Willow Junction -- Track Laying and Wiring

Finally, I can run trains from the East Staging onto the Willow Junction side of the layout. Why has this taken me so long? Well, I convinced myself it was going to be hard, so I kept doing other things. Also, I was trying to improve my technique, which meant combining what I had previously thought of as two separate processes, laying track and wiring, into one. By soldering the feeders under the rails, it hides the soldered joint, which is a scenic improvement, and by powering the frogs, the layout should operate smoothly. This forced me out of my comfort level forcing me to push myself into improving my skills. I know, one does not learn by avoidance, but through practice. I had a few bumps along the road, but what follows is a description of my process.

First of all, I chose to have the DCC system fully installed and ready to go before laying the track and wiring it. The good: I was able to identify a loose solder joint to one of the isolated frogs during the installation process, rather than later. I didn't have to tear up finished work. The bad: lots of rabbit holes and work to be completed before track could be started! The ugly: I did not understand that the "Frog Juicer" works on electrical "draw." In testing as I went, I convinced myself that something was wrong when the frog "polarity" did not change when the points were changed. The board does not make that change until it detects the "short" in the current draw from a locomotive going through the point. I spent a lot of time and frustration trying to troubleshoot a problem that was not a problem.

Feeder wire and track ready for tinning
on the engine spur.

The track in this portion of the layout is code 83 Atlas Superflex with Peco code 83 Electrofrog turnouts. The process for prepping the turnouts is described in an earlier post. When soldering feeders to the underside of the rails, a major difference is the amount of measuring and rechecking as one proceeds. Not only does the track have to be the correct length, but the feeders have to line up with holes through the cork and layout. The Atlas flextrack has three spots open from the underneath to solder feeders. If these do not work, gaps must be cut in the plastic between the ties under the rail. At the same time that the rail is marked for feeder location, the location for the holes through the roadbed must be marked. While a sharpie works well for marking, I struggled with remembering that one rail in this flextrack is quite willing to slide out of its original position when I wasn't noticing. By tinning the underside of the rail and the feeder with a bend in the end so it fits in the plastic gap, the actual feeder soldering goes quite smoothly. Triple checking locations is crucial.

Photo of draft wiring diagram with
approximate feeder locations marked.

As the track was installed, I would connect the feeders to the bus and the frog wires to the Frog Juicer. I used red and black feeder wire, matching the bus colors, to keep the growing collection of wire under the layout organized. I also followed or altered the draft wiring diagram to keep a record for future troubleshooting. I used green (or white with green added with a sharpie) for the frog wires. As the rails coming out of the frog were insulated, feeders were required between the turnouts. After finishing one small section, I would check it with a multimeter and with a locomotive before moving on to the next.  Once the entire Willow Junction side was working smoothly, I soldered the rail joiners and tested one more time.

Before I can paint the track, I still need to scrub rail joints with denatured alcohol and fit in missing ties. But, I now have a small switching area in which I can run trains as I move on with a bit more confidence to install the track on the rest of the railroad.

The 8 Cent Weight Fix

In setting up my rolling stock collection for the railroad, I noticed that I had a preponderance of Great Northern rail cars. In recent research (Jeff Wilson's Freight Cars of the 40's and 50's -- a Christmas Gift) I read that about 50% should be home road, 25% other neighboring roads, and 25% more distant lines. One of the few more distant line cars that I already own is an Erie gondola that I picked up years ago at a train show. The initial problem was that it was underweight when empty, so it would not meet the rolling stock standards that I have established for the layout.

The solution was in the coin jar. Adding eight pennies brought the weight of the car up to the recommended four ounces. In addition to meeting standards, I wanted to add some weathering to the car. I recently read a weathering-tips article online that discussed "not-so-empty" gondolas. What follows is a description of how I brought Erie 45232 up to standard and improved its weathering.

The first step was to glue the eight pennies onto the gondola's original floor with gap filling medium CA. Then using .060 styrene, I scored and snapped a new floor to fit over the pennies. Using an emery board, I sanded the floor to fit, and then glued it into place with the CA. After the CA dried I brush painted the interior of the gondola with Model Master Rust and Grimy Black flat acrylic paints. In hindsight, masking and spray painting the interior with a primer would have meant fewer coats of streaky brushed-on paint. I'm finding that brushed-on Model Master does not cover as well as Poly Scale did and it has a bit more gloss to it. By using Bragdon weathering powders as well as glueing in some strip wood and coal with white glue, I was able to detail the interior and freshen the weathering of the exterior of the newest addition to my fleet. The next step will be to scratchbuild a pipeload using straws; maybe I can keep that to eight cents as well!

West End "Fold Up" Staging -- Part 1

I designed the staging for the west end based on David Popp's "Swing Out Section" for the Winston-Salem Southbound on the Model Railroader Video Plus subscription web site.  Since the staging at the end of the layout is opposite the top of the attic stairs, it needed to be removable when not in use. The significant differences in my iteration were that I used a 1 X 6 instead of a 1 X 4 and that mine is a bit longer. That will allow for three track staging, holding a similar amount of rolling stock as the completed East Staging.

I followed David Popp's plan for t-girder construction and single fold up leg for the lightweight, hinged staging. Since I don't have an air gun, I used a combination of Robertson trim screws with a #1 square drive bit in my drill motor and truly old-school finishing nails and hammer for initially holding the glue joints during construction.

 As seen to the right, the staging framework folds up under the layout. By adding a 1 X 2 across the nearest legs I am able to hang the staging section attached with hook and eye hardware. While not visible in the snapshot, I can also hang the C clamp that secures the staging at the hinged attachment point on this 1 X 2.

With the final benchwork for the initial layout complete with this foldout section, I can focus on the completion of track work and wiring.

Setting Up the DCC System Part 4: Program Track

Actually wiring the program track has taken quite awhile! A post from last summer shows the program track switch soldered up but not yet installed.

Soldering feeders to the underside of the interchange track,
which will also serve as the dead zone and program track.

Part of the reason for my delay (read that as procrastination) is that I want to improve my scenery technique by soldering the feeder wires to the underside of the track rather than adding the feeders after the track is laid. While unsightly solder blobs and visible wires will be avoided, two clearly delineated steps with their own sequence of installation are now intertwined into one. Apparently it has been easier to motivate myself to tackle other projects such as researching operations, prepping rolling stock, preparing a clinic, or starting buildings rather than wiring and laying track with this "improved" system.

In researching the wiring for DCC I found that some consider using a DPDT switch to alternate an isolated section of track between track power and programming to be potentially dangerous. If a locomotive accidentally bridges the two while in programming mode, it can damage the programming circuitry of the DCC system. Including an isolation or "dead zone" section between the programming track and the rest of the layout is the recommended solution. The schematic to wire this up using a mouser.com 4PDT ON-OFF-ON is shown below.

Program and isolation track schematic

Right before the holidays I screwed the panel mounted switch to the opening in the fascia, soldered the feeders to the underside of the track, connected to the program output on the command station, and "suitcased" to the DCC bus. It DIDN'T work! After troubleshooting, cutting wires, and grumbling, I deduced that the suitcase connection was faulty. After re-soldering feeders to two of the connections on the switch and reattaching them to the DCC bus, I had success. I had originally bought in to the infallible nature of suitcase connectors; while still using them, I am not as trusting. One issue is that the red suitcase connectors from MicroMark do not have double blades, nor do they have the opening to view the second wire. I suspect that using slip joint pliers at an angle from under the layout may have had a part in the initial faulty connection. This kerfuffle has not added to my enthusiasm for wiring, but I am now able to program or use the track as an interchange without fear of damaging circuitry.

Interchange track successfully wired as programming track
with toggle switch and indicator light in fascia

Rolling Stock Standards

Workbench set up to check rolling stock standards

Now that I have at least a staging yard ready for rolling stock, I have started to unpack some of my rolling stock. Before any make their way onto the tracks I am checking them for damage and standards. As seen in the photo of my workbench, I have a test track set up with a re-railer and a Kadee coupler height gauge. Along with that I have a ruler with NMRA weights marked on it, a postal scale, and a NMRA standards gauge. With these simple tools I can check rolling stock. Of the six cars I unpacked today, one needed some repairs and several needed coupler adjustment or replacement. I have several hoppers and a gondola that are under weight without their loads, they won't receive car cards or make it onto the tracks until I have figured that issue out. As my standards aren't too different from my old modular group, I am mainly dealing with wear and tear as well as creating car cards.

Rolling Stock Standards:

• NMRA weight or close
• Metal wheels in gauge
• Couplers: coupler and trip pin at correct height, smoothly centering, if replacing use Kadee 58
• Cinderella principle for trucks (not too loose, not too tight)
• Appropriate build date (before 1954?)
• Car card created
• Weathering--right now I am sorting between weathered and need weathered

Foundry Track Structure - Plant #4

Wanting to take a break from track laying and wiring, I recently started building Plant #4, a Walthers background building, as a structure for the foundry track at Willow Springs. While the building itself is a stock kit, I did design a scratchbuilt loading dock for it as a replacement for the supplied concrete steps.

The brick structure was fairly easy to build and has nice details. As the sides were molded in a different color from the front panel, a first step was to paint the wall panels. I used Rust-Oleum 2X Flat Red primer, which covered well without obscuring the molded brick details. The mortar wash was a combination of white and raw umber acrylic along with water and a spritz of window cleaner. The next time I apply a mortar wash, I plan to try 70% alcohol instead of water. After the wash dried I scrubbed the brick surface with a pink eraser to remove excess white.  As a final step in painting the brick walls, I toned them down with a slight application of Red Iron Oxide Pan Pastels. Before assembling the building, I painted the window sills and foundation parts with Concrete Flat Model Master. I painted the windows and door with Poly Scale Empire Green (actually a greyish dark brown). I ended up painting the roof panels this same color as I was unhappy with the coverage with Model Master's Grimy Black Flat. It would be excellent used as a weathering wash, but did not cover as a base color over the plastic roof panels. Other than modifying two of the windows, so that they appear to be open, I followed the instructions for construction of the model.

The loading dock for this structure was a simple introduction to scratchbuilding techniques. Basically, I used a process described by Gerry Leone in a Dream, Plan, Build video. The Walthers building parts and the existing cork on the layout provided the necessary measurements to draw up a plan. The scale size of the lumber for the dock was partially determined by what I had on hand: 6" X 12" for the framing, 3" X 12" for the decking, and 9" X 9" for the posts. I precut the pieces to length on my Northwest Shortline "Chopper".



Having a scale drawing to use as a template is key to this project. After cutting sufficient wood for the entire project, I stained it with my Prego Jar mix, 70% alcohol, India ink, and raw umber acrylic paint. While the pieces dried I taped the drawing down on my work space's plate glass with blue painter's tape. Then I covered the template with wax paper, also taped in place. The first step was to construct the frame directly over the template drawing. I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to glue the parts together. After the framework dried, I set up a backrest or jig as seen in the photo to the right. Then it was a straightforward process to apply glue to the top of the frame and attach five or six deck pieces at a time. After the decking dried, I turned the dock over and glued the posts in place. I later added the bracing to the front of the dock as a final flourish.

With the basic building and dock now constructed, the next step will be to add some additional detailing. At this point I am considering several options:

• Filling the interior with a black construction paper curtain to hide the blue backdrop
• Signage on the building
• "Stuff" on the loading dock
• A shadow box interior for a second floor "office"
• A light over the door

East Staging -- DCC and Independent Control of Staging Tracks

While it first appears straight forward to wire a small staging module, my East Staging section turned out to be somewhat complicated.

Wiring under the East Staging Module: DCC feeders,  DC bus,
individual track power control panel to the far right.

With sound decoders in each of the locomotives waiting on the staging tracks, I wanted to be able to turn the power off and on for each track. Since I also wanted to be able to identify whether the tracks had power by a visual signal, I needed to start a 12 volt DC bus on this module to power LEDs as well as building lights or other accessories on the rest of the layout. Finally, as noted in the previous post, I am starting a 12 volt touch-toggled, Tortoise switch machine bus at this module as well.

The first step was to drop feeders from each of the rails, either to connect to the DCC bus or a control panel for the staging tracks. After soldering the feeders to the outside of the rails, I painted the ties and track with a brown satin rattle can. After the paint dried, I cleaned the top of the rails and used a Dremel tool with a cut-off disk to cut gaps in the outer or "black" rails. Then I returned to the underside of the module and the construction of the track power control panel.

Schematic

Powering the feeders was not complicated, but the control panel took some planning. The schematic to the right was what I came up with. As the actual wiring starts to be a bit of a rat's nest, I wanted to keep some sort of record of what is actually going on. The panel itself was made from a scrap piece of masonite, with holes cut for sub mini slide switches (RS 275-0033) and LED assemblies (RS 276-0271)  from Radio Shack.

Control Panel Rat's Nest

To the left is the so-called rat's nest behind the panel. Black Wires from the DCC bus and to the track were soldered to one side of the DPDT slide switches, while the other side controlled the LEDs with connections (red and white wires) to the DC bus that originates at this modules.


While both the bill box and the track power control panel still need labeled, the East Staging tracks are live with independent control. Accomplishment of some trackage ready to run trains can be seen in the photo below.