CONTROL PANELS - Part 1

As part of my continuing wiring program I'm installing control panels throughout the layout.  I had built the boxes for a few panels and even partially finished the front of one when I change my mind about the size of the panels.  Originally they were roughly 11x17, with the main panel being even larger.  After seeing much smaller local control panels on Rick Bickmore's fine layout I realized that I could do things much smaller and seeing how I have limited space anyway, smaller would be better.  Not wanting to waste my existing panel work I actually threw the old panel boxes on the miter saw and chopped them up into two small pieces, only having to add on new side.  The resulting panels are roughly 7x10 inches.   For the faces I have been drawing the panel layout using a bare-bones Apple paint/draw utility program and then printing it out onto photo paper.  I then laminate the photo paper and then glue the laminated drawing to my backer panel - 1/8" masonite or plastic and then just drill the holes for LEDs and switches on the drill press and assemble.   The main panel will still be large and I am going to probably use a steel plate for the backer so the dispatcher can use magnets to represent trains.  The main panel will control all turnouts on the main, while the local panels will control any local switches using electric machines as well as provide local operators with a track schematic.  Some locals and or the main panel will have overlap with dual controls for some turnouts - more on that wiring later.   For now - a copy of the Lower Works Branch - West panel.

Typical Panel 

BY PRODUCTS PLANT Part 24

Had a semi-productive weekend.  The newly extended Lower Works Branch was finally linked back to the main with the help of Jimmy installing flex track is a very tight area.  I also took the time to lay all the spurs to the forge shop, the heat treatment shop, the lower foundry track, and Machine Shop #2.   Jimmy also climbed up on the platform to lay cork on the branch line up to the coal dock.  This branch is another example of my poor layout planing skills as the middle 8' of it are virtually unreachable from the aisle and I still need to add track, landforms, scenery, backdrop painting,...etc..   Wiring work continues - I put back the circuit breaker board and track feeds into the Coke Works Branch control panel.  I also wiring in a few BD-40 occupancy detectors.  The wiring ahead seems endless, so much for DCC simplifying things.

I added some additional piping to the gas bleeder stack, essentially finishing this structure.  I'll give it the once over with some files and sandpaper and then prime and paint it.

Bleeder in roughly the position it will permanently occupy.

We managed to fit in a quick road trip this weekend, visiting a bunch of railroad, model railroad, and non-railroad sites in South Jersey.   One stop, the Patcong Valley Model Railroad Club featured some very fine modeling and my wife enjoyed looking for the hidden aliens scattered throughout the layout.   Just adjacent to this club, the real Cape May Seashore Lines Railroad was running their Santa Clause specials. Odd looking train with three or four Budd RDC between  Pennsy and CNJ first generation Geeps.

CNJ GP-7 in Richland, NJ (On former PRSL Trackage)

Some additional South Jersey rural railroading in Woodstown, NJ

Very Lightly Traveled Branch to Salem, NJ - Track is in horrible condition and Speed limit is 5mph.

SW something at Woodstown, NJ

BY-PRODUCTS PLANT - Part 23

More or less a finished product,...     Still going to add some sort of electrical conduit and a junction box or two along side the caged ladder.  Switched up this time and used the Tichy caged ladder over the Plastruct.  I'm not sure why I shied away from these before but they look much better than the heavy Plastruct models, abet a little harder to build.   Using the Tichy also allowed me to angle the bottom 20' of the ladder in a seamless fashion like the prototype, with I think very good results.  The Tichy is also cheaper, plus you get railings, stairs, and other parts on the same sprue.   The usual round platform work ensued, along with some rod materials at the top of the structure and boxy equipment boxes just under the top platform, serviceable from the lower platform.  I also added a second pipe to the base with a lid and hex rod slices as bolts - this would be used as some sort of service door.

Bleeder Tower

We were working outside this past weekend and in the process of moving things around and came across a portion of my old brick collection.  My kids were amazed that I used to collect bricks back during my college years and I think in their eyes my dorkiness level was raised to all time high.  Some relation to the steel industry as many of the bricks are fire bricks collected in the Perth Amboy, NJ area.  Steel mills were a prime market for these clay industries.

Part of my brick collection 

I also received an early Christmas present in the form of some beautiful ladle castings from Brandon Wehe.  These are truly fine castings and are no comparison to my nascent attempts at producing commercial resin castings.  These ladles will find good use in my open hearth.

Ladle Castings by Brandon Wehe

BY-PRODUCTS PLANT Part - 22

There are only a few elements of the By-Products plant that I haven't built yet, the Bleeder Stack being one.  This is your basic waste gas burner or bleeder, common in steel mills and oil refineries.   Once again I am basing my model on the Thomas Coke prototype.

I started with a simple base structure I turned on the lathe out of some scrap wood.  I turned the horizontal rings of the base in place and also drilled a small hole for the stack.  I added some styrene strip to the base structure and fabricated hold down bolts and their cast fittings using strip, tube, and hex strip.  Still plenty of work to be done on the stack.

Bleeder Stack Base

Full Structure - Stack needs work

WEEKEND UPDATE

Work continues on the ship and other structures but I've also been redoing much of the wiring on the layout.  It's one of those things where I didn't really have a plan so just started shoving stuff everywhere, eventually to the point of having a big mess that I couldn't even figure out what wire went where, and also, not having room for signal circuit boards and stationary decoders,...etc.   And to help things out and order from All Electronics and Yankee Dabbler (DCC components) arrived last week.   Two real cool items in these packages - besides wire, switches,...etc.. I ordered some ultra-violet LEDs -  I am going to mount these in the ceilings of several of my structures that handle hot iron or steel - specifically to set off my new resin slag, iron and steel loads.  I've been casting these in a fluorescent yellow-orange, and they look good as is, but under black light they look even better.  NOTE - These will be commercially available soon.  

Ultra-violet LED and "hot" steel load

Another arrival was a NCE "Mini-Panel".  This nifty piece of engineering is a circuit board that has the potential for many many different applications.  Simply, it has 15 pairs of inputs, to which you can connect switches (electrical), detectors, ,...etc  anything that would close the circuit.  In response the chip on the circuit board is programed to execute up to four DCC commands for each input pair.  Essentially it allows you to access DCC features from a traditional control panel.  The possibilities are endless as you can access engine, turnout, signal, macros,....etc.. .  There is a video on You Tube in which a model railroader used the Mini Panel to automate a locomotive switching a small array of turnouts and track, including, speed changes, horn and bell sounds,....etc.  Despite only having four command lines you can use a "link" feature to extend your program, although, you loose another input pair for every four command lines.   The first use of this device for me will be for automatic route control for my hidden primary mill staging.  

NCE Mini Panel

In addition to model railroading we hit the trail this weekend for a quick backpacking trip up in New York.  Not Boy Scouts, just my son and a few friends of mine from work.   Same area of New York that we did last April.  Take New Jersey Transit Train into New York City - hike from Penn Station to Grand Central - Metro North Hudson Line (ex NYC mainline) to Garrison, NY.  Trail starts at station - hike a variety of trails in the Castle Rock Unique area and the Osborne Preserve and eventually link up to the Appalachian Trail.  Take the trail to the monastery on top of the mountain and spend the night there - reverse trip on sunday.  Some photos - 

Camping on the Monastery Ball Field

Backpacking

Metro-North Locomotive - Runs on Diesel or Third Rail (south of Croton-Harmon)

West Point

S.S. VALHALLA - Part 5

An old Mainline Modeler magazine I bought at TImonium got me thinking about the Valhalla again, specifically some of the deck arrangements,...etc.     First however, I had to take care of some basics - first the anchor chain holes had to be drilled, along with holes for the various crane posts.

You can see anchor and anchor chain holes at very front of vessel.  Other, larger holes , are for the crane poles.

You will also notice that I have finished all the angled supports between the deck and the hull sides.  Then I turned my attention to the hull sides - adding the rivet bands that will give the ship the affect of a riveted hull.

Banding on sides is .020x.188 styrene strip with rivets embossed

Finally, I started installing some of the crane posts.

Posts are 5/16" tubing

ENSLEY MIXER - Part 11

Finally I was able to get back to some modeling this past week.  The Ensley Mixer project had been at a standstill for awhile - My original roller assembly was solid modeling, just not to scale - the rollers turned out to be too large.  Disgusted with wasting the time I set this aside, but with construction on the Bessemer Plant underway, the mixer will soon be needed.   So, I built the cast supports for the mixer using a variety of solid plastic and plastic strips.  The webbing was punched out and holes filed to size.   Roller assemblies were constructed of 1/4" tubing and solid styrene.  Also, an elevated concrete foundation was built and the four access hatches were molded in resin.

Assembly photos to follow, but first a new product alert - Central Valley has come out with another type of girder assembly.  As you have seen over the years, I love these products and this is just one more type to add to my structures.

New Central Valley Girders

Assembling Cast Bases for Mixer

Foundation and finished supports

Building rollers

Finished Roller Assmebly