First things first: We want to wish all of our members and fans a happy New Year!
2015 has been quite a year for the Pasadena Model Railroad Club. We had two very successful Open Houses, we added new members, we built a new web site, and there was one other thing… what was it… oh, yes! We decided to convert the layout to DCC. This will be one of the largest projects conducted on the Sierra Pacific Lines since construction began on the current layout in 1979.
We have already begun in earnest, the first step being to trace the current wiring under the layout — and that’s no simple task. Our analog control system is extraordinarily complex, and along with track power, we have thirty-five years’ worth of wiring for block detection, turnouts, lights, route patching, and even some yet-to-be-installed signals. Take a look under our layout, and you might be tempted to ladle some marinara sauce on all that electronic spaghetti.
Phase 1 of our conversion involves the main line and its turnouts (switches), so the first thing we need to do is identify the wiring that will need to change. We also need to check for clearance on the Tortoise switch machines that will accompany the DCC conversion.
The good news is that we’ve already finished most of the tracing. As 2016 rolls in, we’ll begin building the DCC pods and wiring up the track. We have a lot of members willing to jump in (or perhaps we should say jump under… the layout, that is, not a moving train) and git ‘er done. With this level of commitment, we should be able to get the project done (relatively) quickly.
Stay tuned for details — and meanwhile, we wish you and yours all the best for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2016!
