Update time! Before I show the nearly finished signals, let's chase a rabbit trail and show you the LEDs. Man, they are TINY! There's no way on earth I could solder those leads, so I was thankful for them being pre-soldered! They are 0606 LEDs, basically. 060" square in size. They are tri-light, so red, green and amber all in 1 assembly. They are specifically designed for the signal heads in the kits I built. Sorry, crummy photos, had to hold the leads and the phone camera, but you get the idea. The LEDs are fitted with 14" leads, but I wanted to test them before committing to installation. A simple 9v battery, a resistor kit (I used 2k ohm) (not less than 1k ohm is required per the instructions) and a third hand tool helped a lot. Connect the common (red lead) to the resistor on positive, and the green leads (1 each for each color) to the negative and viola! Green: Amber: Red: When testing was complete, I carefully replaced them into the baggies they were shipped in. N scale ruler for scale: Next time, we'll see the almost complete signals.
Oh man are those small. I bet they are going to look great though. Thank you for showing us the progress
You are so right!!! They are ridiculously tiny! The wires proved to be a major challenge to feed into the mast. I started with the easiest ones first, then finished with the ones with dual heads. What a beast! To begin, you would twist the leads together tightly. These wires are so fine they defy finger twisting. I tried finger twisting like I would for any larger wire, and 5 minutes later I was getting a sore wrist and no further along bundling them for insertion. The wires by themselves are so fine, flimsy and flexible that they refuse to go into the mast. A tip provided by Debbie at Showcase Miniatures suggested twisting the wires tightly so it resembles a wire rope, and feed them in that way. That worked like a charm! I used an old pin vise, chucked the tips of the wire into it and twisted the wires much more easily this time. Once twisted, cut the end flush at the end of the twist, that will maintain its integrity long enough to thread into the mast. Once the wires are prepped, start feeding them into the holes you drilled/filed into the mast. This is the REALLY fiddly part. Go slow and try to make smooth bends. Kinks halt progress in a hurry. Third hand tools are ESSENTIAL. I used an arm to hold the signal, and another to keep the LEDs from getting tangled and kinked. Eventually the tag ends will pop out of the lower mast and you can GENTLY pull them through. When the LED gets near the head, orient it sideways and insert it fully. The leads will not stick out past the back of the head when done correctly. Gently pull the rest of the wire through, and leave a bit of slack so it's not taut. Add a tiny drop of canopy glue (it dries clear and flexible, like Micro Kristal Kleer) to hold the LED in place. The canopy glue will need reapplied a couple times, as it shrinks as it cures, and also fills in the center voids in the signal head. A tiny drop can be inserted into the target to form a lens. Lastly, let's have a look at the nearly finished signals. East Crescent, WB main, EB main (marked MP 30.8), EB siding (MP 30.8A) (the EB siding signal is built with almost no prototype photos, so it has some modeler's license applied): West Crescent next. EB main, WB main (marked MP 31.7) and WB siding (MP 31.7A): Lastly, some lineside signage and electrical apparatus. The stripes on the flanger signs are 2" scale wide. The tunnel numbers are 6 or 8" scale. The numbers on the mileposts and the "T" on tunnel signs are 4 scale inches tall. That's absolutely tiny. My eyes bugged out and I had to take a break to make dinner after doing the mileposts! OK< my paint on the signs is really sloppy... Doh! The camera hides nothing... That's it for now.
You did a really nice job on all of it. I remember those wires for the LEDs being as fine as frogs hair which had me really nervous breaking them when I assembled mine.
As to comments about the miniscule nature of this project, I have reading glasses and a 2x magnifier headband. I added a 10x jeweler's loupe to cut the 4" scale numbers... As to the wires, I will install the signals on the layout and feed them thru fine brass tube before conducting any further prep work. Long story short, once the wires are fed thru the layout, I'll carefully solder on some hookup wire, add heat shrink tube to protect it, and install either spade connectors or wire directly to whatever signaling controller I plan to use. Still don't know what equipment that will entail just yet.
The signs and signals are so kool Hemi! I really want to try my hand at it soon. Maybe a winter time project. I'm 100% sure I will be reading and re reading this a few times. Thanks for sharing the progress.
Hotel time is over for a bit, so I took an hour to play with signal placement. It's far from accurate, with so much scenic compression, but without ripping up the siding and relaying it shorter, there's no getting around it. In reality, the westbound main signal at east Crescent isn't just outside of Tunnel 18. West Crescent signals aren't in a rock cut, either. It is what it is. It's messy, and I'll have to add ballast shoulders to support the foundations, but this is about as good as it gets. What do you think? East Crescent: West Crescent:
Even pointing how far it's off, it still has the resemblance of the local Hemi! One has only so much room to work with. The key here is what you've done with the space you have. Very nice!
That looks very Colorado-ish! Nicely done! It will be good to see them lit up and some Grande power blowing out of the tunnel.
Thank you all! The first step in making these installations final is a firm foundation. Using the D&RGW standard plans as a guide, I slid some 3/32" styrene tube into the holes. The rod will provide a bit of reinforcement to hold the signal mast straight, and allow the fiddly leads to be threaded through the layout for later connection. That is the primary reason. The rods are positioned such that the ballast can be installed up to rail level. Once the tubes are dry, I can finish the ballast contour, and apply wet water glue mix. Once the whole kit and caboodle is solid, I can slide the signal leads into the tube and finish the installation. Additional pieces are inserted to make the rod straight. My phone is being dumb... ignore the upside down pictures...
Hemi.... If you open the 'photo edit' program on your phone and open the file...dont edit it just save it with a new name and it should upload ok. Some cellphones do that weird upside down or sideways orientation when you upload them with the phones original file name.JMO. If all else fails here is a free program that you can do a ton of photo editing and renaming with... https://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm I have been using it for 12+ years and love the program.
Those signals look so familiar. I have seen them and they look spot on Sir. Good job. As it sit here, I can remember the smells of the locomotive and see the sights of the area you are modeling. Thanks for taking me back.
The signal foundations are solid, and signals roughly installed. Also tossed the boxes on the ballast pads for rough placement. East Crescent: West Crescent:
Am seeing a mallet blasting out of the hole with signals lit and smoke and steam rolling all around! Very nicely done!
