Grrrrrrrr

I'm always on the lookout for new loads for cars to deliver to my team track. For instance, a couple of days ago I made a gravel load for a hopper car out of ballast and a styrene base and it turned out pretty good. I thought I might like a load of cars (as in automobiles), but the auto carriers are just too new for my era.

I did some research and found out before the era of auto racks some railroads, notably the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, delivered cars on truck trailers by way of TOFC loads. They did so by using 85 foot flat cars, which is way too big for my railroad, but one truck trailer will fit on a 40 foot flat car, so that's what I am going to do.

But to unload this flat car requires a ramp that the car can be pushed up against so that a tractor can hook up to the trailer and pull it off the flatcar. I didn't have a ramp...but I had a pile of stripwood.

Two hours later I had a frame for a ramp. All I needed was decking. I had some wooden coffee stirrers somewhere, so I went to try to locate them. When I came back, I found the dog had eaten my newly constructed ramp.

To say I was discombobulated is putting it mildly.

I never did find the coffee stirrers, but when the wife got home I handed the dog watching duties over to her and built another ramp. The decking is sheet basswood that I have scribed decking lines into. It is safely installed on my layout now, far away from chomping doggie jaws, and I think it will look pretty good after some weathering.

Shapeways has truck trailer auto carriers. They also have autos to put on them. Additionally, they have tractors to put on flatcars, and since I now have a ramp to unload them...

 

My team track has never been busier.

Back to the NCE

 I got an email last week saying my NCE PowerCab was in the mail.

This was welcome news, but rather unexpected since I had not received any word at all about it since I sent it in. I checked on the tracking number and the post office said it would be here Saturday. So today I went out to the mailbox and there it was!

I opened the box and the job sheet was the first thing I saw. Reading the job sheet showed that they had indeed found a faulty component that would keep the Cab Bus from operating, and on top of that they replaced a faulty potentiometer for the speed knob and threw in a new book for the 1.65 firmware upgrade.

I plugged the PowerCab into the left socket on the WFD31, turned the power on, and when the PowerCab booted up the light went from red to purple! Success! I connected my cell phone to the WFD31 network and for the first time the PVRR was wireless!

I plugged the Cab06 in and checked it out, and it works as well. So now I have both wireless operation and a throttle for my future yard. For now I have one locomotive programmed into the PowerCab and one programmed into the Cab06 so I can run them both at the same time without having to punch the Recall button.

I was a little put out that I had not gotten any updates while they had my system, I was at least expecting a "We found this wrong and it will cost you this much to fix it" but I can't argue with the results. The Cab Bus is up, the thumbwheel operation is flawless, and it only cost me shipping to Webster NY.

Fun little detail, I had sent it to New York in the original box all wrapped up with brown paper, and to send it back to me they unfolded the box and turned it inside out. I unfolded it and turned it back right side out and I'm using it to store my new manual and the extra cords.

One day soon I'll break out the Dynasis system and do a side by side by side comparison with it, the PowerCab and the Digitrax systems. Until then I have some trains to run.