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

Maintenance Shop

Happy June to all ~

This week I snapped some photos in the Laurel Yard, and did some maintenance-type work in the Train Room.

On Sunday, while returning from picking up some top soil at a greenhouse, I checked out the happenings near the turntable in the Laurel Yard. I saw some MRL and BNSF locomotives, and one out-of-place UP engine. Nearby, the railroad-tie train was parked, which I wrote in detail about in a previous posting. Also standing by was a Loram track-testing train.

In the world of Model Trains, I did some office work. We store our important papers in a filing cabinet in the Train Room, and some sorting was long overdue. So, I put away a lot of papers and shredded the ones we didn't want to keep. After that, I got out the Lionel Service Manual and the Lionel Maintenance Kit. I familiarized myself with what parts of the locomotives required lubricant or oil, and serviced the following engines: MRL SD6, CNW GP7 1518, PRR GG1, CNW E4, Handcar, CNW 0-8-0, and the Trolley. I tested everything well, and let the lubricant settle in. I only serviced the visible parts - I did not perform maintenance on the motors this time around.

I hope you enjoy your week, and keep your rails shiny ~

Lionel Maintenance Kit and Service Manual

Applying lubricant to the gears on this truck