Model Railroading > Testing deck two wiring with a Turbo

The trouble with wiring a large layout is that you can go for weeks where the layout looks no different but you've actually accomplished a lot. I've been wiring deck two of my triple-deck Kingston Sub since early December. (https://www.facebook.com/KingstonSub/)

The layout room is 12 x 45, so it's about 100+ feet of double-track mainline per deck, plus yards/sidings/etc.

The other day I ran the Turbo into Pickering, and it looked really neat. Photo below. The Turbo is a great train for test running as it picks up power from every axle. It means I can run the train before installing the switch machines. Nothing else I have will make it over the dead #8 frogs without stalling. Each frog section can be as much as six inches long. After switch machines are installed and the frogs are powered I test the track again with a switcher, usually a GMD-1.

Am I the only one who enjoys wiring? I find it very meditative and relaxing.

-Jason
 

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When I built a control panel for my layout when we were in DC in the '80s I would go down the basement many evenings for an hour or so and wire DPDT switches.
Someone asked me about that at a train show one time and I replied that it was sort of like AA: one wire (day) at a time...
I still have that panel but am back living in the real world.

Also, that's a beautiful train!

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/20 20:05 by MojaveBill.

Nice to see some progress photo's.  Wiring is necessary and legit!

Looks like  you could use a drop ceiling there Jason!  I was surprised how easy it was to install in a 45' long basement with 4 boxed in beams.  I've replaced some of the tiles that were bowed so it looks better than the photo.  That was back in Nov last year; have some benchwork going up now - about 54 linear feet so far.

Cheers, Jim



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/20 05:03 by SPDRGWfan.

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I find layout wiring, as well as the wiring of decoder installs to be meditative, but only when it works. When it doesn't work, it has the opposite effect. The same could be said for decaling.

There is indeed a ceiling. In fact, the ceiling is all drywall.

What you're looking at in the first photo is the bottom of deck three above the Turbo. The photo below is taken from beside the Turbo, looking in the same direction the Turbo is facing. The Turbo is at the north end of the room and this photo is looking toward the south end of the room. 

You can see deck three on your left. That's Brockville. Deck two, where the Turbo was, is almost completely hidden in this view. Deck one is the massive workbench poking out with the mess of tools on it. That will be Union Station.

On the bottom is a photo looking from the entrance at the south end of the room back to the north end of the room. The Turbo is now sitting in Guildwood on the left, which is also on deck two. The helix is on the right.

The chop saw dust cover tends to eat up most of the space.

-Jason
 

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Those overall photos are really helpfull.

Wow.

Shaping up to be a heck of a layout Jason!

dt

That's one heck of a project layout!

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

I see you used that foam roadbed material on the helix.  That stuff is pricey.
I bought a roll just to try it out, but am going to continue on with cork. 

Hope you were able to get a good deal on that quantity. :-)

And yes, though tedious, I enjoy the wiring process.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/20 18:44 by WrongWayMurphy.

Ooh.  Nice long shot photo's.  In the first photo, it must have been the underside of a shelf? 

I couldn't afford to pay someone to finish my basement and after I had installed all the sheet rock on the walls and ceiling beams, no way could you get me to drywall the ceiling as well.  Plus, the advantage of suspended ceiling is ease of access to wiring and plumbing and ease of installing 2x2 LED flat panel lights.. I installed my 2x2 LED lights with ability to shift them over in the grid if I find the lighting is better that way.

You are packing tons of layout into a fairly limited space - I think I would be in over my head doing that.  As it is I'm finding it a bit of a challenge to have a branchline below the main level.  What is it Clint Eastwood or was it Dirty Harry said?  A man's got to know his limitations.  I have limitations!

Great job Jason.  How could I have questioned you!

Cheers, Jim

Wiring is a bit like track laying. At the end of the day, it's satisfying knowing your trains get to run that much further.

Chris

Thanks for the kind words, guys.

I've been planning this layout since I was about five. Some people choose a layout subject when they retire. I've always known I would model the Kingston Sub with the Turbo and Rapido on it. My layout is set in November-December 1980, but I am flexible and will happily run LRCs from 1984 and VIA-CN equipment from 1976/77.

When we got the house in 2007, my only concern was that the ceiling was high enough to build the full-size coach, and the back room had a nine-foot ceiling. The rest of the basement was not that big and it was divided into three small rooms. The only way I could build my dream layout was to smash through to the garage. My entire lot is 36' x 103' so there was no chance of building a big layout structure in my postage-stamp back yard! :-D 

The first piece of benchwork went in on April 10th, 2013 (photo below). It's been a struggle at times. I often get overwhelmed at the magnitude of the project and I wonder if I will live long enough or be healthy long enough to realize the vision I have in my head of what it is supposed to look like. In comparison, the 4.5 years it took to build the full-size coach was a piece of cake.

I'm enjoying the journey, but I really hope I will see some scenery and structures on it one day, and I really want to operate Spadina Yard and Union Station. I admire guys who are able to bring a layout to an initial level of completion - with scenery, structures, etc. - fairly quickly. I imagine the layout will look a lot like it does now until I retire, and that's quite a ways off! 

Best regards,

Jason
 

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Oh, and here's the monster helix, which will never be "hidden."

36" inside radius. 38.25" outside radius.

I did indeed get the foam for the helix when Rapido made the foam roadbed. In fact, we made the foam roadbed just so I could get the foam for my helix... Sneaky, ain't I?  ;-D

-Jason
 

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Funny bit of timing to open this post-  I've been wiring for the last 2 days and have about 2 more ahead of me.  I actually enjoy wiring- I think it's somewhat akin to the joy mathematicians find in crunching numbers.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is some sort of subtle elegance and beauty in wiring done well.  
SR

I owner built my house up here in Dutch Flat.  Apart from designing the place, wiring was my favorite task.   (Plumbing was kinda cool too)

BoilingMan Wrote:
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>
> I owner built my house up here in Dutch Flat. 
> Apart from designing the place, wiring was my
> favorite task.   (Plumbing was kinda cool too)

That's really impressive. I don't think I could do it all.

Plumbing for me is one hour of work and three hours finding and fixing the leaks....

-Jason
 

rapidotrains Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My layout is set in November-December 1980, but I am flexible and
> will happily run LRCs from 1984 and VIA-CN equipment from 1976/77.

Some people chide me for modeling that approximate period (1977-1983) but there is a lot to like about it.  Although I'm interested in the west US, west of the Contiental Divide.  Of course Canada has some very impressive railroading out that way too way up in "the great white north".

> I'm enjoying the journey, but I really hope I will see some scenery and
> structures on it one day, and I really want to operate Spadina Yard and Union Station.

It is a big job, but if you have some skilled and trusted train buddies, many hands make light work?

That's quite the helix. I'm going to be brave this year and work on a 34" radius helix as well, chosing "the danger".

It's really great to see you post your layout progress from time to time.  Please keep that up!

Cheers, Jim



> Oh, and here's the monster helix, which will never
> be "hidden."
>
> 36" inside radius. 38.25" outside radius.
>
> I did indeed get the foam for the helix when
> Rapido made the foam roadbed. In fact, we made the
> foam roadbed just so I could get the foam for my
> helix... Sneaky, ain't I?  ;-D
>
> -Jason
>  

rapidotrains Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> BoilingMan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> >
> > I owner built my house up here in Dutch Flat. 
> > Apart from designing the place, wiring was my
> > favorite task.   (Plumbing was kinda cool
> too)
>
> That's really impressive. I don't think I could do
> it all.
>
> Plumbing for me is one hour of work and three
> hours finding and fixing the leaks....
>
> -Jason
>  

The delivery lines (copper) went well, but the waste lines (PVC) had to pass a pressure test- and that’s where I ran into trouble!
SR

SPDRGWfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> rapidotrains Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > My layout is set in November-December 1980, but
> I am flexible and
> > will happily run LRCs from 1984 and VIA-CN
> equipment from 1976/77.
>
> Some people chide me for modeling that approximate
> period (1977-1983) but there is a lot to like
> about it.  Although I'm interested in the west
> US, west of the Contiental Divide.  Of course
> Canada has some very impressive railroading out
> that way too way up in "the great white north".

Up in Canada in that era we still had F units and steam heat just about everywhere. The only HEP-equipped intercity trains in 1980 were the Turbo and the Tempo, and that was hauled by MLW RS-18s built in the 1950s! 

>
> It is a big job, but if you have some skilled and
> trusted train buddies, many hands make light
> work?

Jordan gets over to work on the layout about once a week. I get help from some other friends as well but not as often as I would like. The evenings are just about impossible as we have a very busy house. I can get away for an hour but any longer and SWMBO starts sending me texts from upstairs...

>
> It's really great to see you post your layout
> progress from time to time.  Please keep that
> up!
>

Thanks - I will!

-Jason
 

"SWMBO" 

LOL  -- Another devotee of Rumpole of The Bailey! And a well-TRAINed husband!

Bruce