What's New on the PRR Panhandle 2.0?

[J. S. Bach]

A. 70,000 between 1920-1939 is what I think I saw.
B. Well, those in my first photo (taken a few days ago) are still there.
C. I expect that there are quite a few still in existence.
George

Interesting. Thank you.

[robert.]

One Sears house was found near me. A builder found it while clear cutting his site. It caused a uproar and in the midnight hour he gave it away to save his project. Someone came in and took it apart. I'm not sure if it ever got reassembled. Maybe i can find a link or photo

[G3750]

Updated 10/9/2020:

Despite life's best attempt to derail me with trivia , more progress has been made.

• A friend (who I will give a shout-out to when all is done) provided a circuit design and test circuit for using 3 inputs to drive an MTH signal head. That signal will be placed on the PRR signal bridge just east of the Steubenville station.
• I am planning to install that signal bridge soon and decided to pull the wire for the Western Switch Bus. That's three 100' lengths of 16 gauge wire. RED for AC hot; BLACK for Ground; WHITE for the Data Wire Driver (TMCC control of DZ-2500 switch machines). It will power all switches and signals in the Steubenville area and River Route.
• I have found a source for 4 of the HO Albion Catalog Houses at a decent price and placed an order. They are on back-order and I expect them in 3-4 weeks. I got to use my NMRA discount, making the deal even sweeter!

George

[J. S. Bach]

If you can go with 14 gauge, it might be better. Just a thought.

[G3750]

If you can go with 14 gauge, it might be better. Just a thought.

Maybe, but this is an AC switch bus. Switch motors only draw current when thrown. The signals won't draw much current. Plus I bought and ran the wire. Total actual length will probably be 75' or less.

Appreciate the thought.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/10/2020:

In the spirit of "measure twice, cut once" and planning ahead, today I:

• Did a re-check of the length and path of Switch Bus #1 (Western DZ-2001 Data Wire Driver). I've run about 25' of it. I'm going to start hooking up signals and switches.
• Ordered 200 Scotchlok 905 "suitcase" connectors. These will connect the Switch Bus to DZ-2500 switch machines, signals, and crossing gates. Each switch needs 3; signals and crossing gates take 2 each. I've got about 30 on hand at the moment.
• Cleaned up my wiring diagrams (added mounting hardware quantities) for Switches w/ pushbuttons (no signals) and MTH Signal bridges (with simple block occupancy circuits). These are going to be used in the near future.
• Flemish bond brick pattern styrene sheets from The N Scale Architect arrived yesterday. They are for the Steubenville station.

George

[rogruth]

Waiting patiently for something more here and in OST.

[G3750]

Waiting patiently for something more here and in OST.

I'm paddling as fast as I can, Roger!

As for OST, my best guess is the Jan/Feb issue. But only Rufus knows for sure.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/13/2020:

• Made and tested some adjustments to the circuitry feeding the MTH signal head (3 inputs). The test circuit works fine and we are getting ready to install the components & signal bridge on the layout soon.
• At the suggestion of a friend, I painted the bottom supports of the MTH signal bridge a concrete color. The land around the signal bridge base will be built up to hide the large boxes housing the boards.
• Ran and connected the Western Switch Bus (Switch Bus #1) to its power supply (K-Line PowerChief 120F 15VAC tap). Voltmeter shows 15.3 VAC at Switch No. 40 on the C&P_River Route.
• Connected the Western Switch Bus to Switch No. 40 and tested it. Switch responds correctly under TMCC.
• Currently fighting some sort of Microsoft software licensing bug. Woke up today to find that software that I bought and paid for years ago is telling me that my "trial period" has ended. WTF?

More when I know it.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/17/2020:

• Microsoft licensing issues resolved.
• Scrambled boot device sequence resolved.
• Still waiting on my GarGraves track order.
• Still waiting on JTT red clay roof sheet for the Steubenville station.
• My additional suitcase connectors for switch bus wires is expected today.
• Ordered some gel-filled push connectors for evaluation.
• Ordered some Posi-Lock connectors for evaluation.
• Tried to wire the MTH signal head w/ 3 inputs using Euro-style terminal blocks and gave up in frustration, hence the two orders above. A bit frustrated with the delays in wiring.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/23/2020:

Bunch of things have taken place over the past few days:

• The suitcase connectors arrived Tuesday.
• My shipment of GarGraves rigid track (WT101-37) arrived yesterday.
• My shipment of 22 AWG wire (100' of Red, Green, Blue, White, Black) for use with Z-Stuff switches, relays, and signals arrived today.
• The gel-filled connectors were a failure - didn't seem to be to spec and didn't operate properly. Got a refund.
• No sign yet of my Posi-Lock connectors.
• And the big deal? Completion of the circuit that protects the mainline near the Steubenville PRR station. The circuit takes input from Switch #41 (the Passenger siding), Switch #42 (the engine pocket), and the mainline just in front of the station platform. If either of the switches is thrown against the mainline or if the mainline is occupied, the MTH signal just east of the station will indicate STOP. The full story can be found in this post on the Electrical Forum: https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/huge-shout-out-and-thank-you-to-bob-bartizek-circuit-for-3-inputs-to-drive-signal

Sorry about the cross-post.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/24/2020:

After a big push to get the circuit working properly, yesterday was spent cleaning up and re-organizing wiring supplies. Created the following bins:

• Track power wiring materials: 567 Scotchlok suitcase connectors, 12 AWG red wire, 12 AWG black wire, 8" zip ties w/ mounting holes, ID plates, colored 3" zip ties, GarGraves pigtails (red, black, white).
• Switch bus wiring materials: 905 Scotchlok suitcase connectors, 16 AWG red wire, 16 AWG black wire, 16 AWG white wire, 20 AWG wire (red, black, white, green, yellow)
• Z-Stuff wiring materials: Posi-Lock connectors (if they work is still TBD), 22 AWG wire (red, black, white, green, blue), DZ-2502P pushbuttons, a spare DZ-2500 switch machine, DZ-1008 relays, 50' of 14 AWG white wire for ground planes (if needed)
• Accessory wiring materials: 16 AWG 2 conductor (green/yellow) wire, 16 AWG 2 conductor (brown/red) wire, 16 AWG 2 conductor (brown/yellow), 8" zip ties w/ mounting holes, assorted multi-wire snap connectors.

Then it will be time to push on with track laying for the eastern approach to the bridge and area scenery.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/25/2020:

Two steps forward, one step back. A careful check of the transformers for phasing yields:

• Group 1: K-Line PowerChiefs 1, 2, 3, PowerHouse 135 (District #1), PowerHouse 135 (District #6), PowerHouse 180 (District #7) and PowerHouse 180 (District #8) are all in phase with each other.
• Group 2: PowerHouse 180s for Districts 2, 3, 4, 5 are in phase with each other and out of phase with Group 1.

I am looking at strategies for putting them all in phase, probably by addressing Group 2.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/31/2020:

All power sources are now phased!!

I made my own 3 wire power cord, flipping the two non-ground plugs. Then I used it to connect a powerstrip with all the out-of-phase PowerHouse 180s to the other powerstrips. Finally, I plugged the unused outlets with dummy caps to prevent children of all ages from using them.

We're good to go!

George

[Neil]

Congratulations George. Quite a bit of work. Are you sure you're retired?