Operations
Visit to some fellow modellers
I have just got back from vacation on the west coast. Went to meet up with friends and family. Visited with long time friend, fellow geologist and model railroad enthusiast Marc Simpson. Marc was able to get me down to meet Mark Dance and see his world class layout, The Columbia and Western Railway.
i took my HBMS #2 to Marc’s layout for a few photo ops. Marc models HBMS and the CN line.
IAIS's West End - Attention to Derails
As I mentioned back in my blog post about switch locks ( https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/35731 ), I've long planned to add working derails to my layout in order to further immerse my crews in the experience of their prototype counterparts. I finished that task about a week ago and thought I'd share what I found in case others were interested.
Description and photos follow in the first reply.
Lancaster Central v2 reboot
I made the decision to rebuild my layout, now that it’s 5 years old, it’s time to remove the basic things and focus on more details. I will be removing the ‘filler’ cars from the roster, upgrading and weathering the cars that stay. For some reason I procrastinated for several months and then I decided decided it’s now or never.
The mainline was straightened on one end and the connection removed that made a loop between the scenes of the visible section. The passing siding was extended. Most of the mainline stayed.
Creating my Mining Scene
I have started to work on my mining scene. Unlike my previous layout which had an open pit, this will have a head frame to hoist massive sulphides. The small ore cares will be loaded there and then taken back to the plant for processing. The design is based on the Chisel Lake Mine head frame in northern Manitoba.
Jim Moir’s Protrak operation software is now free
It was recently announced that in tribute to the late Jim Moir’s lifetime effort to produce the most accurate, feature filled and complete model railroad operations software of all time. So as a result his family have consented to allow anyone to download and use his software for free.
Talk about a bargain.
‘Go to protrak.org for your download. I can’t recommend the software highly enough.
Mark
ProtoThrottle Pocket!
Announcing the latest in a long line of holders for your ProtoThrottle... the ProtoThrottle Pocket!
Store and protect your ProtoThrottle with the ProtoThrottle Pocket. Made from strong and durable black PETG plastic, this holder will cradle your throttle securely and out of the way when not in use, while still providing access to the controls if needed. Three mounting holes in the back make for easy attachment to a wall or the layout fascia. $10 each, or $8 when you buy 5 or more.
Modern distribution of car types
There are often discussions about how many system cars or private cars or foreign cars one should have on the layout, what's a "proper" mix.
I got access to some data from one day in the summer of 2008 on a generally east-west class one railroad in the upper Midwest. I did some analysis to see how the cars broke out by system, private or foreign. I was also able to figure out general car type. There were about 141 trains in the measurement, with about 14,600 cars over a 24 hour period. Here is the breakdown of trains:
Track Cleaning
Hello fellow Railroaders.
I was just wondering if I'm the only modeller out there that is continually and constantly, and I mean forever cleaning my track!!!!! I have a great deal a track. It's a real pain in the you know what.
I use 99.9% Isopropyl alcohol with a cloth, also I use a 2 self cleaning box cars. However nothing except pure muscle power seems to work effectively.
Other than investing in a surgical "clean room" does anybody have some good advice to offer.
Cheers
Paul
Hazmat Training Cars
While visiting family in Spring, TX, I saw these hazmat training cars in the wye. They are used to train first responders on tank cars and tank car safety, and familiarize them with the various access hatches and connections on tank cars. While these are very rare cars, they do move around a lot and can be seen in locations that have a lot of hazmat passing through. About 5 years ago I was in Essington, PA (south of Philadelphia) and saw the NS versions of these cars.
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