Posts
Rich and Bob came just after 9AM and we got to the track shortly later. Dan was already there and was playfully chiding us for being "late". He told me that he wants the crossing signals fixed ASAP and I should devote my Saturday to that. Rich and Jack went off to fix signals and I worked on getting the crossing lights working again. After reconnecting stuff, I worked on setting up the crossing bell and was just getting to the final stages in connecting the crossing light circuitry to the cross bucks and Mike L. arrived and told me to stop immediately and that he was there and was going to fix the lights. I told him what Dan told me and said I was just following orders.I told him that Dan said to tell Mike to see Dan if he did not me to work on the lights. He went off to see Dan and then came back a few minutes later and asked me for any parts and I gave them to him and I went off to do other things.
While this was happening, Rich and Jack were up on the inch track and were swapping out some semaphores up by Summit. While they were going up the track, they derailed and had a total of three times! Apparently the old ties are not firm enough to hold the spikes and the rails are spreading from the weight of the rail equipment. Don was there and he got JJ to help repair the track where Rich and Jack had problems. Two locations were on bridges! JJ laid down on a flatcar and hammer in one hand and a punch in the other proceeded to set the spikes in deeper on the rail in question. Not a job for an older man, laying on you chest and inching alond pounding Don was lucky to have JJ around to help.
Rich and Jack went back to disconnect the wires to the inch carbarn that were accidently damaged during the prep work for the new car barn. They also also removed the broken parts from the power panel and brought them back.
I worked with Tom while he worked on putting a new baseboard on the radial arm saw. I explained how the saw fence and baseboard interacted and he was able to set it up and get it going. He also brought casters for it and it now is easily moveable and has a functional top that will allow accurate crosscut miters. Brovo Tom!
Tommy stopped out and gave me some more material and the repaired circuit boards so now I can work on populating them and getting some more to in the field testing.
Rich and I went through some of the soldering equipment and I pulled two sets out to take home to use and see what is better. I also set up a iron stand on the bench and used it to work on one of the new boards today. It was nice to have an iron that heats up in about 30 seconds and has a fine tip that matches the small foil junctions that I need to work on.
As things were winding down Dan said to grab the camera and for the other guys to grab a shovel and come down to twin bridges and everyone to do 10 minutes of shoveling for Bob K. Bob has been working on block laying for months and it seems to be never ending for him. There were a number of pallets of block newly delivered in the infield area when we arrived this morning. I got some good photos and Bob got some help with the digging part.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
The weekend is over.
When we arrived on Saturday Rich had a job he wanted to get busy on - cleaning out the shop building. He marshalled several folks and they removed everything from the middle of the building and cleaned up the floor. Then they brought back the necessary stuff - tools and equipment and got rid of the junk that had accumulated. Using the pallet jack they moved everything including the safe! The new arrangement makes the room seem almost spacious.
I started to replace the lights in the crossing signals with the new Lambertian LEDs that I had made into assemblies this last week at home. They mount to the back of the light boxes and have not only a brilliant white light but they have about 170 degrees of dispersion. The only problem is getting them to stay in position until the glue sets. I found that the light boxes rotated so I could place the assemblies on the back of the light boxes and gravity would keep the part in position. The drying time is about three or so hours so it took a long time to get the pieces bonded. Then the question was are they bright enough and I asked several members to give me their opinion. I believe the brightness value where they are set is slightly on the dim side but they are useable the way that they are. Rich later told me he would like to see them brighter so I will have to alter their dropping resistors but this is not too difficult. As the LEDs are made into an assembly with the dropping resistor they become more like a 12V polarized lamp than an LED so I have to modify the driving circuit board as it is set up for the old LEDs. I did not have time today to finish the changes, I set the LEDs to simply come on if a train is coming and the flashing will have to wait for another week. One LEDs glue had not set so I could not connect it or rotate the housing back to vertical as the assembly would move out of place by gravity so I had to leave it open and horizontal.
I am working on a bell circuit for the crossing as well. I have a bell circuit that I got from a railroad club in England that uses a doorbell and uses a flip flop to ring it at about a ding every half-second or so. I started working on another interface board to use the existing flip-flop board as a source and trigger a couple of relays to flash the LEDs and an interface circuit to ring the bell on a small perfboard. I am using a new type of relay that is polarized as it has a diode built-in so it directly interfaces with solid state devices and, of course, I got the polarity of the circuit backwards so I had to troubleshoot the new interface board all Sunday afternoon.
Rich stopped by to say that he was out for a drive with Cathy and they came over to the track. While they were there they whitnessed an accident that took out the power to the 1" carbarn so next Saturday we have an AC repair instore first thing.
I started to replace the lights in the crossing signals with the new Lambertian LEDs that I had made into assemblies this last week at home. They mount to the back of the light boxes and have not only a brilliant white light but they have about 170 degrees of dispersion. The only problem is getting them to stay in position until the glue sets. I found that the light boxes rotated so I could place the assemblies on the back of the light boxes and gravity would keep the part in position. The drying time is about three or so hours so it took a long time to get the pieces bonded. Then the question was are they bright enough and I asked several members to give me their opinion. I believe the brightness value where they are set is slightly on the dim side but they are useable the way that they are. Rich later told me he would like to see them brighter so I will have to alter their dropping resistors but this is not too difficult. As the LEDs are made into an assembly with the dropping resistor they become more like a 12V polarized lamp than an LED so I have to modify the driving circuit board as it is set up for the old LEDs. I did not have time today to finish the changes, I set the LEDs to simply come on if a train is coming and the flashing will have to wait for another week. One LEDs glue had not set so I could not connect it or rotate the housing back to vertical as the assembly would move out of place by gravity so I had to leave it open and horizontal.
I am working on a bell circuit for the crossing as well. I have a bell circuit that I got from a railroad club in England that uses a doorbell and uses a flip flop to ring it at about a ding every half-second or so. I started working on another interface board to use the existing flip-flop board as a source and trigger a couple of relays to flash the LEDs and an interface circuit to ring the bell on a small perfboard. I am using a new type of relay that is polarized as it has a diode built-in so it directly interfaces with solid state devices and, of course, I got the polarity of the circuit backwards so I had to troubleshoot the new interface board all Sunday afternoon.
Rich stopped by to say that he was out for a drive with Cathy and they came over to the track. While they were there they whitnessed an accident that took out the power to the 1" carbarn so next Saturday we have an AC repair instore first thing.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Crossing Signal Related Items
The crossing signals were made with plastic shades on the lens assemblies. They have taken the worse for wear and have several cracks and some chips out of them as well. I have traced the shades on aluminum flashing stock that I found at the track and I intend to make aluminum replacements for the existing shades.
Saturday 9-5
This was my day to work on the crossing lights. I am trying to clean up the installation and convert it over to a solid state system. The existing system was little understoood at the track and was undocumented. I started by drawing out the layout last weekend and after adding to it what I thought the new system should be wired like, I proceeded to get the parts needed to change it over to a more modular systemk and group all of the electronics inside the building and just have the displays out on the poles. I also want to add a bell for notifying the pedestrians when a train is comming. I looked into electronic modulkes to sysenthisize the bell sound and ordered a kit to do so. When the kit arrived, it was not as I had expected. Several companies advertise a sound board that makes several railroad sounds including a crossing bell. The illustrations and circuit descriptions all memtioned a COB (chip-on-board) technology for the sound generation and several solder pads to wire switches for selecting the sound desired. I finally ordered a kit from a Canadian company that claimed it produced 3 railroad sounds. When it arrived I found that the kit did not have more than one switch! I was at a loss as to how you select the sound that you want but I put it together to see just how it went together and provided the sounds. The directions were in Asian/English and did not read well. I made the two boards up and noted that either 12V or 3V could power the board. I hooked up the 12V and listened to the speaker and nothing recognizable came from it. Sort of a high-pitched dqueeling sound emenated from the loudspeaker. I first checked over all my instructiuons and traced the board to see if I left something out or had a solder bridge on the board but to no avail.
At this point, I called the company and left a voice mail explaining that I was unhappy with the kits, so far, and why I was unhappy. I then went back to trouble shooting and found that the author had mentioned that the power supply for the chip was critical at no more then 3VDC. There was a voltage devider to provide the three volts if you used 12 volts. I got out the trusty meter and found that the 3 volt point was above three and decided to put in a potentiometer so I could adjust the voltage to get the critical 3 volts for the chip. I also wondered if the audio amplifier transistor was shorted or damaged during the assembly process. I replaced the transistor and and as I turned the control up and down, I was able to get a faintly remotely sounding locomotive chugging as well as sort of a bell ringing sound out of the speaker. When I got the return E-mail form Q-Kits about the board, they comfirmed thatg this kit simply simply provided three railroad sound sequentially in a loop. They also mentioned that the 3VDC is critical and the speaker only work properly when the circuit is run on 3VDC and not 12VDC! In fact, they show the board being used without the output resistor and have the signal connected to a power amplifier.I am having hard time with an electronic bell for the grade crossing in the first place and apparently this boards will not work for anything at the track - except for a souvenier perhaps.
I started looking at mechanical bells as an offshoot of my curosity about the light and bell frequency. I understand the railroad mechanical bells had a motor driven clapper that rotated at a fairly slow speed as the bells were about a second apart. I remembered fire alarm and burglar alarm bells featured mechanical clappers and wondered if they had spec sheets that mentioned frequency but alas the only frequency talked about for burglar alarm or fire alarms is a rapid ringing causing an annoying sound to drive people avay frim the area being protected. I am looking for a slower, perhaps more melodic, sound from a clear bell. The bell should be between four and eight inches for the right pitch. but getting a ringer at the right frequency may take a little more legwork. I could order a bell and remove the factory ringer and add small motor of about 6 to 10 RPM and hang a clapper from its shaft and that should get me the authentic crossing bell sound.
I finally removed the old wiring and circuit boards that were damaged and prepared the area for the new wires. I drew up two different schematics of the system and had to make a choice. After the first version I realized there was no compelling reason to wire it that way again. I then startd out with a white sheet of paper and drew it as I would have designed it for the most part and added in shorting out the leads external to the building when it is not activated so as to lessen the chance of a weather related outage. With the two leads shorted to each other and ground, The differential voltage should be close to nil and hopefully any potential would get shunted to ground before it could get into our components.
Of course, the plastic sunshades are getting worn and need replacement. I have added that to my projrct list and have some aluminum roofing flashing and have cut several pieces to the general size and now I have to shape them and paint them grayish black so they look authentic, Fred Wright offered to help me with the target's shades and their mounting on the units.
I reburried the cables by the Grelson building and the old car barn so it looks much better again.
On Sunday I came back with Tom Prescott and hoped to finish up the work on the crossing signals but it seems something kept going wrong, One of the LEDs has gone out for some reason and one on the control card has as well. I tried replacing the oscillator chip that contains the drivers transistors but it did not fix the issues. I also tested the LEDS to see what current made them bright enough for actual use and discovered that I have to raise the current flow to 25% above the existing limit to get bright enough display. Tommy thinks the LEDs spectrum may also be a problem in that the light frequency is being selected by the red lens which makes it appear dim. Therefore, I have a quandry. Should I raise the current to the LEDs because the supply is off half the time? Should I look for another LED that has much brighter output? Should I look at different output device such as an incandescent lamp again?
I decided to try the higher output LEDs that All Electronics has for sale that can use 10 times the current and mounts on a flat surface so I can put them on the back of the light box and it gives the light a chance to spread out before hitting the red lens. The 555 chip says it has a current rating of 1000ma and the new LEDs are up to 300 ma so two LEDs should work OK.
At this point, I called the company and left a voice mail explaining that I was unhappy with the kits, so far, and why I was unhappy. I then went back to trouble shooting and found that the author had mentioned that the power supply for the chip was critical at no more then 3VDC. There was a voltage devider to provide the three volts if you used 12 volts. I got out the trusty meter and found that the 3 volt point was above three and decided to put in a potentiometer so I could adjust the voltage to get the critical 3 volts for the chip. I also wondered if the audio amplifier transistor was shorted or damaged during the assembly process. I replaced the transistor and and as I turned the control up and down, I was able to get a faintly remotely sounding locomotive chugging as well as sort of a bell ringing sound out of the speaker. When I got the return E-mail form Q-Kits about the board, they comfirmed thatg this kit simply simply provided three railroad sound sequentially in a loop. They also mentioned that the 3VDC is critical and the speaker only work properly when the circuit is run on 3VDC and not 12VDC! In fact, they show the board being used without the output resistor and have the signal connected to a power amplifier.I am having hard time with an electronic bell for the grade crossing in the first place and apparently this boards will not work for anything at the track - except for a souvenier perhaps.
I started looking at mechanical bells as an offshoot of my curosity about the light and bell frequency. I understand the railroad mechanical bells had a motor driven clapper that rotated at a fairly slow speed as the bells were about a second apart. I remembered fire alarm and burglar alarm bells featured mechanical clappers and wondered if they had spec sheets that mentioned frequency but alas the only frequency talked about for burglar alarm or fire alarms is a rapid ringing causing an annoying sound to drive people avay frim the area being protected. I am looking for a slower, perhaps more melodic, sound from a clear bell. The bell should be between four and eight inches for the right pitch. but getting a ringer at the right frequency may take a little more legwork. I could order a bell and remove the factory ringer and add small motor of about 6 to 10 RPM and hang a clapper from its shaft and that should get me the authentic crossing bell sound.
I finally removed the old wiring and circuit boards that were damaged and prepared the area for the new wires. I drew up two different schematics of the system and had to make a choice. After the first version I realized there was no compelling reason to wire it that way again. I then startd out with a white sheet of paper and drew it as I would have designed it for the most part and added in shorting out the leads external to the building when it is not activated so as to lessen the chance of a weather related outage. With the two leads shorted to each other and ground, The differential voltage should be close to nil and hopefully any potential would get shunted to ground before it could get into our components.
Of course, the plastic sunshades are getting worn and need replacement. I have added that to my projrct list and have some aluminum roofing flashing and have cut several pieces to the general size and now I have to shape them and paint them grayish black so they look authentic, Fred Wright offered to help me with the target's shades and their mounting on the units.
I reburried the cables by the Grelson building and the old car barn so it looks much better again.
On Sunday I came back with Tom Prescott and hoped to finish up the work on the crossing signals but it seems something kept going wrong, One of the LEDs has gone out for some reason and one on the control card has as well. I tried replacing the oscillator chip that contains the drivers transistors but it did not fix the issues. I also tested the LEDS to see what current made them bright enough for actual use and discovered that I have to raise the current flow to 25% above the existing limit to get bright enough display. Tommy thinks the LEDs spectrum may also be a problem in that the light frequency is being selected by the red lens which makes it appear dim. Therefore, I have a quandry. Should I raise the current to the LEDs because the supply is off half the time? Should I look for another LED that has much brighter output? Should I look at different output device such as an incandescent lamp again?
I decided to try the higher output LEDs that All Electronics has for sale that can use 10 times the current and mounts on a flat surface so I can put them on the back of the light box and it gives the light a chance to spread out before hitting the red lens. The 555 chip says it has a current rating of 1000ma and the new LEDs are up to 300 ma so two LEDs should work OK.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Weekly work
During the recent weeks I have been spending my time improving the Website and working on making the circuit boards for the semaphores. The key to the new design is that it has to fit easily into the semaphore box and the cable plug into the board to make it easy to sevice. We wanted to make it as a module to anyone could service a malfunctioning signal by swapping modules and getting the signal back up in just 2 or 3 minutes. The design is being fact checked for all of the components and the schematic is being compared to the board layout over and over to ensure the correctness of the drawings. I just descovered that the silkscreen was mirror imaged for the transistors so I found an error that was not obvious as the accompanying text was correct. Its these small things that keep you on your toes.
Recently we had to list two obits on our Website as two members died during a single week. Paul Allen and Roger M. Johnson both died and they were long time members. I got the info for their funerals and provided it on our Website. I also looked for photos with the members and I did find about 30 of Paul Allen so I did a slide show for members to reflect on his work at the track and remember him. After speaking to Dan I created a new page on the Website featuring members that have passed on called Commemoration which I hope helps members feel a connection and appreciation of the members.
Recently we had to list two obits on our Website as two members died during a single week. Paul Allen and Roger M. Johnson both died and they were long time members. I got the info for their funerals and provided it on our Website. I also looked for photos with the members and I did find about 30 of Paul Allen so I did a slide show for members to reflect on his work at the track and remember him. After speaking to Dan I created a new page on the Website featuring members that have passed on called Commemoration which I hope helps members feel a connection and appreciation of the members.
Aug 29-30 Weekend
Rich and I got there a little after 9AM. We started checking the signals after getting out the Burlington 4180. We found that most of the 1.5" route working well. We did find that the track under twin bridges had some bond wire problems. We checked the inch route and found most signals working OK. We repaired as much as we could.
I started removing the control board from the other crossing signal and it was very corroded and had shorted transistors as well as the first board. I diagramed the wiring. I had traced the wires in the ground last weekend and removed the corssing signal from its base to follow the wiring from the ground into the pole base.
It turns out the signals are wired in an unorthodox manner and after diagraming the inside building wiring I realized that it should be rewired. Also it occured to me that a crossing bell should be added and talked to Rich about adding an outdoor speaker and using an electronic crossing bell circuit to the installation while we are repairing it.
I have ordered replacement circuit boards for the crossing lights that use LEDs instead of the lamps we presently are wired for. The boards arrived and I have assembled them. A call to Tommy scored a set of red 10mm LEDs - two for each signal to replace the auto tail lamps presently used. I am wiring them to new wire to snake through the signal arms to the base and connect to the new circuit boards. After talking to Rich we decided that maybe we should relocate the flasher modules to the building to cut down on corrosion and make it more easily serviceable. We can mount the circuits on the wall next to the track detector and just run the connections for the LEDs to the crossing signals. We will put the sound board next to the flashers so it will be all together and easy to fix near our workbench.
I am waiting for the bell cards to arrive. The cards will be put on the crossing light area and the other into the clubs F7 for a bell. I thought I might as well order two and put them together as the postage is the big factor in getting them.
Rich and I have talked and we decided to mainly work on getting the club equipment - locos and cars patched up during the meet. We have spent our time working on signals so much that we have not been keeping up with the wear and tear on the equipment.
Sunday was a Public Run Day for the club and I got started just before 11AM. I usually work as Stationmaster loading the trains and greeting the guests. Lately I have been working as a Conductor on the trains as we seem to lack people that are willing to do this task. Today I worked for three different engineers and got in about 20 rides on the system. My final run was at about 3:00 and I got my camera and started to photograph folks and video them for the next hour then I was called back to work as a conductor on Stuart's train. I did have three ries and the last one I took video as we went along and came up with a nice video that really gives you the experience of riding our trains. Goto http://stcroixrr.org/ to see the videos and photos that I have done. I had lunch at the SCRR and I have to admit we have a good food service operation. The mushroom swiss hamburger with sauted mushrooms and onions is a super deal and has a fantastic taste. Our chef is Jack Anderson and he really loves to cook good food.
I started removing the control board from the other crossing signal and it was very corroded and had shorted transistors as well as the first board. I diagramed the wiring. I had traced the wires in the ground last weekend and removed the corssing signal from its base to follow the wiring from the ground into the pole base.
It turns out the signals are wired in an unorthodox manner and after diagraming the inside building wiring I realized that it should be rewired. Also it occured to me that a crossing bell should be added and talked to Rich about adding an outdoor speaker and using an electronic crossing bell circuit to the installation while we are repairing it.
I have ordered replacement circuit boards for the crossing lights that use LEDs instead of the lamps we presently are wired for. The boards arrived and I have assembled them. A call to Tommy scored a set of red 10mm LEDs - two for each signal to replace the auto tail lamps presently used. I am wiring them to new wire to snake through the signal arms to the base and connect to the new circuit boards. After talking to Rich we decided that maybe we should relocate the flasher modules to the building to cut down on corrosion and make it more easily serviceable. We can mount the circuits on the wall next to the track detector and just run the connections for the LEDs to the crossing signals. We will put the sound board next to the flashers so it will be all together and easy to fix near our workbench.
I am waiting for the bell cards to arrive. The cards will be put on the crossing light area and the other into the clubs F7 for a bell. I thought I might as well order two and put them together as the postage is the big factor in getting them.
Rich and I have talked and we decided to mainly work on getting the club equipment - locos and cars patched up during the meet. We have spent our time working on signals so much that we have not been keeping up with the wear and tear on the equipment.
Sunday was a Public Run Day for the club and I got started just before 11AM. I usually work as Stationmaster loading the trains and greeting the guests. Lately I have been working as a Conductor on the trains as we seem to lack people that are willing to do this task. Today I worked for three different engineers and got in about 20 rides on the system. My final run was at about 3:00 and I got my camera and started to photograph folks and video them for the next hour then I was called back to work as a conductor on Stuart's train. I did have three ries and the last one I took video as we went along and came up with a nice video that really gives you the experience of riding our trains. Goto http://stcroixrr.org/ to see the videos and photos that I have done. I had lunch at the SCRR and I have to admit we have a good food service operation. The mushroom swiss hamburger with sauted mushrooms and onions is a super deal and has a fantastic taste. Our chef is Jack Anderson and he really loves to cook good food.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Choo Choo Bob's Run Day - A special day!
It turns out, today we had a group who came to the track from signing up at Choo Choo Bob's Hobby Shop in St. Paul. Bob is a likeable fellow that really likes trains. Not only has he the shop but he also has a TV program about trains as well! Today as we were setting up in the depot area for running the trains I was asked if I had my camera available and to get it and get ready for an award presentation. I was thinking what had I done that they were about to give me another award? Turns out it was for Choo Choo Bob and I was just a photographer for the event. Darn.
The club had made up a placque that essentially reads that Choo Choo Bob is a "diamond" friend to the SCRR for his work promoting us to train fans. He has asked and gotten exhibits to place in his store to show people what kind of place we are and talked about us several times and encouraged people to join our organization. He is truly a good friend and benefactor. We wanted to signify that spirit and feeling for him by giving him something tangible. Our best wishes are nice but an award placque means we took the trouble to recognize his contributiuons and we appreciate them. I took several photos of Choo Choo Bob and Dan Bissonnette (our President) passing the placque and shaking hands over it.
I started as stationmaster with Dan and we got the ball rolling almost immediately. The rail fans were filling in the waiting line and we had trains ready so off we went. The folks who come to these events a more of the kind of people that we want to have as members. They love trains and do not realize that they cn be a part of SCRR and get to operate trains for very little money. I decided to try a different tactic to get people interested in membership. When I coould sense someones interest I would say "You really should consider joining." Usually the reply was "I can't afford it." I then would say all you need is about $7 a month to join as a member. I go on to point out they can then come out during the week as well as the weekends and after training can use the club equipment for free. They then feel it is too good a deal and it is hard to pass up. I suggest they get an application which has our contact information and talk to the Club President Dan if they want to follow it up. I talked to about eight people who seemed really interested so we will see if any do go on to become members.
One thing I do with this kind of group is give a narrated tour while we are on the train. I point out the buildings and some info about each on and explain what the signals mean and what the buttons do and that we have rules and operating standards. Since they are captive on the train it is a chance to "fan the flames" and get the people interested in considering membership.
After my last ride at 3PM, I got lunch then I took my camera and started getting as many photos of the group activities as I could. I switched to taking movies and got several train runs up to Summit on film. I told the folks on the trains that I should have a video on YouTube on Tuesday at the earliest so they can see themselves on TV! I think many of the people will really enjoy seeing their trips on the computer screen with their family and friends.
After being asked to step in on a phone call from a lost driver, I realized that we needed a sheet to help phone answerers so they have a clear message to help guide lost drivers to the location. There were three scenarios that I could readily come up with. The driver either got off of CTH F on Cove Road and simply went past our road and went to the end of South Cove Road and wound up at the boat launch landing. The driver turned wrong at the stop sign and went into Troy Burne or they missed the Cove Road turnoff on CTH F or had not got to it yet so we had to talk them to Troy Burne and Cove Road. Other than for those scenarios they had to go back to Hudson and come back down CTH F about 4 miles and and look for the South Cove Road. So I wrote it up in large type on a single sheet and I will hang it above the phone so others can help prople who are lost and call the track phone.
It also dawned on me that most of the members do not know the firestop number for emergency services of the location so if they are using a cell phone they do not know how to tell 911 where they are. I wrote up another sheet in large type with our location and firestop number and I will ut that over the building phone as well.
I spoke to Tommy at the track and we discussed the semaphore circuitry face to face and we refined his expectations and we discussed not having a display board as we presently do, to simplify things. Having all circuitry on one board and just having a single connector on the card for the pedestal wire to the wiring box below. Then he gave me three tomatos from his garden.
When I got finished at the trach with the movies I met a couple of folks that had gotten there late and I encourage the gentleman to come closer to the trains is he wanted to get closeup photos. His wife said he was a train nut and he had a train room at home and loved to spend his time there. I told him I coul give him a tour of the roundhouse if he and his wfe wanted to go and he eagerly wanted to go.
We come in the front door and the first steamer he started taking photos - about 10 and then the second many more so his wife said he couldn't take so many pictures as there were at least 40 more trains to see. I started uncovering locomotives and he snapped photos over and over and after about an hour we finished up with me pointing out detail work on locomotives and trucks which he dutifully photographed. His wife said I had made this the best day in his life so far!
It's after 2:30 AM so I think it is time to call this a wrap for the night.
The club had made up a placque that essentially reads that Choo Choo Bob is a "diamond" friend to the SCRR for his work promoting us to train fans. He has asked and gotten exhibits to place in his store to show people what kind of place we are and talked about us several times and encouraged people to join our organization. He is truly a good friend and benefactor. We wanted to signify that spirit and feeling for him by giving him something tangible. Our best wishes are nice but an award placque means we took the trouble to recognize his contributiuons and we appreciate them. I took several photos of Choo Choo Bob and Dan Bissonnette (our President) passing the placque and shaking hands over it.
I started as stationmaster with Dan and we got the ball rolling almost immediately. The rail fans were filling in the waiting line and we had trains ready so off we went. The folks who come to these events a more of the kind of people that we want to have as members. They love trains and do not realize that they cn be a part of SCRR and get to operate trains for very little money. I decided to try a different tactic to get people interested in membership. When I coould sense someones interest I would say "You really should consider joining." Usually the reply was "I can't afford it." I then would say all you need is about $7 a month to join as a member. I go on to point out they can then come out during the week as well as the weekends and after training can use the club equipment for free. They then feel it is too good a deal and it is hard to pass up. I suggest they get an application which has our contact information and talk to the Club President Dan if they want to follow it up. I talked to about eight people who seemed really interested so we will see if any do go on to become members.
One thing I do with this kind of group is give a narrated tour while we are on the train. I point out the buildings and some info about each on and explain what the signals mean and what the buttons do and that we have rules and operating standards. Since they are captive on the train it is a chance to "fan the flames" and get the people interested in considering membership.
After my last ride at 3PM, I got lunch then I took my camera and started getting as many photos of the group activities as I could. I switched to taking movies and got several train runs up to Summit on film. I told the folks on the trains that I should have a video on YouTube on Tuesday at the earliest so they can see themselves on TV! I think many of the people will really enjoy seeing their trips on the computer screen with their family and friends.
After being asked to step in on a phone call from a lost driver, I realized that we needed a sheet to help phone answerers so they have a clear message to help guide lost drivers to the location. There were three scenarios that I could readily come up with. The driver either got off of CTH F on Cove Road and simply went past our road and went to the end of South Cove Road and wound up at the boat launch landing. The driver turned wrong at the stop sign and went into Troy Burne or they missed the Cove Road turnoff on CTH F or had not got to it yet so we had to talk them to Troy Burne and Cove Road. Other than for those scenarios they had to go back to Hudson and come back down CTH F about 4 miles and and look for the South Cove Road. So I wrote it up in large type on a single sheet and I will hang it above the phone so others can help prople who are lost and call the track phone.
It also dawned on me that most of the members do not know the firestop number for emergency services of the location so if they are using a cell phone they do not know how to tell 911 where they are. I wrote up another sheet in large type with our location and firestop number and I will ut that over the building phone as well.
I spoke to Tommy at the track and we discussed the semaphore circuitry face to face and we refined his expectations and we discussed not having a display board as we presently do, to simplify things. Having all circuitry on one board and just having a single connector on the card for the pedestal wire to the wiring box below. Then he gave me three tomatos from his garden.
When I got finished at the trach with the movies I met a couple of folks that had gotten there late and I encourage the gentleman to come closer to the trains is he wanted to get closeup photos. His wife said he was a train nut and he had a train room at home and loved to spend his time there. I told him I coul give him a tour of the roundhouse if he and his wfe wanted to go and he eagerly wanted to go.
We come in the front door and the first steamer he started taking photos - about 10 and then the second many more so his wife said he couldn't take so many pictures as there were at least 40 more trains to see. I started uncovering locomotives and he snapped photos over and over and after about an hour we finished up with me pointing out detail work on locomotives and trucks which he dutifully photographed. His wife said I had made this the best day in his life so far!
It's after 2:30 AM so I think it is time to call this a wrap for the night.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
8/14 Saturday
Today was a long day filled with trains and repairs. We arrived and found Chuck Park had arrived from South Dakota with sons and his friend. They brought an assortment of locomotives and cars that are beautiful.
First we wanted to inspect the condition of the inch and a half rails so we went around using Rich's Burlington locomotive and a work train and in the process found many signals not working. We were able to get some of them repaired but decided we needed to check out the inch line as well as the scope of the problem was not yet understood.
We wanted to see the inch line's condition as well. We got out the Club F7 and assembled a work train. Starting off we found the first signal not functioning then another and another. The storms during the week zapped about 20 signals so we had to replace the integrated circuits that sense the track and perform the logic to operate the signals. Don asked us to check the turnout at summit again as he had worked on it again and we found that it appeared to work fairly well. We did have a derailment but we determined that the car was not properly loaded so we gave the turnout a pass. We talked about it and decided to split up and I would do the inch line with Bob and Rich would take the inch and a half.
We decided to start working on the signals right off and dug out all of the spare chips we had and started off with out tools and work train. The idea was to put the train at Summit on the siding and work on signals that were malfunctioning in that area first. After the signal at Summit being repaired we decided to split up and we sent Bob off to disassemble signals that were malfunctioning so we could repair them faster. I started working my way back down the track checking and repairing as I went. I met Bob coming down the hill the other way and we walked together fixing signals and Bob keeping an eye out for trains and assisting me.
When it was time for lunch we had repaired many signals and still there were a few more to go. We talked with the guys and then back up the hill, this time on foot. We started back up fixing and testing and finally used up all of the ICs that we had. We did get it mostly working so tomorrow on Choo Choo Bob's run day the equipment should be working fairly well.
First we wanted to inspect the condition of the inch and a half rails so we went around using Rich's Burlington locomotive and a work train and in the process found many signals not working. We were able to get some of them repaired but decided we needed to check out the inch line as well as the scope of the problem was not yet understood.
We wanted to see the inch line's condition as well. We got out the Club F7 and assembled a work train. Starting off we found the first signal not functioning then another and another. The storms during the week zapped about 20 signals so we had to replace the integrated circuits that sense the track and perform the logic to operate the signals. Don asked us to check the turnout at summit again as he had worked on it again and we found that it appeared to work fairly well. We did have a derailment but we determined that the car was not properly loaded so we gave the turnout a pass. We talked about it and decided to split up and I would do the inch line with Bob and Rich would take the inch and a half.
We decided to start working on the signals right off and dug out all of the spare chips we had and started off with out tools and work train. The idea was to put the train at Summit on the siding and work on signals that were malfunctioning in that area first. After the signal at Summit being repaired we decided to split up and we sent Bob off to disassemble signals that were malfunctioning so we could repair them faster. I started working my way back down the track checking and repairing as I went. I met Bob coming down the hill the other way and we walked together fixing signals and Bob keeping an eye out for trains and assisting me.
When it was time for lunch we had repaired many signals and still there were a few more to go. We talked with the guys and then back up the hill, this time on foot. We started back up fixing and testing and finally used up all of the ICs that we had. We did get it mostly working so tomorrow on Choo Choo Bob's run day the equipment should be working fairly well.
Monday, August 9, 2010
8/7/2010 Work Day
The SCRR gained another block in its signal system on the 1.5 inch line. Rich, Bob and I went back into Pine Grove and broke the block on the inner loop about 300 feet from the tunnel and added another pair of signals. The reason to add blocks is to give an engineer a green (or yellow) light sooner to speed up operations. The process is that we cut the rail to enlarge a gap between rails so we can isolate the electric signals. We also break the trackside cable that carries the power and the signals forward and backward to other semaphores. We wire a connection box at ground level and route the wiring into the new box. Then we add the semaphore connections to the terminals and finally test the system to ensure the signal is working correctly and sending and receiving correctly to the other semaphores. Finally we attach the semaphore, add a few mothballs to the box to keep out the ants and button it all up. Usually takes about two hours or so to install a new semaphore if everything goes as expected.
We then tested the one inch line to see if the club diesel could operate through the Summit turnout that Don and Dan had worked on last week and had a piece replaced during the week. I am happy to report that it worked flawlessly.
We then tested the one inch line to see if the club diesel could operate through the Summit turnout that Don and Dan had worked on last week and had a piece replaced during the week. I am happy to report that it worked flawlessly.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Work Day 7/31
Bob came along today with Richard and we got out to the track at the usual time. Jack arrived so today we started with checking out the locomotives. Doug's A-B-A set had been accidentally left on last weekend so they had run the batteries down in one of the units. The others seemed OK which means either the unit has a problem or the charger that was connected to it is bad. We decided to remove the shell and connect to the batteries with other chargers to see if the batteries would recover today while we were at the track. We checked out the 1 inch club loco and set up a work train to get going on replacing two of the semaphores with new style ones. First we wanted to take a run over the rails to see if things were working as they should. We found several places where Don and Dan had been working on the track and had improved the track and the roadbed. We ran back to the station and picked up our tools and equipment and went to the work site. We opted to replace two signals close to each other so we could work within sight and conversation range. Malfunction Junction turned out to be ideal so we set up there. Jack and Rich started on the signal at the end of the downhill trestle and I worked on the second signal in the up bound direction. We finished up with the conversion at the noon hour and after the dinner bell sounded we headed back to the station and the picnic area.
When we went past Summit we derailed at the turnout just past the trestle. After getting the train back on the track the second car came off the rails and the lead truck came off the car so we pulled the car off the train and agreed to repair it after lunch.
When we went past Summit we derailed at the turnout just past the trestle. After getting the train back on the track the second car came off the rails and the lead truck came off the car so we pulled the car off the train and agreed to repair it after lunch.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Public Run Day
Sunday I went over to help out on Public Run Day. Walt was there and several trains were being made up on the inch and a half line. Don and Stewart were getting their trains ready on the inch side so it was all falling into place. I talked with Walt and we seemed to have it all well in hand. Tom Prescott was there and had his train out. He told me he was parking his locos and was going to be conductor for someone else and it turned out after a few hours I was working as an conductor as well. After the first few hours the standing in the sun gets to be old. The temperature was 84 in the shade and I had to keep hydrating. When I was told we were short of conductors, I volunteered and the chance to ride with the moving air was appreciated.
During the early runs 500 had the compressor car come off the track. The car has a seat bolted in the wrong place so if an adult and child sit in the car with the adult behind, the car can derail as the second seat is back up against the compressor. This puts the weight on top of the rear truck and if the rider leans back it raises the front coupler and the car derails. IT tore up a few feet of track as well so they did a crossover back by Wellington so the trains did not use the Welling Tunnel and pass the damaged track. It made the trip 1/2 as long so they went around twice for the riders until the track was repaired and opened again.
My first time around as conductor someone apparently operated the turnout on the roundhouse lead as the conductor's car came off the track just past where bad track section was repaired. Tommy and Bob Bump were working on the damaged section replacing ties etc. and they do an excellent job. It seems that someone just pushed a remote button while our train was just about clear of the turnout but not quite. After Bill got the car back on the rails we were adventure-free for the rest of the afternoon.
About 3:30 Tommy came up to the station and asked if I wanted a break. I readily agreed and went over to the concessions area and got some lunch. Jack made me a mushroom and swiss burger with fried onions which was really great. When I went back to the station area the inch and a half was done with rides so I got my stuff and headed down to the lower lot area. I noticed that there were still quite a few folks in riding line so I got my camera out and started to take pictures and movies of the groups on the inch line. I spent about an hour with the visuals and then said my goodbys and headed home.
When I got home I showed my pictures and movies to Cindy and Michael and then felt quite tired as it was a full day. I wrote up some of Saturday on the Blog and then it was time to start cooking dinner.
During the early runs 500 had the compressor car come off the track. The car has a seat bolted in the wrong place so if an adult and child sit in the car with the adult behind, the car can derail as the second seat is back up against the compressor. This puts the weight on top of the rear truck and if the rider leans back it raises the front coupler and the car derails. IT tore up a few feet of track as well so they did a crossover back by Wellington so the trains did not use the Welling Tunnel and pass the damaged track. It made the trip 1/2 as long so they went around twice for the riders until the track was repaired and opened again.
My first time around as conductor someone apparently operated the turnout on the roundhouse lead as the conductor's car came off the track just past where bad track section was repaired. Tommy and Bob Bump were working on the damaged section replacing ties etc. and they do an excellent job. It seems that someone just pushed a remote button while our train was just about clear of the turnout but not quite. After Bill got the car back on the rails we were adventure-free for the rest of the afternoon.
About 3:30 Tommy came up to the station and asked if I wanted a break. I readily agreed and went over to the concessions area and got some lunch. Jack made me a mushroom and swiss burger with fried onions which was really great. When I went back to the station area the inch and a half was done with rides so I got my stuff and headed down to the lower lot area. I noticed that there were still quite a few folks in riding line so I got my camera out and started to take pictures and movies of the groups on the inch line. I spent about an hour with the visuals and then said my goodbys and headed home.
When I got home I showed my pictures and movies to Cindy and Michael and then felt quite tired as it was a full day. I wrote up some of Saturday on the Blog and then it was time to start cooking dinner.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
7/25/2010 Work Day
We arrived and Rich started out describing what he wanted to do today. First was to check the inch and a half line for signal problems, the inch and finally install a new block near the roundhouse. We had rain Friday evening into Saturday morning and the ground was somewhat mushy in some areas. The roadbed was firm but some of the areas alongside the trackbed were squishy when you walked on them and there was some standing water. 1280 was brought out of the roundhouse with some riding cars and we discovered that the North side had considerable problems where the track was the wettest. Not only had the dirt washed down the hillsides but the track joints were not conducting well where the new track had been laid a few years ago. This is a common problem that the joints work very well when new (electrically) but as they age the resistance goes up and they need bond wires across the joints to ensure connectivity. Tommy had purchased stainless-steel tie wire used to secure pins and nuts on equipment subject to vibration for us to try in place of the aluminum bond wire we had been using. The only drawback so far is the stiffness of the wire so it is harder to shape into form for the bond.
We started by the roundhouse and put the new signal block up. The block requires a new semaphore and base box which contains two terminal strips - one for each head going in each direction. After getting Jack started with adding the track sensor connections, I went down to the North end by Twin Bridges and started adding bond wires. I had to drill quite a few holes and preform the bond wires. Of course some of the screws had to breakoff whil installing the screws in the track so it slowed me down a bit. I did get done at lunch time with about 16 locations and after being out in the sun while it is in the high 80s. We had lunch and I got a chance to talk to Fred for a while about his writing. I am trying to encourage him to write some of his tips and construction information for building his locomotives. I am a fan of his Shay as well as Trish locomotives as I love his construction techniques and details. Fred just has a gift for mechanical construction. I set him straight that he owns the rights to any story he has written unless it was covered by a contract and there was a quid-pro-quo as it is refered to in law. He is thinking of collecting his "Soup to Nuts"
We started by the roundhouse and put the new signal block up. The block requires a new semaphore and base box which contains two terminal strips - one for each head going in each direction. After getting Jack started with adding the track sensor connections, I went down to the North end by Twin Bridges and started adding bond wires. I had to drill quite a few holes and preform the bond wires. Of course some of the screws had to breakoff whil installing the screws in the track so it slowed me down a bit. I did get done at lunch time with about 16 locations and after being out in the sun while it is in the high 80s. We had lunch and I got a chance to talk to Fred for a while about his writing. I am trying to encourage him to write some of his tips and construction information for building his locomotives. I am a fan of his Shay as well as Trish locomotives as I love his construction techniques and details. Fred just has a gift for mechanical construction. I set him straight that he owns the rights to any story he has written unless it was covered by a contract and there was a quid-pro-quo as it is refered to in law. He is thinking of collecting his "Soup to Nuts"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)