Paltryville Ridge & Peak Railroad

[chris]

There has been an unexpected, but much desired addition to the Paltryville fleet.

I've wanted a Shay since I started down the On30 road, but they are rare. It was a great surprise to find one on the secondhand model stall at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway Steam Gala.

This throws a spanner in the return loop plan. I was going to make the ballon loop with an 20cm radius, with a loco release for the one train that couldn't cope with the tight turn. A second loco that won't make it round a 20cm curve calls for a rethink of this plan. It appears that the Shay will get round a 38cm radius. When I get home I'll see how it runs on 1st Radius track, which is 37cm. 

If it will get round, it will still be wider than the space I have, It may have to go in and out of the shed. The length of the loop also becomes an issue. I was hoping to get it in 90cm, but it's now looking like it will need 120cm. On the plus side, the loco release will no longer be required.

Having though I was passed the planning stage, I'm back at the drawing board.

 

[chris]

The weather is finally getting to the point where work in the shed is possible, that said I did get rather cold yesterday. I've returned to working on my loop. 2nd radius with set-track points is the plan.

Baseboard outside and inside the shed. There has been lots of rearranging shed contestants to make space for the railway to pass in and out. After a couple of weeks on enabling works I fitted the internal baseboard. At this point I had a revelation. I had room for a fiddle yard. 

I played around with some 40 year old set track. I can fit in 4 roads.

They are short sidings, but this isn't an issue. I don't have much On30 stock and a lot of it is 4 wheeler.

The green is outside, brown inside. The sidings being on the return loop means that I can turn my trains. This is a huge bonus for operation.

The grey track on the left will run along the back of the shed. I was going to have this as the siding with a cassette based fiddle yard. Thats no longer required. I'm still going to install that turnout and track. This will provide a long siding and a route for possible extension through the shed and back into the garden!

 

[chris]

Last week I cracked on with the baseboard and bridge. The last of my trackbed aerated blocks needed realigning to create a straight run onto the bridge and to land on the new baseboard in the correct location. I had to dig out all the stones and soil base, it was't much of a chore.

I used a chunky off-cut of block to create an abutment for the bridge to rest on. The bridge deck is 6mm correx with an Aluminium T girder (from a dead greenhouse) under for strength. The sides are from an old (Triang??) OO bridge. I may replace the sides and put a covered bridge on there.

The track is pinned down as far as the turnout. It switches from Peco O-16.5 to OO as it passes over the bridge. I see the bridge as the end of the scenic section. Everything upstream of it is fiddle yard.

I've ordered some set track for the loop and the turnouts. Everything is second radius. I've started the job of soldering the bonding wires. As ever, I'm getting as much soldering as I can done before I take it outside and pin it down. This location isn't easily accessible, so I don't want my bonds failing too often. I hope to get the return loop installed this weekend. 

The electronics on the return loop is relatively simple. I've ordered some train on track detection kits. These will allow me to run the system automatically, with the train changing the turnout as it goes round the loop so it is set correctly by the time it gets back to the turnout. It will also flip the DCC polarity to avoid a short circuit.

I may have trains running round it in the next few days.

 

[chris]

I got the track down and the electronics connected yesterday. Trains can run round the balloon loop and return to where they came from. The next job is to get the turnout motorised so the loop can operate automatically. 

After that I'll get the fiddle yard sidings installed and wired up. I will add motors to the turnouts on the loop, of which there are three. The other two fiddle yard turnouts are in tight locations so I may leave those manual. The only issue would be automation, but I can concern myself with that further down the road.

I'm starting to distract myself with making plans for the other end of the line. A second balloon loop will enable continuous running which makes a huge defence on a garden railway. I added an O-16.5 turnout into my last order of track and I have 3 yards of O-16.5 flexi. I think have enough to make a second loop. 

[chris]

I've completed the return loop and in-shed sidings. All the turnouts are driven by servos and controlled by 7 push buttons inside the shed. There are 3 push buttons on a panel outside which means that I can change key turnouts without having to pop into the shed. I have train on track detection. I use this to automatically throw the balloon loop turnout so it is set correctly for an exiting train. The DCC polarity is tide to the turnout position. Polarity is flipped by a relay whenever the turnout throws. All this is controlled by a single Arduino Nano.

I've made covers for the track portals. They slide up and are held open by magnets.

There is a turnout at the rear. This will allow a track to run along the back wall of the shed. This could become a long storage siding. Ultimately it is there to enable an extension through the shed and out to the other side of the garden.

Edited June 12, 2023 by chris
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[chris]

General sorting out was the order of the day. A turnout motor had detached from the tie bar. A software update meant a couple of wires needed swapping over. And with that I could operate trains. 

I added the Snicket Way baseboards to the house end of Platryville. I had a classic loop railway at that end and the return loop in the shed. With a passing loop on the single track in between.

It was great to run a train from the Snicket Way and a couple of minutes later it return, all on it's own.

I'm now planing a return loop for the house end. It's complicated by the fact that the loop will need to have a  diameter greater than the raised bed of Paltryville and that I still need a connection to the Snicket Way. I've figured out the track plan. Still working on the engineering of the baseboard.

[traingeekboy]

oh oh - someone got the narrow gauge bug.

I love the loco.