As discussed in my recent Santa Transport post, I received a new LGB engine for Christmas. The Christmas point-to-point set up runs on DC power so  I can control it directly with an Arduino. It is nice that the engine plays sounds during DC operations but the real glory is all the capabilities available via DCC. This weekend I finally had the chance to set up a DCC test track for the engine.  Arduino Mega, Motor Driver Shield, wifi Shield,  and power supply for DCC EX Last year I started experimenting with building  DCC EX , a DCC control station running on an Arduino board. Not only is it small and homemade, it would give me a chance to play with some automation without taking the computer into the backyard. I purchased the boards needed for the DCC EX and  built the station up but ran into some challenges and then I got distracted with other activities. Testing the new engine is good motivation to get DCC EX fully working. I found I had not made good no...

 For this year's holiday decorations, I wanted to do something more than a circle under the tree that I have been doing the past years. I started thinking about it in early fall so there was plenty of time to design something new (or plenty of opportunity to procrastinate past the time when anything new could be designed).  My first thought was a simple point-to-point trolley or street car. I've seen plenty in displays or builds in the club so I could envision what I wanted. It also seemed like a pretty simple Arduino project to build. But, I don't have a trolley. And looking on line, even used ones were a bit expensive for a "maybe-I'll-get-to-it" project.  My wife liked the idea and found a box car transport for Santa's reindeer that she gave me for my birthday. We could use an existing engine and pull it along. She has a small LGB engine that would be a great size and it still runs on DC so easier to program using the Arduino. My plan was to put a senso...

 The Coastal Titans Railroad operates deep in the jungle of Baja Fibiger and barely gets by as we explore what resources can be harvested from the local area and trying to build a tourist destination at Fibiger Park. So we generally buy second-, and more often, third- or fourth-, hand equipment. This leads to an eclectic rail yard with cars of all sorts of liveries and paint schemes. Of recent, we have started transitioning to our own livery for a much more uniform experience on the rails. However, our staff is inexperienced and is having to learn and experiment as we go. Here are some of the early results. I'll note that we are yet to get a satisfactory results out of paint barn. One small box car was found at auction quite cheaply and we figured that would be a good starting point to working on painting techniques. We have also recently converted an old refrigerator car into a Maintenance of Way car that helps keep the tracks clean [aside: Need to make a post of that sometime]. T...

The Coastal Titans Railroad tourist line is getting steady business which means folks need a place to gather, board and exit the train, and buy their souvenirs. So an early addition to the line was a station. I decided to build a box that would allow me to store the station away to help protect it from the elements and reduce the cluttered look in the garden when trains aren't running.  I took some leftover 1x12 boards and cut them to size. Inside of the top half This was my first project like this and the corners were not quite square and the boards seemed slightly warped so I needed some wood putty to fill gaps, some planing of the surfaces, and caulking the inside cracks.  Top and bottom ready for painting I primed and then put on two coats of grey paint.  The painted boxes I wanted to use the box to store the station when not displayed to protect it from the weather but have to drag it back and forth from the house every time. The two halves fit together to enclose th...

B aja Fibiger is home to many species of dinosaurs that have managed to survive in this hidden part of the Americas for millions of years. I'm sure you have seen some of them during rides around Fibiger Park, the area that we allow tourists to visit. While the dinosaurs are free to roam, we do monitor their health and try keep them from wandering too far from the park.  Today while doing my rounds I wasn't able to find one of the Euoplocephaluses that has been spending time around the park and was due for some blood work. Nothing serious, just a check to make sure she was doing well coming out of the cool winter months. Euoplocephalus (pronounced you-OH-plo-kef-ah-luss) are one of my favorite herbivores with their rows of spikes on the back for protection. We have yet to see one attacked even though they do draw the attention of the carnivorous creatures when they pass. Also, the spikes, being about six and a half meters long offer a good deterrent. Despite their look, they are...

I bet that caught your attention. Back in the fall, someone in my local train club sold off a bunch of equipment from a guy who was closing down his railroad. Among the items available were a couple of log cars, something I had been thinking about adding to my collection. I usually wait-and-think with the result that everything good is gone before I'm ready.  Not this time! I made a quick offer for one of the log cars. The price was good so when I was offered both for about 50% more, I went for it. When I picked them up, I found out they came with a piece of track with a middle rail to trigger the car to dump to the side. The cars are in fabulous shape and in their original boxes. They are MTH Operating Log Cars . The instructions talk about hooking up the middle rail to a separately-purchased switch box to activate the dumping. That system was more than the cost of the cars and I figured I should be able to figure it out without much trouble. To start working it out, I thought I...

 Greetings friends of Coastal Titans Railroad. I am Bartolome Thorvaldsen, Chief Engineer for the line and I wanted to share with you some of the grand happenings on the railroad this past year. The turning of year is a great time to see how far we have come and dream of where we want to go.   The best part of my year was adding four new cars to our stock. We were able to acquire a pair of log transport cars from a railroad in the States that was closing down and they were received in the fall. They are nice looking and run smoothly. They will be a good addition as we move forward. We also had a second passenger car offered to the line. It just arrived in the shops and hasn't been out on the rails yet but looks good. Our visitors will enjoy the ride in comfort. And speaking of the shop, the team constructed a bulb dumping car for use when we move these ginormous plants for export .  One of the new log cars The Bulb Dumping car built in-house The shop was busy as earl...