Banana cheese logs

Happy November ~

Please enjoy some views and video of the all-electric roster below. Visitors since the last blog posting included my uncle and aunt from the Chicago-area. Also, some new rolling stock just came in: a K-Line reefer full of bananas, a MTH reefer carrying Phenix cheese, and three heavy-duty log cars carrying some massive sections of tree trunks. The banana car really has bananas inside. The cheese car is a scale version of a 36' reefer, and thus it is shorter than the other reefers in the fleet, but is still prototypical. The log cars are referred to as "skeleton cars" since they are "bare-bones" only - just a rolling platform for transporting big logs.

Until next time, keep your rails shiny ~

Trolley, L Train, Interurbans and Electroliner

South Shore and North Shore

3rd rail and overhead electrics

Loops of electric trains

The banana car has lots of accessories

New rolling stock

Three new log cars

New cheese reefer

Banana car with bananas inside

Bananas, cheese and logs

Electrified

The autumn winds have blown up a flurry of activity in the train room over the past two weeks.

I started by putting away the semi-scale roster. Based on operation, I did some troubleshooting with the whistle on the NP 0-6-0. I confirmed that, once again, there needs to be other power draws on the track for the sound to work properly. For example, a passenger car with consistent lighting, or a street lamp that is tied to the track power. Modern trains controlled by modern transformers require this.
Next I tested the Electroliner successfully. I opened up the front car to re-affix the internal window frames. In doing so, the new wires I installed last month were disconnected. I used Gorilla Glue to affix two long frames and one short frame, and left them to adhere overnight.

I also tested the CSS Interurban set and confirmed that the cowcatcher on the lead unit contacts the track occasionally when running forward. This results in lots of sparks and sometimes a derailment. So I manually bent the cowcatcher about 1/8" and tested it again. The train now runs properly.
Continuing on the Electroliner, I installed longer lead wires on the front motor connection. I noted that two other wires were disconnected, and through additional testing I came to believe that these had been disconnected for years. I reattached another window frame to the front unit.

Taking a break from repair work, I researched existing and potential "long" locomotives that will run on the future train layout to determine minimum operational track radii. I adjusted the master layout planning diagrams to support a minimum radius track of O-54 (for the Electronliner, shays, hudsons, and northerns). Two locomotives yet to be purchased (the Little Joe and Z-6) have a minimum radius of O-72, so they will be unable to run on some of the loops. The three longest loops will be able to support very large radius track, and I'm experimenting with O-81, O-90, O-99 and O-108 radii to see what will fit into the plan. As of now, the plan is to have two O-54 loops, three O-63 loops, three O-72 loops, and three to-be-determined large-radius loops.

I re-soldered the connections on the Electroliner, but after several attempts found that this was causing a short.

I inventoried several cabeese while pondering the electrical issues on the Electroliner.

I reversed the wires coming from the power pickups on the lead car of the Electroliner. This resolved the electrical shorts, and provided extra power for the train. It appears that both sets of wires in this car were wired backwards from the factory. This car, numbered 802, is the lead unit on the train, and is identical to the trailing car, number 801, in all but two ways: 801 has red marker lights, signifying it is at the rear of the train, and 801 has a male electrical connection to the next car. Car 802 is the only car in the 4-unit train that has a female electrical connection, and it seems this was originally installed backwards, although this is not apparent by looking at the wire colors, which are in line with the appropriate wires in the next car. I reattached additional window frames on 3 cars of the Electroliner after resolving the electrical issues.

I disassembled and lubricated PW Lionel locomotive #2037, which has not run on my layout before. There was a rusty staple stuck in one of the gears under the shell, which I removed. The roller pickups were retracted, so I placed them in active position, and tested the locomotive successfully. It is fully functional - forward-neutral-reverse, whistle, and smoke. 2037's were produced for a number of years throughout the Post-War period. A pink version of this locomotive came with the 1957-1958 Girl's Set, and is quite rare. My engine is unique in that it is missing the decorative bell, but I don't think this makes it more valuable :)

I proceeded to clean up all the tools used for repair work, and set up the new all-electric roster. I opened up the powered CSS Interurban car in order to replace the 9V battery (to provide continuous sound effects), but could not find a battery or battery clip inside. Upon further research, I found that there is no clip for a battery, even though one is mentioned in the instructions. (Oh well.)

Anyway, the roster now consists of:
Track 1 - Trolley
Track 2 - CTA L Cars
Track 3 - CSS Interurbans
Track 4 - Electroliner

Everything runs very smoothly except for the trolley, which has problems running over the 45-degree cross track on Track 1. The Bowser trolleys only have one power pickup, which explains why it has difficulties with cross tracks. To resolve this, I could perform some electrical modifications to the track, but I'm not going to. I'll just have to run the trolley at a consistent 40-scale-mph, which is generally fast enough for it to jump over the dead spot in the cross track without shutting off or cycling into neutral. The layout of the future will have zero cross tracks and only a few switch tracks on main loops, because I just don't want to deal with them. In the meantime, commuters on Track 1 will be quite dizzy, but they'll get to their destinations really fast!

All in all it's been a great two weeks of progress in the train room, from repairs to roster changes and more! Keep those rails shiny~

Lionel PW NYC 6464-125 boxcar

K-Line Kingan's reefer car

Electroliner window frames

First window frame in place on Electroliner

Cowcatcher repaired on CSS Interurban

2037 prior to repair

MRL locomotives in Laurel, MT

All-electric roster

Electroburgers on the menu!

This week marks the triumphant return of the Electroliner to active service. I bought the Electroliner new in the early 2000's. It is the only brass model I own, manufactured by 3rd Rail/Sunset Models. It is a beautiful scale model, but from day one it has had problems. While troubleshooting these problems, I quickly learned that I don't want to invest in any other brass models in the future. They are very finicky.

Earlier this year, I had the motors serviced in Michigan. This week I performed the final major work, which involved swapping two motor lead wires in the head unit (#802). The photos below show the 'Liner laid out on a foam "workbench", with wires attached to the roller pickups and wheels. It kind of looked like it was connected to life support, or was possibly part of an experiment being performed by Dr Frankenstein. Regardless, this allowed me to power up the train while it was laying on its side, and confirmed without a doubt that the front and rear motors were turning in the opposite directions. I also saw that the rubber tires on the front wheels had degraded to the point that pieces of them were whipping around. I removed the offending pieces of rubber. Later this year I'll apply some Bullfrog Snot to these wheels to provide more traction. Anyway, I opened the shell on the lead unit and unplugged the wires that lead to the motor. I cut the two wires and swapped their placement on the motor connector. I reconnected everything and powered up the Electroliner again, and all the wheels were running in sync. I can't prove it, but I think this was a problem from the factory, as the 'Liner had never run smoothly on the layout in Illinois. The two motors working against each other caused the rubber tires to fall apart, and eventually resulted in one of the motors being damaged (repaired earlier this year).

I placed the Electroliner on Track 4 and tried it out. I found that it has some trouble with electrical flow on the west side of the layout at slower speeds. But when I opened up the throttle, it zips around the whole loop flawlessly. The sounds and horn features work too. There is still some work to do: the aforementioned traction tire repair, the interior lights are out on the rear unit, and most of the interior window frames need to be reattached. But, I've placed the train back on the active roster, since it is performing very well on the track. I've now run the Electroliner more in Montana then I had in Illinois, and am very pleased with its performance. It has a GREAT "clickity-clack" sound which is quite realistic. I know this because I've had the pleasure of riding on the original #801-802 Electroliner at the Illinois Railway Museum. They are currently restoring it again, so we'll all have the chance to ride it again in the coming years. I won the race though: my Electroliner got fixed before theirs!

Also this week another historic Lionel Postwar 6464 car was added to the roster. The red Minneapolis & Saint Louis 6464-525 boxcar is from the original 1957-1958 production run. So far I've collected 5 of the 29 original 6464-series boxcars, and it's been fun so far!

I've updated some of my model railroad spreadsheets to reflect current train prices, and improved the layout on a tab containing Postwar Lionel information. I also purchased some more rolling stock, which will be detailed in next week's blog post.

Keep those rails shiny ~

Electroliner on the operating table

Electroliner rounds the SE curve of Track 4

6464-525, nearly 60 years old

Four F-Units

This week I finished inventorying the new roster. Here are the trains that are now set to run:

Track 1 – C&NW F7 AA and short freight

Track 2 - SR F3 AB and long freight

Track 3 - CP F3 AA and the Northern Range

Track 4 - NP F3 ABA and 5-car Vista Dome North Coast Limited

Notes:

-The Lionel Northern Range (actually Commodore Vanderbilt) heavyweight cars are made for O-54 track, but Track 3 is only O-42. This train needs to run slowly, and will bump passenger cars on Track 4, so I run it independently.

-First all-F-unit-powered roster.

-SR Postwar #2356 is performing well after making repairs last week.

-First time running for K-Line ATSF “Midnight Chief” boxcar 97199, Lionel GN boxcar 24872, and Weaver GN boxcar 2512.

-First time running (on this train set) for Weaver CNS&M boxcar 500814

-NP #2390A seems to need a new battery, as the sounds are acting strangely.

The all-F-unit lineup

Williams C&NW F7 and a short freight

60-year old SR F3 pulls a scale boxcar freight

Brand new boxcars on Track 2

North Shore boxcar and a brand new GN boxcar

CP locos pull a 4-car Northern Range

Lionel NP engines pull a 5-car MTH NP passenger set

In the Engine House

Over the past few weeks I've been repairing two units: the Lionel Postwar Southern F3 #2356 A, and the 3rd Rail Electroliner. I've also snapped a few photos of real trains.

I tested the 2356 after returning with it from Illinois. It successfully traversed the outer loop of the layout, but after a few minutes I noticed smoke coming out of the front of the engine. (Modern diesel models frequently have a smoking unit installed, but you won't find this feature in a circa-1955 locomotive!) I removed the shell and started troubleshooting. This engine has dual motors. The front motor showed signs of major stress - the carbon brushes had become slightly deformed, and there was a lot of carbon debris within the motor housing. I cleaned the interior of the motor and re-affixed everything. When testing, I found that the rear motor armature wasn't rotating. So, my theory is that the front motor had been working extra hard to make up for the frozen-up rear motor, which resulted in the brush damage. Now I'm working on restoring the rear motor. I can get the armature to spin erratically, so my first step will be to thoroughly clean the entire motor. I will use the steps provided by Just Trains at http://www.justtrains.com/Service/maint-3.asp.

Now over to the Electroliner. Since I bought it over a decade ago, operating this critter has always been problematic. It is among the best-looking models in my fleet, and is the only brass O-scale item I own. The internal systems, however, are marginal at best, and because of its construction, it is the most delicate set I have. It is terribly easy to unintentionally bump something and cause a slew of problems. So, regardless of past issues with the 'Liner, here is what I'm currently dealing with. I had the motors repaired by Roy at www.royztrains.com in Michigan. I restored TMCC (Train Master Command Control) functionality by re-soldering a wire in one of the compartments. And, I partially repaired a damaged truck. The remaining issues are that the motors do not always run in-sync (one is going backwards while the other is trying to go forwards), the powered wheels do not have enough traction to properly propel the train, the sound system sounds distorted, and all of the internal windows have detached. I've asked for Roy's advice on the motor issues.

On our return trip from Illinois, we stopped in Hayward, MN. While my bride was shopping at a quilt store, I hung around the tracks of this little town, hoping for a train to come through. No such luck, but I got some classic small-town railroad photos. In Wall, SD, I saw a Rapid City, Pierre & Eastern train come through to drop off some MOW cars. The RCPE is just over 1 year old and connects Rapid City with Tracy, MN. Their colors are orange, black, and yellow, and they run several former DM&E locos that have not yet been repainted.

My folks visited Billings in August, and they snapped a photo of me with NP switcher #1031 at the Yellowstone County Museum in front of the Billings airport.

Til next time, keep your rails shiny ~

Front motor on the 2356 showing carbon brush damage and debris

Rear motor on 2356 after initial cleaning

Repaired red wire connection on the Electroliner

Repairing the Electroliner truck

Electrified Electroliner!

Identification sign and mile marker at Hayward, MN

PCRE train at Wall, SD

Logo of the new railroad

Me and the local Billings switcher

Catch Up

Howdy - this post will give some brief details about my railroading exploits over the past year, when this blog was on hiatus. And of course, there are spiffy pics at the bottom!

July 2014
-Took some photos of individual trains while changing out the roster.
-Trains on track included the CNW Doodlebugs, Lionel Lines Columbia-class 2-4-2 Postwar steamer "trying" to pull the Rock Island Denver Rocket, Rock Island Northern 4-8-4 with a reefer freight, and Illinois Central GP9 with a caboose train.
-Repair work on the CNS&M Electroliner. One motor was failing to run, putting a lot of pressure on the second motor. I deemed that either the motor was bad, or that I did not have the tools/skills to repair. I send the Electroliner to Illinois to await repair in Michigan.
-On a hot day I photographed track repair equipment at work near the Billings Depot.
-I won my first game of Ticket to Ride.
-Set up the new roster: Track 1 - CBQ GP7 and small freight, Track 2 - CNW F7 and freight, Track 3 - Trackside Construction set headed by MP-15, Track 4 - Frisco Mikado 2-8-2 and freight

August 2014
-Saw a wacky-looking ballast recycling machine near the Depot.
-Also at the Depot, a special MRL train pulling a mix of modern and heavyweight passenger cars was parked for a day.
-Repaired Postwar #2034 to working order

September 2014
-My bride gave me a beautiful piece of artwork - a hand painted historic map of the Montana Railroad
-A string of nine BNSF locomotives came through Billings
-My folks were in town and visited the train layout
-While traveling, saw two enormous new MRL EMD SD70ACe locomotives followed by two little SW switcher locomotives in an EB train

October 2014
-Set up a model logging train at work as part of a "north woods" Halloween theme

November 2014
-Set up the new roster: Track 1 - LL 2-4-2 and small freight, Track 2 NP 0-6-0 and logging train, Track 3 - CNW GP7 #1518 and reefer freight, Track 4 - complete Vista Dome North Coast Limited passenger train (chasing its own tail)
-Decided to sell the K-Line Milwaukee Road GP7, as it is not a scale locomotive

December 2014
-Set up Christmas tree on the layout, with train ornaments
-Set up permanent Christmas lights under the layout for storage illumination
-Hosted family on Christmas day in the train room
-Set up CNW 0-8-0 freight around Christmas tree in the library room
-Prepared train tickets for visitors to the train room, and stamped them upon admission

No activity for a few months

April 2015
-Set up the new roster: Track 1 - green Brill trolley, Track 2 - CNW 0-8-0 and ore car train, Track 3 - GN 2-8-2 and mixed freight, Track 4 - CNW F7's and bi-level passenger train with the UP American View.
-Took various photos of the roster

May 2015
-Got to see a Lionel Smithsonian-edition NYC 20th Century Limited set at an auction in Lewistown. Only 500 of these were produced.
-At the auction, bought: ZW transformer, mint BA&P freight tag, numerous railroad paperwork items (majority from 1893), several railroad maps, framed painting of an NYC steam train, a heavy box of railroad spikes, and a large 1961 Burlington wall map of its western US tracks

June 2015
-Set up the new roster: Track 1 - CNW Doodlebugs, Track 2 - IC GP9 and caboose train, Track 3 - RI GP9 and CNW GP7 #1518 with the CNW Minnesota and Black Hills Express heavyweight passenger train, Track 4 - CNW 4-6-2 with a hopper car train
-Put all of the trains away in preparation for the remainder of railroad items to arrive from IL
-At the end of June, we set out for Illinois, and the rest you know! Now we're caught up, and keeping those rails shiny ~

CNW Doodlebugs take a ride on Track 4

A fast reefer freight heads around Track 4, pulled by the RI Northern

Electroliner under repair

Removing old, and installing new ties on MRL tracks by the Depot

First time playing, first time winning - Ticket to Ride

CBQ GP7, CNW F7, Trackside MP15, and Frisco Mikado all pulling freights

Special MRL passenger train at the Depot

Wacky looking ballast machine in Billings

Postwar 2034 undergoing repairs

Example of O27 vs O steam locomotives in action

Hand painted map of the Montana Railroad

9 locos at once

2 big locos and 2 small ones

Halloween at work

NP 0-6-0 pulls a log train

The Vista Dome North Coast Limited chases its own tail, while the 2034 zips around Track 1

Christmas time in the Train Room

Under-table illumination

Special Christmas tickets for the Train Room

My nephew enjoys the CNW 0-8-0 circling a Christmas tree

A trolley, the CNW 0-8-0, the GN 2-8-2, and the CNW F7's are all featured in Spring 2015

The switcher and the road engine at night

The illuminated 21" CNW Bilevels

The trolley takes a night trip

Busy day on the layout

A steel caboose follows the ore train

One of 500 Lionel Smithsonian NYC 20th Century Limited sets

Hat is a wee bit small for me

CNW Pacific #2903 pulls a long row of hopper cars

RI and CNW geeps team up to pull a heavyweight passenger train

Doodlebugs and cabeese