MyAustinBlogg.com: (toy train tips, tricks and chicks)

[TexasEd]

So it works like a light dimmer switch.

[lionelsoni]

Some corrections:

Edison's system was originally 2-wire 110 volts, then later 3-wire 110-220 volts. The number 25 shows up in electrical history as the (AC) frequency of the original Niagara Falls generation.

A capacitor will not rectify AC to DC, but it will smooth out the DC produced by a rectifier.

Edison's arguments against AC centered on the higher voltage used for distribution, not the utilization voltage, which was the same as his.

The Lionel reducers are not rheostats but potentiometers. The difference is that the entire resistance is connected across the power line. The output is taken between one side of the line and a sliding tap on the adjacent resistance coil. The danger of course is that the output may be connected to the "hot" side of the line. With 3-wire 220 volts, there is no safe way to plug it in at all!

Not really, Ed. The dimmer switches the light completely off and on 120 times a second. The dimming depends on how long it is left on each of those times.

[Anonymous]

Not sure what the articulated car is hauling ???? Is it articulated depleted uranium????

Still no pics of RR 2222..................Tim

[FJ and G]

And the fun in Austin continues…

Photo 1 is Austin’s tallest structure; actually, there are very few tall structures. Why?

Because old Southwest style Tex-Mex, BBQ, and nightclubs are much more popular than big corporate-type buildings. After all, Austin is about having fun!

Photo 3 is about 2 a.m., somewhere on 6th Street (my memory is a bit cloudy). The police shut down all traffic in the 6th Street area so that Austonians and out-of-towners have more room to stagger. (That’s me on far left; 2 ladies are my co-workers). FYI, the best Texas beer is Shiner. Ask for it by name. That’s “Shiner.”

But there’s more to do that party in Austin.

For us few (very Very few) ferroequinarchaeologiests, there’s 3rd street, where bits of trolley track and even a tie peek out from the pavement. A short spur (not shown) runs for about 100 yards and no longer connects to anything.

So, besides partying and eating, what do Austonians like to do best? They’re a bit batty, so they watch the bats. At 6 p.m. pronto, the bats emerge from the Congress street bridge in search of insects over the water (shown here, minus the bats, which didn’t cooperate that day).

Now, on to the toy train aspect of Austin, and a continuation of Bob’s cool layout (more to come this week)…

Chiefie already discussed Bob’s modified turnouts, and they are not something I was gonna repeat, but what the heck, you gotta love this…a full-blown yard on a narrow shelf, using 027 switches that create very close tolerances between the trains (Bob carefully measured the width and swing over every one of his trains and has this down to a science). After cutting the turnout, he did need to do some rewiring under the turnout.

Do you see the nut and washer protruding from the table? We’ll discuss why that is there in an upcoming blogg update this week.

Today, we’ll check out Bob’s modified “small boy” made from a big boy. Some of the Big Boy’s description, I believe, is in another post. So I’ll quickly recap. It’s an MTH loco that has been completely modified to run conventional (sort of). Since Lionel has the best sounding whistle, Bob has added that. He also added a side lever, which I’ll discuss in this blogg later this week. He also installed an E-unit.

So how does one of the longest locos in the world go thru the smallest O gauge turnout in the world (027)?

Bob’s modifications include removing 2 step down ladders and adding extra pickups. He also moved the 2 blind drivers to the outside (shown in closeup photo) and 2 flanged drivers to the inside so the Big Boy can pirouette around like an ice skater. Pretty slick! (or should I say sick!?)

So, what happened to the MTH circuitry in the Big Boy? I believe you can find it about 30 feet below the ground in an Austin dump.

Incidentally, one of Bob’s favorite railroads is the Railway Express Agency. You can see a couple of REA green trucks here. He’s got quite a collection of REA trains as well, in various styles and schemes.

In addition to Lionel-style 027 turnouts, Bob uses Marx turnouts as well, which he says work really well (as do others who use them).

[dwiemer]

Thanks for sharing Dave. One question, where does he come up with these ideas? He reminds me of "Q" on the James Bond movies.
Dennis

[lionelsoni]

Dave, I actually sold the MTH electronics to a guy I met at a train show. I had bought a set of those 2400-type small UP passenger cars from him, we got to talking, and he came to the house after the show and bought the computer, etc., from the Big Boy and the Big Blow that you can see in one of the pictures above for $100.

For those who might be wondering, the Big Boy's boiler casting is languishing in the MTH repair department. I'm hoping that they will replace the ten hatches that are disintegrating from zinc pest.

You may be able to make out the horizontal e-unit on the back of the Big Boy frame, just to the right of the silver-colored capacitor. The cyan-colored cube is a relay that operates the tender's coupler from the charge stored in the vertical blue capacitor next to it. Turning up the track voltage for a few seconds in neutral charges the capacitor, which then discharges into the relay coil the next time the motors start, opening the coupler. I paid the premium price for the locomotive just to get that coupler, even though I didn't have any use for the electronics that came with it.

Dennis, I wish you hadn't revealed my secret identity.

[FJ and G]

Well, this isn’t quite the most decrepit railway still in operation that I’ve seen, but it’s still pretty bad. Tried to find the name of the RR but couldn’t. I believe it is the UP (ex-MP). Location is about 5 miles south of Austin, running underneath I-35.

I know trains still use this line b/c I noticed flange marks in the sand (where sand is replacing ballast) and thru some weeds. Anyway, I thought the line is scenic or charming in its own right; though it reminds me of photos of Sherman’s march through the South where ties were ripped up and rails curled.

There’s still a lot more of Austin to see this week as the blogg continues.

Back to Bob’s layout…

Although his room is only 11X19’, he’s managed to fit a lot of railroading into that space. One of his secrets is using razor-thin benchwork (basically, just sheets of half-inch plywood).

The plywood is reinforced with steel angle iron (that can be purchased from Lowe’s or HD). The steel reinforcement, shown on the underside of his layouts, allows an extremely thin profile.

The legs are simple PVC plumbing tubes that connect the plywood with a single bolt (shown in a previous photo from the top—the photo of all of his turnouts above). That bolt goes straight down into the PVC, where it connects with a bolt that runs through the diameter of the PVC. The back of the layout is attached to the wall, but we will discuss the wall in an update to this blogg.

I was curious about the strength of such an arrangement. Bob said that it is sturdy enough to stand on. OK, I’m impressed.

The oscilloscope (he paid $20 for it used), is an important aspect of Bob’s layout. Why? B/C he can see pictures of his electronic sign waves from various transformers he uses. Bob utilizes these sign waves to create a sort of command control system using conventional methods. His layout is divided into electrical blocks and he can run 2 trains simultaneously, each operating on a different sign wave. If he runs just one train, he can switch the sign wave assigned to the 2nd loco to the train’s whistle. A hard-to-notice toggle on his Big Boy (and other locos), allows Bob to conveniently switch from his homemade command control to conventional.

Two transformers that he uses (not shown) are powered from beneath the layout using a very powerful, multi-variable voltage transformer that he taps off of. It is a very old transformer (shown at the bottom of the next photo following the oscilloscope). The addition of this power source keeps Bob’s main 2 transformers running cold at all times (they never overheat). Two humongous capacitors (not shown), somehow fit into the circuitry.

I’m not really up on electronics like I wish, so Bob can add corrections as he likes. There’s also an old transformer mounted on a wall in one of the below photos, but I can’t recall what he said it’s used for.

Also, in a number of the below photos, you can see capacitors that allow Bob’s 027 turnouts to operate without the annoying buzzing sound (which will burn out the switch motors if you park trains on them too long). Also, I noticed that a number of his turnouts are connected in such a way that when you fire one, 2 or 3 others also will fire, creating a special path for the train. CTT, I believe has done articles on this, as well as using separate power sources for 027 turnouts so they stop buzzing.

Much, much more to come…

[cnw1995]

A great thread, Dave. I appreciate the photos to go along with it.

[1688torpedo]

This is a neat thread, Dave. Inquirering minds want to know. Does Bob have a Jif Peanut Butter Hopper?[;)][8D] BB probably would like one as well.[;)] Take Care.

[lionelsoni]

No, Keith; but I do have a Shiner reefer and two Budweiser reefers. One of them is Lionel, the other, in the same green and white colors, is made by ETS and painted for "Budvar", which is a Czech contraction of "Budejovice Pivovar", which means "Budweis Brewery". Budejovice--Budweis in German--is the home of the one true Budweiser pivo, or beer.

As Dave noted, I can control and use the positive and negative halves of the 60-hertz sine wave separately, to control two locomotives, or a locomotive and a whistle, or a locomotive and the train lighting. The transformer on the wall is a prewar type T that I got in perfect condition at a train show for $5. It powers the two trains on the overhead track through the two prewar rheostats above it, which are equipped with rectifiers that you can see on their right sides for the same kind of half-wave control that I use on the main layout.

The only problem I have with climbing up on the layout is crushing the track. I weigh about 250 pounds and there is very little bare wood on my layout. So I put plywood scraps over the track to spread out the load where I'm going to stand.

Dave, that track is indeed UP. It is the Bergstrom branch, so called because it used to run to Bergstrom Air Force Base, which is now the Austin Bergstrom International Airport. It is now only a fraction of its former self and is, as you have documented, in poor condition.

[FJ and G]

Bob,

Yeah, forgot to mention your "snowshoe" method of track walking. Pretty cool, as I probably would have never thought of it.

I thought I saw a furry little dog when I was over at your place, but I might be imagining it.

OK, UP it is. Austin grows some huge thorn bushes. While hiking along that area a 2-inch long thorn penetrated my sneaker from the bottom edge and came out right above it on the side, narrowly missing my foot.

BTW, would you be able to control 3 trains using 1. full wave; 2 half wave neg.; and 3. half wave pos.? Just curious.

(Bob has a double-tracked mainline and one overhead mainline so he has plenty of mainline)

--------
Keith,

From Peanut Butter car...



to peanut butter hound...



[logo on boxcar photoshop'd; everything else is the real deal]

[FJ and G]

Also, how do you create those different waveforms? Is it the type transformer you're using?

[lionelsoni]

I'm afraid two is the limit for my do-it-yourself TMCC, Dave. Locomotives set to respond to positive and negative would simply both respond to the full wave; and a full-wave locomotive (which is an optional switch setting for mine) would respond to either positive or negative.

I have wired my two type-Z transformers so that three of the controls put out positive half-wave, negative half-wave, and full wave. I use the full-wave control for unmodified locomotives and to control double-headers, with one of the locomotives set for positive, the other for negative. When, as eventually happens, one of them cycles its e-unit on a switch or dirty track, I can just shut off the full wave and use the half-wave knobs to get them synched up again.

[lionelsoni]

I use two of what is called a "synchronous rectifier" circuit. This is a silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) with a one-transistor circuit that turns it on when the transformer voltage has the desired polarity. At first glance it seems that a pair of simple rectifier diodes would do the job. But unfortunately there is a way that the diodes will let one transformer output drive the other, creating a large fault current right at the transformer.

In a situation where both rectifiers are supplied from the same voltage source, it is possible to use simple diodes. That is why I was able to do the type-T with rheostats that way.

[highrailjon]

David, Your blog is a hoot!!![:D] Keep it rolling!!!!

[FJ and G]

Jon,

You'll like tomorrow's post where we eat our way thru Austin and explore Bob's radical wall paneling, never before seen (at least by me). (althernately to eating one's way thru Austin, one could try to drink their way thru Austin)

[Jim Duda]

Big Dave and Big Jon on 6th Street? Husbands, lock up your wives and daughters!!!

I'll move to Ohio!

[Anonymous]

Dave , Can I start a Blog, within a blog, within a blog???..............Tim

[FJ and G]

pigseye,

sure! Help yourself.

On today’s Blogg, we’ll eat our way through Austin and continue with Bob’s (aka Mr Q) 007 license to kill layout.

First we cross Town Lake to the south side near Barton Springs. Town Lake is really a river (the Colorado?). We will dine at Chewey’s fine eatery (first 6 photos), where for about $7 you can get a TexMex lunch that’ll completely fill you up and leave you burping to come back. The roof of Chewey’s also has a clothesline going across it as no space is wasted.

One one side of Chewey’s is Baby Acapulco, a very colorful dive, with a blue palm tree out in front (next 2 photos).

On the other side of Chewey’s (next photo) is Wanfu Too! I have no idea what they serve there (Chinese?). Sort of resembles a Dreyfuss NYC Hudson.

But my favorite Texas food by far is barbeque. I had a pretty good BBQ lunch at the Iron Works in downtown Austin, which is an old iron works building beside a stream. The restaurant is full of iron artifacts (pictured here). That was before the era of arc welding and probably even before rivets were invented. Some beautiful pieces of iron are displayed in the restaurant and the food is superb.

Let’s see what Bob is up to this time. Hmm. Looks like he took a trip to Czechoslovakia, now called something else, where he discovered this 2 rail DC switcher, which he promptly converted into a 3-rail AC switcher (perhaps by adding diods or rectifier?).

Notice that the switcher is cruising around his wall track. The wall track itself is very interesting, as construction is very simple and uncluttered, since he uses little metal L-brackets for the wall line, as well as the display shelves. Most folks, however, will not be able to do what he did, since studs are typically spaced 18 to 24 inches apart, and the L-brackets are best screwed to something solid other than drywall.

Bob solved the problem in his usual nontraditional way by completely covering his walls with 1/2 inch thick plywood!

I included a thin shot of his elevated line going across a window, to show how unobtrusive the el line is, not blocking hardly any light.

The el line is completely controlled by a control rail (CTT occasionally features articles on how to do that). So, he can have 2 trains going at once with one stopping automatically before it gets too close to the next train. A pretty nifty operation, quite different from his lower-level tracks.

Bob’s tiny 4-4-0 is pretty neat. He shows here the connector wires going to the tender, where he added an extra pickup roller to keep the juice flowing smoothly.

Much more of Austin to come so stay tuned…

[1688torpedo]

It sure seems like Bob is the Thomas Edison of Toy Trains in Austin. I'm happy enough with my conventional trains at home.[:)] Dave- Neat Peanut Butter Boxcar. Hope one of the companies sees it & makes it.[:)] Take Care.

[lionelsoni]

I got this from Chip Jackson:

"I see from pics. on one of your posts that you have what looks to be 2" white metal benchwork legs.
"I have some similar that I ordered off of e*** and they are wobbly. I can see a bolt in yours at the top. Is this something that you added yourself? Are your legs sturdy?
"I thought I got a "good deal" - 4 legs for $35 + shipping, but now I am trying to stiffen them up."

Dave described the legs pretty well, I thought; but I will give it another shot here:

The legs are homemade from 1 1/2-inch schedule-40 PVC pipe, which actually has an outside diameter of 1.9 inches. There is a 1/2 x 2-inch bolt through the pipe and through the eye of a 1/2 x 1/4 x whatever-inch eyebolt. The bolt has two nuts on it, inside the pipe, to hold it in place and to center the eyebolt. The tail of the eyebolt goes through a 1/4-inch hole in the plywood and is held on with a washer and nut on top of the layout. When you tighten up the nut, the connection becomes perfectly rigid.

My legs are too long (44.5 inches) for the diameter of the pipe I used. The table would sway just from the flexing of the legs if it were not braced against the walls. (It is not actually fastened to the walls, as Dave imagined, but pushed against them on all sides with little rubber bumpers.) For a freestanding layout of that height, I would use larger pipe, although the size I used would be fine for a lower layout.

If I should ever get more into scenery, I would put a bush or something over the nuts to hide them.

[cnw1995]

David, did you see the April-May issue of O Scale Magazine? It has an article by a guy whose O scale layout uses battery-powered (Aristo-craft) engines

[FJ and G]

Doug,

No, but thanks, I'll go hunt one down.

Wasn't that the magazine that offers (or offered) free issues over the Internet?

Their site indicates that they're "renovating"

[dwiemer]

Thanks Dave and Q,
Please keep the information coming. What I don't use in the near future, I will just use to educate myself. I am working on "the plan" and most, if not all, of the information is relevent. Thanks again, Dennis

[FJ and G]

Bob’s colorful trains fit perfectly with the very colorful decor of Austin. You can go down a street and see houses painted in every color of the rainbow. Here are just a few. I don’t know what inspires all the wild and crazy colors; could it be consumption of psychedelic mushrooms?

Austin usually doesn’t get much rainfall, but when they do it pours. Thus, landscapers frequently incorporate dry streams into their designs, one of which is shown here at Austin airport. The idea actually inspired me to do a similar feature outside in my O gauge garden layout, which I’m still building.

Bob’s eclectic collection of trains includes modern, post-war and pre-war. He’s got all the bases covered. Shown here is a pre-war green electric boxcab tooling around the layout. The prewars seems to start out pretty quickly and runs like a rabbit being chased by a beagle.

These photos will enable you see his nifty shelf construction better than the previous ones posted. Note on the bottom right side of one of the photos the L-brackets. In the lowest shelf, the bracket is an upright L-bracket and the higher shelves use inverted L-brackets. In that same photo you can see some of Bob’s REA cars that I mentioned earlier.

The narrow shelf height allows Bob to make maximum usage of storage space for books and parts. But we’ll discuss that in a later blogg.

In another crooked photo you can see the entryway door into Bob’s 11x19 trainroom. He has a double-track liftout section but is replacing that with the contents of 2 very large boxes under the layout which contain 2 Lionel(?) bascule bridges. Bob was gonna just use one bridge and widen it for 2 tracks, but realized it would save construction time to actually use 2 bascule bridges side by side. The pilings will need to be sliced and merged together, however, to allow the 2 structures to move in closer to each other. We’ll be looking for photos of this progress with much anticipation.

Bob’s wall of trains is there more for running than display. IOW, he’s an operator, and each train gets a pretty good workout. And, if there’s a maintenance problem, Bob’s RIP maintenance crew gets things up and running in a jiffy.

I failed to mention that Bob works in electronics. He said that toy trains got him interested in electronics as a kid, which launched his hobby and career. Most of us would love to have a neighbor like Bob, who can advise when problems come up. But the forum is the next best thing!

[Jumijo]

David,

I'd pay to have Bob as a neighbor! Great photos! I see Bob like passenger cars.

Jim

[lionelsoni]

Jim, that's quite a compliment! Thanks. Actually, the guy next-door is selling his house...;-)

I'm afraid I do have a weakness for passenger trains. It's silly to have a classification yard choked up with them. I do have one intermodal train at least in there right now.

By the way, your current tree topic almost makes me want to build scenery. They look fantastic!

[Anonymous]

Great thread Dave. Bob has redefined Electrical Engineers[;)].

I haven't been to Texas in awhile--but whatever happened to Pearl Beer? Used to wash down beef brisket with Pearl.
Spent a lot of time in Lubbock [used tons of West Texas cotton to make Denim] and San Antonio [family].

Dewey[aka Leonard]

[cnw1995]

That's the one, Dave. Found mine in the university's Barnes and Noble.

[1688torpedo]

Looks like Bob needs a 1688 Torpedo to complete his collection there.[;)][:)]