In view of an impending “off” weekend, I thought I would start the ball rolling so that we have some photos. I wish I had something better, but this is it for this time. Get those photos in, folks!
NYC local does a courtesy stop to defer to a PRR coal drag struggling up a 2.7% grade.
Ahh… The Central “bowing” to the Pennsy. All is right with the world!
[;)] Next week, though, the roles will be reversed. Hee, hee.
If you can tell which railroad each of those locos belonged to from that angle… YOU MIGHT BE A MODEL RAILROADER!!!
Crandell,
Have you had any problems with derailments at the curved turnout transition - either going up or coming down the hill? Did you have to “bend” or bow the track downward at all to make it work?
Tom
Yes, Tom, I certainly did have some derailments. But I was forced to alter the turnout for that location. It took some bending, some re-soldering and moving of rails a smidgeon, and so on.
It takes a deep breath, a leveraging surface, and slow, steady pressure to get even a slight depression on one route. Then, you may have to tweak the frog rails…oy, what a headache. Even worse, these are Fast Tracks turnouts that are meant to be rigidly soldered rails to PCB ties that do not want to bend. So, I simply cut the longer ties that run under the frog rails about an inch past the V. On another, on the other side of the layout, I had to bend the approach rails to the points slightly so that the straight #8 would conform, on the diverging route, to the descending curve. That meant, necessarily, that I also had to bend the diverging frog rails at their tips, where the turnout-proper ends, so that the curve’s integrity was kept. If you look closely at the through route in my photo, you can see the problem when you have to meet a curve right away…an abrupt transition. Fortunately for me and my plan, it is a mine spur, and going is meant to be slow…whew!
If you ask me, don’t do it. Alter the plan and/or move the turnout to where it can be on a planar surface, including about 3" of approach track at each route. WS curved #7.5’s are great if they meet your criteria, and I recently ripped out one and replaced it with a curved #8 which was even better for my radius at that location. They’re nice turnouts, work well, and I recommend them…the insulfrog ones are what I use.
It can be done, but it isn’t much fun. Getting my turnouts to work well was the single biggest headache for me in my entire layout experience. The Fast Tracks turnouts are A-1, but they make jigs for every configuration except for bi-grade routes. Fudging, as I stated, is a trial.
-Crandell
Crandell,
I was wondering as much. Even so, the overall effect and look of the two lines merging into one is fantastic. Ya’ dun good, bud. [:)][tup]
Tom
Very nice pic Crandell. Being far from my layout as you know, I don’t have much to offer. I found a pic of the container area that was on my laptop and figured I’d send it in. After this one, I’m out of pics to contribute until September : ( I acknowlege (and apologize to the purists) that the sky is fudged. Cheers
The J1 does not struggle. =)
Very good pic!
The NYC H-10 (maybe?) is on the left, PRR J-1 on the right.
H-6 and a J-1…
NYC has style, but H-6 isn’t typical NYC…
No layout work this week. Did get some parts here for the museum 1:1 DL-701 restoration project.
Tom, thanks for your compliment…it means a lot.
RRCanuck, you are saving the finer shots for the last if I am to judge by this one. What an astounding image! The sky “distance” seems to be spot-on, and the model is superbly rendered in great natural light and in excellent depth of field. Okay, now I have another example for inspiration.
GMTRacing, that’s quite a weekend modeling project you got there! [:O] Does the wife know you have all this stuff under canvas in the back 40?
The only H-10 Mikes you’ll find are in brass. Athearn, BLI, and Trix all modeled the USRA H-6.
Tom
We love you, Marilyn.[:X]
Mike
[quote user=“selector”]
Yes, Tom, I certainly did have some derailments. But I was forced to alter the turnout for that location. It took some bending, some re-soldering and moving of rails a smidgeon, and so on.
It takes a deep breath, a leveraging surface, and slow, steady pressure to get even a slight depression on one route. Then, you may have to tweak the frog rails…oy, what a headache. Even worse, these are Fast Tracks turnouts that are meant to be rigidly soldered rails to PCB ties that do not want to bend. So, I simply cut the longer ties that run under the frog rails about an inch past the V. On another, on the other side of the layout, I had to bend the approach rails to the points slightly so that the straight #8 would conform, on the diverging route, to the descending curve. That meant, necessarily, that I also had to bend the diverging frog rails at their tips, where the turnout-proper ends, so that the curve’s integrity was kept. If you look closely at the through route in my photo, you can see the problem when you have to meet a curve right away…an abrupt transition. Fortunately for me and my plan, it is a mine spur, and going is meant to be slow…whew!
If you ask me, don’t do it. Alter the plan and/or move the turnout to where it can be on a planar surface, including about 3" of approach track at each route. WS curved #7.5’s are great if they meet your criteria, and I recently ripped out one and replaced it with a curved #8 which was even better for my radius at that location. They’re nice turnouts, work well, and I recommend them…the insulfrog ones are what I use.
It can be done, but it isn’t much fun. Getting my turnouts to work well was the single biggest headache for me in my entire layout experience. The Fast Tracks turnouts are A-1, but they make jigs for every configuration except for bi-grade routes. Fudging, as I stated, is a trial.
At least I had the right class of locomotives. That has to count for partial credit, right? Maybe?
Finals are killing me, and they haven’t even STARTED yet! I just have to keep telling myself that I’m finished Thursday before lunchtime… then free of school for the next few months…
For the lack of something better, Haven’t taken any new shots lately: An overview of my industrial area. The fence lying on the road has since been put up.
What a great little scene, Mike!
Here’s a couple of shots of my under-construction coaling tower:
