Signal Mast Install - Progress...

So this week I managed to get a few more signal masts and dwarfs installed.

The first pair (a mast & dwarf) have been installed on the Harrisburg Main (protecting westbound to Lebanon) and Siding #2.

The mast is a Tomar H-865 G Type 3 Light - Signal, it is connected to a Digitrax TSMK board and to SE8C Board No7. 

The dwarf is a Tomar H-876bl Double Head - Searchlight Dwarf Signal, these have modified with RR CirKits - Tri Coloured LED's.

The combination of the RRCirKits Tri-Coloured LED's and the Tomar case are a real winner, I'm that impressed with the colour and operation that I will be converting all of my dwarf & searchlight signals to these.

The last install for the day was another two (2) H-865 masts to protect the start of the Harrisburg Line heading westbound and the Southbound section coming from Chessie Interchange at Shippensburg/York Haven.

More soon...

SE8C Driver Aspect - Switch List...

As I've been installing the physical signals onto the layout I also have to program them into JMRI to check the wiring install & the subsequent SE8C.

In the Digitrax manual they have a table that lists the ranges of switches for the driver aspects of each SE8C for board number one.

I needed the switch lists for the driver aspects for eight SE8C's, so to ease the install in JMRI and for visual reference I made up the tables up to eight SE8C's.

Although very time consuming it will make programming a lot easier...

For those wanting the complete series for eight (8) SE8C boards the link to the page is here:

http://jlandtrailroad.blogspot.com.au/p/digitrax-se8c-driver.html

Jas.

Revised 2015 - Signal Plan

With the installation of more signals I needed to update my Signal Plan.

The next step is to wire in the masts & dwarf signals from Harrisburg to Manheim Jct.  

This section is the first to have a completed BDL168 wired in with all the blocks, this section takes up the entire centre peninsula and is wired to a PSX-AR as the peninsula is a reversing section.

Updated Panel Pro - Panel

So as part of the consolidation work on the the block wiring I needed to redesign the JMRI Panel Pro - Panel.  The existing layout panel was fairly cluttered and wasn't really going to work well.

Now that installation of all 28 blocks to the centre peninsula BDL are just about complete I spent the last two nights and a few hours yesterday redoing the panel.  There were several issues that needed to be ironed out, and I also wanted to add town names and mile post markers too.

The new panel flows much better is easier to understand and visually works well and I'm happy with it.  It still needs a few things added like the actual signal masts & dwarfs along with some more labels.

I have to do some tweaking to the section split between the two screens so that it basically just straight track and its ready for ops.

Jas...

Block Wiring Progression...

So yesterday sore another day of finishing up the detection & block wiring for the centre peninsula.  At this stage there are another 5 - 6 blocks to be wired back to the BDL168 and its completed.

In the photo above & below you can see the naming convention that I've adopted, so as I install the block power feeds to the BDL they each get labelled once checked and operating correctly.  The "LS" is a Digitrax naming convention for a block, as can be seen the Digitrax LT5 block testers are attached to the A & B zones and are detecting the four blocks associated with each zone.

Another solution that I needed to overcome was the common wire return, I wanted to use a brass or copper bus bar for this but couldn't find one locally.  I didn't want to use the screwed type block connecters so instead adopted a PCB type block bar and fitted it to a small plastic junction box.

It is much easier making multiple connections this way than the previous version I was using.  This method makes the removal and/or addition much easier.  As you can see in the below photo the feeder wires are also labelled with the block that is powering them too.

This should make fault finding or changes a lot easier in the future.

 In the above shot you can also see one of the "undetected" block buses too.  These are for powering any section of track (usually small sidings & spurs) that are not detected via the BDL168.

More soon.

Jas...

You know your doing blocks, turnouts & signals when your layout looks like this...

One of the critical tasks when installing a detection & signaling system is to record all of your blocks, turnouts & signal masts.  Luckily I have few people who have tread this path before and have helped out with some great advice and spreadsheets to record it all.

Today was a consolidation day of ensuring that I had all the blocks in the right place, the insulators in the right positions and all the turnouts that are going to be individual blocks both wired and isolated too.

So to start I printed off the spread sheets for the BDL168's and got several packets of white stick on labels.  Special thanks has to go to Brendan Dennis who designed these sheets in Excel and has shared them with us, they contain sheets for the BDL168, SE8C & Signal Heads/Masts.

The labelling convention that I am using is to place a label sticker on the boundary between blocks and label both sides with the common JMRI/Digitrax naming/address convention.  For blocks it is LS & for Turnouts (Switch Machines) it is LT.

In the photo above you can see the RH turnout labelled LS114 on the approach, straight through & diverging routes.  It also has a sticker in the middle for the turnout address and to signify that it is a detected block.

Here is the junction a Harrisburg leading off to White Oak, and as you can see the crossover is it's own detected block, incorporating two turnouts.  Any track leaving a detected section or turnout that is not going to be detected via JMRI is labelled as either "undetected" or U/D.

This should make wiring the blocks underneath the layout and for fault finding later much easier.

Jas...

More Block Wiring & Bullet Proofing PECO Turnouts...

So yesterday was a full day on the layout, and the progression of the detection wiring needed to be progressed yet again.  Its amazing how much is involved once you actually get going and start doing instead of planning...

One of the future proofing items that needed addressing was the powering of all of the mainline & detected track turnouts.  Not really a big tack in respect to the wiring of them, but a big task in pulling them out of the already installed track work.

Seeing that 95% of all of track & turnouts are PECO Code83 its actually quite easy.  There are two reasons for actually doing this, the first is I have decided that each turnout will be its own detected block.  This way when a caboose or locomotive is blocking either the straight through or diverging route it will show on the panel.  This saves an entire section of a block from being show as occupied when it may only be the turnout itself.

The other flip side is it makes the PECO turnouts virtually bullet proof.  The "Insufrog" range I use feeds power to the turnout via the point end on the point rails, if they become dirty or don't quite make contact with the stock rail it will give a poor power supply.

To overcome this I have wired power to corresponding stock rail and point rail, this ensures that the turnout always power, and if isolated for detection purposes for signaling it can be powered through a Digitrax BDL 168 as a separate block.

Its pretty simple and quick to wire them up...

The gaps are already there from the PECO factory, you just have to be careful with the heat time not melting the plastic, I use a pencil soldering iron.

Jas...

Thursday Theatre on the JL&T...

On a sunny day the afternoon shift and local MOW crew, in the Reading/White Oak Interlocking Tower are being entertained by their very own carpark version of C.O.P.S, 1973 style.

The local RMP has pulled over a dodgy looking vehicle and is running their details through 

SCMODS (Blues Brothers joke!)...

First signal programmed and placed onto the JL&T Panel...

Well last night as well as doing more track work I also programmed the first of the double head dwarf signals into JMRI and installed it on the Panel Pro - Panel.

First step is installing the signal heads into the "Signal Head Table" each head requires two of the turnout ports from the SE8C (not its not actually a physical turnout, just a port) so there are four consecutive ports for this on head, 577, 578, 579 & 580.

This is how the SE8C has the ability to drive all three appearances on each aspect including flashing too.

Next step is to create a signal mast in the Signal Mast Table, when you select a double head dwarf you add each of the signal heads as above and this then allows JMRI to drive both aspects (high & low) together to give the correct signal aspect.

And once completed I then loaded the signal mast which in this case has a user mane of RDG25W onto the Panel Pro - Panel and I was able to operate the signal from the panel by clicking on the icon.

JMRI is such a powerful tool, you can right click on the icon and bring up the list of aspects and change to any of them, or just left click on the icon and it will scroll through each on each mouse click.

More soon...

Jas.

Work continues on the Interchange - Classification Yard...

So last night I began work on the yard lead to the Classification area for the Interchange.

Firstly I had a great win with the crossing at York Haven where the Chessie System and D&H crossover the RDG/CR main.  The old crossing was an Atlas crossing that had lots of plastic within the diamond section that caused a lot of stalling and bumpy crossings.

So whilst out picking up some more flextrack & turnouts for the classification yard I spotted a PECO Code 75 crossing diamond that just might work.

You can see the old alignment of the sub roadbed, the new angle makes the approach to the classification yard flow much better.

Below is the PECO #7 Curved turnout that leads into the classification yard lead (left diverging route) and it flows much better than the previous version that can be seen in the previous post.

The bare plaster area will be the interlocking tower for the Interchange - Classification Yard along with a small parking lot.  As mentioned above the yard lead flows much better into the Classification Yard now.

Next step will be to connect the yard lead to the arrival track, continue on the track work from the #5 RH turnout to form the runaround/caboose siding.

Jas...

Laying the Cork Roadbed for the Classification Yard...

So today being a typical wet & rainy Melbourne day I decided to lay the cork road bed for the Interchange - Classification Yard.

First step is spreading the Max Seal - Coloured Caulk...

The cork sheet is around 4' long so this usually dictates the section widths.

First section in and secured with push pins until the caulk cures.

Second and third sections in and curing, next step will be to lay the track and turnouts and begin installing the track work.

Jas...

Interchange Classification Yard...

So for a little change of pace I have started installing the Interchange Classification Yard.  The yard allows me to interchange between the three railroads (well possible four if the D&H gets in too) that will be operating on the layout, The Reading, Conrail & Chessie System.

The yard is based loosely around the Shippensburg PA area, and would have seen these three/four railroads interchanging in the day.  The actual location on the layout is west of the York Haven Pulp & Paper Mill.

Yesterday & last night I spent most of the day/evening realigning the track work and installing the new turnouts.

The interchange will have three classification sidings that will allow singles or blocks of rolling stock to be dropped off on either of the two passing sidings south of the main.  The classification sidings also act as RIP Tracks and feed directly into the restoration/maintenance workshops to the west of the yard.

Next stage is to install a few more turnouts, more flex track for the sidings, then hook up the power, tortoise motors and block the sections of track back to the BDL's.

Jas...

Tomar - Double Head Dwarf connected to the SE8C's...

So over the last couple of afternoons and evenings I have been playing around with JMRI and installing the Tomar - Double Head Dwarfs onto the layout and getting them connected to the Digitrax SE8C's and programming them into JMRI too.

First step was to mount the Digitrax TSMK under the layout and connect the double head dwarf wires and ribbon cable.

Next step involved programming the individual heads of each dwarf signal into JMRI.  So for the double head dwarf this means adding the the two heads individually for each mast, and each head requires two turnout positions from the SE8C boards.  So one double head dwarf requires four (4) turnout positions (not a physical turnout) from each SE8C board.

Once the heads have been added these can then be added to make a mast (JMRI term for the double head dwarf) and then JMRI can go about its thing and change the appearance of each aspect.

Presently I'm using the pre-loaded JMRI AAR-2 Signal aspect table as it's fairly close to the Conrail Signal Aspect Chart - 1988 that I eventually want to add to JMRI.

I've also made a short clip to show the different aspects loaded in JMRI and running through the double head dwarf.

I also managed to connect a single dwarf too, now the Reading area of the layout has its dispatcher controlled signals installed.

Jas...

Latest Fascia Panel...

Here is the latest Fascia Panel to be installed on the centre peninsula of the layout.  Lancaster Junction is an area on the layout that connects the centre peninsula with the hidden nook and the original module area.

It is also a major junction area for the main layout area where it runs onto the centre peninsula and run where it runs around the back hidden area behind the centre peninsula.

It also has a high concentration of Tortoise motors & signals too...

Jas.

The first operational signal on the JL&T...

So last night I decided to install the first double head dwarf signal onto the layout, this one is a Tomar H876bl and is fitted with RRCirKits Tri-Colored LED's.

The area on the layout is based around Reading PA, and feeds back into Lancaster Junction (through the backdrop) so the signal is dispatcher controlled only.

Above a slow clear is being shown leading to Lancaster Junction...

The RRCirKits LED's are being run through 2K ohm resistors and they will likely be increased as they are still extremely bright.

As can be seen they are quite bright even 2' away...

To test the brightness and color of the LED's I made up a small device so the each aspect (top & bottom) can be checked against the other.  To date the red & green are getting 2K resistors (likely to be increased) and the yellow is using a 820ohm resistor.

The black substance is liquid electrical tape so that I do not inadvertently short out one LED's while testing each one.

Next phase will be to place the signal in Panel Pro, connect it to the SE8C ribbon wire and board, and test out its functionality.

Jas...

Double Head Dwarf Signals - Using RRCirKits LED's...

So moving along with the install of the LED's into our dwarf signals I decided to try the RRCirKits LED's into a Tomar - Double Head Dwarf.

I've recently sourced some 30AWG wire wrapping wire in the primary signal colors.  This will make the connecting of the dwarfs much easier when hooking up to the SE8C ribbon wire.

The wiring of the tiny Tri-Colored LED's is getting much easier, pre tinning and using a good solder with flux has made it fairly easy.

When I installed the first set in a single head dwarf the LED is quite visible when looking into the light opening, when lit if you are facing the the opening you can also tell its an LED too.  I wanted to try and find a solution that would make the signal look like it had a searchlight in the housing.

So after a search online I found the perfect solution, a small light pipe that fits into the opening diameter that hides the LED and helps spread the light evenly too.

These light pipes need a little filing (height wise) to get them to a depth that allows the LED and wiring to fit into the Tomar housing.

These light pipes finish off the dwarf signals perfectly.

 Much better finish with the light pipes installed and the aspect color is better spread too.

 Jas...

Installing Fascia Turnout Panels...

With the installation of the fascia's going nicely it was time to produce the first layout fascia panel.  Now this actually took a little while to get the design the right way, and one that I would be happy with.

I had a few good suggestions from my operating/wiring team about some items needed on your fascia panels from an operations perspective, and I had seen some great ideas from panels on other layouts.  So after a solid month of designing, redesigning, and multiple copies I was happy with the final panel that I made.

The panel diagram is designed in Microsoft Excel and is printed on plain paper on a laser colour printer, it is the laminated to protect it.

The idea with the placement was to install the panels in the lower half of the layout fascia, this was due to the fact that the top half is actually solid bench work and I would have to remove bracing to install them.  I settled on a set dimension for the panels and started by locating the most appropriate spot for the the first series on the centre peninsula.

The photo below shows the location of where the fascia panel needs to be located because of the bench work.

The panels need to be located in straight sections of fascia to make installation straight forward, but also be in a logical spot so they are also near to the area of track work they are controlling.  Most of the initial time designing the panel was actually figuring out where to start and stop the individual panel sections.

The design of the fascia panel box is fairly straight forward, a small pine surround (25mm x 18mm) with a 3mm MDF backing to secure the panel diagram and for drilling holes to locate and hold the push buttons for the turnouts.  The fascia is then cut out so that the panel surround can be screwed from the front to the fascia.

The first panel will be changed slightly as I'm increasing the thickness of the surround so the screws securing it to the fascia are not as close to the edge of the cut out.

The recessed nature of the panel will allow for uncoupling picks to be placed on the small shelf too, eventually I'll run a small LED strip on the top section of the surround so that the panel can be lit for nighttime operations.  The first test will be Friday night when the guys come over again and see the first lot of panels in the flesh.

So far I'm very happy with the installation and the look of the fascia panels, they really make a huge difference to the look of the layout.

Jas...