off installing the fence until it was in place on the layout. I realized there was too much detail work to be done getting it carefully mounted and access to the substation on the layout isn't good; it sits pretty much in the shadow of the control panel. I will have to be very careful when putting it in place. This series of pics was not staged carefully; I just wanted to get some shot. I will set up a better situation and take the "publicity shots" and then take more when the unit is installed on the layout.

 

The last truck that parked on the pad left a heck of an oil spot and there was a little seepage from the drain valve on the transformer.

 

It was a little over 6 months from start to finish. The first post was July 14. Now I need some sound effects... some heavy 60 cycle hum, and the fans turning on and off. I still have to populate it with people and find either a nice Pickup truck or a 1/43 to 1/50 scale utility service truck to occupy the parking area.

 

Thanks to all for your encouragement, feedback, information, and diversions. As I said yesterday, it wouldn't have either come out this good or looked like this had it not been for journaling the build and all the interaction it generates. I'm going to send OST some pics of the finished job and see if they might reconsider.

Well done!!
I really enjoyed the journey you gave to us.

Very fun and informative.

thank you again!!

Now what?

Andre.

 

Fantastic!

Dennis
Piscataway, NJ

On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 5:55 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <
alerts@hoop.la> wrote:

True craftsmanship!

Trainman,

It is excellent!  As I said many times before, I felt like I am right back working in the substation again!  The weathering is good, just enough to suggest it is a working place.  When you populate it, don't forget to have Mark getting shocked with 220 volts when the cabinet door blew into my shoulder, and I didn't realize my finger had slipped beyond the taped screwdriver I was using at the time.  

 

After posting this, I took another look at the photos.  The detail and craftsmanship is fantastic!!  It could be used as a training model.  I remember when we were learning about protective relaying, the scenarios went like this, "You are standing on top of the transformer (or breaker).  A car hits a pole, and the lines go down.  What happens in the substation in sequence?"  In reality, I should have said, I got blown off the breaker missing body parts, just like the squirrels who lived in the oaks right outside Fredericksburg Substation.  They did everything to keep those little guys out of there, but very sadly to no avail.

 

Good show on sending the data to OST one more time.  See what happens.

 

I'm with Andre, what are you going to tackle next?

Thanks again to all!

 

Next up is probably the firehouse that grandson and I started. It's a Westport Models kit that I bought a couple of years ago at York. Les Lewis made very few of these kits and it has remarkable brickwork. Les laid on one brick at a time on the master. It was his technique that I adopted when making the chimney for the Victorian Station. I really can't imagine doing a whole building like that, but then I couldn't imagine making a museum-level substations either. Never say never.

 

I'm going to use another Miller Engineering florescent light for this one. I have some really nice Corgi 1:50 fire engines that are just waiting for a home to be built.

 

Marty Milner and I are trying to hook up so he can laser cut the windows for the next four scratch-builds. I'm having trouble since the demise of my Windows computer and loss of my CorelDraw vector drawing program. I've downloaded a free Mac program called Inkscape which has most of the capability. It saves files as SVG which is a standard vector file type. But when I sent him a test file, it enlarged the drawings 25% when he put them into the laser driving software he uses. He really wants Adobe Illustrator files, but I don't want to pay a monthly rental for the privilege of using it. I also had the entire adobe suite on my old computer and also lost that.

 

While I'm going to build the fire house, I will be doing the detailed drawings for the distillery. Even if I can't laser cut the parts, I can still buy Grandt Line, Tichy, or Rusty Stump windows and doors and do the job the old fashioned way. The distillery could be another article. If so, I will be very circumspect about what to post and what to keep out of the Internet. Even so, it's just a building... it's not nearly as unique as the substation.

Let me add my congratulations and compliments to the list!  Very nice project, wonderful detail, a great model of a modern substation.  I can certainly appreciate all the time, effort and attention to detail in your project.  I've spent over 2 decades in the business - working for a regional G&T - including a dozen years in the field as a protective relay technician, although now I work in the office in system operations.  As Mark said, it takes me back to my days in the field... lots of great memories, but I'm glad to be inside as I get older.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to document and share your project from start to finish! 

You guys are too much. It never ceases to amaze me of the depth of real-world experience here and how helpful it is in building unique projects.

 

I wonder how many people have actually followed this build, but generally do not comment... My argument with the magazine is that they're refusing to publish the articles because of my posting the build here. But suppose only 40 or 50 people actually follow this long odyssey. Are they really saying that they want to keep 20,000 people from reading about it because a handful of people have already seen it? When put that way, their policy falls short. It's different if I published in another national magazine and then wanted to publish again in theirs. But forums aren't national publications. While there are 1,000s of members of this forum, no one reads every thread. It's fundamentally impossible. You read those that pique your interest and leave hundreds of others unread.

Let me say this: Having followed this project on the forum over the past few months, and not being a subscriber to said magazine, if an article on this project were to be published I would make sure to buy that particular issue (or issues) just to have the build documented in print and have beautiful, glossy pictures to look at!

 

I hope they reconsider...

 

 

 why not contact RMC the editor said they are looking for articles on construction of structures. they are also looking for people who can do cad drawings. might be worth the call.

I'm trying to relate, but all I can think about is my other obscure hobby from the past, air cooled Volkswagens. Really only two, or three mags ever existed at once, I subscribed to one. What I remember is a few of the same cars appearing in all three, within 2 years of each other. Each article took a different main focus, tech, looks, histories. Between the three there was lots to learn, and I bought outside of my usual choices to view them.

 

I may be only one voice, but I ended with three subscriptions about that time too .  

Ray,

You did a first class job on this model. The details are just perfect. Thank you for posting the construction.

Alan Graziano

Awesome.  Don't give up on publishing an article.  I am surprised at the policy involved in the one place.  I can't imagine that OGR or another magazine would not want to do a feature on one of the most spectacular projects done here. 

This has been a fantastic post to follow. I'm also wondering if you contacted Allan @ OGR!!!

This is OST's stated policy about submitted articles. While you may disagree with it, it is fairly common in the publishing industry.

 

Anyone may submit articles for consideration. We’re always interested in seeing material from new writers. Occasionally, we will commission articles, but for the most part OST depends on your submissions. We want new, fresh, unpublished material for OST. Generally, if you have posted your submission online anywhere, we will not pay to publish it in OST.

Copyrights

When we pay you for an article we are buying the “first serial rights worldwide”, that is the right to publish your article exclusively in OST and distribute it anywhere in the world. We retain that exclusive right for 6 months from the date of publication in the magazine. After that, the copyright reverts to the author and you can do what you like with the article.

With regard to the Internet what that means is, once you accept payment you do not have the right to post any portion of the article or photos from the article anywhere on the Internet without our permission. To do so would dilute the value of the article to us. Think about it. Why should OST pay for something you have given away for free on the Internet?

We do understand that posting a photo or two may build interest in the upcoming article, so we’re not against it completely. However, you do need to get our permission to post any photos from an article anywhere online.

 

The “6 month” rule applies to single articles and 2-part articles. Articles with 3 or more parts are treated differently. We may be interested in book rights for multi-part articles and, as such, will pay more for the initial publication of each part. If we have indicated that we want book rights as well as serial rights, then the work becomes the property of OST and the author gives up all claim to copyright. We will make that very clear in our offer to publish.

Again, thanks everyone! I will be contacting Alan and RMC (and whoever else is interested). 

 

OST is allowed any policy they want. Their policy IS clearly stated. That doesn't mean that I agree with it. They're paying for an article because it reaches a broad audience who also pays for the privilege of reading their material. We do not pay to be on the forum, therefore the forum should not pay any of us for our contribution. The articles I wrote for them were completely written from scratch. The pictures, I agree, were used elsewhere. Maybe they'll make an exception in my case, maybe they won't. Either way, I will keep building and inspiring others to do the same. Again, how else, besides a forum like this could we even be having this discussion?