The Coffee Shop (a place to chat) Est. 2004

[Anonymous]

Speaking of Altoona, getting ready to head to the PA town with the same name next week for the 8th time since '95, three days on one of the most high traffic lines in the country [^][8D][:)][tup][wow][yeah]

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by YNCS

QUOTE: Originally posted by jay_c

QUOTE: Originally posted by TEFFY

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE:
...I painted the bathroom in the house next door (the one that we moved out of) and then this afternoon I had to go to Lowes and get another roller cover. When I drove past one of the themometers it read 104 F. I thought it was wrong so when I got home I took our inside themometer outside and it read 105 F.

Milwaukee's been hotter. [swg] I drove by the bank a half-mile from my house 2 years ago and it said 139 degrees. Now it was hot, but I'm reasonably sure that was a malfunction. It was only 98 at the bank across the road...

That's what you silly people get for living in the middle of the continent. If you were living by the ocean, like God intended, then you'd only have 89°F and 98% humidity, like I'm sweating in.

Ya da ya

I've seen it at -105F so there!

No today was a tad on the warm side 80F with 90+F humidex Not that is warm but with the wrotten summer to date I'm not use to it. I'm normally in Labrador enjoying the Icebergs drifting by.

Now that's comfortable

[Hawks05]

well this Adobe Photoshop thing is sure cool. lots to learn though yet. right now i'm just messing around with the black and white stuff. it could stand to be a lot better.

i went out train searching tonight for a little while trying to find something. well actually it was more like 45 minutes of driving around the country side in hunt of that elusive roadrailer train. nothing. i went about 20 miles round trip and nothing was around. this is for Big_Boy now mainly, i was coming into Hammond and all of a sudden my scanner just started going crazy. i actually heard someone talking for the first time. the dispatcher cleared a train to leave Hudson. so i figured 20 minutes and i'll maybe go out again around 9 and try and catch as the sun is going down. well 9 came and went and nothing. now just 5 minutes ago a train came through. kind of sucks but its pretty dark so wouldn't have seen much. still kind of bummed about that.

least i have the photoshop to play with though. there is way to much stuff here to learn.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Mark, which Plets video do you have? I have the Soo Line 1003 A Steamin' First Season. I actually rode behind her on one of the trips from Duluth to Two Harbors in 97. I'm sitting here watching it now. If I remember correctly, there was a scene in the video where I saw myself on the train. The problem is, it's been so long I can't remember which consist to look for since there were three different trains that weekend.

Jim and Mark (and anyone else) UP timetables are available online. Modern timetables don't have actual times on them, but they do have accurate descriptions of the sub divisions. Here's the link:

http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/operations/timetable/

Jim, maybe what happened tonight was you were just behind a westbound train, and when you got to Hammond you were able to hear it. Or the train you heard was eastbound but was doing some switching at Hudson first. Glad you finally heard something!!! This stuff ain't just my imagination.[swg]

[Hawks05]

where abouts do they do the switching in Hudson? is there a yard or something there or what?

i know it wasn't a westbound train because i was home for 2 hours before i went out looking so i don't think it was that. i wish i could get a signal like that in town here and not have to go to Hammond. i was in Roberts and got nothing so this was weird.

hopefully they get the track work done tomorrow so more trains can come through. they took out a intersection today and replaced that track. should be back to normal tomorrow night. maybe i'll be able to get out and catch the roadrailer then.

i like the time table but i don't get how to read it or anything.

[Anonymous]

Dan [8D]

Thanks for the link. I definately don't think it was one of the cutters over 200 feet long. To me it looks like it has 4 numbers for the ship number but I can't tell what number it is. I will email it to you again and hope it makes it this time.

I am going to try and down size the file I was emailed last night. I don't know how to do it but I will see if my some magic I can. [;)] Trust me, noone shoud see it like I did, especially the faint of heart. [;)]

As I was checking out some of the cutters I noticed that some of them were powered by Fairbanks Morse diesels. Pretty cool, right! And remember Alco powered some ships too.

[Anonymous]

THANKS

to Jarrett for hosting the pic [:D]

[Fergmiester]

Nice Pic! That's the class I have seen before. The USCG used it for their 200 anniversary poster.

I've sailed on one ship that had 9 Fairbank-Morse engines in it, they were 12 cylinder opposed piston. The forward engine room had 6 abreast. The other ship had four F-M turbocharged engines. I'm now sailing on a vessel powered by ALCO's with a AC/AC propulsion system.

Regards
Fergie

[Big_Boy_4005]

Jim, there's no yard at Hudson, but there's a siding and I think a couple of industries. Actually they're up the hill at Sono Junction. If you have specific questions about the timetable just ask. I don't have all the answers, but I do know most of the abrevations. There are a couple of things I'm still trying to figure out myself.

Are you sure they left the track impassable? They would have no qualms about leaving the road closed, but the rails should be left in working order.

[tomwatkins]

Good Mornin' Everybody,
It's going to be a really good day in the mountains today. The coffee is very good and the chore list isn't too long. The major task for the day is to get the chain saw up and going again. The chain adjuster has gone gonzo on me and the chain won't stay tight. So It's time to take it apart and see what's going on. Since I've got to take out three small trees to put the next garden where we want it, a functioning and safe chain saw is a must. After that and a few other small things are done, I may start weathering the F3's.

YNCS, I know what you mean about living by an ocean. I grew up in North Florida, about eight blocks from the beach. That was before it went wall to wall people, concrete and condos. It was wonderful. It was always a bit cooler and less humid east of the Intercoastal Waterway than it was inland.

Jim, that is a good picture. It was worth waiting for. Is the consensus that that is a 76mm gun. That's what I would say.

Teffy, We live in NE Georgia, right outside of Young Harris, which is between Blairsville and Hiawassee and just about six miles south of North Carolina. The layout is very much a work in progress and probably always will be. I'd be glad for you to come by and see it if you're going to be going through this part of the world. My email is [e-mail]. Incidently, my Dad grew up in Arlington and Moultrie, so I'm very familiar with Albany. That's pronounced Awl' benny, Albany being the place in New York as I recall.

It's time to get up and get the day going. One more cup of coffee and then it will be on to chain saw repair.

Have a great day everybody,

Tom

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Big_Boy_4005

Mark, which Plets video do you have?

I have three or four, the one I mentioned was The Trains of Winter

QUOTE: Jim and Mark (and anyone else) UP timetables are available online. Modern timetables don't have actual times on them, but they do have accurate descriptions of the sub divisions.

I have the Conrail Philidelphia Division Timetable, I have a lot of other stuff since my grandfaher worked for the D&H and Amtrak.

[Hawks05]

the road is closed and the tracks were left open. they just don't have the wood between the tracks for the road to continue yet. they are probably working on that today.

to tell you the truth i don't get any of the timetable. well i get the speed stuff and the mileposts but thats it.

[dharmon]

Okay....that is either a 110' or 123' Patrol Craft (WPB). The main armament is a 25mm chain gun on the bow. Both types of craft are stationed at Key Weird and similiar looking.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

Okay....that is either a 110' or 123' Patrol Craft (WPB). The main armament is a 25mm chain gun on the bow. Both types of craft are stationed at Key Weird and similiar looking.

I don't know if this will work or not. Here is a link for 25mm Chain Guns. A naval version is listed.

http://aolsearch.aol.com/aol/search?query=25mm+Chain+Gun


Here is another link.

http://navysite.de/weapons/mk-38.htm

You might have to have AOL for the first link to work but the second one should work ok no matter who your isp is.

http://ads.peel.com/peelMediaAds/2159/cre2159.html?w=10192


A little info on the 76mm gun.

http://www.sfu.ca/casr/101-vehcoug.htm


I am having fun, how about you? [:D] [;)] [:D]

I think I could use either the 25mm chain gun or the 76mm gun on my truck. The perfect defense again the offensive drivers. [:D] Only problem is I could not afford all the ammo necessary to defene myself every day. Trust me, they would make Darwin proud. Needless to say, I am not to happy with the idiots driving around here. Just the other day I was driving down a 4 lane road in my city. There was a turn lane in the center of the regular driving lanes. Some stupid "lady" (yeah right) pulled out from a parking lot trying to get into the turn lane, I even had my headlights on in broad daylight. I had to come to a complete stop or t bone her. She and I both had our windows down. I could not pass up the opportunity to express myself, my comment--"How STUPID are you?" Of course we both were stopped as she blocked me and other cars were coming from the other direction too. She didn't care for my remark tho, but she definately heard it. [}:)] [}:)] [}:)] (And needed to hear it I might add.

[Fergmiester]

Good Afternoon Gents

I believe she's a 110' class boat but I'll let you decide check out the following USCG website.

http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/110wpb.htm

Have good one

Regards
Fergie

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

Good Afternoon Gents

I believe she's a 110' class boat but I'll let you decide check out the following USCG website.

http://www.uscg.mil/datasheet/110wpb.htm

Have good one

Regards
Fergie

I believe Fergie is correct. After further review I'd say she's a 110' Island Class Boat. The mast on the 123's is atop the pilot house, whereas it's behind it on the 110's. According to the USCG site there's about 5 or 6 assigned to KW. The gun is a 25mm, it looks like a turret because the cover/tarp is on it.

[Big_Boy_4005]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Hawks05

the road is closed and the tracks were left open. they just don't have the wood between the tracks for the road to continue yet. they are probably working on that today.

to tell you the truth i don't get any of the timetable. well i get the speed stuff and the mileposts but thats it.

Well that's most of it anyway. Did you print a copy?

The basics are, reading down from the top, a train is heading west from Altoona to SE Minneapolis. Read up from the bottom for eastbound.

The second column says rule 6.3. There is a huge rule book, and 6.3 is Main Track Authorization. YL stands for Yard Limits. ABS means Automatic Block Signals. TWC stands for Track Warrent Control.

ABS is the signals you see along the line, they are interconnected, and will display red, yellow or green depending where the train is. Say 2 trains are on the main both heading the same direction. The first engineer only sees green signals as he goes along. The second engineer will see green signals if he is far enough behind the first train. If the second train starts to catch up and gets too close to the back end of the first train, the second engineer will start to see yellow signals, which will tell him to slow down because there is only one block before the next signal is red. If the first train stops, the second engineer will see a yellow signal and slow down, then the next signal will be red, and the second train will have to stop. When the first train starts again, the second engineer will wait until the signal turns yellow, then he can go slowly. He may just wait for a little while to let the other train get further ahead.

Then there is the case of two trains traveling in opposite directions. Now the sidings come into play. The last column on the timetable tells how long the sidings are. On a single track main, sidings are the places where trains can meet and pass each other. It is always easier if one of the trains fits into the siding completely. In our case the longest siding is at Hersey, which is kind of handy, because it is about in the middle of the sub division. Notice there are no sidings west of there listed. There are tracks off the main, but I'm guessing that they aren't meant to be used for trains passing. They must just be local tracks, used in conjunction with the industries there.

So, say a train is heading east from Hudson, and there are no sidings all the way back to the yard at Hazel Park. Once that train enters the single track, every signal used for westbound traffic will turn red all the way to Hersey. That would be where a westbound would have to wait for the eastbound to exit the single track main and then the two would pass. At least one of the two trains should fit into the siding, which is almost 2 miles long.

TWC is used because traffic is light along the sub division. Someone has permission to use the tracks between any two points along it's length, and since there is only one main, only one entity can be on a section. Yesterday it was the track crew. They were allowed a certain amount of time to do their work. If they finished early, they could call in and tell the dispatcher they were done, and he could allow the next train through.

Say a westbound train leaves Altoona, and an east bound train leaves S E Minneapolis at the same time. Both warrents would only allow them to go as far as Hersey, and whoever got there first would have to wait for the other one. As they got closer the dispatcher could decide what to do next.

Actual times are on the warrents, because they change daily and need to be flexible.

Back to the timetable. Up at the top it says radio display 5252 that's the channel the sub division uses 52 (transmit and receive). *44 is the channel for that small section of BNSF track at the west end of the sub division. The little numbers under the station names are the miles between stations. I'm not sure about the station #'s or the CP #'s. I believe that SI is Special Instructions.

So, are you ready to model the Altoona Sub on your piece of plywood?[swg]

[Hawks05]

i might do something like that now that you mention it. i mean most of what goes through this area is hoppers so why not. i just need to get turnouts, find out how many lines are in Altoona and i'll be set. i kind of get the timetable now a little, not really but i'll look at it again tonight.

where'd you come up with this anyways?

oh i got a little info on the roadrailers from a engineer that runs a few of these. at least i think he runs a few, i know he's an engineer along this line down to Chicago. he said that as far as he knows the roadrailers will keep running, no end in sight yet. thats awesome until winter when its dark by 5 so you can't see anything.

[Big_Boy_4005]

The roadrailers are a new business that everyone is trying to grow. That means NS, UP, and the truckers involved at the ends of the lines. We are only in the third week of service. New business ventures take time, but I see no reason why this won't be a huge success. It should be repeated between other major shipping points. Did you see the topic on Trains about Amtrak dropping their roadrailer service?

How did I learn all of this stuff? Years and years of reading MR, and other Kalmbach books, like Track Planning For Realistic Operation by the recently deceased John Armstrong. Planning my own railroad based on the real railroads that run through the Twin Cities. Hanging out here on the forums. Knowing the right things to put into a Google search.[swg]

You don't need to know how many turnouts there are in the Altoona yard to model it. You don't have the space anyway. You need to find a fun and comfortable way to represent something like it, and I have an idea for you that might work.

You have a 4x8 right? Do you have room for a shelf to come off it in any direction? 1'x4' would be enough 1'x6' would be even better. You could have a small yard on the shelf, the yard would represent both ends of the line, and would connect to the main oval with a wye. There would be a passing siding, and some industries that would represent everything in between. Come out of the yard one way for eastbound from the Twin Cities, and the other way westbound from Chicago or Milwaukee. Each lap around the loop would bring you to another place along the line. Realistic operation on a 4x8.

What do you think?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

I've seen it at -105F so there!

Makes our weeks of 35 to 40 below seem quite tropical.

Wayne

[Fergmiester]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Muddy Creek

QUOTE: Originally posted by Fergmiester

I've seen it at -105F so there!

Makes our weeks of 35 to 40 below seem quite tropical.

Wayne

Not really, it just means your face takes 30 seconds to freeze apposed to a minute.[:D]

Today was a good day to be in the basement woking on the RR as it was getting up into the 30's this afternoon.

Regards

[Hawks05]

good thinking Elliot. i'll have to measure to see if i have room.i don't know if i will or not. its pretty cramped in the room.

that would be cool to do though.

[Big_Boy_4005]

Thanks Jim, and to think you are coming up on your first full year in the hobby. Not only do you like models, but you seem to be turning into quite a rail fan too. You and a bunch of the other young ones around here are getting to be real students of the hobby. We "older" guys like that, It makes us feel good.

Consider yourself lucky to have access to this kind of resource. I have heard some of the others say they wished they had had access to a forum when they were your age. I have had those thoughts myself.[8D]

[Hawks05]

ya. come October sometime will be a year. my friend who got me started almost has half of his benchwork done. next time i talk to him or his son i'll have to get dimensions. i know one wall has to be about 30 feet for sure. he's doing a multi level as well. its going to be really cool when he's all done.

yes i'm becoming a rail fan as well. tonight though was scary. i didn't do anything illegal, welli was going like 30 through town but that isn't bad. i crossed the high way and was going down past my neighbors house. i pass their house and i look in my rearview mirror and all of a sudden a cop is behind me. i had no clue where it came from. so made a quick left then a right and i was off. it didn't have its lights on but that scared the crap out of me. i didn't do anything wrong so i don't think it was following me.

i just updated my site as well tonight with yesterday and todays lone picture. the guestbook is also up if anyone wants to leave me a message.

[Anonymous]

Good evening or top of the morning to you if your reading this in the morning. Last week was the county fair where I worked sound for the Battle of the Bands so that is why I haven't posted much latley. But it paid me rather nicley so I have money to finally finsih my benchwork. After seeing the topic on inventory of your cars I downloaded one of the free programs and i love it.

Big Boy 4005-I agre, this forum has helped expand my hobby and to start railfanning. Before I had no clue that people actually would stand by the tracks to watch trains and now I do it all that I can. Thanks to all the answer the questions.

Dougal- You've post in trains about horseshoe curve and you mentioned you were heading up soon. I'll be in altoona august 6-8. If you're at the curve and see a boy scout troop don't be afraid to come up and talk I would be more than happy to meet you.

Jim- I got packages arrived and everything was in them. Maybe he's taken a turn for the better. Hopefully I'll catch you online tomorrow.

Andrew

[Big_Boy_4005]

Yeah Andrew, I've been having this long conversation here with Jim, but it's nice to know that other people are following along. I must say that becoming a railfan can have a real effect on how we model. It adds a whole different dimension to the hobby. Even if we don't follow a prototype 100%, just understanding how real railroads work, makes a huge difference in the way we think about our layouts.

[Anonymous]

GOOD MORNING ALL:

Tea is a good way to start the day!! And I'm on my second cup.

YNCS:

Not only is the afternoon temp hitting above 100 every day I'm also only 13 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, so we have the high humidity along with the temp.

JHH TRAINSPLAINS/JIM:

Where are you located and do you give layout tours. We're going on vacation and are trying to see a few layouts on the way. We'll be comming through Alabama, probably spending the night in Tuscaloosa or their abouts.

TOMWATKINS:

It looks like you are midway between I-75 and I-85, so which way is the easiest to get to your house. Since we are comming down from DC we can come either through Chattanooga or Atlanta.

FERGIE:

I haven't heard anything of FUNDYNORTHERN for awhile, and as soon as I do I'm going to e-mail him and see if we can all get together.

I just e-mailed der5997, he lives on the eastern shore of Nova Scotia, to see if we can visit him.

By the way, what is your minimum radius. I might bring my new BLI SANTA FE 4-8-4, it is supburb (SP) [I guess I should have used the word "great" because I can spell that]. I've got a Proto E8/9 with my logo on it and a set of Genesis Warbonnet A and B. I just received a call from a freind and they are going to lend me their ZYPHER so I'll get to bring both the Zypher and the Chief.[:D] I think that you will be impressed.

Well I've got to get ready and go to work.

Have a blessed day and remember SANTA FE ALL THE WAY

Bob

[Fergmiester]

Good Afternoon everyone

Temps are now in the ninetees and I'm off to the basement.

Teffy: I've been in contact with der5997on occassion. Best way to get ahold of him is e-mail him, he's very approachable. Though I've never talked with Fundy Northern I have talked with some people he used to work with in Coast Guard and they speak highly of him and from what I've heard from other circles I'm told he's willing to share his hobby and talents with others. As for minimum radius it's 24" and the Rivarossi FEF-3 has no problems running the rails, even at 5%+ grades though I have had to install several guard rails.

[Dbcxyz123]

Hmm...

[Dbcxyz123]

...I see.