Dear All,

John Armstrong lists a #5 turnout as having a 11.4 degree frog angle.  Assuming that the frog angle continues without turning to the divergent end of the turnout, you would need exactly an 11.4 degree turn in the opposite direction for a parallel siding. 

The closest is a half 22"R curve, Item #44532 (4 per card) which is 11.5 degrees. 

If you want a wider parallel spacing, a 12 degree 33.25"R curve, Item #44509, (4 per card) will work, but with 0.6 degrees of error, which is probably imperceptible.

A #6 turnout has a 9.5 degree frog angle.  As Bob pointed out above, the 1/3 18"R curve has 10 degrees, which is within 1/2 degree.  The problem is that you reduce the minimum radius for the turnout ("Radius of the Closure Rail") from 43"R down to 18"R. 

It wouldn't hurt if Bachmann were to release a 43 or so inch Radius - 9 degree "half" curve.  (Wish List)

Hope this helps.

Joe Satnik       

Thanks, Don for your input.

Just to close this out, I'll match the rest of the dates and provinces.  I dug around Google for this info.  I found all 5 provinces named at one site, but not all the dates.

The Provinces in the middle of Canada were already right hand side of the road, as much business/travel was with the US.  The coastal provinces remained with the British "left hand rule" until the following dates: 

Jan. 1, 1922 -- Britsh Columbia
Dec. 1, 1922 -- New Brunswick
Apr. 15, 1923 -- Nova Scotia
May 1, 1924 -- Prince Edward Island
Jan. 1, 1947 -- Newfoundland (became province in 1949)

Here is an interesting read - "The Year of Free Beef"

http://www.i18nguy.com/driver-side.html

Scroll a little more than 1/3 of the way down the page.

"The Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949)"

(Start Quote)
Article 9(1) of the United Nations' Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949)[21] requires each country to have a uniform direction of traffic, i.e. each country may have either left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic, but not both. The exact wording of the article is:

" All vehicular traffic proceeding in the same direction on any road shall keep to the same side of the road, which shall be uniform in each country for all roads. Domestic regulations concerning one-way traffic shall not be affected. "

Before that, a country could have different rules in different parts, for example Canada until the 1920s.
(End Quote)

This from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_on_the_left_or_right

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik
 

 

Dear 3rail,

Thanks.  Great info for those installing a new reversing board on their own.

By your answer, ("never been asked that question before") I must assume that there are very few, if any, shorted trucks/motors that cause the reversing boards to fail....

The repair proceedure must be:

1) Solder in connectors if necessary (older versions). 
2) Install new plug in reversing board. 
3) Check reverse board functions (forward/neutral/reverse/neutral) and sound board functions (whistle or horn/bell) on the test track, while watching for normal current draws.   
4) Send it back to the customer.

By the way, my family's Chessie System GP-38 runs unbelievably smooth and quiet. 

Can you contact me off board, please?  joebarb "at" wwt "dot" net

Thanks again. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

 

Dear All,

Anyone recognize the guy in the baseball cap at 3:12 to 3:18? 

Rumor has it he crafted the excellent layout shown in the last half of this video.

Great Job, Gary.  Thanks.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Random thoughts.... Seems like "Owen Thurdy" would make a great handle for someone on this board.     

Dear All,

As a Williams owner, I want 3rail on my side.

Dear 3rail,

Well done, sir.  I assume that you have seen the insides of these locos more than once.   

Dear Gondola,

It's your locomotive, but unless you are changing your entire system and fleet over to a digital control system (MTH or Lionel e.g.), I would get it back to "stock" as fast as I could. 

Updating (to connectors and the plug in board) is as close to stock as you are going to get.  Actually, it's an improvement over stock if installed correctly. 

I suggest using shrink tubing to insulate any "wire to wire" solder joints you make.

Just to be cautious, I would measure the resistance of each (unplugged) truck/motor (using an Ohm-meter) before I put power to the engine.  Too low resistance would indicate some kind of short, which would need to be repaired (or the truck motor replaced) so as not to fry another reversing board.

I would also clean and lube the trucks/motors while you have your loco apart.

Hope this helps.   

Dear 3rail,

Is there a range of resistance (Ohms) for the trucks/motors?

Is there a Clean and Lube proceedure for the trucks/motors?

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Hint 2:  All dates have the same thing in common. 

Good going Roger, right hand side of the road driving was what I was looking for. 

1-1-1922 correct. (BC)

4-15-1923 correct (NS)

Continue, please. 

These dates are very important because these provinces became "independent" from British rule:  British Left Hand "Rule of the Road", that is. 

Hint 3: One of the dates corresponds to a "not quite yet a" province.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

Another clue:

Here are some other important Canadian dates.  Can(ada) you ID them?

1-1-1922
12-1-1922
4-15-1923
5-1-1924
1-1-1947

Hint #1: Actual Canadian historical dates - not a joke.
Hint #2: All dates have the same thing in common.

Beethoven the St. Bernard?

Greetings.

I remember having my first Cadbury Caramello bar while visiting my AB cousins in the 1960's.  My taste buds thought they'd died and gone to heaven.  A flavor to look forward to every time we'd visit. 

Decades later, it became available in the US.  A bike ride to the local Fast Fuel & Fajitas vs. a 1500 mile trip for "a taste of Canada". 

Unfortunately, we don't get up there quite as often now with the high fuel prices. 

Hmm.  No answers yet on my Canadain trivia questions?  C'mon, Canucks...

(Hint: Actual Canadian historical dates....not my Aunts' and Uncles' birthdays...)

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

     

Ah, yes, Dominion Day, 7-1-1867

Here are some other important Canadian dates.  Can(ada) you ID them?

1-1-1922
12-1-1922
4-15-1923
5-1-1924
1-1-1947

(My mom was raised in AB)

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Thought the picture might be photoshopped...

However, my 12 yr. old daughter informs me that is a candy sucker in the shape of a "nuk" pacifier, big teeth molded in to the back...

It's still funny, though. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Dear Bach-Man,

Could you e-mail me, please.   I tried at your old addy and got no reply. 

Thanks.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik 

joebarb "at" wwt "dot" net

Dear EQ,

I just took out a pair of right and left Atlas Remote (18" radius) Switches (or "turnouts") from my stash of train show purchased items.  The packages were opened (plastic bubble partially separated from printed cardstock backing) but held together with rubber bands.  All contents look new. 

Well, I must have gotten a bargain, and I just found out why. 

They have the same problems that you are having. 

With my Ohm-Meter I found poor (open or intermittent) electrical connections between the outside "stock" rails and all other rails on the switches.

There should be solid (low ohms) connections between all left rails.  (Stock, point, closure and [beyond the] frog.)  Same with all right rails.

The stock and frog rails can be powered through rail connectors from the 3 adjacent track sections.  The point and closure rails (internal to the turnout) are the problem.       

You should not have to rely on "spring" pressure of the point rail up against the stock rail for an electrical connection.  That connection should come through the point rail rivet.  The trick is to have enough rivet "crimp" pressure to give you a good electrical connection, yet not so much as to render the point rail immovable at its rivet pivot point.

If you wanted it all trouble free, you would solder small jumper wires to the outside of the rails.  This is hard to do, though, without melting/disfiguring the plastic ties with the hot soldering iron. 

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik     

Dear Dr EMD,

Thanks for your time and info.   

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

Dear Dr EMD,

Please comment on my reply to the thread "Union Pacific Heritage Series" on the "Williams by Bachmann" board,  specifically, about the visual differences between the SD70ACe and the SD90 (SD90MAC?) prototypes.

Thanks. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik