Question About My Lighting Project

[richg]

That looks much more reasonable.  Thanks, Rich.  The jumpers are what connects the terminals together?  Can I use my own wire?

Regards,

Jonathan

You got it.
I have a bunch of Cat 5 solid wire which is #24 and I strip off the insulation. Better than stranded wire. Works fine for projects like this. Old telephone wire works fine also. Been doing electric/electronics for many years and quite a junk box.

Tip, use a proper size wire stripper for solid wire. If you use say a knife and nick the wire, that nick can become a break point if the wire is bent to much at that spot. Happens with small diameter wire at times.

Rich

[jonathan]

Nomenclature can be a problem.  Radio Shack does carry these.  They call them terminal strips.  I kept asking for distribution blocks.  Anyway, thanks, again, Rich.  These are fairly cheap and one came with a jumper which saves me some wire work:



Should be fairly easy to hide these under the layout.  Adding more will be cheap and easy once I start to build more signals.

Thanks, again.

Jonathan

[Woody Elmore]

First I see a rotary switch - now terminal blocks - definitely "Old School." What's next - a modified CB radio for train control?

[jonathan]

He He, yeah...

When it comes to electrons, I'm a slow learner. It's a good thing electronics are not a communication device, or I'd be... oh, wait.  Man, the paradox is enough to make one swoon.

Regards,

J

[J3a-614]

Jon, if you have the opportunity, find a copy of "How to Wire Your Model Railroad," by the late Lynn Wescott.  This book was originally published back about 1950 by Kalmbach (Model Railroader and Trains publisher), and it has a lot about electrons, resistance, all sorts of stuff for the old-school person like you.  The best thing about it is that Wescott's writing style made even the theoretical stuff easy to understand--and he even wrote it in such a way as you could skip over some of that.  It's been out of print for quite a few years now (DCC made it very obsolete), but I would consider it VERY useful for what you are doing.

Oh, you might also want to check the current edition of Railroad Model Craftsman, with the article by Lynn Moedinger on working in "fusees" (flares) into operations.  He basically uses these "fusees" as a stop signal warning that the next block is not properly connected (he models a narrow gauge railroad with no signal system, and he uses straight DC, like you), but I can imagine it being adapted to a type of working signal system for your B&O.

[jonathan]

Thanks, I will have a look.

I find there are advantages to building my home layout "old school", as some have written.  I am learning a great deal about modelling techniques and the basics of electrical theory.  Plus, I enjoy the round-and-round actions of my layout--requires very little thought once built.  Simple to operate.

At the same time, our local club has a DCC permanent layout and modular travelling layout.  This is where I get my education on sound, programming, decoders... all things DCC.  Only disadvantage is having two rosters of locomotives.  I have twice as many locomotives as I thought I would need... I'll suffer through somehow. 

Regards,

Jonathan

[richg]

Thanks, I will have a look.

I find there are advantages to building my home layout "old school", as some have written.  I am learning a great deal about modelling techniques and the basics of electrical theory.  Plus, I enjoy the round-and-round actions of my layout--requires very little thought once built.  Simple to operate.

At the same time, our local club has a DCC permanent layout and modular travelling layout.  This is where I get my education on sound, programming, decoders... all things DCC.  Only disadvantage is having two rosters of locomotives.  I have twice as many locomotives as I thought I would need... I'll suffer through somehow. 

Regards,

Jonathan

There is no such thing as too many locomotives.

Rich

[Jim Banner]

Too true Rich.  When people ask me how many locomotives I have, I often tell them I have just one less than I need.  When they then ask how many is that, I tell them that the number I need is always one more than the number I have.

Jim

[jonathan]

I just completed adding a little scenery around the signal bridge.  The glue is drying.  First phase of my signal system is complete and seems to be working well.

Will set up some photos tonight and post a few pics in the next couple of days.

Thanks again for the electrical help, gents.  So much fun, so little time...

Regards,

Jonathan

[Doneldon]

Rich-

With the very fine wires I just grip the insulation where I want to strip it between my teeth and give the wire a little tug. The insulation is so thin it pops right off. I even do this with my thumbnail. I've never broken a wire this way and neither a tooth nor a thumbnail is hard enough to nick the wire.

Be aware that this technique is not endorsed by the American Dental Association and it does violate the rule about never putting anything smaller than your elbow in your mouth. No. Wait a minute. That's not right. It's your ear you're not supposed to put in your mouth. No. I mean you're never supposed to put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear. That's the ticket!
                                                                                                                                                                 -- D

[Jim Banner]

If you are worried about putting the wire in your mouth, just take your dentures in one hand and the wire in the other.

Jim

[jonathan]

Stop making me laugh! It's hard to hold the camera steady...

OK I took a bunch of photos, so I'll just post most of them.  Caveats:  I added extra light for the camera's sake, so the signal aspects aren't as bright as in person.  Also I intentionally got some real close ups to expose the wiring.  Again, in person the wires are harder to see than the camera reveals.  I won't scare you with my failed attempts at night time model photography.  I need a better camera:

Regards,

Jonathan

[Doneldon]

Jim-

I tried that but I found I couldn't bite down on the wire hard enough to pull off the insulation with my dentures in my hand.

Jonathan-

You certainly do consistently good work. A functioning signal bridge would be a standout feature on any layout and it looks especially terrific on yours. If the wires bother you, enclose them in a conduit. You could use two half round open channels so you don't have to disconnect anything to enclose the wires. Or just put a half round or box shape (open on the bottom where it won't matter) over the wires. Then they'll really disappear.

As always, I appreciate your work and your willingness to share it with us.
                                                                                                                 -- D

[Jim Banner]

Donaldon,

With your dentures in one hand and your Dremel tool in the other, one - two - three - sharpen.



Jonathan,

Nice work!  Thanks for the photos as you went along.  It has been nice watching this project come together.  

Jim

[jonathan]

Thanks, Jim.

I enjoy sharing my experiments in modelling.  Hopefully, this will lead to signals all over the layout.

Regards,

Jonathan