I found the file on my PC, finally. (I kept searching for BCD as the start of the filename, who knew he titled it "EASYBCD...") A resource for this has been created, http://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/g-ray-stilwell-bcd-circuit.109069/
Thank you Carolina Northern and Rick. The file makes very interesting reading and the circuit seems to be a capable one. I'll likely build a sample to experiment with. Boy, I do miss Radio Shack. Having to Internet-order a literal handful of components is maddening. I thought of something that is almost certainly not an issue, but electrolytic capacitors leak a miniscule amount of current when charged. I wonder if the amount from the capacitor in this circuit is enough to warm a Kato Unitrack coil? I doubt it. The designer Mr. Stilwell clearly states that the circuit is highly proven, so my question is more so one of curiosity and not concern.
Somewhat OT - but on the Kato 4's. The pair that I modified for my T-trak module were beat senseless at the Altoona show - as part of an inner loop that was seeing a train pass over it about every two minutes for two solid days. That included a coal unit train, pairs of Kato six-axle units, Hornby SW1, who knows what else. All trains had to take the diverging side of the turnouts. One end went right into a curve and the other end went into a 12" single and a reverse curve. No issues, no stalls, no derailments reported. Both were notched and sharpened, I did not spike them or modify the throw mechanisms. Other Kato 4's that were NOT modified did reportedly produce derailments with the same equipment.
Are any of y'all successfully using the Kato Unitrack 20-210 Double Crossover without modification? Looking closely at the photograph, notching the outer stock rail (as I will my No. 4s) looks difficult here because the outer rails are over 12 Inches long and might be tough to slide out a few inches for notching. Just curious to see how others see this. I don't have room to use No. 6s on my layout at the spot where this well be placed.
I have 2 of the double crossovers on my layout...right at both ends of the yard. They get a lot of use. Have been using them for 4 years. Have had NO problems with anything that goes through them. They have not been modified in any way. The switches themselves are actually #6's
No problems here, either. The singles, on the other hand, are based on the #4's. Haven't heard anything about them - good or bad. They look too short for the mainline in my opinion. Don
The #4's work well for spurs or passing sidings. In areas you wouldnt normally enter at track speed. A #6 could be used at track speed. I have an area where an interchange track comes in on the straight through and the mainline is actually using the diverging route. It has worked flawless for 4 years ! You can see it in the upper center of this pic just under the signal bridge. A #6 with the diverging route also being used for the main is on the left side of the pic. The straight through leads to the passenger terminal. All to save valuable real estate.
I hadn't realized that the Double Crossover is comprised of No. 6s! Thanks everyone. Knowing this, I'm happy. My track plan then has No. 6s in place for all mainline routing and my passing siding. No. 4s are used only at industrial spurs off the main line and throughout the freight yard. Reading what y'all wrote, this should greatly help with trouble-free operation.
That's my point. Put a pair of #4's on the Altoona T-trak layout where everything had to do diverging route through it for two solid days. Modified #4's worked flawlessly with everything that got thrown at it, at normal speeds. And I was skeptical, to say the least.
My track plan needs a handful of 33mm and 38mm Straight tracks that were offered in Kato 20-092 N Gauge Track Assortment Set B, packaging 4 Ea 33mm and 4 Ea 38mm. This item no longer shows on Kato's website and is not available from Fifer Hobby or a number of other sellers, though it is available on eBay. Is there a reason that Kato discontinued this product that I'm not understanding? I can't find that these sizes are available in an alternate product, but I may be missing them somehow. I know I can cut my own sizes, but it just seems odd that Kato would cease making two lengths of straights.
Never seen them anywhere else (those lengths). And they were getting increasingly difficult to find even 8 years ago. My bet is they just weren't big sellers; easier to cut longer custom lengths than have a bunch of small track sections. Personally, I wish I had done just that in a couple of locations on the JACALAR. How many of each do you need? I may have a few pieces lying around in my spares drawer.
The 20-092 is listed as an "in stock" item on the Kato Japan website: http://www.katomodels.com/distribution/stock_search_e2.shtml http://www.katomodels.com/product/nmi/unitrack_s33_s38.shtml You could try contacting Kato USA to see if they would be able to import some of them or otherwise suggest how you could obtain it here.
Thanks again guys. As I get closer to starting construction, I'll get a better notion of what must have. With Rick's notion of maximizing lengths for improved reliability, I can eliminate some 33mm and 38mm pieces with custom cuts. Thanks too for the web links Point. It's reassuring to know that this set is still manufactured for the Japanese market. Too, I think that the Japanese website has better track product photos and diagrams than the North American site. Cool.
Those same photos, in English, are on the Kato N-Gauge Unitrack page, (http://www.katousa.com/N/Unitrack/g-single.html) in the Ntrack.PDF file BTW, the Kato site does list the 20-091 short track assortment (29mm (1 1/8") [8 pcs], 45.5mm (1 3/4") [2 pcs]) and Fifer has 13 of these in stock. Other retailers have them as well. Not the 33mm and 38mm sets, but still some small ones. Thinking back, I'm not sure I ever saw the 20-092 sets in the US.
