LCH loads - An alternate solution

Recently, I posted a short piece on the different solutions that I had used to create loads for the growing CCH/LCH fleet servicing the Philip's Creek coal mine.  ( http://philipscreek.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/cchlch-loads.html ) The CCH loads have worked well but the solution to simulate the LCH loads was not satisfactory. Because of the spreader bars at the top of each LCH hopper , there was insufficient space for some form of thin plate to carry the simulated coal without leaving an untidy gap between the load and the top of the hopper. The slight dimensional variability between different wagons also contributed to the situation. The right hand side of the photo below illustrates the problem.

I received some helpful suggestions in response to that post but I was hesitant about cutting into wagons that had just been completed particularly with my 'less than steady' hand. So I decided on a different approach. If I am trying to simulate coal, why not simulate a full load rather than just a cap  on the top. So the challenge now was to get a load of coal into and out of the LCH hoppers without making an almighty mess.


I decided to measure out  and store quantities for each wagon separately. I purchased some small cheap containers from Woolworths and they now each hold one hopper's worth of 'coal'. I also fabricated two funnels to assist the loading and unloading, the long rectangular one for loading and the square one for unloading. In reality, the unloading funnel could be any size as long as the coal can be poured from the hopper without spillage. However, the dimensions of the loading funnel were a little more critical. The base of the loading funnel is slightly smaller than the top of the hopper and two styrene supports were glued to the base of the funnel so that it would sit on the hopper.

It's a simple process that does not take too much longer than the loading of the other CCH loads but it is advisable to spread the load along the length of the hopper. To date, there has been very little spillage of 'coal' and any major issue will be addressed with 1:1 scale vacuum cleaner.

I was a bit concerned that, perhaps, I was under filling the wagons, but after a check of a loaded coal train passing through Hornsby, I noted that quite a few hoppers were significantly less than brimming. So I don't think it's an issue.

This idea may not work in hurly burly of an exhibition or on a large home layout during a major operating session. However, it is viable for layouts like Philip's Creek with a single operator.  Would I use the same technique for the CCHs? Probably not, it may be more realistic but it's not really necessary and poor old 5131 struggles with heavier loads, so I think I'll restrict it to the five LCH wagons in the fleet. However, the concept may be trialled for the BBWs where I am experiencing a similar challenge.

'Buses will replace trains'

'Buses will replace trains' is a familiar refrain for commuters on the greater Sydney rail network when essential track maintenance is programmed. And so it was for Philip's Creek, when the decision was made to replace two points in the middle of the yard area.

The two original Atlas points had been in place since 1997 but the electrical connection on one had failed. The points provided an essential loop for shunting operations but the electrical fault, combined with the large isolated frog on both, had made these actions difficult for most locomotives.

This was a job that had been planned for some time. Having originally used Code 83 track, I decided to purchase two Peco Code 83 electro frog points as replacements. This was done about a year ago, but I held off commencing the project because of its impact on operations. There was no bypass and trains would have to cease operations. With my very recent retirement from the workforce, it was now or never for the project.


The job had several complications. The points were located in the oldest section of the layout and, consequently, the area that had been the subject of significant landscaping and detailing. Power poles, buildings, the fettlers' work area, a water column, fences and a war memorial all had to be negotiated during the repair activity.

To lift the old points, I saturated the old ballast with very hot water and some kitchen detergent and removed all of the track pins and cut the track in appropriate locations. I then used a paint scraper to ease each point out. The first came off as anticipated but the second proved to be a little more difficult and lifted the surface of the original homasote roadbed as well.

After some basic cleaning up, the exposed homasote was coated with a grey paving paint prior to the installation of the new points. The installation was a bit fiddly with additional wiring to support the electro frog arrangement and new point motors. Most of my points are manual but in this situation, I decided to use point motors and combine the operation of both points using the one switch.

The new points were significantly shorter than the original Atlas points and it was necessary to add additional short lengths of track to span the gaps.

The process took much longer than planned as I had to recall a number of skills that have not been used for some time, as well as negotiating all of the scenery obstacles. Furthermore, I hate crawling underneath the layout to finish the wiring, so additional prefabrication work was necessary to minimise this part.

The work is now about 90% complete. The point motors have yet to be connected and I am going to hold off the final ballasting until I am sure that there are no problems with the new arrangement.The repairs to the landscaping including something to cover the polarity switches will be completed after the ballasting.

But now at least, trains are again running through the Philip's Creek station and yard, and the buses can now be sent back to the depot.

CCH/LCH Loads

The CCH and LCH fleet has been growing gradually over the past 12 months to the point where the fleet now stands at 13 with another about to enter service. However, one of the challenges has been to source suitable loads for the new wagons.

Because the wagons must run empty to the local mine and then depart full, there is no opportunity to cheat a little. Therefore, I have included spreader bars to the wagons although this  has added some extra challenges when it comes to fitting coal loads.

The photo below shows my four approaches to the challenge.
 
Initially I tried a commercial product made for the Silvermaz kits I was using, but these did not allow for the spreader bars. As a result, a fair bid of cutting was necessary. This worked for a CCH load where the "hungry boards" provided some additional depth but the same process failed dismally for the LCH. 





I also modified a few K truck coal loads and, again, this worked for the CCH but not the LCH.

Finally, I decided to scratch build the LCH loads using a very thin sheet of styrene as a base. In my most recent attempts, I have added some ribs for extra stiffness. Adding coal was done in stages, with first being a layer superglued to the styrene. When dry, a second and final layer was added using  normal track ballasting techniques followed by a final touch up of black paint around the edges.

So now there are 13 loaded wagons ready for Port Waratah with a few more to follow.

Sleeper Traffic

The main justification for the short Mount Windeatt branch line on Philip's Creek is the Parker Brothers Saw Mill and its supply of sleepers for NSWGR as well as timber products to other markets.

As a consequence, the release of InFront's 18ft sleeper wagon  caught my attention, and I lashed out and purchased ONE at the Thornleigh exhibition some weeks ago.  My intention was to construct this one as a test and then purchase a few more when finances permitted. Unfortunately, the latest version of InFront's website advises that the wagon is now out of stock. Nice plan - fail!

It's a great kit with some fine detail. I thought the instructions included in the kit were basic but the manufacturer's website included additional photos that provided a useful supplement. Unfortunately, now that the model has been 'sold out', these photos have disappeared.

While the assembly of the kit was uncomplicated, I wasn't prepared for the partial disintegration of the Austrains chassis. It seems that everything on the chassis was a press fit and, progressively, both buffer beams came off, closely followed by the brake cables coming adrift. A bit of superglue fixed the problem but getting things back together required younger eyes and more dexterous fingers than my clumsy digits.If I was building another kit, pre-emptive gluing of the chassis components would be a requirement.

I also wasn't that happy with the decals when they were applied but I suspect that it had more to do with my technique than the product as supplied.

The colour photo on the website inspired me to be fairly generous with the rust colourings as part of the weathering. I understand that the wagons had a fairly hard life. However, it's also clear from the photo of the sleeper load that I have more work to do on the timber.

All in all, a nice addition to Philip's Creek!

Going Wireless

The Mt Windeatt section of the layout in 2009 in England

When I decided to change to DCC, the NCE Powercab was a good choice and I haven't regretted the purchase. However, when I made the changeover, I was living in England with only a portion of Philip's Creek residing in the attic.The 2m cable between the controller and the socket that came with the Powercab didn't pose any problem, but the limitations soon became apparent when we returned to Australia and Philip's Creek was reconstituted as a single layout.

As it is currently constructed, Philip's Creek almost fills a single car garage, around 5.5m x 1.8m with several aisles to facilitate access. I bought a longer cable but was warned that its length (3m) was about the maximum before electrical losses would impact on the efficiency of the system.  While it did allow greater reach, areas of the layout, particularly the two staging areas, were still well beyond the reach of the tethered controller.

The antenna can be seen in the middle of the window

With ambitions of further extensions and the prospect of retirement potentially providing time to achieve these ambitions, it was time to resolve the problem. The declining Aussie dollar added a further imperative. Some research on the internet and a couple of chats at the Modelling the Railways of NSW Convention at Loftus indicated that the best solution for me was a wireless arrangement and an additional cab controller.

Installation was fairly simple, apart from me putting one of the batteries around the wrong way in the supplementary controller. Otherwise, it was very much a 'plug and play' arrangement and. I can now use a controller at any point of the layout.

The supplementary cab is very basic and easy to use. However, I have noticed a delay between when a  locomotive has been selected and it is ready to operate. In reality, the pause is probably no more than a second or two but in this day and age, it seems like a very long time. There was one instance when it took three attempts to select a locomotive. I'm still learning and I don't know if that is normal.



As I mentioned earlier, this purchase is an 'enabler' that will facilitate the the expansion plans, so roll on retirement! Maybe then, I'll also get around to covering the white styrofoam with a fascia.

Crossing the Tracks

It has been a busy few months on the work front and this has limited the time available for modelling activities. With retirement looming, it seems as if my ‘working self’ is making sure there is one final bout of frantic activity before being consigned to history. However, the recent Queen’s Birthday long weekend did offer some respite, at least for two of the three days.

On the Saturday, I took the opportunity to visit the Epping Model Railway Exhibition at Thornleigh. It was another great exhibition from that club with a number of layouts that I had not seen previously. There were some very impressive layouts showcasing a very high standard of modelling. Congratulations to the organisers.

Suitably inspired, on Sunday, I felt motivated to tackle a few well overdue tasks on Philip’s Creek. I finally managed to finish the fence separating the village from the railway easement (http://philipscreek.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/a-waste-of-time.html). Then, it was time to tackle a job that had been hanging around ever since the scenery was laid on the first sections of the layout; the gap between the two original modules.

Previously, I had tried to mask the gap by locating the pub and road on either side of the gap in the hope that, visually, it would be overwhelmed by other detail. I suppose that idea worked in part, because something else always seemed to have a higher priority.

Anyway, filling the gap was not difficult, and I then started to cover the work with basic scenery, knowing that some day it may have to be broken up if the modules are separated. For the area between the tracks, I planned a mix of gravel, dirt and grass. However, after laying the ‘dirt’, I suddenly realised that I had created a path between the fettler’s shed and the Royal Hotel. The fettlers were ecstatic. Not only did they have a shortcut to bring in tools and equipment but they now had a quick and direct access to the pub for lunch each day.

So instead of looking for an appropriate scatter material, I went searching for one of the Laser Rail Bits timber level crossing kits that I had purchased a few months ago. One kit had sufficient pieces to allow me to create a pedestrian crossing point across three tracks. This very simple accessory was laid easily and all that was left to do was weather boards and build up the footpath level. 

I decided to try dry soft pastels after reading a few posts on the subject (http://bylong.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/weathering-with-timber-pastels.html and http://southernline.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/weathering-pastels-and-round-piles.html). The two photos of the crossings show the timber on one track with a mix of greys and brown pastels that was then rubbed with a piece of paper. I may have overdone the rubbing because the timber planks now look very homogeneous. I'll try a few different approaches on the next two tracks to get more differentiation between the planks. Probably also with the benefit of hindsight I should have weathered before installing them.

However, it has created a nice little feature that, to be truthful, I hadn't visualised previously and all because of a bit of motivation from the Epping Model Railway Club - thanks gents. 

Resurrection and Staying Alive

CPH 16 back at Mount Windeatt

Don't worry, this post has nothing to do with religion or music!

In February 2012, I mentioned that the CPH had been withdrawn from service. It had never run well and I was not satisfied with the electrical pick up arrangements.  At the time, I contemplated the purchase a new chassis and motor but other priorities intervened, as they do, and so the CPH just sat in the staging area.

Over the intervening 15 months, I have read a number of blog posts and articles about 'Stay Alive' or 'Keep Alive' capacitors being used as a way to overcome short term losses of power. From what I read, this seemed like a solution for my 30 Class tank locomotive and, to a lesser extent, my 50 Class. Despite having some additional pick-ups fitted, both still stall in particular locations on the Atlas points that I purchased back in the late 1990s.Yes, I could replace the points but that will be a major task probably causing a significant amount of damage to finished scenery. Hence attention has turned to the concept of the uninterrupted power supply.

Not having any experience with these and having no feel for the extra space that the Stay Alive would take, I decided to use the CPH as a trial. After a bit of investigation, I purchased a DCC Concepts decoder and 'stay alive' capacitor. However, I compromised the trial somewhat by also upgrading the electrical contact wipers on the unpowered bogie using the same Hollywood Foundry product that I had used for the 36 Class.( http://philipscreek.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/power-to-36.html)

The 'Stay Alive' is the blue object on the left

The upgrade of the wipers worked well and improved the performance of the CPH to some extent, but I'm not sure about the new decoder and stay alive. I did try to test the stay alive by running it over an unpowered section of track but The CPH  stopped dead. When I asked the manufacturer about this, he politely told me that I would need a capacitor about ten times larger than the one I purchased to get the result I sought! So in one respect, the trial delivered an answer and the CPH is back in service  but I need to keep searching for a solution.

Clearly when it comes to 'stay alives', size does matter!