While I was out... and Cody too!

Hello again. The summer flew by, as always. So here’s a summary posting of the ferroequinological goodness I’ve been up to these past three months…

In June, we traveled to Illinois to visit family and trains. We visited the Illinois Railway Museum during their celebration of the Railroad Post Office (RPO). My son Wesley got to experience a real, running steam locomotive for the first time, as we were happy to see that SLSF decapod #1630 was operational that day. We also got to visit the J Neils Lumber Company shay #5 in steam shop, which was “close” to running as a refit continued (the shay should be fully operational for the 2019 season). Plus, we got to see dozens of other locomotives, rolling stock, and “railroad accessories” at the country’s largest train museum! Wesley also got his first ride on a streetcar (CTA “Red Rocket” #3142), and we got to enjoy the day with my Uncle Bill (another long-time ferroequinologist). When I was young, I was blessed to be able to go to IRM frequently, but it’s a bit harder when one lives 1200 miles away…

Speaking of Uncle Bill, we were able to stay with him and Aunt Dee in the Chicago area. And Wesley got the opportunity to see his great O Gauge layout. While visiting my wife’s relatives north of Chicago, we took a trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens and viewed their substantial outdoor G Scale layout. I had never been there before and was delighted by the dozen trains they were running simultaneously through a landscape of American landmarks. We all had a great time experiencing the mesh of gardening and model railroading!

Back home, and after cleaning up the “wreck of the wreckers”, I switched the layout to an all-Lionel-Post-War-steam roster. The planned roster never actually ran, but here it is anyway:

Track 1: #2034 2-4-2 steam with LL searchlight, NYC gondola, LV hopper and a LL SP-style caboose

Track 2: #2037 2-6-4 steam with 6 6464-series boxcars and a LL bay window caboose

Track 3: #2035 2-6-4 steam with a set of silver O27 streamlined passenger cars

Track 4 #671 6-8-6 steam with remaining O27 Post-War freight cars and a work caboose

Right off the bat, there were a few setbacks. #2037, while a reliable runner, doesn’t have the strength to pull itself and 7 freight cars. Also, #2035 wouldn’t advance more than a couple wheel revolutions. It would reverse for a few inches, but after a bit of cleaning and troubleshooting I couldn’t get it running, so I took it out of service. Then, some tests of the turbine (#671) proved that it was in a rather cantankerous mood. First, the whistle mechanism got stuck in the “on” position. Then, it started giving me intermittent electrical problems, causing trains on other tracks to malfunction, due to their connection through the transformer. And finally, the thing looks and sounds like a fireworks display when operating, with its thunderous grinding sounds and constant under-chassis sparking. So 671 was put out of service too.

The eventual roster that actually went into service, keeping to the “spirit” of all-steam Post-War running, was:

Track 1: #2034 2-4-2 steam with LL searchlight, NYC gondola, LV hopper and a LL SP-style caboose

Track 2: #2037 2-6-4 steam with 3 6464-series boxcars and a LL bay window caboose

Track 3: modern Lionel Illinois Central 2-6-4 steam with a variety of O27 Post-War rolling stock and a work caboose

Track 4 Union Pacific #2023 FA diesel and the other 3 6464-series boxcars and a LL SP-style caboose

This roster ran well for a few months, and then I encountered more steam trouble. Both #2034 and the IC steamer went offline. Diesel 2023 moved to Track 1 and the MTH NP 0-6-0 steamer took over Track 4 (note that the NP still does not output any sounds).

Back in the real world, I got a picture of a freight train at sunset in Big Timber, MT, with the Crazy Mountains in the background.

And, since it’s been so long since the last update, I’ve changed the roster a second time! The current roster, through the end of October 2018, is “Passenger trains”:

Track 1: Trolley

Track 2: CSS Interurbans

Track 3: RI E7A and partial Rocky Mountain Rocket

Track 4 CBQ E8AA and the Bozeman Zephyr

This setup is far less problematic than the previous one. The major issue is that running 18” cars (and really long locomotives) on Track 3 is always a poor idea, as they end up bumping into trains on both Track 2 and Track 4. So, the short Rocky Mountain Rocket only got to run when Track 2 and Track 4 trains were parked in safe places.

Oh yes, we had another baby too. He decided to come a little early. At home. With just my wife and I in attendance. So guess who got to deliver Cody? The ferroequinologist, that’s who. Everybody is healthy and the 4 of us are adjusting to each other, and Cody enjoys watching the trains run J Special addition!

We've kept our tradition of giving our boys middle names that are also steam locomotive classes. Wesley Hudson, and now Cody Selkirk. Selkirk is a Canadian 2-10-4. Why Canadian? Well, my bride and I were married in Canada, and Cody happened to arrive on our anniversary! Plus, "Cody" means "helper", and thus his name can be translated "helper locomotive".

Take care and keep those rails shiny til next time!

Wesley and the 1630

Happy day at IRM

Wesley and Uncle Bill detrain the Red Rocket

Two Hudsons: CBQ 3007 and Wesley

Wesley and Shay #5, both asleep

Wesley and I marvel at Uncle Bill's train layout

At the botanical gardens, a Santa Fe loco meanders between Old Faithful and Old Faithful Inn

The botanical garden layout is impressive; I could easily spend a few hours there!

Back in MT, we have the Post-War consists

Big Timber sunset on Sept 7th, 2018

Night time passenger trains

Myself and my boy, Cody Selkirk

Wesley, Cody and I watching trains downstairs

Cody and his boxcar

So blessed to have these two unique cars in my collection

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

RR Crossing

This week I did some full-scale railroad work. A few months ago, I acquired a damaged railroad crossing sign that had been struck and abandoned. I gladly adopted it, and have given it a new home in our backyard. Much of the post was split apart from the impact, so I had to shorten it considerably, but with a deep hole and plenty of concrete, this sign should remain here for a long time! On the opposite side of the shed is the train whistle sign I installed last year.

In model train news, I haven't made substantial progress due to a very busy week at work, but I did test the CSS Interurbans in reverse, and they ran around Track 3 about 50 times without any issues. This is great news, and I can now proceed to modify the front truck so that the cowcatcher won't "catch" the third rail at junction spots.

I also performed more troubleshooting on the NP 0-6-0, but there is no progress to report yet. I did some shuffling of boxes in the train room as well, but that wasn't interesting enough to warrant a picture. So, enjoy views of our increasingly railroad-themed shed below, and until next time, keep those rails shiny!

The new railroad crossing sign in place

This whistle sign, found in Canada was placed here last summer

Grinders, Catchers, Wires and Tethers

This week I spotted the LORAM rail grinding train in the Billings yard for a maintenance stop. This was the first time I could see the entire unit in one view, and it appears to be an 11-car set. This is train puts on an impressive display when running – a set of cars equipped with grinders smooth the rails, assisted by lubricants stored in the tank cars, and spotters on the caboose extinguish brush fires resulting from the grinding with large water cannons, all without requiring the train to stop. It generates a lot of noise and dust!

Also this week I ran a few of the trains that we brought back from IL in July. I opened up the Chicago South Shore powered interurban to check the sound system and reaffix some loose passengers. The unit runs well and has good sound, but the front cowcatcher contacts that track at a few points, so I’ll do some troubleshooting to help it run more smoothly.

I replaced the battery on the Chicago Burlington & Quincy powered E8, and had the AA set pull the Bozeman Zephyr around Track 4. While replacing the battery, I think I inadvertently moved an internal wire, which is now rubbing against one of the flywheel motors. So, I’ll need to open that one up again and re-set that wire.

I also ran the Northern Pacific 0-6-0 switcher with a set of box cars. The engine was troublesome. At first it would not cycle out of neutral; this was resolved by re-sitting the tether between the engine and tender. After running properly for a while, the sounds stopped altogether, and then it got stuck in neutral again.

Meanwhile, the postwar Union Pacific FAs and postwar freight cars running around Track 1 ran flawlessly the entire week. Not a problem whatsoever!

I’ll let you know how the troubleshooting turns out next week – til then, keep your rails shiny!

The 11-car LORAM rail grinding train

Passengers and conductor inside the CSS interurban

Interurbans on Track 3

A new battery allows you to hear sounds from the locomotive when track power is off

UP, NP, CSS, and CB&Q

Train lineup with lights off

DIY Shelving

A snowy day for interurbans - photo taken by Tim Vermande from rrpicturearchives.net

Happy winter to my blog readers ~

This week's Train Room guests included our friends Paul and Annie, who came over for supper last week. Over the weekend, I worked on several wood-related projects for the home, including some shelves for the Train Room. Several months ago, my bride helped me salvage several 1/2" thick boards which had been part of a large shipping crate. These were being thrown out, so we decided to adopt them. Now they are being given new life in the form of display shelves for the Train Room! I cut them to length, and over the past few evenings I've been treating them with some cherry wood stain the previous home owner left. So far the shelves have cost $0! I'll just need to pick up some mounting brackets/hardware. I went ahead and scanned for studs in the walls and marked them appropriately, so this little project should be finished up shortly. The shelves will be used to display not only model trains, but also a mighty miscellany of railroad-related artifacts I have collected thus far. Also over the weekend, I acquired a nasty cold thanks in part to various snow-clearing activities. I am still dealing with it, and my long-suffering wife is doing her best to help me rest and recover.

The ninth in this series of future passenger trains will discuss interurbans. The term "interurban" may refer to a piece of physical train equipment, or to the electric railway that runs said equipment. When I use the term, I am most likely referring to a type of passenger train that ferries passengers between cities or suburbs. Interurbans are usually capable of high speed travel, and may consist of one or more self-powered passenger train cars. You may think of an interurban as a cross between an electric streecar and a pleasantly upolstered heavyweight passenger car. I've had the pleasure of riding many preserved interurbans at the Illinois Railway Museum, and at several other points across the United States. The Electoliner, disucssed eariler, is a type of interurban, but warranted a discussion entry of its own. The other interurban currently in my roster is the K-Line produced Chicago South Shore & South Bend two-unit set. A picture of a real-life set is at the top of today's posting. This is a very fun train to run, with good sound effects and good dependability. As the name implies, this railroad connects South Bend, Indiana with downtown Chicago. A form of this electric line still runs today. I would gladly add more interubans to the collection if presented with the opportunity, but affordable O-Scale options are rather limited. While manufacturers like K-Line, Lionel, and MTH have produced samples of interubans, the more prevelent means of acquiring O-Scale models is to build them yourself. There are thousands of stunning 2-rail options available, and properly built kits are very valuable. While I've become comfortable building structures from scratch for the train layout, I don't feel a desire to build any sort of rolling stock from a kit. The Chicago area had dozens of different interurban lines, and this seems to be an untapped market in the realm of O-Scale trains. At present, there are two models on my "some day" list: the fancy 3rd Rail-produced CNSM Silverliners, and the more affordable CNSM set from K-Line, which is from the same family as the CSS&SB set I have. Maybe someday there will be more options available for the many O-Scalers across the country that want to add more interurbans to their fleets. There are not any local examples of interubans to model, as Billings was not served by any electric railroads. In the first part of the 20th century, the Billings Traction Company ran battery-powered trolleys to transport citizens, but we'll have to touch on that in a later discussion! Until next time - keep your rails shiny ~

Free boards cut

Free stain being applied