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