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Post by g3750 on Dec 6, 2020 2:54:42 GMT
Updated 12/5/2020:
Didn't get a whole lot done, but I did manage to wire all the western (OH) track feeders to Bus 4 (PRR Bridge Westbound). That bus is now terminated. There are a few remaining feeder pairs to connect east of the bridge.
George
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Post by fabforrest on Dec 6, 2020 17:42:27 GMT
George,
did you ever show us a track plan?
I would really like to see one.
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Post by g3750 on Dec 7, 2020 2:06:47 GMT
George, did you ever show us a track plan? I would really like to see one. I did, but it's been awhile. Here's the latest (Version 101):
George
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Post by Country Joe on Dec 7, 2020 4:33:11 GMT
George, congratulations on the new locomotive. It's a great addition to your roster.
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Post by g3750 on Dec 7, 2020 13:49:54 GMT
George, congratulations on the new locomotive. It's a great addition to your roster. Thank you!
George
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Post by fabforrest on Dec 7, 2020 14:08:18 GMT
George, did you ever show us a track plan? I would really like to see one. I did, but it's been awhile. Here's the latest (Version 101):
George
Thanks. I’ll be interested to see what you do with the Weirton facility.
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Post by g3750 on Dec 7, 2020 20:40:52 GMT
I did, but it's been awhile. Here's the latest (Version 101):
George
Thanks. I’ll be interested to see what you do with the Weirton facility. In the plans (see the previous post) are the 40" Blooming Mill, Crawford's Crossing highway overpass (as in the prototype), Open Hearth, and Strip Steel. I will also have the Mill Admin Building (MAB) and Quality Control Lab on the layout. A version of the Blooming Mill exists, but I will have to extend it and make some changes to door positions. Only 1 roof truss of the Open Hearth exists - that's a very large project; I've gathered a number of parts. The Strip Steel mill has many components as well. For the time being they are all in a project box.
George
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Post by g3750 on Dec 21, 2020 2:14:16 GMT
Updated 12/20/2020: All track feeder pairs have been connected in the Staging Area (Power District #8). In our first photo, we see the power is on at the Power Distribution Panel - the Legacy Powermaster is lit. Plastic sheet covers the rest of the transformer cart
and panel to protect them against construction dust and debris.
In the second photo, our voltmeter registers 18.7 VAC at the track.
And finally, our K-Line voltmeter car confirms the voltage on a section of the Staging Area track.
I will take a crack at wiring the dozen switches in the Staging Area tomorrow.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by ptc on Dec 21, 2020 15:18:49 GMT
Progress for sure George. And, a Very Merry Christmas to You.
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Post by g3750 on Dec 21, 2020 15:26:06 GMT
Progress for sure George. And, a Very Merry Christmas to You. Thank you so much! I'm hoping to continue the pace of the effort in 2021.
Merry Christmas to you as well!
George
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Post by g3750 on Dec 26, 2020 16:23:22 GMT
Updated 12/25/2020: Set-back & Recovery This one is a bit embarrassing.  It turns out that I made several wiring mistakes that resulted in some pretty funky layout behavior. It started here: 
First the problems: - The first and most obvious problem was the “Dead spot” indicated on the diagram above. I couldn’t figure out why it was happening. Finally, I realized that Switch #31 is a Curtis HiRail O54 RH switch. Unlike Ross-Ready switches, the Curtis has none of its 3 legs connected electrically. The straight segment aka “Dead Spot” didn’t have a track feeder pair of wires providing power. DUH! That explains a lot!
- The new Decapod with large tender would ignore CAB-1 commands in the two areas identified on the diagram above. I would have to push buttons several times. I was beginning to think the installation wasn't up to scratch (I was wrong).
- Power Districts 3 & 4, which are simply PH180s wired to the track, would appear to not turn on when the master ON/OFF switch was flipped. They would turn on (the indicator bulbs I put in their buses would go on) when Power District 8 (Legacy PowerMaster and PH180) was turned on. This was very strange behavior indeed.
Causes and Solutions:
- As noted above, the individual legs of all Curtis HiRail switches (there are 8 leftover from Panhandle 1.0) are electrically isolated. They must have their own power/ground feeder wires. I went back through the layout and did resistance checks with my multi-meter. Then I corrected the RR-Track diagram where I had omitted these feeder pairs. I am about to pull up the track and install the pairs according to the revised plan.
- Temporarily installing a ground plane alongside the track appears to have fixed the problem of the misbehaving locomotive. We will verify the solution (a bit more testing) and then permanently install it. Ultimately, we will disguise the wire with scenery. Thanks to Bob Bartizek for this advice and solution!
- Problem 3 has multiple causes:
- Power District Buses 3 & 4 run parallel to each-other on the tracks that approach and pass over the bridge. Bus 3 is the Westbound bus; Bus 4 is the Eastbound bus. It turns out that a feeder pair of wires for the Eastbound bus was incorrectly wired to Bus 4 and vice-versa. That electrically connected two buses (3 & 4) that should have been independent.
- Further, Bus 4 and Bus 8 should have been independent as well, separated by a center rail insulated fiber pin. That didn’t happen. Because of a wiring error, parts of Bus 4 were directly connected to Bus 8. That connection was severed.
- As a result of these two mistakes, some sort of feedback loop was created that demonstrated bizarre behavior. Fortunately, both fuses protecting the respective PH180s at the distribution panel were blown - doing their jobs.
- Replacing the fuses restored normal function to both Bus 3 and Bus 4.
We are now going to fix the Staging Area feeder issues, install Bus 7, and wire its two feeders. Switch #31 (Curtis HiRail O54 RH switch) will act as a block break between Power District 7 (Weirton Steel) and Power District 8 (Staging Area).
Phew! I'm glad this has been diagnosed. I hate gremlins - hardware or software! There have to reasons for these things and I'm glad I found them.
George
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Post by g3750 on Dec 28, 2020 2:38:20 GMT
Updated 12/27/2020: I believe the problems to have been fixed. As of this evening: - Power District 3 fires right up with no issues; ran a K4s on parts of it.
- Power District 4 fires right up with no issues.
- Power District 7 responded to commands from the Legacy Powermaster and we are reading 18VAC on it.
- Power District 8 responded to commands from the Legacy Powermaster and we are reading 18VAC on it.
Diagram below shows the correctly installed block break just to the left of Switch#32 and that there is no longer an insulated fiber pin in the track joint just below "31". All visible feeder pairs for Power District #8 except 8.17 are connected and showing 18 VAC.
George
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Post by ptc on Dec 28, 2020 12:22:07 GMT
You will figure it out, George.
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Post by g3750 on Dec 28, 2020 15:18:06 GMT
You will figure it out, George. Thanks! I'm trying, but I must confess that the stupid mistakes are very discouraging.
Oh well, we will press on!
George
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Post by Country Joe on Dec 28, 2020 22:51:08 GMT
These types of problems are all part of the joy of building a layout. It sounds like you have solved them. I made my share of mistakes when building my layout. You are doing it the right way, testing everything as you do it and finding problems before you have moved on to another section of the layout. It's frustrating now but in the end you will have a good running layout.
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It turns out that I made several wiring mistakes that resulted in some pretty funky layout behavior. It started here:
