Battery and Bridges

I am slowly getting better. I can now sit at my computer without discomfort. I have been walking 2 or more miles each day and doing physical therapy every other day. I'm still not fully healed, so I cannot do heavy layout work yet, but things are getting better.  

Last weekend Mike Spoor visited the Aquia Line. He was up in the area to visit Fort Meyer to get his new rank sewn on his uniforms as he was promoted to Sergeant First Class.  Congratulations!  Mike has a bedroom sized switching layout with dead rails, so he needs a battery powered engine to operate. 

A few months ago we started the process of converting one of his diesels to battery power. However, we needed to order some additional components. So I ordered them and they arrived. Then COVID hit followed by the floods. So Mike's project was set on the shelf. Thanks goodness, as the parts did not get damaged by the water.

With Mike in town, we took the opportunity to finish the job. The plan was to put the  Airwire decoder and LiPo battery in a box car. That car would connect to an engine. Mike had several older locos and we found one that worked and had directional lighting. So, there was no need for extra wiring for lighting effects. We used a plug to allow Mike to disconnect the box car from the engine if desired. 

The battery is also on a plug so it can be charged separately. The biggest problem was getting the plugs between the engine and loco to not be so obvious. I used thinner gauge wire on the plug from the loco than I used on the box car. Unfortunately, those wires broke after a few op sessions. So we need to redo the engine side plug with more durable wires.

 This weekend the ACWRRHS held our annual meet. The original plan was to come to the Washington DC area, visit the museums and operate my layout. But COVID happened. So we had  the meet via Zoom.  Thom Radice set up a nice program. We had participants from all over the US, UK and Australia. I did a talk on how I built the Potomac Creek Bridge. Don Ball, Rhett Tyler and Charlie Taylor also gave talks on their bridge construction.Eric Gates from Great Britain discussed his fine scale 5-ft gauge HO layout with an equalized locomotive.  Joel discussed how he makes structures for his N scale layout. It was a fun meet, but not as good as getting together in person.