We’re making progress…

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It’s been a while since we’ve updated our blog (blame the webmaster), but we’re making good progress. We have two of the main pods in place, Midway East and Midway West. Midway, as its name implies, is the mid-point of the railroad, and it’s also one of three major yards — and it’s now under DCC control!

The completed DCC pod for Midway West
The completed DCC pod for Midway West

On this blog, we’ve talked about the importance of bringing outside skills to the club. We’re very fortunate to have a skilled cabinetmaker as a member. Brian, who joined PMRRC in 1993 as a high school freshman, has been building the woodwork for our DCC pods.

Brian cuts wood for our DCC pods
Brian cuts plywood for our DCC pods

Meanwhile, work on our scenery continues. Zion Station, one of the landmark buildings at the western terminus of the railroad, has always sat at ground level. Now it has a sidewalk, and soon it will have a proper connection to the roadway, which means Sierra Pacific passengers will no longer have to teleport from their cars to the waiting room.

The new sidewalk under Zion station
The new sidewalk under Zion station

Most of the wire has been pulled, and last week we removed the relay panels from underneath the operating gallery. It’s a curious thing to be able to see the underside of the layout from beneath the old control panels…

The view under the control panels with the relay boards gone
The view under the control panels with the relay boards gone

Here are some of the relay boards. A lot of our old electrical components have value, so we’re salvaging what we can.

Old control relay boards
Old control relay boards

And for those who have been keeping track of our wire-pulling exploits, here’s the pile s far. It’s about to overflow the viewing gallery!

The wire pile as of 4/30/16
The wire pile as of 4/30/16

First pod test: Success!

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The blog is running late, but the DCC installation is progressing nicely. On March 29th, we installed and tested the first pod at Midway East, near the center of the railroad.

The first test pod installed at Midway East
The first test pod installed at Midway East

The pod is, in oversimplified simple terms, the set of components that delivers the signal from the controller to the tracks. We’ll save you a long story: The pod worked, and we were able to run our first train since we shut down our analog control system. Here it is:

First DCC test train at Midway
First DCC test train at Midway

Yep… Pennsy power. That’s not going to sit right with a few of our members…

Meanwhile, we continue to pull out wiring that won’t be needed (and perhaps a bit that will). For those keeping track, here’s the discarded wire pile as of March 19th:

The scrap wire pile grows...
The scrap wire pile grows…

Oh, and for those who can’t get enough of seeing Don Philpott covered in wire (I know I can’t!) here he is, hard at work in the operating gallery:

mrisfun_400

 

Wire, wire everywhere

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Don Philpott pulls wire from underneath the layout
Don Philpott pulls wire from underneath the layout

We’re on to the next big step: Pulling wire. There are miles and miles of wire under the layout, and the job now is to sort out what can go and get it pulled. All of this is done while crouching or lying on the Sierra Pacific’s concrete floor. With all the grunting, yelling and cursing, a person standing outside might start to wonder what goes on behind our closed front door…

To give you some idea of the magnitude, here’s the pile of wire we’ve pulled so far. It stands about thigh deep:

The pile of wire... so far
The pile of wire… so far

Meanwhile, we’re continuing to replace our switch machines with DCC-friendly Tortoises. The first of our pods are built, and we plan to install and test them this coming week. Stay tuned!

The first cut!

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Martin Booker cuts the connection from the cabs to the track
Martin cuts the connection from the cabs to the track

This is it — the point of no return! Okay, maybe I’m being a little dramatic, since wire can always be spliced. But we did pass a major milestone on Tuesday, March 1st, when club president Martin Booker cut the wires that connect our analog control system to the track wiring.

Those who saw The Hunt For Red October will remember the scene between Sean Connery and the Master At Arms…

MAA: We could still go back.

RAMIUS: There will be no going back.

We have resisted the urge to talk to each other in Scottish-Russian accents, but the point is still the same: Power is cut to our analog system, and when the railroad comes back online it will be digitial!

The importance (and the frustration) of standards

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Aaron's new "Amquipment" on the PMRRC test track. Note the #6 switches and 2% grade.
Aaron’s new “Amquipment” on the PMRRC test track, which features #6 switches and a 2% grade.

Real railroads run on standards, and so does the Sierra Pacific Lines. A train car is a train car on a 4×8 tabletop layout, but when you are pulling a 50-car train up a 2% grade, any car that isn’t in tip-top shape has a good chance of going on the ground. PMRRC has developed a strict set of standards for rolling stock, and all cars must pass inspection before they are allowed on the railroad.

Our trackwork is so good that if anything derails, the problem is almost always with the car. When a train goes on the ground, our standard operating procedure is to place the affected cars in the bad order tray for re-inspection and get the train moving again. In most cases, the train continues without a problem and we almost always find something wrong with the car.

As a newbie car inspector, I’ve been amazed at the things that can cause a car to kiss the ties: Continue reading →

Come as you are

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Frank Sele and apprentice James work on the harbor area
Frank Sele and apprentice James work on the harbor area

On our Become a Member page, we say that no special skills are required to join the Pasadena Model Railroad Club, and we mean it. One of the things that makes PMRRC such a great club is we have a lot of members who not only have lots of talent, but are willing to share it. Here, Frank Sele and apprentice James work on the harbor area. Frank, one of our newest members, brings with him a wealth of knowledge on building scenery. He’s a retired teacher, and he’s still teaching here at PMRRC.

We’re grateful that Frank is willing to pass on his skills to our other members. If you’re looking to learn about model railroading — or willing to teach! — then PMRRC is the club for you.

Our new equipment is on the way!

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Planning for PMRRC
Planning for DCC — a process that looks a lot like arguing, but isn’t

While some of the crew greeted the crowd at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa, the board was meeting to review equipment estimates and make a decision. We’ve approved the expenditure, we’ve ordered our equipment, and our gear is on the way!

Bob Wade removes one of our vintage DC throttles
Bob Wade removes one of our vintage DC throttles

Meanwhile, there’s a lot to do. Walk into the meeting room and you’re likely to see a scene like the one at left: Members hashing out the details of how we’re going to wire all that equipment so that we can duplicate or improve upon our existing functionality.

Up in the operator’s galley, it’s out with the old in preparation for the new as the old analog throttles are removed. It’s strange to see the control panels with holes where the throttles used to be, while the throttles themselves are piled up like old soldiers mustering for the last time. Our existing control system has served us well for the better part of fifty years. Hence the importance of careful planning and picking the right equipment — we want our new system to be able to last for the next fifty years!

Couplin’ up in Costa Mesa

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PMRRC at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa
PMRRC at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa

We’re at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa, California, with our old-but-somewhat-reliable Timesaver layout. In a building full of “Please Do Not Touch” signs, we’re giving show-goers a chance to get hands on and try their hand at the Timesaver (or just donk around with the locomotive).

The PMRRC Timesaver
The PMRRC Timesaver

Yesterday, half a dozen people were able to solve the Timesaver (a new record!) so we’ve made it a little tougher today with a slightly longer tank car that makes it impossible to get the loco and two cars on a spur. No solutions yet… but the day is still young! (UPDATE: Two people — well, technically, one person and one family — solved the Timesaver, not counting PMRRC member Aaron Gold.)

If you’re coming to the Costa Mesa show, be sure to stop by and say hello. Look for us (and our Timesaver) at more Southern California train shows this year.

Come see us this weekend at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa

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PMRRC will have a table at the Great Train Show in Costa Mesa, California, on January 30th and 31st. As always, we’ll bring our Timesaver switching layout (are you up to the challenge?). Please stop by and say hello — we’re always happy to meet fellow modelers and talk about the club!

More information about the Great Train Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa

Scenery TLC

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Thirty years of hands-on railroading has taken its toll on the Sierra Pacific Lines. As we work on our DCC conversion, we’re taking advantage of the railroad being “down” to make some much-needed scenery repairs and improvements. Below, Dan Wexler works on our iron ore mine as Frank Sele, Brian Neely, and Alex Calzaretta tell him what he is doing wrong.

Dan Wexler works on the iron ore mine as interested parties look on. Photo: Aaron Gold
Dan Wexler works on the iron ore mine as interested parties look on. Photo: Aaron Gold

Meanwhile, our DCC conversion marches onward. We are nearly done with the survey work (the difficult task of locating and isolating the right wires amid the electric spaghetti that lives under our layout), and we can move on to the painful part: Approving the expenditure for equipment costs and writing a very big check. Once the hardware is here, we can open the throttle on our DCC conversion to Run 8.