I was checking out the number of times my files have been downloaded. My design for Cheap & Easy Dwarves has been quite a success. Latest Download Check - 5/1/2012 N Scale Limited………………1378 N Scale.net…………………… 9219 Trainboard ………………around 20 (huh?) 10617 Times! I wonder how many have been made. Show us your installed built signals. For those of you who have not seen the signals check out http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/...p?albumid=1448 I wonder how many have been made. Show us your installed built signals. For those of you who have not seen the signals check out http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/album.php?albumid=1448
After several requests, I'm now adding some information on how these signals came about. I was looking through my boxes of LEDs the many months ago. When I was messing with the bi-color ones, I had an idea. Put it away on the mental to do list. A poster on N Scale.net was trying to make Dwarf Signals for his layout. They weren't looking right and very over-sized. Many different ideas were suggested, most complicated or expensive. A perfect application for my idea. Well here's how to create Cheap & Easy Dwarves… I'm an N scaler so I start with a 3mm bi-color LED either 2 or 3 lead works. 1. File a flat side on the LED. Starting with the flat side of the lip is easiest. 2. Cut a 2mm ID tube like a hood. I used a miter box and hobby saw. Cut several more than you need those buggers jump. 3. Apply super glue to the flat face of the LED and place the hood to the flat face. 4. Paint. Two or three coats make it light tight. Be careful not to get paint on the lens area. These are generally silver with a black hood or all black As you can see the process is easy and cheap. Larger scales need bigger parts. The design is a good start. The LED case can be filed to represent different case types. Be careful not to file to much as this will destroy the LED. A disc can be added to the face to convert it to a searchlight. The leads can be clipped and the signal mounted on bridge. Share with us what you've done with my idea.
That download thing has me puzzled. What do you mean by downloads. I don't see a download counter here. I almost never download anything here, I just view it on the site. Could that be what's going on here? Since TrainBoard has associated image hosting, maybe all those views aren't coming across as downloads. That notwithstanding, this is a nice solution to the "I can't afford signals" problem. For painting, do you just mask the lens and the leads and blast 'em with the rattle can?
I use the simplest painting methods. I brush or use markers. Many paints go on thick but dry to a film. Even though the paint is applied thickly, light leaks happen. So multiple coats or touch ups are needed. If the first coat is silver it will reflect more light through the lens. If you go to your Settings page on the bottom of the column on the left, you'll find the word Attachments. Click on it and you will get a list of all the files you've posted. he list includes stats on the files including, times copied/downloaded. Because I had only placed the photos in my gallery, the Forum hardly saw them. They got much more exposure on the other forums. I thought you guys and gals would like to share in the design.
Since you can view them on-screen here it may be that most people (me included) are doing that and not necessarily downloading. I find it handiest often to bookmark something. Downloading a photo and then having to keep track of it is more difficult for me to do. Adam
Will you introduce them to the Portland Area NTrak Club? I think it would be so cool to see a string of them changing as a train passes. When can I see the ones you've built? They take less than five minutes to make not counting paint drying time. I just hope that whoever sees this design find it useful. The design is so simple you really don't need to download it. By seeing it you get the idea. Going by the number of views versus downloads almost ten times as many people have seen the design. That's not too bad in a small hobby like ours.
If we ever start moving ahead on projects again, I will. Failing that, I might try some of these out anyway. My era is mostly 1940s-50s. I would love to find some more pictures of dwarf signals from then so I can get an idea of whether they were used ever and what they looked like - bonus points being given for examples on the SP, SP&S, MILW, GN, or NP... or maybe even the CB&Q or UP.
The most common place to find the little signals was yards. They were used in places where a signal bridge or pole would be in the way. Finding photos will be tough, most historic photos disregard any thing lower that the frame. People were looking for the dramatic rather than the mundane. Checking with the historical societies will be your best hope. Sometime you can find example of what you are looking for in pictures of other things but it's mostly a luck thing.
" Big Windy How are you powering the lights?Are you using a system. ? Thanks. " They can be used with any signaling system. Three leg Bi-color LEDs are available in common cathode or anode, you need to match them to your system of choice. Be wary of the power output of the controller. You must use appropriate resistors with units designed for lamps. You may also need resistors for systems designed for LEDs. Please read the instructions for your system. For the photo shoot I used two AA batteries in a pack with alligator clips. ICurrently my layout is in flux. "SteamDonkey74 Do you happen to know about when the first dwarf signals appeared anywhere? " I'm guessing not long after the adoption of above track signals. But here are some links for you. http://www.railroad-signaling.com/mysignals/2A.html http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2105116 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_railroad_signals
No I don't have a signal system as of yet. I have an Atlas signal coming that includes a pcb board and detection for just one signal. I was going to see what the Atlas system is all about. I guess I should start a post to help determine what the most economical prototypical system that is available. I was hoping that your cheap dwarves were the answer. Searches haven't yeilded much. Jerry
The C&EDs are just the heads. So they do need something to drive them. It could be as simple as a manual toggle switch or connected to a computerized dispatch system..
ChicagoNW, Thanks for the links. I love that dwarf semaphore. I bet those were fun to maintain, having moving parts and being subject to all sorts of damage that those on full sized masts would be mostly immune to. If this dwarf semaphore was made in 1908, then I bet any sort of searchlight dwarf would have been available right about the same time as any searchlight on a mast. Adam
