Building a Test Track

When I set up my modeling shop in it's own room I gained more than real estate.  The shop is 8' down the hall from the train room and I now have some space for serious hobby time.  One of the first things I did was put in a corner desk/work bench and hung some 4' LED dual tube lamps for better lighting.  I decided I needed a test track for checking out new locomotives or ones that had been converted to RF/battery control with sound.  I also needed a programming track.  At first I was just going to have a straight length of track but I figured it'd be a good idea to include curves and turnouts that are the same as what would be used on the main layout.  Somewhere along the line I read about shunting puzzles and decided it would be fun to have a switching game.

My test track now runs on a 9" wide shelf above the workbench.  The "layout" is all one level, completely flat, and I used 1/2" Homasote over 1/2" plywood (same as the main layout) hung on the wall with adjustable shelf brackets.  Since it's in a corner of the room one side is 7' long and incorporates a shunting puzzle called an Inglenook with three sidings and three #5 turnouts.  I ran track from the first and third siding back around the corner which gives me 21" and 18" curves, same as what's used on the main layout.  Down the other wall is a 9" x 7.5' shelf with a close copy of John Allen's Time Saver puzzle.  This incorporates two #5 turnouts and three wye's, also used on the main layout.  On the outside curve of the test track, 21" radius in the corner, I insulated both ends where they meet turnouts and this gives me about 7' of track that can be isolated from everything else for programming.  I can also put power on this section for running locos that haven't been converted to RF/battery control yet.

A real advantage of my test track is that I can develop skills here first before trying something on the main layout.  I'm hand laying all my track and have never done this before so I can work out the bugs in my techniques on the test track.  If I have to tear out something because I did an awful job it won't really hurt anything.  All the track and turnouts used here and on the main layout are hand laid code 70 with wood ties from Mt Albert.  I'm using the test track to develop stain for the ties and a "rusty look" for the rails.  The stain is a mix of India Ink and earth tone colors of Acrylic paint mixed with water.  I soak the ties in the stain for 24 hours and dry them overnight to get a nice weathered grey look.  The ties are all hand sanded beforehand to knock down any sharp edges and give them a worn look.  I tried cutting in grain by dragging an Exacto saw blade across the surface but this is tedious work and in the end wasn't worth the effort.  At least to me.

The turnouts are all made using Fast Tracks assembly fixtures which are well worth the expense for this many turnouts.  All my locomotives will be radio controlled with battery power (RFBP) so there won't be any need for power on the track.  Wiring is greatly reduced and turnouts don't require powered switches for polarity changes.  Simple.  All my turnouts will be switched manually using un-powered two position slide switches ($1.50) which give a positive lock in each direction.  The switches (see photo below) are operated using control rods made for RC planes ($9.50/pair, averaging 10 turnouts each) to control wing flaps and landing gear.  The control rods will be operated with cheap wooden drawer pulls ($.95) mounted along the layout facia.  Total cost for each turnout control is less than $4.  I've seen powered switch machines that cost $10, $20 or more and then you have to add in the cost of control buttons, wiring, LEDs, etc.  It can get pretty pricey.

In the picture above you can see the slide switch on the left.  I removed the wire connections to get it to sit flat on the wood block.The switch knob is drilled out for an 0-80 screw and nut that hold the clevis.  Just below the clevis is another hole (0.032") for the piano wire that runs up through the fulcrum to the turnout's throwbar.  The fulcrum is embedded in the plywood behind the wood block.  The red and yellow tubing is the Golden Rod control rod used for controlling flaps and wheels on an RC airplane.  The red sleeve extends halfway into the wood block and is held in place with a #6 screw.The yellow rod is connected to the clevis and the wood knob with 2-56 threaded rod.

As I mentioned before, the un-powered electric switch gives a positive lock at each end of the throw and the turnout is held snugly in position.  Once everything was assembled it took only a minor adjustment of the turnout points to get perfect switching with just a push/pull of the knob.  Cool!

The picture above shows the control knobs in position waiting for the facia panel to be installed.  Should have a pretty clean look when it's all done.  Best of all, this set-up represents simplicity to the max.  The knobs are directly in line with the turnouts so there's no question about what goes where and no diagram is needed.  No power required.  Nuff said there.  Some day I might come back and tie in the ground throws so the flags move when the turnout is thrown.  I started working on it bit it got too complicated and I'm kinda anxious to get some trains running.  Good project for later.  Much later.

New Digs for the Shop Part 2

In my previous post I mentioned how poor the lighting in this room was.  I added several strings of LEDs behind the track facia but this didn't really give me what I needed.  For a while I used a stand with five 75w lamps but this created severe shadows and really heated up the room.  I finally bit the bullet and hung two 4' dual tube LED fixtures.  These are similar to fluorescent lights but they'll last almost forever and they run soooooo much cooler than the incandescent lights I had been using.  I went with 3200 K color temperature to give a more natural light.  This is what I'll be using for the layout too.  With the same lighting in both rooms I won't have any surprises when I build and paint a model and then move it into the other room.

Another improvement was the addition of a 3D printing station.  I now have two printers, an Ender3 filament type and a Photon Anycubic resin printer.  The printing station is a roll-around serving cart which gives me storage for tools and supplies.  It has a stainless steel counter top which should hold up to the caustic resin of the Photon printer.  It also has room for a small ultra-sonic cleaner for cleaning the parts made on the Photon.  For curing those parts I built a 12" x 12" x 12" box with an infra-red lamp and a small turntable with a solar panel to give it power when the lamp is on. 

 

This room is only 11' x 12' but it has a walk-in closet.  It's still comfortable but at this point has a lot of tools and supplies in it, most of what I need for my hobby.  I still have a wood shop out in the garage but that's for big stuff and it gets pretty toasty.  I spend most of my time in here now.