 |
oztrainz
Super Moderator
|
Hi all again,
It has not been all plain sailing with BigBat.
During BigBat testing I found I only had one headlight working,
with the other end strangely dead.
Somehow when getting the diecast body off for other modifications,
I'd wiped out one of the LEDs that provides the headlight's light-making.
Recently, team member Prof Klyzlr did a flying driveway drop-off,
of a spare 45-Ton circuit board that he had in his stash of spares.
It took another round of dismemberment to get at the board.
Took a while for me to screw up the courage to attack an otherwise operating board,
with the "sledgehammer" sized soldering iron that I own.
So I made sure I checked which coloured wire,
went to which of the pads marked M+ and M- before I fired up the soldering iron.
Unfortunately I forgot I was working on the circuit board upside down.
Which meant after everything went back together and I put BigBat back on the test track.
I now had headlights at both ends, but the loco ran away from the headlights.
This led to another round of dismemberment and another attack by the soldering iron.
This time I was bit more cunning.
After the second bout of heat to the respective wires, I put the BigBat's bare chassis only,
back on the test track and proved the the lights lit up the same way the loco travelled.
Given that I'm using plain old DC rather than DCC for this loco and the Corrimal layout,
I even retrieved the multimeter from where I'd safely buried it some time ago,
and then verified that was as it should be on the test track,
before attempting re-assembly of the rest of BigBat.
Given that these LEDs are actually under the diecast chassis,
and the original perspex light tubes are clouded by overspray,
and end at least 6mm short of the headlight tube on the front of the battery box,
the amount of light currently being emitted by the end of BigBat's headlight,
on the battery box literally '"can't hold a candle".
Frankly,
I'm not too sure that all this aggro trying to get headlights has been worth the effort.
Maybe I'll just run BigBat in the dark, and tell everyone I'm saving its battery power,
by not lighting up the headlight ??
____________________
Regards,
John Garaty
Unanderra in oz
|
|
|
oztrainz
Super Moderator
|
Hi all
Time for another publication announcement.
Part 2 of the Corrimal saga has appeared in the October 'Narrow Gauge Down Under' magazine.
This time it's all about those most numerous pieces of Corrimal rolling stock, coal skips.
Ken C's article on his South American Ferrocarril Central boxcars,
also appears in this October's NGDU edition.
____________________
Regards,
John Garaty
Unanderra in oz
|
|
|
Ken C
Registered
|
John
Looking forward to part two on the Corrimal incline,
hopefully my issue will show up next week.
____________________
Ken Clark
GWN
Kaslo & Slocan Railway
International Navigation & Trading Co
Kootenay Railway & Navigation Co.
|
|
|
oztrainz
Super Moderator
|
Hi all
A quick report on BigBat progress.
Stumpy now has a quadrant throttle lever to pull on for driving,
and a handbrake wheel to pull on to stop BigBat.
A speedo gauge has also been added.
These controls have been duplicated for the other driving position,
diagonally opposite in the centre cab section
Still trying to work out how and where to fit sanders,
and a suitable 1920 noisemaker (Think boxing ring type bell).
No photos yet,
but BigBat is another couple of steps closer to "done".
____________________
Regards,
John Garaty
Unanderra in oz
|
|
|
oztrainz
Super Moderator
|
Hi all
Driving controls on 1920s underground battery-electric locomotives,
were horribly basic that controlled some pretty basic operating functions:- A quadrant throttle (connects to resistance contacts usually? "always" for coal mines mounted in a flameproof enclosure) How fast ??
- A flameproofed revering switch (with centre OFF position acting as a throttle isolating switch) Which way ??
- A handbrake - usually a wheel type for more leverage where the brake shoes bite the wheels. Slow up NOW!! Bump!!
- An audible warning device - COMING THROUGH!! Ding!! Ding!!
- Sander levers - Pull or push to drop sand "this side" or "that side" of the wheels- Need more GRIP!!
- Headlight - ON/OFF flameproofed switch(es). Usually there's a switch for each headlight and the design might even be sophisticated enough for "low" and "high" beam settings. But I wouldn't bet on it in the 1920s. LET THERE BE LIGHT (or what passes for it) - We're going to need it down here where there's a mountain between us and daylight
These locomotives were designed to be driven by "almost anyone" who went underground.
So rugged simple controls were needed that "almost anyone" could understand and operate.
____________________
Regards,
John Garaty
Unanderra in oz
|
|
|
Ken C
Registered
|
John
Been through what books I have concerning battery locos,
few and far between photos of controls.
Bigbat is an impressive engine,
compared to some I have come across.
Most just look downright ugly ! 
____________________
Ken Clark
GWN
Kaslo & Slocan Railway
International Navigation & Trading Co
Kootenay Railway & Navigation Co.
|
|
|
oztrainz
Super Moderator
|
Hi all,
Time for another publication announcement.
Part 3 of the Corrimal saga has appeared in the April 2022 edition of Narrow Gauge DownUnder.
See https://www.ngdu.com.au/news/april-2022-ngdu-is-out-now/
This time it's about the locomotives that worked the Corrimal Colliery and how we modelled them.
This includes above and below ground on the 2' narrow-gauge system,
and the standard gauge locos that hauled coal away from the screens at the foot of the incline.
____________________
Regards,
John Garaty
Unanderra in oz
|
|
|
|
|
|
(so far)![[whack]](/images/emoticons/Whacko.gif)
Sam Fox AND Kylie ... 
