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

Geepers!

Happy New Year and welcome back to my occasionally-updated blog. For the next month or so, a gang of General Purpose ("GP" or Geep") diesels have control of the layout, so let’s go check them out!

First, on Track 1, Williams-made Illinois Central GP9 #8959 leads a short freight consisting of a CNW hopper, NP reefer and a Texaco tanker, trailed by a wood sided Illinois Central caboose.

Next up, the snappy looking Rock Island GP9 (also manufactured by Williams) pulls a mixed freight on Track 2. Here's the roadnames, car types, and builders: NP hopper (MTH), D&H hopper (Lionel), MRR gondola (MTH), CGW tanker (K-Line), NP log car (Lionel), CSS boxcar (Weaver), Baker's Chocolate tanker (K-Line), and a Rock Island caboose (Lionel).

Track 3 hosts an abbreviated Bozeman Zephyr with a Lionel Postwar Celebration Series Burlington GP7 at the point. Behind the locomotive is the newest addition to the roster, a boxcar celebrating and commemorating the birth of my son Wesley Hudson last November. This short Zephyr includes a baggage car, coach and observation car.

And, Track 4 finds a double-headed snowy reefer freight! Lionel Chicago & Northwestern GP7s numbers 1518 and 8375 haul an 11-car train while pushing the CNW rotary snow plow through the drifts. The colorful reefer cars are filled with dog food (Doggie Diner), ham (Dubuque), baked beans (Heinz), assorted groceries (IGA), butter (Land-O-Lakes), biscuits (Merchant), mustard (Nash), bananas (Northern Refrigerator), fruit (Pacific Fruit Express), and cheese (Phenix). The whole deal is followed by a red CNW caboose.

Hope you enjoy these views of the new GP roster! Keep those rails shiny ~

The double-headed snowy reefer freight

Burlington Geep and Special Addition Bozeman Zephyr

Spiffy CRI&P Geep

Logs and South Shore

Geep Season

Mid-layout view

IC Geep

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

Little trains and the Night of the Rolling Frankencoach

There was some nice activity in the train room this week!

I started by reattaching a brake wheel on the new MTH Great Northern caboose. I think it separated during shipping, and some super glue fixed it right up. Over the weekend, I took down the F-unit roster and set up the new semi-scale roster. In the process, I inventoried 36 items. It's the first time running in Montana for most of these semi-scale cars. By "semi-scale", I mean that the engines/rolling stock are smaller than O-scale. Semi-scale cars are typically shortened models designed to decrease cost and allow them to run on smaller radius track (O-27). I began modeling with all O-27 equipment, so this was a fun nostalgic experiment, getting to play with these smaller cars again.

Now, just because a model train car is short does not mean that it isn't O-scale. O-scale, by my definition, simply means that the model is really really close to 1:48 proportions (1 inch on the model equals 48 inches on the real-life prototype). So, there are a lot of O-27 train cars and engines that fit my definition of O-scale. Good examples from my collection include GP7 and F3 diesels and 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 steam switchers. Also, all of my ore cars are O-scale, but by their nature are rather short. Semi-scale equipment is not O-scale, but they are a lot of fun to operate. I typically would not intermix semi-scale pieces with their larger O-scale counterparts, because in my opinion it would look silly. However, I see many real-life examples of long and short freight cars next to each other on the same train.

I have sold off the majority of my "modern" (meaning "not Post-War") O-27 rolling stock. I have kept a number of engines and passenger cars though, and continue to collect Post-War pieces, which are typically semi-scale. Most of these pieces are part of the current roster. On Track 1, I'm running a short Post-War freight, headed by K-Line C&NW S2 diesel #2320. This diesel has dual motors, and is a mighty little brick. It has always been very reliable. That is, until now. I attached it to 4 short Post-War cars, and quickly noticed that it was consistently derailing on two sections of curved track. I deduced that there was a weight issue. The Post-War cars, short as they are, are almost entirely made of metal, and thus much heavier than the plastic cars this engine usually pulls. Furthermore, I had included the #3472 operating milk car in the bunch, which has a lot of machinery inside it, making it almost as heavy as the locomotive. I removed the milk car from the train, effectively reducing the draw bar strain, and this resolved the derailing problems. The weight of the heavy cars was pulling down on the rear powered truck of the S2, and the unfettered front powered truck had enough oomph to push the flanged wheels off the track. This probably wouldn't be a problem on larger-radius track, but Track 1 is all O-31, and it is almost entirely curves.

Track 2 is hosting IC Pacific #2099, 5 ore cars, and an unmarked Post-War work caboose. The IC steamer is another really reliable locomotive. It has no bells or whistles, except for the fake bell and whistle, and the real air whistle. It runs very smoothly, and has no problem pulling the relatively light train. In reality, loaded ore cars are among the heaviest cars on a train. This ore train has the added drama of an AEC car loaded with radioactive materials, which has been placed as far away from the engineer as possible! The unmarked caboose is a Lionel #6120. This variation has a hole in the roof for a smoke stack.

On Track 3 we have the IC City of New Orleans passenger train. I remember when my father bought this set in the early 90's and we displayed it on the floor of the family room as soon as we got home from the Wheaton, IL train show. Originally a 6-car set, Lionel released a dining car and a full vista dome car a few years later. The two Alco FA engines were manufactured by K-Line, as an alternative to the matching Lionel 2-6-2 steam locomotive. Like the K-Line S2 diesel, the lead FA unit has dual motors. The second FA unit was fitted with trucks that were power-ready, so a few years later we purchased a motor, gears, and an E-unit in order to energize the dummy. So, the set now has 3 motors instead of 2. Since this was a DIY project, and the second engine typically runs in reverse, it makes syncing the E-units a bit of a challenge. Thankfully, the lead FA unit can be locked into forward, so it just takes a few tries to get both engines running in the same direction. A quirk is that sometimes the former dummy unit switches into neutral randomly as it travels along Track 3, so the operator (me) has to pay pretty close attention to the movement and sounds of this train. The passenger cars are all fully lit and perform with excellence - it's really a sharp-looking train.

And the C&NW Pacific-powered Rockfordian is running on Track 4. This was the first full train set I purchased myself in the mid 90's. It's a pleasure to run this train in my own house for the first time. The steamer is noisy and has only moderate pulling power, but the feel of its metal and the smell of its running motor and drivers produces a feeling of magic that can't be beat. This was the first steam locomotive model I purchased, and I still remember getting it in the second hall of the Wheaton train show (now called the "Great Midwest Train Show"). I had to pay for it and the passenger cars over two separate visits. On the subject of the passenger cars, these are sometimes called "baby madison cars" due to their small size. I call them "semi-scale heavyweight cars", and they've had an interesting history in my employ. Originally, our layout in Illinois had about a 6" rise, so the train had to go up and down all the time. The locomotive's Magne-traction feature helped a lot, but the cars required some modifications to run smoothly. I think I added some weights to keep them from wobbling or derailing as the track elevation changed. After a while, I abandoned the graduated inclines and changed the configuration of the train layout, and then this train had an easier time running on flat surfaces. The cars run well on Track 4; they just need some electrical work to get the lights to remain on consistently. I recall issues with bulbs and pickup wires that will need to be revisited. These cars have a funky way of sliding off the shell by depressing some hidden tabs. I believe there's a video online that shows the process to help take most of pain out of the endeavor. The Rockfordian name is a moniker of my own design; there never was a real passenger train called this.

All in all, setting up and running these trains is a delightful trip down memory lane, and I plan to keep all of these semi-scale goodies on the active-service list!

Last night I unpacked some new stock. This should be the last new stuff for a while, which is fine - I'll have plenty of things to keep me busy soon! Anyway, this shipment involved the completion of the Northern Range heavyweight set. Last month I ran a 4-car abbreviated version of this train, and I recently found some good deals on the final components of this train. Up to now, the Northern Range consisted of 6 scale heavyweight cars, 5 of which are Pullman coaches or sleepers, and 1 is a similarly-painted Santa Fe coach (Granite Canyon). I also added a head-end REA car to complete the look and carry some baggage. However, one REA car isn't enough to contain all of the baggage for 6 car-worths of passengers, so this week I added the Pullman Van Twiller combine, to provide more luggage space and some more seating. That brings the heavyweight count up to 7, which is where I'd like it to stay. So, naturally I purchased another heavyweight car - the Santa Fe Cafe Observation. Why? Well, the Granite Canyon had a lot of problems with trucks and electronics (see a previous blog post or two). I found the Cafe Observation for just $11 and decided it was worth it for the parts. Last night, I proceeded with the macabre task of swapping the chassis of the Granite Canyon for the chassis of the Cafe Observation. There were a few complications, but the operation was a success, and the Frankencoach Granite Canyon is... alive... Alive... ALIVE! I did take the time to reassemble the Cafe Observation, because that's just the kind of microferroequinologist that I am. It's still a striking-looking scale observation car, and might look great as somebody's decoration. I'll bring it with me to the NMRA show in Missoula next month and see if I can find a new home for it. Northern Range now consists of up to three head-end cars (two are waiting for new 3-rail trucks from Atlas), Pullman combine Van Twiller, Santa Fe coach Granite Canyon, Pullman coaches Willow Range, Willow Valley, and two Willow Rivers, and sleeper Highland Falls. That equates to a real-life train that's over 700 feet long. It will look exquisite on the train layout of the future!

The other item I received was a vehicle. It's an intricately detailed M35 Army cargo truck manufactured by Corgi, and it appears brand-new. It will show up in the town of Red Stone, the settlement closest to the military base, picking up some shipments at the freight depot. Until then, it will be stored safely in its box.

I'm expecting some train room visitors in the next week, so I'll provide a report next Thursday! Keep your rails shiny ~

The semi-scale roster

The IC-powered ore train

The Rockfordian

Van Twiller combine

Granite Canyon fully powered

And, my bride got to ride on a short train today!

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

More Red

Hello, today I received the two new Great Northern cars I mentioned in last week's posting. After clearing the train table (of various paperwork that was being sorted), I tested them out.

Petersen Supply Great Northern Stock car #63172

MTH Great Northern caboose #X54

Another Postwar 6464 car should be coming soon! Keep your rails shiny, and see ya next time ~

GN Stock car and Caboose

New O scale rolling stock for the roster