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Hello Wayne,
A roundhouse and turntable is eye candy for spectators. I had built the
structures 2 years before I was able, with help from a programming friend,
tto automate it.
I'll answer your questions in reverse order, easier first!
#6 Modular, I find my roundhouse is too unstable to make it in sections.
It has 3 bays, and the front roof to the middle bay lifts up on hinges for
access. As it is, it usually needs some fixing up after travelling to a show.
#5 Back wall, I stole my technique from someone else on lugnet, the back
wall is made of 1x2 bricks, bent into a part of a circle, it looks sharp.
There are a few open areas for arched windows. As a matter of fact the pit
for my turntable is made of 76 1x2 bricks, bent, and joined together in a
circle. It is either 4 or 5 bricks high, I don't recall off the top of my head.
#4 Layout, our group, NALUG, doesn't have the luxury of all the bricks
other clubs have ie we setup directly on the table, without any lego
"underground". So I cut a hole eccentrically in one of our PNLTC standard
tables, and it is the designated roundhouse/turntable table.
#3 Geometry, I found a semicircular building with 3 internal bays, and any
number of external open lines was about as big as I wanted. With more than
3 bays, the clearances get more difficult, if you want the bay openings to
look similar. Not a problem if you make your building rectangular as some
have done.
#2 Lining up the tracks, John Kobe, my programmer figured this one out. We
have a light sensor under the turntable. A light under each active bay, as
well as under the entering track and 180 degrees from this entrance or home
track. He programmed an RCX routine that looks for the brightest point of
light, so it corrects itself. This works regardless of the level of ambient
light. In order to allow the tracks to get closer together I did have to
cut (or some would say mutilate) the little extra 1/2 tongue of
plastic/metal on both edges of the track on the turntable, and all the
tracks butting onto it.
#1 It took us 2 RCXs to help run the roundhouse, we still have manual
control. The computers, power down the turntable, then go to the bay we
selected, stop there, power up the turntable and the now adjacent track, and
when necessary reverse polarity on the turntable itself. Also indicator
lights show up when a particular bay track is 'live'. We then use the
traditional controller for running the trains in that section of our layout.
Email me privately if you want more details.
Hope this helps
Michel Magnan
> attempt to make a Roundhouse
> I'd love to hear what some other people think or can contribute to ideas
> on making one. Here's some of my napkin written ideas.
>
> #1 Turntable itself - RCX controlled per bay. Since Track CANNOT be interlocked
> extra power cables must be used.(The two other houses I see use this system)
>
> #2 Lining up the tracks. I'd love to use magnets underneath the tracks similar
> to how the cars hold each other together. They can create a temp locked
> position for issues such as under or over shot RCX controls due to gear slack.
>
> #3 Geometry- this one is my only real restriction since its the most important
> factor in the design. 1/4 or 1/2 round house with at least 6-8 bays
>
> #4 Layout- For reasons of placement I figure this will have to be a raised area
> since I do not have the luxury of sinking the gears and linkages underneath a
> table.
>
> #5 Hinged Bricks are your friend in this design in front but, other methods are
> needed in the back such that of the watertowers I see using 1x3's and 1x1 round
> bricks to form a curved walls.
>
> #6 Module building. I would love to try and make this modular say in sections
> of 48 stud x 48 stud building grey plates. Is it worth the time to over design
> it to make in more portable or just build it without baseplate restriction. Off
> the top of my head, it obviously will be harder to use the 48studx48stud
> baseplates say verse individual 16x32 stud building plates.
>
> Most of this is still in brainstorming stage however, any input would be
> fantasic.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Wayne
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 | | Advanced Design Train Roundhouse
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| I've been putting a great deal of time thinging about an idea I had a while ago when I first made an attempt to make a Roundhouse Yard for my trains. After some issues I gave it up. I recently thought about it again with some better ideas on how to (...) (22 years ago, 13-May-02, to lugnet.org.us.lucny, lugnet.trains)
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