The Flimsy OUR FIRST JULY MEETING

Transcription

1 Volume 2, Issue 7 July 2011 (1) The Flimsy The Newsletter of Division 2 of the NMRA AR OUR FIRST JULY MEETING This is July Episode 1 because it only covers our meeting on 2 July. Our meeting later in the month on 30 July will be July Episode 2. Episode 1 of course has to end on a cliff hanger so you can hardly wait for Episode 2. Or, better still, turn up at Ken & Carol Macleay s on 30 July so you can watch it live and then you won t have to wait for the book to come out. Thirteen enthusiasts turned up at the Bullens on 2 July, though this figure is padded (literally) by two of our fluffier members, including the duck from our last meeting who obviously has decided that model railways are A Good Thing. And we also had a visiting bear who had got there first, grabbed the best seat and then went into hibernation on it. At our last meeting we could readily distinguish between Graeme Hodges the First and the duck because Graeme was wearing spectacles. But today, just to confuse us all, the duck wore specs too. Announcements Our hospitable host jumped in first and graciously declared he wanted everyone off the premises by 5 pm so he and Yvonne could dive in next door to join the last hour of the 21st birthday party being held concurrently with our meeting. He generously assured the audience that no-one would be physically thrown out until after 4.57, so in the meantime everyone could sit back and relax. Well anyway, as long as that ominously large bear doesn t wake up. Having an easy act to follow, our Illustrious Leader took over and announced that the NMRA Convention in 2012 is to be held in Newcastle, so it looks as though Canberra can host it in How does that grab us? Nodded heads and mumbles of assent indicate no problem with Gives us an extra year too, to get our layouts fully up to Gorre & Daphetid or Allegheny Midland standard to wow our visitors. The NMRA insurance policy is still awaiting translation into English. This delay causes a bit of concern. Are Graeme Hodges s neighbours covered when he runs his steam car? And what about the rest of the suburb? Is this an approved NMRA activity anyway? No answers yet. At least, not in English. A bit of general discussion on insurance matters revealed a disturbing fact that we should all be aware of. If you go away from home for a while and have the electricity supply disconnected for longer than 3 months, then it cannot be reconnected until a government inspection has been carried out. This inspection will not allow reconnection unless the electrical wiring of the house conforms to CURRENT standards for new residences. An older residence could be in a heap of trouble here, even though there is no requirement to update its electrical standard while it remains connected. The moral of this story is that you don t disconnect your electricity without very good reason and, even then, not for longer than 3 months. Our Achievement Program local chief John Prattis tells us that Gerry Hopkins is away at the moment, however he could come to Canberra to examine our Structures and models on his way to the NMRA Convention in Melbourne on 8-9 October. How would that suit? Can anyone billet him? Viv Brice can offer a billet, however it isn t a good time for those who are keenest to have their modelling assessed by Gerry, so we will have to consider an alternative opportunity. Show & Tell John Prattis displayed a NSW guard s van in HO scale with a lighting chip fitted by Stephe Jitts for directional marker lighting. The prototype vans were used in the (Continued on page 2)

2 (Continued from page 1) NSWGR between 1910 and Jess Brisbane showed us another modelling effort from the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, this latest one being a water wheel powered saw with automatic log carriage. It looks a nice model, but that is due to Jess s skills in compensating for a poor kit. A wooden kit from Revell, its parts had been mis-cut and its instructions were poor. This is Jess s second poor quality Revell wood kit in a row. Given the very high standard of laser-cut anyone else feels their layout needs improvement, do invite Rob around. wooden kits now available, this is unacceptable. John Payne is seeking a Union Pacific CA13 caboose of the steam/diesel transition period. The Athearn model looks attractive and has good paintwork, but it is not a correct model as a quick check of its windows reveals. The Märklin version is much more accurate, so John is now converting one of them by changing the running gear. Rob Nesbitt silenced all his doubting critics by producing his last three Locos Of The Month, four actually, if you count the two power cars in a four car suburban train set. For April, Rob had built this Hanovale HO set of Sydney double-decker cars, consisting of two power cars and two trailers. Rob s loco for May was an On30 Critter mining or industrial diesel shunter from a kit supplied by Phil Badger. May was a light month for Rob, this Critter being assembled in only two days, plus painting time. For June, Rob built a late 19th century German steam tram from an Avalon resin kit, augmented by a bit of scratch building. This last item is narrow gauge, running on 16 mm track. Rob mentioned that he had thought the townscape on Stephe Jitts s rural NSW layout could stand some improvement, but he felt it a bit tactless to say so. So instead, he kitbashed four buildings and offered them as replacements. And very nice they are too. For the kitbashing, Rob used card and styrene. If Stephe Jitts described the recent improvements to his layout, i.e., in addition to Rob Nesbitt s contribution. Graeme Hodges displayed his mighty Milwaukee Road EP-2 Bipolar electric loco, complete with a comprehensive range of sounds including such luxuries as cab chatter, coupler slack, track clickety-clack, automatic brake sound, etc. Its pantographs are remote controlled and directionally activated. Its decoder offers nearly 30 separate digital functions. Made by MTH (Mike s Train House), this loco looks spectacular, thanks to its size (almost 27 cm in HO scale) and its colourful Milwaukee Road livery orange, red & black, with white cats whiskers. The prototype weighed 265 tons distributed over 12 driving axles and 2 carrying axles. Total horsepower was 4440 HP or 3311 KW. These locos, only 5 in all, were in operation from 1919 until See For those not familiar with the Milwaukee Road Bipolar, it is surely one of the three most distinctive and readily recognisable mainline electric locomotives ever made, the other two being the Pennsy GG1 (in service ) and the Swiss Crocodile ( ). See and (Continued on page 3) 2

3 (Continued from page 2) The Main Show Our host had previously announced that the main show would be a demonstration of digital control of railways operating on the Märklin 3-rail system. To start the show, John Bullen touched the screen of his controller and the dormant display sprang to life ready to demonstrate its capabilities. This is the ECoS controller produced by ESU (Electronic Solutions, Ulm, Germany) for digital (i.e. DCC) control of model railways. See dcc-system/ecos dcc-system/ distance). The easy way is to identify it by its coloured photo very simple. If there is more than one loco with the same image, then look for the road number. With one exception, all retro-fitted decoders in John s locos are LokPilot V3.0 decoders made by ESU. See To demonstrate different features, John put five locos through their paces. First up was a Swiss Crocodile heavy goods loco hauling a goods train. One touch to select the loco, one touch to turn its lights on, one touch to select the goods van at the back, one touch to turn its blinking red LED tail light on, and one touch to come back to the loco to drive it. Very quick and very simple. The loco s slow running The controller was connected to an oval test track running around a large table with five locomotives waiting to be put through their paces. But first, the track. This is 3-rail track. John displayed all four types of HO scale 3-rail track made by Märklin, progressively developed between 1935 and First came the original all-metal 3- rail track, with a continuous power rail lying between the two running rails. This track closely resembles Hornby Dublo track in appearance and is much sought after by Dublo enthusiasts because the Hornby track is so scarce these days. All later developments of Märklin track have inconspicuous powered studs in each sleeper in place of the old continuous rail. The final development is C-Track, complete with ballasted road bed in plastic, but much more realistic than the old M-Track. The central row of studs in the sleepers is now quite inconspicuous and C-Track is electrically the most reliable and is favoured for digital operation. See IMG_0429?full=1 and in the pictures showing John s test track. All John s locos have been entered into the database of the ECoS controller. To call up a loco, the list on the touch screen (as shown here) is scrolled for the desired loco. This loco is then touched on the touch screen and the selected loco is now ready to go. The loco is identified on the screen by its loco class (it helps if you know Swiss loco classes), or by its road number (and some of them are hard to read from a performance was particularly good and its headlights automatically reversed according to the direction of travel. See top photo in loco_types/crocs.htm Two issues of The Flimsy ago (May 2011, page 5), our Intrepid Leader rashly issued a challenge by printing a photo of a tiny Rhätische Bahn shunter in Switzerland with the caption Try fitting a decoder into that in HO! Today our host responded to that challenge by displaying an even tinier HO scale Swiss shunter (made by Brawa, Germany) containing not only a decoder but also a power module as well. This retro-fitted decoder is not an ESU LokPilot like all John s other retro-fitted decoders, but is a Lenz Gold Series decoder with a USP (uninterrupted signal processing) feature which requires a power module to be added inside the tiny loco housing. The need for the additional power module arises because the loco is so small (only two axles) and so light (less than 150 g) that it can be difficult to ensure steady power supply to its motor, leading of course to a (Continued on page 4) Locomotive selection screen 3

4 (Continued from page 3) risk of jerky running. (Editors Note: I concede that John has succeeded in meeting my challenge) The USP feature in the Lenz decoder not only picks up and decodes loco signals from the track, but it also charges up the power module. Whenever the power received from the track is imperfect, the power module supplies power to the motor at the level of the last signal received. The result smooth running. See John demonstrated the capabilities of this tiny loco and its internal electronics by running it at speeds so slow that the motion was barely perceptible, but perfectly smooth. Acceleration through its speed steps was equally smooth. With side rods visually emphasising its movement, it performed beautifully. See iproductid=663 Going to the other extreme, John connected up the 5-car Swiss Gottardo Trans Europe Express, made by Märklin and weighing almost 2.5 kg. This train has track power pickups at each end and its power car (with 4 pantographs) in the middle. Its 4 pantographs are necessary for the prototype to accept the power system of whichever country it is in. (Editor s Note: John assures me that the raised pantograph shown in the picture below is correct for Swiss Railways, and who am I to question him?) This train demonstrated smooth acceleration, swift running and automatic changeover of lights according to direction of travel three white lights in front and two red lights at the rear. See Marklin/39540.aspx or lokomotiven/maerklin/m39540/39540-maerklin.htm Finally John ran two Swiss locomotives individually at first and then as a consist (as these two locos often run in Switzerland). To set them up as a consist, John ran one loco up to the other, gently coupling them. At this stage their headlights were opposed. One touch on the touch screen and these two locos were now a consist, with headlights now aligned. Marklin/37320.aspx or (with sound) watch?v=yhfdbugq9j0 John also demonstrated loco sound. But with electric locos the natural sound of the model has some similarity to the real thing. Sure the sound chip does give better sound, but is it worth the extra cost? John thinks not. Now back to the ECoS controller for a demonstration of how one touch on the touch screen would bring up the layout track diagram on the screen where the settings of all turnouts Car of the Swiss Gottardo Trans Europe Express, showing all four pantographs and (inset) the method of connecting cars together electrical connections in the middle, mechanical clips above and below this. are visible at a glance and can be changed with one touch on the appropriate spot on the track diagram. Whole routes can be (Continued on page 5) Table of Show and Tell items plus John Bullen s test track and demonstration display of Swiss railway equipment 4

5 (Continued from page 4) set just as easily as individual turnouts can be changed. John displayed, but did not demonstrate, the ECoS Control Radio. Unlike the ECoS controller which is a static installation, the ECoS Control Radio (shown below) is a hand held controller (with joystick control) suitable for walk-around loco control. It works by radio to the main ECoS control Just enough time left to tuck into afternoon tea before all guests were courteously hosed off the premises in time for the gracious hosts to go partying next door. z The ECoS Control Radio remote control unit station. Up to six of these radio controllers can work to just one ECoS control station. A neat innovation is the ECoS Control Radio s attached lanyard slung around the neck of the operator of the ECoS Control Radio. See index.php?id=335&l=2 The really important feature of the whole ESU system is that it is a digital (ie DCC) system applicable to all model railways, regardless of whether the layout is DC or AC, 2-rail or 3-rail. With an output of 4 amps it can handle all scales up to G scale. See (Editor s Note: I ll kill that cameraman!!) Building Control Panels By Viv Brice I often get comments on my control panels from visitors to my layout that they look good. While the layout is still very much in plywood junction phase, the track is fully operational, with multisectioned DCC control and all switches / turnouts powered and operational using Tortoise point motors. The picture shows the main control panel for Luxonville Junction. At Luxonville, the coal branch joins the busy mainline and is the focal control panels. The first (to the right) is the main panel for Luxonville, the next (at left) is a duplication of the West end of the Luxonville main panel, while the middle one controls that end of the staging yard (hidden under the junction). The main Luxonville panel is shown next. This panel allows the operator to control the whole junction, including main lines in and out, point of the layout. The first picture shows this junction, with the branch coming in from out-ofshot right and, more to the point, shows three arrivals and departures, yard tracks and other operations. The duplicate panel at the West end allows an operator there to control the entry into Luxonville from that end, whilst a similar panel at the East end performs the same functions there. These panels are wired in parallel to the main Luxonville panel and all operations and indications are duplicated on both the main and (Continued on page 6) 5

6 (Continued from page 5) the end panels. My panels consist of a wooden box, a piece of gator board, a schematic and of course myriad switches, buttons and LEDs. The box and schematic are designed on a computer using a CAD package. I use Corel Draw since I ve been playing with it for more years than I care to remember, but you could use any other CAD package. The wooden boxes are very simple, consist of just four pieces of wood each as shown in the plan. I first worked out the size of the panel, then decided that a 45 angle would be OK, drew the rest of the wood pieces and measured them For each of these items, I drew a scale object to represent them, complete with centre point, and positioned them on the plan. This allowed me to see where any conflicts would occur and make any necessary adjustments, and there were many adjustments to be made! I repeated this process of adjusting the track plan and positions of switches etc until everything fitted to my satisfaction. The next picture shows a part of the final version of the Luxonville panel. Luxonville Control Panel Timber 16 0 mm 410 mm Parts List: 1 o ff 410 mm x 2 08 m m 1 o ff 410 mm x 4 0 m m 2 o ff 224 mm x 1 84 m m as sh own belo w Pl ane to p to 45 de gre es 40 mm 30 mm I have left some of the objects on the drawing to show how they are used to ensure that all items will fit. This was especially useful in placing the switches and LEDs on the double and single slips in the bottom right. Note that even with the items shown in full, the centre point of every one is still visible. Once everything is OK, I print the panel onto glossy photo paper and glue this to the gator board using spray on adhesive. Once this is dry, I trim the edges and the panel is ready to drill. I use a timber drill bit to cut through the paper cleanly but a few rough edges here are not a problem since the hardware covers up most of the mistakes. And here is the reason for clearly marking the centres of the items to be fitted to the panel, to ensure that the holes are drilled in exactly the right place. Now its just a matter of fitting the items into the panel, connecting up and testing until it all works, but that s another story mm 20 8 mm 224 mm off the screen. Inside the edges of the panels, I added beading to form a seat for the face and magnetic latches to hold the face in place. Faces were cut from 6mm gator board, a material which is a sandwich of plastic foam between two plastic sheets, very light, easy to cut (repeated draws with a Stanley knife) and very stiff. The steel plates from the magnetic latched were then glued to this gator board with Araldite. This can be seen in the following picture. To make the faces of the panels, I drew the track layout in Corel Draw and played with it until it looked right. Then I decided where the switches, LEDs and buttons would have to go. z 6

7 From the Editor: Another month and another issue I m beginning to enjoy this. Its just a pity that so few of you have shared in that enjoyment, by not contributing something, anything. I know from your presentations at meetings that you all have a lot to offer, and a lot that the rest of us would like to share. So just put pen to paper (well, keyboard), add a few pictures and you re there. I ll do my editor bit and make sure that there are no glaring errors and you ll then have your name in print. In particular, I need some of your photos for the feature picture on the back page. Several of you have promised me some but I ve not yet received any. COME ON, GUYS, YOU CAN DO IT! Viv div2sup@nmra.org.au National Model Railroaders Association Australasian Region Division 2 ACT Bringing model railroading to you News Our next meeting is at Ken Macleay s place on Saturday, 30 July at 2:00 pm. New name badges for those who ordered them should be available then at $9 each. Disclaimer: Any resemblance between characters in this newsletter and real model railroaders is purely intentional but no offence whatever is intended. Only the facts may have been altered to protect the guilty. Every reader has the right of reply and we look forward to publishing them! Eastbound empty grain train, Kingman, AZ 8 Aug 10 (John Gillies) 2 Tbfpmox # # 7