Layout update

[Bernard]

Spiff - great photos of the layout in how it's developed in 4 years......I started mine in 2002 and I'm still adding things onto it.

Great work!

[tossedman]

Great looking layout Spiff1 You heading down to SuperTrain this year?

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks for the replies guys. It was a real pain getting those sidings in and ballasting as I had reach over a desk and the station while standing on a chair. lol I'll have to go back and work on the ballasting abit more. I'm hoping the panels wont be too bad.

 

Todd, we'll be at the show with the club layout. See you there.

 

Jon

Edited April 5, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[tossedman]

Hey Jon,

 

You need one of these.http://www.micromark.com/topside-creeper-step-ladder-support-system,8854.html

Standing on a chair can be dangerous to your health.

 

See you in a couple of weeks.

 

Cheers eh,

 

Todd

Edited April 5, 2015 by tossedman

[cteno4]

Curt got one of these for his layout and it does work well, just bulky to store when not in use.

 

Jeff

Edited April 5, 2015 by cteno4

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hey Jon,

You need one of these.http://www.micromark.com/topside-creeper-step-ladder-support-system,8854.html

Standing on a chair can be dangerous to your health.

See you in a couple of weeks.

Cheers eh,

Todd

I could have used that last weekend. Lol

 

Spiff

[cteno4]

When I was young I got to work on the design stages of the Monterey bay aquarium. I was the one Indian for the Chiefs at the time and got to do all sorts of fun jobs. One was to build a 3/4" scale model of the whole aquarium and it was huge, about 20'x30'. As it grew from just the core exhibit areas to eventually get to the whole thing it of course got harder and harder to work in the center areas. I found a huge pile of heavy steel shelving material, like erector set pieces in one of the warehoused they were tearing down and was able to Frankenstein basically one of these stands. Late even that could not quite do it and I realized cantileavering any further would need to go to the next level of engineering. So luckily ww were working in a big warehouse with open trusses up about 20' in the air so I was able to rig up some trapeze bars over a few center of the model strategic spots and then I could then lay out with the padded bar on my chest and my toes on the platform to extend out another 3-4' past where I could on the platform. I looked very funny sort of doing a superman over the model!

 

I had to move very slow as it was just my toes keeping me in place. Luckily the rubber toes of my skuffed up converse high top basketball shoes acted like climbing shoes with grippie toes! I had a pouch around my neck with tools and made a long pole with a basket on it for folks to deliver me bits I needed. I could work for 30 minutes befor it totally cut the circulation off in my arms!

 

Jeff

[Spaceman Spiff]

Good times. Lol

[Spaceman Spiff]

Quick update,

 

Still haven't started on the switch panels, but I did install some street lights. I have some dark areas to by the hotel and Mc. D's that need some lighting.

 

I'll have to figure out something for platform lights.

 

 

Spiff

Edited May 6, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[kvp]

This looks really great!

[Bernard]

Spiff - love the lighting and the traffic at night scene.....great work!

[cteno4]

Kudos spiff!

 

Jeff

[velotrain]

I had taken this for a Japanese layout - why is all the traffic on the wrong side of the road?

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks for the comments. I am hoping to add more lighting effects. The parking lot cars have already been wired up before.

 

velotrain- my layout is hybrid of everything. I have Japanese buildings, North Am buildings with Canadian Rocky Mountains lol

My trains are mix bag of everything, Japanese North Am and European.

 

 

Spiff

[velotrain]

Thanks for the info Spiff.

 

I didn't go through the whole thread, and you've no doubt mentioned this previously, but just saw the recent photos and was surprised.

 

I'm not going to be religious in my interpretation either, so can understand.

[Spaceman Spiff]

.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[Spaceman Spiff]

G'day Gang,

 

I've been working on getting rid of the bulky Kato turnout controllers to cleaner LED panel. I'm not an electrical guru at all and it took a lot longer than I thought it would. Had I know it would have taken this long and been so frustrating I probably wouldn't have started. The final wiring behind the panel is cleaner than the picture shown. Anyways the first panel of three is done. It controls 13 turnouts. The remaining two panels will control four and thirteen switches.

 

Pics: old panel and new.

 

 

Spiff

Edited July 21, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[kvp]

The led panel does look nice, but i don't see the concept of the leds. Usually one led is on the straight route and one on the diverging route or one bicolor led indicating the straight/diverging route. But a yellow/green pair and one on the common and another on one of the branch side is something new to me. Also the Kato turnouts don't really need so complex panels, unless you are running the turnouts digital. Could you explan us what is what on the pictures?

 

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hi kvp,

 

 

I don't have much room in my layout area so I wanted a small panel. The normal Kato switches are rather bulky. Also I have some in hidden areas, the LEDs allow me to know the status of the switch. I know it's not prototypical. The green means the switch is not thrown while yellow means it is. There is additional wiring going to Kato switches for track side signals.

 

Spiff

Edited July 21, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[kvp]

Thanks! I would also like to know what are those circuit boards inside the box. They might have something to do with the turnouts or the signals, but i can't really figure it out from the photo, just that there are quite a lot of IC-s on them.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Hi kvp,

 

 

The toggle switches were made by Ken Stapleton.

 

His site

 

http://www3.sympatico.ca/kstapleton3/751D.HTM

 

 

Spiff

[Kb4iuj]

What size are your biggest turns ? Looks like a pretty fair layout.

[kvp]

 

The toggle switches were made by Ken Stapleton.

Thanks! They look like fairly complex circuits (a pulsed full H bridge) with lots of wires for the simple task of throwing a Kato turnout. (actually you can get the same results with the switch, a capacitor, a single resistor, and 2 leds)

 

You mentioned some trackside signals controlled manually. What do you use for them?

[Spaceman Spiff]

What size are your biggest turns ? Looks like a pretty fair layout.

Hi Kb4iuj,

 

To be honest I don't know what radius my turns are. It's been awhile since I put the track down. The modules are 30 inches wide. I know the one by the upper station is tight especially the station siding. I think that one is under 11 inches.

 

 

Spiff

Edited July 22, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thanks! They look like fairly complex circuits (a pulsed full H bridge) with lots of wires for the simple task of throwing a Kato turnout. (actually you can get the same results with the switch, a capacitor, a single resistor, and 2 leds)

 

You mentioned some trackside signals controlled manually. What do you use for them?

Hi kvp,

 

 

There are 2 wires for power, 2 wires to the throw the actual switch and then 3 for the LEDs. From the 3 LEDs, I then piggy back two additional wires for the future track wiring. I used Cat5 wire from the switch panel to switch at the track. On the Cat5 wire I'm using two wires for actual switch throwing, two for the trackside signals and the rest for future use. Since I didn't put a block system prior to scenery, the track signals will just be a repeater of the panel (displaying switch position)

 

 

I know in that picture the wiring looks like a disaster but once I tie it up it will look better. Lol

 

Spiff

Edited July 22, 2015 by Spaceman Spiff