Testing and Assessing

As March came to an end, I was able to fit in a few more hours working on the railroads. On Thursday, I received the track to complete the train layout. I tested the O-42 loop, and the inner O-31 loop. I honestly couldn't remember the track sequence for the next O-31 loop, so I wrote it down the next day :) I found that, with the crossover piece on the inner O-31 loop, additional lockons were required to keep electric currents flowing. "Lockons" are a nifty little invention that allows you to connect electrical wires to the inner and an outer rail without soldering directly to the rail. On Saturday I began testing the placement of the track, to make sure that trains running on one loop would not touch trains running on other loops.

Also on Saturday, I spent 6 hours continuing the assessment of the trains Cal is hosting. I made it through all of the traditional train items. Highlights included a number of PostWar accessories, specifically all 3 of Lionel's coal loaders. Also present are empty boxes for motorized units #50, 55, and 58. I began going through the boxes/piles of miscellaneous "stuff". I've already found several integral pieces that go with previously assessed trains or accessories. What remains are the miscellaneous items, a few boxes of Atlas O track, and a stack of railroad books, magazines, and VHS tapes.

On Monday, I entered all of my notes on the Lionel assessment into Excel. On Tuesday, I put in 3 more hours on the collection, and completed all of the note-taking and photography. Last night, Amber helped me solve a few mysteries regarding a "which accessory goes with which item" question. Thank you dear. I also continued testing track placement on the new layout.

At work on the PostWar collection

MRL and C&NW Geeps testing out the new track

The thirteenth entry in this series on future passenger trains is a long one: The Northern Pacific Vista Dome North Coast Limited.
The two-tone green scheme reminds me of the mighty, endless forests of the Rockies. About 50 years ago, I would have been able to watch this magnificent train stop and pass through Billings from the present location of my desk at work! The "North Coast Limited" began service from Chicago to Seattle in 1900. Its route took it through Bismarck, ND and Billings, MT. In 1948, the train was reconfigured with streamlined passenger cars. And again, in 1954 it was modified into "The Vista Dome North Coast Limited" featuring 4 dome cars throughout the consist, promoting a "modern" way to view the majesty of God's Northern Rocky Mountains. It was at this time that the two-tone green color scheme began to be used. I would imagine that I would have taken this train to a place in the mountains decorated like our Cabin Room. The North Coast Limited was one way of getting from Chicago to Yellowstone National Park - from Livingston, MT, the Northern Pacific's Yellowstone Park Line could take you within a few hundred feet of the North Entrance's Roosevelt Arch. The VDNCL made its last run in 1970. But, it will live on on Mark's MT Railroads!

My North Coast Limited is the longest passenger car consist in the fleet, sporting an impressive 11 cars, 5 of which are domes (see pic at top of this entry). The cars were manufactured by MTH. It is pulled by Lionel F3 ABA locomotives. The total length is 21 feet, which is crying out for a giant layout to run on. But, I'll have fun with it on the new 8x7 set in the Train Room, as we wait for the train layout of the future to come to be. 21 feet of O-Scale train equates to 1,008 feet of full-sized train! Of course, to be scale-accurate, I would need a station platform over 21' long to accomodate this train... I don't think that will come to be. We'll just say that the North Coast Limited is not based in Silver Falls, allowing it to process a few cars at a time at Liberty Station. :) Keep your rails shiny!

The North Coast Limited in Billings - picture from the Northern Pacific Railroad Historical Association