Maes Glas Riverside - A shunting Puzzle

[Dad-1]

I blame all delays on the weather.
Our spare room was re-decorated with a new carpet, so indoors working ceased.
The weather has been such that working outdoors was not an option, so it sat in my shed
not exactly unloved, but not far off !!
As we pass mid-June at last I'm out, sunshine, even if it can still be windy.

All track laid more or less in place. Wiring to be through pins soldered to the copper-clad
sleepers, through the board and the undersides joined into a loom. Will it work ?? Only by
trying will I find out. Being small and light I'll just upturn to work on the underside.

Worm holes for the 'Wire-in-Tube' point workings. I hope to get one sliding switch to work
the two points of the crossovers. While that should be possible the sliding switch will only work
one polarity change as the other half of a cross-over needs a different change. How I'm going
to sort that I have no idea, perhaps frog juicers, but I've had trouble with them in the past.



My first working on the railway for many a month.

Geoff T.

[aleopardstail]

if you are sticking a double pole, double throw on the point rod its basically two switches so should be able to do both frogs.

looks good though, which personally I find such layouts quickly get tedious (says the one whose current "layout" is a 3'6" straight track) they are excellent to practice stuff on and really lose yourself into the scenic side as with such a small space its possible to really go to town. Also make for very good test tracks etc.

and, and this bit is huge, if you like shunting, occasionally, one of these means a larger layout doesn't have to have some oddball shunting area, and more layouts are more better

[Phred]

Looking good.
I like these outdoor photos. I spend as much time admiring your lovely garden as I do looking at the layout.

[Dad-1]

Thanks guys,

aleopardstail, this is a shunting puzzle, not just a random shunting yard.
The track plan is an extension of the 'Derry's Yard' layout where I'd used
set-track insulated points that were it's downfall.
With a genuine Puzzle there are 'game' cards giving what needs to be achieved.
The track along the back is in theory a through line, just to have more stock and
another loco on scene.
The actual puzzle has just 7 wagons, but they need to be worked through the
loop to work puzzles. It actually takes some concentration to get a 100% run
with no failed coupling/uncoupling and every move spot on, particularly points !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Phred,

My wife's the main gardener, but this year food produce is up to me.
The Pink Elephant Hawk Moth has been resting on a plant in the greenhouse.



The only railway in this is my Chalkhill layout, seen halfway up my shed doors height deep inside.
Still the garden looks O.K.



I'm having a rest from railways until next Sunday when I'll be running my HSII shunting layout at
Axminster Station where we'll be having a small 'Free' entry exhibition.

Geoff T.

[Phred]

Dad-1 wrote:
The Pink Elephant Hawk Moth has been resting on a plant in the greenhouse.

What a beautiful thing...

[Dad-1]

More activity, This layout is annoying me, it's been hanging around too long.

Over the last few days I've progressed slightly. I've soldered all the connection pins into
their respective copper-clad sleepers, now protruding under the board, but not yet wired in.
I was leaving wiring until I'd placed all the big Kadee underboard magnets in place. I've done
that by superglue, sticking each magnet exactly on the centre-line directly to sleepers.
The magnetic strength would have been too high, so to reduce each magnet is topped with a
plasticard spacer to move further away. They may well prove to be stronger than my ideal, as
my most successful use of hidden magnets had been on Peco code 100 track. With this being
code 75 SMP track with thin sleepers the Kadee trips would become somewhat closer to each
magnet.

With a Shunting Puzzle, as opposed to just a shunting layout there are VERY specific requirements
as to space between any stops and the magnets activating range. In fact you only have a variable
gap of about 1 cm. Here you see a wagon parked on the dividing line, and further onto the magnet
would work the coupler, and further out and you reduce the free running space for you parked
maximum number.



You can probably make out the marked centre-line on this magnet.



This puzzle is worked on the design and number of wagons as used on my Derry's Yard layout.
The 7 wagons are located and fill the two front sidings, 3 in the front left, and 4 in the front right.
On the left the distance from the stop could vary between 20.5 cm & 25.5 cm, for best operation
aim for the maximum. The right again measured from a buffer stop is between 37.5 cm & 42.5 cm.
These measurements are CRITICAL, if you get it wrong and what is planned to be the end wagons
Kadee is into the magnetic zone you will NEVER be able to remove the siding contents !!

All the wagons and what I hope to use for traction.



As I have Derry's Yard why build this to exactly the same format ?

I used insulated frog set-track points and short 0-4-0 locos couldn't run slowly enough without stalling.
In short it simply wouldn't work reliably enough. My only reliable runner on that was my Hornby J94
0-6-0, also helped by having a compensated central axle. To squeeze in the original length I'd cut the
original unsightly between rails magnets in half, with them placed too near the points causing problems
by taking the loco Kadees off the centre line which is where they need to be for best operation.

Was my enthusiasm boosted by running HSII at a small model railway show on Axminster Station yesterday ?
Perhaps. The Kadees on that ran perfectly !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

I now face a puzzle, HOW to fix up my wire-in-tube point operating.
I've spent some time looking through Youtube, but can't find what I want.
The main manual systems there seem to be rod, been there done that, but
NOT suitable for this layout.

What we have is more or less a Bowden Cable system. I'll obviously be soldering
the internal wire to the various points tie-bars. How am I going to secure the outer
conduit ? My current thinking is a wooden anchor with a fine slot that the activating
wire will pass through. Nearly all will be buried in the channels routed out of the
board.

I have some slide switches for the operating, I must check them to see if they are
suitable for double switching. Rather than having 6 individual switches I'd like to
Siamese up the two points that make each of the three cross-overs.

Anyway this is taking me into uncharted waters - which I suppose IS part of the
reason for doing it. By the time you're on you 10th layout you MUST try new ideas.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Now in the process of making up some Lanarkshire Models white metal
buffer stops. I can't really run the layout until these are in place.





All basic track wired in and working fine, can't run though as there is no
power switching to the 6 frogs and the wire-in-tube point operation still
needs to be sorted out.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Back to this and the final cut where things MUST be spot on.
I have to splice in my buffer stops. The locations are dictated by magnets.
Here my test train.



This particular siding has to have a maximum of 4 wagons. To achieve a fail safe
siding length I proof test, here we see the 8 mm zone where I want as much length
as possible, but dropping a 5th wagon must be impossible.

Here it would be impossible to remove the 5th wagon as the kadees are sufficiently
over the magnet to never couple up.



With the trip droppers over the previous sleeper they do not activate and therefore
it is impossible to drop the 5th wagon.



This accuracy is essential to making a good shunting PUZZLE, it sets limits that must
adhered to.
With this one I'm still not certain if the loop will accept 3, or 4 wagons. As you need to
go through the loop to push wagon into either a right, or left siding the extension in
length from Derry's Yard shouldn't either make the puzzle easier, or more difficult.

I suppose it'll all make sense when working !!

I'm currently struggling to find half a dozen Gem type omega springs for my wire-in-tube
point system. Things could still go horribly wrong as I have no experience of working my
home built pointwork. I'm thinking Peco 'aint so bad after all, but set-track is a NO-No !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Well, not the best conditions for making a video.
Dull & raining and in my shed without additional lighting.
What it does show is progress, enough to have a loco running.

https://youtu.be/68j6uifQlRU

I desperately need some reliable dry weather, not looking a good
week for that ?

Geoff T.

[Bufferstop]

Unless they have changed over the years the GEM omega loops are much too stiff for modern trackwork I'd make them from guitar strings. For use with my push rod system I use a 25mm piece of piano wire which gives enough pressure to keep switch rails against stock rails. I no longer cut the connectors out of the chock strips, I leave the polythene on, it grips the screwdriver when you are trying to carry out adjustments upside down, it also rubs against the underside of the board and prevents you putting too much upward force on the rod.

[Dad-1]

Ahh Bufferstop,

"Modern Trackwork" that doesn't really cover my copper-clad tie-bar sleeper.
One thing I now note, what I haven't done is cut away the cork from under that
tie-bar sleeper. As a result it's dragging over the cork so I do need a strong
spring, I even wonder if my wire will be up to the job.
On my test crossover board I did remove the cork !!

I may nibble the cork away because otherwise I can see adding ballast will jam
tight.

Finished the last of 4 Lanarkshire buffer stops and now need to splice in, cutting
away track as necessary to get exact spacing.

Geoff T.

[aleopardstail]

something to be said for home made points, not doing it myself this time around but I have previously, serious money and space saver I found. took about 20% out of a station throat while easing the curves.

probably worth chiselling a bit of the cork from under if you can, otherwise though careful ballasting and it should be fine (more careful than I'd manage)

pondering KayDee couplings myself, expensive, figure start with ends of rakes and fill in the rest later but do it before the collection grows. they just look so much more usable

[Bigmet]

...pondering Kadee couplings myself, expensive, figure start with ends of rakes...they just look so much more usable.

The Kadee is beyond doubt the best RTR autocoupler, appraised for the bundle of capabilities it offers. Very reliable when correctly installed, and is my 'end of rake' coupler of choice. Better yet, used in this way it isn't so expensive, and offers a realistic choice of a DIY installation through the buffer beam, where it should be to obtain superior appearance, since I am not fitting over 2,000 but 'only' 200. And! The Kadee still works with their uncoupling magnets even though the trip pin is thus placed higher than specified, which means I haven't needed to straighten the trip pins, a pleasant surprise.

But the Kadee ain't perfect.
Strike one: it cannot be arranged to replicate the loose coupled action on trains of unfitted wagons.
Shortening the Bachmann miniature tension lock, and using the BK magnetic uncoupling mod. (which works on Kadee magnets) is my answer there. Requires a 24" minimum radius system; 4W wagons buffer up when propelled fully protected from buffer locking, and when pulled have 2mm between the buffer faces.
Strike two: the slack in the Kadee coupling is suboptimal for operation of close coupling systems.
'Rigid bar' couplers, mechanical or magnetic, are superior for this application, but come with their own compromises.

So there I am using at least three coupler systems, a 'horses for courses' solution. I'd like a better way, but nothing is on offer. Where's the autocoupler that looks as much like three and screw link couplings as Kadee resembles knuckle couplers, and with all Kadee's capability?