Building a layout on a rotisserie

[hon30critter]

I just did an analysis of what I still have on order for the layout. Holy jeepers!! I still have close to $1000 on order! That's just fine with me because all of the items are really interesting and I look forward to receiving them. Of course, that begs the question of how long it will take me to build and install all of these delicious pieces, but I don't care. I figure I have at least 30 years before I'm done, as in being on the wrong side of the grass!

Cheers!!

Dave

[hon30critter]

SeeYou190

I decided to install lot of small control panels along the fascia instead of a few bigger ones. These will be easier to modify than a big one.

Hi Kevin,

I don't think that a bunch of smaller panels would suit my layout. There are lots of turnouts that are very close to each other so it only makes sense to be able to see all the routes on one diagram.

Of course, that complicates the process of making changes to the panels. I made temporary panels for my old club so I think I will do the same here. Once I am happy with the track arrangement, I can have the final panels printed.

What I need to change from the way I did the club's temporary panels is to make the individual components (switches and LEDs) easily removable from the back of the temporary panel. The club's panels required that the LEDs had to be removed from the front. That meant that all of the LEDs had to be disconnected in order to change the panel fronts. I have solved part of that issue by using bezels for the LEDs that allow the LEDs to be inserted from the back.

Cheers!!

Dave

 

 

[SeeYou190]

hon30critter

Seriously, I wish I wasn't so impulsive. Patience is a virtue that I lack!

Dave, I have never built a layout where the control panels did not need to be modified along the way.

My "Spare Bedroom" layout started as an "Around The Walls", and ended up involving into a "Point To Point" as time went on.

I fully expect to change the track plan on my next layout as I go along.

I decided to install lot of small control panels along the fascia instead of a few bigger ones. These will be easier to modify than a big one.

They will be laminated paper over a steel backing sheet. The art will be saved as a PowerPoint file, so changes will be easy to make, print, and install.

I too, am very impulsive. The control panels on my last layout were so silly looking by the time the end came for it.

-Kevin

[rrinker]

 Print your design, but use the PDF option, not send it to your printer. It can zoom in pretty far without getting fuzzy, and you aren't limited to the paper size of your printer.

 That's what I did oh so long ago to put my plans on my web site, now I just scale the plan to fit the screen and do the export view to jpg, but those do not scale up in size very well. Here's a PDF version from long ago:

https://readingeastpenn.com/images/trackplan/currentplan.pdf

                                  --Randy

 

[richhotrain]

hon30critter

 

richhotrain

Geez, I am tempted because that would fit so well with my layout. LOL Rich 

They are yours! Just pay the $250.00 shipping fee and I will have them to you in about five months!

Seriously, I wish I wasn't so impulsive. Patience is a virtue that I lack!

Cheers!!

Dave 

Dunno, I am having second thoughts. Doesn't seem right to just take them without paying you something for them.  

Rich

[hon30critter]

richhotrain

Geez, I am tempted because that would fit so well with my layout. LOL Rich

They are yours! Just pay the $250.00 shipping fee and I will have them to you in about five months!

Seriously, I wish I wasn't so impulsive. Patience is a virtue that I lack!

Cheers!!

Dave

[richhotrain]

hon30critter

So, does anyone want a couple of pieces of really nice acrylic sheets with totally useless track diagrams already printed on them? They're cheap!

Geez, I am tempted because that would fit so well with my layout. LOL

Rich

[hon30critter]

Back to the layout!

I made a big mistake! I thought I had the track plan all worked out but of course I went back and decided to make some changes. There is nothing wrong with doing that, except you may recall that I have already ordered and received the acrylic control panel faces. Obviously I should have waited until the track was actually installed before ordering them!

My reasoning behind ordering the control panels so early in the process was that I wanted to do a lot of the wiring before the foam and plywood were in place. Unfortunately, I got tired of waiting for all of the control panel components to arrive. In order to make at least some progress, that led me to the decision to install the plywood and the foam, and it gave me time to fine tune the track arrangement.

So, does anyone want a couple of pieces of really nice acrylic sheets with totally useless track diagrams already printed on them? They're cheap!

The advantage to this situation is that I think I should be able to figure out a better way to send the final diagrams to the company that prints them. The edges of the lines in the first set of panels were not particularly crisp because the only way I could figure out how to get the images onto the panel maker's website was to print the 3rd PlanIt plans and then scan them. Yes, I am a computer dinosaur! There has to be a better way! Any suggestions would be sincerely appreciated, but please put them in plain language and spell the steps out.

Cheers!!

Dave

[hon30critter]

Emergency!!! Stop the presses!!!

I left out an ingredient from the rub recipe!

Add 1/8 cup of cumin to the mix.

I have corrected the original post.

Cheers!!

Dave

[SeeYou190]

rrinker

Saved for later use! Going to CT this weekend just to hit up this BBQ place which is supposed to be excellent

The cook must be from Georgia or South Carolina.

-Kevin

[rrinker]

 Saved for later use! Going to CT this weekend just to hit up this BBQ place which is supposed to be excellent. And to get out of the house for once.

                               --Randy

[hon30critter]

Overmod

ou can't do that to me!  What was in that rub?  What did you learn to perfect it over the years!  Tell!  Tell!

Okay, slightly off topic but it is my thread so here you go:

The Rub:

- 1/2 cup garlic powder

- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

- 1/4 cup ground thyme

- 1/4 cup salt

- 1/8 cup cayenne pepper

- 1/8 cup black pepper

- 1/8 cup cumin

- 1/8 cup onion powder

- 1/2 cup sweet paprika

I slash the membrane on the back of the ribs in several places, and then cut the ribs into two bone segments before applying the rub. I find that there is less rub wasted if the rib portions are put into a large bowl and then tossed with liberal amounts of the rub.

We have a Bradley smoker. I usually use apple wood for pork. Cherry is good too. The smoker is great. It has an automatic feed for the wood puckettes and variable temperature so you can do 'cold smoking' or get it hot enough to cook smaller cuts of meat or sausages if they are in long enough. We smoked the ribs for three hours at medium which gave them a nice smokey flavour but it wasn't overpowering.

The next step was five hours in a crock pot with no liquid. Five hours has the meat almost falling off the bone but not quite. The ribs are still moist and they come apart easily.

To finish the ribs, we put them on a baking sheet, coat them liberally with Club House Chicken and Rib BBQ sauce (it has a medium taste, not too strong, but just use your favourite sauce), put them in the oven at 350 degrees (I said 250 before - Dianne just corrected me) for 1/2 hr., reapplying BBQ sauce about half way through.

The whole process takes about nine hours and the ribs are gone in 20 minutes, but it is a nice way to spend the day.

Dave

[Overmod]

Why, oh why, did I have to visit this thread when I missed dinner last night?

hon30critter

I seasoned them the night before with a rub that we have developed over the years.

You can't do that to me!  What was in that rub?  What did you learn to perfect it over the years!  Tell!  Tell!  It doesn't have to be a trade secret like the Memphis contest pitmasters, does it?

And what kind of wood mixture do you use in the smoker?

I know I'll be even hungrier after I read the answers, but at least I will have some vicarious joy about what the taste would be.

I'm just going to stick my fingers in my ears and la-la-la about that ribeye.  About as satisfying as a Linux virtual beer, eh?  (Hey, I'm a proud honorary Canadian too, so I get to use it without attribution!)  

[hon30critter]

Track fiddler

Your 2" thick brown cut of ribeye I carefully selected for you is sitting here adjusting to room temperature and will be put on the grill at about 8:58 so it's perfect for you to eat like you like it at about 8:59

Hi TF,

I like my beef rare, but not quite that rare! Please add another 30 seconds per side. 

Yesterday Dianne and I did some pork ribs. I seasoned them the night before with a rub that we have developed over the years. In the morning we put them in the smoker for three hours, and then they went into our crock pot on low for five hours with no liquid added. The next step was to glaze them with BBQ sauce in a 250 (correction) 350 degree oven for about half an hour. The sauce was applied twice.

They were perfect! They were just at the point of falling off the bone and they were still moist. The BBQ sauce was carmelized perfectly.

It was one of those meals were you can't stop saying how good the food is over and over! I think we spoiled ourselves!

Cheers everyone!!

Dave

[Track fiddler]

Hi Dave

I wish you were down here man!  We're all having such a wonderful time and I miss you.

The beef from the Udder Farm has been sitting on the table in the kitchen at room temperature getting well-seasoned since we got back and got it.

Da Udders never freeze their meat.  It's all fresh in the walk-in cooler as Mr Udder holds your hand and strolls you around in the cooler until you pick the bunch of meat you want.  But when a Farmer like that advises you,  you take what he says is good.

Thanks for getting me passed on my Canadian Citizenship Test Eh  The test wasn't that easy and I'm sure glad you were able to pull some strings to get me through so I can come up there and see you all soon!

I guess I just flash the Citizenship Card you sent me when I'm crossing the border Eh

 

Your 2" thick brown cut of ribeye I carefully selected for you is sitting here adjusting to room temperature and will be put on the grill at about 8:58 so it's perfect for you to eat like you like it at about 8:59

Our Kingsford coals are hot as we start them about 2 days before Eh!

 

 

 

Track Fiddler

[Overmod]

hon30critter

I suspect that either it is hollow, or there is something inside the wire to increase heat transfer

Hot wire cutters used in lost-foam patternmaking are only made of 'solid' wire if there are electrical connections at both ends (as in a table-mounted version that acts like a deep-throat bandsaw).  If you tried heating that length of coat-hanger wire with an element in the handle, on a piece of wire that gauge, you'd likely find yourself red-hot melting the foam to slop near the handle, while the tip might barely get warm enough to stick.  It might 'serve', but it would be no fun.

While it is possible that there is some kind of wick heat pipe or material with high thermal conductivity up the center of that blade, and that would certainly work with an element in the handle, I have to suspect what you have is a tube of nichrome with an insulated conductor running down the center, the 'crimp' making the electrical return connection at the tip.  Since you're not driving it to 'toaster' temperature, only using the resistance features of nichrome for constant heating over the length of the blade, there's probably a fair variety of wire insulation material that could be used.

[hon30critter]

rrinker

 You can usually use whatever you want for a 'blade' in those - a section of metal coat hanger being fairly common. It just needs to fit in the clamp that attaches it to the handle. The heating part is in the handle, like a typical soldering iron

Hi Randy,

There is a little crimp in the end of the wire that suggests to me that the wire is not solid. I suspect that either it is hollow, or there is something inside the wire to increase heat transfer. You can see the crimp in this picture:

In any case, I hope it will last long enough for me to finish the foam cutting.

Dave

[rrinker]

 You can usually use whatever you want for a 'blade' in those - a section of metal coat hanger being fairly common. It just needs to fit in the clamp that attaches it to the handle. The heating part is in the handle, like a typical soldering iron. Then you can bend all sorts of shapes you need. I'd use a new piece of wire for each new blade, since repeated bending back and forth will fatigue the metal and it will snap off. 

 TF, the problem is the Peco Code 55 is really more like Code 80 rail with 2 bases, and a big chunk of it embedded in the tie strip. So it LOOKS like smaller rail, but is as strong as any Code 80. To attach the different bridge rail, you will probably need to put the proper joiner on one side, crush the other half, and bend it to support the opposite rail at the correct height. And then somehow hold the two raisl so the insode top edges match, and solder it. It's more difficult than just soldering two sections of the same track together, but it is entirely doable. If you cut back the ties a few on either side, you should be able to get this without melting anything. Ties can be replaced afterwards. 

                              --Randy

 

[hon30critter]

Hi TF,

I bought mine through Amazon Canada. There doesn't seem to be a brand name on it so it is likely a Chinese knock off:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07PJBGC6L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I just tried to find replacement blades and I didn't come up with anything that fits. For that reason, you might want to find a foam cutter that has replacement blades readily available. I don't need to do a lot of work with it so I hopefully won't need to replace the blade, but if it does quit and I have to buy a whole new tool to finish the job, I won't be a happy camper.

Also, the power indicator light flashed on and off sometimes. There is probably a bad connection somewhere, but it still worked fine. You get what you pay for!

Cheers!!

Dave

[Track fiddler]

I liked Overmods suggestion too Dave, I was just sad it's not going to work because I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with this bridge track dilemma.

That foam cutter looks like it works like a Champion.  I just may have to get me one of those.  If you would,  what is it?, so I can get one of those on eBay.

 

 

TF

[hon30critter]

I am very happy with the way the foam cutter worked. It cut fairly quickly and was able to handle angled cuts where more than half the blade was engaged with the foam.

This is the first rough attempt at a river bed. The beach area on the left needs to be more level, and the bank at the back of the beach needs to be steeper. According to the instructions I can bend the blade to suit the desired profile. They just don't recommend doing it too often, although the blade is replaceable.

There will be a 'mountain' on the right side of the river. The double track will have two sets of through girder bridges where it crosses the river twice.

Dave

[hon30critter]

Track fiddler

I sure hope Dave doesn't mind me being on his thread looking for help with a problem.  It just kind of came up and fit in here somehow.  But this sure is a fun thread Dav

Hi TF,

You can ask any questions you want on my threads! It is all good information.

I really like Overmod's suggestion regarding making the rail joiners able to slip sideways, even though it won't work for you unfortunately. I have two sets of bridges on my layout and that set up would work perfectly. Sharing that sort of creative thinking is what the forums are all about.

Cheers!!

Dave

[Track fiddler]

Now I understand and it's a great idea Overmod, unfortunately it won't work.

All my bridges fasten down on post supports and can't be slid sideways but I am still thankful for you trying to help

 

I sure hope Dave doesn't mind me being on his thread looking for help with a problem.  It just kind of came up and fit in here somehow.  But this sure is a fun thread Dave

 

 

 

 

TF

[Overmod]

The adjustable blocking is to hold the removable bridge in line and surface since it won't have full physical support at the rail ends. It could be made like a light version of a drop-in but that would require more structure than you want in a bridge.

By soldering the ME70 to joiners at both ends you have something that would lock onto adjacent track.  In your current setup you could move joiners 'out' onto the fixed segments to lift the bridge out, but as soldered you can't.

So, you arrange it so the bridge sits level, but can be slid sideways rather than lifted up to disengage it.  If you were to remove the sides of the joiners facing the direction of that slide, the base and remaining side of each joiner will serve as both rail locating clamps and stops to keep the rail ends in line.  As I recall you can't have any rail fixation on the last two ties to leave room for the joiner to slide on longitudinally; that implies you can remove any remaining vertical nubs on those ties.

The principal is now like those battery access doors or computer covers that attach flush with L-shaped locking tabs and only one locking shackle or screw: you slide the whole cover just the fraction of an inch sideways to get the tabs to clear and lift it up and off.

All you need then for locating integrity is something to mimic the clamping effects of the removed tops of the joiner sides, like a kind of Pandrol clip.

[richhotrain]

rrinker

The key to soldering track sections together: A good soldering iron with a CLEAN tip - a soldering station does a better job than an always on type of simple iron. But the CLEAN tip is important - it allows the heat to transfer faster. And the faster the heat transfers to the point you are trying to solder, the less time you have to hold the iron in contact with the rail, and the less chance of melting ties.

+1

 

[Track fiddler]

I don't quite follow Overmod.  I kind of see where you're going with this.  l'm confused with the adjustable blocking and the connection to disengage sideways.  Can't quite Envision it.

 

 

TF

[Overmod]

What if you put adjustable blocking under the ends of the ME70 section, solder it to the Peco joiners, then cut away the edge of the joiners on the same side of both rails so you can disengage them sideways to lift the section out.  You might hold it laterally with spikes at the rails, or at the edge of the ties...

[Track fiddler]

rrinker

I STILL don't have one stick of track down. Don't have any subroadbed in place even.

 

 

You too Randy.  I thought I was the only one around here.  That makes me feel a little better that I'm not

I've had my new track stuff for well over a month now and haven't done a thing except lining up my new PECO turnouts to see what I need to do.  It's not that I don't want to lay my track or procrastinating.

Everytime I think I'm ready to start, I run into another dilemma.  Last time I had to expand the end of my layout so things would work right.  This next snag of mine is huge.

It seems ME code 70 bridge track does not line up with my code 55 PECO rails.  I purposely got code 70 ME because it's taller than 55 but my PECO track is still taller.

If I put the ME rails on top of the joiners they line up perfectly.  So the simple logical thing to do would be to solder them and I have watched videos on that.  But I went through the work to make all my bridges removable so at a later time I can paint them and do scenery underneath.

Now it looks like I will have to paint all my bridges before I can lay my track.  I wanted to start running trains soon and now I am just dumbfounded and disappointed.  Maybe You, Dave or someone here can think of something I could do.

 

Flustered!!!

 

 

TF

 

 

 

[Track fiddler]

Good morning

Thanks for the info on soldering Randy.  The good thing is I have different brands of track samples from when I was trying to decide which track to go with.  I can practice on those until I get good at it. 

That does sound like a lot of wiring Dave.  I'm pretty confident for the way I have to wire my layout but I can't imagine wiring two control panels  Sounds confusing.  I think my dyslexia would kick in and probably wouldn't mix with wiring to well

 

 

TF