Attached are early pictures of the table-top for my F.D.S.S.M.&T Railway. It is a circle designed to fold in half and be carried like a suitcase. A piano hinge attaches along the side where holes can be seen in the top. I can already hear the "What?" This "layout" is the Frisco Diesel Shop Speed Matching & Testing Railway. It will be used to speed match locomotives by running a script within Decoder Pro. The script runs the locomotive forwards and backwards a few laps to loosen it up and then will run the locomotive to automatically generate a speed table based on the maximum selected scale speed that is provided to the script before running. That speed table data is then used to program the locomotive decoder speed table so the locomotive can be M/U'd to any other locomotive in a consist and run smoothly together. I say this is my second layout; the first I built in TJ's Hobbies Hobby Shop in Cape Girardeau back in 1981-82. It was sold at Christmas time in 1982. The one that I am also in process of building in my basement will be number three. More pictures to follow as work progresses...
Here are some mock-up pictures with the completed and finished woodwork. Sixteen segments of Kato Unitrack, sixteen blocks connect to a Digitrax BDL-168 Block Detector. DCC power source is a Digitrax Zephyr. The system will connect through an RRCirkits Locobuffer USB to a laptop running a speed matching script in Decoder Pro. The system will run a locomotive both directions to loosen it up and then, based upon a user-input maximum scale speed, the system will develop a speed table that can be set in the locomotive's decoder. In this way, every locomotive can be made to run perfectly together in mixed consists. It is designed to fold in half and then be carried like an ungainly suitcase. I have yet to add the carrying handle.
I used Minwax Polycrylic finish inside and out to make a nice, smooth surface so I can use 3M Body Molding tape to mount the components inside.
