Progress on my tramway.

Have to agree with Mike, old school.
 
Seems to be the consensus... So Bakelite knobs it is.... Might look a tad incongruous with the digital voltmeter for the batteries though...
 
I challenge you to try a nixie tube display for the voltmeter. :)
 
So have you ever had one of those days where everything goes like clockwork and you get suspicious that you have stuffed up? Had one of those today, got the saloon car reassembled with new destination boxes that don't leak light where they are not supposed to and everything went well until I turned on the lights and it dawned on me that's where I had stuffed up. Polarity!!! So I'll have to swap the wires over so the headlights work in the direction of travel and don't blind some poor bugger in a horse and cart following.... Also a few of the model tramway glitterati want to see where all the bits fit so I've included a picture of the underside (a lot of tiding up of the wiring but at least you get the drift)... Also a pic of the clerestory glazing as it comes out of the mold, its very "plastic" and can stretch to fit nicely.DSCF2301 (Medium).jpegDSCF2303 (Medium).jpegDSCF2304 (Medium).jpegDSCF2306 (Medium).jpegDSCF2309 (Medium).jpegDSCF2310 (Medium).jpeg
 
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There is still some minor detailing to do but the 3 electric cars are running again. Three supposedly identical speed controllers and all of them seem to respond differently... likewise the light switches, one works with the switch and the other 2 need a full sweep of the channel.... Got me stumped as all three are controlled by the same transmitter... Sorry the night action shots are a bit blurred.DSCF2350 (Medium).jpeg DSCF2361 (Medium).jpeg DSCF2362 (Medium).jpeg
 
There have been some traffic movements today. All the electric cars have been driven into the car sidings and the steam tram is now sitting at the terminus ready to be stripped down and overhauled.... I have no idea what I'll find inside it, have not had it apart since 2014.... Should be ok unless there is a red back hiding in it...

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DSCF2375 (Medium).jpeg DSCF2373 (Medium).jpeg It was with great reticence that I pulled the roof and boiler out of the steam tram motor today.... But surprise surprise its in surprisingly good condition inside. As it will no longer be needed for long runs I will fir a new 3 cell LIPO battery that will be charged whenever it backs into its dedicated siding.
I had to check to make sure the smoke gerberator works on 11V and it does surprisingly well, I'll be very popular around here when I fill the house with the fragrant aroma of burning coal ( I use JT's Coal aroma smoke fluid)... Of note people are copying my smoke creator first described on my blog in 2013 but that' s OK, if I wanted to keep it secret I would not have posted details on how to make them....
 
So no nasty Spiders then, that sounds like a good result. Perhaps they do not like the smoke fluid?
 
Mr Moderator feel free to copy this to a more relevant section of the forum if desired...

While I'm waiting for components to arrive I'm going back over the track charging arrangements for the steam tram which has a battery inside it as it would look rather weird with a trolley pole.
So what I've come up with is a section of isolated track that becomes active when a reed switch is tripped by a magnet under the trailer footboard. The reed switch turns on a latching relay and current flows to the onboard battery via a rectifier and thence through the onboard charger module which is fully automatic and balances the 3 x Li-ion 18650 2Ah cells. This is going to be more than adequate given the length of run even with the smoke drawing an amp.... When the tram moves out of the charging track the magnet trips the relay and it turns the charging power off and returns the rails to 0VDC so electric cars can run over it without shorting. The only tricky bit is placement of the magnet so that nothing is turned on till the tram is only on the Isolated track.
The rectifier ensures the polarity is correctly supplied to the charge board and also prevents current from the battery flowing back into the rails and causing a short circuit.
The "smart" charge module needs 13-18VDC so the voltage supplied is around 14VDC to overcome the .7 volt loss in the rectifier.
There is an external ammeter to display the state of charge, when the current drops down I'll know the battery is not being charged and I'll be able to turn the power off....
The schematic below shows how it should all work.
Here are a few links to the key components;
https://www.ebay.com.au/…/12V-1-Channel-Latch…/282740930710…
https://www.ebay.com.au/…/3S-18650-Li-ion-Lit…/253459423969…
 

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Mr moderater loves this ; please carry on.
 
So here I am back making smoke much to the non amusement of the others I share my domicile with...... The smoke maker works well and responds to the control via the 2 channel switch. The relay ( black box) is 6v but seems to work well on 5v. I learnt something else today, the battery charge/ short circuit protection board shuts off supply in the event of a short and has to be reset manually by a burst of 15v across the terminals, then normal service resumes......
 

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After numerous false starts and delays my steam tram is starting to come together after the refurb.
Its a real rats nest inside at this stage but that will all soon be tidied up with countless micro ties The photo of underneath shows the tubes to take the steam to the cylinders and you can also see the wire running to the isolation switch to turn off the electronics if it needs charging during periods of non use.
Passengers are sitting in the trailer with growing anticipation that they will soon be hooked up and off on their way home. This could happen as early as this weekend but don't let on they have that long to wait.
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No72 said:
After numerous false starts and delays my steam tram is starting to come together after the refurb.
Its a real rats nest inside at this stage but that will all soon be tidied up with countless micro ties The photo of underneath shows the tubes to take the steam to the cylinders and you can also see the wire running to the isolation switch to turn off the electronics if it needs charging during periods of non use.
Passengers are sitting in the trailer with growing anticipation that they will soon be hooked up and off on their way home. This could happen as early as this weekend but don't let on they have that long to wait.
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Got to ask - did you name the carriage after Yarloop, the town in Western Australia? It got ravaged by a bush fire and the best example of a preserved railway maintenance site was destroyed - a travesty!
 
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