Layout Progress Report #20 as of 11/08/2010

First off let me give y'all my sincerest apologies, it's been more than a week as I had planned for my next update, it's actually been almost 2 months!!  Ouch!!! Life and priorities have gotten in the way of updating the blog, however work on the CSR has progressed nicely.

So when we last left the CSR the track had been laid for the branchline on the main level.  Next was the powering of that track, which meant the track sections had to be isolated due to reverse loops and the Peco Electrofrog turnouts that I'm using.  Using Peco Electrofrog turnouts require that the diverging sections of the turnout be insulated from the next track sections on the frog side of the turnout.  This can be done with insulating joiners when joining the track to the turnout or by cutting insulating sections into the track.  I prefer the latter, as it is much more stable and secure than insulating joiners, as they flex and deteriorate over time.

Here is the tool I use to make the insulating cuts into the track: A Dremel with a Flexshaft attachment with a #409 cutoff wheel attached.

There are other ways of making this cut including with a razor saw, however a cutoff wheel on a Dremel works best.  The flex shaft is not a necessity, however it makes it much easier to cut a nice perpendicular cut into the rail as shown in the next picture.  Note that the track on either side of the cut has been glued down, thus the rail will still be supported by the glued down track, something that would not happen if I had just used an insulated railjoiner.

After the cut has been made I use some .020x.100 strip styrene to help insulate the gap that has been cut in the rails. The gaps can be seen in the track above the styrene.

The strip styrene is put into the gap and then cut off as shown.

After the styrene is in place some gap filling Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue is used to glue the styrene into place in the gap.

Here you can see three sets of them glued into place, waiting for the CA to dry.  I usually like to wait at least a couple of hours.  CA glue dries quickly when it is applied this, but when a whole drop is put into place it takes longer.  I also do not use an accelerator as the joint it produces will not be as strong as one without.

Once the glue has dried I then use a small needlefile to file the styrene into the shape of the rail.  The final result then looks like this:

Electrical feeders were attached to the flextrack before it was put in place, as shown in Progress Report #5.  Once that piece of track is in place I drill a couple of small holes next to the track and pull the feeders thru the holes as shown.

Here are the feeders shown from below the benchwork, coming thru the wooden subroadbed.

I then attach the feeders to the DCC buses underneath the layout with red 3M Scotchloks for joining the 20ga feeder to the 14ga bus wire.  Some people have had problems with intermittent connections using wiretaps like this and I have as well, but only when I was using a knockoff cheapo brand of wiretaps.  I have never had a problem with a 3M brand Scotchlok failing on me.  This is one place not to cheap out but to buy only the best name brand stuff.

As you can see above there are 3 sets of DCC power buses running underneath this section of the layout, each of them color coded with electrical tape.  These feeders are coming from the branchline, which is being fed by the yellow DCC power bus.  Color coding and labeling things will make troubleshooting electrical issues easier, both in the present and in the future.

I've also put in all 6 of the Digitrax DS64 stationary decoders for the upper main level of the layout.  As I was laying track on the upper level I determined it would be easier to go ahead and have the decoders ready to power the turnout machines, attaching them as I was going along.  I used some scrap plywood and some hinges, mounting them underneath the layout in strategic locations.  Here you can see 2 sets of decoders mounted under the layout.

Here is a closeup of one of the mounting boards, with the decoders all wired up and ready to go.

The boards fold out of the way and are held in place by a couple of strips of wood attached with some spacers and screws.  Simple, cheap and effective...

So once the decoders were in I got busy with the track laying.  All of the track in the main town area of the layout is in, with all sections powered and operational, with all turnouts operating remotely thru DCC as well.  Here is the east side of the town area, with the branchline closest to the edge, the 2 mainlines heading up and away:

Here is the west side of the town, with the branchline once again closes to the edge, the 2 mainlines further inside, heading out underneath the temporary bridge.

Speaking of the temporary bridge, I built it as a place holder for the 2 bridges I had shown in a previous section.  They will be put into place as the scenery progresses.  In the meantime this temporary bridge built from masonite and l-shaped aluminum glued together will be the placeholder.

Next step is to tie the mainlines together, and that day when the trains can run continuously is getting close......until next time!

Layout Progress Report #19 as of 09/19/2010

Wow, three weeks have already gone by since my last post, and it has been a busy time on the Cahaba Southern.  I've probably put in another 40+ hours the last 3 weekends plus some weeknights, and good progress is being made.  Here is what it typically looks like while all the work is going on, tools and other needed stuff everywhere:

In order to put in the bridges I had built in the last progress report I need to get all the trackwork in place that the bridges will pass over.  However, nn order to put in the trackwork I needed to get the power buses and main distribution panel put in.  So, it's time to pull a bunch of wire and connect a bunch of connectors, and after a good days of work later it looks like this:

The upper main level will be subdivided into 4 districts:  the 2 main lines, the branchline and industries, and the reversing loop.  I have a 2nd feed coming off of the DCS200 to supply the main level, and it goes to the PM42 distribution panel shown on the bottom right.  The AR1 for the reversing loop is mounted above it.  The 4 district bus wires are run through the layout, with each pair coded with different colors of electrical tape to help distinguish it.  These bus wires can be seen leaving the distribution on the left.  Everything is mounted and hinged to the bottom of the main level and can swing down for maintenance access.

So now that I have power, it is time to lay some track......or is it?  Well, almost, one more thing to get done before the track get put down.  In another previous progress report I showed the PL-10 switch machines from Peco and the mounts and wiring needed for them.  These have to be put in and mounted as the turnouts are laid.  So I spend a long afternoon preassembling my switch machines, and here is a pic of some mounted to the main level:

Well, if there are mounted switch machines that must mean that some turnouts and track has been laid...

...and there it is.  This pic shows the branchline track coming up from the helix.  Note that I've also painted the cork roadbed before putting down the track.  I paint my cork roadbed ballast color, and then lay the track attaching it with clear adhesive caulk. Then when I later ballast it it will require less ballast to make it look right as you don't necessarily have to cover as thick. It also helps around turnouts, as ballasting there is a frequent source of problems. Not having to use as much ballast and glue around the turnouts can help prevent problems.

After coming around the bend the branchline is heading into town:

The 2 mainlines are to the outside of the branchline and are not in place yet.  Here is another pic of the branchline as it heads towards where the bridges will be:

One final pic of the branchline reverse loop as it sits underneath where the coalmine will be.  Where the mainlines will go can be seen around the outside of the branchline:

So the track for the branchline is down, however the feeders have not been connected to the main power buses nor have the insulating gaps been cut into place.  Once that is done I will be able to run a train continuously from the lower staging to the upper branchline and back again.  For now, I'm pooped, so I'm saving that for next week. Until then!!!

Layout Progress Report #8 as of 02/28/2010

Greetings!!  Been a few weeks since I've posted, as visual progress has been slow even though a lot of work has gotten done on the Cahaba Southern.  The big news is that the lower staging level is completely wired and functioning!  All the track is ready and tweaked, all turnouts are operational, and DCC control of the tracks and the turnouts is complete.    All the lower level needs is a front fascia and some turnout indicator control panels, however those will wait until after the main level is in place.

The main DCC and power supply area is shown in the following pic.  From left to right on the lower shelf the components you can see are the Pyramid 13.8V Power Supply (main DCC power), the Digitrax DCS100 command station, and the 12V auxiliary DC power supply (turnout power).  On the shelf above the components is the power distribution board and to the left is the surge protector.  To the right of the power distribution board is the battery charger for the 9V NiMH throttle batteries.  Above the board latched to the benchwork is the lower level DCC subdistrict distribution board.  Still missing is a DCC booster for the main level which will go to the right of the DCS100.

The power distribution board splits the 2 DC power sources for the two levels of the layout.  The power from the Pyramid 13.VDC Power Supply is also fused, as the power supply is rated higher than the input capability of the DCC components.

Here is a picture of the lower staging level DCC subdistrict distribution board, folded down.  The Digitrax PM42 is now all hooked up and wired, and the Digitrax AR1 for the reversing section is in place on the upper left.

There are 3 sets of wires running along below the layout.  Going thru the holes closest to the wall are the 5 pairs of 14AWG main bus wires that feed the 20AWG track feeders.  They are connected with the red 3M Scotchlok connectors.  The middle set of holes are the wires for 12VDC power for the Digitrax DS64 turnout decoders.  The hole nearest to the front edge of the layout is for the Loconet 6 conductor datawire connecting the Digitrax components together.

Here you see two of the DS64s mounted to a hinged board that folds out of the way, wired up and ready to go.  The blue and yellow wires not connected are for the future turnout position control panels that will be mounted on the front fascia.  They are connected to the turnout machine PL-10 switches.

Here is the same board, held up out of the way so it will not be visible during normal operations.  Once the fascia is up it will be totally invisible.

The netbook that I'm using to program the decoders with JMRI Decoder Pro is shown in this final picture. It is hooked up to a Digitrax PR3 which ties it to the Loconet and the programming track. It will also be used to future layout control via JMRI.

So another milestone has been reached.  Now is where the next challenge begins, the construction of the helix...

Layout Progress Report #7 as of 02/7/2010

Things are moving along on the Cahaba Southern, as a major milestone has been reached in the completion of the trackwork on the lower staging level!  All the turnouts and switchmachines, all the flex and rerailers!  Feeders are in place, as well as the subsection insulators.  Here are some pics, and please excuse the mess as work is continuing!

With all the track in place on the lower staging level, it is time to start getting the electrical in place for the layout.  Here are some of the details of what I'm planning to use:

• Pyramid PS14KX 13.8VDC 14A Power Supply (For DCS100 and one booster)
• Radio Shack 12VDC 1.75A Power Supply (For Digitrax DS64 Turnout Decoders)
• Digitrax DCS100 Command Station 
• Digitrax UR92 Duplex Panel with DT402D Throttle
• 2 Digitrax PM42 Power Controllers (1 Per level)
• 2 Digitrax AR1 Auto-Reverse Controllers (1 Per level)
• 14AWG Solid Wire for Main DCC Bus Power
• 20AWG Solid Wire Feeders from Track to Main DCC Buses & Turnout Machines to Digitrax DS64 Stationary Decoders
• Numerous Terminal strips and plenty of fuses in the right places!

 I'm trying to make everything as accessible as possible for ease of installation and maintenance, yet still keeping things out of the way.  I got the idea to use foldaway mounting boards for the PM42s and DS64s from Bruce Faulkner's CSXT Shenandoah Division N scale layout, and I'm using something similar on mine.

Here you can see the beginning step of getting the lower level PM42 and AR1 wired up.  Yes, I am using 14 ga. wire soldered to the PM42 connector.  A little tricky, but doable.  Be sure to use heatshrink!

Here you can see a closeup of the board mounted to the layout.  Once complete the board will fold up out of the way, making things look neater under the layout:

Here is one final shot of the power station area of the layout.  Just getting started, plenty more wiring to do!