Dixie Mountain Railroad
New - Low Cost Auto Indexing Turntable Motor Drive.
My Current Layout Plan
HO Scale - 6.5' x 21'
Main Line 29" Minimum Radius
Inner Line 20" Minimum Radius
Mainline curves spiral in and out 1" per 18 degrees
2% Maximum Grade
Access Front & Right Side - Layout will pull out from back wall
Click here to download XTrkCAD data file
Simplified view of operation of main loops
Light Blue crossovers isolate or connect the loops
With both crossed a train will run the entire layout
With both straight there are three separate loops
Red & Blue crossovers provide reversing loops
Folded Dog bone
Inner Loop
Bowtie
Strange Double Crossovers
Yes, some of the double crossovers look a little different. Since I am building my own I can angle the "turnout" portion to match the crossing in the center and avoid the "S" curve caused by parallel tracks. This lets them operate similar to a double slip while still having the full crossing function without moving any points. Here is a drawing of one with three of the legs angled out.
Gantlet track on trestle
You can't buy a gantlet track turnout so the only choice was to make them. I used the Fast-Tracks point forming tool to make the frogs then soldered the rails to PC board ties.
Track is Micro Engineering Bridge track with six rails on the bridge. The four extra rails are mounted by drilling #75 holes in the plastic ties and using rail spikes.
Just for fun
Have you ever wanted a turnout that went from a curved track to a tangent? I thought it would be fun to try. Here is the 29" radius to straight turnout I built to branch off of my reverse loop. Since it is in the hidden area I may not even add the wood ties. Now why can't we buy these?
Connecting Power to the Double Crossovers
After working with PC board ties and
seeing the quality of the turnout you can make using Fast-Tracks tools
I will be replacing my Walthers Double Crossovers with hand laid Crossovers in the future. Since these have solid frogs they will need to be wired with a reversing circuit (of the green & yellow areas shown below) to avoid shorts.
How to wire the double crossover
(Refer to the drawing below)
Crossovers are wired differently if
the tracks run in the same direction or in opposite directions.
In either case the crossover must be divided into sections with six
common areas.
For both types the orange & cyan
(light blue) are connected to red or blue based on the turnout
direction. I am using a relay connected to the same source as the
Tortoise driver.
I will have current sensors for the sections of track labeled 1 & 2. Using a coil type detector both of the wires to sections labeled one or two can go through the same coil. These will feed a set/reset flip-flop so it is set or reset based on the most recent section that used current. By using this "last current" method there is no need to sense current in the center section of the crossover. The flip-flop will drive a relay to set the phase (polarity) of the green & yellow areas so they match the train direction.
For the reverse track direction the red & cyan are connected together when the crossover is set straight through so red/cyan/yellow/green area will all be connected together for either position of the "train direction" relay.
For the same direction the green and yellow areas are not used so any change has no effect.
I will have current sensors for the sections of track labeled 1 & 2. Using a coil type detector both of the wires to sections labeled one or two can go through the same coil. These will feed a set/reset flip-flop so it is set or reset based on the most recent section that used current. By using this "last current" method there is no need to sense current in the center section of the crossover. The flip-flop will drive a relay to set the phase (polarity) of the green & yellow areas so they match the train direction.
Current detection for the straight through position
For the reverse track direction the red & cyan are connected together when the crossover is set straight through so red/cyan/yellow/green area will all be connected together for either position of the "train direction" relay.
For the same direction the green and yellow areas are not used so any change has no effect.
Controlling a Double Crossover with a Single Tortoise
With four double crossovers I
would need 16 Tortoise switch machines to control the 16 sets of points
with the "normal" method. I made this linkage device to control
four sets of points with one Tortoise. These work very well and
save twelve switch machines.
Copper coated solid "wire feed welding" wire is soldered to a piece of rail for the push-pull rod.
Plastic blocks 1/2" thick are used for the bell cranks. A screw into the block holds the wire straight.
Lift Bridge
This was built using an offset pivot.
With the piviot point below the surface and back from the opening there
is nothing sticking up above thebase of the layout. The
piviot side is held in place by the piviot rod and wood side
pieces. The other end aligns side to side with extensions on the
front and back. A lip aligns it vetically. Since the track
extends past theend ofthe bridge all track alignment is done on a
stable surface rather than above the "cracks".
Inspiration for my trestle - South of Vernonia, Oregon
This one is no longer in use.
Another Trestle in my area. This is on Dick Road in the Helvetia area.
It is used every day by the Portland & Western. (A GWI company)
These hidden loops will be in the storage room
These loops are like an inside-out wheel with the "rim" on the inside.
The view from the railroad location
Click to enlarge
Dixie Mountain's home
Click to enlarge
Project Board Gif Project Board PDF
