Hi, I am looking to model a small end of the line rip track in ho. All work to be done outdoors, era late forties to late fifties, can't seem to find photos or prototypes, please any suggestions would be a big help. Thanks
Hi!
I've seen pictures of these over the years, but just can't recall exactly where. However, "twer I were you", I would do a search on this Kalmbach site for Model Railroader, Trains, and Classic Trains mags.
Also, do a Google or Yahoo image search, and a Flickr photo search as they might have something too.
Good Luck,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
Don't know if this type would fit your operation or era, but the NS yard behind my employer has a RIP operation on a small stub spur coming off the main interchange (two yards about 4 miles apart are connected here.) 1 to 5 cars are spotted on a curving track, crew shows up on the access road in a stake bed truck that has a motor generator and a heavy duty vacuum cleaner like furnace service trucks have, as well various supplies and other tools. There is usually a small jib crane on one corner of the bed for heavy lifting. Unless it's raining, snowing, or below freezing, they seem to spend up to 8 hours a day cutting, welding, cleaning, carpentry, parts replacement, Sometimes, even some spot spray painting. One time, they jacked up one end of a 50' box and levered the truck out from under. An SD-40-2 came up pushing a flat with a crawler crane and a replacement truck. They obviously swapped out a problem truck in place. Crawler stayed on the flat.
May have had a few sheets of ply scattered around for crawling on. Nothing fancy or complicated, just an efficient quick repair system in a minimum amount of real estate. Once in a while, all they'd do on this track is pressure wash a small string.
I once did a tune-up on one of those service truck motor gen sets. 1974, a 1930's era Studebaker 300 plus sq" 6 cylinder gas engine using a 7/8" NF thread monster of a spark plug. My boss was surprised I knew how to service a Fairbanks-Morse magneto. I was surprised he still had those Edison plugs.
Generally you would have a couple small sheds 1 for parts and for the carknockers .
A Short Track for wheel Storage . Maybe a small crane or several hydralic jacks , welding equipment and and cutting torches .
Here is a couple of links for you, found by googling around for a little bit:
In the Wikipedia article "RIP track" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIP_track) you find a general view of the Chicago and Northwestern RIP track at Proviso Yard in 1943.
On the Library of Congress web site, you find this picture of a worker putting the finishing touches on a rebuilt caboose on the RIP track at Proviso, also in 1943.
On the presentation of the Fort Eustis Military Railroad in the 1950s and 1960s on Wikipedia there is quite a few track diagrams, including one showing the layout of the RIP tracks
Here is a link to a web page describing a modern BNSF autorack loading yard (which has a RIP track) in Point Richmond, California: http://www.polyweb.com/dans_rr/blog/index.php/archives/62
Presentation of a RIP track facility from Carl Arend's web page on tiny layout design: http://www.carendt.com/scrapbook/page30a/index.html
Smile, Stein
Thanks for all the input, I was directed to the Dec.2006 issue of MRR and it showed a prototype of a Canadian Pacific RR rip track that a gentleman scratch built with a pneumatic tripod crane and stub tracks for wheels and a narrow gauge trolly track for moving parts up and down from one car to the next and a building. Just what I was looking for.
Google images search results.http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&sa=1&q=railroad+RIP+tracks
I Googled, "end of the line rip track images" and came up with a list, but here's a link to a very detailed picture.
End of the line rip track
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Probably belongs more in the prototype forum than in this forum, but since I happened to remember this thread when I happened to stumble upon this very nice Kodachrome color photo which shows a lot of the stuff that is located along a working RIP track at C&NWs Proviso Yard in Chicago in December 1942:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/2696
Photographer is Jack Delaney for the WW2 era Office of War Information. Googling the name, it seems Jack Delaney was a pioneer in the use of Kodachrome - and he is apparently presented in the Classic Trains special "Railroads and World War II".
The picture is also in the Library of Congress' FSA/OWI collection: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pp/fsacabt.html