The Wreck of the Wreckers

Now, I can say that ole’ Mark ran a safe railroad, and he’d actually be the first to say it, modest as he is, but he would have been right until that first week of June. Sure, a derailment here and there when testing rolling stock, or when dealing with that pesky crossover at Granite Junction, but all-in-all his trains stayed on the track. But that all changed last Tuesday night.

We all knew it was a month for them maintenance trains. (I think ole’ Mark was showcasing them, for what reason, who could guess?). But all them cranes and searchlights and whatnot were taking precedence over our revenue makers, and I for one was tired of taking the siding so often. The week before, ole’ Mark was showing off that fancy CNW boom, but he noted that the cab would swivel a bit too eagerly, and told the hogger on that Geep to keep it slow on the curves. Well, telling Macky Fergurson not to go fast is like telling a fish not to swim.

So that brings us to Tuesday. Macky was taking the CNW MOW around the yard on Track 3, the construction crew train was stopped on Track 2 awaiting orders, and Sven and Rudy were incessantly piloting that handcar on Track 4. Ole’ Mark was in the tower, but busy working on some 100-year old documents. The stage was set.

Macky broke into the southeast curve and that boom shifted outward. First it knocked over the fuel tank at the substation, causing it to be dragged and then land right on Track 4. Then the back of the crane cab hit the rear of the construction train, ramming the caboose and plowing that tie car off the track. The impact forced the crane off the track and into a downward angle. Then along came those ninnies in their handcar, and managed to get stuck on the crane’s hook.

So we called in a wrecker crew to right the wreckers. The Geep and construction trains were righted and chuffed out to the engine house on their own power. Sadly, Sven and Rudy’s beloved handcar may have had its last pump. The 671, anxious for its own turn to shine on Track 4 next month, was called in to push the handcar back to the engine house, and that may have been Handcar #1’s last trip on the silver streets. But ole’ Mark isn’t one to give up easily – having a place for us to pilot these steamers, tin cans and dingers is proof of that.

Keep those rails shiny for good ole’ Sven and Rudy

The 6-6 disaster from the south

The two-crane wreck, seen from Granite Junction

The comparatively gigantic, 70-year old steam turbine preps to push the handcar (perhaps) on its last voyage

Addendum: The above-described wreck was NOT intentional, it was a real accident, and one that warranted its own posting, because the results were spectacular, and I could not have "engineered" such a set up myself. I never ever condone crashing model trains intentionally. (Or full-size trains, for that matter.) The two MOW trains survived unblemished, but the handcar has major electrical and/or mechanical problems to resolve.

Maintenance of May

After over a year I was able, a little at a time, to switch out the roster, with my 17mo toddler's help/"help". He is still enamored with all things trains.

Here are some notes on the Maintenance of Way (MOW) roster: This is the first time I've put together a MOW theme.

The Postwar MOW train on Track 1 is extremely reliable, except for occasional derailment of the last two cars at the 45-degree crossover. I haven't recognized anything specific that needs to change to prevent this situation. The UP locomotive continues to be one of the best runners in the fleet, at 68 years young. The searchlight car, with repairs made previously, functions correctly and dramatically (especially in the dark). The locomotive and cars were all manufactured by Lionel in the 1940’s – 1950’s. Union Pacific FA A unit #2023, Lionel Lines searchlight car #3620, New York Central gondola #6462, Leigh Valley hopper #6456, and Southern Pacific caboose #6357.

The SFTA MOW train, which had to be moved from Track 3 to Track 2 to accommodate the scale CNW crane's boom length (see below), is right at home on this O-31 track. Being an entry-level K-Line set, the NW2 locomotive has a couple challenges - 1) While scale in proportions, it's decks are oversized and will impact trains on Track 3 while traversing curves, and 2) it doesn't have a "slow" speed - it goes from still to fast with nothing in between, and it will go even faster still. I can work with this, but it does mean I shouldn't run trains on Track 3 while this one is running on Track 2, and I shouldn't run it if I'm trying to calm myself or anybody down! “SFTA” is an abbreviation for Silver Falls Transit Authority, which in this case is leasing equipment from the Trackside Construction Company. NW2 #104, unnumbered rail transport car, unnumbered I-beam transport car, gondola carrying railroad ties #5630, and unnumbered crane car/caboose.

The CNW MOW train looks very sharp, and is truly O scale in proportions. However, this means that the crane boom, which extends 7.5 inches beyond the car's deck, sticks out quite a ways on corners. With the large hooks and equipment that hang from the boom, this would cause considerable damage to any trains operating on the next track. Originally, this train was scheduled to run on Track 2, but it would have obliterated the SFTA train which was planned to run on Track 3, so I swapped the two trains. My choice of equipment for Track 4 also made this an easy decision. Anyway, the CNW train runs at a slower pace, and I've turned the locomotive around to run backwards, which is prototypical. The cab (and thus, the engineer) is closer to the crane operation, and that provides better line-of-sight to maintenance work. I've observed various MRL work trains operating in a similar fashion, with REAL GP7s and GP9s, albeit with trimmed front hoods :) Lionel CNW GP7 #1518, MTH CNW crane #6359, and matching MTH crane tender #X250948.

And the trusty handcar makes its long way around Track 4. This handcar was built by Industrial Rail and is unnumbered.

As part of the changing of rosters, I entered or completed inventory records for all participating equipment. At this point, 72% of the fleet has been inventoried. Enjoy National Train Day this Saturday, and keep those rails shiny!

Postwar MOW train

SFTA MOW train

Long CNW crane boom

CNW MOW train

Handcar