Here is a link to the book: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Build-Railroad-Benchwork-Second-Railroader/dp/0890242895/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236310637&sr=8-2"]Amazon.com: How to Build Model Railroad Benchwork, Second Edition (Model Railroader): Linn Hanson Westcott, Rick Selby: Books[/ame] Tortoise switch machines are used to actuate a turnout. Here is a link: Tortoise I hope the layout even comes close to some that I have seen here
Model Railroader published 'The Appalachian Southern' by John Armstrong in their June 1982 issue. Since everything in MR is copyright I wonder about using their name. Mebbe Fotheringill will weigh in on this. TIC Al
I don't think a copyright violation is applicable here since it is the entire work that is being copyrighted, not just the title of the work. You can find lots of copyrighted books, songs, movies, etc. with the same title. Jamie
Today I soldered rail feeder connections and frogs. Before: After: The ballast and track weathering will obscure what you can see of the connections. A 1/8" x 6" long drill bit made dropping the feeders easy work. Took about 15 minutes to solder them all thanks to the Hakko.
That looks great! I tried to soldier Atlas track at one time,I never could do it right. I don't think the soldiering iron I had was hot enough to do it properly,though.
Bob, Its a Hakko 936. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Hakko-936ESD-Soldering-Variable-Temperature/dp/B000ARU9HW"]Here is a link[/ame].
Chris: I've been using that Hako unit for years now. It's a great piece of equipment and makes soldering a breeze.
The feeders are 22 gauge (about the same cross sectional area as the track itself) and 14 gauge buss lines.
This looks GREAT and is very educational to me. Next time you get a chance, could you snap a closer shot of where the feeders are actually soldered to the rails? The way you have done it they almost look invisible...nice! Jamie
Jamie, Here you go, I hope this helps: Here are my steps: 1. Strip 5/8 of an inch or so, as I don't want to see the wire insulation 2. tin the 5/8 strip 3. bend at 90 degrees 1/8" from the end 4. place bend on outside edge of rail 5. solder away, don't melt ties, i set the Hakko on 625 degrees, and finish the solder in about 3 secs
Thanks, that helps a lot. I am dropping feeders from every piece of flex so I will get lots of practice, but now I know what the finished soldered joint should look like. Jamie
I wanted to show you guys how I was connecting my many feeders to my bus line. This is not a traditional approach, but I have always wanted to do it this way. Maybe a little overkill, but I like the neatness and the flexibility. Basically these are modular terminal blocks fitted to a DIN 3 rail. You just snap them together. Use as many black and red as you need. You can see I have all the reds shorted together and the blacks shorted together with the 'pole jumpers' in the middle. The feeder wires are connected at the bottom and screw plates lock them down inside the terminal blocks. I can simply connect my bus lines to one of the black and one of the red and all of this yard is tied in. I think it looks nice, is a secure connection, and just makes me happy when I look under the table and don't see a rats nest. I will follow a similar methodology for all of my connections. [FONT=Arial,Helvetica,Sans-serif] I also got the DCC system put in place along with its power supply. It is a Radio Super Chief. I have tried NCE and Lenz, thought I would give the Digitrax unit a try and be well versed. So far I like it . Please excuse the paint stains on the carpet in my work room. This is where I paint, assemble structures, and store all of my rolling stock. [/FONT]
I wish I had your motivation. I just get stuck on a layout design. With the benchwork looking so nice, I look forward to seeing even more progress!
Hutch, you and me both I use terminal strips for all my feeders. Only soldering is the feeder wire to the rail. BTW, your solder points look good. Not all messy like mine. -Mike
Thanks for the info on soldering to c55. I have just started a new layout based upon CSX and I was looking for ideas on connections myself. I really like what you have done so far. I remember you old layout and was impressed with it. Jeff
My first yard is functional now. All the DS64 units (three of them) and the 11 tortoises are wired and working now. I have some photos posted on my blog if you would care to see the wiring photos, and my first train, be it a short one. The Appalachian Southern
