Rails in Excel

Hello Readers ~ sorry for missing a post last week, I was out on vacation!

My wife and I visited the Denver area for a week, and I have a lot of fun train adventures to share with you. Today I’ll provide an overview, and over the next few weeks I’ll get into some details. We visited the Union Pacific Depot and Roundhouse in Cheyenne on October 10^th. On the 13^th, we visited with Alan Olson at the Colorado Railroad Museum and discussed garden railroading. On the 14^th, I took the Denver Light Rail train downtown to do some shopping at Caboose Hobbies. On October 15^th, I camped out on a foothill near Golden to do some trainspotting, and also viewed the rail operations at the Coors Brewery. I also went to a store in Lakewood that specializes in consigned railroad and model railroad items. And, on October 17^th, I spent several hours at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum in Greeley.

Since returning, I’ve done a bit of “digital organizing” – I have a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of train projects and plans, and it needed some work to make it more useful. The spreadsheet contains the following tabs of information:

·         Map1: Two maps of the proposed 32’x20’ O Scale layout. The first shows track and building locations, and is divided into 29 sections. Each section refers to a specific area of the layout for easy reference, like “Silver Falls-Downtown” or “Silver Falls-Yard”. The second shows color-coded tracks and streets, town/place names, and geographic features like lakes, rivers, and forests. It also shows where each major railroad on the layout is based. For example, the town of Cedar Valley is primarily served by the Great Northern, while the town of Red Stone is served by the Rock Island and Santa Fe, with occasional service from the Frisco and Katy. There is also a key showing 108 proposed buildings/structures. Both maps use close-to-scale measurements for track and structures. I plan to add a topographical map as well.

·         Silver Falls Upper: A map showing detail of downtown Silver Falls, which will be elevated. The 23 proposed buildings are shown with close-to-scale measurements. This detail information would not have shown up well on the larger maps on the previous tab.

·         Area Attrib: A list of any detail or idea to include in the layout of the future. There are 365 items so far, and this is a good spot to list ideas. Example 1: For the church in Silver Falls, look at American Model Builders kit #152-491, which is a 7x4x6” brick building and currently costs about $32. Paint it cream with brown trim. Example 2: Remember to install tell-tales in front of all bridges and tunnels throughout the layout.

·         Wish Locos&Sets: A list of locomotives and passenger sets I’d like to eventually own. Some of the items on the list haven’t been produced yet. For example, I’d like to buy the Santa Fe “Midnight Chief” F3 ABA diesel set from K-Line to go with my existing passenger set. The model number is K-25303, and currently sells for about $445 on eBay or Trainz. A goal date to purchase this set is in 2019. This sheet also contains a cross reference of scale sizes and how an actual inch compares to model feet in each scale.

·         Wish Rolling Stock: Similar to the previous tab, this is a list of freight cars or individual passenger cars I’d like to add to the fleet. It also includes a list of 185 applicable Atlas O Reefers for reference.

·         Engine House: This is a new tab I added this week to track repair work. It shows the current status, report date, begin date, fix date, item details, and problem description for each issue that occurs on the train set. Going forward, I will use this to track all the work that is performed. For example, on 10/21/2015, I reported that the Denver Rocket passenger set has very squeaky wheels, and is in need of something to quiet it down.

·         ILLINOIS: contains a list of items we brought back from Illinois this year. This is mostly for reference, and once the master inventory is complete, this tab can be removed.

·         Train Names: A list of every motive unit and its current status. It also shows when the unit was last run on the train set. A separate list on this tab shows every train by name or purpose and the last time it was run. I also use these lists to schedule the next roster line up, so I end up with a good rotation through the locomotives and trains. For example, the Great Northern 2-8-2 mike was last run in April, 2015 and is in operational status. Or, the Broadway Limited last ran in May, 2014, and was pulled by the Pennsy GG1.

·         Train Log: A list of train-related activities done each day. For example, on 5/18/2014, I successfully tested the lighting on the Granite Canyon Pullman car, but encountered other issues (see previous blog for details on that one!)

·         Inventory: This will contain the master inventory of all train-related items in my collection. It will show a Record Update Date, What the item is (a model train, an artifact, or an “other”), the Manufacturer, Type of Item, Sub Type of Item, Description, Scale, Roadname, Road Number, Item Number, Year Manufactured, Condition, if the Box is present, the Box Condition, personally assessed Value, and Notes.

·         Abbreviations: This is another tab I added this week. If someone who isn’t me uses this spreadsheet, this tab will provide a key to the various railroad (or other) abbreviations I use. For railroads, it also lists sample color schemes used. For example, “GN” refers to Great Northern, and the color schemes used on the layout (circa 1955) are orange/dark green/yellow. Or, “EB” refers to East Bound.

·         Summary: This sheet is here to remind me how each railroad is represented on each layout. It is a basic summary of the future O-Scale, O27-Scale, and G-Scale layouts. It includes equipment that hasn’t been purchased yet. For example, “ATSF is a through-line, with one F3 diesel set and a matching passenger set.”

·         Details: I use this sheet to list prototypical pairings of locomotives and passenger sets. It shows which town hosts each locomotive and train, and in some cases, lists the proposed date of purchase in the future.

·         Garden: This includes very early sketches of a garden railroad plan, with measurements provided based on track loop diameter.

·         Garden Details: This is similar to the Area Attrib sheet, but shows G-Scale details instead. For example, “include a cabin on a mountain”.

So, stay tuned for details on my railroad adventures in Denver over the next few weeks, and also regular updates on model train activities here in Billings. Until then, enjoy these pics, and keep those rails shiny ~

 

UP roundhouse in Cheyenne, home to Big Boy 4014

The DGRS railroad at CRM

Southbound RTD light rail train in Denver

The famous Caboose Hobbies

A UP freight works its way up the S curve

Lots of tracks throughout the Coors facility

A little peek of the phenomenal HO layout at CMRM

A big collection of Pullman towels at CMRM

Livingston Model Trains

Hello there,

This week I didn't have the opportunity to do a lot of train-related activities. But, I did open up the Burlington E8 motive unit and moved the wire the was rubbing against the rotating motor component. I tested it for several minutes, and the rubbing sound appears to have gone away!

So, since I don't have much additional news on my own railroading endeavors, here is a quick write up and view of the Livingston Model Railroad Club in Livingston, MT.

We visited a train swap meet at the restored Livingston Northern Pacific depot in April, 2012. The depot itself is worth checking out if you're in town - it is a marvelous structure and the town has done a great job maintaining it. Next to the depot is the original NP baggage building, and the local model railroad club houses their layouts there. They have an expansive, winding HO layout, and a nice, long O layout too. The O gauge layout was made by a modeler who has since passed away, but in this location, hundreds of people have been able to see his handiwork. The operating layout is very well scenic'd, and hosts local-to-Montana trains, both modern and historic. The pics below are from our 2012 visit, and you can learn more about the Livingston Model Railroad Club here: http://www.livingstonmuseums.org/depot/Modelers.html.

Modern MRL power on the Livingston layout

Great scenery and details! Here, a little red "beep" brings a train across a bridge

Unit trains and great weathering on this busy little layout

I watch happily as a steamer drifts by

Paper Railroadania

This week I was recovering from some surgery, so I had to do mostly tame activities. I was able to place a lot of my paper railroad memorabilia into protective sleeves for storage and eventual inclusion in binders.

Lots of railroad paperwork collected over the years

Craft Project

I continued working on some hand-made railroad cross bucks this week. I had previously cut and painted them, and this week I sketched the lettering on them. Just a quick update this week ~

Lettering outlines on boxcar wood

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

First Spike: The Sasaparilla, Cedar Sap and Pacific Railroad

Hello, we made it to September ~

In late August, we did a bit of ferroequinological archaeology along the former Northern Pacific's Park Line, which ran from Livingston, MT to Gardiner, MT. Specifically, we explored the Point of Rocks area, which is now a boat launch site along the Yellowstone River. The Park Line roadbed was carved into the rocks along the River, and there we acquired a specimen (a rock) from the carved area. The NP ran passenger service over this line from 1883 to 1948.

In other news, I set up a publicity photo shoot to celebrate the beginning of the Sasaparilla, Cedar Sap and Pacific Garden Railroad in our backyard. In the photos below you'll see the entirety of the garden-scale railroad's current assets, along with railroad model Amber.

Have a great Labor Day, and keep those rails shiny ~

Here I am "standing in the gap" of the Point of Rocks along the Yellowstone River, where the NP tracks used to be

Here's the railroad rock we acquired to add to our landscaping projects

Railroad model Amber and the SCS&P

Colorado & Southern reefer car, track (provided by Uncle Bill), and water tower planter (provided by my folks)