Nov Update

Little time left for messing with the layout as of late, but felt good to get a full day + of progress in for a change this week.  Some of what has taken place as of late:

-Finished the rebuilding of all 9 ME turnouts so can get back to working on the staging yard project (have now acquired all 75 sections of flex track and the bridge also).

I have always been a staunch supporter of ME track, but I am now on the fence after the latest acquisitions.  The flex track was always superior to Atlas in my experiences, and I had never had any major issues with any of their turnouts...  The latest purchases of their new line of flex track have revealed a strange stagger problem with the rail not being centered on the ties.  And this last batch of turnouts I got on ebay I can only explain as a pre-production set since I encountered so many issues that had to be resolved.  I am tempted to embark on the use of Atlas 55 for the new expansion... but I still want a uniform look since using code 40 in the sidings.  Unable to make any decisions here yet...

-Replaced the ailing Tortoise Motor that has been keeping the DS from seeing / lining the W switch at Oakridge.  This was a thorn in my side as it was the most difficult motor to access on the layout.  Thanks for helping me align that thing back in place Ray!

-We have had a problem with slow trains in the Helix for awhile, so have been working on a number of items to mitigate it:

First I attacked an overdue problem that I have known about for quite awhile with my Tunnel Motor fleet.  Been running the drive trains through a rebuild progam since finding out that a large number were not pulling their fair share of the load.  When cleaning their wheels I noted that the wheels would stop turning but the motor would still be spinning while using the Minitrix wheel cleaner.  Come to find out the yoke on the output shaft of the motor cracks, allowing it to spin freely when under any load.  They ran fine as light units, but any cars behind them and the drive shaft would slip, so the unit would hardly be pulling any weight at all.  I simply clean and superglue the yoke to the motor output shaft as a fix, and now they are back to pulling their fare share of the load.

Then I reprogrammed all my Zimo decoder equipped locos as they were running poor when cold (???).  Unfortunately before I tested them under load on the layout I moved to the next fix, so I don't know which really brought them back to life, but they are running great again. 

The main issue appears to have been track voltage under heavy load.  The DCS was set to 12 V which is fine for most layouts, but we have added so many components that the voltage making it to the rails under load was significantly lower than should be.  So we bumped up the track voltage to compensate for the accumulation of V drop going through bridge rectifiers and other in-line devices, and am somewhat astonished at the results.  I had no idea we were only getting 7 volts under heavy load in one stretch (where I know I am lacking in number of track feeder wires).  That section has now recovered to about 10V by raising the output voltage on the DCS by slightly over one volt.  My Tunnel Motor lighting affects had been looking pretty blah for a looong time and this has also brought them back to full life again.  :)   A few test laps reveal that the layout is back up to it's old spunky self again.

-After settling that issue, we were newly motivated to install the meter onto the fascia that shows layout current flow, which had sat under the layout for seems like eternity.

Ray already had a circuit he built in-line so it was just a matter of actually installing and wiring the meter / display.  Interesting to see what different sets of power and locos actually draw on the layout.  About 300 cars with resistive wheel sets only draw about 1/4 amp, the stable of 30 locos at rest also about 1/4 amp,  and a 20 car TOFC with 4 old Kato SDs doesn't even pull 1/2 amp on the steepest sections of the layout.  I don't remember the layout ever pulling as much as 3 amps during a full operating session, but FWIW now we can see what is actively happening.

-Also Ray cleaned up the master signal control panel now that all systems have been verified as stable through the months.  Since moving the layout controls to the central computer in the house I haven't been using the layout computer for Decoder Pro in a long while, so He also brought the layout computer back on line by building one of Hans Deloof's Loco Buffer cards.  Now I am back to programming locos the easy way again.  *Hans also needs some credit here for his Loco IO cards that we use for turnout position sense (shameless plug). 

I forget how much credit Ray deserves till I look back at what we got done, so an ongoing Thanks! ...yet again for all your help Ray!

XtrakCad is Pretty Cool

This program that Ray used to configure things into the existing layout has worked pretty well throughout the design phase.  Appreciate the help here Ray!  ...as we would still be in the design phase if it was just me doing it!
So he brought over printouts of the yard ladders and transitions, and I transferred the track diagram onto the plywood in those areas with old fashioned carbon paper.... remember that stuff?  lol
Looking good so far.

  Meanwhile got all the turnouts, and the first order of flex track is here.  This batch of ME turnouts are junk.. unlike previous acquisitions.... as all the switch pivot points are falling apart.  I have had to replace a couple throwbars on some of the earlier turnouts, but never seen this issue.  These are getting new switch point / closure rails, and adding my own PC throwbars.  This looked cumbersome at first, but is making them more DCC friendly, and actually isn't as bad as it first looked.  Just demo out the old, slide new rail sections into the molded ties, add one PC tie, and the throwbar.  Here's a shot from the feasability study:

Looks like prefab and a mini production run should blow through all nine of them.  Atlas turnouts at the other yard throat is all new to me, so any input on how these perform is welcome, as now is the time to make any mods to make them reliable also...
Not sure of the order of operations yet, but still have to add the shelving under the basic staging framework, as it is part of the overall support in keeping things squared up and solid.  Probably come before all the track in staging goes down....  More on that later.

Guess how many Sugar beets in the jar?

In taking the beet rack train out of service, I was amazed to see just how many anise seeds were in 50 Intermountain sugar beet cars.  This train is a bit out of place since I eliminated the other side of Klamath Falls from the RR, but it is still a kick to have a train with live loads running on the layout.  This train will return once operations with staging are dialed in, but it is a hog in yard space... so for now I will be reviving a couple TOFC moves, bringing the total number of different Train IDs that roll across the Cascade Sub to 20.

Benchwork Progress

Thanks, to Craig and the use of his "woodshop" over the weeks so that we were able to make decent progress in getting all this wood cut.  Ray came over and helped to align the plywood and square up the benchwork last weekend.  Still have to add the plywood on the front corners by the workbench for structure support, and a few other loose ends, but looking pretty good at this point.
Now have to start hunting for more organizers to fit along the back of the workbench...  Then already having a hard time finding the track I need so looks like that could be a stalling point - I'm slowly coming to expect this kind of delay with the Micro Production Run Mentality of today   :(

Here's the latest:

Phase II Taking Shape

Didn't really have much to take any pictures of, so another long dry spell for posting to the blog, but been busy working on the new benchwork at a steady pace.  Phase I was construction of the workbench that integrates into the new expansion.  Phase II is the staging yard deck.  Then Phase III will include a siding above the staging area, with possible Phase IV adding yet another siding into the mix on a top level....
All the modules for staging have been assembled, and most of the plywood top sections have been cut.  Finished assembling all the modules together today that make up the new expansion, but still have some fine tuning to do...  Pics of where construction is at this point:

 

Pretty cool to see it all go from XtrakCad drawings that Ray made for me, to actual benchwork in the layout room where I can see it all first hand.  I think we crossed the line so now we can call the layout a "G" shape configuration instead of the old "C".  Still kind of on the fence reagarding occupancy rate of operators in the room since loosing a fair amount of square footage, but I think we should be OK with the four foot isles on three sides, as long as we hold back to the original number of crews.  

With the new construction taking place, I revised the sketches of the trackplan to help visualize what is taking place. 

Trains headed "East" out of Irving (Eugene Yd) will go into the helix and make a 180 deg turn to send them into Portland Yd Staging.  From there they will get stored in the staging yard until the next run where they will then originate out of Klamath Falls at the other end of staging.  From KF trains head back up the helix toward Summit where they then make their way back down the "East" side of the Cascades.  A new siding Hampton will be added for the track section between Natron and Oakridge that will find a home above the staging.  The upper deck will be notched around each staging yard throat to allow operators to see their trains enter and exit staging.  By comparing the upper and lower decks one can get an idea of how this will appear.  Once we progress further along with the project it will be easier to see if a second siding can be added for the stretch from KF to Summit....
Coming next will be the install of the modular plywood tops, then it will be time to lay the 10 tracks that make up the staging, minus the transitions that connect staging to the helix...  the later will be one of the last steps when commissioning the staging.

Operations Format

I added a new page (under "Espee Oregon Division Pages" on the right column) titled, "Insight on Operations".  Here's a quick link:  Insight on operations
This page is designed to give outsiders a look at how the railroad operates, as well as preparing new crews for what awaits them when they get their first crew call.
This is still a work in progress, and I am actively looking for better ways to do the paperwork as well as improving how the railroad runs, but it's a start.  The railroad was originally designed to operate with three road crews and a yard crew on DC throttles.  Today we are running with as many as 11 participants to make it all come together, so the layout has endured some growing pains along the way to say the least.  Eugene Yard is the main yard on the layout and has only been in full service for about six months now, but ironing out the bugs more and more with each ops session... so improvements are taking place at a pretty good rate.  The completion of the staging yard is expected to add still more diversity to the layout and its operations soon.  If you have any suggestions how to improve what we have going so far, open to suggestions, but so far this seems to work pretty good!

Peninsula Addition Breaks Ground

The new peninsula will connect to the Helix, and preliminary drawings have it all configured with a built in workbench underneath a staging yard, and two sidings incorporated above the staging yard.  The two sidings are not yet completed in the drawing phase, but will be located between current layout deck levels.  Staging will be a 10 track double ended yard, with through track design.  The layout's termination points will be at opposing ends of staging with Klamath Falls on the West, and Portland on the East.

Over the weekend got the first phase of this project under way with the workbench getting built, and placed in approximate position.  This being the starting point, I will follow up with basic open grid framework to connect the workbench to the existing layout for the additional levels.  The work surface is about the same size as my old workbench on saw horses was (2' X 4'), but now I have an additional 1' of storage space in the rear for material organizers / storage (3' X 4').

The workbench slides back in for ops sessions to clear the isle.  Pics show it in both positions.  The framework pictured above the workbench is a part of what the staging horseshoe will sit on.  The main focus here is to get staging in to open up operations more.  Existing parts of the layout are crying for more scenery, so see how this all plays out once staging appears.  I'll try to update the trackplan here soon to help show what is taking place.  Special thanks to Ray and Craig for helping on this project!