Welcome to the Southern Pacific Burbank Branch in HO Scale. This layout is small and portable because I currently rent but it's also designed to be expanded at each end. The prototype operated in the San Fernando Valley until the mid 90s, running along Chandler Blvd to the north end. Growing up, I remember watching the trains roll slowly by and waving to the crews.
If there are any questions please don't hesitate to ask and much more can be found on my youtube and Flickr pages.
Please enjoy the latest videos of the Burbank Branch!
Joseph - Apartment Model Railroader
Follow the Apartment Model RailRoader on Youtube!
See more photos on Flickr!
Here's what I've been working on lately:
Please visit the links below for much more! Thanks!
Track plan and Layout:
Please visit the links below for tons more photos and videos! Thanks!
Thanks Edsland!
Latest Video - Proto 2k Build, Please Enjoy!
Thanks for Watching!
ApartmentModelRailroader Latest Video - Proto 2k Build,
Latest Video - Proto 2k Build,
12 ounces? That's a lot of weight.
You photography and production skill are excellent.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Thanks Henry, yup 12 ounces total weight. I feel it adds greatly to the realism factor. Thanks for watching!
Wow, those cars look great, especially the box car with the INTERIOR weathered.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
ApartmentModelRailroader Latest Video - Proto 2k Build, Please Enjoy! Thanks for Watching!
Brian
My Layout Plan
Interesting new Plan Consideration
rrinker Wow, those cars look great, especially the box car with the INTERIOR weathered. Randy, thanks! Thanks for watching --Randy
Randy, thanks! Thanks for watching
Thanks for watching railandsail! Funny thing about those kits...not hard to build, assembly takes all of 5 minutes, but cutting the parts out and trimming the flash...an hour
Acually heavy cars on small layouts makes sense to me if you are only pulling say 6 cars with Geep as the SIW does for example thevweight helps them track well I would think.
Joe Staten Island West
Joe323, absolutely agree, although I did put great effort into the trackwork. I wanted the layout as smoothly running as possible. So far, no problems at all to report, literally never had a derail. With a layout this small, no excuses for any lack of attention of detail.
And when I do get a chance to expand this layout at all 3 track ends so I can run 15-20 car trains, I plan on doing what any railroad would do...tack on another geep.
Thanks for the comment!
See more here
Thanks for reading!
Joseph
Thank you too. Being an apartment modeler myself I know some of the pitfalls. So as I plan The third Staten Island West (Sooner or later the current SIW will need to be torn down to move it downstairs) I incorporate what I have learned over time.
Trackwork has not really been a problem for me most derailments are caused by operator error. That is failure to align switche.
Trackwork has not really been a problem for me most derailments are caused by operator error. That is failure to align switches.
If anyone is interested, here is an article I did for an online publication out this month:http://mrhpub.com/2017-09-sep/online/?page=228Thanks!
Hi Joseph,
Really liked the views and you have caught the essence of Port/Industrial areas to a tee! Quite a few lessons for all of us.
I was interested in the weight of your vehicles... do you find that the cars can roll slowly in a more prototypical way because of the extra weight?
Cheers from Australia
Trevor
Trevor, thank you for your patience, had a busy weekend here.
I find the biggest advantage to heavy cars is in coupling and starting the train. You'll notice in some of my videos that when cars are coupled, they tend to just stop immediately, especially if you're running at a prototypical coupling speed (US is 4mph I believe). DCC systems allow you to program this speed as Speed Step 1, but since I run my small layout DC, I've notched the controller with colored tape.
When starting a train you'll immediately notice that you must throttle up a bit higher to get going, especially when the slack starts to run out. Again, since I use DC, I'll have to feather the throttle a bit higher as the slack runs out so the train doesn't stall. Once rolling, you can then level off the speed to what ever speed you run, which on the prototype I model is a Maximum 15 mph. There is also some added momentum from this weight too, so I imagine longer, heavier trains, will need to be more "actively controlled", especially when dealing with unprotected grade crossing or other prototype aspects.
Now contrast this with cars that when coupled can roll away instead of connecting, and trains that start and stop on a dime. Even with DCC programming these types of unprototypical things exist, because only the locos display the effects. Adding weight to the cars can greatly enhance the "freight" aspect, and when operating a small layout.
In the US, the least expensive way to do this is with pennies, 11 US pennies is roughly 1 US Ounce, so I add about 75 pennies or so to each car. I also walked down to the local tire shop where I was able to get used wheel weights, free!
Long winded but hopefully helpful!
Here's the latest video - Part 2 Weathering:
Enjoy!!
ApartmentModelRailroader In the US, the least expensive way to do this is with pennies, 11 US pennies is roughly 1 US Ounce, so I add about 75 pennies or so to each car. I also walked down to the local tire shop where I was able to get used wheel weights, free!
They are no longer using lead wheel weights as I understand it? What do they use now?
Lead weights are still available in some capacities, but for the most part they've been replaced with an alternative metal/alloy that is much more envrionmentally friendly.
We used both, depending on the type of rim. In addition to the different metals theyre were different types of weights. Hammer on/clip on, flat sticker style, and repair weights for rims that were way outta whack....
This space reserved for SpaceMouse's future presidential candidacy advertisements
GraniteRailroader nailed it, the weights are lead or other metal.
If you walk through the tire center parking lot around 6pm you can find hundreds of little 1/4 and 1/2 ounce weights. Or you could ask someone working there for the used weights.
Thanks!
Here's the latest, in living color! Enjoy!
As always, thanks, and please click the links below for more!
Love the detail in that first photo... waves in the pavement, sealcracked lines, uneven decking through the crossing.
You're attention to minute details is superb.
Thanks Granite, but I can't take all the credit. Things kinda just turned out that way!
Excellent modeling. I really enjoy what you are doing.
Thanks Nevin!