That's my cheat sheet for the staging yard switch numbers. When I started, I built my own Arduino staging controller and control panel. One push button would align all the switches for a track. I was particularly proud of the code; nice and compact with clear routing logic. When that coil driver board died I decided to change everything over to DCC stationary decoders (Digitrax DS52). Throwing each switch to route a track got old so that's when I started playing with JMRI. It doesn't feel near as elegant but is significantly more flexible.
I don't know how I've missed this thread before now... I am really impressed! Electronics are right up there with heavy construction in terms of Least Favorite Model Railroad Activities so I have particular respect for those who can tackle it (what is this "JMRI" of which you speak?). I had been to "West B" in person in the early part of this century, when the now-defunct small software company for which I worked thought it had a potential customer in BNSF. It was one of the visits we made to railroad shops on the line, which also included Alliance, Nebraska and Springfield, Missouri, as well as BNSF Headquarters. No business resulted-- the IT powers that be quashed the initiative that had been started by the Operations Group ("you get your solutions through us, and us only, and anyone you contacted is now permanently disqualified")-- but it was certainly a treat to do some "railfanning" at my then employer's expense!
A couple of updates to the BN Ottumwa Sub. I finished all the code 40 switches on the West end of the yard. I still need to ballast them. I did get the main ballasted up West Burlington hill. I also finished Borax (Iowa Soap Company Mfgrs). This is kit bashed from Walthers/DPM modular buildings. Not exact, but I'm pretty happy with it. Then I got back into signals. I designed a PCB to go in place of the walkway on a signal bridge. That way I don't need to run 4 wires to each head and only need to run 4 wires total to the signal bridge. (My new Scale Trains SD40-2s showed up today)
The signal mast solders into the 4 large holes. Then I run a 40awg wire from each pin on the LED down to one of the 3 holes in the PCB to the side of the mast. For the upper head I run them down the center of the mast. For the lower ones I just run them directly from the LED to the PCB. Those LED wires then go to an I/O expander (PCS9655 to be exact) - i2c in, discrete LED control out. Here's an early picture of of the build that shows the wires better. The 4 wires that go from the PCB down to the connector are power, ground, clock, and data for an i2c interface to my data concentrator (Arduino Teensy 3.2). My data concentrator then talks C/MRI (RS845) to my computer running JMRI that drives each aspect along with reading detector, turnout position, and facia switches inputs along with dispatcher input for the logic necessary to clear a control point. Each data concentrator can drive up to 4 signal bridges but typically just 2 along with optical detectors and the facia switches. Enough for a control point. Here's a simplified schematic of my layout electrical:
Looking great. I’ve just started the process of planning the signals on my Boise Division. I’m going to use the DIGITRAX SE-8 and SE-74 modules. I really would like to have functioning semaphores but that’s tough in nscale.
After ballasting the yard this winter I moved moved on to the 6th street bridge. I had 3D printed a temporary bridge two years ago and just decided to paint it silver. Well one thing turned into another and I've spent two months scratch building the bridge, approach, ramps, and JD Electric building. The through plate girder is interesting in that it had the webs removed as built in 1903. Mine started as a Walthers through plate girder that heavily modified and added E-unit grills for walkways. The houses on the hill are z-scale and I love how they add forced perspective. They especially make St John's church look so much bigger than just a country brick church as Walthers modeled it. I still have so many trees and details to add but I think I'm going to finish signals first. John
Using the z-scale houses really worked! I didn't realize they were z scale at all, they fit the scene and created the perspective you were going for. Really well done!
Thanks for the kind words. I had been looking for a z-scale church for a long time but wanted it to be brick. I had planned on n-scale houses but when it came to laying everything out there wasn't enough room for n-scale houses. That's when I ran across 3D printed z-scale houses on eBay and bought one. I was blown away by the detail! You can see individual shingles. When I put it next to the church, it immediately gave it the scale I was looking for for St John's. So I bought a bunch more 3D printed z-scale houses. I still need more and I need to paint them, but yeah, I think the scene really looks good behind the spindly 6th street bridge.
Great job! I love the handlaid code 40 tracks. Very nice scenery as well, especially the scenes with the SD40-2 and the signal bridge.
As a longtime 3d printer, let me offer a bit of advice. Some resins and FDM prints will be resistant to some paints. Tamiya makes a rattlecan primer that works on almost everything, including the soft polymer stuff.
Thanks for the note. Most of my paint is really old Polly Scale acrylic and it seems to work well. At least with the one resin house I painted. At least I knew not to use True Color. That would have been a sad day.
