Superior & Seattle Railroad Build (Volume 2) Started 2/25/17

Started by S&S RR, February 25, 2017, 10:03:31 PM

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postalkarl

Hey John:

You have done a beautiful job with this kit so far. Looks just beautiful.

Karl

Dennis Bourey

Dennis Bourey
dpbourey@comcast.net

Lake's Region RR
(Happy Modeling)

S&S RR

A few months ago I posted some pictures from the CAD package I'm using called TurboCAD for the design of the S&S RR. Since the design has evolved over the past few months I thought I would post and update, tonight.  The new expansion is a large yard called the Superior Yard. This yard will someday be the lower level of a two layer area of the layout with a mining operation occupying the upper level. (ten plus year plan).  This fist picture is the entire layout to give a perspective of the size of the expansion.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Here is the expansion area - zoomed in.  This expansion will not only provide a large yard for staging but will also give me more space in the workshop. The reversing loops that you see in the expansion area are currently in the workshop by the water heater.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

cuse

That's a really neat tool (TurboCAD) for a project of this magnitude...So, the smelter and mining operation will be above the track we're seeing here? Will it be staging or a scenicked yard?


Looks great. Also, can't help but notice the depth of your existing benchwork/layout - no way you could have achieved the "vistas" your photos show without them. Great stuff.


John

S&S RR

Quote from: cuse on March 25, 2019, 06:16:20 AM
That's a really neat tool (TurboCAD) for a project of this magnitude...So, the smelter and mining operation will be above the track we're seeing here? Will it be staging or a scenicked yard?


Looks great. Also, can't help but notice the depth of your existing benchwork/layout - no way you could have achieved the "vistas" your photos show without them. Great stuff.


John


John


Thanks for stopping by the the thread. TurboCAD is a great tool for designing. I'm just using it as a drawing tool - it has the capability to build a three dimensional model in solids but I decided not to take the time to learn how to do that.


The yard will have a few structures and some scenery, and I plan to ballast and detail the track.  I may put up backdrops, on parts of it. So I guess the answer to your question is semi-scenicked.  The mines and smelter will be the real points of interest - when I get to them - but I want the staging yard to look nice for the years it will take to finish all the rest of the layout.


One of the goals for the layout was to create the depth.  There are areas where it is 8 feet from the viewer to the backdrop. I'm adding to that by sizing the trees to create perspective.


Thanks again for the kind words.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Update: I have been working on benchwork changes and track improvements the past couple of days. Changes that I wanted to make before the detailing and wiring of the Eagles Nest Yard.  I'm also experimenting with using servo motors to drive some of my turnouts where there just isn't room for a clean tortoise machine installation. I thought I would post some pictures of the test installation that I'm building for the testing. The hardware that I'm using is sold by Barrett Hill and works with their touch toggle switches.


It all starts with a whole to hide the servo motor in the benchwork.



John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

Here are a couple pictures of a servo motor installation from the Barrett Hill website to show you where I'm going with this.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

PaulS

Very cool John.  I too am interested in the servo machines from Berrett Hill but doing some more home work, and perhaps looking at the under table servos but open yet to other possibilities.   Your endeavor is very timely and I certainly will be paying attention.
Thanks for sharing and all the info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
--Paul
Modeling the Atlantic & White Mtn Railway

S&S RR

Quote from: PaulS on April 01, 2019, 07:54:03 PM
Very cool John.  I too am interested in the servo machines from Berrett Hill but doing some more home work, and perhaps looking at the under table servos but open yet to other possibilities.   Your endeavor is very timely and I certainly will be paying attention.
Thanks for sharing and all the info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again
--Paul


Paul


I will post what I find and maybe we can learn together.  My initial interest is to use them in places on the layout where I don't have the space underneath turnouts to place tortoise machines. I'm currently using manual ground throws to switch these turnouts. I also bought their under the layout brackets to give them a try.  Stay tuned.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

Blazeman

John: To what depth did you have to rout the opening for the motor case?  Would these motors create any heat?  I ask because I would be using them (depending on your feedback) in an extruded (blue) foam base (2").

S&S RR

Quote from: Blazeman on April 02, 2019, 08:45:05 AM
John: To what depth did you have to rout the opening for the motor case?  Would these motors create any heat?  I ask because I would be using them (depending on your feedback) in an extruded (blue) foam base (2").


The hole is 1  and 5/8 inch diameter and 5/8 of an inch deep.  I can't detect any change in temperature of the motor cycling it back and forth about 2 dozen times. I will post pictures of the test rig when I get it done and have a plan for my layout.   The one thing I don't like is the movement of the motor on startup.  My control boards are a couple years old and Barrett Hill tells me that that problem has been solved with the new boards. I thought I was going to get to this project a lot sooner.  ;)   I ordered a couple  new boards to test before moving forward with this.  I will update this once I have the new boards and have tested them.  The way Barrrett Hill recommend that you account for the start up jitters is to add a Z to the wire linkage, to act as a spring,  to protect everything.  I will be doing this with or without the new control boards.
John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

For todays update: I completed my testing of the servo controls for turnouts from Barrett Hill. As I posted earlier, I made up a test station to learn how to program the servo motors and make sure that I could make them function the way I planned for the layout.  The first test was a simple pit mounting with a wire running from the servo motor to the turnout. Using a setup module to program the servo motors I was able to throw the turnout and change the speed of the action to simulate what you would expect from a tortoise machine.  I will be using this setup in location where a tortoise machine will not fit under the layout and setting up a remote more difficult than using the servo motors.


I also received the new servo control board, as mentioned above, and it definitely does a better job of controlling the startup jitters.  It doesn't eliminate them but make them much better.  I will still be adding a spring to each of the control arms to protect the installation on startup.



As a point of interest, my current plan calls for 34 servo motors and 85 tortoise turnout controls. I will have 6 main panels and about a dozen mini panels (between 1 and 6 touch controls).


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

S&S RR

If you studied the picture above you will notice a second wire arm going out the other side of the turnout.  Which brings me to the second test for the test module.


I have a number of locations where the track is right on top of the framework for the bench on the outside edge of the layout. See pictures below.


John Siekirk
Superior & Seattle Railroad

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