Jim Wanlass, a visiting operator, recorded a video using his iPhone and a special "iCar" to allow a cab ride style look at my layout. This was recorded at a recent op session held for the "Division Operations Group," which the Northern Utah Division has started for training operators. So far the DOGs have run on three layouts, with plans to host sessions on more in the future. We're instructing operators on car forwarding, train orders, thought processes behind yard and local switching, and anything else we can share. It's been a lot of fun and a great benefit for members of the division. Learning operation can be intimidating, and we're trying to encourage the process along in a low-pressure environment.
Jim's iCar special followed a regular freight on its way west, and negotiated staging as well.
http://mrr.trains.com/videos/user-videos/2013/10/rob-spanglers-western-pacific-8th-subdivision
Rob Spangler
Randy, Rob,
Very interesting trip. Good job on scenicking those out of the way areas...or maybe it just seems that way
I need to get one of those kits and borrow my better half's iPhone
My guess is I'll never get it to work on the narrowgauge due loading gauge restrictions, but my tunnels are generous in height, so we'll see.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I did discover on mine some places to shave off a little to improve clearances - I still need to post the video where the one squared off brace (which I have since filed to an angle) caught on a slightly lifted piece of road at a grade crossing (no locos or regular cars were having problems) and it derailed and rolled right into the 'river', recording all the while.
Clearances need to be pretty generous, I notice that about 1 out of 3 trips it will slightly catch in the one tunnelk on the club layout, yet a pair of double stack trains can pass each other through there with never any problem. The iCar is right at about the maximum height and width dimensions for HO standard gauge.
Have to keep my iPhone 4 around, since the car won't fit a 5 or 5S.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Beautiful layout Rob!
rrinker Have to keep my iPhone 4 around, since the car won't fit a 5 or 5S.
Randy,
Well, good luck with that, in case you haven't seen this article yet:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/magazine/why-apple-wants-to-bust-your-iphone.html?ref=magazine
Rob, Thanks for all you do for the hobby and the people around here. I really enjoy coming to your home and being around the group. I cant believe I finally got on a MRR video, figures I would be the one screwing things up on camera.. HaHa!! Thank you again! Thayne
mlehman rrinker Have to keep my iPhone 4 around, since the car won't fit a 5 or 5S. Randy, Well, good luck with that, in case you haven't seen this article yet: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/magazine/why-apple-wants-to-bust-your-iphone.html?ref=magazine
I love tech articles written by non-tech people. LOL a self destruct in my device? My ancient iPhone 3G still works fine, and holds a charge well. Yes, my 4 is now a bit sluggish - because it is now 4 generations back yet running the very latest iOS. They actually improved it with a couple of minor updates since the initial release.
Makes for a nice conspiracy theory though. I predict this same story will resurface in a month or so, with the company name changed from Apple to Samsung.
My next trick witht he iCar will be to use an app that broadcasts the camera display over WiFi so I can watch "out the cab" on my iPad while using a JMRI throttle to runt he train. The club layout is fully signaled, so if I pay attention to my indications, I should be able to easily navigate the layout without a bird's eye view of the action. If not the iPad, at least from my laptop, where I can easily have a JMRI throttle window open and a small window with the video feed.
I don;t have the link handy but an iCar video made it to the Yahoo home page yesterday, someone apparantly linked it to Reddit and pretty much anythign that gets on Reddit is suddenly the biggest new thing ever - never mind that the iCar has been around for a couple of years now, and lots of people have posted videos from them, of some very nice layouts.
thortenney Rob, Thanks for all you do for the hobby and the people around here. I really enjoy coming to your home and being around the group. I cant believe I finally got on a MRR video, figures I would be the one screwing things up on camera.. HaHa!! Thank you again! Thayne
You're very welcome. (Thayne's the engineer of the train the iCar is following.)
Beautiful Layout. That looks like so much fun
Joe C
Beautful Layout. Have you ever posted on how you built the Icar?
Right now I use a Hot Wheels Video Racer mounted on a flat car but the video and audio quality are sub par putting it mildly.
Joe Staten Island West
Rob,
What a treat this video is, as I have seen glimpses of your work from time to time in these forums. Thanks for setting the bar so high, encouraging me to keep improving my modelling skills. Thanks for sharing.
Wilton.
The iCar is pretty easy t put together. Just don;t get the main phoen holder part backwards liek I did - luckily some soaking in water loosened the glue so I could get it apart without breaking anything, then I just kept the parts weighted heavily on some paper towels until the now-soaked wood dried so it wouldn't warp. Almost missed my deadline to have it ready for the club show because I didn;'t pay attention to two pieces which look symmetrical but aren't.
In case it isn't obvious, the iCar is a commercial product from Minuteman Scale Models, not a scratchbuilt thing. It's a laser-cut wood kit with Kadee trucks and metal wheels.
http://www.minutemanscalemodels.com/product_p/87-10.htm
joe323Have you ever posted on how you built the Icar?
As Randy noted above, the car was from the laser kit. Jim, the guy who handled the video, also built the car so I can't help with any questions on the car itself.
Here's the link for the car, iPhone not included :
What, no sound locos? I also noticed that some/all of the engineers forgot to turn on their headlights.
I think I posted about building mine a bit over a year ago. Or maybe it was just after I had the one part backwards and needed suggestions for ungluing it without breaking the parts.
ANyway, here's one with some sound (works out well because the microphone is at the rear of the car, just in front of the sound loco). I can only take credit for the building of the iCar and it's my iPhone, and unseen locos pushing it. ANd at one point you see some of my 'normal' cars parked on a siding. The reest is the work of the members of the RCT&HS Modular group. Lots of giants around, since it's a modular group displayed in a public venue, in this case the Railroad Museum of PA (hence the full-size locos around the outside)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL8uLUodLFQ
maxman What, no sound locos? I also noticed that some/all of the engineers forgot to turn on their headlights.
Nope, no sound. In an op session environment on a large layout all the noise drives me crazy, and I don't wish to spend extra to equip models with sound that I don't want to hear.
There are also quite a few locos on the layout without headlights, older models where I haven't spent the time to install lights yet since there's still so much to do to finish scenery and structures. Due to the training nature of the sessions for this crew, I emphasized learning car and train movement and haven't worried about headlight usage.
Fun video. I found myself ducking in my chair whenever the car went through a tunnel portal or truss bridge.
"I am lapidary but not eristic when I use big words." - William F. Buckley
I haven't been sleeping. I'm afraid I'll dream I'm in a coma and then wake up unconscious. -Stephen Wright
I don't care for sound that much either. It is a novel things to play with now and then but mostly I like quiet.
You've done a great job and what I like particularly best are the back drops, nicely done. Knowing that it's the WP, the area looks mostly like the Sierra foothills and hills in the coast range based on what I remember from living in the Davis/Sacramento area of California.
Another thing I like about watching this is the freight rolling stock closely mirrors what have been rostering. No coincidence as WP handed their trains off to the Rio Grande.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761 ...the area looks mostly like the Sierra foothills and hills in the coast range based on what I remember from living in the Davis/Sacramento area of California.
...the area looks mostly like the Sierra foothills and hills in the coast range based on what I remember from living in the Davis/Sacramento area of California.
The area modeled is quite a ways east of that, the Great Basin of northern Nevada and western Utah. Summer coloration of the grass, as well as some of the basic landform shapes are very similar to what you remember from California.
Another thing I like about watching this is the freight rolling stock closely mirrors what (I) have been rostering. No coincidence as WP handed their trains off to the Rio Grande.
Glad you noticed that. I've attempted to have a freight car roster that reflects trains interchanged at Roper with the D&RGW and Salt Lake North Yard with the UP.
I would have guessed you were modeling the area's you mentioned but from my trips through Nevada, the landscape looked unfamiliar; it was much drier and more desert-like what I saw. Like you mentioned, those area's really look like spring in the Sierra foothills and coastal range. I mostly drove east-west through highway 50 from Fallen Nevada to Ely, on to Delta in Utah, Green River etc. I only drove Hwy 80 a couple of times and it was a much flatter and to me, less scenic than the loneliest high way; even 80 I remember being very dry and wide open. I always drive it during the summer months.
Yes, definitely the rolling stock from my research looks like typical 1970's, maybe thru early 1980's by a few of the 45' trailers. Lots of Evergreen PC&F box cars, PFE box cars. In addition I've been stocking up on 89' trailer train flat cars (Genesis, Walther's, Atlas) for TOFC, of course coal. Auto freight cars was pretty major across D&RGW and WP during that time frame too, including the Vert-a-pac's between 71-77, open racks and some closed.
Oh, and forgot to mention the beer PC&F box cars from Eel River and ExactRail
Cheers.
wp8thsubNope, no sound. In an op session environment on a large layout all the noise drives me crazy, and I don't wish to spend extra to equip models with sound that I don't want to hear.
I understand your view point completely. However, to me, a video without sound is like a silent movie. If you removed all the background noise from the video, and then compared it to the similar video posted by Randy R. (also with the non-relevant background noise removed), I would find the latter more interesting. But that's just me.
Unfortunately there's zero chance of eliminating the non-railraod background noise (and the inconsiderate people leaning on the plexiglas - we don't use a moat to keep people away, we have plexi panels around the outside to keep little hands off, so you cna get as close as you like to the action). Home layout though is different, you can control the environment and get a clean recording. Also less distracting views of out of scale items. Hopefully someday I'll have my own layout worthy of a video tour like Rob's. Eight now I'm in teardown on what I did get built in prep for a move. Hmm, not that I'm good at always taking regular photos of construction progress, but perhaps once there is track on a new layout, also get a train's eye view of the progress as well....