tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post5932432332621636735..comments2024-03-03T17:14:05.768-08:00Comments on Robert's Vasona Branch Blog: Installing the Interlocking Machine at West San JoseRobert Bowdidgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14155962656525181088noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-73539114786022259192021-04-20T08:44:40.408-07:002021-04-20T08:44:40.408-07:00I'm extremely happy with the Modratec kit; I c...I'm extremely happy with the Modratec kit; I can't imagine building one on my own just because of the sheer number of design details to get right. Even if the Modratec instructions are focused on British-style operations, the actual interlocking design didn't seem to be constrained to British style; when designing the software, you get to specify all the levers that must be in a specific position, regardless of their purpose. They do color their levers in the software and hint at British style track equipment, but that doesn't affect the finished kit. I'd mocked up the San Jose Market Street interlocking as an exercise, and it seemed to be able to capture all the craziness of three routes from the Los Angeles direction. It was also able to force unused switches on a parallel route to point away from an active track.Robert Bowdidgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14155962656525181088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-40127584531624128912021-04-10T17:48:15.941-07:002021-04-10T17:48:15.941-07:00* If I ever get to the point of actually building...* If I ever get to the point of actually building an interlocking, I will share what I have learned in the process.<br /><br />John TranesAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15058769877747286989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-52603781753034275532021-04-10T15:55:40.461-07:002021-04-10T15:55:40.461-07:00* If you don't ask a question, you never get a...* If you don't ask a question, you never get an answer.<br /><br />* The reason I initially contacted you is because you did build a mechanical lever frame interlocking. Whether or not prototypical, on a seldom used branch, or a busy mainline doesn't matter, it does work.<br /><br />* I too am interested in designing a prototypical mechanical lever frame interlocking. The problem is there isn't much good (american), but lots of united kingdom info available. The problem is that there tracks through an interlocking plant are direction sensitive, (up and down directions), route sensitive, not speed sensitive.<br /><br />* I also found that old MR article for building one. The reason they needed to build a working model was that they had little real info to go on, and there wooden model would prove if it worked, Just like the real thing.<br /><br />* You do have a picture of the frame. I don't think many of these even existed here from that time period. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15058769877747286989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-50172771215099416462021-04-09T08:54:40.495-07:002021-04-09T08:54:40.495-07:00Well, to be fair, the WP crossing is an afterthoug...Well, to be fair, the WP crossing is an afterthought in absolutely every aspect:<br /><br />* It's a crossing of a rarely used SP branch line with a glorified industrial branch of the Western Pacific. It's not some busy tower like a NYC-Pennsylvania mainline crossing approaching Chicago, nor is it even a shadow of well-known Southern Pacific crossings like Niles Tower or the College Park tower approaching San Jose.<br /><br />* It's a branch that was so under-used that the tower stopped being manned in the late 1920's, and was torn down in the late 1930's. If I was being prototypical, I'd just have a "push to cross" button for the WP as the SP trains crossed as if the WP wasn't there at all - pretty much the same way the SP thought about the WP overall.<br /><br />* It's a crossing that was hidden in the middle of a block, stuck behind a set of canneries and other industries. This isn't a much-loved photogenic location, visited by thousands of rail fans. Check out the Barriger photo in the first article on the crossing to see the unassuming look of the location.<br /><br />* It's a crossing on a half-a-two car garage layout focused on switching and canneries. I've repeatedly chosen operations and switching over museum-quality models and a <br />"don't touch" scene, and discounted mainline operations to focus on switching boxcars. Placing the canneries and other industries won out when I was designing the layout, and the WP crossing was wedged in as a "nice to have" afterthought because it isn't the focus of the layout. <br /><br />* There's no trains on the WP track, so there's never going to be trains crossing here. It's not a busy crossing. The play value of the crossing is only to slow down the switching crews, and making them think a bit about getting them thinking about the appropriate places to place cars, and correct etiquette around a railroad crossing.<br /><br />* It's not even a particularly important part of the layout. If I had more space and had the choice of improving the WP crossing or making the Del Monte Plant #3 scene more realistic... well, I hope you like the smell of cooking tomatoes and peaches!Robert Bowdidgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14155962656525181088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-26481730880231248612021-04-09T06:55:15.991-07:002021-04-09T06:55:15.991-07:00what could have been the diamond on the layout loo...what could have been the diamond on the layout looks like it is just an after thought. anyway, the detail in the rest of the articles is suburb, you can please some of the people all the time, all the people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time. Keep up the good workAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15058769877747286989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-67703158109652433902021-04-08T18:23:26.876-07:002021-04-08T18:23:26.876-07:00Like everything else for the model railroad, I do ...Like everything else for the model railroad, I do it because it's a fun project and contributes enough to the overall vision and theme of the layout. There's always going to be inaccuracies, excessively-compressed or rethought locations, and stuff that's not perfect when first built, but having a working and reasonably finished layout is much better than having a perfect layout.<br /><br />The interlocking is appropriate for the location. The main differences are the missing distant signal levers and the fact that I didn't model a Saxby and Farmer machine. The signals and LEDs for derails were a workwhile tradeoff; I could build them in reasonable time and they're unlikely to get destroyed during operating sessions like some working semaphores might. Matching the actual track diagram wasn't going to happen; the track layout was decided fifteen years ago, long before I thought of the interlocking project. The layout's already been selectively compressed with the end of siding switch at an unrealistic distance from the crossing (not to mention Shell Oil at the wrong location on the other side of the tracks), but I live with those inaccuracies because it made things fit. (For a similar cheat, see Seth Neumann's switches between the NUMMI plant and Warm Springs Yard where three or four miles of track was compressed to about six inches between the switches and signals.)<br /><br />If I ever get frustrated with any part of the scene, I'll take another pass on it like I've done at other parts on the layout. Until then, I'll enjoy what got built!Robert Bowdidgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14155962656525181088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-867275029077232742021-04-08T18:13:40.455-07:002021-04-08T18:13:40.455-07:00Why go to the expense of building an interlocking ...Why go to the expense of building an interlocking that 1) doesn't match your layout<br />and 2)leaves out all the detail of the interlocking, proper signals-Semaphore, not dwarf on the main, derails, not leds, and the siding in the plant. not to mention the added switch to the drill track, not shown on your diagram. Otherwise great detail on the rest of the layout.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15058769877747286989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3912308714924865824.post-22041715544684780722019-02-24T17:14:23.636-08:002019-02-24T17:14:23.636-08:00Really cool to see this project come together. Nic...Really cool to see this project come together. Nicely done!Bernhard Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06586886305866200491noreply@blogger.com