What's happening on your layout?

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Not much is happening at the moment. I stuck some flags and signs on a few buildings, and there's not much else. I do have a building kit on the workbench that I've been neglecting, and I'm in the research/planning stages of a few projects that I'll get to eventually, but there isn't anything major happening right now.
 
Using only an OHM meter; I have found (I hope) the start of the problem. All wires are disconnected from the track and I still have a short circuit. Somewhere there is a problem. I think I have found the beginning of the problem; only after another 6 hours of trouble shooting. I am using my OHM meter to find continuity between the rails on any give piece of track...if it reads continuity, that's a problem ( I think ). I have isolated the start and tomorrow I will continue...I only know so many swear words and I have used them all up. Sunday is a new day; but it's also Pizza Day for Joan and me (don't know how many left before surgery)...I get tired (at 80 from climbing under the layout and bouncing up to try a new reading, all for not. It's 4pm here and I'm done for today

Sounds like you're going in the right direction. Your tenacity will pay off eventually :D. I can't wait to hear what the problem is
 
I cannot believe it; I think I have found the problem...one 7 inch piece of trace with the track feeders disconnected reads continuity across the rails. Honestly, I am dumb founded, I have examined the track and there is not a minute piece of wire shorting it out...there are NO track feeds going to it and yet it has continuity across the rails. I connect the wires to this piece of track and the circuit breaker cuts in, blinking lights. I have disconnected a lot of rails to get to this point and tomorrow I will casually reconnect them...this problem has been haunting me for over 3 years. We quit doing hobbies at 7pm to watch a TV show together...all hobbies are done, all computers are off and we relax and watch TV, Carley, our Papillion likes to sleep on my lap for 2 hours and I'm find with that...the little doggie melts away all the tension. Tomorrow I will rip out the piece of track and try to determine what happened...Tomorrow is Pizza night: medium Pizza with Sausage and Peperoni plus a manly pitcher of beer for 20 bucks hopefully we will enjoy it completely
 


I made almost 200 woodland scenics trees over the past week. I have most where I want them. Some I kinda just put them out there. I’m not sure about the bright colors . They’ll grow on me I’m sure.
 

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I made almost 200 woodland scenics trees over the past week. I have most where I want them. Some I kinda just put them out there. I’m not sure about the bright colors . They’ll grow on me I’m sure.
Have you ever tried Super Trees? Not all that expensive, and they turn into nice looking trees...a little messy (cheap hair spray is required) but you can make a bunch of different sized trees pretty fast
 
I cannot believe it; I think I have found the problem...one 7 inch piece of trace with the track feeders disconnected reads continuity across the rails. Honestly, I am dumb founded, I have examined the track and there is not a minute piece of wire shorting it out...there are NO track feeds going to it and yet it has continuity across the rails. I connect the wires to this piece of track and the circuit breaker cuts in, blinking lights. I have disconnected a lot of rails to get to this point and tomorrow I will casually reconnect them...this problem has been haunting me for over 3 years. We quit doing hobbies at 7pm to watch a TV show together...all hobbies are done, all computers are off and we relax and watch TV, Carley, our Papillion likes to sleep on my lap for 2 hours and I'm find with that...the little doggie melts away all the tension. Tomorrow I will rip out the piece of track and try to determine what happened...Tomorrow is Pizza night: medium Pizza with Sausage and Peperoni plus a manly pitcher of beer for 20 bucks hopefully we will enjoy it completely
I still can't believe that I found the problem, all things considered, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. This morning I jumped out the two tracks on either side of the bad track and the circuit breaker did not trip. The bad piece of track is still unwired at both ends and it still reads continuity across the rails. I have never heard of anything like this. I will take it out later on this morning; but my brain is kind of throbbing over this problem that I have been working days on trying to figure out...never thought it would be a bad piece of track...this is one for the records...I have ripped out a lot of track with the reverse loop problem and disconnected a lot of track trying to find this problem. My layout looks like hell, I've moved most of the structures off the layout to access track removal...
 

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I still can't believe that I found the problem, all things considered, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. This morning I jumped out the two tracks on either side of the bad track and the circuit breaker did not trip. The bad piece of track is still unwired at both ends and it still reads continuity across the rails. I have never heard of anything like this. I will take it out later on this morning; but my brain is kind of throbbing over this problem that I have been working days on trying to figure out...never thought it would be a bad piece of track...this is one for the records...I have ripped out a lot of track with the reverse loop problem and disconnected a lot of track trying to find this problem. My layout looks like hell, I've moved most of the structures off the layout to access track removal...
Well, I pulled out the bad piece of track and I can't for the life of me see what's wrong with it and yet I still reads continuity sitting by itself on my workbench...this piece of junk went into the trash right after I took the picture...not going to put it aside and use it again in a couple of years...this is one for the books. There's got to be something shorting it out; but I am so fed up with looking for this problem for years that I am DONE F-ing around with this piece of track
 

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Well, I pulled out the bad piece of track and I can't for the life of me see what's wrong with it and yet I still reads continuity sitting by itself on my workbench...this piece of junk went into the trash right after I took the picture...not going to put it aside and use it again in a couple of years...this is one for the books. There's got to be something shorting it out; but I am so fed up with looking for this problem for years that I am DONE F-ing around with this piece of track
Glad you finally found the problem after so much aggravation.

I would have to know where the problem is by removing ties one by one--just for my personal
edification. From my electronic technician days when troubleshooting a short circuit, the fix
was "lengthen the short circuit".
 
Glad you finally found the problem after so much aggravation.

I would have to know where the problem is by removing ties one by one--just for my personal
edification. From my electronic technician days when troubleshooting a short circuit, the fix
was "lengthen the short circuit".
Probably would have done that in my earlier days; but after a couple of weeks crawling under the layout, getting out, disconnecting a piece of track feeders and going back under the table, repeat steps one and two; my knees are killing me, my back is aching, me neck is stiff, and "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn" I've already cut a new piece of track and it is drying with a liberal coat of Liquid Nails. If I don't see that bad track ever again, it will be too soon. Onward to checking all the track for disconnected wires and plastering the roadbed locations that I ripped out. I was almost at the point of ripping everything out and taking up chess
 
Probably would have done that in my earlier days; but after a couple of weeks crawling under the layout, getting out, disconnecting a piece of track feeders and going back under the table, repeat steps one and two; my knees are killing me, my back is aching, me neck is stiff, and "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a damn" I've already cut a new piece of track and it is drying with a liberal coat of Liquid Nails. If I don't see that bad track ever again, it will be too soon. Onward to checking all the track for disconnected wires and plastering the roadbed locations that I ripped out. I was almost at the point of ripping everything out and taking up chess
I hear you. Enuf said.
 
Hello Mopac Junkie ! Is there a thread about your fabulous layout somewhere ? Could you post a track plan ? Thanks.
Sorry, i do not have a specific thread. Maybe I'll get one started! I do post progress updates from time to time. I can try to put something together with pics since early construction. As for the track plan i will update my Atlas software and post a picture of it. The track plan consists of a stub end yard with six spurs, two yard leads, turntable, fueling and repair facilities. the mainline is a folded over twin figure eight with only two sidings five spurs, two that are switchback type. I intentionally made the design cumbersome and unuser friendly which makes switching and servicing eight industries a challenge.
 






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