New Layout - 'Hufeisental'

[backofanenvelope]

Coming along nicely Alan and like you I am not a fan of straight line and the chances of such things in the hills is are pretty low..

[backofanenvelope]

Soon though I'll need to catch up on the electrics as there are no droppers yet fixed to the recent track I've laid.

 

Then you can watch the trains go by

[Alan Kettlewell]

Building work continues as I make progress along the left hand side of my shed.  But look at the mess I've made! 

 

I've spent a few solid shifts working on the south spirals (just visible to the left) and managed to get a fair length of track laid along Level 2 against the wall.  Level 2 will go under the hillside here and above it, on Level 3, will be the single line track with a passing loop at a small station.  The station will also be the terminus for a rack & pinion railway leading up to the top of the hill above the south spirals. 

 

The south spirals are interesting as the spiral from Level 1 up to Level 2 rises anticlockwise to pass over itself, and the higher spiral from Level 2 up to Level 3  rises clockwise!  It all adds scenic interest. 

 

 

Next I'll be adding the track bed for Level 1 which will meander along the front of this section about 6 inches above the framework, passing over a couple of short viaducts, possibly over a road bridge and there's a dropped section in the framework here to house a small river bed.  The landscape here will be quite steep and I'm hoping to incorporate a waterfall cascading down a rock face into the river below - a long way off yet though!

 

Power Districts & Boosters

 

Meanwhile I've been involved in a topic elsewhere on this forum about boosters and power districts which I need to think about as I progress with the wiring on the layout.  The upshot is I'm going to go along with suggestions to electrically divide the track-work into 3 power districts and fit 3 x 3Amp boosters for the track. The accessory bus will be powered from the Z21 master unit.  This way if there's a short the Z21 will still provide power to change any failing points etc.  (Not that there'll be any failing points of course! ..  ) 

 

Power Districts Plan:

 

 

Right, the shed heating's been on an hour or so now so I'd better get down there and get on with it. 

 

Alan

 

Edit:  I've realised the power district plan above is a bit out of date.  Must do a new one ..

Edited February 24, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[Alan Kettlewell]

Train Controller

 

For those interested in the computer operation aspect of this layout, I'll add here a bit about what I want to achieve with 'Train Controller'.  This is the brilliant software from Railroad & Co, in my case I'm using the 'Gold' version as I like all the additional features.

 

The screenshot below may be a bit small to see so you might want to click on it to enlarge it. 

 

Shot of Level 1 & Level 2 (there's another screen with Level 3):

 

 

With some power boosters, a short in that district will affect only that district, so everything else in other districts will continue ie trains will carry on running under their pre-defined 'schedules'.  I'm a lone operator so I don't like the idea that trains will carry on because more than likely they'll run into the shorted district possibly causing crashes with these expensive toys!  This is particularly true where push pull trains are operating as the carriages will be pushed ahead of the train into other trains stopped in the shorted district.  Not  good.

 

So I've set up a system where a feed from each power district goes into an input on a Feedback Module.  With this set up I'll then assign an 'indicator' in the software that will monitor if power goes off in any district.  If power does go off then I've set an 'action' in the software that will 'Stop all Trains'.  This is great as then I can go ahead and sort out the problem causing the short and still have power to change turnouts etc.  After it's sorted out I can re-start all trains so all continues as before.  You should be able to see in the screenshot that the indicator for Red Zone has turned red and a pop up message has appeared.  What you can't see is that all trains have stopped and I've attached a sound file of a big horn sound so when I'm not at the laptop screen I can hear about the problem! 

 

(It's great this software)

 

You might also make out in the screenshot there's a button and flag next to it set up to 'Stop Operations' (red shading).  I've set this up so that, where there isn't necessarily an emergency but I just want to bring all trains to a gentle halt in the next block.  This is so I can carry out any maintenance or other work around the layout, or go for a cup if coffee, without cancelling all the working schedules the trains are on.  With this, all trains come to a halt within a minute or so as soon as they've reached the next block they've reserved and afterwards, I can re-start everything as before.

 

Finally (apologies if this stuff is a bit boring) you might see that all trains in the screenshot are in their storage yards (these are 'off scene' behind the hillsides).  I like this as it's orderly and you know where everything is at the start of each operating session.  So I want a method to automatically return every train to its start position at the end of a session ready for another day.  In the software there's an action 'Stop all Schedules'.  This doesn't stop everything immediately as it may seem, but instead it allows all current schedules to continue until they finish - ie each train has reached the last block in the route.  I've set all schedules as 'circular' so that trains end up back where they started so this works perfectly for me - as, at the end of the day - I just activate 'Stop all Schedules' and all trains return to their start point then stop.  I was thinking of naming this action as ET Go Home (Every Train Go Home  )

 

Anyway, that's probably as much as anyone ought to be subjected to so I'll leave it there (for now!)

 

Cheers .. Alan             

Edited February 24, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[backofanenvelope]

Right, the shed heating's been on an hour or so now so I'd better get down there and get on with it. 

 

There's probably an app for that Alan.

 

Good update and also like the techie stuff but will never probably have the need for such a large system for the acreage that you have.

[RFS]

Alan - the command "stop all schedules" actually kills them all immediately, so all trains stop dead where they are.  (In the manual it's actually described as "terminate all schedules").  You may want to use  "lock all schedules" instead, so that all existing schedules run to completion but no new ones, including successors for ones already running, will start.

 

I actually run all my schedules from a timetable, so to quiesce everything I just stop the clock.

Edited February 24, 2016 by RFS

[Alan Kettlewell]

Alan - the command "stop all schedules" actually kills them all immediately, so all trains stop dead where they are.  (In the manual it's actually described as "terminate all schedules").  You may want to use  "lock all schedules" instead, so that all existing schedules run to completion but no new ones, including successors for ones already running, will start.

 

I actually run all my schedules from a timetable, so to quiesce everything I just stop the clock.

 

Hi,

 

Ah, you're right.  I should have said 'Lock all Schedules'.  Thanks for spotting my deliberate mistake   .

 

I tried the timetable feature some time ago on a previous layout but never got on with it for various reasons I can't remember.  I think it got too difficult to put together with so many trains and routes.  Need a computer to work it out!   .

 

 

Edited February 25, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[Alan Kettlewell]

I've finally firmed up my decision about how to arrange the power districts for this layout (must give it a name sometime) and I've ordered three x 3 Amp boosters from Digikeijs. These are the ones:

 

http://www.digikeijs.com/dr5033-dcc-booster-3-ampere.html

 

..a good price I thought and complete with a power supply.

 

Excuse my poor excuse for a wiring diagramme but here's how it will work:

 

 

.. and here's the same but overlaid onto a screenshot of my layout plan in Train Controller:

 

 

So I'll have the Roco Z21 main unit just powering the accessory bus and the 3 boosters providing DCC track power to the 3 districts. This way I'll still have power available to switch turnouts if I have a short somewhere.

 

I have some 5mm coloured LEDs and resistors which I'll wire across the DCC power bus in each district and mount these onto the front of the layout so I can see at a glance if one or more districts loses power. For fault detection I don't intend to go much further than that (I'm no electronic genius!) However, an issue for me - being a solo operator and on a large layout - is to prevent trains running into a district that's 'off' due to a short. There'll be push pull trains on this layout and I can imagine the havoc if I don't have a way of bringing everything to a controlled halt should a short occur in one of the districts. So, I'm building in some extra safeguards within the Train Controller software (sorry, this is where it can get techie folks - apologies to those who don't know Train Controller).

 

In essence I'll use a feedback module to monitor any instance of power failure in any district, and report back to Train Controller. Once this is set up there are many options to choose from within the software (I'll probably attract several suggestions just by writing this ). So what I'm doing is this: when power off is reported (in any district) Train Controller will carry out an 'operation' to bring all trains to a gentle halt and lock all blocks so no further movement can take place. There will also be a pop up message to tell me which district has no power, and a sound file will play to warn me of the problem in case I'm away from the screen at the time - I've found a nice big hooter sound file that will do nicely. The overall aim is that everything stops under control while I find and fix the problem, and once fixed, I can restart everything to continue running as before.

 

Anyway, probably enough of this techie stuff for most folks but should anyway want to know more about how all this works I'll be happy to provide more information.

 

Right, time to get the shed heating on for the day's work ahead ...

 

Cheers .. Alan

 

Edit - sorry I've just realised I already wrote some of that techie stuff earlier .. doh ..

Edited March 3, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[Alan Kettlewell]

Some good progress over the past day or two.  Finally I have a complete circuit in place so I can run trains continuously from the Level 1 storage loops, out via the station, up the east spiral to Level 2, all around the room, down the south spiral to level 1 and back round through the station again (on a different track) and round into the storage loops where it started.  Running at a scale speed of around 80km (but locos not yet calibrated) a full circuit took just under 2 1/2 minutes.  Anyone care to work that out in scale distance?

 

The first stage of the south spirals is done, here's a TEE hurtling down from Level 2 to Level 1:    

 

 

 

I tried out this handy panorama feature on my phone - here's a shot showing the whole layout taken from the door end:

 

 

Next is to complete the droppers to the track bus - I know  ... I should do that first but I just had to run some trains around ... . 

 

When that's done I'll be completing the wiring 'infrastructure' before going on with any further with building.  My boosters should arrive tomorrow so I'll be setting them up to feed the 3 power districts - I've put insulated track joiners in the appropriate places to split the layout into 3 zones so it should be relatively straight forward to connect up the  boosters.  I've noticed now that there's a compete circuit in place, trains do run slower so it shows that boosters are definitely needed. 

 

Some time after all that (and testing) I'll be on with the level 3 track beds.  Level 3 will be a single track line and will be at a height of around 4.5ft from the floor.  Not much more to do then ..

 

Alan  

[Alan Kettlewell]

A couple of pictures of the south spiral construction.  This has been quite tricky to do as it carries double track from Level 1 (anti-clockwise) up to Level 2, and from Level 2 there's a junction for the single line spiral up to Level 3 - which rises clockwise!  (I must like making things difficult for myself!)

 

You can see the single line heading off up to Level 3.  Also the single track bridge on Level 3 is provisionally positioned at the top:

 

This shot is from the 'entrance' to the south spirals looking from level 1 under the bridge where the track crosses over itself.  The branches left and right join each other forming a reversing loop in the mountain: 

 

You might spot gaps in the track where a few sleepers have been cut out.  These gaps are to bed in the reed switches I'll be using to provide feedback for train detection, operated by a magnet fixed under each loco - on push-pull trains there'll also be a magnet at the opposite end.  It's quite easy to hide the reed switches when ballasting the track.

 

Alan

[buchanan]

Hi Alan. You really are making progress - very impressed, (and I'm learning a lot).  Keep up the good work.

best, john c

[backofanenvelope]

I tried out this handy panorama feature on my phone - here's a shot showing the whole layout taken from the door end:

 

That is an impressive view of the layout and as others have said its coming along nicely and the fact that you can have a train running is also a milestone. Good progress.

Tom.

[Alan Kettlewell]

 

Edit - this video is rubbish - see the better quality video in the later post below ..   

 

I uploaded this video to Photobucket, it's really poor quality taken on my phone - must work on that. Anyway it gives a good idea of the layout so far. There are two trains chasing each other on the same track. I've only got a complete circuit on single track so far.

 

http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag139/alanket/th_IMG_0435_zpsrh9juqjn.mp4

 

Cheers ... Alan

Edited March 7, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[Alan Kettlewell]

Many thanks for the feedback - glad someone's following ..

 

 

Meanwhile here's a much better quality video of yesterday's running session:-

 

 

 

..and a DB 'FLIRT' EMU running with sound on ..

 

 

Alan

Edited March 7, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[bgman]

Definately following this build Alan ( with a slight drooling ! )

Much better vids, thank you for posting them, it gives a much better overall view of your proposed layout and I for one will certainly be following with much interest.

 

Grahame

[Alan Kettlewell]

Glad you're enjoying it Grahame. As long as there's interest I'll keep posting.

The 3 x Digikeijs 3Amp boosters arrived from The Netherlands today:



I reckon three of these, power supplies and 1m connecting cables included, for around 200 Euros** is great value:



Well, that's tomorrow's job sorted.

Alan

 

Edit:  ** Correction: that should read 254 euros.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[Alan Kettlewell]

With these boosters in mind and all the chit chat about power supply, districts, current draw etc, I found this useful feature on one of the Roco Z21 screens.

 

The first shot shows the current draw with one bo-bo loco running with headlights and 4 coaches on:

 

.. Showing a current draw of 261 mA.

 

For this second shot I've also started a diesel shunter, running light, lights blazing and sound blaring out:

 

.. A total of 424 mA for both locos running.

 

I think that's a really handy feature and certainly useful if you want to check out the draw your locos. I anticipate up to a dozen locos may be running at the same time so I'm quite happy about my decision to split the layout into 3 x 3A power districts and feel I'll have plenty of current available.

 

Alan

Edited March 7, 2016 by Alan Kettlewell

[bgman]

Hi Alan,

 

Some very useful information above, I too have a Z21 ( still in the box ) and it's interesting to know that there is a feature which gives a read-out for the current consumption. I intend plugging into my ESU ECoS command station and also trial a Digikeijs DR4018 16 channel switch decoder unit, which, in my opinion is excellent value for money.

It's certainly a big learning curve for me but most enjoyable as is following your project too !

 

Cheers for now

 

Grahame

[Alan Kettlewell]

Booster Blues

 

​​Yesterday did not turn out as expected.  I tested out the boosters and all did not go to plan!  

 

Following plenty of  good advice elsewhere on the forum I set the power supply up so that the 3 boosters provide DCC track power to my 3 districts (all isolated from each other) and the Roco Z21 main unit supplies DCC power to just the Accessory bus.  The idea being that in the event of a short, the Z21 stays on and allows the turnouts to be operated.  Wrong!  On testing, a short anywhere causes everything to shut power off ie all 3 boosters plus the Z21 so I can't operate the turnouts!  Also the Train Controller programme goes into 'Freeze' mode so I can't operate points from there either, and lastly the Z21 'App' on my tablet goes into freeze mode.  So perplexing after all this planning and working things through.

 

Clearly there are some boosters that operate independently of the main unit so a short in that district doesn't affect the other boosters or the main unit, and there are other types that trip everything - it seems I have the latter.  I've posted a question about this to Digikeijs on their website but in the meantime it's back to the drawing board and a re-think on this one.  I'll report back as things progress.

 

Alan

[RFS]

On my Lenz LZV100 this action is the default, but you can turn it off via CV.  I would expect a similar arrangement exists within the Z21:  I assume one booster is telling the Z21 it has a short, and the Z21 then turns everyone else off. So it will be a Z21 option you need to change.

[Alan Kettlewell]

I'll be checking this today but I'm fairly sure there isn't such an option.  However there is an option to connect the boosters to the Z21 via LocoNet sockets and cables (as an alternative to B-Bus) so this might throw up options about how the boosters report back to the main unit.  I've ordered the LNet cables today so I can try this when they turn up.  Many thanks.

 

Alan 

[Alan Kettlewell]

A day on electrics.

 

I'm waiting for the cables to arrive so I can connect up my boosters to the LNet ports. I'm hoping this will give me some more control over how the boosters operate and with a bit of luck, using LocoNet, I'll be able to configure the boosters so they don't all shut down and shut down the Z21 when there's a short. I've no idea if I'm barking up the right tree but for a few quid I thought it worth a shot. Otherwise plan B could mean spending more money on some circuit breakers - we'll see.

 

So today I spent some time moving the Roco Z21 from an out of sight position at the back of the layout to a new place at the front. I figured that as the boosters have LED lights I may as well put them where I can see them!

 

So I've been putting this little panel together, a lot to do yet tidying up cables, and clearly, I need some more mains sockets available - so many extra required with all these boosters needing their own supply. I'll probably get some switches to mount on the front and hide these socket gangs out of sight. I'll probably move those black power supply boxes out of sight too. At first I thought it useful to see that mains power is on as there's a small blue light shows, but on thinking about it the green LED on the booster will go off if there's a problem with the mains supply. More to do yet ...

 

Anyway the layout is now successfully split into 3 power districts. I ran some trains around, as you do, and all works well with no noticeable issues or indication when trains pass from one district to the next.

[bgman]

Sometimes this railway modelling lark seems to get a little bit out of hand !

 

 

Ah! Well it'll be worth it in the end eh!

 

Looking good so far Alan

[Alan Kettlewell]

I knew I had one of these somewhere - just took a bit of finding!

 

 

 

[DIW]

The joy of building a layout in its own room! I'm jealous!