The Big Test!

 There comes a point in any big project where it's time to give it a go - 'kick the tires' so to speak, or give it a try.  Well, we got to that point here with our new lift bridge - time to see if it actually works.  I recorded a video of our first opening - Here we go!

Well, alright!  Not bad for a first test, and while we have some adjustments to make I am thrilled at the progress.  Now, we get all-rail access to the new storage staging at Peat Street Yard, and we do it without the need for a duckunder.  Instead we have an actual, functional lift bridge!

As you can see here, it's powered by a cordless drill with a 3/4" socket wrench, and can easily be moved up or down as needed.  This will allow a walkway to stay open but also occasional all-rail access to the new staging area.  

Plenty more to come, but this is a game changer for us here on the Onondaga Cutoff.  Lots of new variety coming soon!

A big project? Work step by step

The bigger projects in life can seem overwhelming, even if you'd done something similar before.  The only way to get something big done is to get started with something small.  

This lift bridge is indeed a big project.  Recently, hobby time has been dedicated to moving forward by making progress as often as feasible on the smaller steps to bring it to completion.  These steps take time.  Adding a lift out bridge would be enough to push the envelope, but making it a mechanized vertical lift bridge is pushing the limits beyond anything I have tried to date on this railroad.   We are trading longer, more intricate work for a more operable and less cumbersome feature.  

First, that involves fortifying the edges of the bridge and the layout that will support it.  I removed track for the new switch in the background as seen above, and adding PC board strips to the edge allows a surface to which we can solder the rail ends directly.  This will be an important effort to strengthen the gap areas.  Construction adhesive was used here for a tough and rock-solid cure.

You can see here how this area is right over the location of the dispatcher, and the management desk for sessions.  Someone sits in this spot below.  Therefore the idea to have a longer permanent track extend out to meet the bridge does not work.  The bridge would need to include the long curved approach, and the ladder tracks.  

With the edges in place, it was time to lay track and cut in the new switch for the Teddes Street Lead.  Gapping rails on a curve is, frankly, not a good idea in model railroading.  And yet there is no option here: if this bridge is going to work, a gap must be on this odd angle, and through a curve.  Yikes!  

Cutting in a switch is something we have done before, but building track over a gap to a moveable bridge is not.  Essentially, this is a mitre rail sort of connection, with guard rails installed as well to help guide wheelsets over a curved, gapped rail.  First, though, those great PC boards can be soldered to the rail directly.  Plastic ties are removed as needed, joints made with the switch, and now the whole assembly is tough.  The photo above shows the area just before the rails were cut.  

You can also see the bracing designed by Jim Harr that supports the masonite side girders on the bridge.  The curve required a series of small wooden angle glued in place.  The straight areas, seen below, allowed longer runs of 1"x2" cut at a 45-degree angle.  Adding the girders really stiffened up the bridge, as was intended.  

While the track on the curve cured, it was time to move to lay down the ladder tracks for Peat Street Yard.  I used a compound ladder to help maximize storage track length.  This was glued in place.  Once cured, the rest of the track was added, allowing rail to be continuous from the Island all the way to the bumpers in Peat Street Yard.  

Now, to run power, and to finalize the lift mechanism!  Those projects too will take some time, even to the point where we have to cancel the May operations on the OC.  And I never like to miss an operating session.  

This illustrates a larger point, though.  This wild idea of Jack's is the right solution to the new storage yard.  I am confident it will work out for the long term improvement in the operations.  And, it is a fact that big opportunities require big projects to be completed.  The way we get there is by handling a steady stream of smaller steps to keep the project moving.  

A wild idea

Leave it to Jack to provide a different point of view.

We were staring at the progress last weekend while having a drink, and suddenly he says "you should just make it a lift bridge that gets pulled up by cables and stored against the ceiling."

I had to pause, and consider it.  It is a valid point that it is long, longer than originally thought about, so as to not have permanent piers in the way of the group when we operate.  It is light enough to lift out by hand, but would require twisting and storing away by the wall around to the left of this image.  That is cumbersome now, before we have people standing by.  

Jack also made the point that by having a vertical lift, we could much more easily open and close during a session, so perhaps we could use one of the tracks in the new yard to the left to store Amtrak or a short regular freight train as needed, freeing up an Island track for more consists.  The bridge itself will not have trains on it for storage.  

And after a night spent painting the sides to match the fascia and the underside to match the ceiling, I had to concede this was a better plan.  More work now, but less chance of damage later.  Thankfully, the side girders are sturdy and plumb, which will allow vertical cable attachment without an issue.  And the apparatus should fit above the drop-in ceiling, with simple holes cut to allow the cables to extend below and be affixed to the bridge.

I checked online for lift systems and found a good one normally used in garages.  I think this one is going to work out.  

Stay tuned!  Tracklaying is next, and will be its own adventure with PC ties at the joints and a new ladder track assembly with Walthers switches.  I am hoping in a few weeks to be ready to test run this thing.   

A Comfortable Space

There is a lot to be said about a space being 'visually comfortable.'  We have touched on this on the Onondaga Cutoff before, but it bears repeating now and again because it's an ongoing effort. If we want people to be part of what we do, it is our responsibility to do what we can to make what we do enjoyable and comfortable.  

As we proceed with the new storage, while the bridge is finalized we continued with operations.  I wanted the area to be seamless and so I decided to finish the existing project first.  The cap on the support girders proved a perfect spot for something we can all use more of: drink holders on the layout!

The switch ladder and storage tracks have yet to be finalized, but adding this little plywood cap is a great way to get use out of the new construction at every session.  The cap is removeable and into its place the removable bridge will sit.  

This was also a chance to re-hang the skirting along the bottom of the layout, and to do it in a way that looked seamless.  Tom's suggestion to use staples and a strip of cardboard was a good one and created a nice straight edge.  

The overview shows it all: a visually pleasing finishing job for new construction.  

We can see the bridge to the left, which is waiting for girders, an official keeper stand, and track.  The girders are next, this week; track and wiring will follow.  Our hobby is based on trains but trains are built, moved, and maintained by people.  Making our layout spaces a bit more comfortable for them and for us will benefit each of our experiences along the way!

Equipment - and where to put it

 With all of these spectacular new models from the manufacturers, we have amazing opportunity to recreate railroading in scale.  In fact, the only real downside to this is the fact that each of our railroads has only so much track, and for most of us, even less storage and staging.  It requires some creative solutions - like a new storage area beneath Euclid Yard!

While I have added cabinet shelving for storage of equipment off the layout (see https://onondagacutoff.blogspot.com/2024/01/making-spaces.html ), the process of building the long-awaited office car special train got me thinking that we need a shelf yard where trains can be stored without having to manually add them to the layout trackage.  

Brackets were added to allow for a new level.  That process is well underway now, with the yard largely assembled as well down on the floor. 

The tracks are glued to plywood, which was assembled and painted up.  This maximizes clearances and won't adversely impact operations based on other projects with track glued directly to a wood surface.  One key is to leave some room for seasonal expansion and contraction of the lumber by ensuring the joints are just hare loose.  

Wiring for track feeders will be next before installation.  And a final challenge will be a long lift-out bridge to connect the yard to S&I track 2 on the Island.  

Good progress!  And having a place to store these new trains will greatly add to the joy of running - some more variety will help with the illusion of the world outside, and we can all enjoy that.  

Major Upgrades - Long Time Planned

 It's been a busy start the autumn season in life and on the layout.  But the Onondaga Cutoff is better for the effort, in two major ways.  

First, with the help of friend Paul T., I finally made the plunge and updated the layout PC from Windows 8.1, which has been less stable than I liked for years, to Windows 10.  This involved a whole evening of downloading and uploading, installing and failing, then using Google to find solutions to the issues and work through them.  In the end, the computer is working as intended and all applications were seamlessly transferred.  A real test will be the next operating session!

The other major project came about with a design question from Jack on the Island, and our reevaluation pointed us in the direction of some major changes to the back three tracks, to better accommodate locomotive manipulations.  The major goal was to make room to store Amtrak consists at the back end of the yard, and allow new crossover capability so they could leave the yard with equipment ahead on the same track.  

It is always best to test fit components and get a good feel for major changes like this.  We want to envision it, check that twice, then lay it out and measure 4 times.  No kidding!  Re-doing work because of an incorrectly remembered measurement is frustrating and time consuming.  So, I purchased the components first (two #6 turnouts, a #6 double-slip switch, and switch machines) which allowed me to mock up the whole area.  As it turned out the new bumper tracks were too close, so we moved the whole assembly away from the bumpers to ensure proper fit for Amtrak.  

The hardest part of these projects is the demo.  To my frustration I realized I would need to remove about 2 feet of ballasted track, and while that is far less than it could have been, it was still a lot.  Thankfully by moving slowly and steadily with the putty knife, I was able to save all the track that was glued down, even that part that was ballasted.  

After cleaning up it was time to script out the new track design and make it fit.  Working from the mandatory length of the back tracks I spaced out the new switches to fit and laid that route first, allowing it to cure overnight before starting the next ones.  The next night, I was able to lay the remainder of the yard and weight it for curing.  I installed new feeders and made all the soldier joints with the resistance soldering machine, still one of the best investments for anything larger than a small layout!

After weathering, we have a great-looking area, and this opens the door finally to making the final scenery here a reality.  This will model a locomotive servicing area including service platforms as per prototype engine yards.  

Given the lack of roadbed, I decided to use leftover Masonite hardboard cut into thin strips and scored to suggest concrete.  The height is nearly perfect for a rail-height platform.  I am curious to see how it will handle ballast installation with so much moisture during curing - we will see.

A quick test fit shows the stunning visual change that platforms will have for the Island.  

Satisfied with the fit, I found some old house paint that worked perfectly for worn concrete, which will need some weathering to blend in.  I made the rest of them and dropped them into place.

With all platforms temporarily installed we have a really snappy-looking area.  They're not perfect, of course, and look a bit clunky without ballast.  But that will happen in a few days.  Soon we will add a few details - and be ready for service.  The Island is coming to life!

Locomotive Maintenance - Really!

Preventive maintenance improves performance and increases useful life.  This is a fact of life, and is true at your home or with your car, just as it is for any business facility or piece of equipment.  In an effort to stay ahead of broken-down equipment or other issues such as dirty track that detract from the operating experience, a small crew gathers on the Onondaga Cutoff ahead of operating sessions to work on running maintenance.  We clean track, arrange paperwork, consist locomotives, and clean their wheels.  

A recent session saw more than 40 locomotives all together on the Island ahead of cleaning and reconsisting, something we do to provide different locomotive lashups each month.  It reminds me of 'Ben's Bridge' in Selkirk, NY, in the early 1990's.

However, despite regular maintenance, issues happen.  It is always a little ironic when modeling railroading requires 'actual' maintenance work!  While many operations-based layouts use 'situation cards' with fictional issues for crews to resolve or report along their run, the Onondaga Cutoff is intense and robust enough that actual issues occasionally arrive for us to handle.  Occasional broken couplers or mechanical issues are handled in operating sessions in the same manner the prototype would, as far as we can take it while still having fun.  

C40-8W locomotive 6213, one of the Atlas Model Railroad Company's HO scale model of the massive GE diesels, is a case in point.  As I was positioning trains ahead of the session, suddenly a manifest freight stalled on the hill despite three big units, 6213 being third of the three.  I stopped the train and examined it to find that two of the three axles on the rear truck were not turning.  One was, though, which made it even more strange.  

I set the locomotive aside and made time to disassemble the truck this week, and was surprised by what I found.

See it?  I circled it in red for clarity.  The metal gear axle, a pin around which the gear rotates, had slid out of the plastic frame, allowing one of the idler gears to fall off and float around in the gearbox.  It jammed the other two axles, while one axle was still connected to the worm gear.  After some work I got it back together and reset the axle, but this one was a strange (and real) problem.  Thankfully we are back in service after the repair.

So, who needs situation cards?   Just run that railroad like a railroad, and the challenging situations will find you soon enough, allowing crews and managers to work through problems to a solution to keep the trains running.  We can't ask for more from a hobby than that!

The Final Step: New Island Local Control Panel - Ready to Go!

 After a big push in the last few weeks, it's now time to report that the installation of 'deep' staging is complete on the Onondaga Cutoff!   Last time we finished up the trackwork installation, which has since been wired into the system.  The final step was to replace the Island local control panel (LCP) with a new one to reflect the changes.  

Thanks go to Nick Anshant on this step, as he is always willing to use his experience on the prototype to help make the Onondaga Cutoff better. We went back and forth to settle on the new layout of the lines and also the new names - these tracks will be named the 'Old Auburn Main' along with a pair of running tracks, reflecting Conrail practice in the Solvay, NY area on the prototype.

Nick had done standard artwork to reflect Conrail practice in the signal bungalows in the field and had the artwork from the previous panel that he was able to modify to reflect the new trackage and switches.  One the art was set, I sent it off to a local sign shop who printed it on 1/4" thick PVC.  I chose plastic here instead of aluminum because the mounting area on the masonite hardboard has a slight curve.  A side benefit of PVC is that it is easy to work with.  I used a 1/8" allen wrench screwdriver as a hole punch by setting the new panel on flat wood on the workbench, and tapping the back of the screwdriver with a small hammer.  This allows the holes to be drilled cleanly and helps prevent the drill bit from wandering.  Here's new panel ready for light installation.

It is nice to do this work at the workbench, too, before trying to mount the panel to the layout.  Now it is time to carry it to the location of the install - much of the work this time around is to simply move the controls from the old panel to the new one, before installing the remaining new hardware.  

Thankfully, the old panel was set with screws, and had enough extra length in the wiring to allow it to hang forward for the work.  I moved the pushbuttons and LEDs over in number order, pair by pair.  It was an arduous and slow task but that was to be expected for a project like this.  However, I did not like putting all the tension on those soldered joints.  So, it was time to build a temporary work shelf.

Using some of the leftover brackets from the benchwork construction for the deep staging and some C-clamps, I set two supports attached to the masonite and set some 1" foam insulation left over from a recent scenery effort across those to act as a work shelf.  This allowed the rest of the cutover to go smoothly, along with the install of the new double-pole, double-throw (DPDT) toggles for switch control and the new LED indicator lights for the new tracks.

By the end, I was more than ready to clean up the area, put the tools away, and turn on the final installation for testing.  I ran engines up and down each route, checking to make sure all was properly indicated and powered.  I tested the on-off toggle as well and sure enough, it checked out!  

In summary, this was a long-awaited project that in some ways I was dreading.  It was tight, and operationally more tight than anything so far on this layout.  But it came together thanks to working with the team - modifying the plan and the construction by discussing with others, having others help to set components in place, and finally making the decision to dive in and do it at the tail end of this pandemic before life gets hectic once again.  

Now comes the exciting part - assembling the unit trains to occupy the track, and adapting our operating plan to fit the new traffic!   Stay tuned as we head into an exciting spring on the Onondaga Cutoff.

Continuing the Deep Staging Process

 It has been a month of expectation and waiting.  

Waiting for the vaccine to be available for COVID.  Waiting for the vaccines to catch hold nationally so life can start to return to normal.  Waiting for some HR changes at work to take effect.  Waiting for (hopefully good!) feedback on several model railroad media fronts.  Waiting for the book to arrive for sale.  All of these things should be great when they come to be, but as my favorite musical artist sings:  "The Waiting is the hardest part."  

And so, as a place to ground out the energy and the angst in the waiting, I have continued to pour efforts into completing the deep staging installation, with a goal of having it operational by April 1.   It has taken each minute I have given it, and asked for more: this is without question the most difficult construction I have tried on this layout.  

We left off last time laying track for the tangent.  That task was completed shortly after the last post while the tangent stretch was still on the floor of the space, allowing for track to be aligned where I could see it without having to guess. 

Once the track cured, I installed all feeder wires, also here on the ground.  You can see the gentle bend in the middle of the tangents, required to deal with the challenging clearances once installed.  I added re-railer sections, upper right above, just in case.  The black steel brackets you can see in the upper left will support this installation, which needs to be close to the aisle at the left side to avoid the diagonal supports ahead to the right.  But, immediately past that, the roadbed will need to curve towards the wall to the left and begin the climb up to the Island level.  

Many thanks to Tom S. and Ralph H. for coming over to lift, shift, and slide this assembly into place!  We made the big lift - and it went just about perfectly.  Thanks to measuring three times, cutting once, and the foresight to assemble this piece on the floor, we were in good shape.

The alignment was exactly what we needed.  Clearances all checked out.  I however left it loose on the brackets pending the installation of the curved section - since the curve will be the link to the existing layout, it must be finalized first.  Now it was time to tackle the curved section installation.  

I had been thinking the curve design and install over for months, debating the approach with myself and with Scott S., a fellow civil engineer.   Like the tangent section, there was no way to lay track once the roadbed was installed just 10" below the top section.  Worse, the tight curves required here (20" radius in places!) made precise installation critical.  The trackwork needs to be perfect at all joints and respecting all clearances for trains to handle this - there is no room for error.  

The new curved benchwork too would be too long and large to be slid in from the aisle or floor.  It didn't clear the adjacent parts of the layout.  

The only choice left was to paint the wood ahead of time, add the guardrails ahead of time, then assemble the curved plywood in two pieces, after which track could be laid - all while the assembly was temporarily supported out from under the top level.  But the only place to do that was on top of the uneven mainline ramps behind Iroquois: it is the only place I could fit the assembly where it could then be rotated into position.  Putting heavy plywood over HO scale mainline track is always tough to stomach.  And then, after all that, the whole thing would need to be rotated counter-clockwise over the Island tracks, along its permanent path slid between existing Island tracks and the layer above, before being set down onto the supports.  

Ugh.  Lots of room for mistakes and collateral damage.   BUT - a clear path forward, and frankly the only possible one.  

Even the clear path forward had its struggles.  Here I am in one of my 'layout yoga' positions, on a ladder on an angle bent over mainline with my head against the ceiling, laying track that had to be exact.  Not fun.  

As the track cured, I double checked clearances again, even taking several of my longest locomotives and pushing them around the curve to ensure they cleared the sides and each other while on adjacent tracks.  It was tight - but it worked!  I weighted the track as seen above, a view where you can see the test engines too.  

Once the track cured up, it was time to install 36 different feeders, ensuring that each piece of rail has its own hard-wire connection.

I continue to stand by my claim that resistance soldering, the technique shown above, is a clearly superior way to solder wires to rails.  I was done with all that in one evening with only one melted tie to speak of.  Not bad, and at least I could do it standing up!  

After 5 long nights of late and hard work on this, now we can see the results - and I think it paid off.  Here's the smooth curves of track using Atlas curved switches to save space.  With all that work done, I cleaned up my tools and equipment, thought through the issues one more time, and took the plunge!

With a few bumps and strains, and a sudden satisfying THUMP, the curve slid into its spot.  I had to carefully then adjust it so the extra track from the tangent piece ended up above the curved end.  I fastened the curve in place with risers as seen above, then made the adjustments to ensure the tangent piece lined up, which was then too fastened in place.  I had left 16" long tails of flex track in place on purpose on the tangent to smooth the joints, and those needed to be trimmed to fit exactly over the transition. 

With some careful measuring and lots of time, I trimmed the track using a Dremel tool since the big code 100 rail had destroyed my rail nippers.  The backup plan worked great, though.  The track slid into place.  I spread adhesive below the loose area, then slid joiners into place and laid the track.  The result was better than I had expected, shown above.  Yes the track is old used Atlas Code 100 flex - ugly stuff by today's fine standards - but robust and cheap and therefore perfect for hidden staging areas!

The final step was the final joint between the curve and the Island staging subroadbed, which I did with steel strips for extra rigidity at this odd joint.  With both routes descending, there is a lot of torsion on these bars, but they are more than up to the task.  

So while the waiting takes so long and so much energy, it is being great to have this project to plow along through.  Next time we will look at final cut-in of the yard to the existing track, and the installation of Tortoise machines and controls.   Never a dull moment on the Onondaga Cutoff!

New Traffic: The Case for Deep Staging

One of the best things about watching trains on an important main line is that you never really can know what is coming next.  On the Onondaga Cutoff, one of the challenges for the operation is to build in enough variability that we capture some of that anticipation.  While the existing traffic base covers most of what would be seen daily along the Conrail Chicago Line in 1994, some of the less-regular traffic - namely, coal and grain unit trains, are not yet represented.  

Since the 5-track, 70-foot-long, double-ended staging yard was designed with Tony Koester's '2n+1' idea, we have filled up the capacity with movements typical of trains that ran across the Chicago Line in that era.  Even though we have installed crossovers at the middle of the staging yard, and that we turn the consists to represent different trains, we are still out of room for new consists and especially those that would not run each day - unit coal trains to northeastern power plants, and unit grain trains to and from the Port of Albany, NY.  

Enter the idea of 'deep' staging. By designing a new storage area, stub-ended and below the existing level, we can open up a new level of variety.  This new area will be constructed to house unit grain and unit coal train consists and introduce those movements to less-than-daily operations on the Onondaga Cutoff.  Operationally, we need this to be located in a place where trains can run out from the storage in either direction, adding to the complications.  

The hard part?  Building it!

Testing Subroadbed

The only place where new storage can be added that has direct access to both directions would be via the Island, which currently serves as a locomotive servicing and storage yard.  It is tight, but so is any expansion:  we have to make due with what we have.  The operational benefit here will outweigh the difficulty in installation.   In the photo above, I am test fitting the new subroadbed.  See that small gray tunnel ahead to the left?  

One of the major difficulties in doing construction beneath existing layout, especially when clearances are tight like this, is tracklaying and wiring.  Alex Lang had a good idea - do as much as possible before mounting on the layout.  So, assembly of this will be done on the floor in three sections: the straight area, and two separate corner pieces, so as to allow less tracklaying and wiring while under the layout.  

Projects like this are a great way to use some of the materials I have stored over the years from other home projects or earlier layout projects.  I had a few strips of leftover plywood stored in the garage that I used for the subroadbed and for the splice plates to join them together end to end.  

Once the sections were assembled, including checking the joints that needed shimming to match the heights, I moved on to adding guardrails.  Since much of this will be out of sight, guardrails of leftover masonite will prevent any derailed cars from hitting the floor.  

Once all guardrails were installed it was time to seal the wood ahead of tracklaying.  Using some old latex housepaint, I painted the whole assembly gray.  

The paint was allowed to cure overnight and now it is easier to see the gentle turn built into the middle of the assembly, so as to get the tracks closer to the aisle from the tight path they need to follow to reach the Island.  Now, it's time for tracklaying, for the first time in several years.  It takes a little getting used to!

This process will continue until all three assemblies are put together.  I will also wire this track while it's on the ground so that once installed, we just need to connect the joints and go.  This track was weighted and is curing overnight before the next 6 feet is laid.  

Plenty more to come as we wrap this up!  Enjoy the last few days of winter and I will be posting more back here soon.  

New Starts, and Old Friends

Life is sure a mix of a bunch of different things, isn't it?  

Amidst all the craziness that seems to be universal this year, there has been some opportunity for time spent on the hobby.  Sometimes that requires a conscious decision to stop watching the news or social media, and instead head down to the basement and make some progress.  Progress comes in different forms:  it can be physical progress on the layout, thinking about future projects or improvements, or it can be prepping for operating sessions.

Remote operations on the Onondaga Cutoff really seems to have taken off.  It is a way to keep the trains moving during the pandemic, and I am grateful for that at least.  Each session requires a 'set up night' where a few guys come over to reconsist power, clean wheels and track, and check paperwork.  It's a satisfying and fun way to get ready for a session.  Here's the lineup of power on the Island, cleaned and serviced, ready for the most recent session:

Speaking of the remote sessions, one of the fun parts about the Facebook Live events we have been hosting is that those videos are archived over on Facebook.  If you'd like to see one, take a look at https://www.facebook.com/onondagacutoff/ - and note you don't need an account to watch the videos.  Just close out of the pop-up and you can scroll down to see the listings.

Thanks to some restrictions having been lifted, too, Teddy had his first opportunity to operate on another layout.  Here he is making a move through Sparta Junction on Jerry Dziedzic's New York, Susquehanna & Western layout:

This photo makes me smile.  We all wore masks, per protocol, and kept social distanced, but Teddy's sailing right through the challenges:  he's watching his train intently, making sure to follow speed limits and signal aspects while we made a pickup from the yard.  This bodes well for the hobby as time continues and sure makes for some fun time between Teddy and I.

And, of course, there is always physical work to be done:  here we see an upgrade in progress for Conrail SD50 6707, which wore a special paint job to support the troops as part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.  It held that paint through 1995 or so, and so wears it on my layout.  It is shopped now getting a sound decoder and new LED lighting including ditch lights, as well as new details including air lines and moving the grab irons to reflect Conrail practice.

As this wild year continues and begins to draw to a close, and as days grow shorter, my mind is always reflecting on the months passing.  I am more and more grateful for each moment - life has a way of improving if we are mindful, if we work hard, trust others, and open our minds up.  Doing those things and being grateful for what we have changes the color of the days to come.  

In mind of that, we have a new author who is going to begin contributions to these pages:  Jack T., who regular readers will know from his involvement in the Onondaga Cutoff from the inception 12 years ago.  I think it will add a great bit of variety and analysis that will make the blog a better resource for you all.  

And finally, book proofs are in and returned - the forthcoming signal book is going to be a really neat piece of work.  I am really excited at how it is coming out.  Two articles in Model Railroader, one each in the January and February issues, will prime the pump on the book.  The book is still on track for an April delivery, and that will build some anticipation through the winter:  Good stuff coming!

~Dave 

Rewiring the Island Control Panel

We all continue to hold the line with COVID response.  Railroaders are still working, myself included, which I am thankful for.  Many are staying home to combat the spread.  Almost all of us, however, have more time than we used to at home.  Nights or weekends, or all days combined, those of us that are modelers have more time to pour into things while we wait for the virus to pass.

After finishing up the details last time at CP 277, it was time for me to 'bite the bullet' and tackle a job I'd been dreading for nearly 3 years:  relocating the Island Control Panel, the toggle switch board that controls the turnouts leading to the Island engine storage tracks.  This would require cutting in new panel, using terminal blocks to connect 14 pairs of wire with the switch machines.  

Thanks to Nick A's artwork, I had the panels printed up about two years ago.  They sat in the project box since then.  Since it was time to get started, I began to think critically about the details, and while my brain worked on the vision I went ahead and marked the new panel up for drill locations.  I drilled 5mm holes for the 5mm LED bulbs, and 1/4" holes for the push-button and the toggle switches for control of the Tortoise machines.

This created plenty of flash which I cleaned up with a #17 x-acto blade. 

 This particular panel was printed on PVC plastic, since it was going to be installed in an area of the fascia with some bend to it.

At last it was time to take the big step of cutting the new location into the fascia.  I measured twice, drilled out the corners, and used a jigsaw to connect the dots.

While several locations had been debated, this one was selected for the ease of use by the Trainmaster, and subsequent improvement in yard efficiency.  Still, always hard to make that first cut!

The new hole meant it was time to forge ahead.  No going back now!  

I added lights to the new panel one by one, and once the first batch were installed it was time to move the push-buttons that control the turnout hooked up to the PSX-AR board.  

The PSX-AR can be thrown by a momentary-on push button, so it was essentially a short that would throw the turnout.  I'd purchased a 25' length of 14-pair, 24-gauge conductor cable.  I used the first few for these push buttons and gave it a try - and no luck.  The message wasn't getting to the PSX-AR before it shorted out the Island.  No good!  I'd hoped I wasn't in over my head with this.  

What to do?    I remembered from school at Syracuse that the longer you run a cable, the higher the resistance for the power.  When you're talking tiny cables, that is even more of a concern.  Could that be the issue here?  I ran a 25' pair of 20 gauge copper wire, made the connections...and it worked.  Relief!  

For the rest of the toggles, however, the tiny conductor cables worked fine.  So it was time to get rolling with disassembly of the old board, and moving things circuit-by-circuit to the new one.  The old board held up pretty well for a temporary fixture.

I removed the mounting screws and took the wires off the back of the panel one by one.

These were then adjusted to run to a new trio of terminal strips, from which I could connect them to the 25' cable to run to the new panel.  

Numbering these allowed me to match each end with the correct colors and function, so that I could attach the far end to the appropriate terminal on the new panel.

Slow steady progress is key here, and testing as we go keeps us sane.  I caught a few small mistakes immediately.  The idea here, like on the staging panels, is to 'follow the yellow brick road' on the panel:  that's the route that is lined up.  Since polarity matters with the Tortoise machines, it took some trial end error to keep it logical.  

After several nights and a whole weekend of this work, though, it was coming together.  I estimate it required 36 hours of work to get this right, but in the end, I am very pleased.  It works perfectly.  Further, finishing construction here now allows me to hang skirting and clean up the area with some new foam-rubber tiles.  

Here's a view of that area of the layout now - what a difference!

Another big project brought to completion by COVID-19.  I'm making lemonade out of those lemons this spring!  

~RGDave