For the first time in a long time there's some news on the layout itself. The wiring for the new lights is up, and the frames to hold the scenery are installed from the north tunnel portal, past midway, and nearly all the way to the bridge! (of course, you have to think a little fourth-dimensionally to understand where these places are...)
The turntable has a pit, finally, and is visible in the yard. It needs some cosmetic help, and the table may need some reinforcement around it... but it's in, and turns!
There will be photos of all of this very soon, hopefully with some screen work completed too.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
An Un-Update
It seems like forever since I've written anything here. Hopefully, that'll change soon, but for now, suffice it to say there's a lot in the works. There's an enginehouse in the design stage, Slate Creek #10 will soon undergo a ground-up rewiring and power / sound system change, I'm working out the final details of the turntable mounting (note that it NEEDS to be in place before the enginehouse arrives,) and oh, yes, the 2-6-6-2 is still awaiting some engineering rework as well.
Then, also, with any luck, we'll have new lights in the basement, so visitors can actually SEE the railroad....
Lots of new and interesting projects on the horizon! Now if I can just get some done enough to take photos, this will be a much more interesting blog to follow.
This photo is from a few years ago, when Gaetan Charette and Nicole came by, and we hit all of the local railroad hot spots... Tweetsie, Doe River Gorge, Spencer ... of course, Cass is something of a stretch to be considered "local," but that's not the point! Gaetan, as well as Bruce Chandler, Doug Matheson, and yours trule also make up a group of folks with a very special 1:20.3 project several years in the making that may turn up here very soon as well!
In any case, stay tuned!
Then, also, with any luck, we'll have new lights in the basement, so visitors can actually SEE the railroad....
Lots of new and interesting projects on the horizon! Now if I can just get some done enough to take photos, this will be a much more interesting blog to follow.
This photo is from a few years ago, when Gaetan Charette and Nicole came by, and we hit all of the local railroad hot spots... Tweetsie, Doe River Gorge, Spencer ... of course, Cass is something of a stretch to be considered "local," but that's not the point! Gaetan, as well as Bruce Chandler, Doug Matheson, and yours trule also make up a group of folks with a very special 1:20.3 project several years in the making that may turn up here very soon as well!
In any case, stay tuned!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Davenport Rollout
Those of you who saw the photo contest results on Durango Dan's One Twenty Point Me site have seen the first public appearance of Slate Creek Railway #2, the 10 Ton Davenport we've been talking about here since November. I particularly liked the engine that won second place, as I've been considering building something similar for some time now, but I was both pleased and surprised to discover I'd placed in the contest as well.
It's been quite a ride, as you can see in all of the previous posts, from delivery, to teardown, to sandwiching all that gear under the hood, to trying to get everything to function, this little engine has turned into a BIG project. But, even with the external detail changes being somewhat small, the difference is noteworthy, I think:
Before
After
I'll sign off with a couple of other photos...
It's been quite a ride, as you can see in all of the previous posts, from delivery, to teardown, to sandwiching all that gear under the hood, to trying to get everything to function, this little engine has turned into a BIG project. But, even with the external detail changes being somewhat small, the difference is noteworthy, I think:
Before
After
While I still have some more weathering to do, and an antenna issue to work on, this is pretty much what the locomotive will look like from now on. For such a small locomotive, the hours it took to change everything were more than I ever would have guessed... here's a list of "projects" that went into this tiny unit:
a.) Removed factory electronics, and installed RCS radio control, Phoenix P5 sound, P5T interface, and 12 Ni-CD batteries under the hood, the radio under the rear frame, the speaker under the front frame, and the charge jack in the rear wall of the cab.
b.) Removed the Bachmann supplied seat, raised the control stand, and reworked its controls. Added a gear shift lever, clutch, and a new "fold down" style seat in the cab, as well as a pull and valve for the air horns. Also built and added a "sand box" on the fireman's side to match up with the sand fill cover made to cover up the charging jack in the back wall of the cab.
c.) Added the sand fill cover, air horns, and bell, and bell rope. Added the headlight in the rear wall of the cab, and wiring. Also removed the factory stack, and built a replacement one, and replaced the front headlight with a smaller one that looked more the right size for a loco this size. (The one that comes on it is the same as the electric headlight on the 2-8-0!) And, I rebuilt the front end of the locomotive, covering the radiator with HO scale aluminum siding so that the radiator fins would all be horizontal, and removed the handrail supports from the radiator. I made a new grill from brass angle and rod, and added bolts, and a screen to finish it up (the screen was actually some kind of brass decking in HO scale, I think, but it was available in sheets from the LHS!) Oh, and I'm particularly proud of the smokestack; after drawing out what I wanted to do with the front end several times, I was having trouble finding something that "looked right." I looked at toys and truck models, and nothing looked quite right... then I looked at the pen I was drawing with, and realized, if I cut it down, and pulled out the rubber grip....
d.) Finally a set of Slate Creek decals, and some weather treatment to take off the "shine" ... though I'm planning to do more in the weather department in the future.
I'm very pleased with how it came out, particularly since it's my first total conversion/bash/detail project. It will be interesting to see what's next!
I'll sign off with a couple of other photos...
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
We're Still Here!
It's been awhile!
Somewhere between the holidays and everything else that was going on since my last post, things on the railroad and in the shop have fallen seriously behind, but that's all changing rapidly.
Stay tuned for the "finished" posts on the Davenport (really, I mean it!) Just a little more tweaking and testing, and I'll be ready for a "rolling out!"
I've got to. Something BIG is headed for the Slate Creek shops, and it'll take up the whole shop once it arrives ... I have to make room!
Hopefully this will be a bit more exciting place to visit in the coming months!
Somewhere between the holidays and everything else that was going on since my last post, things on the railroad and in the shop have fallen seriously behind, but that's all changing rapidly.
Stay tuned for the "finished" posts on the Davenport (really, I mean it!) Just a little more tweaking and testing, and I'll be ready for a "rolling out!"
I've got to. Something BIG is headed for the Slate Creek shops, and it'll take up the whole shop once it arrives ... I have to make room!
Hopefully this will be a bit more exciting place to visit in the coming months!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Almost There
Yes, I know. Christmas is coming too ...
My "To Do" list on the Davenport (post electrical/mechanical) is down from about 25 items to about a dozen:
Build/Install front and rear headlight lenses
Build sandbox covers.
Install horn and bell pull cords.
Clean and reinstall cab on locomotive
Install radio on locomotive, connect antenna.
Install bell on hood and horns on roof.
Connect front, rear headlights.
Build muffler, remove old smokestack, install new muffler on hood.
Install hood.
Modify radiator & Build grill guard, reinstall
Build and install flag holders, or match paint and cover old hood slots.
Add decals, other graphics, and Marcus.
Test.
And, I think I may see what I can find in the large diecast toy section of Tractor Supply to save me building a muffler... some of theirs are quite detailed, and should work nicely in 1:20.3 for a smaller stack.
I had hoped this post would wave the "FINISHED" banner ... but I'm spending my day dealing with a main drain clog (again,) and may therefore end up delayed for a few days!
Matthew (OV)
My "To Do" list on the Davenport (post electrical/mechanical) is down from about 25 items to about a dozen:
Build/Install front and rear headlight lenses
Build sandbox covers.
Install horn and bell pull cords.
Clean and reinstall cab on locomotive
Install radio on locomotive, connect antenna.
Install bell on hood and horns on roof.
Connect front, rear headlights.
Build muffler, remove old smokestack, install new muffler on hood.
Install hood.
Modify radiator & Build grill guard, reinstall
Build and install flag holders, or match paint and cover old hood slots.
Add decals, other graphics, and Marcus.
Test.
And, I think I may see what I can find in the large diecast toy section of Tractor Supply to save me building a muffler... some of theirs are quite detailed, and should work nicely in 1:20.3 for a smaller stack.
I had hoped this post would wave the "FINISHED" banner ... but I'm spending my day dealing with a main drain clog (again,) and may therefore end up delayed for a few days!
Matthew (OV)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Vital Signs
As of today, the major electrical work on the Davenport is finished.
This tiny locomotive now sports 12 NiCd batteries, an ELITE throttle by RCS, and a Phoenix P5 sound system, as well as a P5T interface board, and all of the requisite wiring to make them all work, under the tiny hood.
The power switch is under the rear frame of the locomotive, as is the radio receiver. The small speaker will fit in front, between the frames. The charging jack will go in the rear cab wall, and be disguised by a sand box / cab seat on the inside, and either a sand fill or a handbrake on the outside. I'll go more into the cosmetic details next time, when I have photos to show how they're progressing... the big news TODAY is that other than connecting the headlights, the electrical work on this locomotive is FINISHED!
The first trial fitting of the various components was not especially encouraging (and, I'm told led to indigestion in some quarters!) There seemed to be no way to fit everything in ... and more wire than a local telephone exchange!
I found the best way to overcome the "octopus" the project seemed to be swallowed by was to remove all of the extra wires from the Phoenix and P5T ... there are several extra wires pinned into the plugs that aren't needed for what I'm doing here. I also shortened up harnesses where possible, and then connected what was left in neat, organized bundles. With the battery pack modified from its standard 4-4-4 arrangement to a top row of 4, a middle row of 5, and a bottom row of 3 cells, I found I had room for all of the electronics on top (including the Phoenix P5 at the extreme rear of the hood, vertically,) and sufficient clearance for the worm and gears underneath. With the battery secured to the right hand side of the hood, there was a space along the left that accomodated the P5T, and all of the bundled wires, as well as the volume switch. With the "Octopus" gone, everything finally fit in a functional, if crowded, way.
Much better! The programming port can be removed by unplugging it from the board once the board has been programmed ... which I did (though not before taking the photo above, apparently.) All that was left was a full scale test ... and I'm happy to report everything started up and ran like a charm... both sound and motor. The speaker in the above photo is a full size Phoenix speaker, and I used it just for testing -- the actual speaker is much smaller and will fit between the front frames, and ahead of the power block.
Now to finish up, there's still lots of cosmetic work to do, as well as final re-assembly, and cleaning up all the debris and marks that a major surgery like this always leaves ...
But today, it's alive! ALLLIIIIVE!
This tiny locomotive now sports 12 NiCd batteries, an ELITE throttle by RCS, and a Phoenix P5 sound system, as well as a P5T interface board, and all of the requisite wiring to make them all work, under the tiny hood.
The power switch is under the rear frame of the locomotive, as is the radio receiver. The small speaker will fit in front, between the frames. The charging jack will go in the rear cab wall, and be disguised by a sand box / cab seat on the inside, and either a sand fill or a handbrake on the outside. I'll go more into the cosmetic details next time, when I have photos to show how they're progressing... the big news TODAY is that other than connecting the headlights, the electrical work on this locomotive is FINISHED!
The first trial fitting of the various components was not especially encouraging (and, I'm told led to indigestion in some quarters!) There seemed to be no way to fit everything in ... and more wire than a local telephone exchange!
I found the best way to overcome the "octopus" the project seemed to be swallowed by was to remove all of the extra wires from the Phoenix and P5T ... there are several extra wires pinned into the plugs that aren't needed for what I'm doing here. I also shortened up harnesses where possible, and then connected what was left in neat, organized bundles. With the battery pack modified from its standard 4-4-4 arrangement to a top row of 4, a middle row of 5, and a bottom row of 3 cells, I found I had room for all of the electronics on top (including the Phoenix P5 at the extreme rear of the hood, vertically,) and sufficient clearance for the worm and gears underneath. With the battery secured to the right hand side of the hood, there was a space along the left that accomodated the P5T, and all of the bundled wires, as well as the volume switch. With the "Octopus" gone, everything finally fit in a functional, if crowded, way.
Much better! The programming port can be removed by unplugging it from the board once the board has been programmed ... which I did (though not before taking the photo above, apparently.) All that was left was a full scale test ... and I'm happy to report everything started up and ran like a charm... both sound and motor. The speaker in the above photo is a full size Phoenix speaker, and I used it just for testing -- the actual speaker is much smaller and will fit between the front frames, and ahead of the power block.
Now to finish up, there's still lots of cosmetic work to do, as well as final re-assembly, and cleaning up all the debris and marks that a major surgery like this always leaves ...
But today, it's alive! ALLLIIIIVE!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Getting There (Much like the Tortoise...)
No photos yet... but for folks looking for progress, there is progress!
The electronics are almost finished. The locomotive now has an RCS ELITE throttle, Phoenix P5 sound card, a P5T interface, radio receiver, charging jack and power switch all installed. I'm waiting for a speaker for the Phoenix to be delivered. The hood and the lid are both on the frame, and taped in place while the RTV that holds the battery pack in place sets up; this is somewhat delicate, as everything fits, but only just. The new headlight and horns are ready to go, the rear headlight has been fabricated, and once I have some styrene and brass in hand (and some JB Weld!) I'll be able to finish things up. Oh, and I'll need to charge the battery ...
Stay tuned. I expect more, and photos soon.
The electronics are almost finished. The locomotive now has an RCS ELITE throttle, Phoenix P5 sound card, a P5T interface, radio receiver, charging jack and power switch all installed. I'm waiting for a speaker for the Phoenix to be delivered. The hood and the lid are both on the frame, and taped in place while the RTV that holds the battery pack in place sets up; this is somewhat delicate, as everything fits, but only just. The new headlight and horns are ready to go, the rear headlight has been fabricated, and once I have some styrene and brass in hand (and some JB Weld!) I'll be able to finish things up. Oh, and I'll need to charge the battery ...
Stay tuned. I expect more, and photos soon.
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