Tip: Modifying Marklin 7294 Transfer Table for RR&Co Use Date:

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Dylan Potter
5 years ago
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Hi All, At last I have modified my Marklin 7294 Transfer Table for use within schedules by RR&Co.

physical modification to the bridge to add an s88 contact. Warning: You undertake any modifications at your own risk.

Making the Physical Bridge Modification Using 1/16 (1.6mm) square brass tube I made a length of 392mm from two pieces and soldered them together.

1 Hi All, At last I have modified my Marklin 7294 Transfer Table for use within schedules by RR&Co. Below is a record of how I wired the transfer table to get it working digitally, placement of s88 contacts to monitor the bridge position and also the train position on the bridge which required a physical modification to the bridge to add an s88 contact. Warning: You undertake any modifications at your own risk. Wiring of the Transfer Table First the wiring to control the Transfer Table using two sections of a k84 extracted from the Marklin digital book 0303 Model Railroading digitally controlled. Making the Physical Bridge Modification Using 1/16 (1.6mm) square brass tube I made a length of 392mm from two pieces and soldered them together. At one end I soldered a wire for the s88 contact and drilled a 1.5mm hole in the transfer table pit to allow the wire to fit through. The brass tube fits in the pit next to the raised area (arrow). The tube is 0.1mm higher that the raised area so the new contact wiper would only come in contact with the tube. The modification to the bridge needs to be done with care. First remove the brass spring (arrow) otherwise you risk cutting it at (dotted arrow). Now using a Dremel cutter cut the contact which tires the two outside rails together at the location (arrow). With care prise the welded contact away from the rail, this will be used for the new contact wiper. Now drill a 1.5mm hole centred on the rail at the location (arrow) Use a 2mm bottom/end tap and tap the hole through the plastic into the rail. Drill a 2mm hole through the cut off contact wiper. Use a 2mm screw cut to approx 2.3mm in length and fix the new contact wiper (arrow). Adjust the length of the screw so the contact wiper is firm and still makes contact with the rail. Reassemble the bridge, test the new s88 contact and your modification is complete. 1

This is electrically isolated from the stall centre rail and is only switched on when the bridge reaches the required location.

2 Transfer Table Contact Positions Each Stall has an s88 contact the entire length of the track, the other side is the power rail (Brown). The red s88 contacts monitor the centre rail only at the transition piece shown in dark grey. This is electrically isolated from the stall centre rail and is only switched on when the bridge reaches the required location. The yellow contact (k160) is the entire length of the bridge using one rail and requires a physical modification to the transfer table bridge as described above, the other rail is for power and requires no modification. I have shown the Transfer Table using RR&Co TrainController in the following diagram. Each stall has a block with the s88 rail contact shown at the end of the stall. The red s88 contacts are shown on either side of the Transfer Table. The yellow contact (k160) is shown above the middle of the Transfer Table symbol. I have used On/Off switches, toggle switches and a push button to control the function of the Transfer Table. In normal manual operation the Transfer Table should only be operated by making the selection in the Transfer Table Bridge symbol, do not use the switches as the transfer table symbol won t reflect the correct position of the bridge. For the people who have the Marklin Transfer Table you will know that the rails on opposite sides of the bridge are offset but the RR&Co symbol I have constructed has the rails inline. I have built my symbol to reflect the true operation of the Transfer Table but it is compact as I can make it to save on space. Click on the bridge to play a small video showing the correct movement. 2

Setting up Blocks and Control in RR&Co TrainController Each stall has the following block arrangement. In the General Tab I give the block a meaningful name and set the maximum speed.

stop for Stall 1. The orange brake flag was assigned by selecting the block then the brake symbol with the correct direction and applying a Ramp length of 33cm.

I also set the offset distance to 33cm. This method was applied to each Stall block Defining the Transfer Table The transfer table symbol can be represented by either of the two symbols above.

3 Setting up Blocks and Control in RR&Co TrainController Each stall has the following block arrangement. In the General Tab I give the block a meaningful name and set the maximum speed. In the Block Editor Tab I assigned the required s88 contact to the block by selecting the block then selecting Insert an existing Indicator I chose k129 which will be used as a combined brake and stop for Stall 1. The orange brake flag was assigned by selecting the block then the brake symbol with the correct direction and applying a Ramp length of 33cm. The red stop flag was inserted using the same method as above but by holding the left mouse key down you can slide it to a position that graphically shows an offset. I also set the offset distance to 33cm. This method was applied to each Stall block Defining the Transfer Table The transfer table symbol can be represented by either of the two symbols above. The one on the left is very compact which I used and the right symbol reflects the offset of the opposite tracks of the Marklin Transfer Table. In the General Tab I gave a meaningful name TFT, defined a Transfer Table and set the tracks to 18. Orientation was vertical in my case and the traverse time from position 1 to 9 was 55 seconds. 3

In the Connection Tab I chose the Marklin/Maerklin Transfer table 7294.

others as default. In the Tracks Tab you define the Logical connections (left) to the tracks in the Switchboard symbol (right).

4 In the Connection Tab I chose the Marklin/Maerklin Transfer table The digital system I m using at the moment is the Uhlenbrock Intellibox and the k84 address to switch on/off the transfer table is 63 In the Customize Tab I set House right with a tick and left all others as default. In the Tracks Tab you define the Logical connections (left) to the tracks in the Switchboard symbol (right). You will notice that the Logical connection has 10 active 8 passive tracks and the Switchboard symbol has 10 active tracks. The number of active connections must match on both sides I first worked on the logical symbol by deactivating tracks not required. This was done by left mouse click (LMC) on the track then LMC on the Deactivate button. Next I removed all track stubs on the switchboard symbol not required by LMC on track stub then LMC on the Remove button for each track stub not required. Once the symbols are correct the final task is to Assign the logical connection to the switchboard symbol and this is very easy. Left mouse click (LMC) on the top left track stub in the logical symbol, then LMC the top left track stub in the switchboard symbol and finally LMC the Assign button. By default all tracks will be assigned in a clock wise direction. You can test that by LMC on any of the active track stubs in the logical symbol and you will see the corresponding track stub in the switchboard symbol highlight. This completes the Tracks Tab for the moment. 4

Control Switches Before going to the Operations Tab I need to define some On/Off switches, toggle switches, a push button and Flagman to control the function of the Transfer Table.

5 Control Switches Before going to the Operations Tab I need to define some On/Off switches, toggle switches, a push button and Flagman to control the function of the Transfer Table. Toggle Switches The Off/On and Up/Down buttons are toggle switches which are defined below. The names of the switches also relate to the function of the switch. Because the address is a digital accessory nothing more needs to be defined. 5

Push Button In the Connection Tab above right you will notice the mode has been set to Perform Operations and in the Operations Tab below it includes

6 Push Button In the Connection Tab above right you will notice the mode has been set to Perform Operations and in the Operations Tab below it includes all switches that operate the Transfer Table and they have been set to the non operating state. 6

On/Off Switches This is a typical example of the Up or Down switches for the

An On/Off switch needs to be defined for each Transfer Table Up/Down

In the Operations Tab you will notice a macro has been selected so I guess I

the pull-down menu you will find Macros.

7 On/Off Switches This is a typical example of the Up or Down switches for the Transfer Table position. An On/Off switch needs to be defined for each Transfer Table Up/Down operation. In the Operations Tab you will notice a macro has been selected so I guess I ll need to now show a typical macro and while I m at it flags will also be added. Macro New (Typical) Creating a new Macro is straight forward by doing the following steps. In the RR&Co main window click on the Edit command and down at the bottom of the pull-down menu you will find Macros... click on it (if you can t see it straight away follow the down arrow for more options) A Macro List form will appear at the bottom click on the New button and a new macro with a number will appear highlighted now click on the Properties button and click on the General Tab and give the macro a meaningful name. 7

Macro (Continued) In the Operations Tab I have selected the switches from Accessories and added them to the Operations side by clicking on the Add button.

In the example for Macro TFT UP Stall 4 contact k140 and TFT OFF/ON toggle switch must be off and k133 or k141 or k134 must be on.

8 Macro (Continued) In the Operations Tab I have selected the switches from Accessories and added them to the Operations side by clicking on the Add button. Using the Up and Down buttons to arrange the operations in the correct order. In the Condition Tab I have set conditions that must be met before the Macro will execute. In the example for Macro TFT UP Stall 4 contact k140 and TFT OFF/ON toggle switch must be off and k133 or k141 or k134 must be on. As this is a macro to move the Transfer Table Up to Stall 4 it means it can only travel from a lower stall number that is Stalls 1-3. For each up or down On/Off switch a macro will have to be defined. The only difference will be the name and conditions for each Stall position. Flag Control In the Switchboard menu, click on the Contact pull down menu and click Flagman to insert a flag. Double click on the Flagman to change its properties. Flags are used as a memory for an event and are used to trigger further operations. Green Flagman Settings In the General Tab a meaningful name has been given and colour for the flag set. In the Trigger Tab the Affected State (Flag) will be turned on when k140 contact is on. 8

Orange Flagman Settings In the General Tab a meaningful name has been given and colour for the flag set.

9 Flag Control (continued) In the Condition Tab TFT DN Stall 4 switch or TFT UP Stall 4 switch must be on. When all the criteria for the flag are met the switches in the Operations Tab area will switch off the Transfer Table and the Up/Down switches for Stall 4. Orange Flagman Settings In the General Tab a meaningful name has been given and colour for the flag set. In the Trigger Tab the Affected State (Flag) will be turned on when k140 contact is on. Notice I have called the Green Flag TFT Arrived Stall 4 and the Orange Flag TFT at Stall 4. The Green Flag controls the function of the Transfer Table and the Orange Flag is an indicator which remains on as long as k140 is on. 9

Defining the Transfer Table Using the Operations Tab Now all Switches, Macro s, Contact Indicators and Flagman have been defined we can return to the Operations Tab under the properties of the

You will notice the switch State box to the right of the Macros fills in and you should make the correct selection in this box for the function of the switch Select the top right passive track in the

10 Defining the Transfer Table Using the Operations Tab Now all Switches, Macro s, Contact Indicators and Flagman have been defined we can return to the Operations Tab under the properties of the Transfer table. The Stop:, Move <:, Move >: operations are straight forward. Select the pull down arrow at the right of the box and select the correct switch to do the operation. You will notice the switch State box to the right of the Macros fills in and you should make the correct selection in this box for the function of the switch Select the top right passive track in the logic symbol and the Go 1 <: and the Go 1 >: selections are shown. Select the pull down arrow at the right of the Go 1 <: box and select the switch TFT UP Stall 9. Make sure the State of the switch is on. For the rest of the operations ONLY select the active and passive track stubs on the right hand side of the logical symbol. You will notice the next active track stub below the first is for the Go 2 <: and the Go 2 >: selections and so on until you get to the last stub for the Go 9 <: and the Go 9 >: selections This completes the Operations Tab. 10

The Transfer Table Bridge Block Can be defined using the following methods 1.

appear. Select the General Tab and give a meaningful name TFT Bridge and set the Max. Speed.

Insert an existing Indicator I chose k160 which will be used as a combined brake and stop in both directions.

11 The Transfer Table Bridge Block Can be defined using the following methods 1. In edit mode double click the Transfer table symbol in the Switchboard and go to the Tracks Tab and click on the Block Properties button. 2. Right hand mouse click over the Transfer Table and select Block Block Properties The Block properties form will appear. Select the General Tab and give a meaningful name TFT Bridge and set the Max. Speed. In the Block Editor Tab I assigned the required s88 contact to the block by selecting the block then selecting Insert an existing Indicator I chose k160 which will be used as a combined brake and stop in both directions. An orange brake flag was assigned by selecting the block then the brake symbol with the correct direction and applying a Ramp length of 25cm. This was repeated for the other direction The red stop flag was inserted using the same method as above but by holding the left mouse key down you can slide it to a position that graphically shows an offset. I also set the offset distance to 27cm and did it for both directions. 11

12 Testing Procedure 1. Using the end of a steel ruler I tested each stall block and the Transfer Table Bridge block to make sure all contacts worked and in the correct position in the Switchboard. 2. I next used the Transfer Table in manual mode by switching on k84 device 63 and let the TFT Bridge traverse from Stall 1 to Stall 9 making sure all s88 contacts worked and in the correct position in the switchboard. 3. Using each of the pushbuttons in the Switchboard I made sure they all worked and my conditions had no errors by this I mean the TFT for example is at Stall 4, none of the Down pushbuttons above stall 4 should work but the Down pushbuttons below Stall 4 would work. This was also tested on all the Up pushbuttons and for all the possible combinations as well. 4. The final test was to control the TFT by selecting the TFT track in the Switchboard symbol. In normal manual operation the Transfer Table should only be operated by making the selection in the Transfer Table Bridge symbol, do not use the switches as the transfer table symbol won t reflect the correct position of the bridge. Bonus Time If you have managed to stay with me to the end I have provided the following file to help fill in the gaps that I may not have explained very well. Copy TFT_Control.yrr to your local disc under C:\login_name Documents\Railroad &Co\TrainController I hope you find it useful. As always enjoy your model railway. 12

Please note this is an advanced topic. A Look Under the Hood at the Roco Crane Functions. See Macro Appendix M see Engine Profile

Please note this is an advanced topic. A Look Under the Hood at the Roco Crane Functions. See Macro Appendix M see Engine Profile A Look Under the Hood at the Roco Crane Functions See Macro Appendix M see Engine Profile To find out what each Roco Crane function does, click on any item above that is enclosed in a red box and you will