Vonzack

I know they come through York quite often and sit waiting in the yard for an hour or two. They seem to run KFAs with the odd FEA-B mixed in.

I was at the Wakefield show on Sunday with one of our club layouts and we had 12 leaflets taken. I did notice there were several layouts and some shops with leaflets available so hopefully, between us we got the word out.

Looks good, the pipe running away from the tanks needs it's surface reversing, it's inside out

Hi, As the last update for the blog was written towards the end of June, there's been quite a bit of activity to catch up on. TINGS 2015 Countdown - 9 Months Heworth Sidings has been invited to attend The International N Gauge Show for 2015 (12th / 13th September), so we have now have a 'real' deadline to aim for. Retaining Wall Construction of the retaining wall is now largely complete. We've revised our original plan to have the wall curve on the Left hand side of the layout, and have now changed it to use straight sections, broken up by embankments. I think this is probably a little more prototypical and it also gives us a little more room on the baseboards to add scenic detail around the Sidings. Here are some pics of the changes and also a pic showing the detailing progress on the disused bridge which covers the on-scene / off-scene access. Ballasting The Main Line ballasting is pretty much complete, apart from small areas around the points where the motor arms come through the baseboard. These need to be carefully done so that we don't risk damaging any of the motors. The Sidings have also been ballasted recently, again we've left the small area's around the points, but we have also left some small areas without ballast where we intend to fit Magnets for uncoupling. We've decided to use a different colour of ballast for the Sidings as these would typically get dirtier and wouldn't be as highly maintained as the Main Line, however the contrast between the two types of ballast looks a bit harsh, so this will need some more work. Here are some pics shortly after the ballast has been put down. Block Detection / Computer Control We now have working block detection on the Scenic Boards and as we use a Digitrax Command Station, we are using Team Digital BlocD8 detectors. These modules connect directly to the Loconet bus and provide 8 track sensors on each board. We are only using block detection on the Main Line and Waiting Loops, so at the moment we have a single module attached under each board. The installation of these boards is very simple, they can be powered from the DCC Bus and you just need to loop the track feed wires through a detectors. They appear to work well straight out of the box and you can either set the detectors up as a range of 8 addresses or set each detector with a specific address. We are also going to be using some form of computer control on the layout, the ultimate goal being to automate the Main Line movements. But initially we want a system that will help us operate the layout. We have been looking at a few products and each have their pros / cons, but currently our front runner is JMRI. It's not the most visually appealing, but when you start looking at route setting, block detection, signal control and automation it's 'logix' really allow you to do some neat things. This is the current JMRI Panel we are using for the layout. The Yellow numbers are the points, the Blue numbers are the Block Sensors. Signals To provide signalling on the layout, we are using CR Signals excellent 3 Aspect masts which are available 'ready to plant' and in kit form. For our use, we've 3D printed some bases for the signals which will lift them slightly off the baseboard and allow us to easily replace them should we need to. The 3D printed bases accept small magnets and when some small lengths of steel rod are glued to the bases of the signals, they stay in place quite neatly. Here are some pics of the signals and bases on the layout. Finally There is a small amount of video taken from our Open Weekend in September. Cheers, Mark.

I find the only real limitation in sketchup is the inability to draw circles, arcs and polygons with a radius of less than 0.5mm. If you need to do this then you have to scale up and then it's better to keep drawing at that scale. If you reduce the drawing back down again, you can lose parts of your model or parts of it can become non manifold.

Hi Wormoworm, The app looks great, will join the community and let you know how I get on. Cheers, Mark.

Hi Guys, It's been slow going with this part of the hobby, but I've had a few test prints come back over the past month or so that I've sprayed up to show progress. ISO Containers I've received the test prints for the ISO Containers (20' / 40' / 45' Cube and Hi Cube) and I think these have come out pretty well considering they have been produced in SLS (laser sintered). As you can see from the pictures they look quite effective. The detail required for the door has pushed the limits of the machine though and this hasn't come out so well, but still reasonable all things considered. FEAs / KFAs I've also been experimenting, printing some of my earlier wagons in SLS rather than FUD and I've been quite pleased with the results. The only non-printed parts being the Wheelsets (Parkside) and Couplings (Dapol). MJAs After my last test print of the MJA, I had to have a major re-think with regards to the couplings and the drawbar mechanism which joins the pair. I'd originally wanted to use chassis mounted couplings, but these ended up way to close to the bogies and fouled them badly, so I had to re-design the outer bogies so that the Dapol NEM Pockets would fit. I'm pretty pleased with the results, however the fit is a bit tight and I need to add some tolerance in there to get a nice fit. The drawbar was also originally designed to be a hook and loop, but this was hopeless. I've ended up switching to a drawbar that has pins fitted in each end. First impressions are that this is a better solution, but it will mean that the pair are permanently coupled. The fitting of the pins may also be a bit fiddly for the more 'ham fisted', so I may live with the prototype for a little while to see how it performs ;-) Cheers, Mark.

Hi, Just a quick update as I've had some time to address some of the issues with the MJA. I've re-engineered the drawbar, opting for a version that will be permanently fixed in place, its basically a bar with pins in either end rather than any kind of hook / loop. This will mean that the wagons will be permanently fixed together, but by permanently fixing the drawbar, it allows me to vastly reduce the size of the pivots and makes it look more prototypical. I'll see what they come out like and if they still look too big, then I'll opt for a version that uses suitable bent wire. I've also modified my printed F25 bogies and added a mount for a Dapol NEM Pocket. It's amazing how large the outer pocket seems to be when compared to the bogies, but everything seems to fit and clear OK. I've opted to grip the outer pocket at four points (2 at the top and 2 at the bottom) and will see how this works out. It would be better to just glue the outer pocket onto a flat mount on the bogie, but given the depth of the material the outer pocket is made out of I'm not sure it would be a secure fit. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, It's been a while since I posted on the thread, but I've been making some progress with some new items. ISO Containers I've been thinking about doing these for a while now and have managed to draw up some pretty generic 20', 40' and 45' Cube and Hi Cube versions. These have been sent for a test print. If they turn out OK, then I'm going to look at producing 20' and 40' Refrigerated versions and also Flatracks. MJA Progress I received some test prints of the MJAs a few days ago. On the whole everything is looking OK, but I need to have a serious re-think about the couplings. I'd designed in a mount for a Dapol NEM Pocket on the wagon Chassis, but this doesn't allow enough room for the bogies to swivel properly when on curves less than 18". It's clear from the prototype that mounting the couplings on the wagon chassis is a no go because of the position of the bogie. I still want to make use of the Dapol NEM Pockets, so I'm going to modify the bogie so that a coupling can be attached to it. The prototype was Laser Sintered, so it looks a bit rough in places and lacks some definition of detail, but otherwise, its going in the right direction. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, As it's been nearly two months since the last blog entry, there's been quite a flurry of activity, particularly with the scenic items. Retaining Wall This is where the bulk of the effort has been spent. The left hand side of the wall is now complete and it is now being painted and weathered. I notice a section has even been tagged already buy a local 'youf' The bridge (the break between the on and off scene sidings) is also progressing well and is now nearly complete, just a bit of tinkering with the positions of the parapets before it will also be ready for painting. Catenary If you can remember back to previous entries, we are building our Catenary from kits obtained from N Brass Locos. One of the many jobs on the to do list, has been to prime and paint these. Well finally work has started on this with the 2 track portals being primed. Once dry, I think the primer colour is a little darker than we had thought, so they need to be lightened a little bit before we have a good base colour for weathering. Maybe a dusting with some sea grey will do the trick. Work has also been progressing on the 3 track portals which are used on the main scenic boards, with the fitting of register arms and positioning of the portals on the boards themselves. Block Detection As one of our plans for the layout was to have working signalling, then a key piece of that puzzle is block detection. As we are using DCC, we have chosen to use DCC Modules that detect current draw from the track blocks. We have had a single module a 'BlocD8' from Team Digital installed on one of our boards for a while now as it has a LocoNet interface and we've successfully demonstrated the ability to both set signals based on block occupancy and also slow or stop a loco based on how a signal has been set. I've included a picture of one of these boards installed under one of our scenic modules. Although it's not in any way installed as described in the manual, it's worked perfectly and in the future, I'll tidy up the wiring with some pluggable connector blocks, so that if we have a failure, the board could be easily and quickly swapped. Play Time We also found time to get some running in, here's a link to a short video Cheers, Mark.

Exactly the problem I have, as I picked some up second hand, I thought the previous owner had re-wheeled them. Shocked that these got through GF QA, wonder if later versions had a fix? Cheers Jim / Bernard

Hi WBF, I've been drawing them from photo's. The only real dimensions I had to work with were the ISO Container dimensions for the twistlocks. With these in place in Sketchup, I then filled in the sides / ends / top as best I could referring back to the photo's for scale. I think your version of the GMR container shades it for me still. My versions are lacking some small roof details and the door detail still needs some work. Have you thought about adding a version with a raised panel on the side, as this is what the current versions have that are painted blue and owned/operated by 'Viridor'. The 45t crane looks fantastic as does your version of the IIA-D, particularly the detail you've put in on the chassis and unloading doors. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, @Dave, I've been looking at making these available, at the moment, the containers are 3 for £10 + Postage. If anybody is interested, please PM me. @Simon, I'm having these done by a company (3DPrintUK) who charge based on the bounding volume of the print, so leaving walls etc out has no affect on the price. They do have a charge per model to account for cleaning, so I sprue 12 together at a time, which then counts as one model. I've attached a pic of the containers as they are sent for printing. Cheers, Mark.

Hi Porkie, I've been ballasting our layout this week, so haven't been up to much on the 3d Printing front. I did receive some different Waste Container designs this week printed in WSF, some of the Greater Manchester ones and some from Avon. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, Retaining Wall Allot of hard work has been going into the Retaining Wall which runs nearly the whole length of the layout and this is really taking shape now. Along with the brick plasticard, 3D printed capping stones and laser cut arches, we are now making use of resin casting to create some of the wall parts. Here are some pics of the progress. Ballasting Work has also started on ballasting the main scenic modules. and we now have 3 out of the 5 modules with the 'first fix' ballast applied. I say 'first fix' because we are currently ballasting only the lines and in-between them, leaving the shoulders until we have a better idea of where the signals, catenary, point motors, cabinets and other items need to go. Our method for applying the ballast is: Mask of areas of the board you don't want to get wet Plug any holes for dropper wires etc with cork underlay Sprinkle the ballast onto the tracks and work with a brush until you have a profile and coverage your happy with Wet the ballast with a Water (75%) and Surgical Spirit (25%) mix, applied with a small pump misting spray bottle Apply glue (PVA Water mix with about the same consistency as milk) with a syringe, running the needle down the inside of the rails releasing the glue as you go Wait an hour or two, then apply more glue to make sure everything sticks well. Here are some pics of the process: Masking off the area to be worked on Masking off the rail ends to keep the ballast on the board and in place Holes for the dropper wires Holes for the dropper wires with cork underlay filling Dry ballast applied Ballast after wetting Ballast after glueing, some touch ups needed where the dropper wires are I also took a time lapse video of this work being done on one of the modules Cheers, Mark.

Mike, yes I've seen those before and they do look really nice as do Jack's wagons on Shapeways. Ben, Yes that bogie would be quite easy to do. I notice the flats in those images have a PFA TOPS code and they look very similar to the KFAs in most respects. Some change in the headstocks and container guides + fixings.

Hi, I've been making a little more progress with things. Bogies A version of the Y25 for the KFA. These have been test printed and have come out really well. A version of the F25 for the MJA / IOA / IIA-D. I've had to make a big compromise here with the bottom arms, and the spring mountings for fear that they would flex too much if they looked more like the prototype, but when the test prints arrive, I'll have an idea if these can be patched up. KFAs and Binliners I've been doing some experiments printing the KFA wagons in WSF along with some 20' Waste Containers to produce a Binliner train. As they generally run anything between 12-16 KFAs and sometimes with some FEA-Bs in the mix, I thought it would be a nice little project to do using only my printed wagons. Of the various makes of waste containers I've seen from pics, I'm not really sure what area these are from, but they are white in colour and carry black CEC lettering on them - http://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/UKRailRollingstock/K-Tops-codes/KFA-Intermodal-flats/i-bg3nxJ3/A I've had some test prints done and on the whole they have come out great. There was an issue with the twist locks on the containers as I tried to add detail for the openings, but on the prints this has just turned into a kind of I beam structure, so these have been removed. I also had these printed solid by 3DPRINTUK (www.3dprint-uk.co.uk), knowing that the KFAs would benefit from some added weight, but to be honest they have ended up way too heavy. So I've put a cavity back into the design and just left them with nice thick walls, which should add enough additional weight. Here are some pics with the containers sat on some FUD KFAs fitted with the Y25 bogies. Cheers, Mark.

I'm using the short dummy knuckles that come with the Mk3s and they really close up the gaps between the coaches. The sets are being hauled in the video so a short dummy knuckle is fine, when they are being propelled it's better to use a short on one end and a long on the other to avoid buffer lock. As the coaches are being pushed the overall look is pretty much the same. I'm sure others have spotted it too, it's a Western not a Warship Cheers, Mark.

Hi, Had some of my Dapol Mk3s out yesterday on our layout, a couple of run pasts in this video for those interested. Loco hauled Intercity Swallow and Virgin sets. Cheers, Mark.

Hi CambrianCoaster, You could try these: Move your DCC_Decoder library folder up one level, so that it sits in the libraries folder. At the top of your sketch, before any other lines of code, make sure you have this line '#include <DCC_Decoder.h>', it tells the sketch compiler to pull in the DCC_Decoder library including all it's methods and functions. The line that is causing the problem in your code, is making a call to the library. It looks like it can't find it. Also, is the 'dcc_decoder_v4' folder your sketch folder?, ideally you shouldn't keep this in the libraries folder. It would be better to move this into your Documents folder under the Arduino folder that was probably created. This is where you should work on your code. Don't mean to tell you how to suck eggs though. Hope that helps. Cheers, Mark.

Hi 47475, The one I have (in the pics above) is a Chinese DCC Ready version (takes a 6 pin decoder). I would imagine the new versions would make use of the same chassis. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, I've done a little more work on the MJAs adding: End detail and buffers Unloading doors Mount for a Dapol Coupler Pocket Drawbar system to keep the paired wagons together Still need to add detail to the underside of the wagon and design the bogies. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, I've been over the code for the DCC_Decoder library and it does support the Extended Accessory Packets. I believe I can also make use of this in the Arduino sketch easily enough. The problem now, is how to send one of these Extended Packets. As I'm using JMRI, can anybody suggest a way to do this. There isn't an awful lot of info about it. Ideally what I'd like to do is create a signal in JMRI, that has a single DCC Address and has a list of these extended values which given the signal type equate to the various display options and dark. Can anybody give me pointers on this? From 'Googling' for info, it also seems that apart from 0 being Dark, all other values for the Extended Packet are defined by the signal controller. So they can be pretty much anything. Cheers, Mark.

Hi Nigel, Sending an Extended Accessory Packet would be of real benefit, as I'm not sure sending bursts of packets is always going to work for us. I can imagine a packet loss and a signal suddenly having two lit aspects or none at all, which wouldn't look good. I've found the NMRA specification for this, but it's going to take another couple of reads before it sinks in I'll have to check to see if the DCC_Decoder library I'm using for my Arduino sketch supports the Extended Accessory Packet as a first step. Then have a look at sending the packets from JMRI. The SIgnalist SC1 Manual has a paragraph covering the values it uses so this is something to go on. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, Inspired by other RMWeb members who have been using Arduino devices to control turntables and traversers, I have been doing some experiments to try and use one for Signal Control. I'm involved in the build of an 'N' Gauge exhibition layout and we want to have working 3 aspect signals, but to go along with this, we want to use various feathers and ground signals for realism when operating. It is also our intention that the signals would be automated, so we will have some form of computer control and signal logic based on route and block occupancy. The layout will have around 9 scenic modules when finished and the signals themselves are fairly spread out along them. So when we started looking at the costs to do this using 'off the shelf' DCC Accessory Decoders, things started to look quite costly. So, to the Arduino. There is allot of information on the web and on this forum about how to get an Arduino connected up to your DCC System and surprisingly for me, I found a simple enough circuit here - http://www.mynabay.com/arduino/14-arduino/dcc-monitor/16-arduino-dcc-monitor-2 to isolate the track voltage from the Arduino and get the DCC Packet info to it safely. Then using a slightly modified version of their 'sketch' I did some testing using the Serial Monitor and my Sprog as a Command Station. #include <DCC_Decoder.h> ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Defines and structures // #define kDCC_INTERRUPT 0 typedef struct { int address; // Address to respond to byte output; // State of output 1=on, 0=off int outputPin; // Arduino output pin to drive boolean isDigital; // true=digital, false=analog. If analog must also set analogValue field boolean isFlasher; // true=flash output, false=no time, no flash. byte analogValue; // Value to use with analog type. int durationMilli; // Milliseconds to leave output on for. 0 means don't auto off unsigned long onMilli; // Used internally for timing unsigned long offMilli; // } DCCAccessoryAddress; DCCAccessoryAddress gAddresses[8]; ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Decoder Init // void ConfigureDecoder() { gAddresses[0].address = 3; gAddresses[0].output = 0; gAddresses[0].outputPin = 3; gAddresses[0].isDigital = true; gAddresses[0].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[0].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[0].durationMilli = 0; gAddresses[1].address = 4; gAddresses[1].output = 0; gAddresses[1].outputPin = 4; gAddresses[1].isDigital = true; gAddresses[1].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[1].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[1].durationMilli = 0; gAddresses[2].address = 5; gAddresses[2].output = 0; gAddresses[2].outputPin = 5; gAddresses[2].isDigital = true; gAddresses[2].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[2].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[2].durationMilli = 0; gAddresses[3].address = 6; gAddresses[3].output = 0; gAddresses[3].outputPin = 6; gAddresses[3].isDigital = true; gAddresses[3].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[3].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[3].durationMilli = 0; gAddresses[4].address = 7; gAddresses[4].output = 0; gAddresses[4].outputPin = 7; gAddresses[4].isDigital = true; gAddresses[4].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[4].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[4].durationMilli = 0; gAddresses[5].address = 8; gAddresses[5].output = 0; gAddresses[5].outputPin = 8; gAddresses[5].isDigital = true; gAddresses[5].isFlasher = false; gAddresses[5].analogValue = 0; gAddresses[5].durationMilli = 0; // Setup output pins for(int i=0; i<(int)(sizeof(gAddresses)/sizeof(gAddresses[0])); i++) { if( gAddresses[i].outputPin ) { pinMode( gAddresses[i].outputPin, OUTPUT ); } gAddresses[i].onMilli = 0; gAddresses[i].offMilli = 0; } } ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Basic accessory packet handler // void BasicAccDecoderPacket_Handler(int address, boolean activate, byte data) { // Convert NMRA packet address format to human address address -= 1; address *= 4; address += 1; address += (data & 0x06) >> 1; boolean enable = (data & 0x01) ? 1 : 0; for(int i=0; i<(int)(sizeof(gAddresses)/sizeof(gAddresses[0])); i++) { if( address == gAddresses[i].address ) { Serial.print("Basic addr: "); Serial.print(address,DEC); Serial.print(" activate: "); Serial.println(enable,DEC); if( enable ) { gAddresses[i].output = 1; gAddresses[i].onMilli = millis(); gAddresses[i].offMilli = 0; }else{ gAddresses[i].output = 0; gAddresses[i].onMilli = 0; gAddresses[i].offMilli = millis(); } } } } ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Setup // void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); DCC.SetBasicAccessoryDecoderPacketHandler(BasicAccDecoderPacket_Handler, true); ConfigureDecoder(); DCC.SetupDecoder( 0x00, 0x00, kDCC_INTERRUPT ); } ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // // Main loop // void loop() { static int addr = 0; //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Loop DCC library DCC.loop(); //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Bump to next address to test if( ++addr >= (int)(sizeof(gAddresses)/sizeof(gAddresses[0])) ) { addr = 0; } //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Turn off output? if( gAddresses[addr].offMilli && gAddresses[addr].offMilli<millis() ) { // Clear off time gAddresses[addr].offMilli = 0; // Disable output if( gAddresses[addr].isDigital ) { digitalWrite( gAddresses[addr].outputPin, LOW); }else{ analogWrite( gAddresses[addr].outputPin, 0); } // If still enabled and a flash type, set on time if( gAddresses[addr].output && gAddresses[addr].isFlasher) { gAddresses[addr].onMilli = millis() + gAddresses[addr].durationMilli; }else{ gAddresses[addr].output = 0; } return; } //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Turn on output? if( gAddresses[addr].onMilli && gAddresses[addr].onMilli<=millis() ) { // Clear off time gAddresses[addr].onMilli = 0; // Enable output if( gAddresses[addr].isDigital ) { digitalWrite( gAddresses[addr].outputPin, HIGH); }else{ analogWrite( gAddresses[addr].outputPin, gAddresses[addr].analogValue); } // If still enabled and a flash type, set off time if( gAddresses[addr].durationMilli ) { gAddresses[addr].offMilli = millis() + gAddresses[addr].durationMilli; } return; } } ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// After some tweaking of the wires on the breadboard, the Arduino sprang to life and started reacting to the accessory command being sent from the Sprog. Now it was time to put some LEDs and resistors (220 Ohm for the Arduinos 5v) onto the board and see what would happen. This is what I ended up with, seen here mocking up two 3 aspect signals displaying 'Proceed'. OK, so I had an Arduino Decoder with working LEDS now, but each aspect was being controlled independently and had a separate address. This didn't make for very realistic control from a throttle as the aspects would remain lit or the signal go out while the operator fumbled with the addresses. So what I needed was some control to send a burst of packets, to the signal to 'throw' or 'close' all of the aspect LEDs at a time. I decided on JMRI to do this, as it has an incredible level of support for signal logic, but it's a bit of a steep learning curve, so when I found these tutorials on YouTube it really helped. There should be 8 of them, but I could only find 1-7. Even so, Nigel and Kevin really deliver the info well and at a reasonable pace, thanks guys if you read this. So in a very short time, I'd defined my Signal Heads (in my case 3 Aspect), linked them to the Accessory addresses that the Arduino was reacting to and attached them to Signal Masts in JMRI meaning that I could then control them by setting the signals to 'Proceed', 'Caution' and 'Stop'. Here's a short video showing the signals being set to each in turn. For the layout, we'll be using Arduino Nanos, which if you shop around can be bought for around £5, add to that some vero board and components for the DCC Bus opto-isolator and it's possible to build a Accessory Decoder, able to operate as either 11 (digital only) or 17 (using the analogue output as digital) individual addresses for £7. Cheers, Mark.