More engines back in service

Over the past week, I was able to make some nice progress in train-land.

Northern Pacific Quirk

I tried running the NP 0-6-0 on a track by itself. Upon startup, the whistle began sounding non-stop automatically. Pushing the whistle or bell buttons on the transformer would not resolve this. I looked up solutions on the Internet, and after a few trials, I found a fix. MTH locomotives running Proto-Sounds 2.0 or 3.0 should not be the only thing on a track drawing power. Add a lighted car to the track (or wire an accessory that uses a lightbulb to the track), and the extra power usage somehow resolves the issue. So, all is well with the 0-6-0.

Southern Railroad Surprise

I opened up the SR F3 A unit to repair it, but found that it was working properly. Previously, it seemed like the rear motor was frozen up, putting a lot of pressure on the front motor. I checked the connections and confirmed that both motors were spinning merrily along, so I closed up the engine and deemed it ready for service. This #2356 locomotive is at least 60 years old.

Rock Island Return

I opened up the RI 4-8-4, and confirmed that the motor drive is not staying in contact with the main gear (slipping). I experimented with different motor angles and came up with a good one using some scrap pieces of cork. The cork worked well temporarily, but needed to be replaced with something safer and more permanent. The next day, I picked up some rubber erasers and cut them to fit the locomotive. The locomotive tested well with the new rubber spacers, so I re-affixed the shell.

I also got out more trains for the new roster and inventoried them.

Fancy new blue rubber spacers under the Rock Island 4-8-4 motor

This Northern is back in action. It is currently the 2nd-largest locomotive in the fleet.

RI 4-8-4 ready for service

Back from the Engine House

Three steam locomotives are back on the active roster list! C&NW 0-8-0, NP 0-6-0, and GN 2-8-2 have received computer repairs and have now been tested successfully here in Billings. The C&NW had a board literally burn out this past Christmas. The NP was not outputting any sounds at all. The sounds on the GN seemed to be out of sync with the wheel movement, and that movement was rather jerky. The engines were repaired by Xavier at Caboose Hobbies in Denver last month. The GN runs smoothly now, although the sounds are still a bit out of sync. Using a human emotion to describe the sounds, I'd say it sounds "insane". However, this doesn't prevent it from running, so if the sounds really bother me, I can just turn the volume down. Overall, I'm very happy to have these steamers running again!

NP 0-6-0 Switcher #1163 tested and ready to go

C&NW 0-8-0 Switcher #65 running on Track 3

GN 2-8-2 Mikado barrels along with a freight train in tow

Snippets of 2016 so far

Hello there, various influential persons have requested an update, so let's hop to it!
I'll expand on some of these topics and events over time, but here's what I've been up to regarding trains this year:

I've run two different train lineups on the train set thus far, an all-Postwar Lionel roster, and an all-steam roster. Speaking of steam, I had Caboose Hobbies repair 3 locomotives that were suffering from computer-related problems.

I sold off the last of the O-27 track and rolling stock that I did not want for future developments, which has freed up some storage space.

The train room has received a few improvements through paint and frames.

I've started collecting Postwar Lionel 6464-series boxcars, and have 4 of 29 so far.

Several new pieces of rolling stock have been added through purchases and gifts.

A very fancy piece of railroadania has been gifted to me.

I was able to visit the Union Pacific Steam Shops in Cheyenne, WY and had a great time!

More later ~ keep your rails shiny!

Postwar Trains

All steam

Cheyenne, WY

4014

3985

Christmas Repairs

Merry Christmas readers!

Last Thursday I was running the CNW 0-8-0 around the Christmas tree at work, and soon discovered smoke coming out of the tender. I took the engine home and opened the tender. It had a very pungent smell of burnt electronics. I inspected the circuit board, but aside from one spark I couldn’t tell what the problem was. The engine will power up in neutral with smoke, whistle, and light effects, but it will not shift into forward or reverse. I contacted MTH service via email.

I also checked on the status of the NP 0-6-0 issue with MTH service, as they hadn’t responded for a month. They advised that the engine would have to be serviced professionally.

On a more successful note, I disassembled the #2035 steam locomotive and cleaned the motor and brushes. I also lubricated the gears, as they are much easier to access with the shell removed. It took over an hour to put it back together due to the rods and smoke puffing mechanism. I used a kitchen tie to force the tender’s rear coupler closed, as it kept opening randomly. The locomotive now runs (more) smoothly now. I also repositioned the electrical cables that were running under the Library tree track.

On Friday I brought CNW GP7 1518 to work to run under the tree, replacing the CNW 0-8-0 which is out of service (see above.)

On Tuesday I added Priority, Difficulty, and Cost columns to the "Engine House" (repair) spreadsheet. Currently, the two steam switchers (CNW & NP) are the top priority, and it may be less expensive to purchase new units instead of repairing, due to their age and the computer-related problems they are experiencing.

Other Engine House items for Q1 2016 include the Electroliner (get motors in sync, troubleshoot the speaker, and reattach the windows), the CSS Interurban (adjust cowcatcher), the RI Denver Rocket (oil the squeaky wheels), the PW Searchlight Car (replace the non-original light housing). the PW #2037 locomotive (return it to operational status), and the two REA Baggage Cars (install 3-rail trucks).

I hope you have a wonderful celebration of Christmas, and keep those rails silvery shiny!

Interior of the MTH 0-8-0 tender

Interior of the 65-year-old #2035

The Lionel Repair Guide has specific schematics for most Post War trains, including #2035

#2035’s motor and brushes prior to cleaning

CNW GP7 #1518 takes the stage under the Christmas tree at my office

Postwar Christmas Train

Merry merry to you all – I hope your celebration preparations are going well. 

This week I placed the multitude of Lionel train ornaments on the tree in the library, and set up a Postwar train underneath it. I use Lionel FasTrack for on-carpet setups – it works slick, and is a lot easier on the fingers than traditional tubular track. The train is headed by 2-6-4 #2035, which is supposed to emulate a Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Pacific. The main external distinguishing feature is the position of the headlight, at the top of the boiler rather than in the middle, which was a feature used on a lot of PRR locomotives. Internally, the 2035 is unique in that it is the only PW K4 produced that includes Magnetraction technology. This engine was made in 1950-1951. The tender has a functional air whistle, which makes a lot of racket, but is fun to activate. The locomotive functions very smoothly in reverse, but is having some problems when moving forward. I believe this can be fixed by doing a bit of basic maintenance, which I will try to achieve before Christmas. The rolling stock consists of two #6462 black NYC gondolas, a #6656 yellow Lionel Lines stock car, a #6456 LV hopper car, and a #6357 Lionel Lines caboose. It’s all powered by a Lionel LW 125W transformer, which may be the most recently manufactured item on display (aside from the track). Regardless, a very similar setup could have been seen under countless Christmas trees in 1955. Despite the age of the equipment, it still instills childlike wonder and fun, thanks to the timeless magic of trains at Christmastime.

Have a great week, and a very Merry Christmas, and shiny tracks under your tree ~

Now over 50 train ornaments on the tree

The Postwar Christmas Train

Christmas Trains are Coming...

Season’s Greetings readers ~

This week featured a nice variety of railroading escapades.

On Saturday I spotted Pennsylvania Power & Light locomotive 2102 in the downtown Billings yard. This is an SW1001 switcher, originally built for the Reading Railroad back in 1973. It has a unique paint scheme, and it was interesting to see it here in Montana.

On Monday I got to watch a MOW crew using a burro crane. One of MRL's self-powered cranes was moving along the mainline near my office, and it was rigged with an electromagnet attachment. It would stop every 20 feet or so and pick up a piece of old rail, and dump it into a gondola. It was interesting, and rather loud, to observe.

This week I set up a little Christmas tree in our office, and I brought in the CNW 0-8-0 set to run underneath it. I also assisted a coworker with troubleshooting one of his Lionel locomotives. He was having trouble getting the whistle to operate, and we determined that the transformer he was using didn't have sufficient power output. Anyway, my little freight train looks nice around the tree :)

And, I unpacked my fleet of Lionel Christmas ornaments, which will get to hang on a tree at our house.

Keep those Christmas rails shiny ~

PPL 2102, with its nifty paint scheme

MRL burro crane loading up some rails with a big "BANG!"

Christmas tree and train at work

Lots of Lionel ornaments to put up this year at home!

Rails to December

A happy December to all of my fellow railroaders ~

Last week I hosted family and friends in the train room for Thanksgiving. Everybody enjoyed the train demonstration, and the equipment ran without incident!

There isn't much else to report at the moment - we've been busy with other large projects, but the train room remains in standby mode. Soon we'll be setting up Christmas decor, and of course that will include a variety of trains, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, here are some local snowy train pics - keep those rails shiny ~

This is a view from downtown Billings - a snowy freight with a refinery in the background

Montana Rail Link locomotive 115 pushes a large grain hopper on a snow-covered day