Finally The CVR goes public

grumbeast

Member
Jan 13, 2003
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Dartmouth, N.S. Canada
www.accesswave.ca
Sorry replying to this a little after the fact.. just got back from Calgary.

Love the sign, I've got to get me one of them there signs!. By the way Will, I'm 6'3 too so apart from one small pipe you wouldn't have to duck.

I don't have my plan digitised yet, I really should get it done but I've just changed 2/3rd's of it!.

I'll try and get a rough one done up soon..

Graham
 

Will_annand

Active Member
Jan 12, 2004
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Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokacomputes.com
I am beginning to hate wiring! :curse:

I am wiring my layout DC and I have 35 blocks on the layout. The control panel is in a drawer under the bench at the apex of the first walkin. (See trackplan on my website).

I wired the control panel once using DPDT switches, if I threw the switch one way, it was "On", if I threw the switch the other way, it was "Off". Then I found out that since I have a "wye" on my layout, it causes a reverse loop and you have to use DPDT-center off toggles.

So, off come the 35 DPDT switches and I am attempting to rewire the DPDT-center off toggles. Well, each toggle has 6 lugs, so that makes it 6x35=210 lugs.

I worked on it Thrusday, Friday and after work tonight. So far I have all the switches wired to the power pack, all the cross wires in and 13 wired to the track.
166 lugs done, 44 to go.

Then I am going to use the old toggles to wire a control panel for the yard only. This panel will be in a drawer under the layout at the apex of the other walkin.

The yard control panel has 16 of the 35 blocks, so that is another 96 lugs to solder. But they will be soldered so that if the switch is in one position, control will be given to the yard control panel and if the switch is in the other direction, the control will be at the main control panel.

This way, one man can run the whole layout from the main panel. Or, a Yard Master can control the yard area while the main panel becomes the "Mainline" panel.

All I know is that I have lots of wires to run and 306 lugs to solder. Right now I have only completed 166, so I have 140 to go. Still almost half to go :(
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
Dec 28, 2000
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Georgetown, Ontario,Canada
It sure is tedious Will. Do you have that Kalmbach wiring book. It sure helped me in my DC Cab days. The reversing wiring was relatively simple. Not sure what kind of DPDT switches you are using but am surprised by the amount of rewiring you are faced with.
 

Will_annand

Active Member
Jan 12, 2004
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Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokacomputes.com
I think that was my problem Robin, I do not have any books on wiring.
I talked to one of the fellows from the Muskoka club and he told me how to wire it.
It was only after I had it completely wired that I found out I could not control the reverse loop. Well, I could, but the track would never truly be "off", it would toggle from one direction to the other.

with the new "DPDT-Center Off" toggles, I have full control over direction as well as turning off a block to hold a train. In this way I can have trains running in both directions, passing on passing tracks. I am using 34 blocks, each siding is it's own block, each passing track is a block and the mainline is split into 9 blocks.

The rewiring is so I can have full control from the main control panel and also have yard control from the Yard Panel. Actually, the yard control panel was never set up, so it is just "wiring", not rewirng".

I am not good with the soldering iron, so it is taking time.
Never knew an 11.5' x 6.5' layout could use so much wire. :D
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
Dec 28, 2000
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Georgetown, Ontario,Canada
Just amazing when you find out how much wiring there is for decent block control and then to cab control so two people could operate at the same time. At least the cab control would use up all of the DPDT switches without the centre off if you chose to go that way
 

Will_annand

Active Member
Jan 12, 2004
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Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokacomputes.com
Just a quick update, I took a break from wiring today. (Still 12 toggles to wire on panel one). :wave:

I went out today and got a quart of mis mixed paint for $5.00. :thumb:

Now, instead of a pale blue foam field, I have nice rich "clay coloured" earth to look at. :eek: :D

When my Uncle reurns next week, I will see if he can come over and we can update the photos on the CVR website.

Slowly this is coming together.
 

Will_annand

Active Member
Jan 12, 2004
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Huntsville, Ontario
www.muskokacomputes.com
Big news, I finally bought a digital camera, a Fuji E500. :D So now I can post pictures of the progress on the CVR.

Two major things happened.
1. The benchwork now has a skirt.

2. Initial coloration of the foam makes things look better. A friend says it looks just like the red clay of the real Credit Valley. :thumb:
 

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