Layout
Track Plan
DCC
Structures
Scenery
Railroad
Locomotives
Rolling Stock
Maintenance
Layout
Track Plan
DCC
Structures
Scenery
Railroad
Locomotives
Rolling Stock
Maintenance
Daley Train Log
Page 56
What did I learn as a result of my efforts during the last week while trying to debug a shorting problem with one of my reversing loop?
One: the DCC system keeps track of the status of the DCC-controlled switches.
Two: it is important to understand the principles underlying DCC control.
Three: a little additional background reading on DCC would be a good idea.
Four: there can be unanticipated side benefits from attempting to solve a problem. In my case I discovered a defective connector track and I improved the track layout by smoothing out a small kink in the track at one point. I also simplified the layout be removing a redundant section of track that added nothing to the operational features of the layout.
I am eager to run a locomotive over the entire layout again and make sure that I have tested all of the mainline routing possibilities. I am also going to sit down and do some careful reading of DCC material. I am also tempted to try writing a brief article on my debugging activities for the Canadian Railway Modeller magazine.
While sitting in front of the screen and reflecting on my efforts to date, a couple of thought come to mind. Importantly, I am delighted with what I have produced and am having a lot of fun with the many different aspects of the hobby.
On the other side of the coin, the most annoying aspect of the layout is the duck-under as I enter the room. I really want to improve this. I do like the external mainline loop around the walls of the room but I need to find a way to easily add the duck-under so I can walk into the room, place the bridges in place and connect the track, run the trains, and then easily remove the bridges and walk out of the room.
Thinking about this for a minute, the solution is a simple board with the track and bridges mounted on it. Then have the rail joiners slide to complete the connection. The board plus bridges should be as light as possible. I may loose a little realism by not having the bridge abuttments but the convenience of not having to crawl into the room will more than offset the lack of this feature.
I have had a quick look at my Canadian Railway Modeller magazine and noted that I have numbers 1 - 5 of volume 16. The last issue is the January-February 2009 issue. Now to purchase the remainder of the issues for this year.
While collecting these issues together I noticed that the number 1 issue for volume 16 contained an article on a "lift out duck under". Exactly what I want! I have read the article and can take the basic idea of how to ensure that the lift out piece will fit snugly into place. A good reason for getting back to reading more about this hobby.
Continueing to think, I may be able to keep the bridge abuttmants. The plywood board just needs to be set to fit about 4 inches below the general layout level.