It's been slow progress, but I'm still finalizing the track layout. I think I'm pretty close. I need to get one more infra-red track piece so I can get one more train working at the track (3 total). Then I can start attachingthe track to foam,etc. The center area will be a wooded rural area. The station is on the right, and a pond and farm house will probably be on the left. Anyhow, here is a video...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7091961121355212721&hl=en
Thanks,Wes
Track plan looks great Wes, whats the size of your layout again? Nice video as well.
Keep the videos coming!
Grayson
"Lionel trains are the standard of the world" - Jousha Lionel Cowen
Its 13' long, with a future siding of another 4' to the left that will extend into the next room. The left and right 042 curves are on 4'x4' sections, and the center is a 3' x 5'l ong section. I really wish I could have made it all 4' deep, but I don't think I would be able to reach all the way back against the wall, so I kept it 3' deep.
Very cool.
How do you get 2 trains to run on one track, stop at the station, and the other one knows it's time to go?
I am sure it's like a track section that enables that?
If there is a link, please post, new to the forum and to do a search....I'm lazy.
I use the MTH infrared track section for the trigger. It is a infrared sensor that attaches to the track, and there is a relay in it that is tripped when a train passes in front of it. If you don't have MTH track, I'm sure you can use another companies, or even use DPDT relays. I chose this particular piece because it has a built in timer (variable length with the turn of a screw too!) of how long the relay stays open. That's the important part.
Lionelsoni told me to go get a bunch of Radio Shack bridge rectifier modules and string them together. This gave me the voltage drops that I needed for different sections around the track. I can pick any voltage from 6 volts and up to the usual 20. I leave the throttle at max and just pick the tap that I need. I just made an isolated section up that goes from the track piece just right of the 042 RH swich all the way around to just in front of the station, and set that for around 11 volts to slow the approaching train down. The infrared trigger is on the right corner of the station area, and the slow train trips it, and releases the parked train. The parked train sits on another isolated section at 7 volts, which is just enough to keep the engine on, but not moving. When the relay is tripped, it sends 14 volts to that section (it just overlays the 7 volts), and the train takes off. The relay closes a couple of seconds after the last car of the approaching train passes the IR trigger, and the train stops when it hits the 7 volt section again. That's pretty much it.
I have the two switches tied together so they always throw the same direction so there are no collisions.
If I want to run a single train without the stops, I can just bypass all of the varying voltages with a switch and apply the 20 volts,and control it with the transformer, like normal.
My next step is to wire up a control center that allows me to fine tune voltages to the different sections by rotory switches. I want to be able to have an open position on the parking train for locos that have to have all voltages dropped, or they keep moving forward.
Wes
jpc675 wrote: Very cool. How do you get 2 trains to run on one track, stop at the station, and the other one knows it's time to go?I am sure it's like a track section that enables that? If there is a link, please post, new to the forum and to do a search....I'm lazy.
You could also use insulated track sections I believe.
Looks like the makings of a great layout Wes. Good 3 dimensional interest and lots of loops in a pretty small place make it very fun to watch. I look forward to seeing the pink foam finshed off with your scenery plan. The trigger system for the station is cool....so you can set back and drink a beer while the trains go all day huh...Cool!
Roland
I'm sure I could have, but I would have also had to use DPDT relays, and another trigger zone that triggers when the train leaves the station. This seemed much easier with the timer. I had to keep my voltage on so the train wouldn't shut off (putting it into reverse). My yardsounds cycle when the train is stopped in the station. It takes long enough for the other train to make the loop that I get to hear a good amount of crew conversation before it is released.
Another good thing that I just lucked into is that when an MTH train is sitting idle, it doesn't respond to bell or whistle commands, so when I hit them on the trainsformer,only the moving train responds.
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
Bob Mitchell Gettysburg, PA TCA # 98-47956 LCCA# RM22839
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
GREAT JOB!!!!!
Keep us posted.
laz57
Thanks everyone! After I get the second trigger zone set up for the third train, I'll post another video. Then I'll start getting rid of the pink foam!
Thanks,
Do people with realtrax lay the track right on the "ground" level, or do they use foam or cork to lift it up as compared to the ground level? I do plan on ballasting all of the track, even though the track comes preballasted. I'm looking for the texture.
Also, I am looking for suggestions on how to make an overpass on my upper level. It doesn't have to be prototypical, but I want it to look like it belongs there. It's the area just between the S curve and the foam mountain where the trains stop. Right now I just have some foam holding the track up. I have been working with Frank53 to make a wooden trussel bridge to replace all of the foam on the 042 curve that is just left of the S curve (for visability reasons), but I am having some trouble visualizing how to build the mountain or bridge that holds the switch that isn't huge, and doesn't cover up tracks. I want to keep the tunnel portals as far right as possible and not block the parallel track sections in the middle of the layout. 2 bridges is all I have come up with. I would like the turnout to be mounted on "earth", but I'm fine with suggestions on anything that might work...
Something like this:
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/View?u=3009006&a=32116967&p=75585989&Sequence=0
Thanks for your input,
I just saw that Scenic Express has premade/prestained bents for sale, and they are very cheap. Has anyone tried them? I wouldn't need any taller than 8" tall, but I would have to trim them down in height since it's on an incline.
Wes, dont you feel it odd for a freight to stop at a PASSENGER station?
Im just playin with you man, i know you couldent do it any other way.
I thought about that for a while when I built it. I have a solution to it, but I need some train time to test it...
Here is another video. I changed it a little on the lower loop. I wanted a place where two trains could pass in opposing directions, and it cleaned up some other issues.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6879513757083617703&hl=en
Very Good looking start to your layout.
One Video tip: invest in a tripod, they are cheap enough and your videos will look excellent, you won't regret getting one, especially when your layout in near finished, (your videos will probably look like a movie set or a real train).
I have one, I guess I should use it...thanks for the tip!
I will bring in lights for the next video. My basement isn't overly bright. I could replace my lightbulbs with higher wattage bulbs. I could also add some track lighting above the layout. I really didn't think much about it because to me, it's not much to look at yet, but it's a lot of fun to play with!
Wes,Nah, just get rid of the OSU train - it is sucking the light out of the room! Fife uses these to get 'focal' light on the subject... He has two... I found one of these in our old garage when I was packing for THE MOVE, it has a new home in the train room! http://www.amazon.com/Troy-EL2211-6-Ft-Clamp-On-Light/dp/B000BMFX54/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-5556695-6297401?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1183123530&sr=8-1
Hey, I have one of those too. they come in very handly, and would probably do the trick.
I guess I could also just turn on the Lionel train lamp that my son just got for his birthday from his grandma and grandpa. It's the one that has the train go around the base of it. It's pretty slick.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8841224784182001869&hl=en
I added another video. I used a tripod, but no lighting improvements. I also used a DV camcorder, but used too low of a import setting, so video is not the best. The next one will be better. Still, I finally got a chance to add another stop block on the lower section of track. I change to a more overhead view about 2 minutes into the video. The way it is now, I have to manually release a train if there isn't a train coming in behind it IF I use the lower stop track section. I can turn off the lower stop track and run it like the older videos. I designed it to work with 3 trains automatically. I don't have 3 trains yet...I am also wiring up some momentary switches so I can make a train stop at each loop, and I release the one I want to. It's getting there.
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