Staging Yard Points

As you recall, the staging yard is on a wide window sill, and that means there is no room for Bullfrog or other switch machines below the roadbed. Because the room provides a number of functions in our house, we want to be able to make the staging yard look like a clean window sill, […]

Design for turnout control

I decided to take a break from the trackwork this evening. The Bullfrog is going to be a two-person job, and so, I’m going to ask Andrew to help me on Wednesday. The guard rails can go on either on Monday or Tuesday evening. In the meantime, I have some visitors coming to use the […]

More Switch Stand Refinements

Andrew and I got together the other day and finished up the switch stands for the north section. This resulted in yet more refinements to the design, as well as some creative problem-solving. The first refinement was Andrew’s suggestion to not tap the hole in the throw rod extension, but rather to use two nuts, […]

A Problem with the Switch Rod System

Andrew came over on Wednesday to help install the Bullfrogs on the North Section. This is something that goes best with two people: one to move the turnout control around, and the other to say what is happening above. So, I was grateful for his help. We got four of five done, but on the […]

Refined Bullfrogs

It might not have been apparent, but that first Bullfrog posting showed pictures of a proof of concept installation. Now that I am installing them on the actual layout, here is an update on some of the refinements I’ve made.

Remote Turnouts Solved

Okay, I think I’ve got this problem with throwing both the switch and the switch stand for the turnouts on the window sill licked! The trick was to think about the parts that have to move the same distance and to design something that would hold them rigidly together. Then I remembered Pembroke’s Victorian or […]

Failed Bullfrog Mutation

This week I managed to get the two Bullfrogs for the remote switches installed. After an evening’s head-scratching, I actually managed to get the switches themselves to move relatively sweetly. The secret was to add sufficient screws to the near end of the sliders to keep them from lifting or twisting at all. So far […]

Raking Through the Lego

One of life’s bittersweet experiences is watching your child grow up. On the one hand, it’s wonderful to see them grow into increasingly independent and self-sustaining people. On the other, they no longer want to be with you as much, being increasingly independent and self-sustaining. So, when the boy invited me to play Lego with […]

Those Remote Turnouts

As you might recall, the first two turnouts on entering Pembroke are actually on the windowsill. I think when I made this design decision, I figured I would use ground throws for these two turnouts. However, since then, I changed my mind and decided they should be remote from the front of the fascia like […]

Bullfrog Mutations

I decided to use Fast Tracks Bullfrog Manual Turnout Controls for controlling the turnouts on Pembroke. I tested these out at a show a couple of years ago, and liked the positive clunk compared to some other systems. I also liked the price (you’re getting to know me by now), and finally I like the […]