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| Links to Notebook Pages: | Trains |
Tuesday May 30, 2006 6:00 am Lethbridge Alberta
A. Morning Musings
6:00 am The sky appears to be clearing. The temperature is + 8 at the moment with a forecast high of + 21.
B. Plan
Chores Mow lawn 1 hr Groceries 1 hr Health Walk 1 hr Exercise .5 hr Model Trains Shop for wiring & solder 1.5 hr Literature Continue reading "Mrs. Dalloway Reader" 1 hr History Continue reading "Citizens" 1 hr Mathematics Begin reading "Introducing Mathematics" 1 hr Technology Read manual for cell phone 1 hr 9 hrs
C. Actual/Notes
6:00 am The above table identifies activities totalling 9 hours. Yesterday's table had 11 hours, of which I completed 8.
6:05 am It is exciting to return to this hobby. Part of the excitement is due to the expectation of a great operational layout but another part is what I will learn in the process. Right now the learning is about wiring the layout.
The Digitrax book emphasizes the value of wiring a medium size layout so that there is more than one power district. This ensures that the overall circuit is not overloaded and it makes it easier to locate a problem if there is a short in the circuit. I will use 2 power districts, one for each level of the layout.
The Digitrax book gives a table of wire gauges, recommending a gauge of 14 for a length of 30' - 50' for the power bus. It also recommends using 2 colors, one for the return wire and one for the track segment feed. The colors help insure that one does not accidently wire the system incorrectly.
The Digitrax book gives a photo showing the track feed wires attached to the power bus with a small plastic cube. This looks like a way to bypass the need for soldering the joint. I will check with the train store hobby shop and see if they have any of these.
I will also look for specially wired track feeder wires that are pre-soldered to a rail-joiner. This will look much better than using a section of track with two connecting posts. If I am unable to find these, I will need some wire gauge 22 for the track feeders.
The Digitrax book begins the description of each layout with a layout analysis. I need to review my layout and verify that I will be able to run trains to and from each location in the manner I am expecting. This means that I have a way to bring cars to a specific location and then pick them up at a later time. The locomotive should always be at the front, except for switching within a yard. I have just had a close look at the track layout for the upper level and it is fine.
Before I actually do the wiring I need to ensure that the track itself is properly laid. This implies that the roadbed on which the track rests is also securely fastened. And once the track is laid and wired I want to add appropriate ground scenery along the main line. At that point I will have a fully operational mainline. Not too impressive perhaps, but a very good beginning.
Ooops. It makes better sense to begin with the lower level mainline as some of the table tops need to be fastened down as part of the upper level mainline.
Ooops again. While having a close look at the lower level I realized that one switch would have to be moved to permit scenery (i.e. a tunnel) to be placed on the lower level. This rippled into a few additional minor changes to the layout on the lower level. The net result is a definite improvement.
9:15 am
Sources:
- The Digitrax Big Book of DCC. (1999). pp. 39 - 45.
- Basic Model Railroading. Getting Started in the Hobby. (1999). pp. 20 - 21, 24 - 27.
8:30 PM I visited the Model Baron hobby shop to see about buying wire for the layout. They did not have this but did have the small track feeder wires attached to the connectors. It is a start. I also ended up buying a kit that makes a few trees.
Canadian Tire has some wire that is rated as 18 cwg. It is rated for 30V and costs $1.09/m. It has both a black and a white wire within a brown casing. This should be excellent for the power bus. I will need to fasten it to the underside of the layout and then drill holes through the table top for the feeder wires. Once I see where they meet the power bus I will strip the outer casing and then strip the insulation for the white wire and attach the appropriate wire to the white wire.
I still need some rosin-core solder and some rosin flux. I will try Radio Shack next. They may also have some 14 awg gauge wire. I need a roll of about 100' for this.
I went back to the store a couple of hours later to buy some ground cover sheets that should make a big difference in getting my scenery established. The owner suggested using sandpaper as a surface that looks like a cement retaining wall - all I need to do is spray paint it grey. This is certainly worth a try.
I am also thinking of buying some poster cardboard that is a sky blue color and use that as a backdrop around the layout. Simple and effective.
One of the fascinating aspects of this hobby is the number of times that I am sure that I have a working layout only to find a flaw in the logic of the flow of either locomotives or electricity. I have just spent the last hour revising my lower level layout because I had a short in the circuit. However I now think that I have that fixed. I will have another look at it tomorrow and see what I think then.
10:05 PM
D. Reflection