landscape with as much realism as possible. Big power trans- formers produce heat: the big- ger the transformer, the greater the heat load that must be dissi- pated. An array of radiators and thermostatically controlled fans hang on the outside to provide this cooling. Insulating oil, which surrounds the transformer coils, conducts this heat to the radia- tors. I found the perfect solution for the cooling fans in the Wal- ther’s catalog at my local train store: Cannon & Company Thin Wall EMD 48-inch Radiator Fans with etched grilles and blades.
High Voltage Construction The transformer is essentially
a box made with Evergreen sty- rene sheet, strip, and shapes. Additional
components/mate-
dant systems providing uninter- rupted power in case of loss of one source. I chose a simple, one-bus system consisting of input, trans- former, and output. Some pre- liminary Internet research quick- ly showed the main transformer would be the centerpiece of this substation. They come in many shapes and sizes directly related to the level of input voltage. Ul- tra-high voltage transformers are huge and weigh upwards of 400 tons. For the main transformer body — known in the industry as the transformer tank — I intend- ed to detail the transformer load found on my MTH heavy duty, four-truck flatcar. Upon examina- tion, the amount of work to strip off all its ambiguous, molded-on details, coupled with the poten- tial devaluation of a purchased model, dissuaded me from do- ing this and led me to plan B: scratch-building the entire trans- former. Two components gave me pause: the large and prominent insulators — for this and the en- tire substation — and the cool- ing fans attached to the external
large radiators. The site location dictated the overall substation footprint — 24x10-inches. I am a hi-railer… one of those
folks who — other than three- rail track and its associated out-of-scale issues (flanges and couplers) — strive to build and
Corona Rings
rials are Plastruct I-beams for the foundation, the previously described cooling fans and in- sulators, Special Shapes brass rods of various sizes, and many unique pieces machined on the lathe. The transformer tank’s di- mensions were taken directly from the MTH model. The box is 0.040-inch styrene sheet rein-
High Voltage Insulator
Medium Voltage Insulators
Parts Many good drawings of transformers and their associated components are available on the Internet. This one is from the ABB website.
Drawings ABB had dozens of downloadable drawings of each component it manufactures. These are scale and dimensioned, making model building much easier.
Conservator Transformer Oil Filled
Internal Windings
Monitoring Conduit Control and Radiator Fins Radiator Fan NOVEMBER 2015 61
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