Mini layout in the works


RW&C

RW&C

N Scale with Stone Tools
Hello All,

I haven't done much train-related stuff lately, partly from finances, and partly from having so much other stuff to do. Anyway, I was tearing apart a printer the other night and I started thinking, this sliding bit would make a great transfer table. :cool:

Here's what I built. Only the wood deck will show in the final product.
P1010012-5.png


Can't just have a table and no layout, so I'm going to make a little (maybe 1' by 3' or 4', because that's about how much blue foam I have) switching layout out of the stuff I've got lying around: the transfer table, some flex track, one #6 RH, some buildings, and... well, that's about it, actually. Here's my go at a track plan (not to scale, radii to be eyeballed later):

trackplan-1.png


The spurs from the table, top to bottom: empty (for engine storage or temporarily spotting a car that's in the way), full coal hoppers, coal hopper filling (still trying to animate the coal mine), and a fourth spur to a truck depot.

My question to you... does this layout look workable? Entertaining? I want this to be a little challenging, but not Sudoku challenging, something I could hand a friend the controls and say, have a go.

Also, just for giggles... I wanted to see if I could build a switch motor out of junk. I call it the Redneck Tortoise.
P1010009-8.png
 
OOOoooo redneck tortoise! I like it. You've got the right attitude. :p;) Plus...your layout diagram with that legend is awesome.....and looks like it might even work. I'm going to look up transfer table.....that just sounds good.

I should be starting the scenery on my semi-unconventional N scale layout soon. I know it's going to have a big train salvage/junkyard......utah desert landscaping and for sure some dinosaur skulls.



Mike
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks. :) The skulls look like a great flat car load to me.

I got it traced out on the foam tonight. I think it's gonna work! :D I need to make the pit for the table before I can do much else, so that's my next mini project.

Also, anyone else have a gear growl problem with a Life-Like N scale EMD SW unit? Seems like it's coming from the back, but I've had the truck apart several times (and swapped one in from a dead engine) with no change in the noise.
 
Interesting, looks like a fun little project!
So how fast does the table slide, I have visions of it traveling at the speed it prints at!
 
Thanks. :) The speed depends on what I feed it. On 12v it's a little scary... it does pretty well with the 3.3v output from the computer power supply I'm using to run everything.

I laid roadbed today, and glued the branch, switch, and spur down. I've decided to make the lip around the transfer table out of an old circuit board so that I can solder the rail ends down. Not looking forward to cutting the board, but it should work out nicely. Pics to come...

Oh, and the switcher? The split-frame halves are bent. Oh joy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If after you removed all motor and other parts from the two metal halves of the switcher.....is it possible you could gently straighten them using blocks of soft pine wood to cushion them and whack 'em into shape with a hammer? Glad you're making progress with the layout. I like your resourcefulness.



Mike
 
The frame halves are freakishly thin... I set a spare set on some plywood and straightened them just with my fingers. I've yet to install them, though... I had other things to do tonight. :)

The transfer table was way too high. Part of this was the stilts between the table and the deck; the other was the stilts underneath, compensating for where I put the mechanism. Both had to change. I reconfigured the gearing (and swapped in a newer and quieter gear train from a CD drive), reengineered the deck attachment, and got it almost low enough... now to try to build the pit.

P1010009-9.png


I got the track that's down, soldered up. It's got a Micro Trains electromagnet just past the switch, which I tested, and it works. My ghetto Tortoise, on the other hand... I'll be pulling it out and reengineering the limit switch design. It worked fine until I glued it in! :mad:

P1010010-7.png


I picked up an issue of MR at random from the junk pile... opened it... found this Walthers ad. Not quite a prototype photo but it gives me something to work from. :)

P1010013-8.png


Anybody know how the Walthers unit conceals the drive? I'm planning on having two slits in the base that the stilts come through... looks like they found a better workaround though?
 
Well, I figured out what was wrong with the switch motor. I just didn't solder one of the wires on quite right. But then I got to thinking, the little switch I used as a limiter had this massive dead zone in the middle. So I built a new switch, which looks like a complete hackjob, and is, but works brilliantly. (It's the bit with the brass square.)

P1010001-13.png


This left me with an orphaned SPST, which I connected to a bicolor LED from a computer monitor. I glued a little light pipe to the LED and stuck it through the foam. So, now, I've got a visual indication of which way the switch is pointing: green for straight on...

P1010007-11.png


and red for diverging.

P1010008-15.png


Now that I think of it, it really should be in some kind of signal bridge... maybe I'll move it later.

No progress on the engine or transfer table, though I think I've figured out how I'll do both. ;)
 
That's cool with the switch motor and green/red signal. Is that turnout an atlas code 80 custom line unit? How did you weather it? Looks good. Do you like those turnouts? I have about 16 atlas N scale code 80 switches, lefts and rights, #4's, #6's, manuals, remotes, and custom line units and caboose sprung ground throws.......but have not yet installed any turnouts on my layout. I bought a variety of types to see if one kind works better than others.


Mike
 
I'm actually not sure quite what it is, I bought it quite a while ago. But yeah, Atlas code 80, #6. I had a LH too, but I found that the rails coming into the frog went too far in... so a wheel could bridge the two. After my Life-Like SD-45 shorted it out (resulting in a melted gearbox), I tried to modify it... didn't go well. I haven't had any issues with this one yet. I picked up a couple Caboose throws, and they seem to work pretty well, but they're huge! And thanks, I just sprayed it with brown primer and wiped the rail heads clean. It took a little oil to get the points moving smoothly, but they seem to work okay. :)

I tore the switcher apart yet again, straightened the frame halves as well as I could, and put it back together. It still sounds like a meat grinder, but the slow speed operation is better, even over the plastic frog. It's the weirdest thing, the trucks are smooth, the motor's smooth, the gears are clean... :confused:

I finally got somewhere with the transfer table. I glued two thin strips of wood to the top of my table mounts to cover the underside of the cuts I'd have to make in the base of the pit, painted them up, and re-drilled the mounting holes. (I painted the assembly with nail polish first so that the wood wouldn't warp... it still did, but not badly.)

I took some measurements and cut the bottom of the pit from the plastic bit under the lid of the printer (the same printer the mechanism came from). Then I drilled a series of 3mm holes with a twist drill, linked them, and finished the resulting slits with a hand file. I scribed it into 2cm squares, scratched a few cracks into it, shot it in grey primer, and gave it a quick weathering job.

Making the cuts:

P1010001-14.png


Where I left it last night:

P1010008-16.png


Next I'll mount the plate, figure out how to mount the table and its wheels, and build up the walls and the lip of the pit... oh, and figure out how to route the wires. Maybe I'll solder the track leads to the mounting posts...
 
Well, I got the tray mounted. It's a little crooked, so I'll have to chisel off the hot glue and try again, but it's close. If it wasn't for the scribed lines keeping me honest I might not even bother. Anyway, I started building up the edges. It'll get more wood along the sides and a strip of PC board at either end (so I can solder the rails in place). Incidentally I did end up wiring the track through the posts that link the deck to the tray... works great. :)

P1010001-15.png


I'm going to lay four rails underneath the deck, two at each end, standard gauge. Then I'll cut a couple of old trucks in half, dress them up a little, and glue them to the bridge. I didn't glue the bridge to the mechanism (it sort of floats), so these rollers should keep it steady. I made a couple little gauging tools to make sure I get the rails straight when I glue them down.

P1010009-10.png


I'm also planning to turn down the flanges on the wheels I use. I tried a couple last night with a hand file, and they came out pretty well considering I didn't know what I was doing. I figure I'll try with a cordless drill next to see if I can't get them a little smoother. Even the hand-filed ones looked better than pizza cutters, and still seemed to stay on the track.

I also started making a little control cabin thingy for the deck. I didn't think it through too well, though, so what I came up with is way too big. Oh well, I'll put it beside the pit or something... who says it can't be remote controlled? Not like I'm following a prototype here. :)

P1010007-12.png


The roof is temporary, I'll use some cardboard or something later and do it right. Also, the thing in the window is supposed to be an air conditioner... for a scrap from the Walthers coal mine and some foil, I think it does the job. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I immediately recognized the air conditioner in the window of the control shack before I read what you wrote about it. It's all very creative....especially the transfer table. Your ability to recycle techno-junk into useful features is inspiring.



Mike
 
I was in the CN Transcona shops this weekend and took a few photos for you, not the best but you'll get some ideas.
I think I'll go back there with a better camera...:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the pics! Makes me wonder if I can imbed the rails into the deck, the way I've got it built... might give me another few mm to play around with.

And thanks Railfan. :) My hoarding of dead electronics drives my dad nuts... :D he tries to throw stuff away, next thing he knows it's in bits in the basement.

I haven't made much progress since my last update (end of the quarter, large essay due date looming), but I did weather the shed walls. It worked better than I expected... when I painted it, I shot it with white spray paint, then brushed acrylic blue over it. The alcohol I use to wash on the weathering powders washed away some of the acrylic.

P1010002-12.png
 
Still no progress on the transfer table, but I built a control panel. :)

P1010021-3.png


Unfortunately I have some sanding to do... the clear coat I used made the underlying paint scrunch up. :mad:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top