Joe, looking forward to that plan!
Alex, sounds like a good space for a switching layout; looking forward to seeing the plan.
In ANRR news, yesterday the track crew accomplished none of its goals and today is doubtful as to if any work will be completed. oh well, it's a marathon, not a sprint, haha
Sawyer Berry
Clemson University c/o 2018
Building a protolanced industrial park layout
Hey Jordan, those pan shots are awesome! Locos are completely in focus, looks like they are going fast. How fast were they going?
Is the Overland Western SD40 actually an Overland? Never heard of anyone naming their freelance after a company before.
So I've been busy busy with exams but modeling is starting to pick up a bit. I'm in the planning stages of two layouts, one at home and two modules for my club.
The home layout will be a small switching layout (approx 13ft long by 2ft wide) in my room. I completely rearranged my room earlier this week, and made the space available for the layout. I'll take some photos soon to show you the space, and I'll finish up a quick track plan.
I'm building the club modules with a friend to help keep costs down. There are two 2ftx4ft modules. We are on the 4th different trackplan now, and we've bought a lot of materials already. Will scan the trackplan soon as well.
As for locomotives and cars, I've been assembling a bunch of Walthers kits I bought, mostly grain and tank cars. I've started my CP GP7u project, I've stripped the shell, rechopped the nose, added a few detail parts etc... Now I need to spend some quality time with my dremel, attacking metal the fuel tank and the skirting.
I've also touched up the weathering on my C424, so I should post photos of that too.
Alex
GG, isn't it illegal at an ATM. I think it is, but it's only frowned upon at McDs. (and BTW, they wanted to do it at Dunkin Donuts, too, but didn't)Although once, they pretended to be doing, uh, things, on one of the beds in Macy's... And they also went in a cheerleading store and tried everything on.Like I said, these are sick people...
Sawyer, I finished the plan, but don't have it down here at the moment (it's up in my room at the moment, and I'm lazy), but I'll post it tomorrow, if I remember...
BigBlue, nice layout!
Jordan, I like that first pan shot (with the SD40)!
My Model Railroad: Tri State RailMy Photos on Flickr: FlickrMy Videos on Youtube: YoutubeMy Photos on RRPA: RR Picture Archives
BigBlueConrailNew video, you can see my whole layout in it Video
Neat Layout!
Tyler, you need to get some pictures on here. With all the changes I probably won't even recognize the WRS!
Today I went to the Stevens Point Model Railroad Show. I picked up a nice Inter-Mountain SOO covered hopper there, and a couple "The SOO" back issues.
I also took a couple pictures from the show too.
Old, young, and everyone in between gather to watch an impressive 90-100+ car coal drag go by.
It was neat to see this guy with an OMI SDL39!
I tried some pan shots, what do you guys think of them?
An Overland Western SD40 races across the dairy lands of Wisconsin.
On the same layout as the SDL39, WC 7638 was leading an empty ore train.
My Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JR7582 My Flickr Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wcfan/
lol, sounds like the usual crazy stuff people get up to Joe. tis quite fun.
looking forward to seeing that plan Joe!
Well, the ANRR track crew has yet to get started working. however, work is expected to begin soon and the goals have been lowered to just installing the new switch in place of the old one and perhaps starting track painting.
Actually I DO have a new plan. I think I mentioned that I would be relocating to a different part of the room. Because of where the fireplace is, my dad suggested swapping the layout and the couch. This also gives me more room...
I'm still working on the track plan, but it will be WAY different than what I was thinking back in the summer. This hopefully should be enough to have two operators, if need be.I'll post the plan when it's done, which should hopefully be soon...
About my friends, yes they are insane. That same night, they also bought coffee through a McDonalds drive thru-- in a shopping cart!And one of them was taking christmas trees from the side of the road and throwing them at us as we walked...They are sick people...
ns3010Wow, Sawyer, seems like your track gang has a busy day!And OT: My friends got kicked out of Dollar Tree for sword fighting last week... It was pretty funny
Wow, Sawyer, seems like your track gang has a busy day!And OT: My friends got kicked out of Dollar Tree for sword fighting last week... It was pretty funny
lol, they don't have too bad of a day, haha. and there isn't any rush to get it done.
As to being kicked out for sword fighting, lmao, you got some crazy friends man!
Sounds like your layout rebuild is coming along pretty good. got a new plan?
Over the past two days, there's been some really good news about benchwork, in addition to what I said in my last post (which is item #1 below...): 1) The plywood from the current layout is in perfect condition. Just about everything except the lake can be reused. Now I will only have to buy one sheet of plywood. 2) My dad has a bunch of lumber at work. He bought it last week, and won't be using it, so it'll be going to me. 3) My dad is pushing me to get the layout done. He wants the basement "fixed up," at that will start with the layout relocation/rebuild. This means he may be helping with costs. This way (and between the stuff mentioned above), I should be able to buy roadbed and track soon.And today, I saw on IMW's website that they'll be releasing a full powered frame for the PL42s soon. That'll make things easier, once the time comes to start buying that stuff...
Ok, Tyler, I think I get what you're saying. I didn't get it at first, but it makes sense as I look at the track plan. An extra runaround there should make switching WAY easier...
Sweet Tyler, sounds good man.
I bought two bags of green moss and some hairspray from Dollar Tree today, as well as some solder from Radioshack. I'm going to try making homemade trees using wire.
The plan today is replace a switch, glue down track, ballast it, then ground throws on the town side, and maybe get to making a prototype tree.
I started work on the section between Mascoma and Lebanon today. I moved the mainline and Lebanon yard lead closer together (they had been split to go around the now-removed engine house), added a crossover between them just before the first switch in the yard ladder, and rebuilt the spur to Formanek Granite. The quarry will be my next big scenery project, and the rest of the run between Mascoma and Lebanon will be part of the Mascoma River Valley and have at least one, maybe two, bridges crossing the Mascoma River.
The new crossover actually created another siding, which should really help traffic flow. The siding will be controlled by the Lebanon yard crew (LE-1) but can be used for mainline trains as well as a runaround track for LE-1 while switching Formanek Granite and Lebanon Cold Storage. The siding is long enough for a good 15 car train (not including locomotives): Ogden Siding and the staging yard can hold 10 car trains, and the A/D tracks in Lebanon Yard can hold almost 20.
The new crossover has a wye switch (which I believe is the equivalent of a #8 turnout) and a #4, so it won't be used a whole lot by mainline trains - just as a runaround track and for meets where the train using the siding would be going slowly because it would be backing into the yard anyway. That way a WB freight that would be bypassing the yard could hold in the siding rather than at the top of the Mascoma Lake Grade.
Hmm, Robby, I never knew you came around these parts...
Those are some nice things! The MTH SDs look really nice, but I don't have the money (or the need) for one.
Well, I've decided that I'm definately not gonna get the U34. Now it's above the price I would pay for something that I really don't need...
I made a discovery tonight, and now I'm really happy. For the most part, the plywood that my layout sits on now is in nearly perfect condition, and can easily be used for the new layout, when the time comes. Only the part where the lake is is n/g, but that's only a little bit. This will be enough for almost the entire layout, so I'll only need to buy one other sheet, instead of two, and completetly wasting the one I have now!Maybe, in the spring, I can actually start on the layout... I think the only thing I still need to pay for is the Genset, once that comes in (when I preordered it, I put down a $50 deposit, because they didn't know the final price yet. it'll be below MSRP, just not positive on exactly how much...). Other than that, once I get enough money, I should be able to buy benchwork and track. My goal is to have all the benchwork, and at least the main and a few industries, all done by the end of the year (end of 2010, not end of school). I think that's reasonable. And if I can get all the track purchased and laid (that depends completely on funding, not on time), then that's a bonus. Then that leaves a little less two years to finish the track and scenery before I move out to college...
I'm thinking of doing a video soon. I haven't had any in a while. Even though it will be a short train running through the White Desert, it's better than nothing...
Well, I got three big new purchases since Christmas! First, I finally got one of the elusive EJ&E Harriman Award GP38-2/caboose sets. These were only given out to J employees so these are rare! Second, my hobby store had EJ&E 654 in HO scale so that was pretty much a must-have! Third, I now own one of the MTH HO Scale SD70ACes, UP 1988, the Katy Heritage unit. This is a amazing unit, with sound and detailing beyond amazing! I have a CNW Heritage unit on order as well. The one bad thing is that the MTH units do not run well with other units. It ripped the coupler of EJ&E 663 right out so now 663 is b/oed until it can get a new coupler. 665 is also b/oed with two bad couplers. The Kato SD38-2s seem to have pretty cheap couplers. Hopefully some couplers from other kinds of units can be put on instead of more of these seemingly bad ones.
ns3010Maybe if I'm lucky, they'll send me a free car...
Hmm, I was right
Now, I'll actually need two hands to count my rolling stock roster...
I found this on ebay, and I want it! It's a good price, so maybe, if my mom says yes... Mostly for display purposes (like the 500 is), but I can still run it once in a while... Maybe the URHS restored their's to operating condition and uses it for special runs? (even though their's is 4172...)?
Ok, so I finally got to run my centerbeam. Fine. Run it for a while, whatever. Begun the patching process (the car's already green, so I only need to patch out the numbers [BTW, the car is really close to the BN green I'm using, so it looks almost like a full paint job...]). AFTER I put the paint on I notice it's broken AGAIN, in the SAME PLACES. Yup, end ladders and floor. Too late to send it back, although I don't think I would want to wait for yet another car. So I'm gonna call Walthers (probably tomorrow) and ask what's up with this whole thing. Maybe if I'm lucky, they'll send me a free car...
To sum our email conversation up for everyone, the WRS is still using a single intermodal train. Alex is painting both Impack sets into WRS red and black but NAWJ/WJNA is keeping the same schedule. Since the operating session on the 23rd will have 4 operators including me, I need to work an intermodal hotshot into the schedule, provided there's enough locos to operate it.
Also, this new video will be in next weekend's WPF, but you guys can get a sneak preview!
Chasing WRS local LE-2 (1/11/2010)
Is WRS getting surplus QNE TOFC cars? They have about 20-30 too many... With luck my S4's decoder is not fried, (It pretended to be a real ALCo and put out a little too much smoke today...) and you'll have CCRR power running interchange service in a couple weeks. Will probably bring the RS3 over too if I can get a new coat of paint on it in that time.
Sawyer, as they said, do what YOU want. We CAN give you advice, but we CANT make you do something. It's all up to you
Tyler, that's what I figured (about NAWJ/WJNA). And the WRS always seemed like it would be big, but the track plan makes it look way smaller than 12x22...
So, my replacement centerbeam came yesterday, but I haven't gotten to even take it out of the box yet. MAYBE tonight. But I won't be here tomorrow night. So who knows when I'll actually get to it.Which reminds me, I still have to send the broken one back... Didn't have time before we went away, then it was New Years, and then it was the weekend, and then it slipped my mind. Maybe I can get my mom to ship it tomorrow?
Tyler, track plan looks good.
Thanks guys. eh, we will see. to take John's point, I could say that some locos had to be pushed into service backwards. oh well, we will see; commuter service is a LONG way off for the citizens along the ANRR ROW.
Hate to double post, but here's the track plan as a link. I didn't add industry labels or scenery details because it would be really complicated, hard to read and for the scenery details, even I don't know what all the areas will look like yet. The layout measures about 22' long and 12' wide, not including the staging yard.
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/TrainManTy/WRS_Trackplan_1-6-10.jpg
IVRWYou can do it AND still stick to the prototype by saying, the turning facilities down the line were broken.
Well, that was the entire point of a push-pull operation in the first place, but I agree. It's YOUR layout, do what YOU want and don't let anybody stop you!
ns3010TrainManTyWJNA and NAWJ also share power, but instead of handing over their train to NECR at White River Junction, they continue north to Montreal over NECR and CN tracks and return the next day (session).So, would, say, NAWJ run every other day, or every day, and those trains have two sets of power?
TrainManTyWJNA and NAWJ also share power, but instead of handing over their train to NECR at White River Junction, they continue north to Montreal over NECR and CN tracks and return the next day (session).
NAWJ runs every other day, and then that day in between it runs the other way as WJNA. Someday I might get enough equipment for another intermodal train and then I can run both on the same day.
I don't have a track plan, although I do need to get one soon. The town arrangement from east to west is Concord/Nashua/Points South staging, West Canaan, Enfield, Mascoma Lake Grade (in Enfield around Lake Mascoma, but on the layout it's as big as a town), Mascoma, Lebanon (Lebanon Yard is located there and is the base for local turns LE-1 and LE-2), and then the mainline continues to White River Junction/Montreal staging. I'll be sure to post my track plan here when it's done.
~G4
19 Years old, modeling the Cowlitz, Chehalis, and Cascade Railroad of Western Washington in 1927 in 6X6 feet.
Jhon, that was the idea. now I've just got to figure out if I want to stick to prototypes or bend the rules, lol. oh well, decisions, decisions.
TrainManTyPackers#1he was talking about a friend who made a Rio Grande stock car with two different styles of lettering and two different numbers. Actually, if I recall correctly it was the same number on both sides of the car - just a different paint scheme. That way it's still correct to the car card but without reading the numbers they look like different cars. To be honest, I don't know the numbers of any car on my roster except for boxcar 4900 off the top of my head - not even two digits! No way could I tell whether it was the same car if I didn't know and couldn't see both sides.
Packers#1he was talking about a friend who made a Rio Grande stock car with two different styles of lettering and two different numbers.
Actually, if I recall correctly it was the same number on both sides of the car - just a different paint scheme. That way it's still correct to the car card but without reading the numbers they look like different cars. To be honest, I don't know the numbers of any car on my roster except for boxcar 4900 off the top of my head - not even two digits! No way could I tell whether it was the same car if I didn't know and couldn't see both sides.
That reminds me of a GMR thing. This guy who modeled the granger states needed a way to transport grain, so all his cars had one door open through which you could see grain behind wooden boards. Rather than having specific grain cars, every boxcar could be one. They were normally in regular service, but if the operating scheme required that car x goes into grain service, he would merely turn the car around. Nifty, isnt it?
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Packers, In your case, rather than turning the entire train around, might I suggest breaking up the train, and turning each piece around Individually, that way, you always have the engine on the right side of the train, even if it is backwards, which is still okay.
Tyler, do you have a trackplan I could have to follow your operating scheme?
TrainManTyI don't know the numbers of any car on my roster except for boxcar 4900 off the top of my head - not even two digits!
TrainManTy All push-pull commuter trains have the engines on the outbound side, and at any point along the line they'll all be facing the same way, except for at least one line (Morristown) on New Jersey Transit, where the diesels running into Hoboken face outbound and the electrics running into Penn Station face inbound. Correct me if I'm wrong, Joe. This is just based on experience from railfanning at Convent Station. (Oh, and I figured out why I kept calling it Convent Garden! When I went to London in 2005, the hotel that we stayed at was closest to Convent Garden station on the Piccadilly line!)
All push-pull commuter trains have the engines on the outbound side, and at any point along the line they'll all be facing the same way, except for at least one line (Morristown) on New Jersey Transit, where the diesels running into Hoboken face outbound and the electrics running into Penn Station face inbound. Correct me if I'm wrong, Joe. This is just based on experience from railfanning at Convent Station. (Oh, and I figured out why I kept calling it Convent Garden! When I went to London in 2005, the hotel that we stayed at was closest to Convent Garden station on the Piccadilly line!)
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My operating scheme is pretty well defined. CDWJ runs from Concord Staging to White River Junction Staging, with a stop at Lebanon Yard to pull off the local delivery cars and pick up outbounds. WJCD does the same thing but in the other direction - White River Junction Staging to Concord Staging. Local LE-1 handles switching in Lebanon Yard and at industries in Lebanon and Mascoma, NH. Local LE-2 handles switching at industries in Enfield and West Canaan, NH, and intermodal hotshot NAWJ once the equipment is ready, will take a train of TOFC spine cars between Nashua, NH, (via Concord Staging) and White River Junction, VT, and WJNA will do the same in the opposite direction.
But here's the catch. CDWJ and WJCD share the same locomotives and crew. Lebanon yard is the west end of White River Southern Railroad track, and trains run over Claremont-Concord Railroad tracks via trackage rights the remaining miles to White River Junction where they interchange with New England Central, CCRR, Pan Am Railways, and Washington County Railroad. After dropping off their train, they pick up cars for the eastbound, change their symbol, and return to WRS tracks. WJNA and NAWJ also share power, but instead of handing over their train to NECR at White River Junction, they continue north to Montreal over NECR and CN tracks and return the next day (session).
Sweet John. Thanks!
Joe, aight man. You got a point there. hmm, idk, could bend the rules, but idk. oh well.
Packers#1IVRWPackers#1...in which case I can give both coaches and the loco a different number on each side to model more of the fleet. in push-pull mode, only one side would be exposed to the aisle, so that would hopefully work. That is a really good idea, Packers#1. Congrats. That reminds me of a workshop in my club a few months ago, in which, he showed us a locomotive that had different paint schemes on either side. But still, great idea. I got the idea from a Tony Koester column a couple years ago. I'll have to go back and find out what exact issue. he was talking about a friend who made a Rio Grande stock car with two different styles of lettering and two different numbers.
IVRWPackers#1...in which case I can give both coaches and the loco a different number on each side to model more of the fleet. in push-pull mode, only one side would be exposed to the aisle, so that would hopefully work. That is a really good idea, Packers#1. Congrats. That reminds me of a workshop in my club a few months ago, in which, he showed us a locomotive that had different paint schemes on either side. But still, great idea.
Packers#1...in which case I can give both coaches and the loco a different number on each side to model more of the fleet. in push-pull mode, only one side would be exposed to the aisle, so that would hopefully work.
I got the idea from a Tony Koester column a couple years ago. I'll have to go back and find out what exact issue. he was talking about a friend who made a Rio Grande stock car with two different styles of lettering and two different numbers.
Speaking of columns, I was just reading a short article I got with a Dream Plan Build Video Series disc. David Popp wrote how to make easy home made casts for rocks. What material did he use? Playdoh! Roll out playdoh to about an inch thick, push face of real rock into it, add plaster, remove playdoh, get rid of small extra playdoh on the rock with a tooth brush, and replace "casting tool" into container. Pretty good, isnt it?
Hmm Sawyer, that's a cool idea. Only problem is that, on the prototype, the locomotive is typically placed on the West (or South, whatever is outbound, at least on the east coast) end of the train. I mean, if you wanted to, you could just turn the entire train around, except it may not be totally prototypical.
Well, I've been working with operations for how the layout might run. Train numbers, physical operations of the layout, etc.I also got some money from my dad (for doing some work stuff for him). First I'm gonna buy new hockey gloves (the ones I have are shredded to pieces...), and then the rest will probably go toward trains in some way, shape or form (as in new camera, or rolling stock, or benchwork, whatever).