Whisper pump delivering good airflow to B1.
I'm lost as to what you are trying to do with the air pump and animation in general. Can you explain it to me?
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
SpaceMouse I'm lost as to what you are trying to do with the air pump and animation in general. Can you explain it to me?
There will be an operating crane at the small shipyard that can lift lumber, ships masts, etc. One electrical pair is for lighting, the other for the crane's motor. The forced air for crane pneumatics. I will design, build and integrate the control electronics.
When I say holistic, I really mean using everything and anything for railroad modelling, including animation. Animation is covered in the model railroading literature! Here is just some of my electromechanical collection from online sources like Mouser and Amazon, and taking apart remote control toys as I have already mentioned.
As for designing and building electrical circuits, I have a growing collection of the best how-to books available. An ingenious book by a Lego technics designer explains pretty much everything one needs to know about motors, gearboxes, suspension systems, torque, even pneumatic systems design. The latter applies way beyond just Lego. Knowledge is MY key to creativity.
Ore cars will be NATO Black. Will order R.R. Gothic - White lettering. Will practice with black lettering for now. All wheels will be changed to quality Rapido metal ($1ea).
Testing couplers under heavy loads of real Nova Scotia gypsum. Plastic couplers will not hold with 8-10 cars but metal ones will.
First modified ore car with gypsum load runs beautifully with new wheels and couplers. Using one of my Genesis SD75I locomotives on the DC test track. This CN locomotive was repainted NATO Black with an air brush and will also bear the BOKR marks.
Lots of modelling to do today. Priming and painting ore cars, buying more Rapido wheels and Kadee couplers, filling lake on B3 with water, motor selections for crane on B1, and dry transfer lettering. Oh, and it's Tuesday so 30% discount on more remote controlled toy vehicles at the community recycling store.
Just after 6 am and dogs fed, wood stove lit, coffee on, and modelling begun. Ore car painting and lake fill proceeding on schedule.
Five ore cars are in various stages of painting. Hand painting gives the cars a rugged look which will be followed by adding some dents and wear. Will order white lettering sheets this morning and after those arrive and letters/numbers applied, some significant weathering related to operation in a gypsum quarry.
Picked up a box of Rapido wheelsets, two Woodland Scenics Dry Transfer Decals (R.R. Gothic - White) with many full sheets on order, and eight more Kadee couplers. Having a time!
Bought two RC vehicles this morning and they are packed with goodies. With my 30% seniors discount they came to $5CA.
Putting my layout in a box to take to the hobby shop this morning. Looking for used back room parts for the crane and canal locks.
Back from the hobby shop with an idea. I'm going to try to make an old operational crane from an old operational train. This is going to be fun.
Looking after three dogs this afternoon so got my handy tray and tools to start working on a crane. Set up a fourth test track - good thing I collect old power supplies.
Definitely crane potential.
When I saw the "holistic approach" part I figured you'd be using all natural materials, more like a complete abandonment of traditional layout construction techniques! To see how you intend to repurpose rc car components and Legos into a layout should be interesting good luck!!!
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
OldSchoolScratchbuilderDefinitely crane potential.
I can see where your going with that. You'll probably have to re-engineer the "pancake" motor to get any kind of a s-l-o-w crane speed from it.
And Legos, check out the new March MR magazine, page 31, and see how Thomas Klimoski animates his working gate, and he uses the same Lego Technic mechanisms to operate garage doors.
You can watch his video on the gate, on the main page of MR web site, and when you do, many more of his videos will show up on the right.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewi I can see where your going with that. You'll probably have to re-engineer the "pancake" motor to get any kind of a s-l-o-w crane speed from it.
Going to take that motor out of the plastic casing and may build my own casing. Will definitely slow the speed - worm gears are good for that. If I can't make that work, I also have smaller motors with builtin gear boxes. They operate at slow speed and high torque.
Painting fifth ore car today, numbers six and seven will be soaked in oven cleaner over night. Thursday is my hiking day and I am going to Cheverie on the Bay of Fundy to find the perfect piece of gypsum/anhydrite/limestone for block 4 (B4 will lie east of the lake on B3.
Unit train coming along nicely. Four ore cars on track, one almost finished in the paint shop, and the bodies of six more soaking in oven cleaner outside overnight. All cars have new quality wheels and couplers. Eastern section of the lake (on B3) is filling in and wood painted before ground cover is installed. Met a prospector on my hike today and we are going to have coffee and talk geology on Saturday
Ceramic accessory magnets installed on B3 and second coat of paint applied.
Six more ore cars ready for primer and paint. Going to be another fun day on the modelling front.
The banks of Lake Albert have been cut and painted.
For ground cover I am going to use the kindling sawdust and Frary & Hayden's recipe for dying it (Railroad Model Craftsman, September 1973, Vol. 42(4), pp. 48-49).
My wife is laughing at me, but warned me not to turn the kitchen green!
Totally unexpected that the sawdust would turn into a ball like this! If funest was a word, I'd use it right now.
Enjoyed the sawdust ball but alas, it must be broken apart to dry. Need to keep breaking apart the small lumps and turning the sawdust for a day or so.
Primed and ready for painting.