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Post by g3750 on Sept 30, 2023 22:44:06 GMT
I'm still looking forward to seeing a video of a couple Hippos dragging some loads of coal!! So am I, but that will probably have to wait a couple of months.
But today I am able to report some major progress on the Open Hearth. The last few weeks have seen another hard push to finish the mill for NMRA merit judging. That happened this afternoon. The mill won a Structures Merit Award today, scoring 112 out of 125 possible points.
Next steps will focus on getting the layout room ready for some additional bench work construction right after York week.
George
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Post by g3750 on Oct 15, 2023 0:14:10 GMT
Updated 10/14/2023: I have plenty of things to report over the past few days. As noted above, options 1 & 2 were applied and seem to have made the roof of the Open Hearth look a little better. Given that I have plenty of work on my plate, that may satisfy me (for the moment). My friend Price arrived yesterday (we're headed to York next week) to assist in a major benchwork construction effort. In preparation for that: - The final opening in the divider was cut. The Empties / Loads track is now connected to the Staging entry track. That involved the installation of 2 block breaks (insulating center rails), as well as track feeders 8.18 and 8.19 (both in power district 8), and the placement of Switch No. 19. The first photo shows the Empties/Load track. Once beyond the divider, an operator will be able to swap loaded hoppers and ore jennies for empty ones. Upon exiting the backdrop (towards the viewer), trains will move loaded torpedo ladles and slag cars to the Open Hearth and Standard Slag, respectively.
 
- In preparation for the bench work construction, the Open Hearth was moved to a table farther away from the effort and covered with a drop cloth. The finished areas of the layout, i.e. the immediate bridge area and its approaches, were covered with drop cloths. Any trains not on the bridge were moved to the Staging Area for safe-keeping.
    
- I also moved lumber out from under the layout to make it more accessible. The 2x2's were also measured, marked, and sorted for ease of use.
- Earlier in the week, I created Visio plans of each of the tables (8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) showing the components. A corresponding list of components for each table was also made. Below is the plan for Table 8.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by healey36 on Oct 15, 2023 14:07:47 GMT
Thanks for the pics, mate...it's helpful  |
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Post by g3750 on Oct 26, 2023 3:45:42 GMT
Updated 10/25/2023:
- With the help of a good friend, a serious table building effort took place over the past week or so. Left to right: Photo 1 - the starting point; Photo 2 - making the final opening in the divider for the Loads / Empties track; Photo 3 - installed the first 3 tables over 1.5 days; Photo 4 - All six tables including an access hatch and several fixes completed.
   
- I have been unhappy with the lighting in the train room (too dim) so I placed an order for more track lights and bulbs. Effectively, this will double the lighting in the train room and add a couple more light fixtures to the workshop.
- That friend also helped me get the Open Hearth up on the layout in its correct position. That sucker is heavy!!!
More when I know it.
George
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Post by keithb on Oct 26, 2023 9:14:47 GMT
Wow, an amazing plan! I love it!
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Post by healey36 on Oct 27, 2023 21:21:04 GMT
Nothing better than starting with a blank canvas!
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Post by g3750 on Oct 27, 2023 23:30:12 GMT
Wow, an amazing plan! I love it! Thank you. As they say in the project management biz "Plan the work; work the plan."
Here's the plan in its entirety.
George
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Post by keithb on Oct 28, 2023 9:00:22 GMT
Wow, an amazing plan! I love it! Thank you. As they say in the project management biz "Plan the work; work the plan."
Here's the plan in its entirety.
George
All I can say is Wow!
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Post by Traindiesel! on Oct 30, 2023 5:30:52 GMT
Nice work, George! It's a great feeling when the tables are constructed and you can begin to see things. You have some nice backdrops there too.
Can't wait to see the coal drags over the bridge!!
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Post by atsda on Oct 30, 2023 15:44:59 GMT
George, great progress on the benchwork. An impressive plan, I'm sure. Alfred
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Post by g3750 on Nov 2, 2023 12:03:54 GMT
Nice work, George! It's a great feeling when the tables are constructed and you can begin to see things. You have some nice backdrops there too.
Can't wait to see the coal drags over the bridge!! Yes, it is! I am also very happy with the extra lighting that I purchased and installed over the past few days. I doubled the number of track light pots with 4100K LED bulbs and layout is visibly brighter. L-R Before and After
Lots of work still to go, but serious progress has taken place.
George
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Post by g3750 on Dec 21, 2023 4:11:27 GMT
Updated 12/20/2023:
Lots of progress since my last update.
Blooming Mill (left) and Open Hearth (right) made it onto the layout in their final positions.
The Mainline tracks on the eastern side of the bridge were extended.
The Yard exit meets the Blooming Mill tracks.
Here the Wye at the south end of the Yard track is being test-fitted. It will connect to the Blooming Mill tracks as well as the spur into the Open Hearth.
Here's roadbed for the legs of the Wye.
More of the yard track has been completed and some of the Wye is visible.
Below, more of the mainline curve has been completed.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by atsda on Dec 22, 2023 1:34:10 GMT
George, great work, as usual. Alfred Merry Christmas
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Post by g3750 on Feb 12, 2024 4:54:46 GMT
Updated 2/11/2024:
Since I last posted there has been quite a lot of progress and some regression. About 2 months ago I came to decision to replace the DZ-2500 switch machines on the main part of the layout (Staging Area still has its DZ-2500s) with Tortoise switch machines. My reasons were pretty simple: - The extremely reliability of the Tortoise machines. Everyone that has them swears by them for durability, reliability, and simplicity.
- Some of the DZ-2500s and their push-buttons have needed repeated button pushes to work or have lost their state and needed resetting. I have a low tolerance for devices that perform that way. I've spent too much time and effort on this layout to suffer that.
- I decided that the TMCC addressability of the DZ-2500s wasn't a crucial factor, especially in light of their performance. Reliability trumps all.
- I have identified 3 towers for the purposes of operations. These are QN (in Steubenville, OH), Weirton Junction, and Weirton Steel Yard. I will place groups of push buttons near each of them and assign a person to run the tower. Tower operators will run the switches and the engineers will run their trains.
- A number of switches on the layout are located in difficult to reach places. When buildings and scenery are added, the situation will only get worse. And while I have access holes, it's a major PITA to uninstall the device, mail it in for replacement (Dennis Zander does stand by his products), get it back, and then re-install it. I am not getting any younger and some of these locations will require me to climb up on the layout and behind big structures.
All that said, I had installed all the track in the Weirton Steel Yard when I made the decision. That means I had to remove all the DZ-2500s, unscrew and lift the track slightly to drill the holes for Tortoise wires, and reinstall the track. While it was a major PITA, it was the right decision. Here are some photos.
Here's a refresher as to how the area is planned.
This is Switch No. 35 near where the exit track from the Staging Area joins the westbound mainline.
Installing the Tortoise meant detaching the fascia. That diagram will need to be redone. And the circuitry driving the signal bridge and individual PRR signal will need revision. That fascia will stay open for the time being.
Here's the signal bridge in question. It is interlocked with a signal guarding the track exiting the Staging Area.
The Weirton Steel Yard track runs north-south in front of the Blooming Mill, Open Hearth (shown), and Strip Steel (future construction project). At its south end there is a wye that meets up with the Staging Area entry track or allows trains to exit the mainline and travel to the WSX yard.
Here's a shot of the wye looking north. The unfinished spur to the right will enter the Open Hearth.
Here's a closer look at the plan for the Weirton Steel Yard. This shows the location of the WSX Yard tower as well as the push-buttons for the switches.
This is the view along the entry track to the Staging Area. In the distance is the MTH PRR B70 baggage car I have been using to test my track work and clearances into the Staging Area. Just visible to the left is a leg of the Weirton Steel Yard tower. The blue tape is holding the points in the middle position while the Tortoise is installed. You can see the wire from the Tortoise machine sticking up in the air (needs clipped).
Here's a shot in the opposite direction up one leg of the wye. The Staging Area is behind the camera.
This is a shot of the completed area along the south edge of the layout. The mainline extends towards the viewer, although direction of travel is away from the viewer. The entire layout is signaled for travel in a counter-clockwise fashion.
Going even further back from the Staging Area, the big O64 curve at the end of the Weirton peninsula is partially visible. This track is simply lying in place as a test and has not been fastened down. I verified that the curve fit the bench work and that I had not created a problem "S" curve. The straight section between the curves is 28" long, so there will be no difficulties with long passenger cars.
On the other side of the curve is Weirton Junction. In the foreground is Switch No. 3, with Nos. 4 and 5 beyond it. Beyond No. 5 is Standard Slag. All switches and track are being test-fitted.
This is Standard Slag from the opposite direction. The cut-out in the bench work is for the slag pit itself. The O32 curve will be cut in half and used to snake around the pit to make a dumping track. I am not worried about an "S" curve here because the slag cars are very short and will be traveling slowly.
The new switches will require their own 12VDC bus. Signals (DZ-1060 and MTH 30-11030) and crossing gates (DZ-1010 and DZ-1020) will continue to use the existing 15VAC bus. All of this electrical work remains to be done.
More when I know it.
George
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Post by atsda on Feb 12, 2024 14:20:48 GMT
George, very good progress requiring significant work. Very interesting layout / operationGlad to have heard about it. . Alfred
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