I was looking at a crane boom car with two openings on both sides and that got me wondering about M.O.W trains.
How many M.O.W trains do you have and what areas do they service? Are they specialize in one type of maintenance (track work, breakdown, ect.)?
By the way, that’s not a “MofW” car, that’s a wrecker boom car.
Maintenance of Way is the engineering department that works on the track, bridges and buildings.
A wrecker is the mechanical department that works on cars and engines.
I will just put together a MOW train, on an ‘as needed’ basis. Depends on the tasks and available equipment. So, this is not a dedicated MOW train, but can get a job done.
!(http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv233/GrandFunkRR/Trains of Olyville/IMG_4487.jpg)!(http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv233/GrandFunkRR/Trains of Olyville/IMG_4491.jpg)!(http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv233/GrandFunkRR/Trains of Olyville/IMG_4486.jpg)!(http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv233/GrandFunkRR/Trains of Olyville/IMG_4488.jpg)
MOW CARS:
These two are simple work trains…
But mine is a subway layout, and the MOW / “C-Div” Trains are all the same.
Featured trains on my layout include an MOW Train, The Money Train, the Refuse Train, The Signal Dolly, and the Super Sucker aka the Trak Vac.
ROAR
Like most modern short line the Sunset Ry don’t have a MOW train but,we do have a self propelled American Crane for minor derailments and other services…The boom car is a exPRR 50’ flat car.
If we are going to add cranes then I have 2 cranes, 5 snowplowes, a Bachmann track ballaster, the mini crane with the cart and transport vehicle, a converted passenger car, a dedicated tank car for water, 2 boxcars and 4 CP MOW cabooses.
One rotary snowplow sits in my museum and the other sits on a shelf, 3 Russel plows sit on a siding beside one of my locomotive repair shops waiting for the winter that never comes. The Passenger car, boxcars and water car sits in my yard. The Bachmann stuff hasn’t hit the layout yet and the cranes sit in two different sidings waiting for that big wreck. Only one caboose is on the layout, one is on a shelf and two are boxed up waiting to be sold off.
Waiting to be sold off Dave? [;)]
I may know someone who might be interested.
Gord
PS, I’ll get my list ready when I’m in the train room later on!
My usual MoW train consists of two 4-wheel drop-side gondolas and a gon-brake (think phone booth in the middle of a drop-side gon) loaded with track nails (gon) rail joiners, insulated and standard (the brake) and available for loading with clipped rail ends, tie cuttings and other tracklaying debris. When I’m tracklaying I couple on a teakettle tank loco and run it to the end of track. Easier than keeping the small stuff in boxes.
I also have a wedge plow coupled to an eight-wheel box-brake, available for clearing the line when construction debris or snow becomes a problem. The box-brake carries hand tools (including snow and ballast shovels) and the people to man them. Unlike the other MoW train, this one usually sits in a cassette in off-line storage. It doesn’t snow much in September…
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
MOW and the various related service equipment used by railroads vary considerably, as the responses so far demonstrate. Keep in mind that such trains really vary and depend on the work needed on the section of railroad you model.
They can appear and tie up other traffic with slow orders. Their various cars can be dropped on a siding and put it otherwise out of service, because there’s usually a blue flag blocking the track into the siding they sit on. Sometimes, there can be material or other cars that are scattered one or two in a regular train as it forwards them to the next work site or location needing material. Others require special placement at the end of the train or other such special handling.
Lots of possibilities here. Considering that they do come and go, you typically won’t have any sitting around tying up a track permanently, except at terminals where the equipment is based. That’s where you’ll find a wrecker and its train parked. If you don’t have space to model a terminal, then the wreck train can just be passing through – or placed temporarily to simulate cleaning up an “accident.”
There is other equipment with booms than wreckers though. The Bridge and Building Dept. often has a pile driver for its work, somewhat similar to a wrecker, but also different. It might be able to clean up a small accident in lieu of the wrecker, though, depending on the equipment and company policy and practice.
If you do like certain pieces of MOW and service rolling stock, you have to look into the story behind each one, as there are lots of different jobs that are done. Much of this work is now done from road-rail vehicles, but years ago most such work was supported by various rail equipment.
My MOW train isn’t assembled in the layout right now. It is made of a redetailled and repainted Bachmann crane and boom car, an heavyweight flat car, a combine, a tool box car and 3 Roundhouse 3-in-1 bunker car, a few flat cars, a DIFCO and 4 kitbashed drop bottom gondola. You can add a Russell snow plow and two rotary snow plow. Nothing fancy. Most will need repainting to fit the layout era and together!
Matt
My MOW train is an older Walthers kit consisting of six cars. If I understand their functions correctly there is:
a bunk car,
a kitchen/dining car,
an office/storage car (which is a converted box car with windows on one side of one end, a track map on the wall opposite the windows, and storage in the other end),
a flat car which has short sides for about 2/3rds of the car to contain tools or whatever, and the remainder holds ties,
a blacksmith car with hearth and anvil. I suspect it is a bit dated for the transition era but I could be wrong ( can anyone comment further?). Dated or not I plan to add power pick up so I can illuminate the hearth.[}:)]
and a 40’ freight car.
I intend to acquire another flat car and at least one gondola for the MOW train.
I would also like a pile driver. (The list never ends does it!)
I also have two crane/tender car sets which could be used for either MOW or emergencies.
Dave
I do not have an MOW “train” as such. I have built some MOW and companby service CARS.
Somehow I never got around to operating an MOW “train” on my previous layout. It did not have a yard
as such" and very limited staging. I had no place to run an MOW train FROM without blocking my 2 mainline through trains and the traveling local peddler.
However, I did operate my ballast hoppers, loaded them at J J Stone gravel pit and sent them off via local train to an unmodeled yard (staging) for use in work trains.
I also operated my company service tank car, handled in regular through freight trains, traveling (supposedly) from a Texaco refinery (staging) which had a contract for supplying diesel fuel in the period I model, to various Santa Fe engine terminal points.
Hopefully my new layout, not yet operating, will have someplace where I can operate an MOW train some of the time. I expect to run
If I have one or two yard and staging slots for additional trains, I want to be able to run
I might have a yard sale in the spring, lol.
I forgot to add 6 CP ballast hoppers to my list.
I finally created my MOW, after not thinking about it since this post.
Since my layout will be busy with all types of assignments, I have my SD26 pull a train of 1 or 2 flatcars (in case a train or car derails, you never know) and crane or two gondolas and hoppers to clean up spills and reballast ballasts.