The D&J Railroad -- From Scratch


JerryHensler said:
Are you not controlling the turnouts with TCS? I find it easiest to just click on the screen for everything when I run under manual control. I did away with my CTC panel and throttles since I got TCG installed.
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I can control the turnout with the TCS screen, push button or the throttle switch control. It has to be wired into the SE8C to provide the Tortoise machine power plus the push button control. Actually, the layout is to big to control it from just the screen. This requires a walk around, radio link throttle. At times your train is more than 30' away from the computer screen.
I'll do the TCS programming tonight so the lights on either side of the turnout will indicate its status.
 
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I completed the installation of another turnout to access the oil facility that will be going in on the layout. I ran this Broadway Limited Trackmobile through the turnout a few times to test the continuity of the powered frog. It looks like I need to do some adjustments on the frog to smooth out the ride.

 
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I'm Speechless!!!That is one heck of a layout my friend.I am totally envious of you...and you wallet(LOL)I can't wait to see you layout finished and published in Modell Railroader magazine.One thing that has been bothering me is where is the overhead lighting?(no offense).I love that you model the modern era,and i do too.Looking forward to you updates on the "Monster" layout.I'll be subscribing to your Youtube channel.Again..."Fantastic"!
 
Thanks bnsf. It's the summer months and I usually get involved in a the outdoor projects around the house and am currently wrestling with a rear wheel modification to my Harley that's been absorbing my attention over the past few weeks. Getting parts, tools and information.
I'm done with the signal phase of the layout and am moving into the scenery stage. I had hoped to use printed backdrop of rolling desert and distant mountains, but the cost was prohibitive. I've been studying how to paint the background by hand. I should be done with the outdoor project in another week or so and can get going on the painting. I'll post some pictures of my first attempts when I get going.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
I completed the installation of another turnout to access the oil facility that will be going in on the layout. I ran this Broadway Limited Trackmobile through the turnout a few times to test the continuity of the powered frog. It looks like I need to do some adjustments on the frog to smooth out the ride.

[YOUTUBE]RZeR6GRKJpI[/YOUTUBE]
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Cool!I didn't know there was a sound decoder avaliable for these,that's why i never bought one.Who does make a sound decoder for this model?
 
Hey Ken,

Congratulations on completing the setup of the signals.

How many signals do you have on your layout now?

Frederick
 
Hi Frederick,
I think the total number of lamps is about 130. I have a few mixed in there that only show red or green from industrial sidings. Just didn't have enough feeds from the SE8C to support them.
I've had a couple open houses for some of the local modelers to see them operate. It's inspiring them.
 
No sound decoder in that one. Just a BLI decoder. If it did have a sound system, it would probably just be a gasoline type engine and a coupler clank. The sounds you heard on that video were other locos on the layout.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
Hi Frederick,
I think the total number of lamps is about 130. I have a few mixed in there that only show red or green from industrial sidings. Just didn't have enough feeds from the SE8C to support them.
I've had a couple open houses for some of the local modelers to see them operate. It's inspiring them.
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That's an impressive amount of wiring you did there.

Looking forward to the next "installment" of your project.
 
I really don't think I could have gotten started with it without your help Frederick. I'm sure there will be a landmark on this layout in your namesake.
 
D&J RailRoad said:
I really don't think I could have gotten started with it without your help Frederick. I'm sure there will be a landmark on this layout in your namesake.
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Hey that would really be neat! That's an idea that all modelers could latch onto, naming a business, locale, etc that appears on their layout after someone who helped out.
 
I haven't quit on this. I have been doing a lot of outside work around the house given the great weather recently. Also getting some opportunity to shoot some video of trains running on the layout that I've posted in other threads. I'm doing a bit of work on the scenery material, experimenting with various products to provide surface cover of the screen material. Also planning a large mountain system that will be almost 9' high and covering about 20' long by about 8' wide with three sets of track portals (two double track and one single track) going through it.
On of the other things I'm still studying is; how to paint backdrop desert scenery with mountains in the distance. I've seen backdrops of desert but they look more like something I would put in a 2' X 3' picture frame. I need to cover stretches of wall 30 - 40 feet long. Preprinted backdrops are out of the question, costing upwards of $800 for 40'. The total area I need to cover is over 250 feet with mix of industry and desert.
 
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For starters, I would look at these two pages http://lariverrailroads.com/part2layout.html and http://lariverrailroads.com/mountains.html His layout is based on the San Fernando Valley and the Mojave Desert -- the scenery in the Valley, if you ignore the irrigated suburbs, isn't all that much different from the desert. I admire Pelle Soeborg's work (also based on the Mojave Desert), but he does use photo backdrops. I've found that books and web pages on how to paint landscapes, as well as the article Andy Sperandeo did 25 years ago in MR on painting a backdrop for his Santa Fe project layout, have been very helpful. One thing to keep in mind is that attention should be on the layout and models, not on the backdrop, so it's important not to get too hung up on painting details. (However, I would actually add a windmill farm in at least a corner!)
 
Here's an example of what prototype mountains look like in Pelle Soeborg territory, but including the windmill farm. The actual colors of the mountains vary widely by time of day.

Blitz local on wye Mojave (2).jpg
 
Yes, that is what I'm looking to paint. I need to get an understanding of how to mix colors to acheive the different levels from purple distant mountains to the foreground. I agree on the details, that the backdrop should not be more interesting than the rail action.
 
It looks like Bruce Petty in the links simply used color matching swatches from the paint store to get the basic mountain colors.
 
While I'm still mulling over the techniques of painting scenery, I'm also trying to setup JMRI decoder pro so I can program decoders on a laptop screen. The program keeps giving me a time out message when I try to read the decoder on the programming track. I tried a Tsunami and a DH163 and I get the time out message when trying to read either one. I'm using the Locobuffer USB with the DS100 command station and connecting to the loconet with a UP5. I'm using an old Toshiba Satellite 35 model laptop. Don't remember what the processor speed is or the amount of memory in there. I had JMRI installed on the laptop a few years ago and it was working properly. I didn't check the baud rate yet, so I think that might be a good place to start trouble shooting.
The other concern on the issue is if the other laptop that is running the TrainController software for the signal system is the problem. I have a PR3 on that one to inteface with the loconet.
 
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