Port Elderley

So, the gel has been sealed with a coat of clear water based varnish.

My friend came around last night and convinced me to add some whitecaps.

Done with a dry brush . . .

I had to add some studio lighting, but you get the idea.

I think that it's OK.

I've been faffing about with my locos, so not much progress here - except that I've started plastering the next section of sea.

I like your choice of carpets---- oh and the project has some great ideas and execution!

Thanks, Brad. 

Max,

 Nice looking water, dock and pilings.

 Tom 

Thanks, Tom.

Your doing an amazing job on this diorama, thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks, John.  You're very kind.

I'm particularly drawn to the detailing of the barnacles on the pilings.  They look great.  Excellent color.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Thanks, Tom.

The piles are painted with Golden brand Titanium White, then a black wash is applied in several coats until I like the result.

Using several coats of black wash gives a nice uneven range of effects.  The bottom of the piles is straight black acrylic which is rubbed at the top of the black with isopropyl alcohol to fade it a bit.

The barnacles are Woodlands Scenics Fine Turf colours of Burnt Grass, Green Grass and Yellow Grass.  After painting the piles, I painted neat PVA around the bottom and then sprinkled the Fine Turf on before the piles were installed.  Most of the colour is Burnt Grass.

Cheers

Next reference photo . . . I've been a bit more adventurous with the wave forms with the second coat of plaster.

I'm still not 100% convinced about the colour, either.

Now.  Here's me trying something new . . .

White weathering powder.

I think I like it.

Reduced it a bit . . .

The cruel sea. 

I've spent last week helping a fellow NMRA member replace all 27 of his turnout motors, so the layout has been a bit neglected.

Back laying track again.

Not my most favourite job. 

With the speed of a retarded glacier, the track laying creeps towards the end of the plank . . .

All of the ties have been divided and the continuity is correct.

This is the main intersection where four of the turnouts are close coupled.

The next job is to install the Tam Valley servo controllers and see if any of the point rails will move. 

Nice job with the crossover.

why there is a line in the middle of the tracks?

AG.

Thanks, Andre.

The ties are made from printed circuit board (PCB), with the rails soldered to it.  It's necessary to cut the copper on top of the ties so that there is no connection between the two rails.  I use a Dremel to make the cuts.

Cheers

MaxSouthOz posted:

Thanks, Andre.

The ties are made from printed circuit board (PCB), with the rails soldered to it.  It's necessary to cut the copper on top of the ties so that there is no connection between the two rails.  I use a Dremel to make the cuts.

Cheers

Oh ok, because the line look like all the way down even over the roadbed.

When I made my turnout and crossover, the best part was making and aligning frogs.

AG.

There is a pencil centre line on the board as well, which is a bit confusing. 

Yes.  Every turnout is bespoke, so no two are alike in their geometry.

I'm glad I'm done. 

I just had to finish laying the track.

I'm over it! 

Now for the acid test.  Everyone who knows me, knows of my dislike for solenoids and stall motors for turnouts.  I prefer model aeroplane servos because they are quiet and they don't smash the turnouts - not that it's a problem in O scale; everything is much more robust.  Did I mention that they are quiet? 

Anyway, the servos have been hooked up to the the Tam Valley Octopus 111a.  I also bought the Octocoder plug-in board, which provides an interface for my Lenz DCC system.

http://www.tamvalleydepot.com/...opusservodriver.html

There is also a plug-in programmer, the Octo 111 Remote, which you can see to the right of the Lenz.  I fixed it to a piece of 16 mm MDF (with the LRF option), to give it some mass.

This offering from Tam Valley is amazing.  A couple of presses on the Remote, and the Octopus goes through a set up program, sensing the the individual proclivities of each turnout.  Each run takes about a minute and the servo is set up for optimum performance.

At the end of the run, a simple press of a button and the servo swaps ends if it isn't aligned with the (+) closed position.

Added to that, the Octopus stops every servo from buzzing, once the travel stops.  The servos remain completely quiet during their non-operating time.  A quantum leap from the old SwitchPilots, I must say.

What an absolute pleasure to find a product which does what it says on the can. 

Let the testing of the turnouts begin . . .

Nicely done!

Peter

Thanks, Peter.

I'm hopeful. 

Cheers

Finally my Block detectors and feedback modules have arrived.

Tomorrow is the Australia Day (the Aboriginies call it Invasion Day), Holiday; so I should be able to complete the track wiring.

Here is my working diagram . . .

Hopefully I've calculated it all correctly. 

I've installed the four Block detectors in the first module on the left.  Each detector reads two Blocks, so there are four of them.

Here is a shot of three of them.

What kind of detectors are those? Are they DCC-compatible?

Hi Matt

I only have DCC.  They are Lenz LB 101's

The last of the 10 LB 101's is in.

Here's a shot showing my working arrangement.  I've got a wooden box with a couple of cushions on it.  It's perfect.  I can sit there for hours.

This is under the centre module, and shows the Lenz and it's power pack.  The 12 Volt Regulated DC power supply is on the left.

The two buses are visible at the top, and the dark cable is the XpressNet bus.

The little gizmo on the left is the HotShot HS-31 speedometer I got from Boulder Creek Engineering.

There is a 12 pin plug assembly in each corner to transfer power and/or data to and from the other modules.

The next job is to install the LR 101 feedback units.

Cheers

Continuing from the shot above . . .

I've installed the feedback unit (FBU), in this module.

It's the grey box on the right.

This shot should make it clear how the system works.  The detectors are fed track power from the DCC bus above.

The detectors feed each Block, and monitor the current in the track.  Variations are fed to the FBU, which translates the data and passes it back to the DCC Command Station, via the wires at the bottom.

The FBU has an address (71), that I've loaded into it and the individual Blocks are numbered 1 through 8.  So the software can see Blocks 71-1 through to 71-8 and identify when the Block is occupied and when the train leaves.

The turnouts are supplied undetected power as the trains only pass through them.  As soon as the train exits the turnout and enters the next Block, the computer finds it again.

Clear as mud? 

What does all of this block detection provide? A way to automate and accurately control an operations scenario?

Obviously, I am not a DCC operator.

Hi Carl

Yes.  It is part of a computer control system known as Railroad & Co.

http://www.freiwald.com/pages/index.html

Cheers

Max,

Great work. I look at every aspect of this project and am amazed at what you have done.

Alan Graziano

Thanks, Alan.

Likewise with your threads. 

Things have been a little quiet at Port Elderley.  I've been concentrating on building my rolling stock.

I'm building in styrene, so structural joins have to be left clamped overnight to cure.  I have managed to nearly complete a hopper car.  I'm waiting for couplers to arrive from P&D, and then I can paint and decal it, prior to weathering.

It's sitting with my Weaver GP 38-2, which I've tarted up with some windshield wipers, bell, MU hoses, cut levers etc; and of course weathering.  The replacement trucks and chain tower have made it my favourite; with it's slow running perfomance and Loksound decoder.

Anyway, I've fine tuned the turnouts and the Timesaver track plan is ready for action - once I get my eight cars built.  You can see the framework of a small passenger car in the background.

Cheers

Very very fine work! 

Bonjour de France!

jpv69

Merci

I've been waylaid - again!  My friend gave me a boat kit he tired of, to include in my layout.

I've had to spend some time improving my slip way and building a cradle and winch - after repairing some damage to the boat in storage.

The story line is that the local hysterical society are restoring the 19th century slaver Agilis to be used as a sail training ship.

Do you think that I'll get away with that? 

I'm still plugging away, building rolling stock.

Here's the first one out of the paint shop.  It's a bit green, but the weathering will tone that down.

I must order some decals from Protocraft.

Cheers

Green, but very accurate! bravo!