T&SM RR - Time and Space Machine RailRoad

Working on the Staging Yard

2011-07-06T18:40:00.002+02:00

Recently I've been very busy at work and at home etc. etc. and hadn't much time for my layout. Just in the last few days I could find few minutes here and there to go on with laying track on the staging yard and cleaning up the mess of cables and wires I used for track and turnout servos.
Right now I've put down the 'other side' of the staging turnout ladder and all the four staging lanes. Tracks and turnouts aren't glued to the cork base yet. Next is to connect the feeder wires of track and turnouts to power them correctly and apply the glue, actually latex caulk.
Then, the staging yard will be temporarily completed. I'm not planning to install servos for the second yard ladder and will use the yard as single ended until tracks on the last layout section will be laid down. This way will be easier and faster to adjust the position of the yard ladder if required.

Here are few more photos of the staging yard. Even if not in the photos I've already laid all the tracks and completed the yard.

The second turnout ladder and the first two yard tracks

I've also mounted the servos' control buttons and LEDs on the fascia (left picture) and switches to power the yard tracks and the turnout servo decoder board (right picture)

A switch for controlling power to the servo decoder board of the left layout section (left picture) and a view from below of the staging yard servo decoder board and two servos (right picture)

Yard views from the tracks

See you soon...

Staging Yard

2011-05-30T15:37:00.001+02:00

Lately, I've been working on the staging yard section of my layout. As the other three sections it's a removable piece that connects together the 'open' ends of the left and right sections. As a 'by-product' it creates also a closed loop for continuous running.
I planned to have four staging tracks with the outermost connecting to the track on Fruitvale Ave. That's the spur for Owen Illinois Auto Parts industry. By the way, I thought to make this piece of track my programming track as well as an operating spur so I need to do a dedicated wiring arrangement for that track. Still don't know if it's a good idea, though.
Anyway, I started building the plywood sub-roadbed that I strengthened using a piece of L-shaped metal girder, the same type I used for the three layout sections. Then, I put a foldable leg to support the staging and attached nuts and bolts on the two end to join to the left and right sections.
I glued 3/4" foam sheets on top of the plywood and on top I glued a sheet of cork on almost all the staging area.
Finally, I looked for the best track arrangement for the three #6 turnouts on each side of the yard, the yard tracks and the #8 turnout to the programming track.

On the third picture above you can see how I managed to fix the rails on the junction between the yard and the left section. I put a screw through the foam into the plywood and soldered on a piece of PCB tie (the kind I used for turnout throwbars) onto the screw head.
I found this to be quite good as I could set the right height simply turning the screw while at the same time it's much stronger than gluing the ties to the cork roadbed. I think I'm going to use this also for the other junctions even though I'll have to be more careful in aligning rails there.

As a last note I'll put three Atlas re-railers, I purchased quite some time ago, on the first three staging tracks. Maybe I'll add a fourth later on the remaining track in the future.

See you soon...

New Rolling Stock

2011-05-24T18:56:00.000+02:00

This morning I picked up my last order from Model Train Stuff. Six SSW box cars from Exact Rails and six SP gondolas from BLMA. All cars are really well done with great details and features metal wheelsets. BLMA's gondolas have body-mounted couplers also. Here are some pictures.

See you soon...

More Photos of Track, Turnouts and Servos

2011-05-22T12:59:00.000+02:00

As promised here are more photos I took this morning. Few close-ups of turnout throwbars with the actuating spring wire plus shots from below the plywood of servos mounted using the Motrak Models brackets. As you can see in the first picture below I had to solder a PCB tie to the throwbar of the first turnout out of the staging yard since in that exact place there's one of the L-shaped metal girder and it would be very difficult to do the hole for the spring wire. So, I mounted the servo on the side of the turnout and used the tie to move the throwbar. Even if it's not really nice to see I'm planning to have a highway overpass there -to visually separate the section from the hidden staging- and hopefully this will help to hide this tie.

I taped the plastic ties to the foam in order not to lose them before placing under the rails

Servos and brackets fixed below the plywood

To answer a comment from Tom I have to say TVD servos and decoders along with the Motrak Model's brackets are great products. I have no experience with other methods to move turnouts so my feedback could be biased, however I found really easy to mount the servos using those brackets and programming the DCC decoder is really straightforward. In addition the new Quad Servo Decoders you can buy now from TVD are much better than one of the first version I bought one year ago. The new one features adjustable moving speed for each servo output, fascia panels with bi-color LEDs and use the same three-wire cables as the servos for easier cabling. Worth of note is the fact that each Quad Servo Decoder can drive up to six servo using the four outputs. This means, for example, you can drive two servos with one output to move two turnout at the same time. I did this on the two crossovers I have on the first layout section so I could drive all turnouts with just one and a half Quad Servo Decoder.
Overall, I think, TVD's Quad Servo Decoders with Motrak Model's mounting brackets are a really good and easy choice to drive turnouts both manually and via DCC commands.

Finally few more pictures of the first Quad Servo Decoder mounted below the plywood of the first section; the PowerCab USB interface and the AutoSwitch board to automatically switch on and off the programming track when in programming mode and one of the new Quad Servo Decoders connected to the DCC power bus.

See you soon...

First Photos of Tracks, Turnouts and Servos

2011-05-21T13:19:00.000+02:00

Here are first photos of the tracks I laid along with turnouts and their servos (mounted from below the plywood, I mean). More to come soon.

See you soon...

Installing Turnout Servos and Decoders

2011-05-12T18:32:00.000+02:00

After laying tracks and turnouts on the first section and fixing minors problems with way cars and loco go through them I started to install turnout servos and DCC decoders I bought from Tam Valley Depot. Few days ago I received my second shipment from TVD containing brackets for mounting servos among other stuff. Brackets sold by TVD are resin castings made by Motrak Models. Very well done and the perfect fit for TVD servos.
Mounting servos using those brackets is really easy and everything works really well. Brackets come with everything required to mount them including double-sided tape and piece of spring wire for moving the throwbar.
Up to now I've installed seven servos driven by two TVD's Quad Pic Servo Decoder. I've also already mounted four fascia panels for manual control of five out of seven turnouts (two servos are actually driven by one decoder output since they need to always move together).

I'll post a full photo report of the current status soon, in the meantime few picture of a sample of the brackets, servos and decoders.

See you soon...

New Locomotives

2011-05-02T19:01:00.000+02:00

Latest addition to my locomotive roster is a couple of Atlas EMD GP9 Phase II. Obviously Southern Pacific. As usual I've added DCC decoder using Digitrax drop-in replacement decoders, in this case DN163A2. The whole installation is rather simple and all worked fine at the first shot.

So, here are few photos of the new locos. I find these locos well detailed and running really smooth even if I didn't tweaked with CVs yet and basically I'm using the factory settings except for the DCC address.

Lately, I've been working also on laying track on the first section. Work is going on with small problems here and there but overall I'm happy with the outcome. I'll post an update on this soon, hopefully.

See you soon...

Layout Project Updated

2011-04-18T20:10:00.000+02:00

Quick post. I updated the layout project that reached version 3. I made quite a few changes here and there, some minor some larger. The whole Con Agra mill has been completely redesigned as well as the Cemex Aggregates area. Few changes also to the area close to Glasscock St. and Fruitvale Ave. Take a look at the project page.

See you soon...

Laying Track, Again

2011-04-05T18:48:00.000+02:00

Most likely this will be one of many posts about laying track and turnouts. Anyway, this morning I shot few photos of my progress on laying track on the first section I did during the weekend. Cork strips are all down and I started preparing turnouts soldering a feeder wire for powering the frog, made holes for the feeders and started installing the Tam Valley Depot DCC servos and decoder for moving turnout points. So far I installed two of them and I'm more or less happy the way they work. I'm not gluing down turnouts yet because I want to test fit them together with flextrack.
In the picture below you can see the TVD Quad servo DCC decoder and the tools I used. Also, you can see the actual track arrangement I chose. In the first picture you can see I decided to connect the spur for Fairn & Swanson to one of the track serving Johansing Iron Works. This way I can have an additional run-around. In the last picture there's the area of where Cemex Aggregates will be -in place of 23rd St. and Kennedy St.- with the track serving that industry.

See you soon...

Laying Track

2011-03-30T18:38:00.000+02:00

Big milestone this one. I started laying down the first pieces of track. Actually not yet tracks, however I marked down where the tracks should be on the entire right section and glued down some cork strips as road bed.

This section is going to represent the area close to Fruitvale Ave., Glasscock St. and will end up the curve to the ConAgra mill and Cemex Aggregates. I'm still in the process of refining the design of the layout that is somewhat changed with respect to the latest published version. In fact, I'm planning to move Cemex Aggregates from the left to the right corner of the middle section. So, instead of 27th St. crossing with Kennedy St. I though to put Cemex Aggregates.
This -in addition to be more close to the order of industries on the prototype- will leave more space for the ConAgra mill better using the available space in the right corner that previously was used simply for scenery.
I'm still refining the layout plan since the current arrangement of tracks at the ConAgra mill doesn't look totally good to me. I'm thinking to have the mill building more closely resembling the prototype -even with a lot of selective compression- using up all the space in the middle section of the layout.
I hope to update the layout project page soon.

In the past weeks I also did some more weathering, well a sort of. I painted a bunch of wheelsets with a brown color to give a rust look. That's not perfect but looks better than shiny wheels.

Here are two Athearn cars with the painted wheelsets.

See you soon...

Working here and there

2011-03-17T19:11:00.000+01:00

Mixed post this one. Few days ago I received my last order from Model Train Stuff. Two very nice Atlas EMD SD9, SP3914 and SP3943 and two Digitrax decoders. So, I started installing decoders in the new locos and also in an Atlas EMD GP35, SP6622 I bought some months ago that I put aside since I bought the wrong decoder. This time I ordered the right ones and I could digitize that loco as well.
Using plug-in replacement decoders it's a very easy task and Atlas locos are really well thought in this regard. Removing the loco shell is a matter of seconds and then you're left with only two screws to remove and take apart the two loco frames. Replace the factory installed PCB board and you're done.
At the end three new very nice SP locos joined my roster.

Then, I went back to work on the scenery applying a second coat of paint on the foam sheets. I wanted to darken the first coat so I used a diluted terracotta brown paint to have a non-uniform ground texture. It didn't come out exactly the way I wanted however it's getting better.

Lastly, I replaced few more wheelsets with Fox Valley Models metal wheelsets. Still some more cars to do, though.

Next time I'll post some pictures of the truck replacement I did on two Bachmann flat cars and an "experiment" I did with the Bachmann GE 44Ton switcher. Stay tuned...

See you soon...

Extruded Foam Sheets in Place

2011-03-09T19:20:00.000+01:00

I'm done gluing down sheets of 3/4" extruded foams on top of the plywood. I've also put a first coat of paint on the two layout sections where foam was already in place. I used a yellowish tan color, maybe it's a bit too yellow. I'll try to adjust the color with the second coat. Here are few shots of the current status.

I've also replaced few more plastic wheelsets with metal ones from Fox Valley Models I received with my last order. The more I replace the more convinced I'm doing right. Metal wheelsets are much better.

See you soon...

New Rolling Stock

2011-02-28T18:33:00.001+01:00

As promised in a previous post here are the new cars I received recently from my last two orders. Exact Rails ATSF covered hoppers and either COFC or TOFC from ConCor.

Click on a photo to see the whole Picasa album

Exact Rails' cars feature amazing details. As far as I can say they are the best cars I have. This set had few small construction defects, though. Some cars ha the roof not perfectly placed and loose so that it separated from the rest of the body. Fixing it back in place wasn't a great deal, however it's a little bit disappointing for such a great product. As you can see in the pictures above I tried to shot few close ups to show the nice details of these cars.

ConCor flat cars are all another story. Even though they aren't exactly cheap the overall quality is far from perfect, rather disappointing I'd say. In fact, painting is not very uniform and too 'thick' so that is masks cars details. Also, lettering doesn't look very crisp and accurate to me. Maybe I'm wrong but they show the worst quality/price ratio of all the cars and locos I have purchased so far.

Anyway, in the end of the day I'm happy to have few more cars for my Ninth Ave. Terminal Dock. By the way, I've also purchase a couple of Kato trucks with containers and two containers sets. Very nice stuff. Great details, much better than ConCor containers and Heiki truck I received few weeks ago.

Scenery Accessories

See you soon...

Laying Extruded Foam

2011-02-20T13:41:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I went to a quite big home improvement and DIY store and bought additional sheets of 3/4" extruded foam I planned to use on top of the plywood, as the base layer. Today I cut various pieces to fit the three layout sections and started gluing them on to the plywood. I used regular white glue for this and few bottles of water to keep the foam in place while the glue cures.

I also added a piece of fascia that was still missing on the left section and secured the fascia with screws in several points where the small spikes I used were not enough to keep it in place.

See you soon...

Smudge Oil Depot Kit

2011-02-13T14:04:00.000+01:00

Another small project this morning. With my last order to Model Train Stuff I purchased Micro Trains N Scale 'Smudge Oil Depot' kit. I thought it was a good starting point to play with structure building. So, I dived into this new area for me and tried to build it.

I don't know if I used the right glue (I used the one that came with Fast Track Quick Sticks to glue them to turnouts) or if I had to weather and paint the walls and all the rest before building it up. Anyway, I did it and I enjoyed a lot. Being the very first kit I'm rather proud of myself. No big errors and an acceptable result.

Maybe I was too much excited and thought to create a small scene with the kit, my new 70 Tonner a couple of tank cars and a tank truck from Heiky I bought with the last order as well.
Far from being a completed scenery but I liked the idea that my layout is slowly taking shape.

See you soon...

Testing NCE PowerCab USB Interface

2011-02-13T13:36:00.000+01:00

Today I went for a completely different subject. No more backdrop, painting and the like. Instead, I wanted to try the USB interface I bought with my NCE PowerCab.

So, I took an older Mac laptop and following the JMRI instructions I installed the required drivers and JMRI Decoder Pro. Connected all the cables and... voilà: all worked like a charm. Simply great!

I had a lot of fun playing with my locomotive roster, reading all CVs into Decoder Pro and doing some programming. At least for the basic funcions it's very easy to use. For example, I copied the decoder settings from my Bachmann GE 44Ton to the new GE 70Ton and it worked perfectly.

This is a small video I took with my iPhone when Decoder Pro was reading all CVs from one of the two EMD NW2 from Kato with a Digitrax decoder.

I really encourage anyone to give JMRI a try, it's a great piece of software and is free!

By the way, here are two pics of my latest addition to the locomotive roster: SP GE 70Ton from Bachmann Spectrum

Photos of the rest of the rolling stock as soon as I get my camera battery working again :(

See you soon...

A Quick One This Time

2011-02-07T19:00:00.002+01:00

Very quick post on the progress on backdrop painting. I shot few photos and put all together with Hugin as a panorama. Sorry for the very bad attempt of painting small towns on the distant hills in the center of the picture. I think I have to do a much better job there. Mountains are not that bad anymore, though. At least for me...

See you soon...

Better Mountains

2011-01-24T19:15:00.000+01:00

Yet another installation on my "never ending" saga of backdrop painting. Yesterday I tried to get better looking mountains painting more ranges of hills farther and closer. It's better but not good enough yet. Closer mountains are still too uniform and dark however I could get a little more depth painting distant hills in lighter colors. This is a very bad photo taken with my iPhone of the backdrop section I worked on.

See you soon...

Backdrop Mountains and City of Oakland

2011-01-12T19:14:00.000+01:00

Last weekend I had some spare time for my hobby so I worked on completing the backdrop painting. After the sky and clouds I begun with the mountains. Using Google Maps with the new feature similar to Google Earth I had a rough idea of the mountain contour around the area I'm modelling. I also found that many of the city building of Oakland, Ca have been rendered in 3D in Google Maps so I could take some screenshot of the city's skyline as one should see standing close to the 9th Ave Terminal Dock. Here are two screenshot I took:

And these are some photos of the mountains I painted so far:

Still not very happy with the result. I think that even if they should look quite far from the observation point they are too "uniform" and "flat". I think I should add some more color variation and texture to make them more realistic. Also, please forgive me for the mess I have in my garage. It's not that good to see.
This is a short video I took with my iPhone:

Lastly, this is a shot of the 9th Ave Terminal where I wanted to put the skyline of Oakland. I made a model using a sheet of paper. To me the buildings are too large and appear too close comparing with the mountains far in the back. I think I should shrink everything one third in order to have a more correct perspective.

Any suggestion is welcome.

See you soon...

Experimenting with Menu Bar and Static Pages

2011-01-07T16:19:00.000+01:00

I'm trying to put a top menu bar and few "static pages" in this blog. I looked for hints and how-to in Google and so far it's not that bad, at least for me.

Watch for few more changes in the next days.

See you soon...

Layout Project, Version 2.3

2011-01-03T19:33:00.001+01:00

Back again to the design stage.
During last weeks I found some very interesting images of the area I want to model, in particular from Bing.com aerial images. Some of them made me rethink my project since the area around what I called Pacific Rim Transport & Storage looks very different from what I designed.

These are some of the images I captured from Bing where you can see how the tracks are arranged.

The spur to serve the Ninth Ave Terminal building is on the sea side and it's made of two tracks with a runaround. So I decided to change the layout a little to have what I called version 2.3 (while this is the earlier version).

I also made few changes to the tracks close to Embarcadero Ave. and expanded the area covered by the sea water. Any feedback is warmly welcome.

See you soon...

Happy 2011!

2011-01-02T13:52:00.000+01:00

Happy 2011 to all followers and readers of this blog.
Hopefully, this year I'll have a little more time for the hobby, I don't want to make unrealistic plans for the future, though.
So, let's see where I can get during the year just started...

Again Happy New Year to everybody.

See you soon...

Hills and landscape

2010-12-01T10:13:00.000+01:00

I'm done painting clouds on the backdrop. Overall it came out not too bad. It's now time to think on how to paint the hills and the landscape. I still need to do some research to understand what one would see standing in the area I want to model. I've just played a bit with Google Maps and Earth.
Anyway, these are four photo I took last Sunday with my iPhone, so the quality it's not perfect.

See you soon...

Clouds Done, ehm almost

2010-11-08T18:37:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I finished painting the left backdrop section and made few retouch on the right one. Now the sky and clouds are almost done. The backdrop of the central section still needs to be completed, though.

Overall I'm rather happy with the result. It could be much better for sure but it's been fun and it could have been much worse than that considering that this is my first time I try to paint something.

Here I added few (not really good) photos of the two completed sections.

More Backdrop Painting

See you soon...

More Clouds

2010-11-01T13:31:00.000+01:00

Today I painted some more clouds on the backdrop of the right layout section. I tried to use a wider palette of colors adding some black to give more deepness to the closer clouds. Don't really know if I'm making any progress from my first attempts however painting clouds is fun and very relaxing.

Here are few shots of today's work.

See you soon...

New Rolling Stock

2010-10-31T13:11:00.000+01:00

After quite a long time a couple of Picasa web albums of my last two shipments of new rolling stock. Some very nice TOFC cars from Athearn and a bunch of SP and UP insulated boxcars from Red Caboose.

You can have a look here:

New Rolling Stock

See you soon...

Ballast Tests

2010-10-04T13:07:00.001+02:00

After quite a long time I'm back to my blog with few updates. I did very few work lately on my layout, just a couple of "side projects".

Using few pieces of scrap wood I built a small rack to hold few glass containers (jars?) I used to hold the various kind of Woodland Scenics ballast I bought some time ago along with few mix test I did to find the right ballast color for my railroad.

After that I wanted to experiment with ballasting track so I took an old (almost 30 years old) piece of HO sectional track and a piece of my code 55 N track. I glued them on two pieces of scrap wood and start testing to ballast track and also to find the right colour/mix of ballast.

Ballast on the left is with the tan fine ballast while on the right is a 50%/50% mix of grey and light-grey.

Here on the left is all grey ballast.

Here you can see all three tests: grey on the left, tan in the middle and the 50%/50% mix on the right.

That's it for now, see you soon...

Cork roadbed

2010-08-23T15:37:00.001+02:00

After a couple of weeks of vacation I'm back home and at work :(
So, it's time for a quick update of my recent work on the layout.

Before the break I tested a kind of a jig I made to cut cork roadbed strips from 2 millimiters roll I bought quite some time ago. I found two 5'-long scrap pieces of wood that have an edge cut at 45 degrees. So, after reading a very good tip on Enzo's blog, I decided to try myself and made few strips.

They look quite good and even if the process of cutting is rather time consuming I can get a lot of strips at a very low price. I don't remember exactly how much the cork roll did cost but it was rather cheap for sure.

Here are a couple of pictures of the jig and one of the first strips I cut.

See you soon...

Post #100 !

2010-07-30T18:06:00.000+02:00

Warning: rather long post this one

I just realized this is going to be my post #100!
So, I decided it might be interesting to take a break and look back in the past two and a half years of this blog to see what happened so far. This could also be a chance to translate a little part of my older posts for those not understanding Italian.

So, let's start.

My very first post was in February 2008. I just started again interesting in this hobby and was browsing and reading the Web to get up to date with what happened in model railroading in the last twenty and more years. Two of the three assumptions I made in that post were correct: to build my layout in the garage and use NMRA-DCC. The scale, however, changed along the road from HO to N.

March went cleaning up the garage and working on the electrical power lines to have them suitable for a layout. I had a good idea of laying two separate electrical lines one for the room lights and one for the power sockets. This revealed to be a good choice. In the meantime the crazy idea of a liftable layout begun to take shape.

Work on the electrical plant continued in April. Also, I could make to visit perhaps the most important Italian model-related show. It was very fun to see a lot of very nice layouts, models and a lot of people and groups involved in modelling from RC airplanes to boats, from trains to slot cars.

An unexpected problem came out, then. Humidity coming off the ground would damage the bottom part of the walls and the stucco would come down to the ground creating a lot of dust. I decided to take away the damaged stucco and put terracotta tiles I had left from previous work to resolve the problem. This took a long time to complete since I never did something similar in the past by myself. I had to learn how to lay the tiles and to work with the special glue -actually it's like cement not glue- required to apply the tiles to the brick wall.
That work took all the summer, fall up to the end of November when I finally completed laying tiles on the walls.

In the meantime surfing the web I discovered the two model railroad podcast I'm still following now: The Scotty Mason Show and the Model Railroad Podcast from Ryan Anderson. That begun to put new ideas in my mind and while learning a lot about model railroading I also started to like US railways and their model more and more.

In fact, in December I posted my very first version of the layout project. Many things have changed since that initial project, however some points are still valid today. By the way, that project already saw the "switch" to N scale and the decision to model a US railroad.

January 2009 was dedicated to designing the benchwork initially thought as a set of sections made out of wood beams kept together by means of nuts and bolts. At that stage I didn't know it couldn't work because the entire structure was too flexible and couldn't stand the stress when raised from the floor to the ceiling.

Then I started to build the benchwork and fixed the guide rails on the side walls. By the end of February I reviewed my layout project and posted version 2 with many more details about era, prototype, locale, etc. I also decided I wanted a layout oriented towards realistic operation even though most of the times I'll be the only operator to play with it.

Benchwork construction continued while I found a pulley set that would fit my needs to lift benchwork sections to the ceiling. Actually the pulleys were designed to lift and hang bicycles but I thought that they would serve my needs. I then started to fix them to the ceiling and did the first test to lift the sections.

During May I bought my very first piece of N-scale rolling stock. A pair of wonderful Intermountain Southern Pacific EMD SD40T-2. They come from Denny Turani, a nice guy I got to know on the Internet who decided to sell most part of his collection. The locos are equipped with DCC decoders from Zimo and are nicely weathered. I was very excited when I first saw them and could appreciate the very nice level of details an N-scale loco can have.
During that period I also bought the whole series of DVDs from Joe Fugate's website and one from Scotty Mason's on Dick Elwell's Hoosac Valley Lines. Great DVDs, very well done. I could learn a lot from them and still learning.

Construction and assembly of benchwork continued in the next month. I also discovered a very interesting group of guys: the Italian FREMO N scale group. On June they held the annual meeting and I planned to attend for the first time as a visitor. Unfortunately I couldn't go to the meeting because of family problems. However, I got even more interested in realistic operations and started to think to be part of the FREMO group building one or two FREMO modules.
My second purchase was some Microengineering code 55 and code 40 flextrack pieces. I bought them online from Model Train Stuff and since then I never had a problem and they offered a great service with good selling prices.

In July I stared my personal YouTube channel. Not very much to post there yet, though. I also continued my shopping season with a DCC system: a NCR PowerCab and few accessories I bought online from Litchfield Station. I'm very happy for my PowerCab. It's very easy to use yet powerful enough for my needs, at least for now. And it came also at a very interesting price.
At that time I realized that a sectional benchwork made of wood wouldn't have never been strong enough to stand the stress of raising and lowering. So I changed idea. Thrown away all the wood sections and bought 10 feet L-shaped iron beam usually used to build metal shelves. I also used gussets to keep the benchwork square to the legs.
I realize now how my way into this hobby is to jump here and there maybe to keep my interest alive. In fact, after a lot of benchwork re-contrstruction I tested my DCC system for the first time with the two SD40T-2. I was really amazed how they worked thanks to the programming of Danny. Excited by that I bought a bunch of other locos from LifeLike, Atlas and Bachmann as well as the first batch of cars.

Layout designed continued refining the second version thanks to a lot of very useful info from Byron Henderson. So, the plan begun to take the current shape. In the meantime benchwork was still my main focus and continued to replace wood sections and to attach pulleys to the ceiling. At the end of September another big change: I switched this blog to English, so since then you can follow what happened directly.

I've always been interested in Fast-Track's products and thought they were very good, so I decided to give them a try and in October I did my first order of everything needed to build code 55 #6 turnouts.
As soon as I received all the stuff I made my first attempts at building turnouts and was rather surprised to see I could build quite good turnouts. I really liked Fast-Track's jigs and all the rest and more recently I bought what's needed to build #8 turnouts as well.

I shot a short video of the status of the bencwork constructions and posted on my YouTube channel along with photos of my growing rolling stock collection on my Picasa albums.
I also purchase plywood pieces for the "by then" lower level of the benchwork. During November I received my order to Duncan McRee's Tam Valley Depot for some servos and DCC controllers to move turnout points automatically. Then, I started another completely different kind of project: digitizing a loco. I used a drop-in replacement decoder from Atlas for the Atlas U25B and I liked it a lot, so much I decided to digitize the LifeLike non-DCC ready loco by myself. A much more complicated project.

In December I did a short video testing my TVD servo decoder and nothing more while my rolling stock kept growing. In fact, beginning of the new year I received two new awesome Kato NW-2 that I then digitized using drop-in decoders from Digitrax again. I also shot a longer video of me digitizing the loco.

My set of self-made turnouts kept growing with #8 and #6. In February I posted the next to last version of my layout project, called version 2.1. Then I felt ready to digitize the GP38 following a very good tutorial found on the internet. It wasn't so easy but it's been fun and the final result is rather good, I think. Version 2.2 of the layout project was posted thanks again to some very useful suggestions from Byron and few other guys on the ITA-USA Model Railroad forum. I also taped together a 1:1 scale print of the layout did a test fit on the real plywood. Not too bad so far.

Following a very good post on the DIY Photography blog I built a very simple light tent and started using it to take picture of my cars and locos. Photos started to be much better than those taken directly on the plywood.
Then, It was the time for backdrop. Having discarded the idea of a double deck layout backdrop installation and painting was the next step in line to be done.

Again another jump into a completely different project, I laid down the wires for the DCC bus all around the three sections of the benchwork. In May I continued backdrop preparation and started experimenting how to paint a realistic sky with clouds. I looked for some tutorials on the web and YouTube and started my first attempts. I've never been very good at painting or drawing and this was a hard project for me.

By the end of June I completed the required set of turnouts and kept trying to paint the sky and clouds. I was improving my skills but not quite done yet.

And finally here we are at the end of July. Still a lot of work to be done, a lot of completely new projects to face and a lot of fun. It's been about two years and a half since a started again this hobby and it's been a great fun. I learned a lot of new things, from building benchwork to painting skies, from shooting videos to having a blog and a twitter account.
I also knew a lot of new guys -at least electronically- and hopefully shared and helped someone to know and enjoy this hobby.

So, that's it for now and really looking forward to post #200!

See you soon...

Well... I did it!

2010-07-05T18:01:00.000+02:00

I've been thinking when I would have made my first mistake. Well, I did it.
Actually, I made a lot of mistakes so far, building wooden benchwork sections to be connected together is an example -I replaced them with metal L-shaped beams.

However, this is the real first error I made because I felt to confident in my model railroad knowledge and went on without double checking my steps.

Recently I purchased a very nice Atlas EMD GP35 along with a DCC decoder: a Digitrax DN163A0. Well, that's the wrong drop-in replacement decoder for that loco. It's too long to fit into the split frame of this loco. In fact, the right decoder is a DN163A2.

Not a very big problem, I just have to wait to purchase a new decoder and hopefully recycle the wrong one on a new loco. At least now I have a reason to buy me another new loco.

See you soon...

New locomotives and rolling stock

2010-06-23T19:04:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I received my last order for a new diesel locomotive and a bunch of cars.

The loco is -guess what- an Atlas Southern Pacific EMD GP35 in the Kodachrome color scheme, if I'm not mistaken. Along with it I also bought a drop-in replacement DCC decoder from Digitrax, a DN163A0.
In addition to that I bought three Athearn covered hoppers and two Athearn mill gondolas. All very nice and well done.

Here's the usual collection of photos of the new entries.

New locomotives and rolling stock

See you soon...

Clouds in the Sky

2010-06-14T11:18:00.000+02:00

Some clouds are forming in the sky. Well, that's not a problem, no rain is going to pour in the future.

No kidding, I made another attempt at painting a fading sky and some clouds. I think this time I got better and I'm rather happy with what I've got. I still have to work some more on it to paint more highlights and shadows and correct some areas where the sky color doesn't fade gradually from blue to white.

However, these are few shots. Take a look and comment if you will.

Here I faded the blue to white directly. The greater color difference is more visible and gives more depth than with a whiter blue as did before. The test cloud is better as well. Still not yet what I like.

Right side of the left layout section. A little too much white on the bottom I think. Clouds look better than the second test though.

Left side, other clouds that need to be completed with more highlights and shadows. It' getting better...

Front view of the left layout section. I thought different types of clouds would make the sky more interesting.

Here you can clearly see there's too much white on the bottom of the right hand side.

Some test on the plywood for the ground color.

See you soon...

Another attempt at painting backdrop

2010-06-09T13:12:00.000+02:00

Last week I did another try to paint the sky on the backdrop. During last weeks I searched on the web for some how-to's and tutorials on how to paint realistic sky and clouds. I found many interesting sites and video. One I remember is the YouTube channel from Tim Gagnon where I found some well done videos on that subject.

Unfortunately, what seems easy and straightforward for Tim and artists in general turned out to be very hard for me. Anyway, I'll keep trying maybe I'll get something acceptable.

So far, I tried to paint a fading blue sky where the top is deep blue and the bottom fades to white in order to give the idea of the haziness and humidity that's more concentrated on the lower layer of the atmosphere. I think i did better that the first attempt but there's still a lot of space for improvements.

First time I used a whiter blue on top of the flat paint already dried out. Now, I used the whiter blue on top of a still-wet blue paint. It's better but still not much sense of deepness. Maybe I should use white paint instead of a whiter blue paint in order to have a greater difference in color between the top part -that's blue- and the bottom that's should be almost white. Let's see how it goes next time.

I also painted my very first cloud. To me it is awful. However, watching at Tim's videos once more I realized I had to wait for the first layer of white paint to dry before adding the additional layers to create brighter areas and shadows. May be next time I'll get something better.

See you soon...

How I built my #8 turnouts using Fast-Track tools

2010-06-08T18:43:00.000+02:00

I just wanted to share how I managed to build #8 turnouts using tools and jigs I bought from Fast-Track. Actually, it's nothing new at all neither any advanced techniques. However, I thought someone might be interested to see how I built those turnouts saving some money and -hopefully- having some fun.

First of all, many of what I'm going to show is either borrowed or adapted from the great documentation, instructions and videos Fast-Track made available on the web. So, I strongly suggest anyone interested in having a look at them.

Second, the idea of building turnouts using templates printed on papers is not new at all. Many have done this before as Joe Fugate for his Siskiyou Line Forum or Evert's thebige61 YouTube video channel, to name a few.

So, it looks like there's no reason to write this post neither to read it. Anyway... I did it.

Let's start. I begun printing a #8 turnout template using the PDF file available on the Fast-Track site, then I cut the left-hand one and taped on a piece of cardboard.
Then, I took some PCB ties and cut them to length and gapped according to the template. Each tie is then glued onto the template with a very small bead of glue.
This step, actually, could be avoided but I found it much more easier to work with a turnout that is fixed on the template rather then align ties and all the rest each time something moves away from its correct position.
That's a picture after these steps

Then, I used the QuickStick ties as a reference to cut to length a piece of rail. This is going to be the first stock rail, the straight one. Now, I placed the rail in the exact final position and marked the part that needs to be filed away in order to give place to the point rail to come close to the stock rail.

I put the rail in the StockRail filing tool and filed it.

Now, I placed the stock rail again on the ties and using the filing jigs to keep it in the right position I soldered the ties.

Pay attention not to put solder where the points need to move or the guard rails needs to be soldered, just solder on the outside of the rail.
This is what I ended up with.

Now it was the time for the diverging stock rail. Again I cut it to length, marked the part to be filed and used the filing jig as I did before.

At this time having one of the Fast-Track jigs makes the difference. In fact, from now on each rail we're going to put down needs to be in gauge with the others. So, I had to use a MicroEngineering code55 gauge to keep the second stock rail at the correct distance from the first one while soldering it to the first tie.

As you can see I started on the throwbar side of the turnout and then soldered all the other ties aligning the stock rail to the template.
That's the turnout with the two stock rails soldered.

Using another piece of rail I made the first point rail. I put it in the #8 frog-point filing tool and made the first point, the curved one in this case.
Building all these turnouts I found useful to file a bit more of the base of the rail then what you get with the filing tool. In fact, for small angle turnouts (I think #8s and above) it helps to have a little more clearance between the stock and the point rails and this can be easily obtained filing the base of the point rail further down the wing side.
Then, I put the point in the exact position and marked the point where it has to be bent and where the wing rail end. I cut it to length and filed the wing rail as per the Fast-Track instructions.
That's the point rails ready to be soldered in place.

Here you can see a detail on the wing rail and the notch used to exactly bent the rail.

I soldered the point in place keeping it at the right distance from the stock rail using the ME gauge.

I did exactly the same for the other point rail and that's the result.

At this point I build the frog using the frog-point filing tool again and then the frog helper tool I bought to solder the two frog rail at the exact angle. Since I have the #6 turnout building jig I decided to get the #8, #10 and #12 frog helper. If I ever wanted to build larger number turnouts I already have the frog tool. I don't think I'll never build smaller turnouts than #6.

And now comes the difficult part. It's time to solder the frog rails and to make sure each rail is in gauge and the frog point was close enough to the wing rails to have a smooth transition of truck wheels. Oops, I forgot to mention that I used a MicroTrain truck with low profile metal wheels to check every step of the building process. I think is very handy to test how the truck goes through the points and frog area before having soldered all ties and rails.
With a little patience that's the outcome.

Note that at this point I hadn't soldered the wing rails yet. Once everything is in place and you're sure wheels go through the turnout flawlessly you can solder the wing rails. It's a little bit easier to make small adjustments with the wing rails still unsoldered if that's the case.

I was almost done at this point. I cut to length the two guard rails using the template as a reference, bent them and filed. Finally I soldered them in place.

I took the turnout away from the paper template and was the time for the last step: the throwbar. Thanks to a tip I read somewhere -I think it was from Enzo's blog "The Valley before Silicon" or forum, I don't remember- I bought HOn3 1/32" thick PCB ties to be used as throwbar instead of the regular N scale ones. HOn3 are wider and it's much easier to drill a hole for the actuating wire with respect to the narrower N scale PCB ties.
I filed the two sides of the throwbar to be sure it would fit freely inside the wooden protecting ties, marked where to cut the gaps in the copper cladding and drilled a hole with a #60 bit.
Then, I used the QuickStick laser ties to keep the turnout, the throwbar and the ties in the correct position and soldered the two point rails to the throwbar. I used a piece of tie to keep the points away from the stock rails while soldering.

That's the final result.

I cut the gaps in order to isolate the frog area as explained in the Fast-Track instruction.

I finally tested that no shorts were present between rails, frog and point and I was done.

Clearly, it took a little longer and it was a little harder than using the turnouth building jig. Though, I hadn't to build a lot of turnouts and in the end I found it relaxing to hand build turnouts.

See you soon...

Turnouts Again

2010-06-06T16:08:00.000+02:00

I'm done with turnouts. Yesterday I completed my last left #8 turnout so now I have all I need for my layout, hopefully.

I also checked again all turnouts for shorts between the frog area stock rails, guard rails and point rails and all seems OK now. Actually, I had to fix a couple of turnouts where the two rails that go towards the frog where shorting. I couldn't file the copper cladding on the PCB ties where the two rails are soldered because they're too close to each other so I decided to cut that tie with the saw I used to open the gaps around the frog area. That solved the problem.

Here's a shot at all the turnouts divided by number and type.

See you soon...

More Turnouts

2010-05-31T17:19:00.002+02:00

A couple of weeks ago I received my last order to Fast-Track for the frog-point filing jig for #8 turnouts and the frog building jig for #8, #10 and #12 turnouts. I also ordered few more quicksticks for #6 and #8 along with PCB ties and code #55 ME rails.
Now I've got all I need to build all turnouts for my layout plan. This morning I glued quicksticks to the turnouts I built some months ago and fixed a couple of frogs where wheels were bumping. I also built another #8 and a #6 turnouts.

I don't have the switch building jig for #8 but I found rather easy to build turnouts using paper templates if you have the frog-point filing jig and the building tool for soldering the frog points.

So far I've built a total of four left and four right #6 turnouts and one left and two right #8s. I still need to build seven left #8, three left #6 and one right #6 turnouts, staging included.

See you soon with some shots of these turnouts...

New Rolling Stock

2010-05-31T17:06:00.001+02:00

Three weeks since last post now. Still not very much time for the hobby...

Last week I received my last order of rolling stock. I bought the new coil cars from Red Caboose, the whole set of nine cars. They looks very well done with fine details and lettering. Obviously I've got SP ones.
I bought two new Bachmann flat cars also. They are clearly not as good as the more expensive cars from ExactRails or BLMA. For example the brake wheel is clearly oversized and lettering is not very detailed. However, I think they show a good quality/price ratio. In addition they feature metal wheelsets.
Lastly I ordered a MicroTrain wheathered SP box car, very nicely detailed and with opening doors.

Overall I rather happy for my new rolling stock. Along with cars I also ordered a 100-pack of 33" metal wheelset from Fox Valley Models. This time those with a 0.54" axis length. This axis fits MicroTrains and McHenry trucks so works well on all Intermountain, Fox Valley and BluFord Shop cars. I replaced wheels on the new MicroTrain box car that came with large flange wheels (see the picture below for the difference between wheelsets). Now it' much better with metal low-profile wheelset. Next, I'll have to replace wheels on most of the cars I have.

Here are some photos of the new cars.

New Rolling Stock

See you soon...

More on painting backdrop

2010-05-10T13:39:00.009+02:00

Not very much work done this week. Just a couple of hours on Sunday morning.

I wanted to give the backdrop a little more realism so I tried to paint the lower side with a fading white-blue color to represent the haze and humidity present on the lower layer of the atmosphere. I poured a part of blue paint I used so fare for the sky color into some white paint left over from the painting of benchwork legs, braces etc. I got a whiter blue color I put on a scrap piece of backdrop using an almost dry brush.

I'm not very convinced of the result and I need to experiment more on how to obtain something better, however in photo it doesn't look too bad. By the way, if you have any suggestion... would be much appreciated.

Here's the shot I took on the sample backdrop

I also worked on some cars substituting the plastic wheel-set with Fox Valley Models CNC-machined metal wheel-set I purchased recently. I still need the ones with shorter axis since I've got the 0.553" that fit Atlas trucks but not Intermountain and MicroTrains ones.

See you soon...

New Rolling Stock

2010-05-01T15:21:00.000+02:00

Not much work done on the layout lately. A hectic period at work with no much time for anything else. However, I received my last order from Model Train Stuff. Few RailBox box cars and TTX flat cars from Intermountains.

I like them, they looks well done to me. I'm not totally satisfied this time, though. About one third of cars had some axis out of the trucks and two of the flat cars have one side beam bended down. Most likely a poor construction quality.
Overall I like these cars but given the price of Intermountain cars I would expect more quality controls in terms of construction and packaging.

Here are few photos of new cars as usual.

New Rolling Stock

See you soon...

Laying Power Bus, Some Photos

2010-04-22T18:16:00.000+02:00

I completed the power bus lines last weekend. Now all three sections have power bus lines and power strips ready for track feeders.

Next is the backdrop as soon as I finished painting it sky blue.

Here are some photos of the power bus:

See you soon...

Laying Power Bus

2010-04-11T14:03:00.000+02:00

Not very much time this week to work on my layout. Just few hours I used to lay down the power bus lines for the section on the left and on the back.

I wanted to keep the cabling as neat as possible so I used three connector connector strips for each section in order to have plenty of space to connect feeders. So far no power districts are present but it wouldn't be difficult to do since I have to isolate on power strip from the other and should be done.

See you soon...

More on TVD turnout servo testing

2010-04-06T15:00:00.000+02:00

During Easter Holidays I had some time to test turnout servos and controllers I purchased from TVD. I wanted to check how it worked when placing the turnout on top of a 1" pink styrofoam instead of directly on the plywood.

This time I used a piece of 0.024" spring wire in place of the solid electrical wire I used in my first test. After a little of tweaking with the servo and the hole sizes in the plywood and styrofoam I finally got it to work.
A 0.24" hole I ended up with is a little too wide but I could have cut a narrower slot instead of a round hole and it would have worked fine. Also, it would be much more visible underneath the turnout ties.

Anyway, testing with the turnout servo went fine and I'm confident enough I can apply this technique for my layout. Yet, I still have to decide whether to use 1" styrofoam as subroadbed or to lay roadbed on top of the plywood directly.
I suppose I have to think about the layout design a bit more and figure out the elevation characteristics of the area I want to model.

Having said that, last week I also received my last order from N Scale Supply. Three great hoppers from BLMA and a bunch of Bluford Shops 86' auto parts box cars. Here are few photos.

New Rolling Stock

Lastly, I painted two more sheets of coroplast for the backdrop this time using a large flat brush instead of a small paint roller. I can't see any difference so I'll use the brush 'cause it's much more easy to clean once done painting.

See you soon...

Installing Backdrop, part 1

2010-03-24T19:04:00.001+01:00

Last weekend I started installing the backdrop. Before that I totally removed brackets and girders that were supposed to support the upper level since I decided to have just one level. Thinking about what to use for the backdrop the first idea was sheets of masonite. However, I thought a lighter material would be much better since it very important to keep the overall weight of each section as low as possible.

Then, few days ago, I read an article from Ryan Anderson in the last issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine about tips and link on how to improve the quality of photos and model railroad photography in particular. On one of the site Ryan mentioned I found a very interesting post on at least two ways to build a light tent to shoot better photos. One used sheets of coroplast for that purpose.
So, I thought coroplast could be a very interesting and much lighter alternative to masonite. I bought few 59" by 19" 1/2 sheets of coroplast and attached two of them to the legs of the left-side benchwork section. I used small pieces of double-sided tape that's strong more than enough for that.

Finally I painted a first layer of blue for the sky. It needs more paint to have a uniform color and I have to find some way to keep the backdrop more straight and aligned. However. I'm quite happy with the result and for sure it's very light.

See you soon...

My First Light Tent

2010-03-24T16:47:00.002+01:00

On the last installment of Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine Ryan Anderson wrote a very interesting article on how to improve one's photographic skills and referenced very interesting photo-related websites.

One in particular was very useful to me DIY Photography. All photos I took so far of my work-in-progress and of my locomotives and rolling stock didn't satisfied my very much.
From the very first shots done holding my DSLR in my hands I moved to using a tripod, then excluded the camera flash, increased the aperture values in order to get greater depth of fields and finally I came to the point everybody reach when trying to shoot better pictures: use a tripod with a lot of bright and diffused lights.

Then, I read the blog post on paper and binders light tent on DIY Photography and decided to give it a try. I also bought a pair of CFL and "recycled" two very old desk lamps to be used as light sources.

So, I put everything together following directions and shoot few photos for testing purposes. I think the result is much better and tweaking a little bit more I can get even better pictures.

Here is a sample photo of one of my favorite boxcars and how I took the picture.

See you soon...

Testing QuadP Servo Decoder

2010-03-15T15:01:00.003+01:00

Last week I received drill bits to make small holes in throwbars of turnouts I built.

So, I decided to do a real test of the turnout servo decoders I bought few months ago from Tam Valley Depot. I taped down one of the #6 turnout on a scrap piece of 3/8" plywood after I made a hole in it for the actuating rod. Then, I took a small piece of a solid wire, stripped of the isolating plastic and used it as the actuating rod. I know, I'd better use spring wire to do that but I haven't got any so I thought to try in this way.

I bent the wire as shown in the decoder instructions -you can also look at a very detailed article in the second issue of the Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine from D. McRee- and attached the servo on the bottom side of the plywood using a piece of double-sided tape.

That's it. I hooked up the servo connector and the fascia panel to the QuadP servo decoder, connected the DCC bus and I was done. I plugged in my PowerCab and the servo powered up. Few adjustments to the rotation angle for both the straight and diverging position of the throwbar and all worked fine.

Actually it's a very very simple setup. I think the only critical step is to bend the actuating rod correctly and place the servo in the right orientation with respect to the turnout in order to have the servo rotating towards the right position when the straight/diverging route is selected.

I also tested the servo using the PowerCab to throw the turnout. It's very simple, just select the accessory decoder address -default is address #1 for the first servo- and press the number 1 or 2 to select the straight or diverging route, respectively.

Here a short video I took with my iPhone when testing the servo decoder.

See you soon...

Testing the plan

2010-02-23T15:36:00.001+01:00

Quick post this one.

Last week I printed out a 1:1 scale of the layout and during the weekend I cut and taped together all A4 sheets and placed them on the benchwork.

Not too bad. Few issues came out, though.

The left and back sections are not exactly at 90 degrees, the actual angle is a little wider.
Streets on the left section have quite different widths. Glasscock St. is the narrowest while Kennedy St. looks the largest one.

I think I have to modify them to have a more balanced look. Also, Glasscock St. is narrower towards 29th St. than on the Fruitvale Ave. end.

That's it for now.
See you soon...

Layout project, version 2.2

2010-02-22T17:35:00.000+01:00

A small update on my layout project status after I received some very useful suggestions and feedback. Again I have to thank Byron in particular who helped me spotting potential points where I may have problems with my project.

There are two major issues with my project:

how to keep the junctions of several tracks aligned between the three sections of the benchwork spanning on two different levels
how to build the benchwork for the helix and keep it aligned with the adjacent section

And -last but not least- the helix should be "movable" somewhere else as the rest of the layout when I need to park the car.

I read a lot about various solutions people have already developed to keep different part of the benchwork together. All modular layout have came out with some sort of solution (for example FREMO modules) to achieve that. However, I'm not really confident I will be able to perfectly align the two levels of each section in a reliable way because of the very limited degree of freedom to move each section and because more than one track is planned to cross the section boundaries.
In addition, that's my very first attempt a building a layout and I'm better start off with something simpler.

So, here the latest version of the layout.

Mainline green; sidings and spurs brown; staging blue

I gave up with the idea of two levels and completely removed the need for a helix. Basically the former upper level has become the only level, actually on what was considered the lower level though.
In addition to simplify section alignments I now have much more "vertical" space since there's no upper level anymore. Overall there are about 20" of vertical clearance above the benchwork subroadbed.
Since the staging yard was planned on the lower level I had to find out a new place for that. Byron's suggestion was to add a removable extension in place of the helix to provide for staging. I thought that was a great idea and I tried to push it one step more.
The result is a double-ended staging that connects to the end of both lateral sections. This brings in a lot of advantages:

as in the real prototype trains can enter and leave the modeled area both from east and west
I get continuous running possibility passing through staging
benchwork for this staging yard is far simpler than a helix and can be adjusted to correctly align with the other sections
when not in use I can "store" the staging section away, I need to find out exactly how though
the piece of track to serve Owens Illinois Glass Auto Parts can be connected through staging providing an additional industry to be served

On the other hand this has some downsides:

since I don't want to rebuild almost all benchwork sections the layout height is not optimal. The former lower lever is at 45" from floor while I preferred nearly 54"
to operate the layout one has to duck under either the middle section or the staging yard

I'm sure there's still a lot of space for improvements so please give me your feedback.

See you soon...

Installation of a Digitrax DZ143 in a LifeLike EMD GP38-2

2010-02-14T12:11:00.000+01:00

After my recent work to put drop-in replacement decoders in DCC-ready locos I decided to dive into a more difficult project: to install a Digitrax DZ143 decoder inside a LifeLike EMD GP38-2.

I felt a little more confident in taking away loco shell and the other parts based on the experience made with previous installations. So, I decided to give it a try.

First of all, though, I searched on the Internet looking for someone else -maybe more experienced than I am- who already did this installation. Actually I found two or three interesting website but the most well-done document -actually a real tutorial- is the forum post "Decoder Install: Walthers/LifeLike GP38-2" from pastoolio on trainboard.com.

Actually, you can simply follow the installation instruction and you're almost done.

So, I decided to start disassembling the loco. Overall it wasn't very difficult. As shown in the tutorial after having removed the fuel tank, the cover made by the dynamic brakes -hope those are actually dynamic brakes- and the cab I removed the shell by simply raising it with a small screwdriver on the bottom of the loco.

Then, it was the turn of the stock PCB board with front and back LEDs and few other electronic components. Again, as explained in the tutorial I used the board, LEDs and two SMD resistors for the loco head and back light when using the decoder.
While removing the PCB I made an error and I broke the front part of the PCB where the front LED is soldered. I was lucky enough I could reuse the PCB and glue the broken piece to the loco frame as you can see further on.

Then, I took away the two screws holding the frame together and removed trucks, motor and gear worms as well as two washers used to isolate the two frame halves.

Following the tutorial I put some isolating tape on front side of the motor "seat" in order to isolate the motor armature from the frame.

It was time for the motor. Here the difficult part begun. In order to have a way to let one of the motor wire reach the bottom motor contact I had to create a "groove" on the black plastic part of the motor body. I used small triangular and round files. Overall it wasn't that difficult but I felt very scary to damage the motor completely. However, everything's alright up to this point.

Then, I begun to cut the copper cladding on the PCB in order to isolate the components and be able to re-use LEDs and two SMD resistors.

I did that on both sides always following the well-detailed tutorial. Though, here I made my first real error. I thought I could avoid to cut the two notches on the back of the PCB in order to pass the decoder wire through them. Instead I thought to lay the decoder with wire facing on the back and bend them on top of the PCB. That was something made me do the work twice!
Lesson learned: do not always think you're smarter than a very experienced modelers and think twice before taking a different approach with respect to what they do.

So I started soldering the motor wires -here you can see the "groove" on the motor body much better- and putting some isolating tape on the motors contacts.
To test the "great" idea I had I did a test installation assembling the motor, PCB and decoder in place. All looked fine.

So I went on soldering the power wire -black and red- and then the front and rear light wires along with the common blue wire.
I also glued the broken PCB part with the front LED to the loco frame.

Time to put back on the loco shell. No way! There was no space for the wire to bend and go on top of the PCB inside the shell. That's why I had to cut those two notches on the PCB.
So, I unsoldered all wires, took the PCB off the frame and cut two notches as shown the tutorial. Then, I cut and soldered again all wires -this time pay attention to the clearance required by wires.

A quick test on the track to check everything worked fine and tried to put the shell back on. This time is much better. I could fit all wires on top of the PCB rather easily.

I put back in place the cab, PCB cover and hand rails and I was almost done. Still few small adjustments of the cab and cover to sit them in the right place.

Well, overall this small project went fine and I'm rather satisfied with results. However, it could be much harder without the wonderful tutorial from pastoolio and without stupid errors I made.

So far so good, I've got another loco digitized and ready to run.

See you soon...

Layout Project, version 2.1

2010-02-08T19:21:00.001+01:00

After long time spent thinking about my project, searching on the Internet, reading a lot of material and listening to my favorite model railroad podcasts I finally put down a -hopefully- decent project draft of my first layout.

The Objective

As I wrote in an earlier post -sorry it's in Italian- I decided to build a proto-freelance industrial switching layout based on prototype railroads located in the Oakland/Alameda of the San Francisco Bay, California during late '70s early '80s.

Acknowledgments, References and Sources of Information

Before diving into the project I must thank everybody that helped me -directly or indirectly- to write down this draft. To this end, I think, listing all the references and sources of information could be a way to show my thankfulness.

First of all, I want to thank Byron Henderson for being very inspirational. This project wouldn't be at this stage without all the info and guidance he provided me through his articles, projects, interviews and blog posts. Most of my ideas come from Byron Henderson's works and website, in particular the layout he designed and published as Brooklyn Basin District of his larger Oakland Harbor Belt project. Other sources of information and inspiration were some references Byron listed for his work, for example Bart Thurber's Alice Street Layout.

Also, the following references have been very helpful in letting me understand better what I wanted to achieve:

Lance Minheim's projects and in particular his East Rail layout
Bernard Kempinski's "Norfolk Southern's Shirley Industrial Park" published in his book "Mid-Size Track Plans for Realistic Layouts"
various articles published on Kalmbach's Model Railroad Planning issues of 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009
several photos and documents about the Brooklyn Basin area found on the Internet
subscribers of the Ita-Usa-MR-Group forum in particular ~~Babbo~~ Enzo e Leo
Google Maps and -obviously- Wikipedia.

Last but not least, I found both the Model Railroad Podcast Show and the Scott Mason's Show very helpful and a lot of fun to listen to. If you're not already listening to those podcast I strongly suggest you to do it.

Brief History of Railroads in that Area

The former San Francisco and Alameda Railoard Co. and slightly later the South Pacific Coast Railroad were the first railroads operating in Oakland beginning in the mid 1860s. In 1868 the Central Pacific Railroad (later become Southern Pacific) acquired the South Pacific Coast and expanded its tracks in Oakland.
On the other side of the Brooklyn Basin Western Pacific and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe jointly acquired the existing lines in Alameda from the City Council in 1925 and founded the Alamed Belt Line. This railroad existed until 2001 when it ceased operations.
ATSF also had Alice St. Terminal in Oakland. It was connected to the rest of railroad only by car ferry since on the land it was isolated by the surrounding SP lines.
In 1943 ATSF and Western Pacific jointly acquired the Key System's freight railroad Oakland Terminal Railroad crating the Oakland Terminal Railway (OTR). OTR is still in operation -yet very limited in size- serving the Oakland Army Base located south of the east end of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Passenger service was mainly handled by the Key System first and then by the successor company AC Transit

Prototype Location

I decided -at least for now- to focus my attention to freight service only. I imagine -not having more in-depth information- the area I want to model was owned and served by SP in competition with ATSF/WP who owned tracks nearby (?). As far as I could understand the area was very crowded of industries of many different types. For example Del Monte Cannery was present in the Brooklyn Basin of Alameda and was served by rail until recently.
In this context my project represents a small part of SP industrial lines and spurs that branch off the mainline towards Fruivale Ave. and serves a number of industries in the area surrounding Glascock St.; 29th and 23rd St. up to 9th St. docks as well as going on the famous Fuitvale Ave. Bridge.

Givens and Druthers
This is my -still to be completed- list of my givens and druthers I made to help me guide through the design process.

Givens

Track layout must fit the available benchwork as is designed and built
Minimum curve radius: 20" mainline; 17.5" sidings and spurs; 16.25" hidden track
Minimum turnout size; #8 mainline; #6 sidings and spurs
(Hidden) Staging yard
Operation-oriented layout design
NMRA DCC control system

Druthers

Continuous running
Track should not pass through a scene more than once
Interchange with another railroad or connection to a major line
Average train length of 15 cars, caboose excluded

Layout Shape and Dimensions
In previous posts I've already described the basic shape of the benchwork I built for the layout. The layout is in a one-car garage about 15' 6" long and 8' 6" wide. Ceiling height is at 8' 3" only.
On one of the shorter walls there's the garage entrance for the car while on the opposing side there's a door to the condo's main staircase.
Given the tight dimensions and since I wanted to continue to use the garage to park my car I had to figure out a way to "move the benchwork away" when I want to get in with my car.
The final idea was to build a benchwork along the walls that can be "lifted" toward the ceiling so as to leave enough space for the car and to get in and out from the garage.
When in "use" the layout would be lowered from the ceiling to stand on supporting legs.

It resulted in a U-shaped double deck layout split in three sections; two on the longer walls and one on the back wall of the garage, spanning across the door. Each section can be lifted separately by the other and is guided by means of aluminum rails fixed to the walls and rolling trucks fixed to the benchwork sections.

The two decks are 9" apart, not very much indeed! The limited ceiling height and the need to lift the layout limited the total vertical available space. Also, depth of two decks has to be kept to the bare minimum, hopefully not more than 2". Width of decks range from 15" 3/4 up to 20" 1/2.

A helix is planned to connect the two decks on one end. Clearly a "blob" will be made in order to have space for the helix that's going to be much wider than the benchwork 15" 3/4.

Industries on the Upper Deck

In the modeled area I decided to put a representation of some of the industries that were really present while other are totally or partially fictional.
The flour mill close to 23th St. and the Terminal on 9th Ave. were -most likely- real industries. Other ones were either gone by the era I'm modeling or not yet present in that period but could have reasonably been there since the industrial aspect of that area.

Beginning from the right side, just out of the helix, there's going to be Fruivale Ave. As Byron described there were track on both sides of the street. So I decided to follow the prototype even if the track on the right of the street is purely for scenery purposes -at least for now. The track on the left side appears from below the Nimitz Hw. that works as a scene divider, it splits in a spur and a siding to serve a couple of industrial buildings along Glascock St.: Fairn & Swanson Transports and Joansing Iron Works.
The main track crosses Glascock St. and serves Dreisback Cold Storage through another siding. Then, it crosses 23rd St. and 29th St. and split again in a siding to serve the -supposedly- big ConAgra Flour Mill.
Shortly ahead there's another spur to serve the Cemex Aggregate building and loading spots while another siding -the longest of the layout- departs from the mainline.
Finally, a three-track spur departs from the mainline to serve Pacific Rim Transports & Storage along 9th St docks.
The line ends and disappears going through a Nimitz Hw. underpass, another scene divider.

Lower Deck

So far I haven't yet decided whether on the lower deck there's going to be the staging yard only or some scenicked tracks also. The very tight vertical space will most likely limit most if not all possibilities to have realistic scenes.
The plan is to put the staging yard on the same side of the 9th St. dock spurs forming a double ended staging. This would ease the construction of a continuous loop on the lower level.
Then, I could represent part of the big yard present on the prototype east of Oakland station that leads to the point where the track departs from the mainline to go towards Fruitvale Ave. Here the helix could represent that part of the line.
Another possibility could be to represent the Oakland station just out of the staging yard and then a part of the mainline track to the east of the station where a junction connect to a section of hidden track that leads to the helix while the mainline goes east in a loop that enters into the other end of the staging yard.
In this latter case I have to figure out how to support the track for the continuous loop between the staging yard and the bottom of the helix.

That's it for now. For sure there's going to be a lot of changes in the project both before and after starting to lay track. At least now I have some sort of a project designed.

See you soon...

NW-2 digitalization video

2010-02-02T18:42:00.000+01:00

In my recent post about how I installed a DCC decoder in two new Kato EMD NW-2 switcher I wrote I would have published a video I took while digitizing the second loco.

So, here it is. Actually, here they are since the whole recording is too long for a single YouTube video.

Part I

Part II

Hope you enjoy them.

See you soon...

Hand made #8 turnout

2010-02-01T18:22:00.000+01:00

During the last days I found some spare time to build the fifth #6 turnout using Fast-Track material. I improved my skills at building turnouts along the way so my last two #6 work and look much better than my first attempts.
Also, I thought I could try to build a #8 turnout without the help of a #8 jig. I used a printed template on a sheet of paper to guide the construction process and a MicroEngineering code 55 track gauge to space the rails correctly. To file the frog and point rails I used the tool for #6 turnout I have. Point rails are not so different though the frog rails have a different angle. So, I filed them manually to have a narrower angle than what obtained with the #8 filing tool.

Look at other photos here

Overall I'm rather satisfied with the result and I think I could build #8 turnouts without buying a new jig and tool. The building process is much slower and cumbersome, though.

See you soon...

Stealing time here and there for my layout

2010-01-26T13:16:00.000+01:00

Lately I found worth to steal few minutes now and then to dedicate to my model railroad. I mean, half an our at maximum. However it turned out to be very useful to do some progress.

So, I've been able to build a couple of new turnouts using my Fast-Track jigs. I think they came out better than the first two and I could build the last one without referring continuously to the instructions -very well done ideed.

Now I've got two left-hand and two right-hand #6 turnouts. Still a long way to go, though. And now I need to buy more turnout QuickSticks 'cause I'm left with one only.
Most likely I'm going to place a new order to Fast-Track for #8 jigs etc. as well.

See you soon...

New Rolling Stock

2010-01-22T10:43:00.001+01:00

Few days ago I received last cars I ordered one month ago. To me they really look very nice, expecially the three Fox Valley Model SP -ex GWS- box cars and the Canadian National one.
They have an amazing level of detail in every aspect, as far as I can say.

You can have a look a few photos of the new cars on this new Picasa web album.

New Rolling Stock

See you soon...

Digitizing Kato's EMD NW2

2010-01-14T14:55:00.000+01:00

After a short test of my two new NW2 on a piece of flextrack using my very old DC power supply I decided to start my second attempt at digitizing a loco using a drop-in DCC decoder (this is the first).

Together the two NW2 I also bought two Digitrax DN123K3 decoders that are drop-in replacement of the factory installed PCB.

Firstly, I read the DN123K3 installation manual and -as usual- the installation seemed simple and quite straightforward. Nothing was described on how to remove the loco shell to have access to the PCB, though. So, removing the shell appeared the most difficult part for me.
Actually, it wasn't much so. I started detaching the two handrails from the back of the cab because I thought the cab were a separate piece respect to the rest of the shell. Then, I easily removed the fuel tank exposing part of the two metal frame halves.

Now, it was the turn of the cab and after tweaking a little I could lift the cab up and remove it from the frame.
Inside the cab there's a plastic part for the cab interior and with fiber optic used to bring the light from the top of the PCB -that stays on top of the frame- out on the back of the cab. This plastic part also holds together the two frame halves. No screws or bolts are used.

I decided to remove that plastic part but at the end it turned out not to be required. Instead it would have been much easier to work keeping the plastic part in place avoiding the frame from splitting.

Anyway, next step was to carefully remove the two motor clips that brings the power from the PCB to the motor according to the instructions. A pair of fine tweezers were very handy for that.
Finally, I removed the factory-installed PCB sliding it a little forward and up.

Now, it was time to put the DCC decoder in place. The wider part of the DCC PCB came with a piece of Kapton tape applied around the board. Indeed, that prevented the motor clips to make contact with the aisle present on the board so I had to remove part of the tape in order to expose the contacts. I used a hobby knife to cut part of the tape on both sides of the PCB.

When I was done with the tape I put the decoder in the frame slot and the two motor clips back in place.

Now the first test. I put the loco on the track and... voilà everything was ok. The front and rear light turned on and the loco moved correctly.

So, I put back the cab interior, the body shell, the cab and the fuel tank. Finally, I re-inserted the two handrails into their holes in the cab and that completed the job.

Few more tests on the track and I was ready to do a very basic configuration of the decoder: DCC address, long address format and acceleration/deceleration values. Done.

Well, in the end all the work wasn't that difficult and everything worked well at the first attempt.
It was the turn of the second NW2. I'll write a new post with the video I shot when doing the decoder installation on the SP1315 shortly.

See you soon...

Latest locomotives and cars

2010-01-09T19:17:00.004+01:00

Few days ago I received from N Scale Supply my last order for locomotives and cars. Last month I ordered two Kato EMD NW2 Switchers; Southern Pacific 1313 and 1315. They are painted in black with orange stripes and look fantastic. They come with fine plastic handrails, front and rear light and a detailed cab interior. Personally, I think these two switcher are wonderful.

The switchers are come in configured for DC power however Digitrax makes a drop-in replacement decoder -DN123K3- for this locomotives so I decided to order two of those decoders as well. Thoug, I don't know how easy it'll be to put in the decoders yet.

Also, I've included in the order a couple of Atlas Union Pacific 50' flat cars with stakes. I find these two cars very nice as well.

While my order was under processing some items from a previous order to N Scale Supply became available so they kindly shipped together with my latest order.
So I received two Athearn Northern Pacific 53' bulkhead flat cars and two packages of Fox Valley Models low profile wheel sets. One with 33" wheels the other with 36" wheels.

The Athearn's cars are very well done, I like them a lot. Also, I decided to try the FVM wheels and substituted the factory-mounted plastic wheels of the Athearn's cars.
Metal wheels looks much better but most important they seem to work and "roll" much much better than the plastic ones. Most likely in the long run I'm going to substitute all the plastic wheels with metal counterparts.

Now few photos of the new locos and cars.

EMD NW2 switchers and flat cars

Kato's EMD NW2 switchers SP1313 and SP1315

Back and top view of NW2s

Atlas Union Pacific 50' flat cars with stakes

Athearn Northern Pacific 53' bulkhead flat cars

Underside details of Athearn's and Atlas' flat cars.
Athearns' have been already equipped with 33" low profile
metal wheelsets from Fox Valley Models

See you soon...

Happy Holidays

2009-12-21T13:19:00.000+01:00

Not much work done this time. Last week and the weekend in particular have been pretty cold. At least for the place where I live. So not very much work done on the layout.

I could only apply the Quickstick ties to my first hand-made turnouts that now are almost completed. Only painting rails and ties remains. Hopefully I'll post few photo soon.

A part from that, the previous weekend I laid down three pieces of flextrack and one turnout, just to give it a try with some locos and cars. I drop feeders to all three flextrack and connected together to the main bus lines. Again, more to come on this as well with few photo of my prototype electrical connections.

So far the loco I tested run quite well except for the GE 44 Tonner that stalls on the frog since it's not yet powered. Longer locos go through the turnout without any problems.

Hope to see you soon and in the meantime... Happy Holidays to everybody.

QuadP test video

2009-12-05T11:36:00.002+01:00

Few weeks ago I received what I ordered from Tam Valley Depot (see my previous post) so I wanted to try the servo decoders, both the QuadP and the Singlet.

This short video shows my first test with the QuadP connected to my PowerCab. Just one servo and its control panel are connected to the QuadP. It can drive four servos, though.

See you soon...

Benchwork construction, part 18

2009-11-30T11:28:00.001+01:00

This time I did some more work on the benchwork construction. I installed the supporting L-shaped metal beams for the second level on the left section. I used 10" metal brackets because they have a reduced vertical footprint and given the very tight vertical space I have available this is a must.
As for the lower floor I used a metal beam for modular shelves on the back side while on the front I used an alluminium L-shaped beam. The latter is clearly less robust and stiff but it's much more light and I think should be enough to support the subroadbed of the upper level.

To this end I'm thinking about using something different from the plywood used for the lower level. I bought a piece of extruded foam about 1" deep and looks like I could use that as the subroadbed for the the upper level. It's twice as deep as the plywood of the lower lever but it's much much more light.

Lastly I installed some pieces of what can be called fascia for the lower level. Actually is a strip of masonite 2" high, not really a fascia. However I'm planning to put turnout controls and socket panels for the DCC throttle on that.

See you soon...

Digitizing my first loco

2009-11-25T13:11:00.002+01:00

One of the last locos I bought came without a DCC decoder already installed. So, in my last order I included a Digitrax replacement decoder for it.
Since the loco it's an Atlas U25B I chose a Digitrax D163A0. There are few other type of decoder that are made specifically for that loco - from TCS and NCE if I remember correctly- but I thought the Digitrax is the best one and has a lot of features more than the others.

So, the last weekend I decided to start my first attempt at digitizing a loco. I was quite scared to damage the loco and the decoder in some way though I knew I had to try if I wanted to know how to do it and if I were able to do it.

The first step was to remove the shell and access the loco's splitted frame. The tank was pretty easy to remove but I had no idea on how to remove the shell. Then, I remembered articles, videos and photo on the internet where people started to remove the loco's cab first. So I begun to carefully remove the cab and after I unplugged the handrails from their holes in the cab it pulled out quite nicely.

The next step was the body shell. The rear side lifted very easily while the front side was a little more difficult. However pulling on the outside the walkway and handrails piece allowed the front of the shell to go up and been taken away. Finally, I removed the walkway from the split frame pulling it to the top o the loco.

At this point I had the factory installed PCB on top of the frame ready to be substituted by the snap-in decoder. To do that I loosen the two screws holding together the two frame halves and removed the PCB. This caused the two trucks to fall off the frame but that wasn't a real problem. It's very easy to put them in place.

Now it was the time to install the DCC board. Actually it was a little more difficult than expected since a had to be sure to put it into the right position and have the motor contact touching the corresponding contact pads on the board. However, I worked it out and put the two frame halves back together and tighten the screws. Don't forget to put the two trucks back in place before tightening the screws.

So, at this point the loco was ready for the very first test. I put it on the piece of flextrack I used for testing and selected the programming mode on my NCE PowerCab.
It worked at the first try. The PowerCab red the decoder type and version and the basic info correctly so I decided to exit the programming mode and try to operate the loco.
Headlights worked perfectly changing automatically from front to rear as changing the loco direction. Finally the most important test: running the loco. I increased the speed and it started moving perfectly slow and smooth. Everything was perfect, at least to me.
The loco moved very smoothly at very low speeds -it started crawling at speed-step 2 out of 128- and increased nicely up to full speed.

Last phase was mounting back the shell and all the remaining parts. It was a little easier to put all the pieces back now that I knew the correct order and how to do it. First the walkway then the body shell and last the cab. I put the handrails back into the cab's holes and that's it.

Now the loco was back on the test track for some more testing. I also reprogrammed few things in particular I added a small amount of momentum in order to have smoother speed transitions. The factory setting had no momentum set and wasn't very nice to see the loco stopping immediately when dropping the speed value suddenly to zero. I also changed the default short address 3 to the long 6702 corresponding to the loco's number.

Well, I'm very happy with the result of my first digitalization of a loco. Overall it wasn't that difficult mostly thanks to the use of a snap-in decoder that made the difficult part of the work very straightforward. A lease one point has to be improved, though. The front LED mounted on the DCC board is not shielded on the sides so the light emitted spreads into the whole cabin and not only through the headlight and number boards on the top front of the loco's cab. In fact the factory installed DC board has both the front and back LEDs covered with a black plastic film on the sides leaving only the tip of the LED free to emit light.

See you soon...

Railmodeller Mac Fast-Track Library

2009-11-24T18:36:00.000+01:00

I was thinking about my track plan and playing with my copy of Railmodeller for Mac and thought it would have been nice to have a railset for turnouts built using Fast-Track tools.

I googled for a while but didn't find anything. So, I decided to build one by myself. I printed out the track templates for N scale #6, #8 and 10# turnouts and started to create a library of symbols with components as close as possible to the templates.

I did a few printouts of the turnouts I created and seems they match quite nicely with the Fast-Track templates. Now, I can start to design my layout with a good approximation of the real result.

The library is still in "beta" and probably I'll have to correct few errors and problems but so far it's not too bad at all.

Contact me if you want to give it a try, it's distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Italy License

See you soon...

Tam Valley Depot turnout servos

2009-11-18T12:24:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I received the stuff I ordered to TVD: one QuadP servo controller, one Singlet servo controller, five servo motors and a bunch of cables and accessories.

At a first sight all is perfectly done with a very high quality. I'm looking forward to doing a first test of the two controllers and servos the coming weekend.

Hopefully, I'll do some photos and maybe a short video. Just for fun.

See you soon...

Benchwork construction, part 17

2009-11-16T13:21:00.000+01:00

Yet another post of the "benchwork construction" saga. This time I completed the lower level with plywood boards. In the meantime, I added a new leg with gussets in the left corner to support the L metal girders correctly.
I tested the lifting system with the plywood in place and seems working rather well. The total weight of each section is growing, though. So I have to be very careful when adding new parts in order to keep the total weight at minimum.
To this end I'm not convinced to use L metal girders (actually legs for modular metal shelves) also for the upper level. Each L girder is quite heavy even if it's rigid and rather straight so I might decide to use something else as, for example, alluminium girders.

Well, that's it for now. Just few photos of the current status.

See you soon...

Benchwork construction, part 16

2009-11-08T19:19:00.000+01:00

Today, I mounted plywood boards of the first lower section of the benchwork. This section is a little less than 16" deep (actually 40cm) and almost 9' and 2" long. (299cm).
Plywood sheets are hold in place by wood screws from the top of plywood into small wood blocks below the metal beams. I know it's not a good practice to put screws from the top of the subroadbed since once scenicked they won't be visible anymore. However, I couldn't find an easier and lighter way to fix the boards to the metal beams.
In addition, wood blocks on the front will be used to hold the fascia panels as well.

I cut a small part of the plywood board in the corner to allow the other section to lift freely with no interaction with this lateral section. The missing subroadbed will be provided by the board on top of the second section.

I also started to build the bencwork for the upper level of the first section. During the week I bought a couple of removable shelf bracket about 14" 1/2 long and decided to try them out to see if it could be a solution to mount the upper level.
Since there will be no metal beams for the upper level I had to place a shelf bracket about halfway of the two legs. So, I mounted an additional vertical beam in order to support the middle shelf bracket.
The other one is mounted on benchowork leg.

Below the lower level I put a short beam screwed to the angled gussets in order to reinforce the middle beam supporting the shelf bracket.

The distance between the two levels plywood to plywood i 9"1/2. Not very much, I know. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of vertical space and need to accomodate for a convenient vertical height for the upeer level.

See you soon...

Video: benchwork status by October 2009

2009-11-04T15:13:00.001+01:00

Here is a short video of the current status of the benchwork construction. Actually, the status as of today is a bit further toward completion. I did some more painting with a white base coating of the wooden parts a few more details here and there.
However, the video depicts quite well how is my benchwork now. And by the way, I hope this video has a better quality then the very first one. I shot this with a rather old Sony DV camera though much better than my old cell phone.

Hope you enjoy.

See you soon...

New locomotives and rolling stock

2009-11-03T15:58:00.001+01:00

As you can read in my previous post (sorry, older post are in Italian) I ordered three new diesel locomotives and three boxcars.
Finally, last Friday they've been shipped -one day I'll write a post on how good are the Italian Postal Service and the Italian Custom- so I could take few photos and do an intial test.

First, I'm very happy for what I've bought. For me, all three locomotives and the boxcars are very well done, work well and have very nice details. For sure I'm not an expert but... who cares the important thing is I'm satisfied with them, right?

Anyway, without further discussion here are the photo I took last Sunday. I temporarly put a piece of 1/2" plywood on top of one of the completed benchwork sections, took a couple of ME flextrack pieces hooked up to the NCE PowerCab and... voilà let's run some loco for couple of feet.

Bachmann Spectrum GE 44-Ton Switcher unletterd with factory installed DCC decoder

LifeLike ProtoN EMD GP38-2 Low hood, SP #4827

Atlas GE U35B Phase 2A, SP #6702

ExactRail PC&F 6033 Cubic foot, Single door, 50'6" Boxcars, SP #659500, SP #659594 and SP #659655

Boxcar and underframe details

Some more photos of locomotives and boxcars

Actually, the LifeLike GP38-2 and the Atlas U25B Phase 2A aren't DCC equipped and still run on DC. So I had to ressurect my very very old Rivarossi DC power-pack to give them a try. However, I was impressed by the quality of the two locos in DC showing amazingly slow speed performaces and smooth operation. Hopefully, when I'll be able to put DCC decoders they'll run even better.

See you soon...

First turnouts continued

2009-10-26T10:26:00.001+01:00

In the past week I kept on working on my first two hand-made turnouts. So far I completed a left and a right #6 turnout. Still missing is the isolation of the frog -I need a jeweler saw- and to glue the quickstick ties.

Overall I'm rather satisfied with the results even though I have to improve in many of the steps in order to acheive both a good working and good looking turnout. For example I need to make better soldering applying less solder, make less evident gaps in the PCB ties and, most of all, be more precise when soldering the wing rails and the frog point in order to fully comply with the NMRA specifications.

Anyway, these are the lates photos taken.

On the left the first two turnouts with stock rails already filed and in place;

on the right the first completed turnout with frogpoints, guard rails and

switch point installed

Close-ups of the frog area and the point area

Hopefully, I'll do better with the next ones.

See you soon...

Benchwork construction, part 15

2009-10-20T16:43:00.000+02:00

During the last weekend I continued with the benchwork construcion. Now all the three framework sections of the lower level are completed and mounted on the legs with supporting gussets.

Last section of the U-shaped lower lever of the benchwork mounted on two legs with braces and gussets.

On top of the legs are two pulley to lift the entire section. Still missing is one of the two pulley mounted on the ceiling to complete the lifting mechanism. Mounted on the wall you can see one of the two folding brackets used to support the benchwork section when lifted up and the two slides to guide the vertical movement of the structure.

Next step is to apply a base paint to the wooden part of this section, mount the last pulley to the ceiling and start thinking how to build the sub-roadbed. Sheets of extruded foam? Plywood? Open grid wiht splines?

See you soon...

My very first hand-made turnout and few photos

2009-10-20T16:25:00.000+02:00

I couldn't resist and wait for another week-end so I started building my very first turnout using the FastTrack material.
Before starting with the building process I took some photos of what I ordered. Here are few shots.

A bag of Micro Engineering code 55 rails and one of PCB ties

A pack of QuickStick #6 turnout ties, a complimentary laser-cut hex-wrench handler as shipped and mounted with a hex-wrench for the points/frog and stock-rail filing tools

Points/frog for #6 and stock-rail filing tools, code 55 #6 turnout fixture and a very nice N-scale FastTrack billboard I got for free in my order

Then I started building a left-hand turnout following (hopefully) the very well-done instructions and videos on the FastTrack website and on a CD included with the shipment.
So far I've cut the PCB ties to the right length then I cut the required gaps in order to isolate the rails and the frog. After that I cut, bent and filed the guard rails and made the frog point using the points/frog filing tool. Then cut the two stock-rails and filed the base of the rail web where the points will touch the stock rails using the stock-rail filing tool. Finally I soldered the stock rails to the ties.

Considering that it's been quite a long time since I used the soldering iron and all the rest I'm pretty happy for what I've done up to this point. Here's a photo of the current status.

Current status of my first turnout

See you soon with my progress on my first turnout construcion...

Fast-Track order

2009-10-15T19:53:00.000+02:00

Today my first order to Fast-Track has arrived. After thinking about whether to go for self made turnouts or not a couple of weeks ago I made my mind and placed an order for everything needed to build few #6 code 55 N scale turnouts.

Since I discovered the Fast-Track website I was impressed by the quality of their products and the engineering process behind their construction. Eventually, I decided to give me a chance to experiment with building my own turnouts.

Basically, I ordered the #6 fixture, the point and stock-rail filing tool, few code 55 rails and few #6 turnout quickstick to get started.

The shipment was perfect and arrived right on time. Included in the package was also a very nice N scale sign with the Fast-Track logo and a laser-cut tool to better handle the hex key required to tighten the point or stock-rail tool.

So far I'd give ten out of ten to Fast-Track product and service. Hopefully, my self-constructed turnouts won't be too much worse than that!

See you soon...

Benchwork construction, part 14

2009-10-04T18:00:00.001+02:00

Yet another post on the benchwork construction but this is the first in english.

Today I've added the third benchwork section of the lower level. Still missing are the pulleys to lift this section and the bracing to support the horizontal iron beams that made the main framework of the benchwork.

Now this section is laying on top of the two folding brackets that keep it lifted in the "up-position". As soon as I can find an electrical drill powerful enough make holes in the concrete ceiling I'll fix the pulleys to the ceiling and get the rope through the two legs pulleys of this section and the benchwork will be done. At least the first level.

Some new photos to better show the current status soon.

See you soon...

Hello World!

2009-10-01T19:26:00.001+02:00

Well, here I am.

For those of you who don't speak italian and couldn't follow this blog, shortly I'm going to post few articles to summarize "the story so far".

In the meantime just wanted to tell you an incredible strory. Today I received a call from a guy in Italy who received my last (actually second to last) purchase orderby error. He got my package in his mailbox and didn't know anything about it. Instead he's waiting for his guitar cabinet he ordered in the US as well.
Looks like the "wonderful" Italian custom personnel has exchanged two shipments from the US and sent mine to him and vice-versa!
He was so kind to call me on the phone and now we're arranging to ship my material to me. Hopefully I'll get my stuff very soon, finally.

See you soon...

Si passa all'inglese!

2009-09-30T19:07:00.000+02:00

Dopo aver pensato a lungo a questa cosa mi sono deciso: i futuri post saranno scritti interamente in inglese.

Vi sono, secondo me, diversi validi motivi ma principalmente penso che questo blog possa avere più seguito se scritto in inglese considerando che indendo costruire un plastico ambientato negli USA e di ispirazione americana.

Probabilmente molti dei miei lettori (ma ce ne sono?!?) non saranno felici di questo cambio e smetteranno di seguirmi. Pazienza. Spero di acquistarne altri e magari accontentare più lettori.

Quindi, da ora in poi... we speak english!

See you soon...

Costruzione telaio, parte 13

2009-09-21T17:35:00.000+02:00

Finalmente un po' di tempo per procedere alla costruzione. Ho continuato nel montaggio del telaio usando i montanti da scaffalature metalliche nella parte sulla parete di fondo.
Ho usato la stessa tecnica usata per la prima parte, soltanto un po' affinata dall'esperienza, e ho anche montato le carrucole di sollevamento a soffitto e le squadre pieghevoli per il sostegno del telaio quando sollevato, esattamente come per la parte sulla parete di destra.
Questa parte sulla parete di fondo si trova "davanti" alla porta di ingresso dal vano scale ma non crea un grosso ostacolo al passaggio. Infatti, anche se il tirante a 45° è parzialmente davanti alla porta, si riesce a passare piuttosto agevolmente.
Una volta messo a livello il tutto i due moduli combaciano in modo abbastanza preciso e penso che complessivamente il risultato sia più che accettabile.

Qualche foto aiuta a capire meglio il risultato fino a questo punto.

La parte di telaio sulla parete di fondo. Si vedono
i tiranti a 45° per il sostegno delle traverse in metallo
ed una delle due squadre pieghevoli fissata alla parete

Particolare della carrucola di sinistra

Vista d'insieme della guida di scorrimento,
della carrucola di destra, della squadra pieghevole
e dell'affiancamento delle due sezioni di telaio

Ho anche trovato un po' di tempo per giocherellare con il PowerCab e sono riuscito a riprogrammare una delle due SD40T-2 che non funzionava perché ancora programmata come parte di una multitrazione e così ho fatto un po' di pratica azionando due locomotive contemporaneamente. Ho anche provato a configurare una multitrazione e con il PowerCab è facile come bere un bicchier d'acqua. Notevole.
Devo ancora vedere perché non si accende il faro sulla locomotiva che non riuscivo a comandare, probabilmente le funzioni sono state modificate anch'esse come conseguenza della precedente configurazione in multitrazione.
Ancora qualche foto di queste due meraviglie della Intermountain

Ultimo ma non ultimo ho fatto qualche ripresa con una videocamera digitale mini-DV. Cercherò di acquisire il filmato, montarlo e postarlo quanto prima. Spero il risultato sia un po' meglio del primo video che ho fatto con il cellulare!

Beyond version 2.0

2009-09-01T18:32:00.001+02:00

Ultimamente sto rimuginando a come potrebbe essere il progetto (quasi) definitivo del mio primo plastico. Infatti, mi è capitato di leggere diversi articoli interessanti, sia on-line che su carta stampata, che mi hanno fatto pensare a diverse soluzioni.

Una delle principali fonti di ispirazione è il sito ed il blog di Byron Henderson. Inutile sottolineare la competenza e capacità di espressione di Byron che rende la lettura dei suoi articoli sempre un piacere. Mi hanno colpito in particolare alcuni articoli sul progetto del "suo" plastico, chiamato Oakland Harbor Belt, ed alcuni recenti progetti che ha sviluppato per suoi clienti.
Il punto è che ciò che Byron descrive è molto molto vicino a quello che mi piacerebbe realizzare: prototipo SP ambientato in California (in particolare la zona di Oakland e dintorni nella Baia di San Francisco); periodo tra gli anni '60 e gli inizi dei '90; plastico pensato e progettato per operazioni realistiche principalmente movimentazione di carri in zone industriali con grande varietà di categorie produttive; connessione o addirittura interazione diretta con porti marittimi e/o movimentazione carri via "acqua"; interazione diretta o quasi con le linee principali di SP/UP/ATSF/BNSF.
Tutto incredibilmente vicino a ciò che mi piace di più e che penso si possa adattare meglio al poco spazio che ho a disposizione, anche in scala N.

Altre due ambientazioni molto interessanti, sempre descritte da Byron, sono la Visalia Electric Railroad e la Santa Maria Valley Railroad. Queste sono due ferrovie "secondarie" del centro della California che servivano zone industriali/agricole e che sono altrettanto interessanti dal punto di vista modellistico perché posseggono altrettante caratteristiche interessanti (se vogliamo complementari al caso precedente) tra cui: connessione/intescambio con linee principali (tipicamente SP, ATSF, BNSF), paesaggio molto interessante, traffico "adatto" ad un piccolo plastico. Anche qui la bravura di Byron si mostra in alcuni progetti veramente molto interessanti.

Un'altra fonte intessante è un articolo (tra gli altri) pubblicato su Model Railroad Planning 2009 in cui si descrive un progetto basato su un prototipo canadese di una linea secondaria in Brithish Columbia: Dawson Creek Subdivision. Il punto interessante è che il plastico è costruito su un telaio ad "U" su due livelli sovrapposti collegati tra loro da un'elicoidale posta ad un estremo della "U". Esattamente come pensavo di fare anch'io! Ah, le dimensioni sono piuttosto simili alle mie, il tutto in scala N. Quasi una dimostrazione che ciò che pensavo di fare è davvero realizzabile.
Sull stesso numero di MRP ci sono poi almeno altri due o tre articoli veramente interessanti, sia in HO che in N, da cui prendere spunto per il progetto. Sicuramente questo MRP è stato un buon acquisto tanto che ho decisco di comprare anche gli arretrati del 2005, 2006, 2007 e 2008.

Detto questo, speriamo che da tante informazioni riesca a sintetizzare qualcosa di sensato ed... in tempi brevi.

Altre compere...

2009-08-31T17:53:00.005+02:00

Ebbebe sì, non ho più resistito e ho comprato altro materiale!

Come per il primo acquisto negli "States" mi sono servito di Model Train Stuff, il servizio ed i prezzi mi sembrano tra i migliori.

Se il primo ordine era sostanzialmente di binari e materiale affine questa volta ho voluto potenziare, o dovrei dire iniziare, il mio parco materiale rotabile. Tra non molto dovrebbe arrivare:

un Bachmann GE 44-ton switcher giallo con decoder DCC già montato
un LifeLike Proto N GP38-2 low hood SP #4827
un Atlas GE U25B Phase 2A (alias U-Boat) SP #6702
tre ExactRail PC&F 6033 cu. ft. single door 50'6" Box car con numeri SP #659600, SP #659594 e SP #659555
ho anche acquistato tre pacchi di ballast fine Woodland Scenics nei colori buff, grey e light grey
e per ultimo un Micro Engineering N track gauge code 55 che al tempo dell'ordine dei binari non era disponibile.

A dopo la consegna per le prime impressioni e foto...

Prima prova del PowerCab

2009-08-03T17:47:00.004+02:00

Ebbene sì, la settimana scorsa è finalmente arrivata la centrale DCC che avevo ordinato a metà luglio: NCE PowerCab.

Prima di tutto devo dire che sono totalmente soddisfatto. Spedizione perfetta, nessun difetto (almeno per ora) e mi piace molto.

Ho preso uno dei binari flessibili Micro Engineering che avevo comprato, attaccato due cavi per alimentare le rotaie, collegato il PowerCab e tutto si è acceso perfettamente. Dalle prime impresssioni il PowerCab sembra veramente facile e comodo da usare.

Poi ho preso una delle due SD40T-2 e l'ho messa sul binario. Ho riprogrammato l'indirizzo del decoder seguendo le istruzioni all'inizio del manuale del PowerCab e... meraviglia: funziona. La loco si muove ed è facilissimo comandarla.

Il merito è in realtà di Denny che ha programmato il decoder installato nelle SD40T-2 in maniera egregia. Il faro anteriore si accende dal comando apposito sul PowerCab e lampeggia in modo veramente realistico. Il movimento della loco è fenomenale. Fluido fino a velocità bassisime. La loco si muove già al secondo passo di velocità ed avanza lentissima e costante. Eccezionale. Aumentando la velocità si apprezza l'inerzia simulata dal decoder che rende fluidi i cambiamenti di velocità.

Insomma, non potrei esser più soddisfatto da questa prima prova!
Se proprio vogliamo cercare il pelo nell'uovo... manca il sonoro. Un decoder con sonoro, ma soprattutto lo spazio dove mettere l'altoparlante, sarebbe la ciliegina sulla torta.
Vedremo in futuro come poter fare...

Intanto ecco un po' di foto del PowerCab e dei vari accessori che ho acquistato.

La scatola originale

Il PowerCab, vista anteriore e posteriore

A sinistra gli accessori in dotazione: per il collegamento
del Powercab, l'alimentatore ed il cavo per il collegamento di
altre unità di controllo aggiuntive.
A destra la scheda per il collegamento del PowerCab
all'alimentazione ed al circuito, la scheda "auto-sw"
e la scheda di interfaccia USB con il chip di aggiornamento
del firmware del PowerCab

Due viste della scheda di collegamento del PowerCab
in dotazione. Sul pannello anteriore ci sono due prese
RJ12 per il collegamento del PowerCab ed di una unità
di controllo aggiuntiva. Sul lato opposto la presa per
l'alimentazione e per il collegamento dei binari

A sinistra la scheda "auto-sw" che permette di
commutare automaticamente tra binario normale
e binario di programmazione. A destra la scheda di
interfaccia USB per il collegamento del PowerCab
ad un computer

Preso dall'entusiasmo ho anche girato un piccolo video dei "primi passi" della SD40T-2. La qualità è pessima essendo girato con il mio cellulare. Da notare soltanto il meraviglioso "minimo" che la loco riesce a tenere.

Costruzione telaio, parte 12

2009-07-28T13:06:00.003+02:00

Ecco qua un po' di foto sugli ultimi sviluppi della costruzione del telaio.

Queste prime sono di qualche settimana fa, quando ho montato temporaneamente con dei morsetti i due livelli del plastico per vedere come risultava dal vivo il progetto.
Complessivamente non mi sembrava male ed il risultato era abbastanza vicino al progetto sulla carta.

Si vede anche la gamba pieghevole che avevo aggiunto a metà del primo livello per sostenere il telaio dal lato interno. Avevo anche appoggiato un pezzo di multistrato della larghezza prevista per avere un'idea del risultato.
Qui un dettaglio del fissaggio della gamba pieghevole alla sezione d'angolo.

A questo punto, però, mi sono reso conto che il tutto mancava di rigidezza come ho già scritto nei post precedenti. Qundi, sono passato ad una struttura "mista" ferro/legno e questo è il risultato: decisamente molto meglio.

Qui si vedono i due montanti da scaffali uniti tra loro
con traverse di legno 6x2cm fissati alle gambe di supporto
ed anche alle guide scorrevoli trami le apposite staffe.
Come dicevo le asole previste per il fissaggio dei ripiani
degli scaffali sono utilissime per fissare ed unire le varie
parti senza dove bucare il metallo.

Vista anteriore. In primo piano la traversa da 6x2cm
ed il supporto diagonale tra la gamba ed il montante
esterno che tiene "in squadra" il tutto. Manca ancora
il supporto diagonale sull'altra gamba del telaio ed il
montante in ferro è sostenuto temporaneamente dalla
scala a libro

Ho deciso, inoltre, di non usare più la gamba pieghevole sul lato interno del telaio. Invece ho usato dei tiranti diagonali fissati alle gambe a parete che assolvono molto meglio il compito di tenere in squadra il ripiano ed irrigidiscono tutta la struttura.
Ho anche mantenuto i tiranti diagonali lungo la parte che evitano la rotazione delle gambe attorno al punto di fissaggio dei montanti in ferro alle gambe.

Dettaglio del fissaggio dei montanti alle gambe e
della staffa delle guide di scorrimento

Dalle prime prove tutta la struttura risulta decisamente più rigida che in precedenza ed il sollevamento non ha creato nessun problema.

Penso che apporterò ancora qualche altra modifica: il tirante diagonale che ho inserito a metà dei montanti in ferro (si vede nella prima delle tre foto del nuovo telaio) non serve a molto e penso di poterlo togliere; le traverse da 6x2cm possono essere sostituite con traverse da 4x2cm, infatti non devono sopportare uno sforzo particolare ma si limitano a tenere i montanti in ferro alla giusta distanza; la posizione attuale delle traverse non coincide con quella delle squadre pieghevoli fissate al muro (per sostenere il telaio quando sollevato a soffitto) e penso di spostarle in modo da fare da appoggio per le squadre pieghevoli.

Costruzione telaio, parte 11

2009-07-23T23:29:00.002+02:00

Proseguendo sulla revisione delle sezioni del telaio ho trovato i montanti in ferro da 3mt. Ne ho presi quattro e dovrebbero bastare per le sezioni lungo le due pareti laterali.
Poiché la lunghezza prevista per le due sezioni è di 270cm i montanti "sporgono" di 30cm. Questo però potrebbe rivelarsi utilissimo per collegare le parti finali dove suppongo di mettere l'elicoidale o qualunque altra parte di tracciato che completa il progetto.
Sicuramente, almeno per ora, non prevedo di tagliare i montanti alla lunghezza di 275cm. Tra l'altro, con i montanti da 3mt ho risolto i problema di dover congiungere più montanti tra loro a tutto vantaggio della rigidezza complessiva.
Vedremo come risulta la modifica a lavori conclusi.

Nel frattempo ho quasi completato le modifiche all'impianto elettrico. Manca soltanto da chiudere qualche canalina e mettere una scatola con due prese di corrente vicino al blocco degli interruttori principali. Potrebbe risultare molto utile se in quel punto metterò un qualsiasi sistema elettrico di sollevamento del telaio.

Costruzione telaio, parte 10

2009-07-19T19:34:00.003+02:00

Dalle ultime prove e lavori alla costruzione del telaio un problema è risultato evidente: così com'è la struttura a sezioni in legno rischia di non essere sufficientemente rigida per sopportare il sollevamento. Le giunzioni delle varie sezioni non sono sufficientemente fisse e temo che ci saranno grossi problemi una volta che sarà steso il tracciato dei binari.
Ad onor del vero con la costruzione del secondo livello ed il fissaggio del tutto sicuramente la struttura si irrigidirà ma non voglio rischiare.

Quindi, oggi ho deciso di fare una modifica alla costruzione del telaio, almeno per le parti lungo le pareti laterali. Userò dei montanti in ferro smaltato per scaffalature come traverse di sostegno delle sezioni laterali. Quella sulla parete di fondo, invece, essendo in un unico blocco non dovrebbe presentare questi problemi.

Ho fatto una prova con due spezzoni di montanti da scaffali avanzati da altri lavori ed ho studiato come costruire le traverse di testa in legno usando dei triangoli di multistrato per tenere unite le varie parti in legno.
Pezzi di assi da 6x2cm verranno fissate ai montanti in metallo per costituire le giunte tra i vari pezzi di montanti e per collegare le traverse di testa. Appena ho un attimo posto qualche foto che spiega sicuramente meglio il concetto.
I montanti in ferro hanno sicuramente molti vantaggi tra cui: maggiore rigidezza, facilità di fissaggio grazie ai molti fori per il fissaggio dei ripiani degli scaffali, maggiore insensibilità all'umidità, ridotto ingombro in altezza (che fa guadagnare qualche centimetro per il livello inferiore e superiore). Di contro sicuramente hanno un peso maggiore che però è compensato dal numero minore di traverse necessarie a tenere assieme il tutto.

Appena possibile andrò ad acquistare un po' di montanti, sperando di trovarne da 3mt di lunghezza, ed un po' di minuteria vari necessaria all'assemblaggio.
Forse mi avanzerà un po' di legno ma... non importa.

Ho anche iniziato le modifiche all'impianto elettrico per poter spostare la scatola dell'interuttore magneto-termico/salvavita vicino al bandone di ingresso invece che sulla parete di fondo vicino alla porta. Questo perché la sezione lungo questa parete scontrava la scatola nel movimento verso il soffitto.

Alla prossima...

NCE PowerCab

2009-07-10T22:41:00.003+02:00

Il dado è tratto: ho scelto ed ordinato il sistema DCC.

Si tratta del sistema NCE PowerCab al quale ho aggiunto l'interfaccia USB per il collegamento a computer ed un piccolo accessorio per ricavare il binario di programmazione che viene selezionato automaticamente quando si passa in modo programmazione, appunto.

Ho ordinato il tutto dal Litchfield Station che mi è sembrato il più conveniente dei negozi on-line che di solito prendo in considerazione.

Spero di aver fatto una buona scelta e non vedo l'ora che arrivi per provarlo e per provare le mie nuove (o quasi) SD40T-2!

YouTube Channel

2009-07-03T14:59:00.002+02:00

Ho creato un canale su YouTube per i futuri video della mia ferrovia modello. Per il momento è vuoto ma se volete buttarci un occhio di tanto in tanto...

Costruzione telaio, parte 9

2009-07-02T23:46:00.003+02:00

Qualche piccolo aggiornamento: durante un'ora rubata qui e là ho provato come risulterebbero i due livelli fissando con dei morsetti la prima sezione del livello superiore ad uno dei montanti di sostegno ed ad un'assicella di legno messa li per la prova.

Ho anche messo un pezzetto di multistrato verniciato con una tinta acrilica azzurro-grigia che ho trovato ad un prezzo stracciato e che vorrei usare come sfondo.

Diciamo che avrebbe potuto essere molto peggio... :)

Binari ed altro

2009-06-30T23:45:00.002+02:00

Come ho anticipato nel post precedente mi è arrivato qualche giorno fa il materiale che avevo ordinato a fine maggio da Model Train Stuff.

Per prima cosa devo dire che mi sono trovato molto bene acquistando da questo negozio online. Tutto il materiale risultava disponibile a magazzino ed infatti è stato tutto spedito nel giro di qualche giorno lavorativo.

Per la spedizione ho scelto USPS International che e' offerto ad un prezzo ragionevole ed offre la possibilità di tracking online della spedizione. Ovviamente all'arrivo in Italia il pacco è passato dalla dogana dove hanno applicato l'IVA ed una piccolissima tassa di doganale di qualche Euro.

Con questa prima spedizione ho ordinato:

30 binari flessibili Micro Engineering codice 55 da tre piedi ciascuno
6 binari flessibili Micro Engineeding codice 40 da tre piedi ciascuno
100 scarpette di giunzione in metallo Micro Engineering per binari in codice 55
60 scarpette isolanti in plastica Micro Engineering per binari codice 55
una dima di riferimento standard in scala N della NMRA
un piccolo accessorio di MLR per proteggere i binari durante la saldatura delle scarpette o dei cavi di alimentazione elettrica
una tronchesina Xuron specifica per il taglio di rotaie
una "terza mano" con lente ed illuminazione indispensabile per i lavori di precisione dove servono due mani

Sono veramente soddisfatto del materiale ordinato che è arrivato tutto in perfette condizioni. In particolare trovo che i binari Micro Engineering siano veramente eccezionali. Grande dettaglio e precisione nella costruzione. Quelli in codice 40, poi, sono straordinari. Non vedo l'ora di iniziare a provare a posare i primi binari e farci girare qualche locomotiva.

C'è ancora un bel po' di strada da fare però. Ad esempio mi manca un sistema DCC, scambi, vagoni e qualche altra locomotiva oltre alle due SD40T-2 di cui vado fierissimo (a proposito, rileggendo il primo numero di Model Railroad Hobbyist Magazine mi pare proprio che una delle locomotive elaborate dal buon Denny nel suo articolo sull'installazione di decoder sia proprio una di quelle che ho comprato da lui).

Beh, vedremo di porre rimedio a queste mancanze con i prossimi... ordini.

Costruzione telaio, parte 8

2009-06-28T19:07:00.003+02:00

Ancora un po' di lavori di costruzione del telaio. Ho costruito un'altra sezione, precisamente una delle due del livello superiore dal lato della parete di destra.

Infatti, voglio provare ad assemblare anche il livello superiore da questo lato dove ho già installato il sistema di sollevamento per verificare se, una volta fissati i due livelli ed i pannelli posteriori, l'intero telaio di irrobustisce e risolvo, almeno parzialmente, il problema del sollevamento "non parallelo" del telaio.

L'idea, come ho già scritto in un post precedente, è che fissati i due livelli alle gambe di supporto ed alle guide di scorrimento il tutto dovrebbe limitare l'inclinazione del telaio durante gli spostamenti verticali. Staremo a vedere.

Inoltre, ho continuato con la stesura della vernice di fondo alle varie parti del telaio dopo aver dato una robusta carteggiata al tutto.

Ultima cosa: una decina di giorni fa, circa quindici giorni dall'ordini, mi è arrivato tutto il materiale che avevo ordinato. Bellisssimo!
In un prossimo post descriverò qualche dettaglio in più.

Quando uno se la tira da solo...

2009-06-28T19:03:00.003+02:00

La prossima volta me ne starò zitto zitto. Avevo appena finito (o quasi) di scrivere che finalmente potevo partecipare da "osservatore" ad un meeting FREMO e vedere dal vivo operare un tracciato in modo realistico che capita la rogna.

Per imprevisti problemi familiari non ho potuto partecipare al meeting: saltato di netto! Mi sono dovuto accontentare dei commenti sul forum e qualche foto scattata dai partecipanti.

La prossima volta... non scriverò nulla finché non è passato tutto.

Meeting FREMO N, 2009

2009-06-15T18:18:00.002+02:00

Se non succede qualcosa di imprevisto (e chissà perché accade più spesso di quanto ci si aspetterebbe) il prossimo sabato dovrei partecipare come "ospite" al meeting FREMO scala N di quest'anno.

Il meeting si terrà a Brescia e sono veramente curioso di partecipare e vedere di persona cosa significa operare una ferrovia modello in modo realistico. Oltre a questo sono molto curioso di vedere da vicino il mondo FREMO che, in linea teorica, mi pare un'idea molto interessante.

Magari, se mi piacerà, potrei iscrivermi a FREMO Italia e partecipare ufficialmente a questo gruppo.

Staremo a vedere, intanto... cercherò di fare un po' di foto dell'evento.

Costruzione telaio, parte 7

2009-06-03T18:13:00.004+02:00

Durante il fine settimana "allungato" dalla festa del due giugno ho portato avanti il lavoro di costruzione del telaio portante.

Dopo aver dato ancora un po' di fondo ad alcune sezioni del telaio la settimana passata ero andato per acquistare un po' del materiale mancante alla messa in opera del sistema di sollevamento. Ero partito con l'idea di acquistare altre due carrucole, corda in nylon, due piastre con anello per sostenere le carrucole ed invece, mentre gironzolavo per il centro commerciale, mi sono imbattuto in un semplice kit per tenere sollevata la bicicletta a soffitto, pensato per chi non ha molto spazio in garage/cantina.
Mi sono detto: grandioso, se puo' funzionare con una bicicletta perché no con il mio telaio? Ne ho comprato uno ed il week-end l'ho messo alla prova: sembra fatto apposta, fantastico.

Come si puo' vedere dalle foto sotto il sistema è fatto di due piastre con carrucole per sollevare la bicicletta agganciando manubrio e sellino. Io ho tolto i ganci per appunto sellino e manubrio e ho fissato la carrucola alla staffa di sollevamento avvitata alle gambe del telaio.
Quindi ho preso le misure e fissato le due piastre con le altre carrucole a soffitto, fatto passare la corda in dotazione e magia... le gambe si sollevano.

Preso dall'entusiasmo ho allora fissato assieme le due sezioni inferiori del lato sinistro del telaio facendo i fori per i bulloni di serraggio, ho fatto le asole per la staffa di ancoraggio alla guida di scorrimento verticale alla seconda sezione (sulla prima l'avevo già fatte) fissata la staffa, fissate le due gambe alle sezioni e provato il tutto. Spettacolare!

Il telaio si solleva facilmente grazie anche all'effetto "paranco" fatto dalla serie di carrucole del solleva bicicletta ed arriva preciso all'altezza prevista lasciano circa 182 centimetri da terra quando sollevato alla massima altezza.
Unico neo, spero temporaneo, è che le due gambe non tendono a sollevarsi contemporaneamente ma si alza prima quella più vicina alla carrucola dove si tende la corda e poi alza l'altra. Forse dipende dalla distribuzione dei pesi che ora non è certamente equilibrata.
Pero' penso che quando ci saranno i due piani le guide di scorrimento si dovrebbero opporre al "beccheggio" del telaio facendolo sollevare in modo parallelo al pavimento.

Preso dall'entusiasmo ho voluto anche provare il sistema di sostegno in posizione sollevata fatto da squadre ripiegabili fissate a muro. Anche qui, come si vede dalle foto, il sistema funziona.
Quando le squadre sono in posizione verticale il telaio può scorrere tranquillamente su e giù. Una volta sollevato si "estraggono" le squadre e si appoggia il telaio su di esse senza far più sforzare il sistema di sollevamento.
Ho anche fissato i piccoli dadi e bulloni di regolazione per tenere le sezioni "in bolla" quando appoggiate sulle squadre a muro.

Insomma, sembra proprio che ho trovato il sistema che mi serviva. Ancora qualche piccolo ritocco e rifinitura e poi dovrebbe funzionare alla perfezione.

Prima che li finiscano devo andare a comprare almeno altri due "solleva biciclette": uno per il lato opposto del telaio ed un per la sezione di fondo.

Altri acquisti!

2009-05-28T19:16:00.003+02:00

Nei giorni scorsi mi sono arrivati sia i due DVD di Scotty Mason che i ben quattro delle "operating sessions" di Joe Fugate sulla Siskiyou Line e la Bear Creeek and South Jackson.
Per ora ho avuto solo il tempo di vedere il primo DVD della Hoosac Valley di Dick Elwell. Molto bello con riprese e montaggio davvero professionali. Dettagli chiarissimi, ottima profondità di campo e, inutile dirlo, una ferrovia modello spettacolare.
Non vedo l'ora di vedere anche l'altro DVD e godermi le sessioni operative di Joe.

Visto che ho preso il via con gli ordini... ebbene si, l'ho fatto: ho ordinato il primo materiale per il mio plastico: binari flessibili codice 55 e 40 Micro Engineering, scarpette di giunzione mettaliche ed isolanti, dima di misura in scala N standard NMRA, un piccolo tool per la saldatura dei binari tra loro, una tronchesina Xuron per tagliare i binari ed infine una "terza mano" con tanto di lente e piccola luce per aiutarsi nei lavori di fino. Tutto ordinato online du ModelTrainStuff.com
In rete se ne parla molto bene, vedremo come andrà.

Inutile dire che non vedo l'ora che arrivi per avere finalmente sottomano i primi binari in scala N!

Intermountain EMD SD40T-2 Southern Pacific

2009-05-11T09:55:00.003+02:00

Come promesso ecco qualche foto delle mie prime due locomotive in scala N che ho acquistato.
Provengono da Danny Turani che le aveva messe in vendita e che sono riuscito ad acquistare. Pensavo che fossero un ottimo affare e che si potevano comprare ad occhi chiusi proveniendo da un grande modellista come Danny.

Quindi eccole qua: si tratta di due Intermountain EMD SD40T-2 della Southern Pacific la 8273 e la 8378.

Personalmente le trovo bellissime. Non sono un esperto e non ho grossi termini di paragone ma mi sembrano veramente ben fatte e ottimamente tenute. Inoltre hanno già montato (da Denny) un decoder Zimo MX620 che, credo, sia un ottimo decoder.

Non vedo l'ora di avere un pezzo di binario ed un sistema DCC per pilotarle e vederle muoversi.

Model Trains Videos and Scotty Mason's Dick Elwell DVDs

2009-05-09T15:50:00.004+02:00

Eccomi di nuovo! Dopo un black-out di più di un mese a causa di un periodo di fuoco al lavoro ho di nuovo un po' di tempo per aggiornare questo blog se non di lavorare al mio progetto.

In questo tempo l'unica cosa che sono riuscito a fare è stato seguire le novità ed acquistare qualche altro DVD.

Tempo fa avevo acquistato i 5 DVD di Joe Fugate sulla progettazione e realizzazione della sua Siskiyou Line. Dopo averli visti devo dire che condivido l'opinione di molti che siano degli ottimi DVD. Al prezzo di vendita sono un vero affare e contengono un'infinità di notizie, suggerimenti consigli e dimostrazioni su come progettare e costruire un grande plastico pensato non solo per le scene ed il paesaggio ma anche per operare in modo realistico e divertente.

Ora, visto che ai DVD tre già disponibili sulle sessioni operative prodotti da Joe se ne è affiancato un quarto ho deciso di approfittare dell'offerta e li ho ordinati tutti e 4. Inoltre, dopo aver ascoltato il podcast 62 di MRCS con Ryan Anderson e Scott Mason ho deciso anche di ordinare i due DVD prodotti da Scott sul grande plastico Hoosac Valley di Dick Elwell.

Spero di riceverli tutti presto e godermeli tutti. Magari riuscirò anche a continuare i miei lavori al plastico.

Dulcis in fundo, nelle settimane passate ho deciso di acqustarte due meravigliose locomotive Intermountain: due EMD SD40T-2 della Southern Pacific dotate di decoder DCC Zimo MX620. Le ho acquistate usate da Danny Turani (che per motivi personali ha deciso di venderle). Non avendo ne' un pezzo di binario in scala N tantomeno un sistema DCC per ora non ho potuto nemmeno provarle, pero' sono bellissime!

Di fatto ho iniziato la mia collezione di materiale in scala N e ho deciso, almeno a grandissime linee, dove sarà ambientato il mio layout: dove passa o passava la Southern Pacific.

Appena possibile qualche foto delle mie prime cucciole!

Costruzione telaio, parte 6

2009-03-29T14:36:00.003+02:00

Poiché non ho avuto tempo di acquistare il materiale mancante per procedere con il sistema di sollevamento mi sono dedicato alla costruzione di un'altra sezione del livello inferiore del telaio.

Seguendo la stessa tecnica usata per le prime tre sezioni ho prima tagliato e poi assemblato la quarta. Niente di particolare da annotare se non che avendo preso un po' di pratica si procede più speditamente.

Quindi ho tagliato a misura la quarta gamba di sostegno ed inserito il piede regolabile. Poi ho fissato il tassello di legno di sostegno alla sezione del telaio e fissato il tutto assieme.

Infine ho fatto una prova unendo con due morsetti la nuova sezione alle altre. Il risultato non mi dispiace anche se ho notato che il telaio non è parallelo alla parete e la distanza dell'ultima sezione dal muro è cresciuta.
Due sono i motivi possibili: la parete di fondo del garage e quella lateralo non sono a 90 gradi o le prime tre sezioni del telaio non sono correttamente posizionate rispetto alle pareti.
Non escludo che la prima sia possibile ma "ad occhio" direi che il motivo prinicipare del disallineamento è la seconda.
Proverò a "ruotare" di qualche grado tutto il telaio in senso antiorario (guardando dall'alto) rispetto alle pareti cercando di modificare i bulloni e le staffe di fissaggio alle guide scorrevoli.
Questo avrebbe anche l'effetto positivo di guadagnare un po' di spazio tra il telaio e la parete opposta che ora è veramente risicato.

Posa dello zoccolo completa

2009-03-29T13:00:00.000+02:00

Finalmente dopo mesi (forse più di un anno) ho finito la posa delle piastrelle in cotto per fare lo zoccolo alle pareti.

Qualche giorno fa' ho preso le tre piastrelle tagliate a misura per completare i due angoli e ho potuto posarle e stuccare tutte le fughe rimanenti.

Probabilmente il lavoro non è a livello di un muratore o piastrellista professionista ma raggiunge lo stesso il suo scopo: eliminare il problema della incrostazione dell'intonaco a causa dell'umidità proveniente dal pavimento e la notevole quantità di polvere che ne deriva.

Prima però ho smontato "l'anello" che avevo costruito con i vecchi binari HO per far girare i vecchi treni quando, preso da un attacco di trenite, non ho resistito a veder andare le vecchie locomotive di quando ero bambino.

Costruzione telaio, parte 5

2009-03-11T17:46:00.002+01:00

La costruzione procede a piccoli passi. Il fine settimana scorso ho completato il taglio delle gambe all'altezza corretta ed aggiunto le staffe per il fissaggio dei cavi di sollevamento.

Ho anche completato le modifiche al fissaggio di tutte le gambe alle sezioni del livello inferiore (vedi questo post) ed aggiunto un tirante diagonale per tenere a squadra le gambe con le sezioni del telaio.

Infine ho completato l'alesatura dei fori per il fissaggio delle staffe dei carrelli di scorrimento per poter regolare più facilmente la posizione del telaio rispetto alle guide a muro.

A questo punto ho spostato la prima piastra per le carrucole di sollevamento che inizialmente era in posizione errata a causa del probleme descritto sempre in questo post. E finalmente ho fissato a soffitto la seconda piastra. Appese le due carrucole di prova ed annodati di due cavi ho fatto una prima prova di sollevamento.

Il sistema sembra funzionare, almeno da questa prima prova "parziale". Non ho verificato se effettivamente si riesce a sollevare il telaio a soffitto perchè con soltanto due carrucole non è possibile sollevare tutto il telaio. Probabilmente proverò a scollegare la sezione di sinistra e sollevare soltanto le sezioni di destra e fondo.
Se tutto funzionerà come previsto passerò a provare il funzionamento delle squadre ripiegabili che dovrebbero sostenere l'intero telaio quando sollevato a soffitto e, se anche questo funziona come previsto, passerò ad aggiungere le altre piastre di sostegno e carrucole e fare una prova "reale" con quattro cavi di sollevamento.
Vedremo... nelle prossime puntate.

Il progetto, versione 2

2009-02-28T13:17:00.033+01:00

Seguendo i suggerimenti molto utili presentati in questi due post (uno e due) e molti altri articoli su questo argomento (in parte presenti anche come riferimenti nei post stessi) ho provato a buttare giù una descrizione del progetto che vorrei realizzare.
Come si intuisce dal titolo si tratta della seconda versione del progetto. La prima, che ho già presentato in un post precedente, risulta evidentemente troppo sintetica, non dettagliata e prematura.

Visione del plastico

Il plastico che vorrei realizzare dovrebbe rappresentare un tratto di una linea secondaria che serve un distretto o area industriale e/o produttiva in una zona collinare della parte occidentale degli USA, collegata ad una linea principale con una giunzione o intersezione.
Il tipo di traffico è prevalentemente merci con qualche convoglio passeggeri che, per esempio, attraversa l'area rappresentata per raggiungere altre località.
Vorrei privilegiare l'operatività realistica del plastico piuttosto che l'attenzione estrema ai dettagli scenici e di paesaggio. Comuque questi ultimi dovrebbero mantenere un buon livello ed intonarsi con gli aspetti realistici dell'esercizio.

Prototipo

Il plastico dovrebbe rappresentare con un buon livello un prototipo reale. In questa fase del progetto non ho ancora individuato un preciso prototipo che voglio rappresentare e potrei rappresentare un prototipo immaginario ma molto realistico (quello che credo si definisca con prototype freelanced layout).
Anche la scelta del periodo temporale non è ancora ben definita se non che dovrebbe essere compresa tra la fine degli anni '70 ed i giorni nostri.

Opportunità e difficoltà

Spazio disponibile.
Come ho descritto ampiamente in vari post precedenti il plastico sarà costruito in garage. Esso è pressoché a pianta rettangolare, ha una larghezza di circa 265cm, una profondità di 470cm ed un'altezza di 245cm.
Anche con il plastico dovrà esser possibile parcheggiare l'auto in garage. Questo comporta una serie (notevole) di vincoli fisici che ho già descritto in precedenza e che si traducono in un telaio portante piuttosto complesso.
Ne riassumo i punti principali:
- telaio sollevabile a soffitto tramite sistema di cavi e carrucole di sollevamento e contollato nel movimento tramite guide con carrelli scorrevoli fissate a parete
- squadre di sostegno fissate alle pareti, quando il telaio è alzato a soffitto, per non gravare il peso sui cavi di sollevamento
- gambe fissate ai lati del telaio lungo le pareti per sostenerlo alla giusta altezza quando in posizione "d'uso", nella parte superiore della gambe sono fissati i cavi di sollevamento
- gambe supplementari sui lati "interni" del telaio che vengono ripiegate sotto il telaio stesso quando sollevato a soffitto
- altezza minima del telaio quando sollevato a soffitto di 180cm
Ne deriva che lo spazio massimo teorico in altezza occupabile dal plastico è di 65cm che per precauzione devo ridurre a 50cm.
Su una delle due pareti lunghe 265cm c'è l'entrata dell'auto con una saracinesca basculante che, quando aperta, riduce la profondità disponibile ad un massimo di 340cm, perchè quando il telaio è sollevato a soffitto la saracinesca deve potersi aprire normalmente.
Sulla parete opposta sempre da 265cm c'è una porta di entrata dal vano scale del palazzo, larga 80cm ed alta 200cm. La porta è a circa 33cm dalla parete laterale sinistra guardando dall'entrata dell'auto.
Su questa stessa parete, nell'angolo con il soffitto, ci sono due tubazioni che corrono per tutta la lunghezza del garage e riducono ulteriormente lo spazio disponibile di circa 23cm dal soffitto e 25cm dalla parete.
Fattori ambientali
Il garage non è riscaldato ne condizionato. Le escursioni termiche, pur non essendo pari a quelle esterne, sono piuttosto elevate. Non ho stime precise ma si va dai 5 gradi quando fuori è gelato (-4/-5 gradi) ad almeno 30 gradi nei periodi più caldi dell'estate. In questo periodo si aggiunge anche il calore prodotto dall'auto appena "usata" che fa salire ulteriormente la temperatura (almeno temporaneamente).
L'auto porta anche un aumento della polvere e, forse, dell'umidità quando si parcheggia l'auto bagnata dalla pioggia.
I valori di umidità credo seguano quelli esterni senza grosse differenze.
Fattori ergonomici
Per semplificare l'accessibilità generale ed "il colpo d'occhio" l'altezza da terra del piano del ferro dovra' essere intorno a 145cm. L'altezza di un (eventuale) livello inferiore sarà dettata dagli ingombri massimi in altezza di cui sopra.
Capacità costruttive
Credo di avere buone capacità in campo elettrico ed elettronico (anche se per quest'ultimo credo di essere un po' arrugginito), discrete capacità di falegnameria e un po' inferiori in carpenteria metallica ed in meccanica in generale
Per quanto riguarda le capacità modellistiche sono un principiante assoluto.
Tempo
Poco, come per molti altri in questo hobby. Ultimamente sono riuscito a ricavare qualche ora il sabato o domenica mattina e qualche mattinata qui e là.

Tipo di plastico e concetto generale

Il motivo per cui ho deciso di dedicarmi a questo hobby e realizzare un plastico penso sia quello comune a molti: sin da bambino mi sono sempre piaciuti molto i "trenini" ed ogni volta che potevo collegavo i binari e facevo girare i treni. Poi per molto tempo ho messo letteralmente in soffitta tutto quanto e dopo molti hanni è rinata la passione.
Ora, però, alla passione per i treni modello si aggiunge anche l'interesse per la progettazione, tutti gli aspetti legati alla costruzione del plastico: dal telaio ai paesaggi, dai binari all'invecchiamento dei rotabili. Ovviamente mi interessa molto anche tutta la parte elettrica/elettronica in particolare tutto quello riguarda il controllo digitale ed i sistemi di automazione in generale.
Ultimo ma non ultimo, da quando mi sono riavvicinato a questo hobby, ho scoperto i concetti dell'esercizio realistico di una ferrovia modello e tutto il divertimento che si può trarre da un plastico oltre alla costruzione dello stesso.
Sintetizzando i punti principali del progetto direi (non in ordine di importanza e sicuramente dimenticandone qualcuno):

switching piuttosto che mainline operations
(per ora) un solo operatore, per ora non ho amici nelle vicinanze appassionati a questo hobby
sessioni operative non completamente formali (visto che probabilmente sarò solo)
traffico non particolarmente intenso, considerando anche che potrei essere il solo operatore
non so ancora decidere il tipo di controllo del traffico, anche perché potrebbe dipendere dal luogo finale di ambientazione e forse dal periodo
vorrei raggiungere un buon livello di dettaglio, cercando di avvicinarmi ad una rappresentazione realistica del prototipo. Però, considerando anche che sono un principiante, non pretendo di raggiungere livelli estremi di dettaglio. Quello che vorrei ottenere è un buon equilibrio tra il realismo della parte scenica e quello dell'esercizio realistico
mi piacerebbe sfruttare questo hobby anche per migliorare e conoscere di più il mondo e l'arte della fotografia, in questo caso applicata al modellismo
anche se ho pensato di costruire il telaio portante in sezioni o moduli non penso di costruire un plastico modulare. Tantomeno vedo la possibilità di traslocare o spostare il plastico in un altro luogo. Piuttosto, mi piacerebbe dedicarmi ai plastici modulari avvicinandomi a gruppi tipo FREMO che, oltretutto, hanno un punto focale nell'esercizio realistico. Ma questo è un altro discorso.

Preferenze modellistiche

Scala N.
Anche se inizialmente pensavo alla scala HO per motivi "storici", la scala N mi permette molto più tracciato ed un maggiore equilibrio tra paesaggio e tracciato. Inoltre, non me ne vogliano i sostenitori delle altre scale, sembra che la scala N sia particolarmente votata per l'esercizio realistico.
Raggio minimo e numero minimo degli scambi
Chiaramente, il raggio più ampio possibile. Probabilmente saranno presenti carri merce da almeno 50', 60' o anche più. Le locomotive immagino saranno tutte diesel da 4 o 6 assi. Quindi per cercare di avere un aspetto realistico vorrei curve da almeno 17.5" di raggio, meglio 20". Quasi sicuramente questi raggi saranno troppo ampi per avere cappi di ritorno o elicoidali. Per questi una misura più realistica sembra essere attorno ai 16.25".
Stesso discorso per il numero degli scambi che vorrei tenere almeno a #8 sulla linea principale e #6 negli scali e aree nascoste
Binari e/o scambi costruiti a mano o di produzione commerciale
Onestamente mi piacerebbe molto costruirmi almeno gli scambi se non anche i binari. Questo però si scontra con la mia totale inesperienza e con il fatto che i tempi tenderebbero ad allungarsi molto. Sono veramente molto attratto dai prodotti Fast Track per l'autocostruzione di binari, scambi e quant'altro.
In caso di utilizzo di prodotti commerciali vorrei scegliere binari flessibili Micro Engineering cod. 55 per le linee principali e cod. 40 per gli scali. Scambi e incroci Atlas cod. 55.
Controllo delle locomotive
Se c'è una cosa su cui sono sicuro questa è: controllo digitale DCC a standard NMRA per le locomotive.
Invece, non ho ancora deciso se userò il DCC anche per il controllo di scambi, accessori e quant'altro. Sicuramente vorrei utilizzare software come JMRI per il controllo e soprattutto la programmazione dei decoder tramite computer.
Un'altra possibilità che mi interessa è l'autocostruzione della centrale di controllo DCC invece dell'acquisto di una commerciale. Anche questa strada, benché divertente, rallenterebbe molto i tempi e forse non risulterebbe molto più economica della soluzione commerciale. Essendo totalmente sprovvisto di qualsiasi strumento elettronico anche il più semplice sarei costretto a comprare un bel po' di attrezzatura.
Riguardo ai prodotti commerciali mi sembrano molto buoni NCE, Lenz e Zimo.
Modo di realizzazione
Anche se mi piacerebbe poter costruire tutto il plastico in una sola volta so benissimo che non ci riuscirei e non ne avrei il tempo. Quindi penso seguirò una costruzione per gradi.

Plastico e stile delle operazioni

Mi piacerebbe avere possibilità di far girare in continuo i convogli anche se non è un requisito fondamentale. Forse perchè sono decenni che "non faccio girare un treno" un poco di voglia c'è. So, peraltro, che prima o poi mi stancherei di avere soltanto questo.
Preferirei non veder passare il solito treno più volte per la stessa scena/area
Preferirei un tracciato con un ordine lineare delle varie scene ed una connessione con un'altra linea, ad esempio quella principale
Il plastico avrà forma ad "U" con piani di 40-50cm di profondita' che corrono lungo le pareti laterali e quella di fondo (dove c'e' la porta del vano scale) ed eventualmente una piccola penisola centrale. Ai due estremi della U i piani possono allargarsi per permettere cappi di ritorno e/o elicoidali e/o maggiore area per tracciato e paesaggio.
Potendo vorrei sfruttare i vantaggi di un plastico a due livelli che permette un uso più efficiente dello spazio disponibile
La connessione tra i due (eventuali) livelli al momento resta da definire. Una elicoidale potrebbe essere la soluzione più ovvia ma gli spazi ristretti impongono un raggio non molto ampio, con tutte le conseguenze del caso: pendenze piuttosto elevate accentuate da raggi di curvatura non troppo ampi.
Il passaggio da un livello all'altro tramite un tratto "continuo" (in pratica una lunga elicoidale) sarebbe un'alternativa ma resta da verificarne la fattibilità date le dimensioni molto limitate in cui mi devo muovere.
Una zona di staging nascosta è fondamentale, possibilmente con ingresso da ambo i lati (double-ended staging). Vorrei evitare lo staging con una sola entrata/uscita.
La zona di staging dovrebbe essere nascosta, o meglio senza paesaggio, ma raggiungibile. In caso di plastico su due livelli potrebbe essere (parte del) il livello inferiore.
Considerando che sarò l'unico operatore la staging yard verrebbe preparata prima delle sessioni operative, non una staging attiva.
Mi piacerebbe, ad esempio, avere una staging yard a due entrate che rappresentano in nord/ovest ed il sud/est del plastico avendo così contemporaneamente un tracciato punto-a-punto ma anche continuo.
La giunzione/connession con una linea principale potrebbe avere uno scalo per lo scambio di carri tra le tratte.
Mi piacerebbe anche avere uno scalo di classificazione ma, temo che con le dimensioni ridotte del plastico, sarebbe poco realistico o sproporzionato rispetto al resto. Magari potrei trovare un tipo di scalo diverso che permetta comunque un po' di manovre.
Non ho ancora definito dettagli come ad esempio capacità della staging yard, numero di treni da operare in una sessione tipo, ecc.
Vorrei poter avere una lunghezza tipica dei convogli di almeno 12-15 carri piu' locomotiva e, se necessario, caboose. Questo per avere una lunghezza abbastanza realistica dei convogli considerando che, nel periodo che vorrei rappresentare, i prototipi avevano convogli decisamente più lunghi (almeno credo).
Sarebbe anche richiesto avere una distanza tra le "scene" principali di almeno un convoglio in modo da non avere la locomotiva in una scena ed il caboose ancora in quella precedente.

Operazioni

Il movimento dei treni sul plastico dovrebbe seguire dei movimenti precisi, motivati anche se non troppo formali, specialmente quando opererò da solo. Talvolta sarebbe bello poter operare in modo formale seguendo un qualche tipo di schema o metodo simile a quello utilizzato nei prototipi.
Un'altra possiblità, forse, potrebbe essere quella di sostituire altri operatori con movimenti programmati ed eseguiti in automatico da computer e contemporaneamente operare altri teni. Però, credo che questo comporti una notevole complicazione nei sistemi di controllo ed automazione del plastico e tempi realizzativi molto più lunghi. Di positivo porterebbe altro divertimento di tipo "costruttivo" e di programmazione.
Sporadicamente, almeno i primi tempi, operazioni di tipo "far girare i treni" potrebbero essere piacevoli.
Tra i tipi di operazioni che preferisco includerei: movimentazione negli scali e presso industrie, brevi percorsi "locali", prevalentemente merci e qualche convoglio passeggeri.
Come già scritto prevedo che il più delle volte sarò il solo operatore. Mi piacerebbe avere il posto per un altro operatore. Di più credo sia fisicamente impossibile.
La comunicazione gli operatori sarà sicuramente "a voce" visto che al massimo la distanza sarà attorno ai 70cm.
Non ho deciso nessun metodo per il movimento dei carri, anche perché ad ora ne ho soltanto una vaga conoscenza e non ho mai sperimentato "dal vivo" nessuno di essi.
Riguardo al tipo di industrie da rappresentare e servire con la ferrovia ho soltanto vaghe idee. In parte dipenderà anche dal luogo (anche in se non proprio preciso ma almeno la zona geografica) che intendo rappresentare e le attività industriali e produttive tipiche della zona. In generale mi piacciono le vetrerie, industrie conserviere, metalmeccaniche ma soprattuto i porti mercantili. Anche il traffico passeggeri "locale" di tipo pendolare mi interessa.

Stato attuale

Ad oggi ho liberato il garage da un sacco di cianfrusaglie, ho rifatto l'impianto elettrico che faceva pena, ho sistemato un po' i muri per eliminare il piu' possibile problemi di umidità dal pavimento ed infine ho costruito le prime tre sezioni del telaio (due da 135x36cm lungo le pareti laterali e quella sulla parete di fondo da 170x50cm) per verificare in pratica il funzionamento del sistema di sollevamento a soffitto che ho pensato.

Progetto telaio, versione 2

2009-02-28T13:09:00.002+01:00

Versione aggiornata del progetto del telaio modificato in seguito a quanto emerso durante la costruzione delle prime tre sezioni, quelle evidenziate in giallo.

La lunghezza delle gambe e le dimensioni delle due sezioni di testa più larghe probabilmente non saranno quelle finali.

Costruzione telaio, parte 4

2009-02-23T12:56:00.006+01:00

Fine settimana interlocutorio, questa volta.

In settimana ho comprato un paio di carrucole, della corda in polipropilene da 4mm, due anelli di sostegno e qualche altro accessorio per provare il sistema di sollevamento.
Mi ero quindi proposto di verificarne il funzionamento durante il fine settimana ma non sono riuscito a fare una prova convincente.

Ho dovuto prima di tutto modificare i punti di fissaggio al telaio delle staffe dei carrelli scorrevoli per risolvere il seguente problema:
l'ultima sezione del telaio che ho costruito si accosta troppo alla parete laterale e la gamba di sostegno tocca il muro. Ho provato, quindi, a ruotare leggermente tutto il telaio in modo da guadagnare lo spazio necessario e, forse, allineare meglio il telaio rispetto alle pareti laterali.
Sono riuscito ad ottenere un miglioramento ma in compenso ho scoperto che il fissaggio delle gambe al telaio tramite bulloni e dadi non funziona.

Una volta che il telaio è fissato alle guide scorrevoli (tramite i bulloni indicati dalle frecce B) diventa impossibile sfilare i bulloni (indicati dalla freccia A) e smontare le gambe.
Per questo ho modificato il progetto fissando un pezzetto di legno da 4x2cm, lungo 6cm alle gambe come staffa di sostegno in modo che faccia da supporto al telaio, quindi ho fissato il telaio alle gambe con delle viti a legno. In pratica il peso del telaio viene distribuito alle gambe tramite tramite le nuove staffe mentre le viti di fissaggio servono soltanto a tenere unito il tutto.
In questo modo è molto più facile smontare le gambe dal telaio svitando le due viti di fissaggio.

Poi, ho tagliato all'altezza prevista due delle quattro gambe già montate e vi ho fissato una staffa in acciaio zincato che servirà da punto di aggancio delle corde di sollevamento.

Inifine, ho fissato temporaneamente a soffitto un anello di sostegno in corrispondenza di una gamba. Agganciata una carrucola a soffitto ho fatto una velocissima prova di sollevamento e... qualcosa si muove.

Alla luce delle prove e verifiche ho visto che:

le staffe di fissaggio dei carrelli scorrevoli e' meglio ancorarle al telaio soltanto tramite due bulloni e dadi, senza nessuna vite a legno
le staffe di fissaggio dei carrelli devono poter scorrere in senso orizzontale sul telaio in modo da avere un po' di movimento in fase di fissaggio e poter adattare la posizione del telaio rispetto alle guide. Per questo i fori nel telaio dove passano i bulloni di ancoraggio dovranno essere in realtà delle asole
la lunghezza delle gambe potrebbe ridursi rispetto al progetto iniziale in modo da lasciare spazio a carrucola ed anello di sostegno a soffitto rispettando l'altezza finale a cui sollevare il telaio. Questo potrebbe creare qualche problema al pannello di sfondo del plastico che potrebbe avere meno spazio per il fissaggio sulle gambe e/o scontrarsi con il sistema di sollevamento
le carrucole, quando sollecitate dal tratto di corda che scorre parallelamente al soffitto per arrivare dal lato del bandone d'ingresso, tendono a porsi a 45 gradi rispetto alla verticale e contemporaneamente a spostarsi verso la direzione della corda. Questo richiede uno spostamento nel verso opposto degli anelli di fissaggio a soffitto in modo da compensare la rotazione/spostamento delle carrucole ed avere il tratto di corda in verticale che si fissa alla gambe il piu' possibile verticale. Ciò causa il fatto che per le due carrucole delle gambe sulla parete di fondo non sarà possibile compensare totalmente questo spostamento, per la presenza della parete di fondo stessa, e quindi le corde di queste due carrucole non potranno essere perfettamente verticali. Forse questo disegno spiega meglio il problema

In conclusione, ancora un bel po' di lavoro e di verifiche da fare prima di poter dare l'OK definitivo al sistema di sollevamento e procedere oltre con la fase di progettazione del layout e la costruzione delle altre sezioni.

Joe Fugate's DVD

2009-02-21T13:43:00.005+01:00

Mi sono arrivati in settimana i cinque DVD che avevo ordinato su Model Trains Video contenenti la descrizione del plastico Siskiyou Line di Joe Fugate dalla progettazione fino alla costruzione degli ultimi particolari.

In rete ho letto molte recensioni positive di tutta la serie di DVD e quindi decisi di acquistarli. Ora non resta che guardarli e studiarli. Cercherò quanto prima di fare un breve resoconto delle mie impressioni.

Costruzione telaio, parte 3

2009-02-15T18:10:00.007+01:00

Continua la fase di costruzione del telaio per il livello inferiore.

Qualche giorno fa ho comprato ancora un po di tavole di abete piallato da 60x20mm per l'assemblaggio delle altre sezioni del telaio. Infatti, ho deciso di procedere con la costruzione di almeno un'altra sezione prima di procedere con il sistema di sollevamento perche' volevo verificare le dimensioni di quest'ultima sezione e i problemi di assemblaggio delle varie parti e delle gambe, nonché il fissaggio ai carrelli di scorrimento.

Per prima cosa, però, ho montato i piedini regolabili sulle gambe già costruite e sulle due da montare sulla nuova sezione. Ho seguito lo stesso metodo utilizzato da Paolo per la costruzione delle gambe del suo modulo FREMO. Durante la settimana ho acquistato alcuni piedini regolabili con la loro bussola per il montaggio nelle gambe di legno.

Quindi sono passato alla costruzione della terza sezione, praticamente speculare rispetto a quella sul lato opposto della stanza. Come descritto nel post precedente questa sezione è più profonda di 3cm, cioè 39cm in tutto. Il procedimento che ho seguito è lo stesso che per le altre sezioni con giunti di testa, traversa di rinforzo a metà e tirante obliquo per tenere in squadra il tutto.

Poi ho praticato i fori per i due bulloni da 8mm necessari ad unire assieme il tutto e fatto una prova nella posizione definitiva per verificare le dimensioni. Temo che la profondità di quest'ultima sezione sia troppa e non ci sia abbastanza spazio per le gambe lungo questa parete. Forse sarà necessario accorciare le traverse di un centimetro scendendo alla profondità di 38cm complessivi.

Però, per completare le prove, ho continuato con il montaggio delle staffe di fissaggio ai carrelli scorrevoli e le gambe su questa sezione del telaio. Come anticipato questa sezione risulta troppo profonda e la gamba da fissare lungo la parete laterale entra appena tra muro e sezione tanto che il bullone di fissaggio tocca l'intonaco della parete. Il prossimo passo, qundi, sarà quello di accorciare la profondità a 38cm smontando la sezione e tagliando le teste e la traversa di rinforzo.

Qualche altra foto del risultato ed di alcuni dettagli costruttivi.

Come si vede le gambe devono ancora essere fissate con qualcosa che le tenga in squadra rispetto alle sezioni del telaio. Inoltre le sezioni sulle pareti laterali flettono verso il basso perché sostenute soltanto dalle gambe lungo le pareti. Poiché non è possibile inserire delle squadre di sostegno sotto alle sezioni dovrò probabilmente aggiungere delle gambe sul lato interno delle sezioni. Queste gambe verranno poi ruotate e fissate in orizzontale sotto al telaio quando viene rialzato a soffitto.

Costruzione telaio, parte 2

2009-02-08T20:21:00.005+01:00

Il telaio comincia a muovere i primi passi...

Ma andiamo per ordine.
Approfittando di un poco più di tempo del solito ho portato avanti i lavori di costruzione del telaio. La cosa più importante che volevo verificare era vedere se in realtà l'idea delle guide scorrevoli, dei montanti e del telaio così come concepita poteva funzionare.

Quindi, dopo aver unito assieme i primi due "moduli" del livello inferiore del telaio ho fissato le prime due gambe. Ho usato un bullone con dado da 8mm di diametro ed una coppia di rondelle in modo da facilitare le operazione di montaggio e smontaggio. Per il momento ho usato una vite a legno per tenere in squadra le gambe rispetto al telaio. Penso però che la soluzione finale sarà usare un tirante a 45° sicuramente più robusto.

Sostenuto da un paio di cavalletti ho avvicinato i due moduli alle guide scorrevoli a muro in modo da poter prendere le misure esatte di dove fissare le staffe da agganciare poi ai carrelli. Fissate anche le staffe ho fatto la prova generale.

Il risultato è piuttosto buono, il tutto sembra funzionare ma ci sono alcuni punti da valutare attentamente:

molto probabilmente serviranno anche delle gambe sul lato "interno" del telaio. Quelle esterne che scorrono vicino alle pareti perimetrali temo non riescano a sostenere correttamente il telaio nelle parti più sporgenti, come ad esempio la penisola centrale
il fissaggio delle staffe ai carrelli scorrevoli non è affatto facile e quando ci sarà anche il livello superiore potrebbe essere impossibile arrivare a stringere i dadi per fissarle ai carrelli
sull'angolo opposto a quello creato dalle due sezioni già costruite sembra esserci più spazio del previsto. Almeno 3cm in più considerando che le guide di scorrimento e le staffe di fissaggio sporgono circa 5cm dalla parete. Allargando la profondità delle due sezioni da questo lato diventerebbero di 43cm.

Finite queste prove sono passato al fissaggio delle restanti tre guide di scorrimento. Quella nella spallina della porta d'ingresso è stata accorciata a 195cm per via delle tubazioni presenti vicino al soffitto.

A questo punto mi resta da decidere se è meglio procedere con la costruzione dell'altra sezione di telaio collegata a quella della parete di fondo in modo da poter fare un'altra prova di funzionamento, oppure cominciare a costruire il sistema di sollevamento a carrucule per verificarne la realizzabilità e i problemi.
Per entrambe ci sono pro e contro: la prima mi permetterebbe di provare una parte di telaio che sta in piedi autonomamente ma creerebbe sicuramente maggiori problemi di spazio aumentando le parti da tenere smontate; la seconda permetterebbe da subito di verificare la funzionalità del sollevamento ma rallenta i tempi di costruzione del telaio.

Ultimo punto, devo anche decidere se verniciare il telaio e come. Considerando le notevoli escursioni termiche e di umidità forse un finitura con una vernice di fondo per legno ed una verniciatura protettiva potrebbe essere utile.

Costruzione telaio, parte 1

2009-02-01T13:46:00.010+01:00

In settimana ho trovato un po' di tempo per acquistare parte del legno necessario alla costruzione del telaio. Fortunatamente, vicino a casa c'è una segheria molto fornita che mi ha preparato i pezzi richiesti in un quarto d'ora. Caricate le assi in auto in meno di mezz'ora avevo già sistemato tutto in garage.

Ho comprato alcune assi da 60x20 mm per i riquadri esterni dei vari moduli del telaio, alcune da 38x38mm per le gambe ed alcune da 20x20mm per squadrette ed altre parti leggere. Avevo in precedenza acquistato altre assi da 40x20mm.

Sulla base dello schema del progetto i moduli saranno di varie lunghezze e altezza 60mm mentre i giunti e tiranti interni di rinforzo saranno da 40mm e 20mm. I moduli sono assemblati con giunzioni "di testa" per minimizzare l'altezza del telaio e poter sfruttare il più possibile la poca distanza disponibile tra i due livelli del plastico.

Ho iniziato a costrurire il modulo del livello inferiore che andrà sulla parete di fondo, quella della porta di ingresso, più profondo degli altri moduli. A lavoro finito il piano di questo modulo risulterà di 50cm di profondità.

Con l'aiuto di morsetti a squadra ho cominciato la costruzione fissando i giunti di testa con tre viti da legno da 4x50mm. Prima di avvitare le viti ho praticato dei fori "guida" in modo che la vite non crepi le varie parti. Non ho usato colla, almeno per il momento, perché voglio verificare il risultato una volta asseblati i vari moduli e lasciarmi la possibilità di svitare e smontare il tutto senza rischiare di rompere delle parti. Se il risultato non sarà sufficientemente rigido e stabile aggiungerò la colla smontando e rimontando il tutto.

Questo è il primo modulo completato con un rinforzo centrale da 40x20mm. A questo punto mi sono accorto che le giunzioni non erano a squadra e quindi ho aggiunto dei tiranti da 20x20mm fissati a 45° che hanno risolto il problema ed irrobustito notevolmente l'intero modulo.

Il secondo modulo è uno dei due moduli del livello inferiore della parte destra del plastico (dando le spalle al bandone di entrata del garage). E' più corto e meno profondo del primo. A lavoro finito la profondità di questo modulo sarà di 40cm.

Procedendo allo stesso modo ho finito anche il secondo modulo. Date le dimensioni minori è stato sufficiente un solo tirante a 45° per tenere a squadra gli angoli ed irrobustire il tutto.

Infine ho unito temporaneamente i due moduli con dei morsetti secondo lo schema del progetto ed ho praticato i fori da 8mm di diametro per fissare assieme i moduli con dadi e bulloni.