Can you explain some labels on the right control panel? PWR=Power?, THR=Throttle? LTS=Lights? And is that RLP or RLD for Reverse Loop? and some of the letters on the Left side are Blocks and just an example of what the lettering refers too, just a couple? I am still in awe of people here with their wood working and electronics knowledge In one thread a member built his one benchwork table and it looks like a piece of furniture, great work everyone.
Your guesses are correct all the way. The RLD toggle is Reverse Loop Direction for setting which end of the reversing section you want to enter from. Rather than have it a one way thing, I have it so that you can traverse it in either direction. The block toggles are labeled for easy memory, yet I wanted to keep it "railroady". If you sit at the control panel and pretend that you're looking at a compass, west is to your left and east is to your right. The block toggles are labeled with this in mind, such as OW and IW are Outer West and IW is Inner West. These are blocks at the far left of the layout on the outermost loop and innermost loop. OE and IE provide the same to the far right. Others are easy too, with DT Double Track, MC Muleshoe Curve, VI Viaduct, LA Yard Ladder and WY West Yard. The Reverse Loop too is a block, RL. The bottom row of six toggles all start with the letter E. They will be for the Engine terminal. You DCC guys have it good. If I were just getting started, I'd be 100% DCC, but after 50 years in N and an interest in electronics, I don't mind the wiring. 98% of what I have is DC, so my fate has been cast it seems.
One neat surprise that I found while unboxing my trains is that some of the Atlas locomotives I bought some years ago are "Decoder Ready" per the box. I hadn't given it a thought when I bought them, but I'm pleased to see it now. I'm a long way from converting them to DCC, but it's nice to know that I have a handful that I can rework to expand my DCC unit count. Eventually, I have a lot of repairs to make. My stuff has been boxed up for a number of years and more than a few locomotives no longer run at all.
Thanks for the photos and bringing back memories of the '80s when I helped build a similar assembly. Work and schooling took me away. Now trying to return.
Looking forward to watching for your return to the hobby someday. The planning aspect is fun and I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I went a little overboard with the LEDs, but my previous layout had none and I made up for lost time on this one.
@in2tech , I should have mentioned too that back in the day when telegraphy ruled the railroad, depots and interlocking towers each had their own telegraph key and call letters for their location, and these were often short letter codes. The Dispatcher would repeatedly a location code into the wire and the Agent or tower Operator would hear it and answer. Other locations would ignore it because it wasn't theirs. These location codes survived long past the age of telegraphy and many remain in use today to identify important points on the railroad, even though no structure or person remains there. Here's an example, as seen at MG Tower on the former PRR main west of Altoona. [04/05/1989] The PRR chose MG because the tower was located Middle Grade on the line's climb to the summit. AR Tower was at the summit, for Allegheny Ridge. Not all letter locations made sense, though many of the odd ones have a story behind them.
Couldn't have said it better. Started with only a couple bottles of Floquil, an opened package of Testors brushes and a 40yr old exacto knife (excluding wire, solder+iron, some electronics devices and DMM.) so DCC was the way to go!
I never knew that AR or MG actually named a specific location. If you have any more information such as these two examples, PRR or other, I would be very interested. PM me?
I looked through some of my slides and grabbed a dozen or so locations: MO (Mountain) at Cresson, PA (PRR) SO at South Fork, PA (PRR) C at Conemaugh, PA (PRR) SF at Suffern (Erie) WC at Waldwick, NJ (Erie) NK at Newark, NJ (LV) WH at Whitehouse, NJ (CNJ) SA at Sand Patch, PA (B&O) PA at Pana, IL (NYC) MD at Meadow Creek, WV (C&O) NW at North White Plains, NY (NYC) HO at Hancock, WV (B&O) AM at Altamont, WV (B&O) PK at Mountain Lake Park, MD (B&O) Also gathered a handful that make no sense, but it's likely there's a reason for them: TU at Weehawken, NJ (NYC) CW at Hinton, WV (C&O) DK at Huntington, WV (C&O) MA at East Deerfield, MA (B&M) NA at Martinsburg, WV (B&O) WB at Brunswick, MD (B&O) RA at Florence, SC (ACL) Q at Hyndman, PA and Q at Hardman, WV (both B&O, but on different Divisions) ND at Viaduct Junction, Cumberland, WV (B&O) FN at Patterson Creek, WV D at Grafton, WV (B&O)
Because the capacitor charges or discharges in order to throw or close a turnout. If you had a single capacitor, you could only alternate successive switches thrown. You would not be able to consecutively throw two or more turnouts in order, or close two or more turnouts in order. I would be inclined to build a separate panel for the capacitors, mounted behind the switch panel, rather than put all the capacitors under their respective turnouts on the layout.
Kato's turnouts are two-wire DC powered, not the more typical three-wire AC where one capacitor can be used.
In Europe, many autos are still shipped via open auto racks, including Mercedes. Europe is starting to embrace the enclosed rack over the last few years, but open ones are still common.
Curious?? Do you have a collection of "my 6 Axle Units Most Likely Not To Derail On A Kato No. 4 Turnout" Like to explore and possibly test another maybe a more forgiving and track tolerant 6 axle loco.
My Con-Cor PA-1s were the fussiest and the CNJ SD-35s were intermittent on their want to derail. My TrainMasters, C-628s and U-30s were happy, though I think the U-30s derailed once. Upon completing the modification of one #4 that was causing the trouble (located diverting off a #6), all of the units were happy on all four #4s (three unmodified). No #6s, nor the crossover have given me any trouble with any unit of any kind, even steam. My minimum radius is 282mm (11.1"). My engine terminal isn't built, but it'll have three more #4s. We'll see what happens there.
