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Piedmont Blues - O scale 2 rail exhibition layout.


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Well, colour me impressed!

 

As a leaving gift at my old job I was given an Amazon gift card, which I duly spent on some AK Interactive paints - a rust pack as well as Concrete and Asphalt paints from their Terrain range.

 

These last two are like a paste that you spread over a surface and when it dries it takes on the colour and the texture of the namesake material.

 

I've spread a thin layer on the roads on PB and... Though it's not fully dried yet, I think the results speak for themselves.

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Quick update:

 

Piedmont Blues will be at three ONE (so far) exhibitions this year:

 

Burgess Hill - 5th September - HAD TO PULL OUT DUE TO PRIOR COMMITMENT

Wakefield - 13/14/15th November - SHOW POSTPONED DUE TO ARSON ATTACK AT VENUE :(

Warley - 28th/29th November

 

All three are promising to be fantastic shows :)

Edited by DanielB
DATES UPDATED
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  • 2 months later...

Fingers crossed Coronavirus has buggered off by then! :banghead:

 

In the mean time, I'm looking for some more DCC advice. I've just fitted a Loksound V4 to my Weaver RS3. The loco moves on the test track, no problem. The sound however is having none of it.

 

It worked initially when placed on the track but once I programmed the long address it stopped playing ball.

 

I'm assuming if I set the decoder back to factory default it's not going to lose the sound files installed on it?

 

Lastly, the decoder is quite warm to the touch. Not hot, but warm. Is that normal?

 

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Daniel,

 

A couple of obervations if you don't mind! 

 

It looks like you have bare wire in the speaker leads. If those touch while the decoder is live, you will 95% likely blow the decoder's audio amp.

 

The "L" decoders I've used did get warm but not too hot to touch.  It's best to mount the decoder up and the adapter board down. Leave some free air space around the decoder. Make sure you insulate the entire underside of the adapter board before mounting it in the loco!

 

What speaker are you using and what is its Ohm rating?  If it's between 4 and 16 Ohms that should be fine. 

 

Is the Pittman a 8514, or another model?  The 8514 can be a current hog so it's really important to make sure the whole driveline turns very freely by hand before running, to minimize the current draw.  It may just be the camera angle but could the drive shaft/sprocket/UJ at the top of the tower be askew or touching the weight?

 

OK on to the sound issue.  With LS standard settings, F8 "on" is the prime mover startup. F8 "off" is mute when driving or shut down prime mover when stopped.  Assuming you knew that already, onwards to diagnosis  ;)

 

Which DCC system do you have?  Do you have a Lokprogrammer or JMRI DecoderPro?  Do you kow which LS sound file is loaded in the decoder?

 

Pete

Edited by GP9u
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4 hours ago, GP9u said:

on to the sound issue.  With LS standard settings, F8 "on" is the prime mover startup. F8 "off" is mute when driving or shut down prime mover when stopped.

I also have a Loksound L V4 in my Atlas RS3, & this bit caught me out a couple of times. The loco will still move without the sound running. If it does this, try F8 as above, & wait for the start up. I assume it's the Alco 244 engine sound file. Sounds like a right bucket of bolts - "JLTRT"!!

Also after some experiment I stayed with the default throttle setting; there's a delay when you turn up the throttle; you'll hear the brakes release, & then it'll move off. If you close the throttle straight down from about speed step 10 or above (28 steps), the brakes will squeal as it slows down. I think I did adjust the momentum settings.

Hope you get it sorted mate!

Oh & factory reset doesn't lose the sound files. Well it didn't for me, at least.

 

Edit - agree with Pete, above. The motor looks to be at a funny angle? My Weaver Geeps have a cable tie around the motor & through holes in the chassis, to hold it level & secure.

Edited by F-UnitMad
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Thanks guys, I'll try and level out the motor.

 

I tried F8 at first, and didn't make a difference. I'm starting to think there's a short somewhere but I'm still trying to figure it out.

 

I'll have to keep poking around and see what happens.

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Not wanting to get bogged down into a speed bump with the RS3, so as not to risk killing my momentum and interest in the layout, I've shelved that for now and will come back to it another time.

 

Instead, I've been focusing on chipping away at the ton of smaller jobs I've got to do. I'll include photos as I go.

 

Firstly, I've been working on getting my NYC boxcar finished. I had removed the ladders when weathering it initially and totally forgot to weather them, so that's now been fixed. I've also applied the base colours to the trucks ready for weathering. Lastly, I've applied the old coffee stirrer and stain approach to the boxcar decking. I plan to add full interior detailing to the car as well as a removable load. As I've used automotive wheel weights inside the car over the trucks to improve tracking, I'll need to put a face wall in at both ends to hide this. The plan is to use card with a graphic of stacked crates or 55 gallon drums to hide the weights. It won't always be visible but on the few times that it is, I think it will add to the overall look of the car.

 

The photos show the side of the car that I don't think has been seen much on here - the weathering on this side is much less severe.

 

 

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Next, I've been working on structures, as I've got more structure tasks to get done than I can shake a stick at.

 

To keep my momentum up, I've started on the ones that needed the least amount of work. First, the bus stop and a wooden telephone shack.

 

 

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On 12/01/2020 at 00:57, DanielB said:

Quick update:

 

Piedmont Blues will be at three ONE (so far) exhibitions this year:

 

Burgess Hill - 5th September - HAD TO PULL OUT DUE TO PRIOR COMMITMENT

Wakefield - 13/14/15th November - SHOW POSTPONED DUE TO ARSON ATTACK AT VENUE :(

Warley - 28th/29th November

 

All three are promising to be fantastic shows :)

 

Had to update these as two have unfortunately fallen through. There's still a chance to see us at Warley 2020 though - Coronavirus permitting, of course.

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Next on the list is the fuel unloading pump for the team track. Lots still left to do on this, but I've added a set of scratchbuilt fire buckets made from styrene and jewellers wire, and a couple of interior details - an oil drum and a small crate being used as a stool. The drum is an old Games Workshop piece I found in my scrap box.

 

The leaf on the roof is made from brown parcel paper and a leaf cutter from Green Stuff World. Though intended for wargaming use, I think it fits fine for O scale.

 

The pump itself still needs more detail - I need to make a couple of valves and connectors for the unloading pipe. Plus the shed will need lighting at some point.

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Now onto the odd jobs.

 

Firstly, I built a crossing guards tower a while ago but never got around to finishing it. I wanted to make it look worse for wear, so instead of building the stairs for it, I plan to have a ladder there instead, like the stairs were damaged and never replaced. The ladder is in my painting queue, so that will have to come later. I built a deck for it to stand on, and dug out the surrounding scenery to allow the deck to placed.

 

Next, I built a sign to go on the front of the Central Camera building, to give it a more generic feel - so I can use it as whatever industry takes my fancy. I still need to build the mounting frame for it, but that's on today's schedule. Some of you might recognise the name as a reference to H P Lovecraft - which it absolutely is! :)

 

Finally, I've been working on a split stone/brick building to go on River Street. The stone is - I believe - a Slaters product, whereas the brick is Clevermodels papers. Lots more to do on this one - again, on today's schedule.

 

The wooden bobbins at the front are being painted up, not sure what I'll use them as yet, but it will likely be a wagon load or some other form of cargo.

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37 minutes ago, DanielB said:

There's one on the Dunwich Company building just to the right of the shot. :)

Ah, I see a corner of the "M".

Brasso, used a lot of that in the Navy; in fact I still keep a can around.

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Here is a suggestion in Estill, SC:

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BTW, I have NO idea what CEYLONA was!

 

Actually, I was looking for a faded Coca-Cola ad that I shot in somewhere in SC but can not find it right now I just found it, it is in Townville:

100_1931.jpg.4b85c1b2e03be22b2cb38deaa0daffe9.jpg

 

 

Edited by J. S. Bach
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Thanks Dave. I have one of the faded coke signs on the side of my Coke plant. :)

 

That photo does however highlight something I have got on the to-do list - electrical breaker boxes. Every structure on the layout is getting at least one. :D

 

The Mail Pouch sign is being hidden by a lean-to style pop up store, but that doesn't mean I won't be adding one to another structure on the layout somewhere. There's another, smaller one on one of the wooden fences I made for the timber yard, though with the shuffling round of industries on the layout, those signs now face toward the backscene and therefore won't really be visible to the viewing public. They'll work just fine for photographs though :D

Edited by DanielB
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