This is a dead blog....More of a place holder to preserve my account...

Sn2 SR&RL Dismantled...

In April of 2007, the Sn2 SR&RL was dismantled. It was dismantled for a pending move. At the end of June we closed on a new home. Now it is August and we are stuggling to sell our current home...

Operation: Telephones - the reason, the plan

The prototype SR&RL used telephones (after telegraph) to communicated between the dispatcher in Phillips and the various station operators. (the following is based some on fact and some on conjecture) The dispatcher would use the phones to issue train orders to the station operators who would then give them to the conductors and enginers (C&E) of each train. Supposedly, there was a red light in each station. When the light was on, crews new they had orders to pickup. The station agents would use the phones to OS (On Sheet) when trains passed their station (if at a terminal location, the arrival).

So, the question comes, how to reproduce these interactios on the Sn2 SR&RL?

Roles:
1) Dispatcher (DS) - Will dispatch the whole railroad (from the work shop)
2) Station Operator (SO) - Will serve as station operator for all stations on the line. The SO will transcribe orders and issue them to the crews (crews may have to walk to the SO to pick up orders) (from under the stairs)
3) Conductor and Engineer (C&E) - Will operate trains accuring to rules, time-table and orders. Will also OS in train locations. (from the railroad)

Mike Dodd (HO Virginian) is using two communication systems. The first is a phone system between crews and station operator. The crews OS to the operator and then the operator relays the OS to the dispatcher via a second communication system (intercom made to look like a period phone system). Like the prototype, the dispatcher and crews never talk to each other.

I've never operated on a layout (other than mine and the Eastern Loggers) running TT&TO or using a station operator. I've only operated on more modern layouts using radios, and connectiong train crews to dispatcher. As such, I can not directly state how Mikes system work.

So, what kind of communication system can I buy/build?

Phone System - To my knowledge, noone makes a comercial model railroad phone system (I think there is an opportunity here). There have been articles about making prototypical party line systems. The challenge is that the parts are not readily available, and they require wiring throughout the layout.

FRS (walkie talkie): FRS, Walkie Talkie, etc...Portable communication systems have the advantage that they do not require wires. The problem is, they do not seem to represent phones, and they require batteries. I'd prefer if crews did not carry a phone (walkie talkie), but instead picked up a phone to OS. Additionally, walkie talkies tend to broadcast, which would result in lots of noise in the railroad room. One solution is for all operators to where headsets (another not so prototypical characteristic for my 1912 railroad).

Intercom Systems: Intercom systems are stationary and plug into the wall. Older systems require wires between the units, but new versions do not. Radio Shack has two types of intercoms, those that use FM signals back through the power lines and those that use 900MHz communication through the air. In general, the 900MHz systems seem to be of higher quality. (the FM units cost about $20 a unit and the 900MHz units cost about $35 a unit).

Today (11/10/05), I purchased a 3 unit FM based set from Radio Shack. It is on sale for $49.99 till 11/28/05 (normally $59.99). My target was to spend $10 per phone unit, so the price is still a bit higher than I wanted. These are 3 channel. I'm going to make a test of the system before I buy the required 3 more for full operation. If they do not work, I may have to break down and get 900MHz versions or establish a true phone system. The units have a call button, but it calls all units on the same channel. I do not know if there is a sound difference or not.

The Plan: - Intercom Solution
1) DS to have a unit and be located in the DS Office (model shop)
- Hit call button once to call Station Operator
- Always listening, to hear OS's from crews
2) Station Operator to have a unit located under the stairs
- Hit call button once to call DS if DS does not respond to the line.
- Not required to always listen, as station operators do not have to hear the OS's
- Hit call button twice to call Philips YM (not sure if required).
3) Crew Area/Lounge
- To have a unit for just listening and for crew calls
- Could be tuned to uniqe channel for crew calls, YM or SO may call crews.
- I do not have a true lounge, so broadcasting through speaker may result in too
much noise in the basement. Volume will have to be adjusted.
4) Phillips - A unit at Philips for YM - Crews in Phillips use the unit to OS
- YM uses unit to call crews and inform dispatcher when trains are ready
or nearly ready to go
- Unit will be turned off when not in use.
5) Rangeley, Strong, Farmington each get a unit
- Towns close together could share a unit (strong and farmington)
- Crews will turn unit on, listen for clear, then OS to DS, the turn unit off.
Having to units on/off is a pain, but we do not want unti to broadcast
throughout the room.
- Kingfield & Bigelow are slated for unit too (if the towns are built)

The biggest limitation to useing intercom systems is the lack of headset or phone hand set. This is not a problem for the DS who is isolated in a room and possibly not a problem for the SO. But for crews and YM this is a big problem. They should not be hearing what is going on elswhere on the railroad.

If the units do work, I plan to modify them to look more like period phones. Phones in a box. Specifically for the phones around the railroad, I want a wood box containing the unit and a hand held ear peice (could be the speaker from a head set embedded in a period like fixture). The ear piece would only be active when not on the hook. The user would have to push to talk.

I should probably attempt to determine what the phones looked like in 1912. Possibly hand sets would be correct for some locations on the line. I should also look into replica phone systems.

Welcome to the Sn2 SR&RL

Welcome to the Sn2 SR&RL blog! a blog for my model railroad, a two-foot gauge model railroad build in S-scale (1:64). To learn more about Sn2 go to the Sn2 home page: http://www.narrowtracks.com/Sn2.

This blog is simply being used as a place to record the activities which have an are occuring on my SR&RL. It is a supplement to the web site I maintain for the layout: http://www.narrowtracks.com/mySRRL/ The blog replaces the diary pages that were once part of the home page for the layout. The blog contain tidbits pertaining to construction, operation, events, rolling stock, scenery, etc.. Since a blog does not always result in the best web site, I will be integrating key logs into the layout's home page. Most of these will be integrated by providing links directly to the blog.

If you want to read a time-line of the layouts progress, read the blog. If you'd like to learn about specific aspects of the layout, searching the blog may work or better yet visit the home page, http://www.narrowtracks.com/mySRRL, for the more polished and organised story.

Thanks,

David Keith