Signaling a Change in Topic 3

Hi all,

Once again, I'll shift topics from motive power to signaling.    Thanks for bearing with me as I go back and forth like this!  

I've installed more signals on the Kings Port side of the layout.  As on the West Mill side, the new signals at Kings Port are bi-polar green/red LEDs intended to indicate the polarity of the track and direction of travel.  I've tried to arrange them in ways that not only let me know which way the trains will be going, but also to actually take a role in modeling prototypical operations.

The layout has a mix of signal styles which might not be very protoypical but I decided to use what I had on hand and also wanted to fashion some searchlight signals similar to those I used to see near my childhood home in Upstate NY. (See previous signal blog post)

Starting with those searchlight signals:  my dogbone styled track plan creates an illusion of a double track main.  Here it is being protected by searchlight signals on the curving grade out of Kings Port...

  ...and a couple more on the high line above town.

A combination of signal styles illuminated in green and red can be seen in this view toward the entrance to Williams Yard (staging), creating a festive look for the Holidays!

Were I to just start building the layout now I'd do so many things differently the second time around!   I'd certainly plan the locations of signals and leave enough space prior to adding any scenery, for example.   But, since I'm retrofitting, I'm making do as I can.   Some of the track clearances at Kings Port are too tight for a full size signal.  Experiments in placing them showed that rolling stock would catch the signal heads as it passed by.   Dwarf signals were utilized in these locations where track clearances were an issue.   Some were commercially available dummy signals like the cheapie Bachmann signal on the left which I drilled out to accommodate the LED.

Others had to be custom made when test fitting revealed that even the small Bachmann signals were getting knocked around by locomotive steps and boxcar doors because of close clearances! 

The two dwarfs pictured above were fashioned out of these electrical components  (Arrgh!  Can't remember what they're called!  Help me!).  I pulled the insulation off and sank their posts into the roadbed and fitted the LED bulbs through them so the LEDs were just barely off the ground.   All rolling stock rolls safely above them!  A little bit of shrink tubing was used to represent the signal head shades.    

A couple of examples of the signals taking part in railroad operations:  Extra 6554 rolls out of Williams Yard with the red signal near the overpass indicating its approach while a Kings Port & Western RS3 approaches a green indication to the right.

On the other side of Kings Port, a B&O coal train headed by a pair of F7s gets the green to proceed into Williams Yard.  

I'm planning to make a couple more dwarf signals for the  engine yard and for nearby KP Steel's holding yard.

I hope to film a YouTube video of the signals in action and post it soon!

May you always get the Green aspect!

Latest Acquisition

Hello all,

I've been woefully neglectful of the blog again but hope to post more regularly in the future.  Starting  a new habit sometimes means starting small to obtain some initial success so this entry will be brief.

The Kings Port Division has recently acquired former New York Central GP30 #6115.   This is thanks to my regular scanning of the latest available products from M.B. Klein where, once in a while, I find great deals on locomotives like this.   I couldn't resist when I saw this one.  It's a Bachmann unit, and perhaps one of their best offerings for the price range.  My Bachmann Pennsy GP30 runs beautifully and I've heard similar reviews from friends who own others like it.   So, I was confident a smooth running NYC loco would be joining the fleet.    As expected, NYC #6115 runs just as nicely as its Pennsy cousin.   

 GP30 #6115 crosses Ulster Ave. while a train headed by units in the Penn Central scheme roll above in the background.   I gave the shiny new GP30 a weathering of acrylics and artist chalks to give it some age and experience.
 

The GP30 is in consist with a GP7, also showing signs of its New York Central heritage.  The GP7 is a dummy I purchased a couple of years ago for $5.00 at a flea market, weathered heavily and added appropriate numbers for the former NYC roster.

The Penn Central inherited a combined 62 GP30s from the New York Central and the Pennsylvania railroads and renumbered them in the 2188-2249 range.  I've decided to keep both my Pennsy unit and the new NYC GP30 in their pre-merger schemes for some variety and interest.    Sine the loco runs so smoothly at slow speeds it will definitely be assigned to local freights for switching.
 

That's it for now.  I've been working on installing more signals on the Kings Port side of the layout and hope to post about them soon.  Other things are in the works as well, so stay tuned!

Penn Central Power 3

I've interrupted the presentation of my PC locomotive roster by posting about signals on the Kings Port Division.  I’m continuing to add signals so there will be more to come on that topic, but for now I want to return to my motive power.

In no particular order here are:

GP38 #7692  This is an Atlas Yellow Box model from the early 1980s that I purchased at a flea market last year, still unopened in the box.   It runs very nicely.  The unit was undecorated so I painted and lettered it as #7692.   The PC had 268 of these EMD units.  According to Jeremy F. Plant in "Penn Central in Color Vol. 2", the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads weren't interested in the GP38 when it first came out, but "by 1969 it was the engine of choice" and the PC purchased 150 of what would eventually become a roster of almost 500 including the refined version, the GP38-2.     Plant quotes "Penn Central Power" author Robert Yanosey as noting that "the GP38 symbolizes the Penn Central".    GP38 #7692 heads local freights on the Kings Port Division thanks to its excellent slow speed switching qualities. 

F7B # 3489.    This unit is Tyco shell on an Athearn chassis.    The shell, another childhood acquisition, was originally painted in the ATSF Super Chief silver.  I painted and lettered the unit.   I've noticed in some proto photos that the number and PC logo were sometimes placed in the opposite arrangement on B units.    There units were rated at 1500 HP.

GP9B #3836   I'm fascinated by the cabless GP9B.  Penn Central inherited 40 of these 1750 HP units from the Pennsylvania Railroad numbered from 3800-3839.  I cobbled mine from an Athearn GP9 shell by modifying the cab section.

  

 GP9 #7175   Another Athearn unit that I've had for about 20 years.    It was originally undecorated.   Prototype photos of PC GP9s find them with either the small or large PC logo on the flank.  The Penn Central owned 453 of these 1750 HP units, a popular favorite of mine.   

 SD9 #6922    Yet another 20 year old Atheran, again originally undecorated but painted and lettered by yours truly.  I was delighted to find a few proto pics of this unit online.    SD9s were often assigned to yard, hump, and transfer service.   On the Kings Port Division this unit has been seen on pull-out duty hauling cars from staging into Kings Port as if it was assembling a train from Williams Yard.   It also heads transfer runs to West Mill.  These six axle units numbered from 6900-6924 were rated at 1750 HP.

SD9 # 8589  (Still in Pennsy livery).    This is a Proto 2000 unit and one of the most expensive locos on my roster.   It runs smoothly at slow speeds so it is often used at the West Mill Float yard.

 KP&W SD9 #890  This is the same PK2 locomotive with a custom painted Athearn shell on top.     I interchange them as the whim suits me.   This is a preview of coming attractions as I soon plan to post about my freelanced road, the Kings Port & Western Railroad.  The Black and orange scheme is a modification of the original Milwaukee Road livery the shell was painted in when I found it in the bargain back room of my LHS.     I actually have a pair of these, but more on that later.

Finally, here is the Proto 2000 SD9 carrying out its usual assignment at the Float Yard.

That's it for now!

Signaling a Change in Topic Part 2

Hello all!

I really DO intend to finish posting about my locomotive roster sometime, but I've been distracted by recent developments in creating illuminating signals on the Kings Port Division....

...Well...that and needing to take time to paint my house!   Sometimes life gets in the way of model railroading!

My previous post displayed my first attempts at using LEDs for signals on the layout.  Encouraged by my early success I've continued working on this project.    I am fortunate to have received a couple dozen cast metal signals of various types from my uncle many years ago when he changed scales from HO to N.    Examples follow below.

 These signals are probably over 50 years old.   Many of the Grain of Wheat red, green, and yellow bulbs in the two and three aspect signal heads did not function.  I kept them in a box since around 1981 and finally decided it was time to get them on the layout!


 

 The first consideration before installation was that I really wasn't a fan of the larger three light signals.   Growing up on the PC's River Line, about 100 miles North of New York City, I tended to see single light searchlight signals and wanted to replicate them on the layout.   I removed the large three light heads and replaced them with single-light heads made from cut down grommets as show in my last post.  I positioned the grommets near the opening in the signal mast to facilitate wiring.

 I secured the grommet signal head with Gorilla brand Super Glue after my futile attempts at soldering them.    They seem to be securely stuck on the signal masts!  Most of the old signals had chipped paint, making them look bad, so I spray painted their entire structures black.

                              Pictured above is the entire collection of signals after modification and painting.   

 I like the two aspect signal heads.  I decided not to modify them except to remove the bulbs and paint them black.

 I was especially pleased with this decision after seeing a photo in my copy of Morning Sun Books "Penn Central in Color Vol. 1" of all black signals on the B&M tracks used by the Penn Central.

Wire can be an expense but there is a cool liquidator store in my area called Axemans that sells bulk wire by the foot.   I purchased this 50 feet of wire for $2.00!

Here is a wired signal.   I threaded one wire down the mast and soldered the other leg of the LED to the signal itself.  I then soldered a wire to the base of the signal to complete the circuit. Resistors are included in the circuit under the benchwork.

One of the former two-aspect signals controlling access to the Main from the Mayfield Branch.   A air of GP9s wait for a train expected from the other direction.   The signals are wired to the track for power, making them simple "polarity signals".  Depending on the track polarity the LED will illuminate either RED or GREEN.   I tried to be clever in placing the wires to achieve operational functions.   In the case above, the signal is wired to the mainline to its right.    This is a separate block from the branch line on my DC layout so the signal can light up even though the track the GP9s sit on is not powered at this time.

 On the other side, this dwarf signal controls access to the Mayfield Branch from the main line.  This signal is powered by the first block of the Mayfield Branch so the signal aspect is RED when trains are coming off the branch toward the main, as noted above.   Trains approaching the branch when polarity is aligned the opposite way will be cheered by a GREEN indication allowing them to access the branch.

I've filmed another "Ops Snippets" video that show cases this action.   Here's the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x13LF8Q-F04

Next time I'll document signal installation on the other side of the layout in Kings Port that will include these searchlight signals, among others.   As I noted previously,  I'm now totally hooked on signals!   The illuminating lights look great and I've found an easy way to use them to enhance operations on the Kings Port Division.

Signaling a change of topic!

I was originally planning to continue presenting my Penn Central locomotive roster in this next post, but am instead going to talk about a signal project I've been working on lately.
 

 I'm a babe in the woods when it comes to electrical projects. Witness my use of Atlas components as an easy way to provide block control on my DC layout.

 Look Ma!  No toggle switches!  :)

So, no electronically controlled switch machines, no illuminated structures, and no functioning signals on my layout.

Last year, however, I DID create a large scale model of a railroad signal for fun, and to use while operating the layout from my F unit control stand.

Here's a YouTube video of it in action: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfjQu-3ayYY

If you watched the video, you saw that I have some nonfunctioning signals that can be seen as "dark" from my train cam.   One of the motivations to illuminate some of these was the thought of enjoying red and green lights coming into view on my TV/ locomotive windshield as my loco with the train cam approaches them.

I've done numerous searches about model railroad signal systems but most are rather expensive and I don't immediately grasp the concepts of "logic" that control them.    Fortunately one of my searches found a link to inexpensive scratchbuilt signals used to indicate the track polarity.   Utilizing bi polar red/green LEDs,  these signals wired to the track let the operator know which direction trains will run.    It occurred to me that I could use an indicator like that for a staging track at West Mill.    Using two throttles,  I sometimes lose track of the direction a train might take when powering up.    Trains might appear on the layout from staging OR they might back up against the bumper of the staging track, and derail in the hidden depths, creating a major headache.

I purchased a package of five bi polar LEDS around three years ago and finally got around to trying my hand at working with the lights.    Soldering the accompanying resistor and some wire to one of the LEDs was easy.  I used a cheapie Bachmann dwarf signal as the basis for the model.   Drilling out one of the facsimile lights in the signal I inserted the LED in the back and used a thin plastic coffee stir straw to hide the resistor and wire.     (Cue dramatic Frankenstein movie music).  IT WORKS!!!!!!!  IT WORKS!!!!   Thank you for your indulgence in response to my first small but significant victory in working with LED technology!

Green signal means its OK to to run a train into staging.  Red means its OK to run one out of staging.

Once I got my feet wet, I wanted to try more LED signal projects.    The next obvious choice was the empty signal bridge by West Mill's tunnel.   The two tracks that disappear into the tunnel are the layout's continuous main line and a long siding that emerges with the main on the other side of the layout at King Port.    Since during operations I use the hidden section of both of these tracks as staging it was also important to be confident about the directions trains will travel when I hit the throttle.

I soldered resistors and wire leads for three LEDs, one for the main and two to control the siding and the turnout from the main to the siding.

I'm using grommets as the signal heads, cutting half of the protruding part to simulate a "hood" or shade for the light.

I threaded the wires through black stir straws and the bases of the signsl bridge uprights, guided them through holes in the bench work, and soldered them to the tracks.  Briefly using alligator clips to attach the six wires, trial and error sessions enabled me to determine the proper locations to solder the wires so the LEDs would show the proper aspects (I.e.  Green for "approach toward the tunnel" and red for "Stop...trains are coming out of the tunnel")

Once again...IT WORKS!!!!!!!

Things I learned:  I don't have to connect the resistor directly to the LED.  Doing so with all thee LEDs on the signal bridge left a lot of bulky items to cover up that could have been below the benchwork.  I also realized later that I could have wired the two LEDs that control the siding (the two lower level signals) as part of the same circuit instead of separately each with its own resistor.

Still, as my most sophisticated electrical project so far, I'm pleased with the results and look forward to learning more and creating additional lighting effects!

     
May you always have the green aspect!

Penn Central Power 2

U30C  #6538 joins the fleet!

I was going to write about the rest of my PC locomotive fleet in this installment but will instead focus on my most recent addition, which was obtained just last week!    I won an eBay auction for an Athearn Blue Box U28C that was never used and still in its original box with all of the accompanying details.    I’ve seen locomotives like this listed for 30-40 dollars but was able to obtain it for $12.50.  Couldn't pass up that deal!

Many thanks to John R. of the New York Central Train Layout blog for alerting me about this sale and also for much of the information that follows.   John is an excellent researcher and provided me with prototype information about Penn Central’s large U Boats.

The new loco is Athearn’s U28C numbered 6533.  Here is the pristine shell in the box after I removed it from the chassis to do some work on it.   

Since I already have one of these units numbered as 6533 (I've had it for many years as noted in a previous post) I decided to renumber the new one as 6538.  At first I thought it would be a simple matter of replacing the last 3 with an 8, but checking my Microscale PC locomotive decal sheets I quickly observed that the Athearn  numbering did not match their style.  

I decided to completely remove the stock numbers and replace all four digits for 6538 using the decal sheet.   Applying 91% alcohol with a Q-tip, I swabbed the old numbers and then followed up by carefully rubbing them off with a pencil eraser.   It took about five minutes work on each side of the loco.  I washed the shell thoroughly with mild soap and water and let it dry for a day before decaling.

 

When I informed John that I had renumbered the locomotive as #6538 he provided some surprising information.    He told me that,  “Certain General Electric units ( 6528-6531) in the U28C series were upgraded from 2,800 hp to 3,000 hp. Five units numbered from 6535-6539 were delivered new to the PRR in 1967 and designated as U30Cs. The bodies of the U28C and U30C are basically identical and best identified by their numbers."

Turns out that my decision to renumber #6533 to become #6538 changed the designation of the locomotive from a U28C to a U30C and upgraded the unit 200 horse power!   I thought that was great!

Once the new numbers were thoroughly dry I installed the handrails.  I find this to be a tedious job and realize why I appreciate F units so much!   It’s been years  since I’ve installed handrails on an Athearn unit…and it occurs to me I didn’t wear bifocals then!   Once that was finally done,  I weathered the units with artist chalks and acrylic paints

   

Here is U30C #6538 fully assembled with yellow safety handrails and weathered.

I like to add printed number boards made with Microsoft Word.    The U’s spot horn hook couplers in this pic but I converted them to Kaydees after this was taken.

        The new unit meets its cousins, U28C #6533 and U38C #6554

6538 and 6533 take it to the road! (Headlights photo shopped)

  

Some more information from John that will be useful for the locomotive card I'll make for the new unit.

GE U30C  3,000 HP  C-C axles

Weight: 395,000 lbs,   Tractive Effort: Maximum 98,875 / Continuous: 85,000

Gear Ratio: 74:18,       Speed: Maximum 70 mph, Continuous 10.2 mph

Coupled Length: 67'3", Fuel Capacity: 4,000 gals, Engine: FDL16

Maintenance Base: Selkirk

The Penn Central boasted some big power and now I'm pleased to have added another large six axle unit to my roster.   I'll be running 6538 at the head end of thru-trains on the Kings Port Division and also include it in power runs back to Selkirk.