February Update

In my last update I highlighted the work of wiring both feeders and the sub-bus. That work continues. This month I have made progress on other parts of the railroad too.

Wiring continued with the addition of feeders to the frog rails for all of the turnouts previously wired. Fortunately with the sub-bus design (see January blog), the process of integrating the new feeders was relatively simple. More work remains, but progress has been good. 

Since I am dealing with steel benchwork and wood risers, I am more concerned about possibility of shorting sub-bus wires than I was with the Exeter Branch, which is wood only construction. I determined it was necessary to make what I'm calling 'wire blocks' that can be fit onto the two sub-bus lines to ensure separation and isolation. Having just acquired a new toy for making Car Card boxes, I decided to make wire blocks as well.

My new toy is a 3D Resin Printer. A Saturn 2 by Elegoo.

In order to use the 3D printer, I needed to learn a CAD software tool to create the designs I'd like to print. I first experimented with Tinkercad, but quickly realized that I needed something more sophisticated. I moved onto Fusion 360. I'm pretty happy with Fusion 360 despite the learning curve. I created some initial drawings. Some were successful, while others were not. I ended up watching a number of videos on YouTube which helped immensely. I still consider myself a hack, but I am able to make usable designs. 

The other challenge was to learn a Slicer tool. Slicers are software used to prepare the drawing for print by converting it to printable layers and the machine language used by the printer. The Lychee software I started with proved to be inadequate for my specific printer, so I have moved onto another Slicer called Chitubox. There is a learning curve with the printer, resins, and the cleaning and curing processes as well. I continue to move forward though.

To the right is an early version of the wire block. It has horizontal slots (green arrows) to lock onto the 14g sub-bus wires. The 4 holes are to reduce the resin consumed in the print and my have a functional benefit at some point. The riser in the center is meant to be oriented up and used as a spacer from the main part of the block to the bottom of the sub-roadbed. Attachments can be by hot glue or a single screw (red circle).

To the right is a wire block installed. It has yet to be attached to the sub-roadbed. The attachment methods still need to be tested. 

It looks like a wire menagerie in the picture, but will clean up as I attach the wire blocks. I'm planning on 2 wire blocks (one on each end) per pair of sub-bus wires. Needless to say, I'll be printing quite a few wire blocks. 

I needed more practice in designing and printing. I chose a part that I would need for the railroad. A key design element is the multi-span deck girder bridge between Oxnard and Ventura over the Santa Clara River. For that, I need to to custom build the piers. I was able to get a copy of the actual Southern Pacific plans from the California State Railroad Museum.

The prototype pier is six sided. The footprint gets larger from top to bottom. Because of this, I designed the top and bottom separately to ensure my dimensions were correct. However, I then needed to connect the two forms. This was a big challenge and I was stumped. The videos on YouTube were a tremendous help in figuring out how to use a feature which connected the two.

Above is the plan I worked with and to the right is the first print of the pier. The pier has yet to be cleaned and cured. That is a chip from the upper left corner that is sitting on the pier. I am still perfecting my 3D print removal process.

I need 7 of these piers for the bridge. While I have invested time in design and the test print, I'm happy with the results. This would have taken longer to build in styrene. With printing it, I'm able to make all versions identical. ...Like the prototype. HA!

I did actually lay some track this month as well. My focus moved to the engine terminal, turntable, shops, service, and ready tracks. Quite a bit of time was spent on designing and redesigning the track layout. Since I added the turntable and shops after my designed plan was complete, I drew up a revised design. It wasn't as thorough as what I had done with the rest of the layout. Likely based on my hurrying the design. I'm having to work through design challenges as I go. Frankly, once the Taylor Yard area is complete, my velocity should pick up as I'll be working from the designed plans again.

To the right is the initial layout of the track, similar to my design. All is laid out for perspective.

To get to the final result, I've made so many adjustments, that I'm not very close to what I had originally considered. However, the design has improved every time it has been modified. I've added some additional switching too. 

The turntable is wearing its 'hat' as pictured. This came from the original box and helps keep the pit clear of debris during construction. 

The view has the following features. 1) the caboose track at the top with caboose above it. 2) the 3 service tracks above the turntable. 3) the 3 ready tracks to the left of the turn table. 4) the supply track for the shops curving around on the left side. 5) the 3 shops track on the right side of the turntable. The garden tracks/whisker tracks are not laid out. They will be done last.

To the right is another perspective with the shops supply track coming along the bottom below the tape measure. The two mains are the farthest tracks with the big sweeping (and super-elevated) curve. Inside of that is the switching lead. Inside of that are the diesel and sand supply tracks. I had previously completed installing the yard lead, but had to pull up some of the track to accomplish access to the diesel and sand facilities. An advantage to using latex caulk is that all track can be easily removed and reused without issue. 

First up was to get the caboose tracks squared away. Cabooses will be serviced and stored on these tracks. My capacity is 6 cabooses per track, giving me a capacity of 12 when full. I ended up using wye turnouts on each end. One aspect I kept in mind was the ability to pull a caboose from either end of the caboose track. This will make it easier to pull and place the caboose on a train headed West or East by eliminating the need for a run-around.

The caboose tracks are in the center of the picture with straight edges on each side. To the right is a cluster of turnouts that were moved for the caboose track installation.

With the caboose tracks complete more designing took place. Adding the diesel storage tanks helped to get perspective. However, the design wasn't feeling right. More experimentation was needed.

You can see all the turnouts sitting on the yard tracks. They are on hand to make adjustments to the design. 

I continued with this design, but something just wasn't quite right. More design changes were to come.

After trying to make the above design work, it was time to make a change. I wasn't comfortable with the ready tracks or their capacity. Nor was I satisfied with the access to the sand and diesel tracks.

Finally I hit on the design I liked. The ready tracks will sweep around the end as seen on the right. Access to the shops track will be moved to the yard lead. 

It was time to start laying the service tracks before I change my mind again! While not documented in photos, hours were spent arranging track to get to the right design. 

More service track progress. Unfortunately, I have to lay one track and let it set up before laying the track next to it. I'm using a parallel track tool and it is best to have the guide track stable/dry. The tool works pretty well, but the straightedge is the final judge.

Extra effort is spent to ensure all straight track is truly straight. 

The curve joints on the ready tracks were soldered to ensure a smooth transition. The tightest radius is 36". The length will be extended to maximize the capacity. 

A couple more progress photos below. 

The 'hat' was removed from the turntable pit and the bridge installed so the lead could be aligned for access to the turntable. 

Then a problem occurred. Apparently the edge of the Walthers pit is a bit too low. That wasn't going to work! I've never checked, but my guess is that Walthers flextrack has lower profile ties than Peco track.

As I saw it, there were two solutions to this problem: 1) sand the ties on the bottom to lower the track. Or 2) shim the turntable to raise it up.

I had already installed the turntable. 

I opted to shim the turntable. Unfortunately, I didn't validate the turntable height prior to installing it. I made sure the bridge operated as expected, but didn't check the height. Of course I installed the turntable with the same latex caulk I'm using to install the track. So out came the turntable after some creative work with a putty knife. 

I used the putty knife to remove all of the caulk from the bottom of the turntable and had to clean up the hole in the benchwork as well. All went relatively well and the turntable was ready to be reinstalled with shims.

The next challenge was to get some material for shims. My typical shim material is the cardboard backing from Atlas turnout packaging. However, that turned out to be too thick. I had some sheet styrene, but that was a bit too thin. In looking around for shimming material, I came upon a solution. And a tasty one at that! In the trash can was a Hopnosis IPA 6-pack container. The cardboard was just right. This sounds very Goldilocks and the Three Bears-ish, but it was just right. I now had my material for the shims around the turntable pit.

Just another reason for me to like the Firestone-Walker Brewery!

To the right is the shimmed pit. The alignment was perfect. The lead track was filed and tested. All worked very well. 

As a note, I filed the rail to match the angle/bevel of the rail on the turntable bridge. With this bevel in place, the transition from the turntable track to the intersecting track is more forgiving and helps to prevent derailments.

To the left the lead is installed. The ready tracks are complete.

The pictures below represent the completion of the lead and the shop tracks. Behind are the sand, diesel, and shop supply tracks. 

Once the center shops track was installed and dry, I installed the other two tracks. It was a bit of a challenge to make them mirror images of each other, but I think I was able accomplish it. All of the turntable tracks require significant filing to the rails provide a workable transition from/to the turntable track. I've been pleased with the results as I test each track prior to installation. I use a caboose as my test car.

Next to be installed are the whisker tracks. Based on the space available, whisker tracks will not be all around the turntable, but just enough to provide a good effect. 

To the right I'm using a U50 to to determine the needed length of track. 

As an aside, the Southern Pacific referred to the locomotives as U50, not U50B or U50D. Those designations are from railfans. 

The same goes with the DD35. the SP only had the cabless version, designated as DD35. The UP had both cab and cabless versions and referred to theirs as DD35A and DD35B respectively. If we could just get a model railroad company to make DD35s in HO scale! I prefer to avoid buying a brass model. I know at least one company had plans to make them, but nothing has ever materialized. They will probably announce one as soon as I kitbash one of my own. 

After validating that length was appropriate, I installed the first whisker track. 

That concludes my February update. In March, I will finish the whisker tracks, do more wiring, and finish construction at the end of the Taylor peninsula. Hopefully, I will be able to connect the track between the two sides of the peninsula. 

I hope you've enjoyed this update. I welcome your feedback.

Welcome 2023 - January Update

January has been a productive month. Although it really isn't visible. The majority of January has been electrical work with the installation of feeders and sub-bus connections. 

In my last update I shared pictures of all the feeder wires placed in the holes drilled in Taylor Yard. Each feeder still had to be stripped and formed for installation (soldering) to the rails. 

I made the decision to change my methodology and add feeders to the frog rails for all the turnouts. This was done to guarantee electrical connection and not counting on the points for power routing. As I bench tested the Peco turnouts, I became concerned about power routing issues over time. I wanted to ensure that power routing via the points was not my only source of power for the frog rails. Now all turnouts will have four feeders rather than two as the frog rails will have feeders added. All previously completed turnouts needed the frog feeders added too. 

My goal is for reliable and consistent operating. The means electrical, dcc, trackwork, rolling stock, and motive power all of are equal priority.

Here are some before and after pictures in no particular order of the feeder installations.

For electrical construction of the Los Angeles Division, I am following the same electrical method for feeders, sub-bus and bus that I've used successfully on the Exeter Branch. Below is an article I wrote in 2011 about the process used on the Exeter Branch. 

In 2009 I built my railroad. I’m proud of the fact that I went from concept to first operating session in 11 months. That took a lot of planning and execution. Because my layout is designed exclusively for operations, reliability was and is extremely important. Not just electrically, but track work, rolling stock, and motive power as well. To date, I’ve hosted 44 operating sessions and have not had any electrical related issues. 

The premise of this article is wiring, but I’d like to identify some key decisions in support of that. First of all, DCC was a must. My preference is NCE, but it is my preference. Next, I wanted to ensure an operator on one side of the railroad would not short out the entire railroad. So, I divided the railroad into 5 power districts. Each power district has its own dedicated circuit breaker. All breakers and the NCE system are mounted on wall mounted panel under the layout. The panel IS removable if heavy maintenance is required. A single power strip is plugged into the wall allowing a single button to turn the railroad on/off. See figure 1. 

Another preference of mine is that each and every piece of track has feeders. I prefer to eliminate any dependence on rail joiners for electrical power. To that end, I do not solder rail joiners for electrical purposes, but rather add feeders to each piece of track. Even to 1" sections of track. That may be over engineering, but is my preference. 

Color codes: I decided to stick to a color code system to try to make my life easier.

• Track Bus: blue and white 12 gauge stranded wire
• Track Feeders: white or red and blue or green 22 gauge solid wire
• Feeder placement: white or red – rail closest to the aisle, blue or green – rail farthest 

Why did I mix feeder colors? Because the free wire I got had 4 wires in the bundle!

All feeders are soldered to the web of the rail for the rail connection. I bend the wire to fit inside the web. See figure 2. Because I keep the feeder lengths short, I can use a smaller gauge wire. In almost all cases, feeder wire length is 8 inches or less. 

As to the actual bus to feeder connection, I use a sub bus. See figure 3. The sub bus then connects to the track bus. I found this to be an easy way to bridge bus to feeder connections eliminating the need to bundle multiple feeders to on bus connection. Maintenance is much easier as well. 

I used 14 gauge solid copper wire for the sub bus. I had a bunch of scrap 14/3 Romex (household wire) that I used to supply the copper wire. I stripped a lot of it and would try to find a roll of unsheathed wire if doing it again. I stripped way too much wire! 

The process: 

I first solder all of my feeders to the track dropping them through the bench work. Once the feeders for a section are complete, I align them under the layout to get an idea of where the sub bus should be routed. In many cases, the sub bus can be bent to allow more feeders to be connected. I cut a piece of sub bus (14g solid copper) a 3-4 inches longer than needed. I prefer to leave some extra on each end. I the begin attaching the feeders (usually the rail closest to the aisle). Most are trimmed to be 4-6 inches under the bench top. Each wire is stripped and wrapped (Western Union wrap) around the sub bus. See figure 4. Each feeder wire is then soldered to the sub bus. I then repeat the process for the other rail feeders. 

Once all feeders are connected to each sub bus, I connect them to the track bus. This is done by stripping a 1" section of the sheathing off exposing the stranded 14g copper wire. See figure 5. I then wrap the exposed section around the sub bus wire and solder. I repeat it for the other bus. 

Each sub bus is arranged so it cannot contact/short the other. Each connection to the track bus is offset by a few inches to ensure no shorting. I do not cover the wire connections as they have been soldered. If your preference is to cover them, then heat shrink or liquid electrical tape is recommended. See figures 6 and 7 for bus connections. 

A couple of notes on the track bus wire. I prefer to buy stranded wire from an automotive lighting supply house. I use the Lighthouse in Phoenix. The reason I use automotive wire is that the case/sheath is soft and flexible. This makes inline stripping of the wire much easier. See figure 6. This is in contrast to the wire available at Home Depot or Lowes which has a hard plastic sheath. I use a stripping tool that you squeeze and it strips the sheath away (see figure 5). 

That’s about it. I have found this to be very simple and effective. The only downside is that my arms got really tired soldering all the feeders to the sub bus as it was over my head when sitting under the layout soldering.

That's about it for January. Wiring is a lot of work with little visible result. My next update will show more significant progress as more benchwork will be added.