Adding a panel to Shamokin

I have inserted the panels in this area into the fascia due to the foot traffic close by. I used a sabre saw to cut open the panel with a hole of the size I needed for my panel. I then had to line the Masonite with a 1X1 inch frame to screw the panel into. Here is the first member of the panel going in.

A higher view that shows the thin nature of the Masonite and the thickness added. 

An interior view of the building of the frame. I had to set it so I could fit the upper member below the plywood base of Shamokin.

We are working our way around the frame. I do have one problem and that is the fascia is curved here. So, one of the side frame members has to be of a different thickness than the other to compensate for the curve. 

Left side member going into the fascia.

Three sides done.

Now for the thicker side as you can see the fascia bending away. 

Adding the additional material to the side member before gluing it to the fascia.

Upgrading automobiles

Well, I have been off line for quite a while as I had several operations that started with a new knee. This gave me time to focus on bench type projects and the completion of the town of Shamokin. I will be doing postings to catch up. They will cover a variety of topics that I have been working on. I apologize for the pause but will keep at it. 

Here are a couple of diecast models of 1940/50 era pickups that needed to be upgraded a little. So, a friend of mine took some full size Pennsylvania plates from 1956 that I purchased on eBay and Photoshopped them down to O scale size. I have begun a project of adding them to all my vehicles. It  does make a difference in their appearance. I have applied about 30 thus far. 

 

A View of the completed tank cars

Here are the completed cars sitting in the yard awaiting weathering.   The first three are 8000 gallon cars that required the frame milling. This is a Philadelphia Quartz car.

Next is a private owner car that enables me to highlight my Italian heritage coupled to a Deep Rock gasoline car.  A very colorful car.

Next are the 10,000 gallon Chemical cars.  These are the easily modified cars. This one is an older release - a Warren car. These cars stand up well next to the Precision brass models of the same class of cars. 

This is a new one - a Hercules Chemical car that is very distinctive.

Lastly, one for my Standard Oil of NJ, carrying LPG. 

This gives you a view of the car ends with the couplers and air hoses

You can see they line up.

And the cars look good from down low as well.
 

Now we need an additional throttle

Well, now we need project box number two to use as a base for an old product called a RixRax hand held throttle with a long tether. So, I took out a Stancor 12.4 volt transformer I had and my last RixRax throttle. I had purchased two in about 1985 for a layout I was building then. I had only used one and have already incorporated it into my layout in Weigh Scales. So, this was "old new stock". As before, we layout components to see how we can make this item. The grey item is a base that holds the blue circuit card.

This throttle came as components that were somewhat pre-wired. The base has a portion of the circuitry and the throttle body has the rest. 

My problem is that the throttle body is connected to the base by 6 wires. Those wires connect to the pins on the right side of the blue circuit board. So, I decided to put a connector on the side of the box to make it easier to screw the wires from the layout to the throttle. 

On the box in the background, you can see the 8 pin connector that I am using. I am actually building two of these throttles as the crew likes them so much, I am having to add one to Reed to make the switching there easier.  In this view, you can see that the fuse body is on the base as I could not fit it on the top. The on/off switch is also on the base next to the 8 pin connector (shown on the rear box). 

The tops are pretty simple as all I can mount are the transformer and the circuit card. 

I am trying a different transformer but I am not really satisfied with its characteristics so will go back to the Stancor. This one is a center tap 24 Volt unit, but it does not have the power output I want. 

Here is the completed appearance of the unit but it is also where my problems began. I used a Chinese made fuse holder for these. I had just bought them off Amazon. They were awful. I could not get them to screw on or off reliably. I was using choice words as the last thing I do is fuse the circuit and I could not get the cap off. The darn things cam eina package of 8 and everyone was faulty. So, I have a 50 year old, but unused, Bussman fuse holder and that will go into the circuit. Once I did that, and connected those six colored wires to the terminal block and my hand held throttle, I found that the unit works great. 

Now I have to come up with a new/old way of connecting a 6 pin plug and socket that will stand up to some usage. The cheaper Chinese ones are not too dependable. I have found a source for "new stock" Cinch-Jones plugs which, while more expensive, are industrial strength. 

In closing, I mentioned that the RixRax throttle was from the mid 1980's. I needed another one and went out on eBay to find the one for Reed. Could you believe it, but a guy had just listed a "new old stock" one. I bought it immediately. It is good that I am not the only one holding on to things for eons! That Bussman fuse holder was from a stock I was given as demo's when I joined the company in sales in 1968! I left them in 1969 but they are still paying out!

 

Some Power Supplies for Shamokin

Well, I need a turnout motor power supply for the mine and Shamokin complex. I used 3 volt Switchmaster like high torque motors in RixRack mounts for the turnout power. So, I gathered my material which included a 6.3 volts center tap filament transformer for the power supply, a bridge rectifier to convert it to DC, a power switch, line cord and a fuse holder. I also ordered a project box from eBay. 

Using my hole drills, I cut mounting holes for the power cord and inserted it with a stress reliever. 

The stress relief required a bigger hole than I had a cutter,  so I used a Dremel cutter to complete the hole and mount the plug.

Here I had gathered the components and used my cutters to cut the mounting holes. 

This is the layout for the top with the transformer on one side, the fuse ahead of it, and the on/off switch next to the power strip. The Power strip has three positions - plus, center, and minus. The feeds come from underneath the top.

Here we see the bottom before all wiring is done. The center tap of the transformer is the Zero voltage, and each side of the bridge rectifier will be plus or minus 3 volts. 

 And here is the simple wiring and we are done, once I connect the line cord to the fuse holder and the on/off switch. So, when I tested the supply, it did not work. Darn!! then, going back and trouble shooting, I found I had a defective transformer. So, I got a new one and inserted it and then it was exactly 3.15 volts on either side. Perfect! Thank goodness!

Taking a break and converting some Atlas tank cars to true 2 rail operation

As you all know, Atlas has reissued the Intermountain tank cars with diecast frames and their trucks and couplers. These are nice cars but the trucks re too wide for scale cars and the cars sit way too high. So, I have just undertaken a project to convert three 8,000 gallon cars and 3 11,000 gallon cars. The 8K cars are more difficult as the frame has to be modified. The 11K are a snap. You only have to mill off the mounting pins for the Atlas couplers on those cars, and drill and tap for the Kadee box. You also have to drill out the Athearn bolster as on the 8k car. They also require a mounting ring on the bolster pin.

On the 8K cars, you need to mill out the frame to accept the kadee coupler box as once you set the car at the right height, the coupler would be very low. This shows a bottom view of the mounted box after I milled about 0.050 out of the center sill and then drilled and tapped the center sill. I also had to make a bolster ring (0.060 thick) that raises the car on the Athearn truck to meet the Kadee height gauge. I had drilled out the bolster on the Athearn truck to allow it to sit on the Atlas pin. I used Atlas's truck screw after I turned down the diameter of the head. 

Here is an end view with the coupler mounted. On some cars I used the Atlas air hose. On other cars, I used a cast rubber air hose. 

Here is the line-up of the completed frames awaiting the bodies return. 
 

Completing the Track Work into Shamokin

Well, the track plan has been decided on and now I am gluing the switch ties down to allow the passing siding from the main to the factory to be installed. We have the ties glued and weights on them to fix them in place. 

Glue is dried and the tops of the ties have been sanded. 

A look down the track to see where we have to connect to the trackwork back by the factory.

The first turnout is now built and the second is under construction. This is a little tricky as the turnouts are on a surface where the grade is ending and then flattening out. Also, I am standing on two stools and my head is pressed into the ceiling.

The second turnout is just about done, and I realize I have to extend the wooden ties by at least a couple to provide space for the ties of the diverging tracks to be placed. 

Now the track beyond the turnouts has been placed. You can see there are a lot of sweeping curves involved in smoothly blending into the tail tracks. The left most track is a future siding for a building flat that will be placed along the wall. 

An overview of the whole junction

 A distance shot of the town of Shamokin, less a few structures. Now, on to the wiring.