KVR - Bruce Division Garden Railway

Operation

There is approximately 760 ft. of track and 35 switches in the outdoor area. The track is a mixture of LGB sectional and Aristocraft/USA flex track. All mainline switches are Aristocraft 10’ diameter type, while the siding switches are LGB 1600. Wherever a switch control can be reached from the perimeter of the layout the switch is operated by an Aristocraft manual control. If a switch is beyond arms length then a LGB electric switch motor takes over. These switches are activated from eight LGB control units mounted in weather-proof boxes, located around the perimeter of the layout in locations where the switches they control can be seen. In addition, four main switches are located at either end of the Mt. Logan tunnel, at Juliet junction and at the No. 6. The switches control the direction of the entrance to the KVR building where each is controlled with an LGB semaphore signal unit.

All electric locomotives are battery powered, radio controlled and have sound systems installed. The LGB mogul and sweeper have Aristocraft Revolution sound systems and the rest have Phoenix sound systems installed. I have used four different types of radio control over the last eight years and now use the Aristocraft Revolution system on all units.

Operating Sessions

When I first started to build this layout it was my hope that the end result would become a working layout rather than just a series of loops for trains. In 2014 we started to develop the concept of multiple train operating system. Each train working in a session would have a two-man crew composed of an engineer and a conductor. The conductor is responsible for coupling and uncoupling the rolling stock while both would work together in operating the switches.

To assist each crew they will have a double-sided work board. This board is piece of 8 ½” x 11” coraplast. One side will show the Working Track Plan, the eight LBG control boxes, and all switch locations. Manual switches are indicated with a black lollipop where as the electric switch location is indicated with the red/white circle and a two-digit number. The first number states the control box to be used and the second digit states, which control switch to use.

To avoid possible problems control switches in each of the eight LGB control boxes are wired so the top control switch position is the straight rail switch position and the bottom control switch position is the curved rail switch position. A small piece of green tape was placed on each controlswitch to mark the default position it was to be left in after use.

The second side will provide three sets of information. The left half of the page will state the Work Schedule. The schedule states the Engine to be used and the Caboose if required. It also will give the location of each operation to be completed and whether the crew is to make a Drop or a Pickup. The right side of the page will show the track plan of the rail yards in the greenhouse and provide the Rail Yard Details. The five Right of Way Priorities will also be listed on this half of the page.

With the assistance four members of our garden railway club we have had two test runs with this system. Since I only have four revolution transmitters I am limited in the number of trains we can have operating during a working session. It is hoped that with this system we will be able to have the four trains working at the same time during a session. I would eventually like to try it with five trains with one being a dedicated passenger train running from West Summerland to Coalmont on a schedule. Next year we hope to have regular working sessions, so time will tell how well this system works.

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