SITREP 9/20/20

 Yesterday we had another T-TRAK get-together of the model railroad club. The narrow gauge modules didn't go to this one since I haven't corrected all of the issues I had with them, but I did get some scenery done on the end cap.

 Let me digress.

I built an end cap to use when running my narrow gauge modules to complete the standard gauge loop. At the time that I built it I had no intention of ever using it for anything other than completing that loop for home use while testing the narrow gauge line. However, we have a show coming up in October at the Selma NC train station, and we were short a loop. The club asked me if they could use my end cap, and I committed to completing some scenery on it so that it could be used for that purpose. 

In other news, my grand-daughter in Wyoming has gotten into horses and rodeo riding, and it just so happened that I have in my collection of figures a horse that looked amazingly similar to hers. A little paint and it is a match. Additionally, I have a structure of a horse barn that I built long ago for my 4x8 layout that was going to waste. And so, I reasoned, what better than a horse pasture for the end cap.

The first thing I did was lay out all of the components. Well, actually, the first thing I did was build the windmill that you see, and then I laid out all of the components. Horses, of course, and the horse barn, but also some large sunflowers that I had bought because my wife likes sunflowers and never found a place for.

I rearranged the pieces until I had a rough idea of where I wanted everything to go, and then started gluing everything in place.

The final arrangement moved around quite a bit, but eventually I had everything where it needed to be. The rocks were better on the outside edge, a water tank to go with the windmill, a tree for shade and of course the shelter.

The rancher and his helper checks fences. Yes, the fence is a bit big, about 10 scale feet in fact, which is bigger than I wanted it to be but that was a detail I didn't really notice until the figures were glued in place. That's what I get for not checking the measurements.

The sunflowers are 12-14 feet in height because they are HO scale, but there are sunflowers that are that big so it's not a huge stretch. I was careful to plant them all looking the same way and the wife loves the way they came out.

The white horse is the grand-daughters. I got a real good view of the grass in front of it, but not so much of the horse itself. A shame really, but at least you can see what it is.

A few more horses stand around the shelter observing the rancher from afar.

And the overall birds-eye view.

Yesterday it went to the show (but was not included in the layout) to be inspected and certified as ready for use. After the show I took it home, added some track feeders and painted the edges in the appropriate club color of brown. Next is to build a shipping container of some sort to protect it as it makes its way to the show in Selma.

And in other news, J class 611 has arrived and has been programmed. I also put decoders in my 4-8-2 light mountain locomotive and I plan on making a K2a out of it, just one of many projects. My two Consolidations also got decoders but one of them has a hitch in its giddyup so it will need some additional work on the driveline. 

I also have decoders for a couple of diesels, but I need a few more for some Life Like GP20's in N&W livery. These are some wonderful locomotives, I got a couple of them in garish MicroTrains Christmas paint and was pleasantly surprised at how well they ran. I have since acquired three black ones in N&W paint and one in the CB&Q Redbird scheme. I don't think they made a black CB&Q loco, but if they did I would certainly retire the SD7 and SD9 because their wheelbases are a bit long for some of my current corners.

The CB&Q GP20 ran on the club layout yesterday, turning in a flawless performance where the GP9 bounced over a piece of expansion track (later on I found one wheelset on the narrow side) and both it and the Consolidation picked points on one turnout in particular. Like I said, they run surprisingly well for being inexpensive locomotives, a little bit on the noisy side but that's something I can live with.

And that's the state of things here. I hope you all are getting some train time in.

More Power

Earlier in the year I had sent my Bachmann J class 611 in to have a drive rod/valve gear issue repaired, and they didn't have parts so they sent it back to me. Bachmann has just re-released the J class and I had one, road number 608, on pre-order. I got the call last month saying they were in, so I went ahead and ordered another one, road number 602, while I was at it.

When they arrived I disassembled one of them and compared them to the previous run 611. I found the locomotive itself is little changed. There is a hole in the previous run above the trailing truck that had no apparent purpose that is not present on the current run, the grille in front of the cab on the previous run is an actual hole in the body of the locomotive covered by a screen and on the current run it is a solid casting, and the red color on the side stripe of the new run is a brighter red, not maroon like the previous run. Other than that, the only real difference is the wiring. The wiring in the loco itself is the same, but instead of terminating in a plug it terminates on another PC board which is then wired to the new style plug for the sound equipped tender. The tender is quite a bit different because of the sound board installed, but visually identical save the red stripe color.

 A comparison of the parts sheet between the previous and current run shows that most of the locomotive parts are the same, with the exception of the wiring. The boiler shells are interchangeable with the only differences being cosmetic, as listed above. With that information in hand I went to the website and saw they had some parts for the J class again. Since the part numbers looked to be the same as the previous run I ordered a cylinder assembly to repair 611. When it arrived I unpackaged it to install it, but unfortunately, for some unknown reason, it didn't have the drive rods installed (which was really the part I needed).

So instead I sent 611 back to Bachmann to be repaired. I got the call today telling me that, once again, they didn't have the parts but since they had a current run, and since I had added a sound decoder to my loco, they were glad to replace it for a $60 fee. I mentioned the different colors in the stripe but gladly paid the upcharge, so I will once again have J class 611 on my roster. That will make 4 J class locos, and I have enough passenger equipment for two trains. We'll see where it goes from there.

I also ordered cylinders for my 0-6-0 locos to replace broken ones. I was unable to get a green set for my Southern loco, so I got black sets for both. I also got the lead and trailing trucks to convert the Southern 0-6-0 to a 2-6-2. During the repair process I found cracked gears on my Pennsy 0-6-0. Not to worry, on a previous order I had gotten a set of drive wheels for it, so they were quickly replaced. I also modified the mounting of the trailing truck a bit since the spacing between the rear driver and trailing truck just didn't look right to me. Now I once again have a good running 0-6-0 Pennsy switcher and as a bonus I have a good running 2-6-2 Southern Prairie as well.

I've also adjusted the volumes on all my sound equipped locos, they were too loud for my train room. The J class locos will all have their own whistles as well, with the N&W 3 chime flat top staying on 611.

In other news, I have been applying scenery to my T-TRAK end cap so that it can go to a show in Selma NC during the first weekend of October. I won't be able to attend the show since it's my anniversary weekend, but hopefully the end cap will be well received. My task for the upcoming month is to build a case for it so that it won't be damaged during transport.

This upcoming weekend will be another "show" at the same member's house as last time. I won't have the narrow gauge there since I haven't finished the scenery or fixed the issues I found with it at the last show, but it will be good to see everyone again.

One of these days I will begin construction on my new work room, and then perhaps I'll have layout news to share.

Working On The Railroad

Last February the East Broad Top Railroad was sold to a non-profit with plans to restart operations that had been suspended since 2011. This non-profit, the East Broad Top Foundation, Inc, is closely aligned with the Friends of the East Broad Top. The railroad survives today in large part due to the restoration efforts of the FEBT, although their relationship has not always been close. With the formation of the East Broad Top Foundation the FEBT is now an integral part of the future of the railroad.

The FEBT has been doing restoration work at the historic shops complex for many years. I was a part of the crew that was involved in the work done on the car shop many years ago, but it had been a while since my last trip. But when the news came out that the railroad once more had a chance of survival I had to be a part of it. So, on June 11th and 12th I made my first trip back up to Rockhill since the early 2000's to join in the volunteer restoration work .

This is my second foray in as many months to the EBT. Last month I worked with the window crew cutting and installing glass into restored window sashes. At least one of those sashes, for the freight house, was old enough that it was not assembled with nails. The pieces had been fitted and formed to be assembled with wooden pegs instead. All of the window sashes had to be carefully repaired before new glass could be installed, with some of them being completely rebuilt.

The sashes were then primed to prepare them for paint and the outsides of the windows were painted, and that is where we left them at the end of the work session.

This past week was supposed to be the family beach week in Myrtle Beach, but due to covid and the acquisition of a new puppy we opted not to go this year. I did take the week off, but we worked on the house instead of going somewhere for vacation. But then I got a special treat. Sunday, August 2 was my birthday, and for a present my lovely wife paid for the hotel so I could go back to Rockhill for the August 1 and 2 work session.

This session we installed three of those restored sashes into the Freight Office. This is one of the final phases of the restoration on that structure. The windows had been covered with plywood blanks to keep the majority of the weather out. On Saturday the blanks were removed and the newly restored windows test-fitted.

Photo by Matthew Malkiewicz

Once they had been shimmed and adjusted to fit their respective holes they were painted. On Sunday we took the freshly painted windows over and installed them into the two corner windows, but the shutter covered windows needed a bit more work.

The shutters covered a blank frame that had been built to fill a hole in the wall. The original frame had rotted away so badly that it would barely hold the shutters, but during previous restoration work that had been corrected. Properly sized sashes were rebuilt for this purpose, but before we were able to install them sliders had to be built to hold them.

First outer frames had to be built and installed, which wouldn't have been such a difficult thing except that they had to be notched to clear the shutters.

Once that was done slider pieces had to be built to retain the sashes in the frame. The sashes were then test fitted and shimmed. With that complete they were painted in preparation for installation.

The sliders were installed, then the entire window frame was painted. Since the paint was still wet at the close of business Sunday the sashes could not be permanently installed, but everything is ready to be finished up in two weeks when the railroad officially re-opens for business.

Unfortunately I will miss that event, but I am excited at the prospect of the steam engines running again next year. I will certainly be present when that happens.

Expansion

Since we last spoke I have had a couple of railroad related events.

First the North Raleigh Model Railroad Club had a small get-together at one of our member's houses where we set up T-TRAK modules and ran them a bit. My narrow gauge modules got a bit of exposure, and the reaction was overall positive. I have the two straight modules (Dragon Bridge and Coal Dock) done, and I found some issues on the corners to repair. Now I have to get the corner modules finished.

Another club member and myself took a trip up to northern Virginia to get with one of the North Virginia N-Trak club members to look at their Nn3 oNeTrak modules. We are planning on making some modules of our own, and the intention is to ensure they will mate up to the NVNTRAK modules if we ever make it to the same show.

 

 

Plans are also still underway to expand the train room into Youngest Boy's newly vacated bedroom. I am planning on pulling the closet wall down and turning it into the work room. There will be a staging yard there with tracks going through the old closet door into the train room, which will be cleared of anything not layout, and the layout will be revamped and expanded.

But first, next weekend I'll be taking a trip to the East Broad Top Railroad to do some restoration work. I went up last month and drove the Jeep, but this time around I'll take something that isn't as savage on the interstate. The Subaru just got a new engine, so it should be a good trip for it.

Man Down

Last annual checkup the doc let me know that I was herniated. Yay me. So a week ago last Monday I went and had it fixed. For the last week and a half I've been recovering from that, and let me tell you it's no fun. I was convinced for the first couple of days at least that it would have been less painful to keep the hernia. It's getting better now, but it is going to be a few more days yet before I'm ready to go back to work.

So what have I been doing in the meantime you may ask?

First, I finished the second of my Nn3 T-TRAK modules. The trackwork had been finished and bulletproofed and the dock itself was built, what it needed was scenery. I had gotten the basic mountain done and I had built the shack, but it needed trees and finish work. The outhouse, trees, shrubbery, talus and people were all installed and then the module was cleaned and finished. I think it turned out really good.

The railings and dock workers were the finishing touches that the module really needed. Now I have two corners and a pair of singles with the Nn3 curving off to the back that will finish the narrow gauge loop to complete and then perhaps the whole collection can be taken to a show or two.

I also got some building done on my narrow gauge rail cars. I had purchased a bunch of them in anticipation of the closing of Republic Locomotive Works; Marshall (the owner) had expressed an intent to retire at the end of 2019 but apparently everyone else decided it was time to put in an order at the same time I did. He ended up having a great year and decided to hang around for a while. That is a good thing, but that meant I had a bunch of rail cars to build before I can put in another order (the East Broad Top had a lot of hoppers).

 The above picture is the fruit of my labors in that respect. Along with my regular order I got a bunch of stuff that I didn't order, mostly defective castings that I suspect came from the scrap bin at RLW that Marshall was throwing in with the orders to clean out his bins and also to give his customers some scratchbuilding materials. So along with the boxcars, hoppers, flat car and caboose that I did order I got a couple of boxcars that I didn't order that just needed some holes filled and truck bolsters rebuilt, and I also got a tank that I decided to put on a flat car.

The East Broad Top did have such a tank car, built out of flat car 116. As has become standard for my building style this is not an exact copy of that prototype, but it captures the flavor of the original. Since this photo was taken the tank has been painted silver and the car has been decaled so it looks a lot better in my opinion. It is a welcome addition to my fleet. The flat cars aren't prototype for the EBT either, but...yeah, close enough.

Then I decaled the whole lot, starting with the caboose. I already had 28 so I turned this one to 27. I finished the flat car and the tank car, then I did three of the five boxcars before finally calling it a day. I finished the other two box cars the next day, and now I can concentrate on the hoppers.

My medical vacation will be finishing up soon, I hope, but before I have to go back to work I'm hoping to finish up the coal hoppers I have in the build and then decal some of the ones I already have built for the rock trade. There are ten of those, some are fully decaled, some are partially decaled, and some are not decaled at all. The decals available from RLW do not have the labels for the rock cars, but fortunately the Friends of the East Broad Top sell some in the company store that do. I just got in a few decal sets from the FEBT, so I'll be able to finish up the ROCK decals now.

As for coal hoppers, I have six on the work table right now. The RLW hopper kits consist of a top cast in resin and a bottom frame with attached dumps in white metal. Of the six, three have had their resin tops sanded and fitted to the white metal bottoms with end platforms built and three more sanded and fitted to the bottoms with the end platforms left to build. I also have three more that are still in their package and three more on the way. I should have enough trucks and couplers for the first six but since I have more boxcars than I had planned it's probably about time to take inventory and order some more trucks and couplers. I also need to buy some brake cylinders to fit to the end platforms, something that I overlooked when I put in my initial order.

That should keep me busy until I get back to work.

Eastie Rides Again

The East Broad Top is back!

Up And Running

I think I have the trackwork all squared away on my T-TRAK modules.

I built a standard T-TRAK end cap (180 degree curve) so that I could make a complete oval with both standard and narrow gauge tracks. I hooked everything together...or I tried to at least. I ran into troubles right away.

First I had trouble connecting the narrow gauge track. Aligning two tracks on standard T-TRAK modules is not so bad, get a double crossing track or a piece of double track with 33mm spacing and check it on each end, easy peasy. However, when you add a narrow gauge track at a higher elevation and setback you really have to pay attention to details because everything has to align in all three dimensions. If not, connecting the modules is troublesome when it's not downright impossible. And of course this was the case, I had some modules that would connect straight away with each other in one configuration but went from difficult to impossible with others or in a different configuration.

So, I had to spend some quality time with the template and shims to get everything at the exact height and depth. I had several end pieces that had the narrow gauge track either higher or lower than the others so they had to be carefully aligned, in some instances the end had to be shaved away to lower the track and in other cases it had to be shimmed higher. I also had to adjust a few tracks end to end to make sure the 2mm spacing between modules was consistent through the depth of the modules in every configuration.

I finally got everything straight, and I checked each module by connecting it at each end with every other module. Every module will connect in various configurations (really there are only about twelve possible connections since two of the modules have curved narrow gauge track and straight standard gauge and will only connect to each other in one specific combination) so it should all be good now. And then I ran trains...or attempted to...and found other issues to deal with.

First I had power delivery issues. I have connected the Tamiya connectors, which is what both Kato and Rokuhan uses on their power connector tracks, to my power packs so that I can connect them easily to the tracks. On some of my modules the wiring was less than stellar, so I had to correct them. I checked all three connections on each module, which took a lot of time but was well worth the effort since I know they are all good now.

With the power delivery gremlins banished I was able to put a train on each track and started running them around. It was then I found tracks not connected correctly, or misaligned, within the modules. So I spent a couple of minutes correcting those issues. Then I had a bad hump on the outer track on Dragon Bridge, so it had to be pulled up, the roadbed leveled off, and the track re-laid. Then I had a narrow gauge hopper consistently derailing...but that ended up being a car issue and not a track issue.

Finally I had everything running smoothly, so I ran some trains for a while.

I did eventually put some cars on the standard gauge locos and ran them without difficulties. I also ran multiple engines and consists just because it was fun. I took this little video* and ran some trains all afternoon. Finally I disassembled the modules and put them away.

Now I just need to get the scenery done on them, and then maybe I can get everything evaluated and approved for running in the shows.

*Thanks to recent You Tube policy changes I have removed all videos from my You Tube channel.