rrebellSorry to say that you are part of the problem in not being able to overcome simple mistakes, that is your job as leader.
EDITED:
Why do you say that we are not able to overcome simple mistakes? We have already fixed most of the mistakes and the remaining issues will be solved easily. My whole point was that we need to do a better job of avoiding mistakes. That is my job as a leader.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Sorry to say that you are part of the problem in not being able to overcome simple mistakes, that is your job as leader. The wrong color feeders if installed correctly could have been recolored with tape or paint. I am sure alot of the other problems could have been fixed easily (yes some you have told us about could not).
"For a good job, do it once. For a really good job, do it twice!! "– the Bear.
We had an Executive Committee meeting tonight to try to figure out how to avoid having to do things twice. In the past two weeks we have identified a bunch of major problems with the layout construction, so we were asking ourselves what we as the leaders in the construction process were doing wrong?
Well, we concluded that we need to increase our level of control quite significantly. What does that mean? It means that I as the construction foreman and Henk as the President have to be a lot more assertive in managing the people who are working on the layout. I'm not talking about screaming at people when they goof up, but we need to constantly monitor what people are doing and if they are doing it right. Personally, I have made the mistake more than once of assuming that a particular construction crew had finally been trained to do the job correctly, only to discover that they had gone off track (pardon the pun). For example, we had two guys installing the mainline bus and feeders. Their first attempts at forming and soldering the feeders were 'clumsey' but after two or three additional coaching sessions we had them doing a decent job. The problem is that they forgot to stop where they should have, i.e. when they got to the reverse loop. The mainline bus used black and white wires. The reverse loop was intended to have red and green wires. This was explained to them more than once. Never the less, when they got to the reverse loop track they merrily carried on installing black and white feeders and then proceeded to solder the feeders to the mainline bus. That is my fault! I should have been paying closer attention! If we had asked them to report back to us on a more frequent basis we could have prevented them from wasting an hour or so installing useless feeders.
This is where things get complex for those of us who are trying to run the show. It took some time to get them doing a proper job of attaching the feeders to the mainline track. In fact, they were starting to resent the constant corrections to their methods. Once they were doing things right, any reasonable person would decide to back off and let them do their thing, right? Not quite. I had instructed them to not install feeders on the reverse loop because the red/green bus hadn't been installed yet. Being human beings, and being proud of the fact that they had finally mastered the art of installing feeders, they totally forgot about the different colours for the reverse loop and procceded to install black and white feeders until they ran out of track.
What do I say to them?!? "Great soldering guys!!,....but...."? How do you tell them that they screwed up when they thought they were doing a great job?
We identified two other situations tonight where things went a little astray but fortunately they will be easily corrected.
Our conclusion was that we will have to be much more restrictive when it comes to turning people loose on the layout. Instead of saying "carry on" we will have to say "OK, do that to this point and then come and get us so we can see what you have done", or "Do this once and let us check your work please". Then say "OK, do a couple more and then let us check again".
Connecting the Tortoises will be really entertaining!
One thing we have to remember is that nobody is deliberately screwing up.
Cheers gang!!
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have to pay closer attention to what people are doing when they are working on the layout!
Our feeder installation crew forgot that the reverse loop bus and feeders were supposed to be red and green as opposed to the mainline bus which is black and white. They spent quite some time soldering black and white feeders to the reverse loop rails and then to the main bus. This despite my having mentioned several times that the reverse loop bus and feeders were to be different colours.
What was that someone said about herding cats?
I showed the golden spike to everyone who was at the club tonight and it was quite well received.
I pointed out that it wasn't exactly HO scale. It is actually about twice the size that it should be, but if it was to scale nobody would be able to see it!
We still have to set a date for the ceremony.
As far as the layout goes, most of the mainline feeders are hooked up. We had to replace about five feet of the mainline bus because the person who was trying to connect the feeders to it butchered the job pretty badly. He was cutting through about 1/3rd of the bus wire strands at each joint. I had to ask him to stop.
The main yard is 3/4 installed. It looks impressive. We want to be able to power off each track separately so we will need a bus run for each of the tracks with a switch to interupt the power. The tracks are too long to supply with just one set of feeders.
Next week we will mark out the smaller yard track centers. I have revised the plan a couple of times to try to get longer yard tracks, but the turnouts off of the mainline have already been installed so there may be some re-working required. Probably the easiest solution at this point would be to just wing the track positions without bothering to try to stick to the detailed track plan.
One of our members brought in his seven year old son to see the layout for the first time. We had a bit of a language barrier because the family is from Quebec, but his dad translated our greetings. We put him to work drilling out the holes for the track nails in the flex track, and he did a great job! We even had him tapping some of the nails into place. He did well with that task too. No bashed rails or bent ties.
More later,
OK everybody, here it is:
I think it looks pretty accurate. It is so small it is difficult to pick up off of a smooth surface. I hope nobody drops it!
The ceremony is yet to be scheduled, but it will happen within the next 2 - 3 weeks.
rrinkerSomething else to keep in mind - you might want to make the "golden spike" ceremony more public - invite some local officials, etc. for goodwill and free publicity. Not necessarily open to the general public, but bring in people like the landlord, other historical groups. Newspaper, maybe a local TV station.
Hi Randy:
That's a good idea! I was thinking of the ceremony as being oriented towards the club members only, but why waste an opportunity to promote the club?
Thanks,
maxman rrinker Floors are often not level, espcially in a basement where they may slope down to a floor drain Why is it that when water actually spills on the flor it is almost always found that the floor slopes away from the drain or sump pump pit?
rrinker Floors are often not level, espcially in a basement where they may slope down to a floor drain
Why is it that when water actually spills on the flor it is almost always found that the floor slopes away from the drain or sump pump pit?
Something else to keep in mind - you might want to make the "golden spike" ceremony more public - invite some local officials, etc. for goodwill and free publicity. Not necessarily open to the general public, but bring in people like the landlord, other historical groups. Newspaper, maybe a local TV station.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
carl425Taking the oversized aisles in Dave's plan as an indicator, I'd assume that club could put away a whole lotta donuts.
I rarely eat donuts, but I'm still one of the guys who needs the wider aisles! We go for coffee and donuts every Tuesday after the weekly meeting but I just stick to the coffee.
Actually, the aisles have worked out quite well. We can move around the layout easily. There is only one 'squeeze' point that is 36" wide so it is still quite manageable. At our old club house all the aisles were less than 30". You got to know the other guy quite well when you were passing by each other!
rrinkerHmm, how much coffee and donuts can one model railroad club consume?
Be careful what you sign up for. Taking the oversized aisles in Dave's plan as an indicator, I'd assume that club could put away a whole lotta donuts.
I have the right to remain silent. By posting here I have given up that right and accept that anything I say can and will be used as evidence to critique me.
Mmmmm Timmy's. Hmm, how much coffee and donuts can one model railroad club consume? <grabs throttle>
I sent the jeweller some pictures of track spikes as well as a schematic showing the dimensions of the real thing. He has already produced the blank wax casting using 3D printing and he will cast the spike in silver, and then plate it with gold. He is using silver as a base so we can stay within my budget. I should have it by Saturday.
In the mean time, I have forbidden anyone from running the whole mainline route all at once until we have the Golden Spike Ceremony. We will test the track in sections, but anybody who defies my instructions by doing a complete loop will be forced to pay for all of the coffees and donuts when we visit Tim Horton's after our next meeting! Our chief track layer, Brian, threatened to come in at midnight just so he can run the first whole lap by himself!
Cheers!!
Somewhere I have one of those, a real track spike, spray painted with gold paint, mounted to a small board. No engraved inscription or anything, I think my grandfather just made it up for fun. Being a carpenter, I think he made the base himself. The spike is glued to it with some sort of 2 part epoxy.
ROBERT PETRICKIf you really really want to do this . . . you can get a solid 18K gold 'spike' for about ten dollars; 14K for about six dollars. You can get a pack of 10 gold filled 'spikes' for about five dollars. Use earring posts. Very close in size and shape to HO track nails.
Hi Robert!
Wow, thanks for the idea! Those options are certainly affordable.
We have a jeweller in Newmarket, ON who crafted a wedding ring for me a few years ago. We gave him some not particularly valuable small diamonds and a couple of old gold rings. What he created was way beyond our expectations, and his price was reasonable, and he did the work on time during the busiest season which of course is Christmas. I'm inclined to have him make a real miniature spike with the square sides and the offset head. If he wants hundreds of dollars then it will be a non-starter, but if the price is reasonable then I might just go for it and donate it to the club. The entertainment value would be well worth the money.
Alternately, I have a real track spike that I could spray gold and mount on a board with a small engraved plaque to commemorate the date. I think having a tiny real gold spike on the layout would generate a lot more conversation.
hon30critter rrinker Don't forget a "Golden Spike" ceremony when the first train completes a lap of the layout! Does anyone sell golden spikes in HO scale? I wonder what a jeweller would charge to make one? Dave
rrinker Don't forget a "Golden Spike" ceremony when the first train completes a lap of the layout!
Does anyone sell golden spikes in HO scale? I wonder what a jeweller would charge to make one?
Hey Dave-
Congratulations and high fives all around!
If you really really want to do this . . . you can get a solid 18K gold 'spike' for about ten dollars; 14K for about six dollars. You can get a pack of 10 gold filled 'spikes' for about five dollars. Use earring posts. Very close in size and shape to HO track nails.
Search for "jewelry findings gold ear posts".
Robert
LINK to SNSR Blog
rrinkerDon't forget a "Golden Spike" ceremony when the first train completes a lap of the layout!
Thanks Randy. We will have to arrange a special meeting, and I will try to make sure that nobody sneaks a lap in before the official event.
Don't forget a "Golden Spike" ceremony when the first train completes a lap of the layout!
Looking good Dave. Thanks for the progress update!
Mike
A few layout pics showing progress to date. The mainline is almost complete. We should be able to run a loop in the next week or two.
We have several bridges that need to be built. One is a JV Models curved trestle kit which we just received:
https://www.walthers.com/curved-wood-trestle-kit-36-x-16-quot-91-4-x-40-6cm
I believe the proper description is 'craftsman kit'. It is a box full of long sticks of wood, and some short ones too. I'm going to be asking a lot of questions when the time comes to build that one!
Wickman scratch built a couple of trestles not too long ago. There is some good information on this thread:
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/p/262601/2959610.aspx#2959610
We also have a bunch of Micro Engineering bridges to build but that is a topic for another day.
We took the portable layout to the Muskoka Rails train show in Bracebridge, Ontario last weekend. Bracebridge is at the entrance to cottage country in central Ontario. It is a very picturesque little town with a river running right through the middle. However, if you visit, don't expect to go in a straight line from point A to point B! I swear the town was modelled on a bowl of spaghetti!
The portable layout once again proved that it is haunted. Everything ran fine for most of both days. We tried an SD40 on the inner most of the three tracks despite the tight radii. It seemed to run fine. That has never been possible before. OOPs, spoke too soon, the SD40 started to short out the layout one one particular turnout, but only once in every five laps or so. That will take a bit of work to sort out.
Steve ran a Rapido F9 (?) for hours on both Saturday and Sunday and there were no problems until about 3:30 on Sunday when it suddenly decided to derail in the tunnel on every lap!
I ran my rail truck for about three hours on the outside loop with narry a burp, but when I switched it to the middle track later on Sunday afternoon it wouldn't run at all.
There were other problems as well on Sunday afternoon. Finally it donned on us that the temperature in the building had risen considerably during the afternoon. The gremlins must be related to the additional heat. Figuring out how to cure that will be a challenge!
Not much new to report. Track laying on the mainline is almost complete. We have moved a couple of turnouts so we have to add in some sub-roadbed etc. to support the spurs. The cork for the main yard is about 3/4s installed, and the track lines have been drawn. We moved the passenger station track a bit further from the mainline at the front of the layout so we can have a decent sized ditch between the two.
I learned yet another lesson in terms of paying close attention to how others are doing their work. One of our members was installing feeders tonight, and I had been coaching him fairly closely to make sure that he was putting them in the right places. However, I missed the fact that when he was drilling the holes for the feeders he was leaning on the drill pretty heavily. When the drill broke through the sub roadbed the chuck was hitting the rail quite hard. One of our more experienced members pointed out that the rail had been bent downwards in some places where the drill chuck had hit it. The depressions were noticable and no doubt would have led to tracking problems.
The depressions were fairly easy to correct simply by putting a knife blade under the ties where the dint was and then using a couple of large 'C' clamps to apply a bit of pressure to the top of the rail either side of the dint. The knife blade prevented the dinted part of the rail from being pushed into the cork and the rail straightened out quite nicely, thank goodness. To prevent this from happening again, we are going to use a small piece of Homasote between the rail and the drill chuck to cushion the impact. Of course, not leaning heavily on the drill would help a lot too, but we couldn't seem to get said member to understand how to not do that.
More next week!
I'm interested from two standpoints, track on my eventually layout plan, and more currently the track in my helix structure (still a few weeks away).Thanks Dave
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
railandsailI'd be interested in seeing that info
Hi Brian:
You will have to wait a week or two for me to record how our Brian does his offset flex track joints. Tonight all they did was install turnouts, and next week will be taken up mostly with loading the portable layout to take it to a Seniors Home and then to Bracebridge on Saturday for the Muskoka show.
Hopefully in two weeks I can get some photos of his process. It is worth exploring because there are no ties lost in the joining process and the rail joints are offset. No need to install replacement ties down the road.
railandsail I'd be interested in seeing that info as well Brian Eiland
Thanks for reminding me Brian. I'll take my camera on Tuesday night.
Brian, our chief track layer, is able to do about 30' of track in approx. two hours with a couple of guys assisting him. He has a unique method of offsetting the rail joints without creating any gaps in the ties. I'll try to remember to take my camera so I can show you how he does it.
Thankfully, someone was thinking even way back when when the club modular layout was first built, and every leg has a T-nut and bolt in it for leveling. Important since we set up in all kinds of places. Newer modules have permanently attached folding legs, but they still get the t-nut and bolt. The old sections just have pockets in the corners and in many cases the legs don't even have bolts and wing nuts, the legs just go into the pocket and the weight of the top keeps them on. First couple of sections go up and it looks VERY wobbly, and it is. But once the whole thing is together it is plenty solid and handles crowds jostling into it just fine without dumping everything off the rails.
richhotrainWorse yet, the concrete floor itself may not be level
Don't make me laugh! The floor in our clubhouse has dips and high spots everywhere. Building the permanent layout has not been a problem because we attached it to the walls first and then built the legs whatever length was needed.
However, setting up our portable layout has been a whole different story. It was never designed with uneven floors in mind so getting it level in the new place was a challenge. The first time we set it up it looked like an earthquake had hit it.