Goodbye theater, hello layout.

David, I faced this problem a long time ago, that's when I started that thread.  Stan came up with the idea of using the DCS-RC as the WD generator and a preliminary design.  I picked it up and designed a board to do the job, a bunch of people are using them.  We were trying to solve the same issue with the yard tracks on our club layout.  My initial idea was too complex, I decided to just add these to every TIU output.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

David, I faced this problem a long time ago, that's when I started that thread.  Stan came up with the idea of using the DCS-RC as the WD generator and a preliminary design.  I picked it up and designed a board to do the job, a bunch of people are using them.  We were trying to solve the same issue with the yard tracks on our club layout.  My initial idea was too complex, I decided to just add these to every TIU output.

Would also help with weird power fluctuations caused in a derailment that doesn’t trip the breaker. When I was fixing switches Saturday night I had a few times where a car got sideways and after a few sparks the Big Boy which was parked would start up. I’ll have to go through the thread and see about acquiring a few of them.

You need to find the DCS-RC boxes first, those will be harder to find.

If you act soon, a guy is selling the receiver boxes on eBay, Auction: 391443858386

I bought myself a spare as I have all of the ones I have in use.  Once you have the DCS-RC receiver, the boards are not a problem, we can come up with those.

I have a few of those from RTR sets I bought last year. Used one under the tree this year. Hated the IR remote and bought the Explorer. It couldn’t handle all the lighted coach cars and loco so I bought the TIU and remote. Then I decided I better buy some wood and build a layout! Sold the explorer on eBay but still have 1 or 2 of the IR receivers.

Remember, this has to be the DCS-RC, not the older IR controller with the 5 buttons on the remote.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

Remember, this has to be the DCS-RC, not the older IR controller with the 5 buttons on the remote.

Ahhhhhh, then I might not have that. I thought mine had more than 5 buttons but I’ll have to look tonight. Thanks.

The older one was just for conventional running.

Mine would do speed, coupler, horn, bell, announcements. Had 4 buttons down each side and like 2 in the middle. Came with the Alaska set I believe which is PS2. I’ll find it tonight.

You have the right one.

Excellent.

David, I got my turntable up and running, all the whisker tracks switched, and the joint is rockin'!   I tested a few engines on it to see if we had any issues.

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

David, I got my turntable up and running, all the whisker tracks switched, and the joint is rockin'!   I tested a few engines on it to see if we had any issues.

Awesome! How is the transition on and off the table? I notice my table track sits a little higher than any track leading to it. Not enough to worry about shimming it, but it’s noticeable.

I actually did shim each track slightly.  I have some cardboard that was about the right height so I shimmed it with slips of that.  Mine are very closely matched, and stuff drives on and off very smoothly.  I'm actually impressed with how close the Geneva Gear gets the table aligned every time, not bad at all.  I'll eventually have a little panel with a rotary switch to select the track power, and rotate the table, but now I have full control from the remote, so I can use the table.

I might have to look closer and shim mine. Everything goes on and off fine, it’s just one of those little things...

David here are a couple shots of my layout ballast if and signals. I used Brennan's method of rusting the rails and tinting the ballast and ties. I didn't get as far as staining the ties with India Ink. I might start looking into that. Look closer and you wont find any screws holding down the track. The ballast holds it all down. As you and John are discussing. I spent alot of time making sure the track was happy and shimmed before I ballasted it. On a friends layout we added super elevation and or a ground wire on his High lines to make Lionel trains run. it was covered by the ballast.

I read through some of the comments you and John have been discussing.

You will only find one wire connection to the rail. I actually took a chance when I wired the layout and drove Stakons up into web of the rail, which wasn't easy but a whole lot easier than soldering. they have been there since the 90's and never been an issue. I had Ross solder the common leads together on my 40 some switches to avoid all that soldering and wiring. I cut the blocks just before or after the switches. I isolated one outside rail all the way around for my signaling system. I added Atlas switch machines to show switch position for all main line switches. The switch stands are more for decoration now. Some opti sensors were added in very short blocks for occupancy.

I dedicated my turntable and engine facility to one TIU output and one half of a Z-4000. I kept it simple and never seam to have an issue with that. If I felt the batteries needed a charge I would simply power up that area. Otherwise it sat dark. I read through John's post on ways to power these areas and sending the watchdog signal on power up. I simply left the area dark until needed.

I wish I had never built yard tracks on the layout. I have a 6 track Yard that eats up a lot of the layout space. A friend of mine and I added a very large yard under the main layout and run train sets up and down to the main layout as desired.  My yard tracks are live all the time. I prewired track switches but never really cut them in. As a result i have burned out alot of passenger car lamps, simply sitting on the layout.   

@CSX FAN posted:

David here are a couple shots of my layout ballast if and signals

That looks incredible! I’m a long way from that stage.

David , one other thing, John sold me a bunch of Super Capacitors to replace my batteries so I really don't need to worry about charging any engines/ Batteries.

Finished the roundhouse today. Didn’t put the doors on and don’t think I will.

Ditched the crappy switch that came with the turntable and installed a DPDT non latching rocker switch which is 1000 times better. So much easier to use now. Also isolated all of the TT tracks and put them on one dedicated switch. I know the preferred way is for each track to be on its own switch but for the time being at least, I have the TT itself as well as the lead in track powered whenever the layout is on, and all of the stalls and whiskers isolated and on one switch.

Did some switching as I wanted the UP passenger cars in a different location and it honestly took about an hour to strategically move everything around without picking up and relocating anything (per my rule). Was a good time but I have a lot of switch track adjusting and tinkering to do. I guess that’s the price I’ll pay for buying used switches.

Put a simple and cheap LED setup in the roundhouse and tried my best to come up with a yellowish glow to represent older lighting. Looks good but I have some bleed through when the room lights are off. Someday I’ll remove the leds and back them with something to better stop the bleeding of light through the walls.

Was originally committed to pure MTH but after talking with GRJ, I went ahead and ordered a Lionel legacy system to add to the layout. If there’s any tips or tricks to making them play together nicely I’d love to hear them. Have no clue at this point how it even gets wired in but that will be tonight’s research assignment.

I’ve tested the entire layout for DCS signal quality and I get 10 everywhere except for one spot that gives a 9. That is until I pull flickering coach cars. With the UP string, the numbers are all over the place with lows in the 3 to 4 range. Again, any tips or tricks to help this would be greatly appreciated.

Marvelous, simply Marvelous. great shots, nicely done. you accomplished much and still took the time to post photos. Thanks...

You know I love a little SMOKE <salute>

It looks great David! 

That looks awesome. Congrats!

You're cruising right along, love the roundhouse.  Wish I had room for one, that would be a nice addition.

I agree, the round house is great!  I wish I had room for one and a turntable.  

Thanks guys. I actually wasn’t expecting much out of the roundhouse but overall I’m pretty impressed with it.

What can I say. I’m weak.

One of the most fun TMCC accessories ever made, you should enjoy it.   A little warning, don't turn it over and let the strings on the boom get slack in them, you'll be VERY sorry!

@gunrunnerjohn posted:

One of the most fun TMCC accessories ever made, you should enjoy it.   A little warning, don't turn it over and let the strings on the boom get slack in them, you'll be VERY sorry!

It’s the legacy version and it was on display at the train shop. Wife picked it up today and when they put it back in the box they didn’t secure the hooks. Strings look mostly intact but I believe one is off the pulley. Vision troubles tonight so will look closer tomorrow. My legacy control system doesn’t get here until tomorrow anyways so hopefully when it shows up I can see and be able to get it straightened out. Already thinking of adding lead weights to the main block after reading all about it. Guess I also now need to search for the boom car to have the sounds.

Anyone want to buy a kidney?

Now I just need to find the matching boom car. I would say it probably doesn’t make much sense to have one without the other.

Yep, the boom car does add to the fun.

I’ll assume they sync as one “car” in the eyes of the legacy system.

Yep, the sounds are matched to the actions you're taking with the crane.

This may be the wrong place to post this, but a shout out to Gardner the train doctor. I ordered ground throw switch mechanisms from them and when I opened the box today, I took out my parts and was about to throw away the box when I saw a slice of green inside the folded up receipt I usually throw away. It was a $5 bill. I opened the paper and saw that the robots that control charged too much for shipping and they refunded the actual difference.

Why is this important? I agreed to the shipping cost and if nothing was said then none the wiser. They made it right with no intervention or issue at all and without me even questioning the transaction. That’s a shop to buy from and the way to earn a repeat customer. In a crooked world where everyone is seemingly trying to get one over on someone else, it’s good to know honest people still exist.

Ordered the seemingly impossible to find boom car for the crane today. The Lionel 990 system shower up today but I didn’t get to do much more than open the box. Looks nice and like it will be a whole new learning curve.

Vision was decent today so took a closer look at the crane car. The “cables” for the main boom were both off of the pulleys but I got them both back to where they belong. Everything else seems to be in the correct place.

Tearing out the single siding below the turntable and moving it closer to the inside loop of the main. This will let me put in a twin siding to it and allow more storage which seems to currently be my biggest issue.

Have some pretty serious family medical issues at the moment so progress has slowed to a crawl. Spent a few minutes in there tonight just looking at it and while there are a few very minor things I would have done differently, I’m overall happy with my decisions and the outcome so far. Still amazed at how the original “main” part of the layout is now pretty much ignored in favor of the peninsula section which is where all the action is. Not happy with the crossover and that’s mostly due to used switches and the large amount of fine tuning needed. It’s getting there, but a long way from trouble free.

Grateful to have that room and this forum as an outlet from the real world.

Sorry about the family issues. I pray things get better.

Dave,

My feeling is that a topic you started about your own layout build gives you the right to go off topic a bit from time to time.  The administrators and some forum members will try to curb the off topic comments from general topics.  I am especially glad to learn about the good will gesture Gardner the train doctor made by refunding to overcharge on shipping.  I have dealt with them once, and was pleased with the quick turn around.  I will defiantly keep them in mind from now on.

I too am sorry about your family medical issues.  I like DoubleDAZ Dave am praying for you and your family!!  I think it is good to share these things with your online frinds.

Appreciate it.

Well, I lost my mother this morning to a 12 year fight with COPD. This is after her husband (my stepdad) dying a month ago of a sudden heart attack. We also have 2 positive cases of Covid in our house (kids), so life has been fun. It may also explain why I’ve been so productive with this layout. It has proven to be quite the (expensive) escape. Anyways, not looking for anything or grasping for sympathy, sometimes it just feels good to write it down.

Decided to stay home today and the one thing I’ve noticed is that every time I turn around I have a traffic jam and no place to put cars. I’m not ready to expand and build the yard yet so I’m stuck with sidings. I tore out the single siding below the turntable so that I could scoot it over and add another. I’m pretty happy with how it came out.

Sorry to hear about your parents, losing two so close together is a big hit!  Top that with COVID and you are really having a rough ride!

Sidings are better than no parking, I'm going to have to get cracking on my yard as well, I don't have nearly enough places to put cars.

Thanks.

Yep, every time I try to move I have crap everywhere, and with my no hands rule, it can take a while to get something where I want it. Fun times though. I’m waiting to construct my yard at a later date. Like most things on this layout, I don’t really have a reason why.

David

Very few things in life harder than losing your Mother, please accept my deepest sympathy for this loss.

Steve

Sometimes the simplest things make all the difference. I installed a bunch of these tonight and nearly all of my switch problems went away. Amazing (not) what a little pressure holding the points does.