Heath Town and other signalling diversions

[figworthy]

10 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Good spot Paul.  Based on our weather here this morning, I’ll guess it’s probably raining in Manchester for the welcoming committee as well right now?  Keith.

 

Isn't "raining in Manchester" always a safe assumption ?

 

Adrian

[5BarVT]

47 minutes ago, figworthy said:

 

Isn't "raining in Manchester" always a safe assumption ?

 

Adrian

No, at least two days in every year when it doesn’t.

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

On 08/11/2023 at 16:11, 5BarVT said:

“Welcome to Manchester where the local time is 0806.”

I had flightradar set to MAN from my daughter flying back from NZ via a stopover in Singapore last month and was about to turn it off when I saw SQ52 centre screen. Will have been just as it hit the deck.  (Making the big assumption that you flew direct!)

Paul.

Yes, that was me. Landed a few minutes early and the airport wasn't at all busy, which was good. Onward travel delayed by assorted landslips (allegedly) at Dewsbury and "north of Darlington" but eventually arrived about an hour later than expected.

[St Enodoc]

On 08/11/2023 at 16:18, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Good spot Paul.  Based on our weather here this morning, I’ll guess it’s probably raining in Manchester for the welcoming committee as well right now?  Keith.

Rained until we emerged at Marsden...

[5BarVT]

Not too much model railway action this week - been gadding about too much.  Dinner in Glasgow on Thursday, back late Fri, out Sat and the Remembrance Sunday today.

Paul.

[5BarVT]

FAULT FINDING

Or finding out whose fault it is . . . mine (always).

Two years ago I built two MERG DCC cut out boards. Successfully.

Their method of operation is to keep trying to reset - when coupled with an audible sounder this is annoying as well as potentially damaging for track/system/locos.  They have an interface and the plan was always to integrate their control into the layout operation so that they showed up on the control panel and they could be switched on and off manually.  And plan B was to have the system detect the operated input and automatically send back a turn off signal then they would be manually reset once the short was sorted.

But the interface never worked, despite it being identical to all my others that worked fine.

So . . .

last Saturday I built the third cut out board and I have been using it to check the interface slowly bit by bit.

First fault was the 10 way ribbon cable - one IDC connector was on backwards so ground was +5V and all the data lines were crossed.

Second was that the interface board (a special) was wired slightly differently to all my others but the i/o programming had not taken that into account.

The interface was never going to work!

But it does now.

 

Onto the clever bits now.

Paul.

[5BarVT]

THE CLEVER STUFF

The DCC cut out is now installed on my power box (open construction, but will fit in a 12 litre Really Useful Box for transport).  On the back of the vertical ply is the 240V power block - deliberately designed with separate 240 and low voltage sides.

Red arrow points to 3 DCC cut outs (note all three green LEDs are on); space for a fourth on the left. Connections at the top are to my interface board (blue arrow)  (Alarm input and “Off” output). Ribbon cable to loconet interface (black arrow). Normally these would be hidden by the DCS51 which is why it is flipped over out of the way.

On my control screen I have:

four power districts, all turned on.

Now imagine that there is a fault on the yellow district:

the yellow input from the DCO turns off to say that a short has been detected.  The input is programmed to turn off the control output above (red). (This is a transitory state so is actually just simulated; and please ignore the dotted square round it - it just shows where the cursor is/was.)

The green led on the LH DCO is now off because the DCO has operated (the red LED at the top should also be on but transitory is too difficult to photograph!).  When the control output was turned off a loconet message was sent out and it is only during the transmission delay that transitory state exists.

Once the off command is received the DCO no longer detects a fault as no current is flowing, but the auto reset on the DCO doesn’t operate because the output is turned off.

Off I go and find/fix what I think is causing the fault.

Then press the DCO Reset (the ‘button’ next to O, but also operated by pressing ‘O’ on the keyboard).

That button is programmed to turn on all the DCO districts. And then we are back to the view at the top.

Now press the button again:

The red flag is programmed to follow the button, but only if all four districts are on at the time the button is pressed (hence it didn’t come on last time). And when it turns off, it is programmed to turn all four districts off.

Press again and all four districts will turn on.

 

If you’re wondering how I turn things off if there is a short that I haven’t fixed:  each output can be operated by the cursor, or, as the purpose of turning everything off is just to avoid the alarm sounders going off while the DCC signal decays, I can just put up with the noise.
 

Paul.

 

 

[Andy Keane]

Is this a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino doing the clever stuff Paul? Most impressive though.

[5BarVT]

It’s a laptop running Traincontroller Gold.  This is just a side project that I did within it ‘cos I can’!

Paul.

[Clive Mortimore]

I have a much simpler system for when there is a short.

 

The train stops. Works every time.

 

"Ah!" I here you say  "How do you know were it is shorting". I turn off then on all the sections that controller is powering, leaving the one the train has stopped on until last. As one is switched off and the train dashes off then the short is in that section. If it still doesn't move until the section it is on is switched off then that is the trouble spot. I take the powered part of the train off and if the little red light on the controller glows then it is a problem with the power unit otherwise I have to have a good look around to see which metal tool I have plonked on the tracks.

 

I am sure someone is saying "What about a loco or even a metal wheel bridging a gap?" That is a possibility but if like me you build your layout with section gaps placed where you will not have locos or rolling stock parked on top, i.e. plan the electric sections to match the operational potential of a layout then this is not a problem.

 

But as Paul has said

30 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

It’s a laptop running Traincontroller Gold.  This is just a side project that I did within it ‘cos I can’!

Paul.

and good for him as this is part of the hobby I know he has fun with.

[5BarVT]

DAY OUT

I happened to notice an unusual train on the Wirral lines today (this was later) so rushed out to the station. (2Z04, not the Merseyrail unit waiting to set off back from Ellesmere Port.)

Not fast enough, I was on the bridge so saw it but no photos.

 

After lunch, I took a trip to Crewe

A reminder of old times (1993) in an LMS (BR?) saloon.

And on the front

much more like it.  Typical saloon power for a West Highland trip back then.

 

Timings weren’t quite right as the Chester and both Liverpool trains had departed shortly before Caroline’s arrival.  Head over to platform 12 for a 40 min wait and look what wanted a drink en route from Southall to Carnforth.

Fire hydrants aren’t as quick as a 6” pipe with a good head on it so it sat there for best part of 30 mins.

 

Paul.

[5BarVT]

Hello all,

I’m sad to announce that I’ll be taking a short break from RMWeb.  I will be back.

In the mean time, I will be happy to respond to friends via PM.

There should be updates on this topic too - when I have something to show!

Paul.

[5BarVT]

A “takes me back to my yoof” photo.

2Y12 at Bromborough today.
Paul.

[ISW]

1 hour ago, 5BarVT said:

A “takes me back to my yoof” photo.

Ditto. Here's my first ever photo of a Class 507, taken on 4th November 1978 at Birkenhead North depot:

 

Some interesting differences on the 'wrap' livery applied to 507001.

 

Ian

[5BarVT]

Thanks Ian,

I realised that Door Contrast requirements would have changed the look so it’s good to see the difference.

But they’ve done as good a job as they can whilst still meeting the modern rules.

Paul.

[5BarVT]

HEATH TOWN SIGNAL WORKS ?  WHO KNEW!

Not sure how else I’d work it onto the layout.

Haven’t run it yet - it’s surprisingly heavy.  Diminutive but beautiful.

And part of my history too.
Paul.

 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

5 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

A “takes me back to my yoof” photo.

2Y12 at Bromborough today.
Paul.

Is that a heritage / farewell repaint or something?  Just wondered with the new units coming in now, Keith.

[5BarVT]

23 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Is that a heritage / farewell repaint or something?  Just wondered with the new units coming in now, Keith.

I believe so.  Interior is as all the others, but a bit cleaner!

Paul.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

14 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

I believe so.  Interior is as all the others, but a bit cleaner!

Paul.

 

Found this:

 

 

Apologies to those not needing our 'local news' thread drift - although (ironically) I think it brings back memories of an appropriate livery for this layout?  Keith.

[Clive Mortimore]

On 03/12/2023 at 20:01, 5BarVT said:

HEATH TOWN SIGNAL WORKS ?  WHO KNEW!

Not sure how else I’d work it onto the layout.

Haven’t run it yet - it’s surprisingly heavy.  Diminutive but beautiful.

And part of my history too.
Paul.

 

This one became number 20 when it was transferred to @CloggyDog's Reading Signal Works.

A bespoke, artisan, hand crafted from plastic card running on a Tenshodo motor bogie, a very long time ago.

[5BarVT]

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

No.1 daughter got me a jigsaw for Christmas:

Any guesses on the end result?

Paul.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Hi Paul, I see crests and writing, so my guess would be it’s not a picture / photo as such, perhaps a poster of railway heralds?  I see the picture on the box isn’t much help 😀, Keith.

[Andy Keane]

For a terrifying moment I thought the seagulls were pieces of your jigsaw! That would have been fun.

[5BarVT]

19 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Hi Paul, I see crests and writing, so my guess would be it’s not a picture / photo as such, perhaps a poster of railway heralds?  I see the picture on the box isn’t much help 😀, Keith.

Strangely (!) the top of the box just happened to be hidden when I took the photo . . .

Paul.

[St Enodoc]

5 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

No.1 daughter got me a jigsaw for Christmas:

Any guesses on the end result?

Paul.

Jigsaws are a waste of good railway modelling time.