Monk Subdivision - Fine Tuning the Tracks

The loop of track is in place; it is wired and functional. The first train even made the inaugural run. What’s next?

The first train to ever complete the loop

That’s a good question. Part of me is wanting to dive direct into scenery but it cannot be done yet until running has been assessed. Until I can prove a large 2-10-2 or 4-8-4 steamer, a 16-car long passenger train or a 35-car freight train can navigate safely and reliably over the layout, it would be foolish to ballast the track.

Inaugurating the staging with a proper mixed train

Several key issues have been identified, including the following:

1) Superelevation is neat but it doesn’t like to start after a turnout. I haven’t experimented that much with it, but I reckon that you need at least 12 inch of flat track on both sides of a turnout. This is the only way to make sure locomotives with long rigid wheelbase can navigate them without derailing. In this case, my BLI ATSF 4-8-4 with its huge drivers is a perfect candidate for testing.

Vertical transition and patchwork of track near a turnout isn't a good idea

2) Superelevation on very broad curves add very little. In this specific case, I’m talking about the broad curve at Langlois station, in front of the feed mill. I made the superelevation half what it is elsewhere, but it still look silly. The reason is simple; this is a switching spot and having your freight train partially tilted doesn’t look good. It just looks like poorly laid track which induced unwarranted tilt. Also, that curve is so broad I gain virtually nothing from that superelevation. It's not high on the priority list, but it may be "improved" in the near future.

3) Superelevation on very sharp curves looks silly. This is the case of the 28” radius curve leading to the staging right of Armagh. For some reason, the trains look far too much tilted on this curve, as if they were going to fall. Visually, it’s not pleasing at all and mechanically, it induces the aforementioned issue with transitioning with the turnout. While superelevation is desirable, I think it should be half what it is there.

This superelevation may be reduces... maybe not

4) At the culvert, between Langlois and Armagh, there is a slight grade. Nothing major, but it’s there. Visually, it had a little bit of interest because in real life, there was a grade there. The issue is the grade isn’t constant vertically, which induce some optical effects that don’t look good. I will need to rework my risers there.

The plywood creates a sounding board and must go

5) The next issue is linked to the previous one. I used plywood to create a flat surface at the river level for the culvert, then screwed the risers on it. This created a dreaded soundboard. When trains run over that section, a very loud noise is unheard, which is really bursting the suspension of disbelief. I will need to remove that plywood as much as possible and rethink the way risers are fixed. Not at easy task, but a necessary one.

6) Elsewhere, the tape I used for superelevation isn’t always perfectly located under the ties. This variation causes trains to wobble a little, which is unsightly. The same also happens here and there because nailed track is not always perfectly laying flat on the cork. When ballasting, there is a risk of gravel going under the lifted ties and making these deformations permanent. Tracks will need to be secured with latex caulk before adding scenery.

7) The staging yard lift bridge is sitting a little bit higher than the yard, which created a substantial height difference at rail head. This is a likely source of future derailments. My idea is to either rise the yard tracks or find a way to lower the bridge. It is my suspicion that the later is probably easier and won’t add further vertical deformation along the route.

This is almost 1mm vertical difference between the layout and bridge!

8) Team tracks and sidings in real life often sit lower than the mainline and I wonder if I should implement that everywhere on the layout. It is visually interesting, but that vertical transition could create issues at the double ended team track in Armagh. I can already imagine a lot of running issues raising from such an aesthetic choice. It can work at Langlois station, but I am more doubtful at Armagh. Had the track been 10 feet long, it wouldn’t be an issue, but when shorter, it becomes a roller coaster of poor decisions.

9) Finally, I need to test if all the staging tracks have a good geometry that works well with long trains. Lots of curves there which will inevitably reduce the pulling power of locomotives. Also, I need to identify which ones are best for passenger trains or large steam locomotives.

Nothing beats the feeling of a train running freely around the room

As you can see, there is a lot of things to figure out but I feel like brushing them away would be the perfect recipe to be disenchanted with the layout. Poor track always leads to frustration and untimely death of a beloved project.

So I guess I have still a lot of work cut for me!

Monk Subdivision - Sherlock Holmes and The Short

Yesterday, Jérôme paid a visit to the layout to run some trains… if we could troubleshoot the short circuit plaguing it. The first hour was spent trying to find out if there was something wrong with the wiring. Could some of the feeders or bus wires be inverted somewhere? Well, we did find two problematic feeders that needed to be moved around, but the problem persisted.

Next, we moved our attention to the staging yard control panel since we got short indication. However, when disconnected from the layout, it was perfectly fine. Using a multimeter, we investigated two Peco curved turnouts. They were electrofrog and could have been insulated incorrectly. Alas, they were fine… I even went so far as removing one, just in case. 

Then Jérôme started to probe the screw connectors. Most of them were shorted, which meant something wrong was going on with the tracks. Pushing forward the investigation, our attention turned to the staging yard lift bridge. Even when disconnected, we got shorts on a few tracks. This would became the focus of our attention.

The problematic situation as discovered

After a while, an idea crossed my mind. Could the soldered PC board ties used at the ends of the bridge be the issue? Well, it was. At first, we suspected solder bridging the gap in the copper foil, but it wasn’t the case. Then, the real problem reared its ugly head. The PC board ties are secured in place with two nails at each end. While the copper foil is notched on top to prevent shorts, the plating under it is continuous. When you drive a metal nail through the tie, it bridges both copper layers, creating short. 

Our solution was to add an insulating notch on top

The solution was easy and I simply removed some copper at one end so the nail could no longer be electrified. In hindsight, I should have notched the copper plating underneat each tie. Once you know the issue, it is extremely easy to remedy, but tracking it took several evenings, and finally two brains. Since I’m not that proficient with electricity, I was suspecting my wiring was wrong, but couldn’t figure out the mistakes. It would have been hard to think the PC board ties were the main issue… or should I say, my way to secure them.

A notch should be made in the bottom copper plating first

With this problem figured out and troubleshooted, I can now complete the basic wiring and start to improve track geometry. I can still see a few things that bother me, including superelevation at turnouts, running noise over plywood and some vertical alignment issues here and there. If I was running only diesel locomotives, I wouldn’t care that much about it. However, large wheelbase steamers don’t like it.

Monk Subdivision - Running Trains! Or Almost...

My posting rate isn't that stellar due to a simple reason. Is wiring really an interesting topic?

A week ago, the long weekend was an excellent occasion to get immersed with the layout work and try to make things happen, which means to be able to run a full train all around the room. On Friday, I was able to finish the laying the main staging track until I ran out of track. Then, the next day, a few other sidings by purchasing some remaining track stock at BV Hobby. I didn't expect running low of track and joiners, but sure I did and I scavenged everything I could to make the project progress waiting to gather everything I need to finish my work.

A classic 1970s MLW CN consist over Abénaki Bridge

To celebrate that milestone, a prototypical 1970s CN Monk Subdivision diesel consist was assembled, with two Bowser Big Alco and one RS18. It truly made the concept shine though it was too soon to run around the staging track since it wasn't wired yet.

And since then, my life has been all about wiring track, soldering feeders and running bus wires under the layout. I'm using screw terminal blocks with connectors. It gives a more professional look while being much easier to work with and move around. I know I have already some trouble shooting ahead of me and not having to unsolder everything will be quite helpful.

This sums up my modelling life since two weeks

To be honest, I have a big picture of how wiring should work for the layout, but I'm kind of figuring it out directly under the layout. My approach is simply to do small sections according to my operating logic and come back the next day to extend it.

I also have been working on a control panel for the staging yard. The concept is to have each staging track fed individually and controlled by a switch to turn it on or off. I have many reasons to implement that system. First, I don't want all train loco running for no reason, particularly with DCC and sound. Second, I'm using my NCE Pro Cab DCC system which isn't designed to handle a dozen of locos under power. Thus, I figured out the best thing would be to store a train after it had made its appearance, shut the track off, turn on another track and run another train. This is also a way to reduce the risk of runaway trains in a room I'm rarely standing in it.

Ugly but efficient, I like the feel of old metal toggle switches

The panel is simply a scrap piece remaining from the 4' x 8' project. It may be replaced in the future by something more aesthetically pleasing, but right now, it is doing its job nicely.

I also implemented another safety device for the staging yard lift bridge. With a single micro switch, it controls the common bus wire directly from the source. If the bridge is open, all tracks in the staging yards are without electricity. I didn't want to only cut off some short sections before the bridge. My reason being that I'm not always standing in the staging yard and can't really see what is happening. On the main layout, everything is easy to monitor and the bridge there can be left opened without stopping operation if in "switching layout" mode and not running the entire loop.

The temporary train control station at Armagh

I've yet to see how much time will be required to finish up the layout, but it's progressing at a steady pace. I would love to see trains in action soon, but time will tell... and may need much more wire than I anticipated and some troubleshooting will require my attention. I also ran out of wire only to find out it is no longer available. If you have been following copper wire costs lately, I can confirm that the type of wire I uses has almost doubled price since 2024. My answer to that was simply to install more terminal blocks and plan better my feeder location. That way, I have been able to reclaim enough 18 AWG wire to make all the feeders I need for the staging yard. It will only be required to purchase some bus wire later on.

Monk Subdivision - Completing the Draw Bridge

First official train over Abenaki river bridge!

It seems the new schedule is bearing its fruits. Over the last few days, I have been able to lay all the track on the scenic portion of the layout and complete the basic wiring. It could have been a daunting task, but working little by little each days brought excellent results and made it possible to trouble shoot issues along the way.

Installing a locking device was high on my list...

However, as I often mentioned, this project isn't quite linear and I am constantly revisiting things done before to improve them. One of these is the draw bridge which required an extensive rebuild after the tragic incident earlier this summer. The first order was to find a way to secure the bridge when opened and after designing several complicated locking systems, I simply used a standard window hook which took less than a minute to install and provided the most intuitive and safe system I could wish for.

A simple hook was more than enough for that purpose

It was then time to rethink the wiring issues before laying track. My initial idea used electrical dowels by DCC Concepts but they had two major flaws. The first one is self explanatory and is linked to the fact these dowels are designed to fit together in a linear fashion. You push them together. However, with the draw bridge rotating motion, they never perfectly aligned and you could feel a strong force between them. Surface scratches showed how bad that non linear motion was grinding the metal and could ruin the connections in the not so long run.

The second issue was temperature and moisture variation. The dowels tight tolerance made them prone to misalignment, more tear and poor electrical contact. It was already happening... a single expansion of 1 mm made it impossible to lay the bridge flat and level with the layout. So, it was not a good option from the start and I had to find a way that could take into account the motion and the dimensional variation.

Microswitches provide a more reliable mean of electric control

I decided that the draw bridge tracks would be permanently wired to the layout bus wires. Open or not, it didn't make a difference if it was continuously powered. The real sections requiring a power cutoff were the approach tracks on each side of the layout. To control these, I installed micro switches salvaged from a pair of Bullfrog turnout controls on the feeder wired of both insulated track sections. One on each side and activated when the closed bridge reach its final destination. If the bridge slightly contract or expanded, it has no impact on the contact with the switch, making it an ideal solution. 

Latex caulk applied to the bridge piles

The wiring was also rerouted inside the draw bridge to make maintenance and troubleshooting easier than wires buried in scenery. New access holes were cut for that purpose and I tried to keep it neat and clean.

No need for a complicated solution here...

I then proceeded to glue the steel deck bridge on the concrete piles using latex caulk. So water on an old brush was useful to clean up the mess. Only some touch ups will be required to weather these spots. The rest of the track was laid, wired and testes. And yes, it worked on the first try, which was more than I could ask for.

The completed bridge sitting in place

I had the pleasure to run the first train over it and it was gorgeous. Having the bridge on a diagonal line was the best decision I could make since it really create a dramatic vision when the trains are running over it. So far so good and it really is a motivating factor to finally see trains running over the entirely of Monk Subdivision after too many years of procrastination.

I won't regret that sweeping curve at all!

The staging isn't complete yet, but it's only a matter of connecting 6 feet of track, wiring it and installing a similar system of microswitch on the other draw bridge. Once all this is done, it will be time to address the few track geometry issues here and there to ensure perfect and smooth running of all locomotives, including the pesky big steamers. Had to order some extra track to finish the sidings and add a few staging tracks. As I said, I recycled a lot of old track, but I may need to replace a few damaged sections and rework some transitions where I added superelevation.

I can already say it will be a favourite scene of mine

Monk Subdivision - Laying Track & Summer Vacation

Progress has been slow but steady on the Monk Subdivision this summer due to a long road trip on Quebec North Shore, Manicouagan, Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Some real classic trains were witnessed without being scheduled into the program, which made it a nice serendipitous discovery. More on that in a future post.

Otherwise, I have adopted a 1-hour per day work schedule. It's long enough to progress while keeping my mind sharp and not compromising on quality. No idea about when I will complete the entire loop, but I'm far enough that I can run a train from Armagh to Langlois.

As a matter of saving some money and not encouraging overconsumption in my hobby, I've been reusing old Peco track from the previous layouts. Some had been painted, none ballasted. Good sections are reused, bad ones discarded. It's all about ensuring a smooth and reliable geometry for mechanical and aesthetical enjoyment of trains.

I'm working slowly, but steadily, following that old army motto of "slow is fast". As an example, I used masking tape to implement superelevation in my curves. That tape is a little bit unreliable when you stretch it around curved lines. Some was simply ungluing itself due to tension in the tape. My trick is now to lay it in place and cut it later with my hobby knife at 3-4 inches intervals. It removes all the tension and makes sure things stay in place.

Day by day, the loop is closing

It's a little bit weird to speak about so little progress, but at the same way, it demonstrates another point. I generally considered these steps to be technical hurdles to overcome as far as possible to reach the real hobby (paint, ballast, scenery, structures, etc.). With the slower pace I implemented in my life and the reduction of useless time spent online, these less savory steps are now the hobby itself. Laying track carefully is a mind soothing process and an exercise in precision. There is joy in doing that just for the sake of doing it.

Also, having finally discarded a lot of my big dreams - or should I say, delusions - it's much easier to reach to the basics that counts. I'm no longer focussing in laying all the tracks or wiring in one go, having the staging yard figured out right now is basically irrelevant, even the sidings are. As long as that loop of track is built in such a way it can be refined, expanded and modified, the main goal is reached. The rest is just gravy when the current steps will be done.

A small train is enough to give it life...

I used to be extremely nervous about having it all figured out with the layout, down to the type of screws holding the fascia in place. It's all irrelevant. It led to two undesirable outcomes: the accumulation of a lot of stuff thought to be required to "build the layout and motivate me" and worst, the loss of motivation when the proof of concept was going to far. Over the years, I have found out that projects I plan in minute details reach that point where my mind has built the thing in virtual in my mind. It has been figured out and made "real". Under such circumstances, building the real life layout is just a repetition of what happened on paper and in my head. No challenges, no fun, nothing... It's just a sterile repetition. On the other hand, if the planning process gets the basics done but don't go to deep into the details, my brain still has many motivating problem solving opportunities to keep interest high.

At this point in my life, I'd rather build than dream. Monk Subdivision proved me since early this year that making mistakes in that hobby isn't the end of everything and it's generally a matter of spending one evening correcting the situation.

I can't promise when trains will run on that loop, but I'm already having my fun making my mock passenger train longer and longer as flextrack is added everyday!