Semi-Success

Welcome back ~

This week resulted in some mixed results for the Granite Canyon. This is a K-Line Heavyweights series passenger car I purchased at an auction several months ago. Upon opening it, I found that one of the trucks had come apart at a weak spot. Later research found that a very large number of these passenger cars suffer from a similar problem. After finding that soldering would not work, I tried using some super glue instead. In the process of fixing it, the other side of the truck fell off, and one end of the piece snapped off as well. Nevertheless, I rejoined everything with the super glue, and it ended up being rather stable.
 

Trying a super glue solution

Super glue seems to have worked

 Next, I reattached and enhanced the wiring as needed, running from the wheels and roller pickup to two lights on the car frame. I used a combination of solder and twist joints for this, and got all of the lights to work on the track.
 

Lights on!

 I manually tested the wheels, and reattached the shell. When I tried connecting the car coupler to the C&NW E4 Hudson, I noted sparks and electrical arcs emanating from the coupler! I have not encountered this before, but noted that it is probably bad. Some more fiddling did not resolve the problem, so I looked for an easy way to deactivate the roller pickups under the car. Surprisingly, they are designed to toggle up inside the truck frame and rest there. Basically, it is a toggle function to easily turn the interior car power on or off. After doing this, the car operated fine, although without lighting. I ran the car around Track 4 behind the Hudson about 20 times with no incident, so I concluded that the rebuilt truck itself is working properly. So, welcome to the Northern Range, Granite Canyon ~

Granite Canyon behind the E4

In real-train activities this week, I happened across a maintenance train that was placing ties alongside the track across the street from my office. I was taking a lunch stroll, and noticed an MRL locomotive heading EB at a very slow rate. After a while the reason for the slow speed became apparent. The train consisted of about 10 gondolas filled with new railroad ties. Riding the train was a special crane contraption that was picking up the ties and placing them alongside the track as the train slowly advanced. The crane has the ability to ride along the rims of the gondola cars, and has wheels spaced so that it can "jump" between cars while the train is in operation. My bride and I had seen this train sitting on a siding in Laurel this past Sunday, and it was neat to see it in action yesterday.

Tie placing train

Have a great Memorial Day weekend, and until next time, keep your rails shiny ~