Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.
Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.
"Oooh...ahhhh...that's how this all starts...but then there's running...and screaming..."
I haven't actually wired it yet in yet and probably won't have time until this weekend but I'll update this thread as I get time to work on it.
This was a 15 degree double-slip and nearly matches perfectly the 15 degree atlas snap track crossover. I did test it forward and back but because, for now, I've got it isolated I've not thrown any loco's across it, just the rolling stock. I've got a 4-8-4 that is my most track sensitive loco, I'll let you know how it goes, hopefully sooner than later :).
When I first updated this thread I hadn't look closely enough at the instructions but they do have english sections, it goes german, english, french, in every paragraph of the instructions I was expecting an entire english "section" not portions of paragraphs (not a big deal either way though).
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
Zandoz wrote:Where did you get the double slip from?
http://www.reynolds.com/
http://reynaulds.com/s_results.asp?search=slip&submit=submit&curpage=2
Roco - 22246
In total I think it was about 50.00 USD once shipping and stuff was done. I'll agree they aren't cheap but if you look at using normal turnouts, with each atlas remote turnout being around 17.00, I didn't feel it was unreasonable and was the cheapest place I could find n-scale double-slips that are shipping from within the US and not from Canada.
The site itself isn't setup very well as you can only find the item above via a search and can not find it via the menus. It took about two weeks from order completion to me getting the item in. All in all it was a pleasent experience just the web site isn't very good IMHO.
ezmike wrote:Can this program be used with Lionel "O" gauge tubular track? I don't see it listed in the track files, unless I'm missing something.
I would think there is a tubular Track library. I used it to layout a 3 rail Hi-rail with Gargraves and Gargraves Phantom line was in the library of Track. You may want to ask up on the CTT or OGR forums. Dave
R. T. POTEET wrote:I looked back over your past posts but could not isolate the previous post referenced in this current one but I am going to WAG that you are working with N-Scale; it really doesn't matter since this response concerns benchwork but, depending on what scale you are working with. it will determine how much benchwork you are going to need at a minimum.Your post leads me to believe that it is your intention to use the dining room table as a platform on which to lay your layout when you are operating it. This is, in my humble opinion, an open invitation for disaster. In the first place putting this up and taking it down is going to be a two-man job; in addition no matter how hard you try to avoid it you will get a certain measure of torque on your benchwork every time to take it down and put it up. This can be avoided but it is going to require a heavy structure to do it.I have what I think is a better way, one which I have advocated before but which I will repeat here. My idea - and this is not new and Ian Rice talked about it in one of his more recent Kalmbach books - is to suspend and store your platform in an A-Frame mechanism. Unless something drastically changes in my life my next/future layout will be done in a slightly modified way which I will explain a bit later.Now, I am assuming that you have a standard ceiling height of at least 96 inches and I will work with that figure; have your local building supply center cut a piece of ½ inch plywood to a length which will leave six inches at the top and six inches at the bottom. I will assume this to be 84 inches. Build your A-Frame mechanism from two bys and make it about 48 inches off the floor. Pivot this 4 by 7 platform at the apex of this A-Frame; a pipe makes an excellent pivot. You need to get a heavy duty one but they do make brackets such as are used to suspend shower curtain bars and these will work for suspending this pivot pipe. Mount casters on the bottom to allow this mechanism to be wheeled about either into or from its storage site.The arms of your frame need to be about 49 inches apart, a distance which will allow the platform to move freely and which can be suspended over this dining room table if that is the only place where you have room for a layout. You can even use some blocks placed on the table to hold the layout in place and keep it from tipping backwards or forward during operation. Use felt or cork pads to keep from scarring the tabletop.You are going to need some sort of cross bracing on your mechanism to hold the A-Frame arms 49 inches apart. The topmost can be permanently affixed; the bottom one must be removable to allow your platform to slide above the table. Use the items used to lock bedframes in position - this is a "close but no cigar" situation. ALL SCENERY ITEMS MUST BE PERMENANTLY AFFIXED TO THE PLATFORM AND ALL ROLLING STOCK MUST BE REMOVED PRIOR TO MOVING THE PLATFORM FROM A HORIZONTAL TO A VERTICAL ORIENTATION!!!! But then, that had to be a truism with your original idea.Okay, what am I going to do differently? I am going to set up a vertical two by and use gussets at floor level to hold this vertical piece in position.; casters will be mounted to blocks affixed to the bottom of my gussets. Other items of suxpension will be substantially the same.Just throwing this out as an alternate suggestion.
Yes, I will be working in N scale. Benchwork is not an issue for me...I've got that covered. When in it's use/working on position,the dining room table is my only option...no other space...it's there or nowhere...period. The layout is going to be small, relatively light, and on the torque issue, it will be based on well constructed torsion box(s). For storage, it will be eventually set up so that by sliding it over the edge of the table, it will fasten to a rolling tressle cart via several heavy hinge pins along the rotational axis. The design is intended for one person to store, and move around the house, even from a seated position in a wheeled chair (a must for me). My 74" maximum length is such that when in the vertical position on the cart, it will roll through the shortest door opening in the house, with one inch to spare. I built the prototype for this table/tressle cart system over 20 years ago, and is still in use, and able to be folded and moved by a now 80 year old woman. I have a 2nd generation of this system in storage, but it is only 4x5, and the tressle is too low for my current needs...it was used for years for temporary/trial-n-error HO play. I've been designing and building everything from simple benches to whole homes for 30 or so years...this is no biggie.
The only thing that worries me now about the benchwork is how to transport 4x8 sheets in a PT Cruiser, since I no longer have a truck...LOL.
My issue is the track plan. I need something simple for a first formal layout with actual terrain, scenery and such...with little or no more investment over the several hundred worth of Unitrack I have now to get the main loop running...that fits my small 48x74 max dimensions...and has curves broad enough for the long passenger cars....and the other givens & druthers I mentioned earlier. Given all the qualifications, I know it's not going to be much more than an embelished simple oval, but in the back of my mind I keep thinking there is some trick I've missed to get something more.
Jason-Train wrote: Zandoz wrote:Where did you get the double slip from?http://www.reynolds.com/http://reynaulds.com/s_results.asp?search=slip&submit=submit&curpage=2Roco - 22246In total I think it was about 50.00 USD once shipping and stuff was done. I'll agree they aren't cheap but if you look at using normal turnouts, with each atlas remote turnout being around 17.00, I didn't feel it was unreasonable and was the cheapest place I could find n-scale double-slips that are shipping from within the US and not from Canada.The site itself isn't setup very well as you can only find the item above via a search and can not find it via the menus. It took about two weeks from order completion to me getting the item in. All in all it was a pleasent experience just the web site isn't very good IMHO.
Thanks for the links. It looks like a good source of European stuff.
I've got it all wired in and hooked up, it works good for what I'm using it for but I have another bad side effect that I'm not sure what I'll do about it yet. It almost makes me want to switch to DCC but my n-scale loco's just can't fit the decoders (topic for another day though).
My problem is that I was using this doubleslip to save some space simliar to what you are trying to do. However in my use it is between my two mainlines, so what this doubleslip has done is connect power to both mains from one powersource. I've wired my control panel to compensate for this but with the doubleslip in, I'll never have a choice but to use one power source.
It is hard to explain without a pic and I'm on the road for a week. I'll try to post a pic later (next week) to better explain my issue.
So far, I've not come up with anything I like better than the "4 curved turnouts and a crossing" KISS layout I posted earlier...well, at least nothing that I like better that would fit...LOL. Anyway, I took a Unitrack inventory, and after setting aside the track necessary to build that layout, I had quite a bit of Unitrack left over. This lead to the idea of a small practice/test-bed layout.
Over the weekend, I took the spare track and laid out a simple twice-around with a single spur on the diningroom table. What I came up with is basically a Unitrack sampler...sample curves of every radii from 11" to 28.25", a crossing, a turn out, an uncoupler track, and a siding that could easily be switched to Peco code 55 for practice mating the two types of track. With the addition of a slab of foam, a couple cheap Atlas bridges, and WS Incline starter set I'll have a layout I can practice all the techniques needed for what ever "formal" layout I end up building...and give me something that I can see for myself how rollingstock X looks going around curve radius Y...or if it will play nicely backing through trackage Z.
A side effect of this little weekend experiment is that for the first time in 12+ years I got to actually run trains! WoooHooo!