What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[bluelinec4]

PC power supplies are very cost effective Especially if you have access to the PC's that are being thrown out. We run our turntable, transfer table and lift bridges with old PC supplies that were re-appropriated .

[G3750]

Are you using PC power supplies that have a separate AC power switch? If you use "newer" ones, the green wire, when tied to ground (black) will power on the supply. You can then power on all your supplies with just one SPST button or switch.

For anyone else that wants to use PC supplies, orange is 3.3v, black is 5v and yellow is 12v. On older supplies, the 5v bus had the highest current capacity. For later supplies it is usually the 3.3v since the PWM circuit on the computer main board converts 3.3 volts to the 2.5v and 1.5v RAM and CPU core voltages.

There is an ON/OFF switch in the casing (next to the plug for power cord). And I am taking both the green and black wires to a terminal strip and connecting them to eachother. Right now I have a wire jumper between the two in their 2x10 female board connector.

The power supplies (there are 2) and all transformers are plugged into the power strip / surge protector. One big honkin' switch turns everything on / off.

George

[G3750]

Finished my conversion of PC power supplies into sources of lighting for the layout! I ended up with two power supplies. The Western side of the layout is served by a 235 watt unit. Both power supplies have built in fans and ON/OFF switches and are mounted on a plywood base. The base will fit inside my transformer (TV) cart. The lights and accessories on the Eastern side will be powered by a 300 watt unit. Each supply provides a 3 VDC, 5VDC, and 12VDC post with its respective ground post. The Western unit has a practical supply limit of 176 watts (75% of 235), while the Eastern unit can provide 225 watts (75% of 300). I expect to mostly use the 12VDC output and will run a buss around that side of the layout. From the buss, I will use suitcase connectors (IDC's or Insulation Displacement Connectors) to run feeders to a small Euro-style terminal strip. Wires from the accessory or building or light will join the feeds there. If multiple lights have to be fed, I may use a small bakelite (traditional black plastic) terminal strip to distribute power.

George

[bluelinec4]

George
Do you have any updated pictures?

[G3750]

George
Do you have any updated pictures?

Ben,

Yeah, I do and tried an upload yesterday but had a problem. I will try putting them up tonight.

George

[G3750]

Pictures!!!
The first is of the board that holds both power supplies. It will be inserted onto the floor of the transformer (TV) cart.

DSCN0011W.jpg (87.06 KiB) Viewed 4285 times

The second is a close up of the 300W (Eastern side) power supply.

DSCN0012W.JPG (90.68 KiB) Viewed 4279 times

George

[jw_clarke54]

George, let me get this straight- you have BRIDGED ALL the wires????????????? or just the ones that you are using-4 I am guessing.James

[G3750]

George, let me get this straight- you have BRIDGED ALL the wires????????????? or just the ones that you are using-4 I am guessing.James

No. That would be bad.

You probably can't tell from the last photo, but all the orange (3V) are bridged. There is also a set of ground wires for that tap. Then I've done the same for the red (5V) and yellow (12v) taps.

George

[G3750]

Updated 2/20/2013:

Spent part of last night re-arranging the transformer (former TV) cart:

• The plywood board with both computer power supplies mounted on it has been velcroed to the bottom shelf.
• The bookend to hold up the manuals is now in place on the lower shelf.
• The surge protector / power strip is now on top of the cart.
• Both K-Line PowerChief 120F transformers are now on top of the cart in their designated locations.

The next things in this area's immediate To Do List are:

• Fasten down all cords
• Install a second power strip (daisy-chain it to the first).
• Update the electrical wiring diagrams for the power supplies and put them into the manual.
• Add each light / accessory / powered item to its respective power supply load chart and double check the load calculation.

George

[G3750]

Updated 2/20/2013:

Spent part of last night re-arranging the transformer (former TV) cart:

• The plywood board with both computer power supplies mounted on it has been velcroed to the bottom shelf.
• The bookend to hold up the manuals is now in place on the lower shelf.
• The surge protector / power strip is now on top of the cart.
• Both K-Line PowerChief 120F transformers are now on top of the cart in their designated locations.

The next things in this area's immediate To Do List are:

• Fasten down all cords
• Install a second power strip (daisy-chain it to the first).
• Update the electrical wiring diagrams for the power supplies and put them into the manual.
• Add each light / accessory / powered item to its respective power supply load chart and double check the load calculation.

George

Got everything but the 2nd power cord done last night. After re-checking the total watts calculation for each power supply, we've got plenty of power to spare. The Eastern unit can supply 176 watts; our load is just under 20 watts. The Western unit can supply 225 watts; the current load there is around 32 watts.

I'm pretty happy. That task is done, I've saved a few hundred $$$ by avoiding potential new transformer acquisitions, and I've got excess capacity that should easily handle any future lighting needs.

George

[G3750]

After getting the power supplies done and cleaning up the electrical wiring diagrams, I started playing with placement of the floodlight towers. That led to some additional planning work in the Weirton Steel area with RR-Track. Here are two new views of the Weirton Junction and Weirton Steel areas.

First, this is Weirton and Weirton Junction.

v218Panhandle10x18.JPG (128.55 KiB) Viewed 4200 times

New in this part of the layout is the planned use of a screen to separate the Weirton Junction area (northern part) from the City of Weirton (southern part). From the Weirton Junction side, that screen will be painted green and will help hide the town. I relocated the Weirton Junction (WC) interlocking tower to the position shown on this drawing. In Weirton, the street (Pennsylvania Avenue) heading due north will be curved off to the northwest and will not directly end in the backdrop screen. From that side, the screen will look like more of the town. Both the Quality Control building and the Mill Administration Building will be shallow (5-6" deep) structures.

Next is the Weirton Steel area and yard.

v218Panhandle10x18-2.JPG (212.2 KiB) Viewed 4201 times

From top (North) to bottom (South), the buildings are:

• Strip Steel (shown as a rectangle but really a pentagon that covers the entire corner.
• Blooming Mill, which will get a Westport Models transformer stand along its northern side.
• The Crawford's Crossing Highway Overpass. By the way, an MTH floodlight tower is to the west (left) of the overpass between the two tracks. It's partner is lower, beyond the bottom edge of the drawing.
• Open Hearth. Just below this mill you can see the top half of another structure, which will be a rack of 5 x 5 oxygen tanks.

Those are the updates to the plan so far.

George

[G3750]

Well, as Roseanne Roseannadanna would say:

Roseanne.jpg (14.3 KiB) Viewed 4166 times

"It's always something".

My updating of the Building and Scenery layers of the plan in RR-Track now means I have to:

• Figure out how to paint a 2-sided backdrop (this should be hysterical)
• Design 2 thin (almost backdrop-like) buildings. One structure, the Mill Administrative Building, still exists but has been modernized. The other, the Quality Control building, was torn down in 2009 or 2010. I'm currently looking for 1950's era photos of these. I laid out possible dimensions and am now about to go thru one of the detail parts boxes for appropriate Tichy Train Group windows.

I have got to stop having these brain-farts!

At this point, I'm going to have to live to age 120 to finish this layout.

George

[rogruth]

Well, as Roseanne Roseannadanna would say:

Roseanne.jpg

"It's always something".

My updating of the Building and Scenery layers of the plan in RR-Track now means I have to:

• Figure out how to paint a 2-sided backdrop (this should be hysterical)
• Design 2 thin (almost backdrop-like) buildings. One structure, the Mill Administrative Building, still exists but has been modernized. The other, the Quality Control building, was torn down in 2009 or 2010. I'm currently looking for 1950's era photos of these. I laid out possible dimensions and am now about to go thru one of the detail parts boxes for appropriate Tichy Train Group windows.

I have got to stop having these brain-farts!

At this point, I'm going to have to live to age 120 to finish this layout.

George

That could be a good thing with the right conditions and health.

[G3750]

That could be a good thing with the right conditions and health.

Have you any idea how big my To-Do List will be by then?

George

[G3750]

Updated 3/8/2013:

The updates today are all research oriented:

• Started the hunt for 1940's/1950's era photographs of the Mill Administration Building (MAB). That building still exists, but the exterior has been modernized (new windows, front stair lamp stands gone, front porch overhang removed, trees in the front yard cut down). I have identified some Tichy Train Group and some Grandt Line windows and doors that might work. Once I get some photos I'll know for sure.
• Also started looking for 1940's/1950's era photographs of the Weirton Steel Quality Control lab (on Main Street). This art deco style building was torn down a few years ago. I found one shot that's pretty interesting. This was a 2 (w/ 12' ceilings) or 3 story building with glass block windows running its entire height. Simulating these is going to be a real challenge. I'll know more when I see some additional photos. The research for this building leads me to think about generally raising the level of Weirton to be higher than the tracks at this point. I was going to take the overpass (see 2-3 posts back) immediately down to plywood level (0" height), but I will make the approach a bit more gradual. The backdoor of this building opens on to the steel yard and is (or should be) lower than Main Street.
• Started the floor plan for both buildings using Microsoft Visio (a drawing tool). Final dimensions will be driven by window and door widths and my comparison of the building dimensions with the photos for proportion. For me, it's more important to have the correct proportions so that the building "looks right" rather than be a slave to exact prototype sizes. Plus, space is limited.

George