Howdy readers – today’s long post details a lot of work done
in the Train Room over the past few days, and Part 1 of my visit to the CMRM.
I devoted nearly 12 hours to the Train Room this week, and
while most of the changes will be invisible to guests, it was an extremely
fruitful week! I’ll start with the layout…
I set up the CTA 4-car “L” set on Track 3. From reading the
manual, I decided to try out a fun feature that allows me to program the train
to stop automatically at a set of stations that I decide. To program the train,
I use the “whistle/horn” and “bell” buttons on the transformer. However, the
Lionel ZW transformer I’ve been using to power the set since March 2014 is
about 70 years old and doesn’t have these buttons. A ZW transformer has a
whistle lever, but this doesn’t work that well for programming purposes. To get
around this, Lionel manufactured separate buttons that can be wired between the
transformer and the track to provide whistle/horn and bell functionality to any
transformer. I had been using these separate buttons, but there are a few
drawbacks. One, a ZW controls four trains, meaning I would need 8 buttons (4
trains x 2 buttons each) to get full sound capabilities on each track. Two,
these buttons are about $20 each, and I have 3, so it would be kind of
expensive to get an entire set for a ZW transformer. Three, I use some rather
beefy 10 or 12 gauge wire to power the layout, but these buttons use tiny 18
gauge wire, so when the buttons are used, the power flow is decreased significantly.
Four, since bringing the remainder of the collection back from Illinois, I now
have my full complement of transformers available to me, some of which have
built-in whistle/horn and bell functionality.
So, I decided to make a big change in the layout power
supply configuration. I swapped out the 250W Lionel ZW transformer with two
270W MRC transformers. This improves things significantly, and solves the whole
whistle/horn and bell button issue. It also means that 2 tracks get to share
270W instead of 4 tracks sharing 250W, so train performance will improve
overall. The MRC transformers are controlled by wired remotes. These remotes
provide some handy added functionality as well – they have a “brake” button
that smoothly slows down the train, and a “stop” button to be used in case of a
problem that immediately kills power to both tracks. While I prefer operating a
ZW to a wired remote, I am so far pleased with the results.
Anyway, back to the “L” cars… After hooking up the MRC
transformers, I began programming the CTA set to stop at specific spots on the
track and announce specific stations in an order of my choosing. I followed the
manual, and after several attempts I got the train programmed. Even with
buttons for the horn and bell functions, it is difficult to get the timing just
right. When the train is running, I can send it a command to enter “auto mode”,
and it will run and stop indefinitely without any prompting from me. It’s a
neat feature for an “L” train!
I set up The Canadian
on Track 4, which consists of 3 F3 locomotives and 6 streamlined passenger
cars. For more details on this train, please see my December 5, 2013 blog post.
This is the first time I’ve run this set in Montana, and it looks really sharp.
And now I can operate the horn and bell a lot more effectively with the MRC
transformer.
I ran all four trains and found that the extra-long CNW
Trainmaster will bump trains on Track 3 when it is rolling on Track 2. So, I’ll
just run 3 trains at a time, which is fine and slightly less noisy. Also, I
discovered that CP Coach 111 has a low magnet on one of its couplers that
occasionally strikes a track joint on the west side of Track 4, which needs
some fixing. Later in the week, I opened up CP Coach 111 to check for problems
with the truck. While I didn’t see any problems, I was pleasantly surprised by
the car’s construction. I’ve never had need to open one of MTH’s passenger
cars, but they are well built, especially compared to earlier car designs from
other manufacturers. I ran the car with the low magnet at the rear and didn’t
have any problems after 10 loops.
In preparation for the Christmas season, I set up the
O-scale nativity set that my wife gave me. It looks pretty good with some rocks
in the background. It is a neat feature that helps us remember what Christmas
is all about!
Also in “above layout” news, I’ve hung up two more
artifacts: a PRR can and an MRL crossing post license. I’ve also had some
correspondence with the MTH Service Dept regarding the NP 0-6-0 sound problem. I
also gave the room a good dusting. Last night I vacuumed the floor and some
surfaces.
Now for “under layout” news… I spent a lot of Saturday
sorting and organizing all of the non-train tubs. Meaning, the scenery,
figures, vehicles, track, transformers, accessories, buildings, electronics,
non-O-gauge trains, and a plethora of other items were removed and then
replaced into new homes for storage. I found a few things I had been missing,
and threw out some un-needed boxes and miscellany. Another big project was the
completion of my “every train needs a box” initiative, which started and ended
on Saturday. I have four specially designed padded corrugated boxes made for
storing/transporting O gauge trains. These boxes now contain all of my trains
that don’t have their original box anymore, and each box has a category: Post
War Engines, Post War Freight, Modern Engines, and Modern Rolling Stock. After
sorting everything, I reorganized the under-table area and the locomotive
closet. The under-table area is now in a “U”-shaped storage formation, with the
tubs/boxes that I access most often in front and on top. The tubs at the bottom
of the locomotive closet contain items that I most likely will not need to
access until the layout of the future is being built.
To help keep track of which “train box” contains which
train, I’ve added a Location column to my inventory spreadsheet, so I can
quickly see where a train is located in the train room. For example, if the
field shows “TB1”, then I know that it is located in “Train Box 1”.
And now, back to Colorado...
On the second Saturday of our trip, my wife attended a
shopping event in Loveland, CO, and I headed to Greeley. The Colorado Model
Railroad Museum is located there in a 15,000 sqft steel building. I had a
delightful visit! The museum contains a very large HO layout, a Thomas-themed O
gauge layout, a wooden trainset for little kids, a real caboose, a Lionel
collection, a large collection of railroadania, and a gift shop. I was there
for about 3 hours, but easily could have spent the entire day. There were folks
of all ages there to visit, and there were over a dozen staff members or
volunteers onsite as well. I took a lot of pictures and video, and got some
good ideas for layout details, as well as building construction ideas. I also
purchased a Lionel Yule Marble flat car to commemorate the trip, and serve as a
birthday present to myself in a few months J
The full-size caboose is a restored Colorado & Southern
(CB&Q) rear-cupola wooden model. It sits on rails and ties inside the
building. The interior is open for inspection, and is fully outfitted with authentic,
period details (including the linens on the bed).
The O gauge layout, although rather small, is very
impressive. It is basically a maze of interconnected track loops, and is
covered with modern and historic operating accessories. There are 6 trains on
the track, which consist of a Thomas-style locomotive and a caboose. There are
buttons all around the perimeter of the layout which activate the multitude of
accessories, and control the whistle sounds on the locomotives as well. The
most impressive part of the layout is the control system, which is housed in a
large set of processors on the wall. The system insures that the trains do not
run into each other using a rather complicated set of blocking. The trains also
run very fast, so they look sort of like a swarm of bees zipping in every
direction when in motion.
The Lionel collection consists of about 200 Post War pieces
in a glass display case. They also have some Post War transformers,
accessories, and advertising on display.
The railroadania collection is spread throughout the entire
facility, and consists of nearly 1,000 artifacts ranging from full-size
semaphores to vintage time schedules. If time allowed, I would have spent more
time studying these items. Highlights include a collection of 40 Pullman seat
cloths from various railroads, over 100 time schedules from various railroads
in a custom-built wooden rack, which visitors can read, railroad signage and
uniforms, one of the most complete railroad lantern collections I’ve ever seen,
100’s of railroad switch keys in a glass case, and a pair of seats from a MRR
Olympian Hiawatha passenger car. Wow!
The gift shop had mostly touristy items. However, there were
a few custom model railroad cars for sale (including the Yule Marble car I
purchased), and several DVD’s produced in house about layout construction and
scenery. These looked pretty interesting!
But, the unopposed star of the museum is the massive HO
layout, which I will talk about next week in the Thanksgiving post! Until then,
have a jolly time, and keep all of your rails shiny ~
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The November-December Roster: MKT NW2 Grain Train, CNW
Trainmaster Fast Reefer Freight, CTA 6200-series “L” cars, CP F3 ABA The Canadian
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| The Canadian |
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| CNW reefer freight |
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| The CTA 6200-series set |
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| PRR can |
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| Under-layout view |
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| Train box for PW Freight cars |
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| The model railroad nativity set |
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| Lionel display at the CMRM |
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| Passenger car towel display at the CMRM |
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| Railroad time tables display at the CMRM |
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| Part of the railroad lantern collection at the CMRM |
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| O gauge layout at the CMRM, notice the control system on the wall |
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| C&S caboose inside the CMRM |
