The Bridges at Saltash

[zdrada69]

The idea that hobbies are stress-relieving is a very common misconception. Their actual purpose is stress-balancing, since how much you do is under your control, so that you can always maintain a constant amount of stress in your life. After all, if you ever do ever become stress-free, the universe will sense this and take drastic corrective action - very risky!

That is a deep IDEA. I belive it is a starting point to a PhD thesis !!!!
Hobby as a tool for LIFE BALANCE !

[dkightley]

At last....some real progress!!!

First paint applied...to the bridge approach viaducts:

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The columns below the breaks will be embedded in the scenery, leaving the top parts free to lift off. Or at least, that's the theory!

[Nutter]

looking good so far

[dkightley]

The Royal Albert bridge is starting to take shape.....

The track deck, sides and tube. Not shown are the 11 crossmembers.

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The sides glued to the deck....

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Test assembly to fit the ends of the deck sections and the tubes into the columns...

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Closer view of the detail of the girderwork. The crossmembers still need fitting....but I'm going to paint the track bed first.

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I'm pretty pleased at the level of detail I've managed to achieve.....

[zdrada69]

It looks really impressive

[Nutter]

Typical, I go into hospital for a week and come back to pictures like below.

[dkightley]

Since the last post, I've made some very good progress on designing and printing around 20 - 30 buildings, some quite complex!..and have glued the crossmembers into one of the RAB spans (photed above).

But I've now hit a few weeks where progress will be severely impacted by preparatory work for the Starlight event at Crich…..so there'll be little progress to report over the next three or four weeks.

[Nutter]

Question of reality - How will the hand of god sort out things if you have a problem on those 2 loverly complex spans?

[Ruskyviewer]

The Royal Albert bridge is starting to take shape.....

The track deck, sides and tube. Not shown are the 11 crossmembers.

IMG_3986_red.JPG

The sides glued to the deck....

IMG_3984_red.JPG

Test assembly to fit the ends of the deck sections and the tubes into the columns...

IMG_3988_red.JPG

Closer view of the detail of the girderwork. The crossmembers still need fitting....but I'm going to paint the track bed first.

IMG_3989_red.JPG

I'm pretty pleased at the level of detail I've managed to achieve.....

Very impressive Doug. This project will be quite something when it's finished. I've been following your progress and it's looking great. Brilliant detail.

[dkightley]

The month interfering with this project will be coming to a very successful end in a few days...and I'll be able to get back down to things. For an idea of what I've been up to, here's a link to a YouTube video made by the lighting company I've been liaising with giving an insight into the size of the project at Crich I've been helping to organise:


And a better late that never reply to Mike's comment:

Question of reality - How will the hand of god sort out things if you have a problem on those 2 loverly complex spans?

The spans are around 12 inches long each and have good access along the sides to get tweezers, etc into to persuade a stuck train to move. But with reliable running...and a well pre-cleaned track... I get virtually no issues. At least I got very little on the Forth Bridge, where access was a little worse!

[dkightley]

With the Starlight event and the season at Crich at an end, I've been able to finally get back into work on Saltash.....

I've now almost finished assembling & fitting the Royal Albert Bridge onto the layout....just need to tweak one end to make it fit perfectly up to the lead-in viaducts and finish its paint job - naval grey ( of all colours!!).

[jesse6669]

Looks great! I have not been checking here often but as always very impressive modeling Doug!

[dkightley]

Doing my usual jumping around from one thing to another....I'm having a look back at the automation using JMRI.

I'd previously created a layout panel and a script to initialise all the sensors, etc....but on loading on my recently rebuilt PC, everything failed to work!! A reinstall of both JRMI and the correct version of Java later, I was able to get things nearer....but had to convert the JMRI file location setting from one drive to another.

Once running again, I reduced the size of the layout panel:

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I've also updated the sensor setting script so it works...and displays correctly;

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I'm now starting to look at the scripting. After issues on the Forth Bridge, I'm concentrating on getting multiple throttles up and running first...using memory variable within JMRI....

Should be fun......

[dkightley]

Its been a long five or six days since my last progress report...for a variety of reasons, both good and bad! But lets not go there.....

I've finally got a throttle control script up and running that takes its cues from a set of Memory Variables that I've set up within the JRMI running environment for the route.....and manages up to four throttles at the same time. So.….start this script and let it do its thing...and other scripts simply latch onto one of the sets of memory Variables and change the values, and the throttle control script does the rest!

Having got that hurdle over with, the next phase was to define a set of points round the layout from which a number of paths can be defined. I worked out 17 points on the layout....and around 38 different paths that go from one point to another. This will then allow a scenario to be set up to run, for example, starting at point 3, run path 6 to point 8, path 23 to point 15, and then path 30 to point 3....one loop round the layout in one direction. The scenario can the start, and run through the sequence of paths as many or few times as I want it...and the park the train at another point!

Many of the paths simply run from one point down a single track to the next point...only starting if the destination point is vacant. The rest of the paths negotiate the point at Saltash or one end or the other of the Traverser....and need to take control of the point and change it as required...and keep it reserved until the train has past it. This has created some interesting sets of start condition, stop conditions, starting actions, stopping actions...and even some inflight actions - things to check/change as intermediate points are reached or passed.

All this gobbly-gook means that I will be easily be able to create a script to run a train along a pre-defined path...and when it runs, it interleaves with all or any other scripts controlling other trains. I hope to be able to have four running at once...running in different directions, changing direction.....but all working around each other. If it all works, I'll need to watch out for deadly embraces...….where train A cannot run because of train B.....train B cannot run because of train C....and train C can't move because train A is in the way!!!

Lots of paper....lots of scribbling.....and there's going to be lots of script writing. That's my type of fun!

[dkightley]

Progress is good.....and hopefully I can now explain things a little better.....

First a screenshot:

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There are three windows...

1) Track layout....with block occupancy shown by both the lines being red (as opposed to blue) and the big oval buttons in red. The yellow lights will show as either grey or red....these are sensors - red if triggered, grey if not. The layout also shows four "Throttles"...throttle one is running and shows the direction & speed.
2) Throttle Manager..(bottom left) this window is generated by a script that polls through four sets of memory variables that can be written to by this and any other scripts that are running. When a change in one of the variables is detected, the appropriate action is taken. The text box shows a log of what has recently happened....only three actions in this case.
3) Script to run a scenario..(top left)..this script simply shuffles a train on Road 1 of the traversor back and forth between the sensors at each end. The text box shows information for the user. In this case, instructions on starting and the first step in running from the left side to the right side.

For every scenario I want to put together, I now need to create a new script based on item 3) and within the script, define the sequence of macro moves...a to B, B to C, etc. There are also the other 36 of the 38 point to point sections to write, but these follow a pre-written format, so should not be difficult to put together.

What I've shown above is working in "simulation mode"...ie with my test track...a simple small loop...connected to the controller, and with me manually changing the items on the track layout using a mouse by clicking the sensors & buttons. I need to get the track finished on the layout...and get the box to box wiring loom finished...before I can test anything in anger. But...and its an important but.....this appears to be more stable than what I created for The Bridge!

[dkightley]

Got a bit bored working through scripts....so I thought I'd do a photoshoot!

Here's a reskinned HST running through the Royal Albert bridge:

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Note that the painters have not yet managed to get the topcoat on all the girderwork….

[dkightley]

Well, 2020 is here, and I've finally succumbed to market forces....and set the launch date for the layout by accepting an invitation to a show! But it what I see as my "home show"...the Models Weekend at Crich Tramway Village on the 15th and 16th August 2020.

So...I now have eight months to finish the layout to get it to a showable state! Which I'm very confident I can do. I only have half a dozen buildings left to design and print, I'm well into the early stages of designing the road sections, track laying is basically complete, the electronic control system just needs a final bit of wiring to complete, the control software is ready for testing...and I'm fairly close to being able to test out the Tamar Bridge automation!

I do, however have a lot of work yet to do. I need over 200 vehicles..to print & paint. There's the finishing of the above list of areas, and a whole load of basics, like lighting, backdrop, designing packaging & transport arrangements, etc, etc.

Hopefully over the next month or so, I may have some progress to show in photos. The last month or so has been totally un-photogenic!! 2020 might be interesting after all!

[dkightley]

And another milestone in the project achieved...….I've just printed the last of the 180 buildings for the layout.

Adding in the 114 parts for the Royal Albert bridge and 153 other printed items that just leaves completion of printing parts for the Tamar bridge....which stands at 197 out of a current figure of 205, which I know will rise as I don't know how many chain links I will need!

So.….a total of 644 parts printed. I'm getting to the real creative part of the build.....painting and installing the buildings and roads!

[toodlepip]

Invitation in your inbox from Newbury Doug for October.

[dkightley]

Yikes...….things are getting serious!

Last week I emailed exhibition organisers, etc about the availability of the layout from September this year...….and within 12 hours I had a bunch of tentative and definite invitations to shows.

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We've well and truly broken into the big boy's world, guys!!! T is being taken seriously...at least by exhibition managers!

So.…..no pressure! Absolutely no pressure!