Thomas the Train Shipwreck Rails Troubleshooting Guide

My son got this really cool Thomas the Train TrackMaster Shipwreck Rails Set. The blue, battery powered Thomas the Tank engine train climbs a lightly supported track over three feet in the air before falling into a catch-wagon that spirals down a forty-five degree drop where it releases Thomas to continue safely on his way. Really, a genius little toy. It was really fun to watch and worked great at first, that is until he accidentally knocked it over a few times. Then the catch-wagon mechanism stopped working. Being the good dad and engineer that I am, I decided to crack open the toy to see what it looked inside. If I could figure out how the Shipwreck Rails set worked, I could try to fix it myself.

After removing the plastic mast from the base and unscrewing the thirteen screws, the mast popped open into two pieces. Unfortunately, the components inside all shifted so I wasn’t able to see exactly how it was put together before. I would have to figure it out myself with a little trial and error.




The main problem with why the Shipwreck Rails Set wasn’t working propoerly is as I thought - the rope that connects the catch-wagon to the spring had jumped the pulley at the top of the mast. All I had to do was put the string back through the pulley and then figure out exactly how the string looped over the top and bottom pulleys. Easier said than done.

I can’t find any instructions or manuals on the internet of how to fix the mast and strings so I created my own video to help other dads out. Check it out below:



I hope this guide has taught you potentially how to fix your Trackmaster shipwreck rails set. Buy your own set here. I can’t wait to see what future Thomas Trackmaster sets they come out with next.

2013 College Football Bowl Prediction Pool Manager Excel

I've created a 2013 College Football Bowl Prediction Pool Manager Excel file that is now available to download for free. There are two files: the college bowl pool manager and the player entry form. The spreadsheet contains the complete 2013 NCAA CFB bowl schedule including the time and TV station for every single bowl game. I also added the football helmets for every team so those players who don’t really follow college football can pick a winner based on which helmet design they like better!

Check out the Football Bowl Prediction Pool Manager here.

My First Android Applications

I’ve recently completed and published my first Android applications! I’ve now made my own videos, blogs, websites, published books, and now created an app (what haven’t I done?). In reality though, these apps aren’t very complicated and it will be very interesting to see how well they are received and used. I wrote a short post on my CAD blog about Android Application Programming Basics.

My first app, which I programmed myself (and with lots of assistance from my brother), is essentially an index of roller coaster information including all of the interviews I’ve conducted over the years. Check it out for free here.

For fans of my Apartment Search Spreadsheet, my other new app is called Apartment Comparison. This app transforms my highly downloaded apartment search spreadsheet into an easy to use mobile app. I outsourced the main coding to a programmer in Singapore through oDesk.com and I got a logo and icons made from a designer using fiverr.com. I made some final tweaks to the code myself. Download Apartment Comparison from the Google Play store today.

I hope these apps are helpful and I would like to make back the $25 developer fee with the banner ads. As always, I welcome any and all feedback.

Albert Miller Model Train Display

I put together a short slideshow of the Miller Train Display, an amazing and detailed model train and city that my late grandfather built in his basement. Many of the structures and buildings were custom built by Albert and he named them after his children or grandchildren, like the Keegan Railroad company and the Weisenberger Mall.

I believe up to four Lionel trains could race around the track on different routes at one time. The longest route makes a giant loop around the entire perimeter of the table. Another route  just inside of the outer one goes up and down a hill. The mountain contains two tunnels on two different levels. A working waterfall feature was planned for the mountain but never built. The third route circles around the residential area while the other route stays in the industrial section of the display where the train cars could be loaded with logs, ice, cows, coal, grain, and milk. The layout included 29 track switches!

The train display had a little bit of everything. One cool feature hard to see in the pictures was the monorail/skyride (not sure what you call it) that rode along a wire above the train table. As you can see in the pictures the city included an airport (complete with runway lights), campground, mall, and more.

Using a CAD system and a free railroad layout creator software I found on the internet I was able to made a recreation of the train set. Pictured is the overhead view of the train’s layout I assembled based on the pictures and my memory.


Sadly, the train display no longer exists and all the train engines, cars, buildings, track, etc. were all sold and the table disassembled. I regret that this happened before I owned a video camera so these pictures are all we have left of this amazing display. Thanks for the memories grandpa.

How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Microsoft Excel

My latest "How To" video captures how you insert the degree sign or other symbols into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

My First Video Tutorial

I created my first step-by-step video tutorial today. I basically used workshop 1 from my new CATIA macro book which I am promoting on my brand new website, www.scripting4v5.com! Check out my video embedded below and let me know what you think - did I do a good job and what can I improve on?

Omega Tau Podcast Interview

I was recently interviewed on the Omega Tau podcast (science and engineering in your headphones) talking about what (what else) roller coasters! Thankfully, it was per-recorded and edited and not a live show! Definitely need more practice at the whole interviewing thing. Take a listen to the show here.

Blog Status Monthly Report: January 2012

My online income blog, My Make Money Mission, is failing horribly so I thought I would post my monthly blog update here for a change, until I figure out what to do with that site (keep it or blow it up). Right now I am currently using five primary methods to monetize my blogs. Here is the list of my five income sources and how much they made for the month of January, 2012:

Adsense: $57.97
Kontera: $44.03
Amazon: $2.72
Inbox Dollars: $1.38
Share Cash: $81.05

Total: $187.15

Not a fortune but it will help pay some bills. Click on the links to start monetizing your blog today.

Share Cash is doing awesome based on all the downloads of my Super Bowl square spreadsheet. In fact, my Excel spreadsheets help blog got almost 27,000 unique visitors last month! (Anyone want to pay for advertising on it?) I've been trying to get better at time management and profit maximization by deleting low traffic / low income blogs and focusing more time and energy on my successful blogs to make them even better.

I'll write a separate post later about my foray into self-publishing. Interesting enough, I think my paperback books sales are surpassing my ebook sales. More on that later.

Published my third book

I published my third book. This one is all about writing macros for the CAD system. It's called VB Scripting for CATIA V5: How to write macros. Available in paperback and Kindle eBook additions.

Here is a brief excerpt from Chapter 2 of the book:

Get Workbench

The Document object also has methods such as the “GetWorkbench” method. The GetWorkbench command takes a string as an argument and returns a Workbench object. To load the structural workbench:

Dim doc1 as Document

Set doc1 = CATIA.ActiveDocument

Dim workbench1 as Workbench

Set workbench1 =doc1.GetWorkbench(“Structural”)

Work with Collections: Count and Item

Collections are special kinds of objects that hold a list of objects of a certain class. The property “Count” and the method “Item()” are frequently used on collections in CATIA. For example:

Sub CATMain()

'Count the number of open documents

Dim docs1 as Documents

Set docs1 = CATIA.Documents

MsgBox “The number of open documents is “ & docs1.Count

'Accessing the first Document object in the collection

Dim doc1 as Document

Set doc1 = docs1.Item(1)

MsgBox “The FullName of the first document is “ & doc1.FullName

End Sub

I'm published - again!

I've recently published my second book and my first fictional story, entitled Nike's Chinese New Year.

Are you looking for information about the Chinese New Year festival? Do you want to know more about Chinese culture and traditions? Well, there is a new book out that might be exactly what you’re looking for! This is a special treat for those with a curiosity in China who enjoy erupting in laughter. Some educational topics about China woven into the story include: traffic in China, communism vs. capitalism, food and cuisine, customs, holiday celebrations, fireworks, prostitution, tigers, and more. Learn about exotic locations such as Suzhou, Harbin, and Beijing. Other themes found in the book are coming of age, how to make a life altering decision, relationships, and much more! 

Here are a few excerpts from Nike's Chinese New Year:

               While most citizens of the United States were exchanging flowers, candy, and cards for Valentine’s Day, the Chinese were busy celebrating their most important traditional holiday. The Spring Festival began on the first day of the first lunar month and was otherwise known as the Chinese New Year...In fact, I’m told the Chinese New Year is the world’s largest human migration as millions of Chinese workers travel home to their families. Eric even claimed that trains are so overcrowded people wear diapers for their multi-hour long journeys home. 

Traffic in China, the way I see it, is a free-for-all. There appear to be no road rules at all, and if you survive the day, you’ll do it all again the next day. The stoplights that they do have must only be for decoration. Taxi drivers drive in the middle of two lanes so they can swing into either one of them as needed. They don’t have roundabouts in China. Roundabouts only function if people follow the rules, hence they don't work here. A roundabout would only add to the chaos. According to my made-up insurance statistics, the most dangerous cars are green and driven by the Chinese.

            Every time I climb into a taxi in China the very first thing I do is fasten my seat belt, pull it as tight as I possibly can, and grab onto anything that feels or looks sturdy. Well, to my wonderful surprise, this particular cab didn’t have a working seat belt. I about had a mild heart attack. I was left with clutching onto the seat in front of me until my knuckles turned white, not daring to open my eyes until we were safely discarded at our destination. 

 

         I managed to swallow the first bite with difficulty.  As I felt it burning its way down my throat, my heart began to do flip flops in my ribcage.  The food hit my stomach like a glob of lava in a lava lamp. Eric watched me worriedly, perhaps concerned I might keel over from the trauma.  When I enthusiastically dug into a second bite, his mouth fell open in amazement.  “I am impressed,” he said.  “That is by far the most dog penis I have ever seen an American succeed in consuming.  Are you well?” 

I'm looking for someone to review my book on Amazon and to give me some feedback. I can possibly send you a free copy if you're interested.


Buy the paperback at the CreateSpace eStore here. 

Buy the ebook Kindle version here.

I'm Published!

I self-published my first paperback book today through CreateSpace as well as an eBook version through Kindle Direct Publishing. Have you ever wondered how to design a roller coaster? Coasters 101: An Engineering Guide to Roller Coaster Design examines the numerous diverse aspects of roller coaster engineering, including some of the mathematical formulas and engineering concepts used. This technical guide is the most detailed roller coaster design book to date and will take you through the entire process, from concept to creation. A must read for every enthusiast and aspiring roller coaster engineer!


Shout out to John Stevenson for designing the nifty cover.

Order the paperback version here.

Purchase the eBook version here.

View a free preview of the book here.

2011 Year in Review

So here's my obligatory blog post looking back at the year that was. A few of the highlights from the past year that come to mind first are:

• ASTM F24 committee meeting in New Orleans
• Winning Cedar Point's K'nex Build Off Competition
• Spending four weeks in Utah for work
• Visiting Dollywood for the first time (and staying in the amazing Dollywood Vacations Cabins)
• Quitting by job as CAD engineer I held for 2+ years and moving to a new city and starting a new job as an automotive supplier engineer
• Staying onsite at Universal Orlando for a few days in July
• Celebrating our one year wed-iversary by doing the Wildside Tour at The Wilds
• Publishing my first book (e-book that is, paperback coming soon).
  

Here's a list of some of the Cyclone Edition's Most Popular Posts from 2011:

• Vintage Lego Airport Shuttle Monorail #6399

• CATIA > PRO-ENGINEER

• More OSU Tweets

• Best "Osama is Dead!" Tweets

• Excel "Contains" Formula

• 2011 College Football Bowl Spreadsheet

• Best LeBron Tweets

Holiday Gift Idea Links

I put together a holiday gift idea post for each of my blogs. Here is a link to each article for your enjoyment.

Holiday Gift Ideas for At Home Crafters
Holiday Gifts for Bloggers and Money Savers
Gift Ideas for CAD and 3D Modelers, Designers, and Engineers
Holiday Gift Ideas for Zoo and Animals Fans
Holiday Gift Ideas for Theme Park Fanatics
Holiday Gift Ideas for Microsoft Excel Users
Holiday Gift Ideas for Drummers and Percussionists

Cheaper than a Honda Snow Blower

A coworker recently shared this with me after a conversation we had about shoveling snow, since it's unfortunately about that time of year. He mentioned that he has a giant snow scoop and how he can clear his driveway about as fast as his neighbors who have snow blowers. Here is a link to it and where he got it. You can ship to a store.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3994134

Where this really shines is moving the heavy icy stuff at the bottom of the driveway where the plow has gone by. Snow blowers usually can't move this very well or at all. It takes about 6-10 full scoops (depending on depth) to clear this from my 2 car wide driveway. Conventional shovels would be like 20-40+ depending on the depth and weight. With this, the weight of the snow is no issue, since you never have to lift the snow to dump it somewhere. You just scoop, slide, and dump. This thing is almost NO strain on your back (depends how you dump it). It is as fast as a snow blower and a lot cheaper.

The Risk of Fuel Efficiency

The Risk of Fuel Efficiency
Improved gas mileage in cars may not necessarily be helping the environment

President Obama recently announced new, stricter fuel economy standards. These new standards will cover cars and light trucks for Model Years 2017-2025, requiring performance equivalent to 54.5 mpg in 2025 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 163 grams per mile. One method which car manufactures are using to improve their fuel efficiency numbers is by reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. This is accomplished by switching to a higher strength, lower weight steel material for components which are manufactured through a stamping process. However, in order to stamp these ultra-high strength steel parts, the manufacturers need to switch from a cold stamping process done at room temperature to a hot stamping process. Hot stamping involves longer cycle times and takes more energy to make parts than cold stamping.

Cars may be more fuel efficient than ever before but the net effect on the environment may be worse overall. We're just transferring the energy usage from one location to another, a place out of view, not seen or heard by the public. Car companies will be able to report great fuel economy numbers and everyone will feel good about helping the environment when in reality we could be doing just as much damage. This is something that will have to be studied very closely. That's not to say the manufacturing plants won't see a breakthrough in technology as well but it is something everyone needs to be aware of.

Please vote for my design

I recently entered CATIA's 2011 design visualization contest, which will evaluate realistic rendering images that use CATIA functionalities. Whether a real-time screen-shot or a calculated rendering, the designer's image will be submitted to a panel of CATIA experts and fans will be able to vote for it via the application. The contest runs from July 21 to September 9, 2011. The two best competitors, selected by the fans and by the CATIA experts, will win an Apple iPad2.



My entry is, of course, the cantilevered coaster- a revolutionary concept pushing the thrill ride to the next level of unpredictability and excitement by utilizing two tracks which follow different courses causing the vehicle to swing in a side to side yaw movement, pitch front to back, and an up and down vertical stroke. Please vote for my design here! Thank you. http://apps.facebook.com/dassault-catia/profile/150.html

I Need Assistance with My Three Books in Development

My wife says I always have too many projects going on at once and she's right. A little while ago I posted about how I wanted to publish a book but I needed an idea. Well, I recently came up with an idea- actually, I now have three ideas and am working on all three simultaneously. I can't decide which one is the front-runner to get published on Amazon Kindle first. Here are the concepts and the issues with each one:

1. A book about roller coaster design is my best defined book but also will require the most amount of research and information.
2. A comedy using inspirations from my own and other experiences about an engineer in China is the most exciting book I am working on but lacks an overall plot to pull the while thing together. I need to figure out what the point is other than a collection of funny occurrences.
3. The third book is the adoption story of our dog Conan. I got this idea after his story was viewed 15,000 times in the first day after winning the Freekibble contest. This story is the shortest and needs the most work to make it exciting but I know there is an audience for this type of book. We also already have a cover design finalized.

I'm going to need some help with these so if you have or know anyone who would be willing to design a cover, read and edit the story, or offer me any other advice about self publishing I would be most grateful. I will also strongly consider finical reimbursement for any help or suggestions.

K'nex Build Contest Teaser Pic

The lift works now after a slight redesign. I added some counterweights to balance the load of the car so it doesn't tip back while going up. Can you guess what is it?

My 3D Model in PRISM Magazine

I received a copy of the November issue of PRISM Magazine the other day. Flip to page three and what do I see? My model of the cantilevered roller coaster sponsored by Dassault Systems! PRISM magazine is ASEE's monthly publication (the American Society for Engineering Educators).

My Model Featured on 3DS Academy Website

Dassault's DS Campus website was recently transformed into the 3DS Academy and guess what model they chose to represent the Project Showroom pages? My cantilevered coaster model is featured in the header of all the project pages. Below is a screen shot I grabbed of the page or you can head to http://academy.3ds.com/projects/showroom/ to check it out for yourself!