What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[G3750]

George,

The catfish story is probably true.
In the mid 1940s a catfish of @ 6' long was taken from the Ohio near
the B&O bridge and displayed packed in ice in front of the city building.
My grandfather and I went to see this fish. He told me that every once
in a while a large catfish would be caught in the Ohio River.
I was impressed. I was probably about 10 years old.
Oh yes.This was at Bellaire, Ohio.

Well, that is interesting. The catfish would feed off the garbage in the river (and there was plenty of it) and anything growing around the bridge piers.

My friend and co-captain of the Weir High swim team used to scuba dive in some of the quarries down river from Weirton on the Ohio side. He claims to have come face to face with a rather large catfish. Of course, Mickey was prone to exaggeration.

George

[Mitch]

When divers were helping to guide some large stones in place to reinforce the dam here on the Allegheny River at Lock #5, they told me if people knew the size of some of the fish in this river, they'd probably never swim here! There's been some catfish caught in the 40 lb. class, and probably much larger ones not caught, not to mention the states record Musky of some 57 pounds that came from the Allegheny reservoir near the headwaters at Kinzua. I believe that record still stands.

[G3750]

Updated 8/1/2015:

OK, I finally completed my revision of Accessory Power Supplies / Buses. You might remember that I originally modified PC power supplies to provide 3VDC, 5VDC, and 12VDC for accessories. Unfortunately, those were unregulated supplies (after removal from the PC cases). That made them prone to overheating and to providing inconsistent voltage levels. I decided that I did not need the risk or potential damage to devices. They were replaced with commercial grade regulated DC power supplies.

Wiring_25_.JPG (31.48 KiB) Viewed 3386 times

I also procured a 3VDC 2 amp power supply (wall transformer) from Evans Design to power the lighted telephone poles (3VDC LEDs) and other 3VDC lights on the Weirton side of the layout.

Today, I finally got around to mounting all the power supplies on the wooden board that sits in the base of my transformer cart.

PowerSupplies_01_.JPG (49.67 KiB) Viewed 3386 times

The power supplies plug into a spike-resistant power strip. Everything on the layout is activated by powerstrip's On/Off switch. Accessories are further protected by a fuse (as seen in the photo). Left to right: 3VDC, 5VDC, and 12VDC.

Finally, we're getting something done!

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

If you're going to make it Strasburg on Sat., I may have just the transformer for you,

[G3750]

If you're going to make it Strasburg on Sat., I may have just the transformer for you,

Martin,

Hmm. I do plan to be at Strasburg on Saturday. Should I be worried?

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

If you're going to make it Strasburg on Sat., I may have just the transformer for you,

Martin,

Hmm. I do plan to be at Strasburg on Saturday. Should I be worried?

George

Errr...............quite probably, yes!

[G3750]

Updated 8/8/2015:

I have several updates today. Last night I got my transformer cart finished (or at least finished until something else comes along that requires a change). Here's a look from the rear of the cart. I have added more power outlets (another strip) and the Accessory Power Supplies are now installed (3VDC, 5VDC, 12VDC).

PowerSupplies_02_.JPG (48.12 KiB) Viewed 3260 times

I also acquired 4 white masonite panels 1/8" x 4' x 8' for painting backdrops.

I went to the Strasburg 2-rail O Scale Show this morning. Picked up some items:

• 10 Arttista figures (cheap) - workers, hobos, housewife, storekeeper
• Set of tools (picks, brushes, etc.)
• A large stone wall casting
• A large brick casting
• Bunch of small plastic bags for parts

And it was a beautiful sunny day in Central Pennsylvania. Can't ask for more than that!

George

[rogruth]

George,

I sure there is one so what is the reason for the transformer cart?

[G3750]

George,

I sure there is one so what is the reason for the transformer cart?

There are a few reasons for the cart:

• I wanted something I could move out of the way when doing maintenance under the layout and the hidden storage yard. All the power leads to the layout are easily detached for this purpose.
• It seemed a good way to isolate all the transformers without building a static shelf for them somewhere under or next to the layout. I don't have a control panel per se since everything runs under TMCC.
• I had an old TV cart on castors and everything seemed to fit.
• It provides a convenient place for the layout reference manual (wiring diagrams, etc.).

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

.......... what is the reason for the transformer cart?

He didn't buy the one I had at Strasburg for him,

[G3750]

.......... what is the reason for the transformer cart?

He didn't buy the one I had at Strasburg for him,

Shocking, truly shocking!

Nice seeing you, though.

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Nice seeing you, though.

George

And seeing you there as well! It was a good show for me selling my own stuff as well as clearing out the last of the estate stuff. I arrived with 6 full storage tubs and a large cardboard box.

Today after sorting ot all out from the hasty departure packing, just over 3 storage tubs of stuff left. Not a generator of big money, but then the objective was to come home empty.

[G3750]

Updated 8/12/2015:

Over the last couple of days I have given much thought to how to model the surface of the Ohio River as it flows under my bridge. Yesterday and today, I investigated custom glass vendors. The plan is to:

• Use 1/8" masonite as a support for the river surface. It will be painted a number of shades of brown (darker towards the middle of the river) to simulate the color of the water.
• Use Aquatex glass (I ordered the piece today) on top of the masonite as the surface of the water. The glass will have two small holes at specific locations to permit the wiring for the pier lights to pass through.
• Items on top of the water (row boat, inner tube) will be glued on.
• Foam will be created around the piers (still thinking about how to do that).

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Aquatex glass

How costly is a piece that in the dimensions you need? Can it be ordered cut to specific shapes? Where do you order this stuff? Inquiring minds want to know. #2 wants information!!!!

Very, very interested in how this plays out looking forward to seeing and reading more of the details!

[G3750]

Aquatex glass

How costly is a piece that in the dimensions you need? Can it be ordered cut to specific shapes? Where do you order this stuff? Inquiring minds want to know. #2 wants information!!!!

Very, very interested in how this plays out looking forward to seeing and reading more of the details!

Martin,

I shopped 4 stores in the greater Harrisburg area, finally ending up at H & M Glass in Palmyra. They were the cheapest and the most helpful. I think the price will come in around $160 or so. That's what I've seen in posts on OGR regarding aquatex. I suppose they will cut to shape for you. Mine is being cut to specific (rectangular) dimensions and having 2 holes drilled into it.

George