Okane, you are absolutely right. The telehone wire is for the Kato Automated Switches. Do they make anyother kind? Four wires which will operate two switches. These will be fun to put back together. You can also see the red and black wires dropping down from the table and those are from the Kato Switches, as well. The job at hand is getting all the wires stripped. Then the fun part and where I could use help is locating wires to the correct blocks. I almost need myself working below and someone to attach the test light to the next block of track. If you get my drift. Big Jake, I've had a New-fie and a Dalmation/Black Lab mix. Sweetest dogs you could ever ask for. Miss them terribly. I've had some of the oddest pets. Try a Brahma Bull, it's to long a story for here and now. We put on quite the show at the San Benito County Rodeo, Bolado Park, Ca. He was awesome. Then a colt, I never got to ride him but he turned out to be the best horse. Good with children and unless scarred he would never buck you off. No breaking needed. As to the feline four pawed critters I have. This is unusual in one sense, for me to do. I've always had a cat hanging around me. Being allergic, for the most part they were outside cat's. Then down in Big Bear Country, a pregnant mamma cat darted in the door and proceeded to have her babies. As a former EMT-type, the forerunner of such/pioneer in getting EMT's. I was able to use my skills to help her. The next cat was a mamma who was outside and was about to be attacked by raccoons. If they are hungry enough they will eat anything they can take down. I picked up the kittens and she followed me into the laundry room. She couldn't have heeled any better had she of been a dog. The kittens were easy to find homes for but the mamas not so easy. They pretty much hung around as indoor/outdoor cat's. The next one was injured by the kids in the park. Long story but I ended up being the Cat Guy. The one that rescued cats. Thanks to a sponsor I got them neutered or spade and removed from the park. The ones i couldn't find homes are with me to this day. That's almost it in a nutshell. Oh, before I forget. A skunk and a mamma racoon that came to my door every night looking for food. That mamma racoon never once threatened or caused problems for the mother cat's and their tribe. Neither did the skunk. I treated the skunk who had a nose laceration, Neo-sporin works wonders. Interesting times... until it got so bad in the park that the kids killed anything and everything that moved. Then they started breaking into my trailer stole money from me and killed off three of my rescued cat's. Time to move.
January 21, 2021 and we have a new Presidentie in office. Back comes all the things we had hoped would stay... that way. If you know what I mean. My response, Harrumph !! So, once again I will escape back to my fantasy world, the train layout. Where the only accord is the one I play on the piano. The wiring project is in full swing. The wires are hanging there swinging in the breeze when the windows are open. A good friend and electrician is currently doing the same thing only he has to climb a ladder at one end to connect the wires to a fish line. Back down the ladder and up another one to fish them through. Then it's time to strip the wires, install a conduit box and connect them. One wire at a time, one circuit at a time. All by himself. He makes my job look like child's work. The goal is too see these hard working N scale Alligators, Again!! Above: Is the top deck which is still in the outside shed for now. You can see a test train of standard/heavy weights on the furthest track. The work train crew quarters and a wreck train that will be going to assist with construction. I was putting in bridges at the time and there are girders to lift into place. Got's to have a story...right?
Looking forward to seeing that Alligators polishing the rails sir. And news that the wiring work has started is very cool. The excitement is building!!!!!
Rick my friend...I dont envy you the rewire job. I am to the point that I am lucky to be able to work on anything on the TOP of the layout....let alone underneath...
Thank-you George. We aren't so far apart. Getting down and under the train table. I can get there but getting back-up, I can manage it but at a struggle. I hate to admit. It wasn't so long ago I crawled around a friends layout pulling the wire. He then up and sold it at a reasonable profit considering he never even offered to pay me a share of it. Wouldn't you know. The one thing I haven't lost is my sense of humor. I can laugh at the difficulties I'm having. I'll get'er done. A little at a time.
Yup, Rick, it's either laugh at them or get depressed about them and there are enough other things about which to get depressed. And yes, George, the difficulty gap between working on top of the table vs. underneath is narrowing. Also, electronics was pretty much my whole carrier and HiFi my other life interest and I have a heck of a time repairing equipment, now. Soldering, which used to be like breathing, is a challenge because I can't see clearly enough. And handling the hardware? Pfffffft! Doug
One of the other things that sold me on switching the unitrack was the wiring and age plus arthur and the lingering effects of a stroke. I use the unitrack wiring system all the way up to the power pack a simple plug and play system. What few wires there are are attached to the underside of the layout by double sided tape.
It tried to snow this morning but at 37F degrees that's a little warm. It's raining now and that's okay with me. Busy day ahead. i get to climb under the train table and strip wires. John, Like you I looked at Unitrack and was impressed with the plug and play. Studied it and looked at the long runs I had, the cost. I did go with Unitrack switches on the main-line. I looked in my locker filled with wire and decided i have enough of the telephone wire. I can make that work cheaply and easily enough. So I discarded the plugs and went to work braiding and soldering. A quick check with a Radio-Shack DC transformer hard-wired to reverse the current DPDT, two way momentary on. It worked so I was off and running. I have to admit right about now the plug and play is attractive but the cost isn't. A visit to We-Honest on the internet and to my surprise I found all kinds of DPDT's at a better then reasonable cost. You guessed it. I bought them. Now I need to make a control panel. That has me a bit flustered at the moment. Not that I don't know how but which type? Linear or map style? With or without a clear acrylic covering? Decisions, decisions. Like what you are doing on your layout. The work and reports on your thread. Nothing like this hobby to give a bunch of Covid... recluses a chance to visit and share/swap ideas. Later.
Regarding George's response to to my comment about the kids breaking into my place and killing three of my house cats. Thanks for this. I've purposely waited to respond to this. Had to think it out first. I ended up calling the SO and Animal Control. Might as well have talked to the wind. Do you have witnesses, pictures, video and I didn't. The thing is this isn't all that happened. One kid broke in and proceeded to beat me with MY bat. i managed to get it away from him. That was when I discovered how they were getting in. Poor door construction. The whole frame would move at the twist of a screwdriver. Locks would drop out as though they were never there in the first place. You might be aware of or know of cock fights. How certain of our class of sub-humans enjoys such things, betting on one bird or the other. It went further then that. My neighbors, South of the Border persuasion, were raising pit bulls to fight. Some of the sweetest dogs, as I knew them. They, certain of my neighbors and not all... would capture a cat and put it in a cage with a raccoon, snake and etc. At the time, some of it could be found on You Tube. I walked into the middle of it to let one of my pet cat's out of the cage. How I ended up walking out of there without getting beaten is a mystery to me. I didn't even think about the possibility of such at the time. I've never run from a fight and didn't see any reason too at the time. I had a cat to rescue from certain death. A verbal warning stating the next time I see a gathering like this I will call the officials. It stopped for awhile but after building a enclosed garage large enough to handle the crowd...it was back-on. I don't like taking up with animal rights activist but in this case it was time. A brief talk with an attorney in town, some discussions with civilians and coordination with the SO and Animal Control. It eventually led to arrests and they were temporarily shut down. Knowing these types, it will be back-on as soon as they can find a place they consider to be secure. While some things change, nothing changes at all. Harrumph
One more reminder as to why i'm working so hard. While spending a ten year in the Greater Dayton, Ohio arena. I ended up under the influence of the Eastern Road names. More commonly referred to as the Mid-west Railroads. it was a nice break from the Western Roads. Here is a Norfolk Western, Y3 2-6-6-2 entering the upper yard. The crew of the Santa Fe train about to depart, is wondering "What the hell"? Crossing over the Dry Gulch arch bridge. Finally arriving on the main, on the lower level. In the last picture there's those wires begging to be hooked back-up. While out in Dayton Country. I was able to chase a Norfolk & Western, group sponsored Private Varnish passenger train from Cincinnati out and across the South West corner of Ohio, north to Richfield and on in to Indiana. Round Trip. Got my Nephew up into the cab of the J Series, to see how things work. The crew was super to visit with. Then the day was over. Like all things... there's always an end. I still have this N Scale, PV and plan on running it along with some other PV's. I'm going to have to come up with a powered baggage car. Can't have any diseasels (SP intended) tied into this train. Now back to work.
LOL To funny just to funny. Well played George. I like the video. Nice!! Yes, Union Pacific is wimps. Have to have a diesel tied in. I jest. I've been told. The diesel is there as added insurance in case the Big Boy brakes down. Then they can move it off the main line and not delay other trains. Between long water stops it can also add it's service to get the train through and serve as braking what with dynamic braking. It has it's purpose. There is a story that circulates around the U.P. where the Challenger was following a freight and a diseasel (sp intended) went down. The Challenger caught that freight by the tail end and shoved it into Cheyenne. How about them apples? I've been thinking about buying some Southern F types to tie in behind the Y3. An E unit baggage car is going to look weird.
There used to be video of it happening out there somewhere but I can't seem to find it this morning. It was impressive to see a steam helper on a big freight. That was before everyone decided all mainline steam needed a diesel behind it. The 844 did the same. Here is that video from YouTube Rick, the other post was hard to read. Makes you wonder where our society is headed. How did yesterdays session of wire work go?
I haven’t found the one with the Challenger assisting an freight train. Have you seen this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk