Kato N Albula 3x1m (suggestions welcome)

[cteno4]

Nice! Pocket joints are perfect for some things (even though the jig companies want to make it seem like every joint should be a pocket joint!).

 

wheels are an excellent idea, reaching back to do work only makes your back hurt! Nice to be able to pull away from the wall when you need to do something or even just move it in the apartment if necessary.

 

looking forward to the construction topic!

 

cheers

 

jeff

[Tyraforce]

UPDATE 07

Due to some unforeseen events I was unable to spend any time working on the layout in the last two years. I also realized having the layout in the living room was not an option and I got rid of all the benchwork. Currently I'm trying to decide whether the basement would work but more importantly I decided to build a tiny test layout, which allows me to test things very comfortably. I never liked the idea of going for a small layout before going big because I just wouldn't enjoy building one of those ovals. However, that's not the case with a test layout ... and I'm so glad I went for it. Here comes the oval!
Four cheap legs and a bit of plywood cost next to nothing but already saved me a lot of time. As the legs are far from the corners, they can support the layout in a vertical position easily. Currently I'm only focusing on electronics and controls. Later I'll probably remove most of it and practice some scenery.



I quickly realized I was wrong about so many things but on the other hand I finally figured some things out and today I want to share one of them. I finally found a way how to do DC multi-track station deceleration, precision stop and acceleration on multiple tracks combined with collision protection and turnout run-through protection. All that with some very basic tools, no sensors, no relays and no soldering. All you need to know is how to connect (a lot of) wires to the switches. I'm sure people use similar stuff but when it comes to DC wiring, I haven't found much useful info so in case this is interesting for someone, here's what I'm currently running:



This is a plan of two tracks of a station controlled by 4 switches, which are all ON-ON latching (so no middle position and they stay where you put them). The contacts of the swithces are represented byt the 3 tables on top. The middle one is identical for the other track. The ones on the sides control the turnouts. In case you're not familiar with this, check one of the many videos of how to use a DPDT switch to control turnouts. This is the latching version with a pushbutton.

The whole area is powered by 2 simple 20 USD brake modules that is placed between the controller and all the track sections. These are basically batteries that charge from the track current and when turned on they will stop charging and allow the train to deplete their charge which will gradually stop it. When energized, they'll start charging and accelerate the train. Traffic only moves right to left so let's start from the right side:

The arrival section starts with a short (29mm) section insulated from both sides to prevent the wheels of the cars to cause spikes when the train is slowing down. The power to this section comes from one of the two brake modules (each for one track). The 4PDT switch controlling the right turnout (works just like 2 DPDT switches - see diagram and the right table) dictates which of the two modules power the active arrival track. There are 3 scenarios:
a] Brake module OFF: the whole track is powered by regular current and any train on that track would have departed. The arriving train will pass thru with its speed slightly reduced as the brake modules I use lower the voltage a bit even in their off setting - quite hand in a station.
b] Brake module ON: If there is no train stopped on that track, the arrival area is energize and the train starts slowing down as soon as it enters it. The great thing about it is it starts slowing down way before the station, which is something rarely seen on DC layouts.
c] Brake module ON: If the track is occupied, the charge of the corresponding module is already depleted so the arrival section is not energised and will stop the train to prevent collision.
The stopping section is there to fix the biggest flaw of the brake module where different locos stop in very different places. This section's power also comes from the brake module but is controlled by one of the two track control switches (one for each track). When you want the train to stop at the selected track the switch engages the brake module and cuts power to the stopping section at the same time. This allows all locos to stop with their rear part in approximately the same place (in my case all the long locos pull long trains so having the front of the TGV a bit past the platform is rather helpful). As the train is already significantly slowed down by the module the stopping is quite smooth and the train momentum quite small, which leads to amazing precision. I went with 186mm to accommodate the longest loco.
When powered on, the train will accelerate slowly.
The powered by turnout section is again the shortest posible piece of track and it's sole purpose is to feed current into the stopping section when the departure turnout is set correctly. If it's not the loco will not move from the stopping section.
The departure section is powered by the active module same way as the arrival section.
LEDs are pretty simple. There is LED indication for all the switches, which can be used to power all the signals around the station. It's pretty simple except the departure signal is powered by both the track and turnout switches so that it only shows green when the switch is aligned correctly.
More tracks are certainly possible and easy to add.
The first flaw is that there can be a collision if the train is on a track that is ON but the departure switch is aligned incorrectly and the arrival switch leads to that very track.
The other flaw is that this all just doesn't work with passenger cars with lighting or lighting prep that connect front and rear wheels of the car. I find it easier to fix those cars than to deal with such a problem to insulated sections.

I hope this is a little helpful. I'll planning to make a video of another feature later this week.

[cteno4]

Interesting with the brake modules. Which ones are you using?

 

jeff

[Tyraforce]

I'm using H-Tronic 190870 (the first one I found) but there are at least a few similar ones. I think I'll have a look at them cause I just realized I'll need a longer stopping distance than the maximum that can be selected on this one. I'm hoping to use it as a sort of block control for the station as I haven't found a DC block control for diverging tracks.

 

Edited December 19, 2023 by Tyraforce

[MeTheSwede]

21 hours ago, Tyraforce said:

I decided to build a tiny test layout

 

I'm going to need new adjectives to describe the sizes of my latest projects. 😅

 

Layouts that gets built are more fun that layouts that don't. Thus saving one's big dream layout for later and getting started on something more managable in the meantime is probably often a wise decision in this hobby.

 

It was quite interesting to read your technical description, even thought that's not really my thing. I'm looking forward to see the system in action.

[Tyraforce]

1 hour ago, MeTheSwede said:

 

I'm going to need new adjectives to describe the sizes of my latest projects. 😅

 

Layouts that gets built are more fun that layouts that don't...

 

I just realized I need more construction and operation complexity to really enjoy the layout. I watched like 10 videos explaining why 1st layout should be small BUT I still prefer to fail a big one than to build something that brings me no joy. I'm just kidding regarding the curent test layout because it's exactly what I never wanted to build... I'm working on making the basement suitable for the layout so construction shoul start in spring or so.