Traction SIG Traction SIGPlease note: All items are the copyright of the provider unless otherwise stated.
1 The brand new home of your SIG Editor's model traction test and development center is a spacious industrial unit in Grover Beach CA, just a few yards from Grover Beach station on Amtrak's main line from LA to Seattle. A very comforting rumble of a UP freight occurs every hour or so plus the more modern whoosh of two Surfliners and two Coast Starlights daily. We are also only about 20 minutes from the "Santa Maria Railroad" which had an operating traction section early last century.
All my Maryland apartment furniture, trolley benches, workshop tools and the "Line Car" issues in progress, were finally shipped from Maryland in October, after nearly 18 months in storage there. Much unpacking remains to be done. However, here is a shot of the benches and future baseboards of the new Proto:87 large 4 track oval test track in place in the main work area which is 36 by 24. During to the urgent pressure of completing the Proto:87 design work, the "Line Car" issues are delayed until at least the end of 2003.
A view of the new workshop from atop the roof of the
"Line Car" editorial offices :)
2. Also worthy of note are the pair Sherline mills which as you can see have just been upgraded to CNC (Computer Numerical Control)operation. One particular intention here is to be able to quickly and inexpensively duplicate the "Electro-glide" Truck parts, including the tiny 1/4" square gearboxes, so that I can offer them as an upgrade kit, or even RTR, rather than just as a construction article. My goal is that, if everything goes according to plan, all SIG members will have access to "state of the art", smooth running, sprung power trucks for all their HO equipment, if they so wish.
Two Sherline Mills nearing the completion of their
upgrade to CNC (Computer Numerical Control) operation.
The construction progress of the tiny new sprung and
equalized HO "ELECTRO-GLIDE" TM
power truck shown in comparison to a "Kadee" HO scale freight car truck
sideframe.
3. Up to now, most overhead fittings available to the HO modeler have been lost wax castings which are oversize and much closer to "O" scale. The very popular "David Voice" etched overhead fittings have been licensed by the "PROTO:87 Stores" and will soon be available in the US. The shot below shows the correctly sized HO scale version of the fret, which contains a good quantity of the usual standard hangers plus a multitude of various fittings not previously available in the US, including multi-angle crossings, pull overs, insulators and joiners. For your information, the actual size of this fret is 2 3/4 in by 5 3/4 in so you can feasily gage the size of individual items. In addition there is also an O scale fret is which is similar, but with fewer fittings overall, due to their increased size.
The HO scale fittings fret
4. Rethinking Girder Rail. Finally for November's news, I am experimenting with an old idea of making girder rail by simulating just the visible flat top portion of girder rail and girder switches. These parts can then be manufactured by just cutting them out of solid NS sheet. Some combination of mechanical and chemical milling can be used to shape the parts and a scale flangeway, while having moving parts, such switch blades, operate as a partly hidden, slightly lower layer. The switches and frogs can be used with either matching new style girder rail, or raised on supporting material such as plywood and just inserted where needed into sections of more traditionally hand made girder rail.
While this method produces wonderfully realistic fine scale girder rail in N, HO and possible even O scale, it is not like to solve the problem of producing NMRA standard O scale girder rail. For these SIG members I am still trying out the idea of an easily bendable separate NS strip which can be held alongside regular code 148 or smaller rail in special support chairs to simulate the inner edge of the girder rail flangeway.
Work in progress on HO fine scale girder rail switches
made from NS sheet.
An example length of Ultra fine O Scale simulated
Girder rail using the same technology.
This shown up against ME code 148 flex track. The rail head matches perfectly.
Test Track
A simple test track for checking the reliable operation of tight radii HO street cars. The outer track is 16.5 mm (standard gauge) at 7 in. (55 ft) radius. The inner is 12mm (3 ft - 6 in ga.) at 5 in (36 ft) radius. These are the worst case design specifications for PE and LARy prototypes.
Now some pictures taken on last year' European trip:
1 The new Croydon Trams bring tram operation back to South London in
the UK.
2 Croydon Drivers view as the new route sharply "Tees" into an old abandoned suburban commuter railroad right of way
3 A working 1/24th scale "tube" subway set pauses in front of the real thing at London Transport's museum near Covent Garden, London.
4 A traditional 2 car articulated unit near Rome Italy's Termini Station.
5 An Ultra modern low floor unit running near the Vatican, Italy
Finally, I found this incredibly attractive similar HO model of a low floor unit German made.by "Halling" of Germany.
Please email me if you'd like to know more.
Andy
Last updated: July 2003
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