Operation and maintenance
Yard Switcher Protocol
OK you guys with knowledge of real trains, help me out with some yard switcher protocol. I'm modeling the transition period from steam to diesel with an occasional GP38-2 thrown in. My first question is: would a road switcher (GP7) returning from a local run with just a few cars be allowed to spot them to yard tracks or would regulations/contracts insist the RS leave them on the A/D track and let the yard switcher (H-10-44 or NW2) move them to other yard tracks?
Switchlocks: Do You Use Them? If so: How?
Time to start investigating locked main switches. My jury is still out on this subject.
Those of you that use them, or have operated on a layout that used them:
* Do you think it adds (or added) to the experience?
* Did it lock/unlock only in theory, or did it actually lock the switch?
* What small locks were used? Where to get?
Anything you can school me concerning using switch locks on a layout will be carefully considered and much appreciated.
Thanks.
Andre
Clocks?
This is a question for those people who use clocks during their operating session, regardless whether they are fast clocks or 1:1 clocks.
I model the 1900 era and I want to have clocks in the layout room to coordinate operations.
I have several options on clocks:
Operations resume!
Last night I resumed operations on the W&N Branch. Not only was it the first op session in over 18 months, it had several milestones:
First op session with the new northern half of the layout in service
First op session with seven operators
First op session to try the CCTV dispatching system
Outside of a few issues with the layout operating dormant for over a year, it performed well.
Model Railroad Run Session: The first Op Session on my new layout!
Welcome everybody! Today we are doing the first operation session of my new layout. It's nowhere near completion but it needs to be tested before I begin any irrevesible work.
jmri not scheduled work
using jmri it will work fine for awhile, but after several runs it will not put cars in or out of several locations. if i manually move cars to other locations it will work normally for several runs. after that it will stop again. anyone have a fix?
Length of Car Cut
I was playing around with some virtual ops on my track plan, using the CAD program I design layouts with. It came to mind that on our model layouts, it's easy to push long cuts of cars (e.g. say longer than 12 cars) in our switching because we can see the whole train from above, and the model engines can handle it.
How to build a signaling system that uses a CTC machine for operations, but works with out a dispatcher for non operations?
I have a couple questions for hobbyist out there who have built and use CTC machines with their layout. Our club is in the process of designing a signaling system and would like to have a dispatcher operated CTC machine. My question is how to build the signaling system so it works with the CTC machine during operations, but also works "automatically" when there is no dispatcher? I understand it will have to be some form of APB signaling, but how is routing accomplished and controlled by the signals with no dispatcher?
Cattle
I'm not sure if this has been addressed before. We know that cattle were shipped from Texas to Kansas, etc. for processing and to Chicago for same. But for modeling TX, would that be "only" pens? Or would there be any other facility or structure built in TX for "other" than just storing cattle to ship North? For modeling in TX, wouldn't there be any processing? Why not? They wouldn't ship to KS for processing and then back to TX for grocery stores? Would they? Pictures would be nice - or a destination to search on Google Maps.
DC control
I need to know what value pot to use to control the DC voltage to my HO layout. I'm using and old transformer and know how to construct a bridge rectifier. Thanks in advance.
John
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