January Shutdown Works 2016

"Service changes apply to Victoria Street trams from Monday, 11 January 2016 to Wednesday, 20 January 2016 due to network upgrade work at The Junction.
As part of the modernisation of Melbourne's tram network, The Tramways are installing signalling equipment and repairing and renewing tram tracks and overhead at The Junction.

• Information about The Junction upgrade including expected impacts for motorists and local residents

Service changes for tram passengers 

• Service changes to Racecourse
• Service changes to The Ammo Factory
• Getting around the work zone

 An accessibility bus is available at The Junction between 10am and 6pm to assist customers with mobility aids, prams or the elderly.
During the work, trams and replacement buses will operate to the normal frequency. However they may not arrive at the scheduled time. The Tramways suggests that you allow extra time for your journey."

As I have done for the last two years, I attempt a fair crack of work on the layout that I have been planning for the last few months.

This time, the projects completed are,

- The illumination and positioning of all structures left of the railway bridge.
- The installation of backboards to all of the newer modules.
- The installation of a road indicator board for the three way point of the depot.
- The installation of the signalling system for trams entering and leaving the depot.
- Repairs/modification to the overhead on the rest of the layout and under the railway bridge.
- The installation of a flickering light module for the backyard incinerator.

My previous experience in industrial maintenance gives myself the opportunity to plan and strategise the approach that I take on 'major projects', unless there is an urgent reason to do some maintenance/repair, all other wish list items can wait until the 'shutdown'. 

The illumination and positioning of all structures left of the railway bridge.

 

 

Departing the Ammo Factory

 

From inside the Depot.

 

 

The Victorian terraces.

 

 

Outside the Depot.

 

 

The pub and the tidy overhead under the bridge.

 

 

The Servo.

 

 

Victoria Street at night looking from the Ammo Factory.

 

 

The installation of backboards to all of the newer modules.

 

 

The Ammo Factory.

 

 

The Depot.

 

 

The Junction.

 

Trying to colour match your previous effort to your current effort, is near impossible for most blokes as we are usually colour deficient.  

 

The installation or a road indicator board for the three way point of the depot.

 

 

The tidy facia that hides that madness underneath.

 

 

 A quick video of the magic.

 

 

The madness...

 

The best way to describe this ensemble (mad woman's hat) is, that both coat hunger wires connects to both point throw bars and the limit switches by the use of junction connections and bent up paper clips, the limit switches feed into the output terminal strip (below left), upon which is fed into the input feed board (left of centre), which in turn feeds into the diode matrix board (upper left) which drives the digital display (left on the control nobs), all old school D.C. driven.

 

The installation of the signalling system for trams entering and leaving the depot.

 

 

A similar mechanical system as the Depot point,

combined with a DPDT switch for depot entry/exit.

 

 

With another rats nest diode matrix.

 

How it works......

 

A tram wishing to enter the Depot, throws the car in/out switch to in, sets the points to enter the Depot, therefore sets the signals against through running and exiting the Depot.(note the tiny red 'T' light signal)

 

 

 

 

The tram waits at the repeater stop light at

the exit from the Ammo Factory.

 

 

Another stop light for trams from the 'City'.

 

 

Along with protection from trams coming from the Depot.

 

 

Now the tram has clearance to proceed into the Depot.

 

 

After the points are reset for through running and the

switch set for car out, the through service can proceed.

 

Repairs/modification to the overhead on the rest of the layout and under the railway bridge.

 

 

Ballarat 28 trundles under the reworked rail bridge.

 

The railway bridge on Victoria Street has a long history, for most of the layouts life, it was the end of the known world. I had originally wired the trolley wire under the bridge by the use of brass thumb tacks and an appalling effort of soldering copper wire to this dubious assembly, which resulted into numerous dewirements and snagged pantographs.(even though Victoria Street now runs two rail DCC)

After the Depot frame construction, upon which I utilised N scale code 80 rail for a more solid form of an interior overhead, I decided to use the same material for under the railway bridge. As the bridge had received a knock at the Caulfield exhibition (almost a year and a half ago!), I thought I would use this down time to rectify the problem. Code 80 rail plus two part epoxy, wins.

 

The installation of a flickering light module to the incinerator.

 

 

The innards from a flickering LED tea light candle.

 

 

Nothing too scientific here.

Just ditch the battery and install a 1K resistor in series when running from 12V.

 

 

and tada, a backyard incinerator!

 

 

from under the baseboards.

"We thank you for your patience and regret any inconvenience caused by this essential renewal work."

Glenn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works at the Junction and the Depot.

Since the Easter break, there has been some more work done to the layout, the paving of the 'junction' and the depot is now completed with tarmac and road markings.

 

W5 800 cars out from the depot, while SW6 870

observes the compulsory stop at the facing points of the 'junction'.

 

 

870 picks a break in traffic to pull out from the Ammo Factory,

while 800 is edging across the junction.

 

As you can see in the above photos, neither the concrete of the tram tracks, or the tarmac and road markings are dead flat or ruler straight, as per prototype. The tarmac is 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, cut and trimmed to size, the edges are dressed with a grey felt tipped pen, patches of 'tarmac' are glued to the 'concrete' of the tram tracks for pot hole/broken rail repairs.

 

The road markings/clearance lines are strips of office paper cut to a width of just over 1mm, then glued with PVA directly to the road surface.

 

The Depot roads received a similar treatment of tarmac, clearance lines and fouling marks.

 

 

Rollingstock lined up at the Depot.

 

The fouling marks are between the rails on the individual roads, no tram is to proceed past, or be berthed over them when another tram is in the area, so not to have a collision, the clearance lines are so other vehicles are aware of the potential overhang of the rollingstock. The white dusty marks on the tarmac are where the drivers have tested their sanders before entering service.

 

 

 

The fouling marks and clearance lines at work.

 

Looking out from road 2 at the Depot

along Victoria Street.

 

This weekend marks the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign, and in turn the observance of Anzac Day,(Australia's memorial/remembrance day).  I did a post a few years ago about this and its significance.

  http://glennofootscray.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/lest-we-forget-anzac-day.html

 

This year I assembled a few more people around the cenotaph at the Victoria St and Epsom Rd end of the layout.

'Lest We Forget'

 From under the wires,

Glenn

 

Hooray! we are back on track.

Now that the shelving of personal injury project in the front room has been completed to the satisfaction of the domestic authorities, I can get back into working on Victoria Street.

 

Back running services.

The  Ammo Factory module is taking a rest at the moment while I tackle the construction of the road surface of the junction and the Depot.

My method of paving tram tracks involves the use of a lot of dense corrugated cardboard and several cereal boxes. I have tried various forms of plaster/filler in the past, but find the process extremely messy and it usually plays havoc with the electrical side of things with ordinary running results.

After pinning and glueing the bog standard code 100 track to the board, I build up the surrounding road surface with a couple of layers of dense corrugated cardboard (usually sourced from boxes of new small appliances, beer cartons while plentiful , are too corse and spongy for the task).  This is glued into place with PVA glue, the aim is to build to just under the rail head height.

In between the rails, strips of cereal boxes cut into 10mm wide strips, which are glued directly to the sleepers/ties. These strips are cut to smaller lengths (20-25mm) for the curves, which are glued in a brickwork like fashion, depending on the card three to four laminations are required to bring it up the under the rail head height.

 

From little things, big things grow.

The start of the road base.

The road surface for the tram tracks is made up of strips of cereal boxes that are 80mm wide, which are glued at right angles to the rails,  I draw a pencil line along the strip of card that is placed across the rails and with my fore finger I press down and run it along the rails underneath so the score the card with a mark that can be used as a cut line. The pencil line is a reminder of where you intend to glue the strip.

 

The first twenty foot wide slab being cast.

I score, mark, cut then glue each part of the strip as I work across the tracks, in between the rails the aim is to have a sample that is 14mm wide, so to allow for the flange ways. I like using PVA glue, because it allows the panel of strip to be 'floated' into position.

 

Scoring the strip parallel.

 

 

Checking for size.

 

 

Steady as she goes.

 

 

As I have not mastered the art of cutting a smooth curve with scissors, (most of my efforts look like the edge of a fifty cent piece), I knock the 'corners' off with some 240 grit wet/dry.

 

As with anything track related, testing while installing is a must, just in case one little install results the rollingstock going off for a wander. Here is a small gallery of the 'works in progress'.

 

 

 

 

Albert Rd and Victoria St

(Ammo Factory Junction)

waiting for the 'tarmac', 400 grit wet/dry sand paper

with office paper line markings.

 

 

The Depot, just waiting for the between the rails fit out.

 

 

While this may not be everyones cup of tea, the other reason I prefer this method, is that if there is any drama with points, track or wiring, I can apply a few drops of water, soften the PVA, then remove the affected part without resorting to a hammer and chisel.

 

 

This Easter Weekend marks the Hobsons Bay Model Railway Club Exhibition, this one exclusively exhibits layouts which are of Australian prototype, so no Thomas, British, or US, just Australian. Always a good exhibition to enjoy.

 

From amongst the road works at this end of the layout.

Glenn 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the road to nowhere.

After about three weeks of doing 3/5ths of 5/8ths of nothing, I ventured across town to the Labor Day Weekend exhibition at Sandown, just to have a look for some inspiration for Victoria Street, with my two girls in tow, little cash or time were spent at either at the vendors and/or the exhibiting layouts.

This exhibition is more aimed at the young and the young at heart, so this would have to be one of the very rare times that I have paid to walk into a racecourse, then walked out with the same balance in ones wallet that one entered with. All in all, it was the usual traders, exhibits and merchandise these shows have in common.

After dropping the kids off at the outlaws, I wandered off home to think of what needed to be done to the layout, hence the title, the road to nowhere.

 

The finished 'junction'

(road surface will hide the multitude of sins)

With Victoria Street undergoing an expansion, the concept of 'beyond' needed to be redefined  after extending the layout left of the railway bridge, then the end of the known world at 4mm/1'.   Therefore the new reverse curves now include a 'junction' going off scene into the foreground (Albert Rd) to the rest of the Melbourne tramway system.

The extra trackwork was made up of left over pieces of flexi track, nothing really scientific, rails of the diverging track soldered to one side of the running lines, rails for the crossing and points were filed, trimmed, and glued with five minute epoxy. The running rails were then given a few strokes of a needle file at the 'frogs' for the appearance of flange ways that provides the necessary clatter of tram traversing point work.

All of which managed to work with rollingstock without shorting out the Powercab.

The junction will now allow some tramway running rules such as-

     -trams from/to the branchline (Ammo Factory) shall give way to those trams from the city.
     -trams must make a compulsory stop at facing points, check setting before proceeding.

All of which is pointless, much like the 'junction'.

 

Setting the gauge of the point

(waiting for the epoxy to set)

 

 

A closer look at the junction

(note the gap between the diverging rails and the running rail

at the diamond so not to short out the Powercab)

 

 

Another angle of the tangle.

 

 

Give it another week, then I will be on annual leave, so the layout and rollingstock should get some attention after I complete the list of household projects as directed.

 

 

From the unwired end of the layout.

Glenn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slowly but surely.....

"Lost; time to work on layout, if found please contact me."

To say I have been busy lately would be an understatement, unfortunately this business is not layout related. Work and family life are the reasons why the progress on Victoria Street has slowed to a crawl.

Therefore the works on the 'Ammo' Factory are progressing, but very slowly, with the paving and track ballast installed, together with span poles, it is now starting to resemble something.

 

Slowly getting there,

The span poles are coathanger wire, the blobs of blu-tak

are there so I do not open myself up.

 

 

There will be a mesh fence between the factory and

the terminus, mesh has been applied to the ground floor windows.

 

 

An overview of the terminus and siding.

The checkrail for the siding prevents

rollingstock climbing into the factory.

 

 

I know it needs more grubbiness and details, plus some overhead.

Points are thrown by wire in the tube method.

 

Now some artistic shots...

 

 

SW6 870 waits patiently.

 

 

X1 460 on an excursion sits in the siding.

Photo taken through perspex end plate.

 

 



From the other side the tracks, still not under the wires yet.
Glenn