Brin and I have been working the last couple weeks building new modules for the UMG layout. These will replace the old, and tired looking, Hazard Bend module set.

Al introduced me to the track plan for the 3rd Street Industrial District thinking it would make a great module set. I had seen the plan before but hadn’t related it to modules. It looked like it could be possible so Brian and I decided to use it as inspiration. Since it is not an exact reproduction we’re calling our plan “The 5th Street District”.

We started about 2 weeks ago constructing the frames from some old 1/2″ plywood I had in the shed. We had to buy the foam, unfortunately. We used new track and turnouts on the mainline and a mix of new track and recycled track and turnouts from the old modules in the switching area.

The modules certainly aren’t finished by any stretch of the imagination, but trains should run on them just fine. They’ll be in a more presentable condition for the Truro show next fall.

The Moncton show is this Saturday (April 12th). I’ll have some pictures of these modules set up in the UMG layout next week.

Later!

Scott

There has been lots of discussion on the Yahoo Groups lately about layout lighting. A couple people have emailed me asking about what I did. So, here it is…

I used regular 4′ fluorescent tubes on my old layout (12′x14′) and was satisfied with the light they provided. However, I was going to have to buy several more 4′ fixtures for the BS&T since it would be a little more than twice as big and I wasn’t looking forward to the outlay of cash for 4′ fixtures. So I decided to use regular, inexpensive fixtures intended for incandescent lights and compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). Using these lights would decrease the amount of heat generated by the lighting. I found Daylight CFL’s at Home Depot at $20 for 6. (Addendum: Here’s a little more information on the CFL’s. They are Phillips Mini Twister 15 watt Daylight. This is the Home Depot page for these bulbs.)
The view behind the valance over Stevenville (above). It’s hard to take a picture of lights without everything else going dark.

A quick check around to the local hardware retailers showed me that Canadian Tire (it’s more than just tires!) had the cheapest price for light fixtures and octagonal boxes (@ $6/light). By code you are not supposed to mount the fixtures without an octagonal box. I decided to mount the lights about every 3′ around the room behind the valance. I probably could have gotten away with every 4′. Total cost for fixtures and lights – less than $10 each.

Anyway, the lights were installed during one of our weekly work sessions. I can’t remember who exactly was there (it’s been almost 2 years) but there was probably 5 or 6 on hand. It didn’t take long to get the bulk of the wiring and fixture installation done. I think I had a half dozen or so to do myself, plus wiring the plug to turn them on and off through the rest of the week.

The photo, above, shows behind the valance over Chappellton.

After the main wiring was done I had to install a new breaker in the main panel. It was the first one I had ever installed and was a little intimidated. There’s a lot of power there to be mucking around with! But the new breaker went in without incident – I was very careful!!! I also tried to do the install as neatly as possible, much like the original electrician did it.

I wasn’t pleased with the amount of light you could see (glare) when you stood at the layout to operate, so I added a strip of 1″x3″ to the inside of the valance under the lighting. This helped to reduce the glare considerably.

You can see the 1×3 (black) near the bottom of the picture. The wire that passes under the fixture in the photo runs to the switch for the lights.

A benefit of the Daylight CFL’s that I hadn’t anticipated is with layout photography. I am able to get quite good results using the available light. I’ve been experimenting lately with depth of field and have found that at F22 I do require a long exposure, so a tripod is required. I am pleased with the color rendition and overall quality of the light without having any supplemental lighting. These pictures are examples.

I hope this post has clearly described what I have done. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email me.

Scott

As you may already know, I use a Lenz system for locomotive control. Because we mostly use XPA’s and cordless phones for throttles I have not added a throttle bus to the layout, except for a single plug at each yard.

The only reason I had those throttle plugs was for Brian. Before he got his XPA he preferred his LH-90. He also liked working the yards so I installed plugs in the yards so he could work them. He’s gotten to like using a cordless phone after getting his own XPA and, heaven help us, he’s running around the layout more! Watch out!

Over the Christmas holidays my son and his friends wanted to try running trains – the first time they’ve shown any interest. Without the throttles the regulars bring on op nights I needed more throttles. I have an LH-90, but without throttle plugs around the room it was not very useful. So I borrowed Brian’s XPA for a few days. The boys had a great time. My son said he didn’t think it would be as much fun, or as difficult, as it was. They didn’t finish the session the first night so the next day one of my son’s friends asked when he could “complete his mission”. Too much “Call of Duty” for those boys, I think.

Anyway, that got me on the kick of installing throttle plugs around the room for those times when we need to use the old standby throttles. The local dollar stores didn’t have any telephone wall plates, but had lots of telephone extension cables, so $5 later I had all the wire I would need.

I found some nice double outlet wall plates at Canadian tire that would be perfect for about $6 each,. I visited a discount store in Quebec City to browse and found some 5-way telephone connectors. I haven’t seen these in stores in a while so I got 4 at $1.50 each. I knew they’d come in handy for something.

The white wall plates would not match my black fascia so the first thing I did was to remove the wiring part from the back of the plate so I could spray them black .

While the paint was drying I installed a couple of the 5-ways under the layout in strategic locations. One was close to where the main throttle bus line comes from the command station so I could connect into it. I ran extension cables to the other 5-way to make it “live”. Then ran extension cables from those to where I’d install the wall plates.

I cut the extension cables so that I would get two runs of cable from each 5-way to the wall plates. The cut ends were used at the screw terminals of the wall plates. Fortunately, I only had one run where the remaining cable was not long enough for another run. Each plug on the wall plate was separate so I had to wire them together and used the excess cable for this purpose.

Regular telephone extension cable (the ones with male plugs on each end) are not wired properly to be useful for XPressNet (Lenz’s wiring scheme). The plugs on each end are wired opposite to one another (twisted), while Lenz’s scheme requires both plugs to be wired the same (straight). So when it came time to connect the wire to the plugs one length of the extension cable would be attached color for color (black, red, green, yellow) and the other section would be the reverse (black to yellow, red to green, green to red, and yellow to black). I had to experiment to see which way the wires went before making anything to permanent. One way the LH-90 would work, the other it wouldn’t. It seems you can’t damage anything with incorrect wiring – Yay!

I ran into a problem in Kenville. There is a 1″x3″ behind the 5-1/2″ fascia that I didn’t want to cut into to install the plugs. I visited the only other dollar store in town that I hadn’t been to previously and found some telephone wall plugs with a rectangular inset plug. I cut some neat holes in the fascia, below the 1″x3″, just the right size and epoxied the inset portion into the opening. I just have to paint around the edges to blend them in. That will get done before operating on Sunday.

Later!

Scott