Going Japanese!!!

[Pauljag900]

Thanks gents,and yes Jeff,I mentioned to kvp earlier that I m going to use wood,the station is 8 x248mm long now,I already have ten,5 long,front and back,so I m going to buy three sets which will give me 16 in total.8 for the front and 8 for the back with wood in the middle.If I used all Kato plates i would need to buy 11 sets and would cost nearly £200,so it makes sense to use wood.My intention is to use the road plates I have which is basically the station plates plus 2 extra,I ll put them right across the front of the station then a t junction on the right hand side,across a level crossing where the track is flat and goes under the viaduct and then straight down the board to the other end,if that makes any sense?Basically the rd plates will mirror the baseboard and run in an L shape the same as the board.Once I m happy with the plan I ll print of a much larger plan and fill all the detail in regarding the road plates,crossings etc.

Paul

[Pauljag900]

hi everyone,i wonder if anyone can help me please? If I had a length of track with a bumper at each end and I wanted to run a train back and forth without using a switch or the controller,can it be done to do this on its own? in other words,travel the track,stop,then reverse,on its own without using any controls?If it is possible Is there anything on the market to do this or will it have to be home made?

thanks in advance :)

[kvp]

The Tomix automatic control unit has an operating mode that does this. It's part of their TCS system.

[Pauljag900]

Hi kvp,thanks for that,any idea where I could find some info on it,I ve had a quick look but it all seems a bit vague to be honest

[cteno4]

paul,

 

you need some sort of sensor at each end to reverse the current unfortunately. there are a number of autoreverser circuits out there on the market. usually $30-100. usually they use a photo sensor that you just mount in the track (drill like 1/8" hole) and when the train goes over it its stopped (the fancier ones slow the train to a stop instead of just turning it off) and then pause for a set length then reverse the current and start the train back to the other end (again fancier ones do a nice acceleration rather than turning power on). the diodes isolate the end track when the train goes into the end piece, but when the current is reversed it allows current to flow into that end isolated track and the train to run back out.

 

others use end pieces of track that are regulated so that when the train its the end piece of isolated track its stopped, paused then reversed. these require one rail be gapped at the ends and a diode wired across each of the two gaps. of course if you use longer trains you need a longer end rail thats gapped to house the whole train thru the motor car on the isolated end bit.

 

most just regulate the power fed into them so you need to provide a controller to set the top speed, others have their own power supply and speed control

 

here is a simple one thats cheap on ebay. just does on/off/pause/reverse/on so no acceleration and deceleration. you need to do the rail gap on each end piece of track where the train is to stop. you can wire the diode in using a feeder track on either end isolated bits and one in the middle section of track (where you feed in the power to the whole thing). you will need your own power supply but a wall wart and a litlte pwm controller could do that inexpensively

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Automated-Trolley-Back-and-Forth-Board-1-Amp-Unit-/111788962351?hash=item1a0724322f:g:XjYAAOSwofxUgL5M

 

looks like he may not ship over the pond, but might contact him. if not happy to relay it to you if needed.

 

i can get you links for fancier ones if you want but the price goes up on them.

 

cheers

 

jeff

[kvp]

The various operation modes for the Tomix TCS unit: (shuttle mode is number 1)

(it uses threadle type Tomix track sensors to detect the train and handles acceleration/deceleration and wait times, along with turnout control in the more complex cases)

[Pauljag900]

Hi gents,I ve had a play about on the computer and came up with this track plan for the tram line which should just fit in between the train tracks.it will be a combination of Kato compact track and tomix wide tram track joined with Kato s 20-045 transition track piece.With this plan I can either just run the loop or wire to fit an auto reverse to the station and back.

Not sure how to do the wiring yet and I may just use it with the controller.

Paul

[Pauljag900]

Dec 26th came and saw my layout taken apart and boxed while re construction of the new and extended baseboard took place.

The new board was constructed with 3x2 frame work with half inch ply screwed to the framework with 18 inch centres.I gave it a quick coat of water based grey paint to seal it up and then re laid the track as per the new plan.I constructed the new station floor from half inch ply with the Kato walls glued to the back of the base,the front has the Kato viaduct station plates placed in front of the timber.It was dificult to get an exact match with the colour but as most of it will be covered I m going to wait till everything is laid before I do anything to it.I still need to get some track to finish it off but most of it is done.

The layout is 38 inches deep and measures 8 feet across the back and 10 feet down the side.

 

Baseboard done.

 

End of day one

Station floor painted

This is as far as I ve got and tomorrow I ll lay the station track as far as I can with what I ve got,then I ll know what to order.

[katoftw]

I like what you did to widen the overhead station.  Will steal that Idea.  Thanks.

[Pauljag900]

Ha ha,glad I could help!

[Eurostar25]

Looking great, will be interesting to see how you fill in the blank space between the rails, I'll be facing a similar dilemma soon.

[Pauljag900]

Do yo mean on the station area?

[katoftw]

I think he means the gap between 2 parallel track pieces.  Most people just fill it with ballast to make it look similar to double track.  But that is costly.  I would get a scrap piece if wood to fit, place in between and fill over.  Should save a lot $$$ of ballast.

Edited December 30, 2015 by katoftw

[Robert46]

Very nice job... :) look forward to see the progress.. Btw, how many track lines will be on the wide overhead station board?

[Pauljag900]

Hi katoftw.i m not sure yet how much ground will be visible once all the track is laid,once it is I ll decide then. The only ground level track that is nt double track is where I put a couple of re railers in.The only other single track is all on the viaduct station area,I m going to put a couple of random double prices in between the platforms where they wo nt be seen just to help with the spacing of the tracks.

Edited December 30, 2015 by Pauljag900

[Pauljag900]

Hi Robert 46,there will be a total of six through tracks and four sidings,four platforms with the sidings behind,or in front,depending how you look at it,so ten lines in total but only four trains running at any one time,unless I decide to convert to dcc!

[Eurostar25]

Hi Paul, yes sorry I should have been more specific, as katoftw mentioned, the gaps between the parallel tracks in the 3rd photo and the area around the edge of the layout between the fascia and the viaduct track.

Are you looking at filling it with scenic materials?

[Pauljag900]

Hi Eurostar,yes mate,if my calculations are right I should be able to fit some small buildings and a narrow rd in between the station road plates and the viaduct track.at the moment I ve not really planned the fine detail coz I cocentrated on the track plan first,I tend to make the rest up as I go along.I ve got some of the tomix single story shops so I m hoping they ll fit in there,I ll let you know once I ve tried it.

Paul

[Pauljag900]

Scott,this may give you some idea of what I was talking about earlier,I m not saying this is how it will look for Defo,the other idea I ve had is to run a single tomix tram line the length of that road and make it pedestrianised rather than a roadway.The tram line,which will be Kato compact track and tomix wide tram in front of the station will run underneath the double viaduct track and loop around in front of the station,does that make any sense?It will shuttle back and for along this line and not in a loop.

[Eurostar25]

Thanks for the photos Paul, they look pretty tidy in the space you've got there. The trams are something I've never looked into myself!

[Robert46]

Hi Paul.. that will be a very busy station definitely... will be nice to see several types of services running together, the commuter, shinkansen, freight etc.. :love10:

[Pauljag900]

Hi Jeff,

This is the pic of the point set up

And the track layout

[Pauljag900]

Edited January 4, 2016 by Pauljag900

[cteno4]

Paul,

 

To get the power over to your sidings you will need to have point 4 switched to the passing track and the point 7 thrown to go to your yard ladder.

 

Then each track on the yard ladder should only get power when you have the yard ladder points are set to run to that siding.

 

If you put point 4 to go just on the passing siding (i.e. Not off onto the yard) then all the yard tracks will be off.

 

If you don't have point 7 set to the passing siding then the whole yard will be off.

 

If you have both points 3 and 4 set to run straight thru on the main line then the passing siding (and the yard connected to it) is off.

 

If you have both 3 and 4 set to run to the run to the passing siding then the siding is on (and so will the yard if you have the 7 set to run to the yard) and the bit of mainline between 3 and 4 will be off.

 

If you have 3 and 4 set so one is running to the passing siding and one is running straight then both the yard and the passing siding will be live.

 

One note with that cross over you have with 4 and 6 between your two main lines, you will need to insulate both rails just after one of the points as it diverges (you can do it on either side of the spacer track) as you don't want your two power packs shorting into each other there.

 

Hope this helps

 

Jeff

[Pauljag900]

Sorry Jeff,I ve re taken the photos,these should be better,

Paul