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KatPootSpoorWeg (Cat's Paw Railroad) in Z-scale

Started by webmartians, April 11, 2020, 03:13:14 AM

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webmartians

After cleaning up a disaster caused by a falling TV and repairing some furniture (luckily nobody was injured), here is the new design: the KatPootSpoorWeg or "Cat's Paw Railroad. " I'm pretty confident it will do what I want:
  • Fit in a Volume of 1m by 50cm by 17cm (40" by 20" by 7")
    That's the extent I have to play with inside of a coffee table with a glass top. The actual dimensions are 100cm x 54cm x 6cm: a bit wide but still able to fit. At 6cm of height, there's head room/clearance for a 3½cm locomotive with pantographs to run under the glass . . .  maybe even some room for a mountain tunnel at the 6cm level (I have enforced 4cm clearances). There may be foot room for a wooden base, whose construction will keep my brother-in-law happy. The slopes are a bit harsh: less than 3% but, unfortunately, not less than 2%. Z-scale trains are not renowned for their towing capacity. Fortunately, the layout's theme is early twentieth century European and trains are likely to be short.
  • Automated
    The main line is entirely computer controlled (one or more Arduinos; I have experience with them) and may be started when motion is detected: for example, someone sitting nearby. A minimal switching yard (almost a separate layout) is semi-automatic: trains may be assembled through manual control (the computer is a man-in-the-middle element and mediates). This has two advantages: wagons may be kept in an Inventory siding and assembled with a switching loco (manually placing stock on Z-scale track is very frustrating) and since the Assembly siding is limited in length, oversized trains are difficult if not impossible to create. All of this requires quite a menagerie of sensors: a motion detector, current sensors for track blocks, and a couple of optical, occupancy detectors. I use current sensors because they are less likely to be fooled by lights; I use the optical sensors for only those points that must detect any form of occupancy, not just locomotives or powered stock. In some cases, management of blocks is ruled by not just detection but exit as well. Because I am "ham fisted," all blocks have circuit tracks; I have many bad experiences trying to solder wires to tracks and causing damage. I may cover the circuit track connectors with shrubs or other landscape elements.
  • Run Three Trains
    The primary train is one pulled by an electric engine; yes, it's a Krokodil.
    A Schienenrheiningungswagen (8802) railbus lurks in the switching yard and automatically traverses the tracks on a regular basis.
    A steam switcher (DB class 89 from the Märklin starter set) completes the power list.
    I may be able to implement a fourth train to chase the primary but that may require yet another siding.

Without further fuss, attached please find the files: the ANY and two images in GIF form.  I welcome your opinions (even negative ones as they will help uncover deficiencies).

Please note that while the layout specifies some bridges, they are just to make the 3D rendering a bit easier to view. Exactly where the bridges (and tunnels) will go is To-be-Determined. Tunnels in particular are problematic: while they add excitement ("Where did the train go?"), accidents are difficult to remedy unless mountain tops can be removed or trap doors opened.

I do have two questions:

3D Roadbed - The layout is very dependent on the heights of certain track sections: train assembly consists of a switcher pulling cars from the Assembly and Inventory sidings and an uncoupler track detaching wagons, which roll back into a siding.

The roadbed, as constructed, is going to be rather difficult, with connection points being resolved to ±½mm (yes, I plan on a bubble level being part of the landscape and adjustable feet underneath the base). From the ANY file (attached) I have generated a variety of STL files (the forum does not allow these to be attached) using various options. I have not been able to generate a roadbed except by exporting the entire layout's Ground; exporting the Track yields a file which describes the rails and sleepers/ties (I wondered why the file was so big).

Is there any way to produce an STL file of the roadbed as if it were a ramp, suspended in space, without underlying ground or track? I can "print" such a roadbed, even if in sections, and lay it over pillars (cut to proper heights) attached to a base.

Maybe there's a better approach? If so, let me hear your ideas.

Signals - Just for show there are two semaphores, one for each direction. The layout is not truly authentic, so that may be enough. However, if somebody really knows how signals should be deployed, I'd appreciate your comments.

Thank you.
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

webmartians

Am I daft or is there no way to upload a file to a reply? Both Insert and Image and Insert a link require already uploaded (somewhere) URLs.

Anyway, I have tried to produce some .STL and .STP files for the layout but, when I view the .STL files at viewSTL.com, I see rails and sleepers. If there a way to cause AnyRail to produce just a roadbed 3D file?

One hack I'm thinking about is to flip the layout over, 3D generate just the track, and then use the results upside down to get the underside of the sleepers.
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

webmartians

I think I've found a way to manage the slopes: use the Märklin 8978 "Approach Pillars" set. The slope may be a bit steeper than 3%, but my trains are going to be short and Märklin must know what its toys can do. Z Scale Hobo's WWWeb page (https://zscalehobo.com/marklin/8978.html) has an image of the instructions that shows each pillar being placed at the connection point between two pieces of track. Here goes...
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

webmartians

Märklin's 8978 pillar set provides height adjustments from 4mm through 40mm. Anybody know of some "shoes" to add (accurately) another 20mm? Right now I'm considering stacking PVC plastic plates in thicknesses that are integer multiples of 2mm.
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

webmartians

Thanks Chaz and BadBanana for your advice. So ... Woodland Scenics 2%, 3%, and 4% for ten centimeters, eh? Ya know ... this means a complete redesign! Woo hoo! I'm aiming for 2% with a height difference of 6cm. So far, it's been fun...
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

webmartians

#5
I'm back after a lot of drama and turmoil and I have what I think is my "final" KPS (kattenpootspoorweg) design (attached as both .ANY file and as a .GIF image).

Notes:
  • Z-Scale 1m by 50cm by 15cm or (approximately) 40" by 20" by 6"
    These dimensions are dictated by a (now repaired) coffee table with a (new) glass top. Of note is that part of that top has a combination checkers/chess/Monopoly board etched into it.
  • Generally Automated
    Although there are switches/turnouts and sidings, in terms of complexity the layout is little more than a loop. Railroad operations such as assembly of wagons are not performed. Mostly it's just "Sit and watch the show."
  • Loosely Eras I-II
    Because the stock is Swiss, the layout has to follow an alpine theme. It incorporates at least one grotto-like gorge with tri-level tracks. This produces at least five visual levels: base, lower track, middle track, upper track, and landscape peak. I must clarify that I do not seek "authentic" but would not mind "authenticity." In other words, "It doesn't have to be an accurate representation, but it should feel appropriate."
  • Construction
    There is a possibility of a wood (Black Locust) burl, bottom sawed flat, upper "hydro-honed"smooth, the roadbeds machined into the wood, and then the whole thing (maybe boiled) in Tung oil. The result is expected to be extraordinarily hard, maybe shiny, (waterproof?) and possibly with a slight greenish cast. This is my brother-in-law's dream. IF I can find a way to perform the machining (see questions below), I'll be a willing experimenter.

    Then again, we may both give up in frustration (boiling Tung oil?) and I will pursue a Woodland Scenics 3% inclines foam design ... maybe on a simple wooden base ... made of Black Locust boiled in Tung oil.  ;)
  • Power and Control - Analog Block versus Digital Control
    I have a background in electrical engineering and have designed and implemented a variety of motion control projects (including the sensors for one actual full scale rail system). I think the layout is simple enough to be managed by an Arduino computer, at "worst" by a Raspberry-Pi; I hope to power it with a battery pack consisting of merely an array of D-cells; the cells being housed in the innards of a landscaped mountain. Preliminary calculations indicate a run time of at least eleven hours.

Questions:
  • Any Era I and/or II Swiss Signals Experts Out There?
    If any railroad were (crazy enough) to implement this layout, just where would the signals go and what would they be? I'm rather partial to the Märklin 89401 Deutsche Bahn single arm main signal

    because it has both kinematic as well as luminance behaviors. As I said, I seek authenticity over accuracy.
  • Machining
    Has anybody out there taken an AnyRail design, produced an .STP file, and then CNC machined it? I picked the STEP format because it is used often for "subtractive" work, while .STL is common for "additive" efforts. Hacking and slashing away at wood (with precision mind you  ;D ) is definitely not additive. Also, very few shops can "print" (additively assemble) objects as large as 1m by 50cm.

    The issue I see is that just producing a track only .STP file from AnyRail yields ... maybe not all that good a data set: more than one viewer just failed to render. I cannot attach the .STP files because the filetype is not allowed and the files are too large for the forum.

Apologies for the slow progress and thank you for your tolerance and advice.
That IS my picture! All others are imposters ... or stunt doubles.

David

Nice plan! So you will only have a top (helicopter) view when you use this coffee table? Or can you create some holes in it for a side view like a peep box?
David Hoogvorst. Founder and Owner of DRail Software. Creator of AnyRail.