Anthony Ashley Posted May 11, 2020 Author Share Posted May 11, 2020 (edited) Simon and John, I have gone to the BRMA forum for further clarification. I can not believe how complex this is, but it is certainly difficult. I am waiting for a reply now and will see where we end up. I have been told that all sealed AC/DC power adaptors/power supply units are regulated but am going back to the manufacturer to confirm. I now understand the difference between regulated and unregulated PSUs. I assumed they were all regulated and am surprised that they are not. Simon just to clarify a point in your last post. The power for the track and locos is all provided by the ESU train controller and 7 ESU power boosters. They are all purpose built for model train operation so I am happy with this aspect of my power system. I may be able to run the points off the track power but given it involves 240 servos I would rather have an external power source. We shall see where we end up. Thanks for your help. John I sent an email to the shop owner for the puzzle regarding Australian postage but have no reply so will chase it up. Regards, Anthony Ashley Edited May 11, 2020 by Anthony Ashley 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 11, 2020 Share Posted May 11, 2020 Anthony good that you have it in hand. I agree that separate traction and S&T power supplies makes sense. good luck! Simon 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted May 11, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 11, 2020 1 hour ago, Anthony Ashley said: Simon and John, I have gone to the BRMA forum for further clarification. I can not believe how complex this is, but it is certainly difficult. I am waiting for a reply now and will see where we end up. I have been told that all sealed AC/DC power adaptors/power supply units are regulated but am going back to the manufacturer to confirm. I now understand the difference between regulated and unregulated PSUs. I assumed they were all regulated and am surprised that they are not. Simon just to clarify a point in your last post. The power for the track and locos is all provided by the ESU train controller and 7 ESU power boosters. They are all purpose built for model train operation so I am happy with this aspect of my power system. I may be able to run the points off the track power but given it involves 240 servos I would rather have an external power source. We shall see where we end up. Thanks for your help. John I sent an email to the shop owner for the puzzle regarding Australian postage but have no reply so will chase it up. Regards, Anthony Ashley Anthony, I reckon Mike McHugh's advice on the BRMA Forum is the most useful I have seen. Check the Jaycar website to find a suitable power supply. That tells the voltage, current and whether it's regulated or not. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 Dear All, I have called on one of the British Railway Modellers of Australia Gurus on electronics in Brisbane for support. He came over for a morning and we fully tested the current being drawn on my system. My test used the power from an ESU booster set at 14.6 volts, 4 Amp. Although it may not be of interest to most I shall provide the results below: SPSD with no servos- .3 of a micro amp. Not really significant enough to make any sort of difference in term so power consumption- 1 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with no load - 70 mA 1 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with load - 100mA 4 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with no load - 150 mA with 4 anologue anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with one under load 180 mA In summary If each of the 4 servos were under load with 1 producing 30 mA total for 4 is 120mA plus the 150mA for a total of 270mA per SPSD if under load. This is way less than the 2 Amp at 5V from the tech manual for 4 active servos. As a measure of safety I would go for 300mA per SPSD. Start up did not cause any significant fluctuation in the current. Thankyou for your contributions. I think I am now OK. I managed to install point servos for 3 points and electrify them and the attached double crossing today! happy with the outcome. My rate of progress will improve with more practice. Regards, Anthony Ashley 3 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted May 14, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 14, 2020 17 minutes ago, Anthony Ashley said: one of the British Railway Modellers of Australia Gurus on electronics Was that Greg? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted May 14, 2020 Share Posted May 14, 2020 26 minutes ago, Anthony Ashley said: Dear All, I have called on one of the British Railway Modellers of Australia Gurus on electronics in Brisbane for support. He came over for a morning and we fully tested the current being drawn on my system. My test used the power from an ESU booster set at 14.6 volts, 4 Amp. Although it may not be of interest to most I shall provide the results below: SPSD with no servos- .3 of a micro amp. Not really significant enough to make any sort of difference in term so power consumption- 1 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with no load - 70 mA 1 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with load - 100mA 4 anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with no load - 150 mA with 4 anologue anologue Tower pro sg 90 micro servo wired to the SPSD with one under load 180 mA In summary If each of the 4 servos were under load with 1 producing 30 mA total for 4 is 120mA plus the 150mA for a total of 270mA per SPSD if under load. This is way less than the 2 Amp at 5V from the tech manual for 4 active servos. As a measure of safety I would go for 300mA per SPSD. Start up did not cause any significant fluctuation in the current. Thankyou for your contributions. I think I am now OK. I managed to install point servos for 3 points and electrify them and the attached double crossing today! happy with the outcome. My rate of progress will improve with more practice. Regards, Anthony Ashley Excellent news! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 John, It was Stephen Sherwood. He has provided much assistance with my ignorance of all things power and electronics. Regards, Anthony Ashley Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted May 14, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 14, 2020 10 hours ago, Anthony Ashley said: John, It was Stephen Sherwood. He has provided much assistance with my ignorance of all things power and electronics. Regards, Anthony Ashley Excellent. Both Stephen and Greg Palmer certainly know their stuff. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJL Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 Hello Anthony, for the past two days of lockdown I have been Enjoying reading your topic. I have not seen it before so have had a lot of catching up to do. Your project is very impressive indeed. I used to go on holiday to that area when I was young, penmaenmawr to be specific, happy memories. I am really looking forward to see future developments of your project. Thank you for sharing. Best wishes to you RJL. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 RJL , Thanks for the encouragement. It is funny how sometimes things are going really well and the other times disaster seems to loom at every corner. While progress has not been spectacular it has been steady over the last week. I have installed about 10 servos and electrified frogs in the hidden areas above the base board in the top of the Penmaenmawr area using my old techniques. I have then done about 4 below these which have to be hidden under the board. Instead of using a push/pull method with rigid wire I used the sweep method with more flexible piano wire for under board mounting. It has worked really well and is a lot simpler and more forgiving. I hope to install another 10 tomorrow using this easier technique. The only issue is how I will mount the switches under the board as there is a 20mm gap between the servo arm and the underside of the base boards using this new technique. I think I have enough regiulated power adapters to power all of the servos. I shall post some more photos tomorrow. Regards, Anthony Ashley 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted May 20, 2020 Author Share Posted May 20, 2020 Dear All, A fairly good day today with 6 points set up with servos and operational under electronic control. Still need to electrify these frogs though. Photos are below showing my technique for points. The servos are obviously blue and the switches hanging off them in grey. The blue line to the left of the servos and to the right of the track is the hill edge. All of these electronics components will be hidden under a hill which I will be removable. The point in the right foreground and the right exit of the diamond crossing is the hidden loop with completes the hidden loop around the layout. For instance trains running from Conwy to Penmaenmawr could complete the hidden loop adding perhaps 3 minutes to the trip. They would then remain hidden completing a hidden loop to reappear at the top of Penmaenmawr 3 minutes later. Not sure if I will bother with this but it is an option in terms of correct timings for the trip. Come to think of it with minor track amendment I could do the same thing between Penmaenmawr and Bangor as the hidden track and the scenic line is very close in the area of the Penmaenmawr/Bangor dividing tunnel. This photo shows my frog electrification technique for the diamond crossing frogs. The servo on hte right has an arm which activates the switch next to it. The switch is either open or closed. As the servo arm moves the switch closes. That one switch is connected to both frogs for the points just in front of the coach and diamond crossing. Both those points will either be joining the scenic or hidden track. Given they are joined the far diamond crossing frog will also be the same polarity as the point frogs. The second switch is activated by the arm of the first switch and is of an opposite polarity to the first switch. The second switch will provide the polarity to the diamond crossing frog nearest the 2 points discussed. More points to add servos and then frogs to be electrified for those not yet done. Then I am keen to pour resin moulds for the Pen-y-clip rail viaduct, in order to complete the brick and stonework on it. Regards, Anthony Ashley 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted May 31, 2020 Author Share Posted May 31, 2020 (edited) Dear All, A long and frustrating week with installing servos and electrofying the frogs. I have now completed all of the points in Penmaenmawr apart from the last 4 at the Bangor end of the layout for those points creating fictional overtaking loops. I have improved on the original design!! Not really any good photographic opportunities as all of the recent servos and switches are sitting under the layout. I have started with more scree around the left side of the mountain and need to paint further round my base brown colour. The other job is to go under the layout and paint the underside of the mountain with a white primer. This is the messiest job done so far as a lot of the paint catches on the chicken wire and flick off onto me. I also have the resin for the stone and brickwork moulds that need to be poured. I shall get on and see if there is something worth while to photograph soon. Regards, Anthony Ashley Edited May 31, 2020 by Anthony Ashley 5 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted June 7, 2020 Author Share Posted June 7, 2020 Dear All, With most of the Penmaenmawr track work complete, apart from a triple point which is shorting and I suppose will need to be replaced I have finished off in this area. I worked on the rail viaduct yesterday and just finalisiling the coverage of one side took all day. I have another 8 resin sections ready but need another 5 so another session of resin pouring is required. While doing the resin pours the excess for each pour has been used to create wagon loads. I have attached photos of the outcomes. The rail viaduct being covered by resin brickwork. I have started to carve out the lowest arch using a sharp modelling knife. All 13 arches covered on the front side. 13 more to go. With the piers I have enough of the coarse stone to cover 3 more piers. I am 1 pier short so more resin pour for this surface as well. The first of the wagon loads. Pipes Barrells Sacks Covered load Crates Bales I think! Closed sacks I need to do at least 1 more session of resin pours for the brick and coarse stone. Once I have finished the resin sections I then will print off the red brick and cover those sections of the viaduct. Regards, Anthony Ashley 10 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) Dear All, Steady progress on the Rail Viaduct. Still far from complete but photos are below. The first photos are of the painted lower section of the piers. I have then completed painting the lower brickwork on the viaduct body. The brick work above will be paper. I have also added brick paper to two sections under the piers. I have also added one paper arch in brick. The joins between the resin sections will have rounded piers in front of them to cover the joins. Brick work under the arch and the arch itself, both of which are paper. I have 11 more arch ways to fill in under the arches and 25 paper arches to add. Once these are complete I shall work on the upper brick section on the outside of the viaduct and then the 2 interior brick paper walls. Of course this viaduct will be placed under the road viaduct on the layout. The 2 combined should be spectacular with the mountain back drop. Regards, Anthony Ashley Edited June 14, 2020 by Anthony Ashley 13 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted June 14, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 14, 2020 46 minutes ago, Anthony Ashley said: The 2 combined should be spectacular with the mountain back droop. They certainly will! Great stuff Anthony. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted June 19, 2020 Author Share Posted June 19, 2020 (edited) John, Thanks for the encouragement. I have been working on the back side of the rail viaduct and the back is now complete apart from the top covering the viaduct wall. I have poured the resin for 9 of the 13 sections for the front of the piers and curved them around dowling to create the round front sections required. Unfortunately I require 2 sections to match the length of the pier. I need to mould 2 more sheets of the correct stone to complete this moulding., but with 9 done I can progress on the front. Photos are below. First 2 photos are of the method used to create the round pier fronts sections. I have laid 2 pieces of the 1/2 round dowling to mould the pieces into a circular shape. I will stick them onto the 1/2 round and then sand them back using a dremel. I need just over the 1/2 round so they are a little oversize on the round. First picture is the front unpainted, Second is the back. I now have photos of the rail viaduct from the back view. I am very happy with the result. Just need to finish off the front. I am really looking forward to placing the completed viaduct on the layout to see the complete effect. Regards, Anthony Ashley Edited June 19, 2020 by Anthony Ashley 13 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted June 29, 2020 Author Share Posted June 29, 2020 Dear All, The rail viaduct is very close to completion, having spent nearly a month on it I think. The photos of the front of the viaduct and in situ are below. First off the viaduct on a table. Next on the layout. I am happy with the result and ready to move onto other scenery. Just have to put the covers on the viaduct walls. All comments are welcome. Regards, Anthony Ashley 13 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted June 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2020 (edited) Outstanding! The only thing I'd comment on is that you might want to run a red or grey pencil over the edge of the brick paper forming the arch: But, other than that, Outstanding. Edited June 29, 2020 by scottystitch 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold lezz01 Posted June 29, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 29, 2020 Anthony, that's just fabulous! I agree that the brick arches need that edge coloured but that's no big deal. Well done mate it is indeed outstanding. Regards Lez. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted July 1, 2020 Author Share Posted July 1, 2020 Dear Scotty and Lez, Thanks for the encouragement and comments to improve the modelling further. My wife has a large set of artists coloured pencils, so I have been working at the underside of the arches and completed them. The back has also been completed. More photos below. Regards, Anthony Ashley 9 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard i Posted July 1, 2020 Share Posted July 1, 2020 It can be the little things which raise it to another level. It looks great. Richard 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted July 1, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2020 That really does look fantastic, Anthony. A great job with the pencils too. Best Scott. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted July 1, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2020 Hi Anthony, I honestly thought the model looked a little odd with the stone piers and brick centres on the viaduct. Then I googled an image of the real thing and realised you’ve got it spot on! Great job! cheers Ben A. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Ashley Posted July 3, 2020 Author Share Posted July 3, 2020 Richard, Scott and Ben, I appreciate your comments. The colouring task was very easy and makes quite a difference so thanks for the advice. I now have to fill in the scenic detail behind the rail viaduct. Photo of the area is below. Regards, Anthony Ashley 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard O Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 What an achievement- superb!! Howard. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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