Wow!!! That is a great model!

Wow!!! That is a great model! One of the best model mines I've ever seen!

Hallo Ray

Dear Ray.

Attached some photos of the “ other sides”of the layout:

1) The right-hand side (rotary railcar dumper)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/34466019066/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/34466019066/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/34121713080/in/dateposted-public/

2) The underground section, with loading conveyor and hoist. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/37833273006/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/29927742434/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/37181814163/in/dateposted-public/

All the best from Milan

P.S. Are you into model mining/railroading too?

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

Thanks, those a great! What

Thanks, those a great! What an incredible model! I hope you don't mind, I shared the link to your photos on the Westlake Publishing forum. (Westlake is former publisher of Finescale Railroader, and a series of annuals devoted to high quality modeling.) 

I have a 1/24th scale, outdoor model railroad in a mountainous desert setting, with some old mines and mining towns. Most of it is freelanced, but inspired by places and structures I've seen on my travels. I spend my vacation each year exploring and photographically documenting abandoned mines, mining camps, and ghost towns/mining towns, mostly in California and Nevada. You can see photos and video of my railroad, as well as my mining/ghost town pics, on my website:   http://www.raydunakin.com

I only have a couple small mines built so far, and a few more planned. Unfortunately I don't have the space to create any mining operations as large as yours, in 1/24th scale.

Hallo Ray

Hallo Ray.

We are glad that you put the links to photos of our layout on the Westlake Publishing forum.

We have given a look at your In-ko-pah layout in its MRH specific topic, and in your website. Nice piece of model railroading, and the industrial landscaping has a superior level of detail and realism.

Since you like details, attached some photos of the construction of the machinery of Consolidated:

A ladder that gives access to the control room at the top of the headframe:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/30470709321/

One large door of a maintenance hangar (before finishing):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/30471462481/

The semi-completed headframe, hoist, and the spiral staircase to the top of the headframe.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/30471337791/

The auger dosing units, before installation:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/30971399672/

Machining the pieces of the dosing units: this is one part of the dog-clutch between the shaft of the auger and the shaft of the motor/gear reducer:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/31000417461/

Auger dosing unit installed and operating:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/32270278826/

The hoist, installed after a recent modification

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/32362480991/

The hoist in operation:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/31994542724/

The diverter/loading chutes assembly at the base of our hoist, during a recent re-weathering:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/32796229496/

The safety fence around our hoist: real rust on real steel (plus some touch-ups with airbrush):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/31672556553/

It is nice to know that you are into model mining/railroading, too!

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

The MRH link to more information on..

Hi all, 

As mentioned briefly in the first post, Consolidated Nickel Mines Co has appeared at -  -  One for Dr. Geoff - Working tipple and rotary dumper

This layout is very special in that it deals with actively loading and unloading ore wagons for rail transport, as well as an operating ore hoist and operating conveyor belts. Some of the best "operating" mine layouts might have 2 of these three operating elements of a mine transportation system. But it is most unusual for a mining-based layout to have the whole mining transport system from mine-face to processing industry so accurately modelled in such detail and still have all 3 parts of it operational and actively moving "stuff".

Thank you Mario and Bice for showing us some of the latest progress on what is one of the most comprehensive and inventive mining industry transportation system models I've seen anywhere on the web,

Thanks for the detail photos!

Thanks for the detail photos! Really amazing work you've done there.

A professional quality video of Consolidated.

Dear MRHers.

Herewith the link to the video of Consolidated Nickel, taken by Mr. Leszek Lewinski of Polska Makieta Modulowa H0 at the Modell-Hobby-Spiel 2017.

Leszek and his team are formidable model railroaders (they had presented in Leipzig their new layout "Karnin Gorzowsky with the utmost success), but they are also excellent cameramen (and they also have impressive professional video gear).

The commentary is in Polish, but the language of model railroading goes beyond any linguistic barrier

From our side, many thanks must go to Leszek and his team.

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

Wow! It's really amazing to

Wow! It's really amazing to see it in operation like that.

RAILCAR POSITIONER - REBUILD

Dear MRH friends.

After a period of idleness, we started tinkering again. One of the things-to-do on our list is the rebuild of the railcar positioner at the exit ramp of our rotary dumper. Here is the old unit, which has been in operation since 2012, and has accompanied us during many modeling exhibitions. Yes, it works, but this was the “least prototypical” part of the layout, and we wanted to change it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/24633882268/in/dateposted-public/

As indicated in one of our previous posts, the issue is to build a positioner moving on a monorail, in correct H0 scale. We spent many hours at the drawing board, and the end-line was that we had to build a monorail with tolerances in the range of +- 2 hundredths of millimeter. Even before machining the first piece of metal, we did a complete overhaul of our milling machine, checking the tolerances of the crosshead, guides, and the bearings of the spindle.

Our first trial was an 80% out-of-scale monorail, composed of spacers and two industrial-grade 3-mm machined steel rods. With some effort, we managed to produce steel spacers within the required tolerance.

The next step was to put together all the pieces in a solid assembly frame (wood) and solder the rods to the spacers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38474106522/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38506186981/in/dateposted-public/

Unbelievably, the pieces were within the design tolerances. The next step was to build the base of the shuttle of the positioner.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38450521336/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38474138002/in/dateposted-public/

The shuttle/slider runs on 4 machined brass pieces, kept in close contact with the monorail by the limited elasticity of the frame of the slider. The radial backlash of the slider is adjustable, so as to get negligible backlash and low friction.

Next step: downscale the design to H0, with a 9-mm spacing of two 2-mm steel bars. This time, we tried to measure the tolerances during soldering with 0.01-mm calipers. After a frightening expansion during the heat cycle, the pieces got back to tolerance.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/37619346105/in/dateposted-public/

In this photo, the monorail is already installed on a piece of machined wood, with the threaded rod of the actuator in position (which means several work-hours later…)

The frame of the slider is completed and re-machined to its final tolerances after soldering the pieces together.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/26730361209/in/dateposted-public/

The threaded part that engages the threaded bar is intentionally installed onto a part that has high axial rigidity, and a certain radial elasticity. This is necessary, due  to the fact that the long (250 mm) threaded bar cannot be exactly straight. This comes straight from the experience of our previous railcar positioner.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38473998142/in/dateposted-public/

The extremities of the threaded bar are kept in position at the two ends by bearings that work on self-centering conical seats. A small (provisional) plastic gear drives the actuator bar. We did some powered trials with a tiny electric motor and everything worked. But, we will purchase a slightly larger motor, and more solid gears. Motor and gears will be hidden under some covers.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38450447896/in/dateposted-public/

This is the unit; the shuttle will support an actuator that engages on the couplers of the railcars.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38473961842/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38473982822/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/37790566764/in/dateposted-public/

All the pieces will be installed on the final structure of the exit ramp (concrete in prototype, plywood in H0 scale). We will have the plywood pieces machined by some professional. The rail on the exit ramp will be a piece of PECO SL-3802 concrete-tie code 83 flex rail.

By now, the works will stop for a while, due to business trips and other day-to-day chores. We’ll keep you guys informed.

All the best from Milan,

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

Very interesting!

Very interesting!

Mechanics

I love to watch the mechanical design progress on this layout. Very interesting indeed.

Bernd

RAILCAR POSITIONER NO.2 - UPDATE

Hallo Bernd, hallo Ray.

Herewith an update of the construction of our railcar positioner no.2. Meanwhile, we decided that this unit will be a stand-alone exhibit with its track, and we will keep in operation at Consolidated Nickel our good old positioner no. 1, since the more modern-looking no. 2 does not fit well with the rest of the layout.

Shuttle, drive, and gears installed:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/27182523529/in/dateposted-public/

Detail of the drive and gears – all old parts from our junk pile:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38073835315/in/dateposted-public/

First operational test; the visible pieces of wood are spacers, required to obtain the correct height of the positioner arm:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/25087891538/in/dateposted-public/

One provisional arm is installed, and apparently everything works:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/24094643037/in/dateposted-public/

Several work-hours later, the definitive arm is installed. This tiny piece of metal has a rather intricate construction, and is designed to engage the Accumate couplers of our railcars (a string of ACF Coalveyors from Atlas). In prototype, these cars are rotary-dumper compatible. Also some covers and embellishments are installed.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/25087713518/in/dateposted-public/

Coupling sequence:

1. Positioner arm in position, ready to engage the couplers:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/27182338949/in/dateposted-public/

2. Engaging:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/24094587737/in/dateposted-public/

3. Couplers engaged; the arm is not 100% finished, it needs some de-burring and finishing.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38923128462/in/dateposted-public/

Traction test, at the head of one railcar; the coupler and the arm remain locked together:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/38923093352/in/dateposted-public/

To be noted, most of the (few) existing H0 scale railcar positioners are designed to push strings of cars, and do not have the capability of engaging the couplers, or pulling cars. A coupler-compatible positioner arm is another step up in complication/building madness.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/24094457957/in/dateposted-public/

The next step will be the installation of all the pieces and a concrete-tie piece of rail on a suitable base, addition of embellishments, details, and weathering. We are also mulling over the (not-so-simple) construction of an H0 scale cable-festoon system to feed electricity to the actuator of the positioner. To be noted, in our positioner no. 1 the power supply comes from the 2 electrically isolated rails that carry the portal-style positioner. In our no.2 monorail-style positioner, we need a cable that follows the movement of the positioner shuttle (as in prototype).

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

The new railcar positioner at Consolidated Nickel is operational

Dear friends.

We will exhibit Consolidated Nickel, complete with its brand-new Positioner n.3 at the Toul Rail Expo 2018 (12-12 May 2018), organized by the Cercle Ferroviaire de Nancy. Everybody's invited.

http://cercleferronancy.free.fr/images/manifs_ter2018_01.jpg

We (finally) managed to complete the assembly of all the pieces and parts, and did the commissioning run of our railcar positioner no. 3. To be noted, we changed the design of the power supply to the shuttle of the positioner; our initial design was a festoon-cable system, but in the end we installed a third-rail electricity pickup.  If you want to see the conclusion, skip directly to the latest photos of this article.

We machined the rotary couplers for the 4-car consist that will run on the positioner:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39307291255/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39493945254/

We took 4 USRA 55-tons cars from our stock, plus one gondola as buffer car, installed the rotary couplers for each 2-car section, installed metal wheels, checked tolerances of the bogies and correct the height of the couplers:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40205202341/

In the first operational trial, we tested the positioner alone, separate from the dumper; engaging/disengaging between the positioner shuttle and the couplers was OK, shunting of the railcars was OK. We did only some minor alignments/fine tuning.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/26332759368/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40172180612/

And finally, we did the commissioning run! The positioner section, the dumper section, and the terminal section were assembled together.

We connected the 2 separate controls for the dumper and the positioner, and we put the new rotary-equipped railcars into position. Note: in the photos there are 4 new rotary railcars, 2 of our old rotaries, and the buffer car. The buffer is necessary to allow contact between the shuttle of the positioner and the first 2 unloaded cars that are still inside the barrel of the dumper.  In a prototypical setup a locomotive pushes a long string of loaded cars until the first 2 ones have been unloaded in the dumper and pushed out; then the loco disengages and is used for other operations. The positioner shuttle usually cannot directly go into the dumper, and the buffer is what pulls the cars out of the dumper. Otherwise, a couple of unloaded cars are at the head of the train, and used as buffers. In prototype, this operation, once primed, goes on with hundred of cars. In our layout, we have the limit of the length of the exit ramp of the positioner, which is designed for 6 railcars.

By the way, Sunday was pretty cold in Milan, and we elected to do the commissioning indoor, with the resulting limitation of working in a cramped environment.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40205126491/

Herewith a view, looking alongside the exit ramp:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28425250089/

The shuttle of the positioner pulling out 2 cars at a time; the positioner arm engages precisely on the couplers:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39493820214/

The drive of the positioner, and the exit from the dumper:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/25333594497/

Detail of the arm, in the “engaged” position

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39493760334/

Shunting railcars alongside the exit ramp:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40204964221/

A detail of the arm in the “disengaged” position, with the shuttle travelling back to engage another pair of railcars:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40204935521/

Again, shunting operations; we did some final alignment of the rails between the junctions of the rotating section of the dumper and the fixed sections of the entrance and exit ramps. To be noted, the seats of the screws that keep together the three sections have an intentional built-in backlash, which allows a precise centering.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/26332456268/

And finally, a photo of the entire dumper/positioner/exit ramp unit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/26332411278/

Everything works; the commissioning run has been passed, and 4 brand-new rotary-coupler equipped railcars are now on the official roster of Consolidated Nickel.

Our new positioner has advantages over its predecessor: it has a more prototypical design, and it has been built to more precise tolerances. Also, it is much sturdier than its predecessor, and the design allows an easier and quicker installation; these latest issues are of paramount importance when transporting and assembling the layout at exhibitions.

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

FINAL DETAILS AND EMBELLISHMENTS

Dear modeling friends.

We are completing the latest touches to our railcar positioner section. We did only a partial weathering; we could not complete it, due to the poor weather conditions (we do spraying and painting in our terrace, not inside our apartment...) Meanwhile we installed the mock-up bearing housings on the four pulley shafts of ourrailcar positioner. In prototype, these pieces appear as large flanges, fastened to the frame of the machine by Allen screws placed into recesses.

We machined these pieces from a 5-millimeter C40 steel rod, turning them down to 3.5 mm outside diameter, and drilling a concentric 2-mm hole. Later, we put the rod into the rotary table/dividing plate of our milling machine, and drilled 8 0.6-mm holes as recesses of the screws.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39723744145/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40577018872/

We slowly cut out the final piece (a kind of a 1.2-mm thick washer) installing a thin cutting disk on the spindle of the milling machine, and keeping the dividing table in rotation by hand (both have a vertical axis of rotation). The tricky issue was to avoid the finished piece flying away at the end of the cutting operation. After de-burring of the side faces (with grit 800 silicon carbide paper on a flat steel surface), the pieces were ready for installation. Here a 20X magnification of the piece.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40619039891/

We installed these parts concentric to the shafts of the various pulleys, and fastened them with cyanoacrylate, leaving the shafts free to rotate (the real bearings are inside, not visible; these pieces are only esthetic add-ons).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40619073771/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/39908443394/

The next (we hope the final) step will be a re-weathering of the machinery, rails, base of the positioner, and the 4 new railcars, and a planned re-wiring of the console no. 1 (the one that controls the machinery and the rail section of the main module of the layout).

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

Wow!

Great design and craftsmanship. We are looking forward to some videos of the dumper working.

DUMPER VIDEO FOR Logger01

Hallo Logger01

Herewith the video. Filmed by our friend Leszek Lewinsky at the Modell Hobby Spiel 2017 Leipzig. The video is in Polish, and IOHO they left a bit too much blah-blah-blah from the interview. But if you search carefully, there is a complete cycle of unloading of a 4-car consist in the rotary dumper (plus other mining, loading, and railroading operations). Anyhow, congrats to Leszek and his team for their HD video.

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

VIDEO FOR Logger01- DUMPER STARTS AT 8 min 30 sec

Logger01, if you are in a hurry, jump to 8 minutes 30 seconds in the video.

BTW, if you are a fan of logging operations, we would be glad to put you in touch with one Italian friend of ours, N scale railroader, who is specialist of old-style US logging layouts. 

Sincerely

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

Thanks for the video

Thanks for the video. With all of the animation I enjoyed watching it all the way through.

I have been modeling logging operations for many decades and actually got to see some of the last days of the Brimstone Railroad Shays hauling lumber and coal. Over the years I have built modular logging layouts in N and HO scales, but now I spend most of my time running Large Scale log trains in the garden. I still get run some HO and N logging equipment on the club layouts.

I have worked with several railway museums and when I have the time I run up to Cass, West Virginia to ride the excursion train up the mountain.

NEXT EXHIBITION FOR CONSOLIDATED NICKEL

Dear friends,

The Cercle Ferroviaire de Nancy (a leading French model railroading/full-size railroading cultural body)  has invited us to exhibit Consolidated Nickel Mines at the Toul Rail Expo 2018 in Toul, near Nancy (France) on 12th and 13th May.

http://cercleferronancy.free.fr/cfn_manifs_ter2018.php

If you consider a trip to the old continent, take a detour to the exhibit. French champagne, foie-gras and oysters are waiting for you.

From our side, we will exhibit for the first time at the Toul Rail Expo 2018 our new railcar positioner, the re-built module no. 3 of layout, and our modified photographic backdrop with its improved supporting structure.

Sincerely yours

Mario & Bice

REPORT FROM TOUL EXPO RAIL 2018 (FRANCE)

Dear friends.

As foreseen, we exhibited at the Toul Expo Rail 2018 on 12-13 May. The show took place at the Espace Dedon, a historical military complex presently used as conference and exhibition site, in Toul, near Nancy (France).

Congrats and praises must go to the organizers, the model railroading club Cercle ferroviaire de Nancy. The organization was flawless, the parking space was just nearby the halls, accommodation with copious breakfasts and self-service meals was supplied to the exhibitors. Even, sandwiches and drinks were made available on the evening of dismantling.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40384501630/in/dateposted-public/

We arrived in the afternoon of Thursday, and started the installation on Friday morning. Here in the foreground, our usual panoply of tools and redundant spare parts (some of these pieces saved the day...)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42144999232/in/dateposted-public/

Our installation took the usual 8 hours for 2 persons.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41470452514/in/dateposted-public/

Saturday morning, the latest checks before the arrival of the visitors. Barely visible in the photo; we have added two telescopic vertical poles to the structure that supports the lamps and our photographic backdrop. Four clips on each side, fastened to the poles, keep the backdrop flat. To be noted, me made the poles out of base sections of telescopic fishing rods (fiberglass) from Decathlon.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42191251571/in/dateposted-public/

The local press also arrived; photos and an article are available on the website of the “L’Est Republicain” newspaper. They also shot some photos of our contraption (no. 14, 15, and 16 of their series)

https://www.estrepublicain.fr/edition-de-toul/2018/05/13/les-trains-se-font-admirer-a-l-espace-dedon#0_13

It was the first time that our new railcar positioner and dumper exit ramp was in continuous operation at a show. The new unit allows the unloading of 6-railcar consists, (it was 4 before) and is more realistic than the older one.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42144730412/in/dateposted-public/

As before, we can position and move the strings of cars in and out of the dumper either with the locomotives, or through the positioner.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41470204144/in/dateposted-public/

One photographic note: lighting conditions were not-so-good; on Saturday strong diffused light came from the roof skylights (in the afternoon it came from the backside of the layout – visitors had the sun in their eyes, and the backdrop became semi-transparent).

In these photos, an empty buffer car is coupled to the train. The shuttle of the positioner cannot go inside the dumper, and (as in prototype) one buffer connects the positioner shuttle to the first loaded wagon.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41290767125/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42191118601/in/dateposted-public/

The dumper and the loading machinery worked fine, and each loading/unloading cycle of a standard 4-car consist took approx. 10 minutes (we did also 5 minutes as a test, and the machinery handled well the faster throughput of ore).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41470364254/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41470309374/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40384191770/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/27320100477/in/dateposted-public/

On Sunday, cold and rain greeted us; no heating was available, and we run the whole show keeping our anoraks on.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41290627415/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40384083560/in/dateposted-public/

Despite the poor weather, the turnout of visitors was good also on Sunday.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42191176481/in/dateposted-public/

In the end, TER 2018 was a pleasant and successful exhibition. By now, Consolidated Nickel stays hibernated for a while (but we are already mulling over further modifications).

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

VIDEO CLIPS FROM TOUL EXPO RAIL 2018

Dear friends.

We did an experiment, uploading on Flickr some short video clips from our recordings at TER 2018. Some clips also show our new railcar positioner in operation. Unfortunately, the definition is that of our (old) video camera.

To be noted: at least with our PC, the videos play well with Firefox and Microsoft Edge, but not with Google.

Enjoy

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42344950661/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471566628/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42344957401/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471571658/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42344961541/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471574978/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41442833185/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471583728/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41442840895/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/40537806990/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/41442847015/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471595298/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471583728/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28471597178/in/dateposted-public/

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Thank you both

Hi Mario and Bice,

Thank you both for taking the time to capture the video under exhibition conditions. The videos show just how smooth an operation you two run - CONGRATULATIONS.

I've just watched them all using Google Chrome as the browser and viewer from your Flickr site.  

Thank you for a very pleasant 1/2 hour or so. This is some of the best, if not the very best industrial transport systems modelling anywhere on the web. That new car positioner and its operation are gorgeous!!  

THANKS, JOHN - AND AN INVITATION

Hallo John.

Thanks a lot for your kind words.

We have been invited to exhibit Consolidated Nickel at the 16th Salon Du Train Miniature 2018 in Orléans (once again, in France), organized by the AMFC, Association des Modélistes Ferroviaires du Centre, on 10 and 11 November 2018.

http://www.amfc-orleans.fr/16-ieme-salon-du-train-miniature-dorleans-2018/

Take a detour to the old continent, and come and see us.

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

IMPROVED LIGHTING AT CONSOLIDATED NICKEL

Dear modeling friends.

After the Toul exhibition, we started the usual maintenance, repairs, and upgrading of our layout. We decided to install some low-power “ambiance” LED lighting of specific areas that need, in our opinion, to be highlighted.  Each array of lamps has its LEDs in parallel, and is dimmable with a 20-turn 0.25-Watt trimming resistor.

First area: the spiral staircase that leads to the control room at the top of our headframe:

After having repaired some solder joints in the structure, we installed yellow LEDs, simulating sodium-vapor lamps and their housings, one at each flight of stairs, plus one at the top of the walkway. Before installation, we carefully ground with 600-grit abrasive paper the capsule of the LEDs, so as to obtain a realistic diffused light. We carefully bent and cut to size the cathode leads of the LEDs, in order to directly suspend the LEDs by soldering the leads to the frame of the stairs. The frame becomes the “earth” of the power supply.  Two operators, tweezers, and cut-to-size spacers (balsa wood) were necessary to put the pieces together. This is what we call in Italian slang “a rat’s job”, and goes against our construction philosophy of solid mounting templates, everything in place and fixed before soldering.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42208098284/

For energizing the anodes, we carefully installed a 30-AWG wire-wrap insulated wire, keeping it under a slight tensile load and gluing it in position with droplets of cyanoacrylate in some points. We melted away the insulation layer from the wire in correspondence to the anode leads sticking out from the LEDs. One shot with an 8-Watt iron, and gentle scraping of the charred plastics does the job. A second shot with tin solders the leads to the wire. The excess length of the leads is (very carefully) removed with a cutting disk.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/29053983728/

After installation and soldering, we carefully applied one drop of 5-minute epoxy resin blended with 20% graphite powder at the top of each LED. The resin spontaneously flows into a nice hemispheric shape that simulates well the lamp housings and sockets (it also strengthens the leads of the LEDs). In the end, we did a careful re-weathering of the structure; after that, the wire and leads visually blended themselves into the steel latticework. Some sprays of black “wash” onto the LEDs, well visible with the LEDs illuminated, simulates well the dirt of industrial lamps.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42877446072/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42877426442/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42208011194/

Second area: the structure below and behind our rotary dumper:

Here, there are some interesting parts (e.g. the machinery for the rotation of the barrel), which are not clearly visible from the outside. After long discussions on the color to use, we decided to install three UV LEDs in a recessed position behind the hoppers of the dumper. The diffused violet light nicely enhances the visibility of the latticework and machinery.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/28057373997/

To be clear: the color of this lighting is NOT realistic; we will most probably light up the array of LEDs only when required by visitors interested in the details, or we will operate the LEDs full-time but at minimal amperage. We must gauge the final effect in the actual conditions of exhibition halls.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/29054045658/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/42208163624/

All these photos were shot with the maximum rated amperage of the violet LEDS, relatively strong photographic illumination (white) from outside, and the (existing) white lampposts of the dumper on. In these photos, the color hues appear much lighter than what they are in reality (in comparison, see earlier photos).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/91867668@N07/29053896728/

All the best from Milan

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen