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After several months of messing with the signal system, I had to shift gears here and do a little more building.
I started the track leads to the staging yard that will be below the operating level of the layout.
The schematic shows where each picture is taken from. The grade will be about 2% on both tracks.
Picture 1 is the top of the hill where the two tracks merge into one then join the mainline.
Picture 2 is a little further down the hill where it ducks under the benchwork where a mountain will be someday.
Picture 3 is the other side of the mountain down at the staging yard level. The two tracks will spread out to 4 tracks that will extend along the lower edge of the schematic for about 35 feet. Storage tracks will extend back up the left most peninsula under the coal facility.
Got the track laid from the operating level down into the staging yard. The storage tracks are next and should be about double the capacity of the staging yard. The last steps will be applying power to the tracks. There are a couple of 70' flat cars on the track closest to the edge about half way down the tracks. The tracks end just past the left edge of the picture.
I've been working along on the staging yard a little bit each evening. I didn't like the 4 tracks in the staging yard as it didn't provide enough room between the rolling stock to make adjustments so I pulled all the track back out and did some adjusting of the height of the track surface then relaid the yard. Now I'm starting on the roll-in storage tracks. This will provide about 100 feet of track for storage of excess rolling stock that is readily accessable from the staging yard.
In the first picture, the staging yard combines together into two tracks for the uphill run to the operating level. The storage tracks turnout is just before the staging yard leads duck under the coal mountain area. A cut of box cars can be seen on the rear most track just before the storage track turnout.
This next picture is from down past the coal loading facility looking back into the same area as the first picture. The storage track bench work can be seen under the operating level and the higher up coaling facility.
Finished the storage yard today. It will hold over 100 freight cars. I have room for about 6 more feet on the distant end but just didn't feel like wrestling with it tonight. I loaded several strings of rolling stock in there for the following photos.
Moved on to working through the signalling system. The first thing I had to do was install a DS64 to control a few turnouts. Got the Loconet and poweer supply hooked up and the DS64 switched over to work the stall motor. Hooked up two turnouts and tested them with the DT402. All is good. Tomorrow night, I'll install a cross over and work those two stall motors into the DS64 on one of the outputs. I recall reading that a local control can be added to the turnouts instead of having to use the DT402. I can't seem to find that right now.
After spending the late afternoon doing the grass trimming at the church cemetary, my back was killing me. I was only able to cut in a set of #10 crossover tracks to route to the staging yard lead. I'll install the Tortoise machines this evening and get them programmed up to the DS64. That should set things up so I can start into programming the signals this weekend.
Here is a video of part of the layout. I took this using my cell phone so the quality isn't all that good, but at least ya get an idea of the size of the layout.The look on this is about half of the layout. Ya just need to click on the picture so it will take ya to the photobucket site.
With the extensive help of FCWilks I was finally able to get the signal system going and have planted about a dozen signal masts so far. This is a short video of a cross over with signals.
A few more signal masts installed and programmed up. This set is at the exit from the intermodal facility. The right hand track only has a block divider at this point while the turnout to the intermodal facility has the block divider as well as the turnout.
Got a few more signal masts installed and operating.
Here is a video of a run through the signaled section of the layout with a Broadway Limited Northern 4-8-4 AT&SF. Special attention is given to the signals as the train runs through them and they change from green to red. This is about one fourth of the layout.
Wow! Those signals look great man, nice work both of trying to figure all that out. I have one, count'em one BLMA dual track 4 signal bridge. And I use the Logic Rail infrared detectors with it. And that thing was a pain to install, and took a long time. So I know how much work you put into that.
Yeah, it has become a minor step in the signal mast installation process. I will probably go back and change all the signals for the cross overs to a flashing yellow.
Yes, I do have quite a bit of rolling stock, but that's just the intermodal facility that you could see there. There is a lot of open running track where small industries will spring up over the next few years.
