tooter goes big time...

[tooter]

Wow. Very nice.

I've always thought it'd be cool to have a ride-on railroad going through my backyard. It looks like you're having a lot of fun with that.

Soon I may build a scale monorail just like in Walt Disney World with a fiberglass shell that runs on concrete rail through my yard.

But at least I'll only need one rail!

Wow... one big enough to ride?

Check THESE out!

[YOUTUBE]VXl3uK9hTWU[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]B5gp-bQPnYM[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]PLQ_6yJApRQ[/YOUTUBE]

I've been scouring the web for all the information I can find on human powered rail vehicles.

 

[tooter]

I got the drive mechanism installed, and it doesn't work under the heavy load of climbing steep grades, so I'm going to try another larger gear that engages more links of the chain...

 

[TrinityJayOne]

Ahhh, I thought you might have slippage problems. I suppose there's only so much tension you can put in that spring before it's placing an unhealthy amount of pressure on the chain.

Short of transplanting a bicycle transmission in there I think the next best thing would be to have the lever directly turn one (or both) of the axles via a crankshaft. The hard part would be working a clutch into it somehow.

There's also the option of leaving the cart exactly as it is now, making some more of them and then employing some buddies as helper engines.

 

[tooter]

Ahhh, I thought you might have slippage problems. I suppose there's only so much tension you can put in that spring before it's placing an unhealthy amount of pressure on the chain.

Short of transplanting a bicycle transmission in there I think the next best thing would be to have the lever directly turn one (or both) of the axles via a crankshaft. The hard part would be working a clutch into it somehow.

There's also the option of leaving the cart exactly as it is now, making some more of them and then employing some buddies as helper engines.

Yeah, you were right... it's the pointed tooth profile. On the flat or slight grade, it works just fine, but it occasionally slips on the really heavy grades. I need it to work reliably all the time. I'm going to try a larger gear that will have more teeth in contact with the chain, and see how that goes.

Everything else works fine. The rider seating position is great, the suspension works fine, and the brakes work super. Once I get the drive situation worked out, I can start on the paint and other aesthetics.

Greg

 

[TrinityJayOne]

If the bigger gear doesn't work you could probably rig the current design to include a 2nd cog on the arm with a 2nd spring and arm. Another thought is maybe duplicate the setup you have currently so that there's 2 sprockets on each axle, 2 on the pull lever and two chains.

Got any videos of it in action yet?

 

[tooter]

I was actually trying to keep it simple.
I'll come up with something... no videos yet as I'm still busy working on it.

 

[Rico]

Waiting for updates...

 

[tooter]

Hey Rico,

Business has been really good, so work has been keeping me away from the train stuff... but I never complain when I'm making money.

 

[rlundy90]

A tensioner, similar to what a car has to keep the belt tight might work to keep pressure on the chain or a small free wheeling gear attached by a bracket to sit on the other side of the chain opposite the main gear, would sandwich the chain in between the 2 gears and stop it from slipping.

 

[tooter]

A tensioner, similar to what a car has to keep the belt tight might work to keep pressure on the chain or a small free wheeling gear attached by a bracket to sit on the other side of the chain opposite the main gear, would sandwich the chain in between the 2 gears and stop it from slipping.

Yes, exactly.

Right now I'm waiting on a small 10 tooth idler gear to mount on the trailing arm which will easily resolve the issue. Only one is needed on the pulling side of the chain because the drive gear freewheels, so there is no tension being applied in the opposite direction.

 

[tooter]

while waiting on the gear, I've been working on the switch stand for the wye...

Nothing is bolted down permanently yet, as the stand still needs a base and a nice black paint job.

Here's an original one from the turn of the century that mine was modelled after.

 

[tooter]

Finished up the switch stand today, and it works just like a real one...

Green target for thru traffic on the main line...

Red target for shunting onto the spur...

 

[Lionel fan]

Very nice. Now you can control where you're going!

 

[tooter]

The wye used to have a springloaded "kick switch" where you literally kicked the points to go where you want them.

The lever is much nicer, and the connecting rod is sprung in both directions so that if you come to a set of closed points from the other side, there is enough play in the springs for them to open and allow for the wheels to pass.

 

[Rico]

Very cool Greg, and having a sprung switch is a bonus!

 

[diburning]

Does your pull cart have a parking brake? You wouldn't want the car to roll away while you're throwing the switch!

 

[tooter]

Yes, it does... and if you forget, it rolls away like crazy! I got an inclinometer to measure the grades. The back yard slopes 6% and the right of way for the spur up the side of the house is 10%. I keep two magnets stuck to the front metal corner pieces, and when I park, I shove them under the wheels as chocks.

 

[Lionel fan]

when I park, I shove them under the wheels as chocks.

Old school parking brake. Nice.

 

[tooter]

Yeah, I like simple "old school" because I'm old and simple.

Did all the final adjustments and filmed a little test of the switch stand...

[YOUTUBE]YKb6DBn9aek[/YOUTUBE]

And the rails are all laid on the bottom section...

 

[tooter]

Started digging the track down to grade with just the 1 inch tall rails above ground level...

The wye is first because it's orientation determines where the rest of the track goes. Sprayed an outline with paint before removing the track so the dimensions of the hole would be easy to dig.