Several years ago I included a switchback arrangement on the Kings Port side of my layout to make it possible to serve more than one industry. Back then, I thought this would be an efficient use of space and track. As my interest in operations grew, I realized how inconvenient this configuration was (cars that were supposedly being loaded at a business had to be temporarily pulled from one end of the switchback to allow switching access for cars going to the other side...cars for the left end of the switchback had to be located in the front of the train or else they wouldn't fit on the right side of the switch back to be backed into the left, etc.) and I've been meaning to change it for some time. I finally got around to doing that! I'll admit to some trepidation as I was cutting into mainline track that has been in place for over 20 years!
I needed to cut out a straight section of track from the Ulster Ave grade crossing because it connected to the switchback turnout immediately to the right of the street and didn't provide enough length to connect to the diamond crossing I planned to install. I replaced that section of track with a longer piece of flex track that I was able to curve to meet the diamond crossing.
The remains of the locations of the previous track arrangement can be seen as I test fit the crossing and the new left handed turnout that will be cut into the 20+ year old mainline. My Dremel motor tool made this job easy and precise.
The new track in place. I accidentally derailed the first tanker to the right before taking the photo.
The new piece of flex track in place in the Ulster Ave. grade crossing. It still needs some road surface.
The new arrangement with scenic treatments (new grade crossing, tie and rail weathering, and ballast).
Now when the West Mill Turn works this location it can drop off a string of tankers at the GULF facility...
.....and on the return trip, pick up cars from Reynold's Beverage Distributors and Booms Ready Mix without needing to pull the tankers to access a switchback track.
Two businesses that formerly could only be reached by switchback.
Pulling the cars while passing by the GULF spur and then backing them into the rest of the train.
This operations takes three moves (the locos back into the spur for Reynolds and Booms, they pull the cars onto the main, and finally back the cars to couple with the train). The former switchback arrangement actually required TWELVE moves to pick up those cars if there were tankers on the GULF spur that needed to be moved first to access the spur serving Reynolds and Booms. I enjoy switching cars but those car movements were tedious and not particularity realistic.
I was immediately happy with the change as I ran the first test run to see how the crossing would work out. Future operations will definitely be more fun! The head office, worried about the bottom line, will be pleased by how efficiently car movements can now be made in Kings Port. Just another innovation to help keep the Penn Central financially healthy!
As my interest in operations increased so did my belief that the Kings
Port Division could use more businesses and industries for local trains
to serve. When I first designed the layout I included industries
more as scenic elements and places to store freight cars than as
opportunities to actually set them out or pick them up. The Ops bug
has bitten, however, and I'm afraid the infection is permanent. Since then, I've been
continuously looking at my layout to see if there are any ways to
improve or expand model railroad operations opportunities. I should
add that I do this with no intention of enlarging the
layout. The Kings Port Division has negotiated a reasonable amount of
real estate in the family home and is nicely contained in its own room
in the basement. This contributes to family harmony. I really
don't want it to get any larger from a maintenance standpoint either. The layout is big enough.
SO, how to get more ops fun from a layout that wasn't originally designed for that purpose?
One
way has been to make some fairly easy modifications to the track plan
and structures.
Example #1 is making Canton Box Company a rail served
customer after merely being a "scenic" trackside structure for many
years.
There isn't enough room to run a spur in front of the Canton Box Company,
but locating a left-hand turnout oriented so the curve follows the mainline while the straight section continues beyond the end of the building made it possible. Now I can include this formally ignored
business to my switch lists.
All that was needed beyond the new
turnout and a foot of track was to install a loading dock to the existing structure. I'm especially pleased by this development
because the layout needed more destinations served by boxcars.
Example
#2 is Reynolds Beverage Distributors. I had two industries along this spur, the Team Track and Booms Ready Mix. Wanting to find yet another site where boxcars might be plausible, I conceived Reynolds Beverage Distributors, a short term storage location for pallets of cans and bottles in a refrigerated building. I condensed the Booms Ready Mix foot print to accommodate the new business and extended the track behind Booms to allow for set-outs there. The Team Track platform is still in place as a destination, although not pictured, to the right of Reynolds.
Example #3. Rearranging Empire Grain to make both the covered hopper loading bay and the boxcar loading doors functional and also to make the branch to Mayfield look more like a branch line and less like a siding.
For years, Empire Grain had a switchback track arrangement that allowed cars to be set out in front of this part of the complex that used to have a loading bay overhang for covered hoppers .
But, when I developed more of an interest in operations, I craved staging space and extended the spur into the tunnel seen below where a turnout and two lengths of track can stage two nine-car trains. Problem was, I had a branch line with loading bays unrealistically hanging over it, as if cars might be spotted there and block the branch line.
I removed the loading bay overhang and focused all car movements for Empire Grain on the right side of the complex. I built Empire Grain in removable sections so I can access hidden track behind the company. It was easy to shuffle the components around and come up with this arrangement, making ops for both covered hoppers and boxcars more likely.
That's it for now.
Next UP: Industries that aren't really there!
The latest virtual ops with the New York Central Train Layout is set up by some pick ups by both KP&W and Penn Central locals, gathering cars for Williams Yard in Kings Port.
PC boxcar #104478 full of freeze dried
English Delicacy Meals from Cavendish Foods is picked up by a KP&W
local and is later taken to the West Mill Float Yard as part of KP&W
local M104. PC train WK-4 will later take it to Williams Yard. The PC
boxcar is destined for Ralph's Grocery Warehouse in Empire City.
WK-4,
powered by an RSD12 pulls NYC 50 Ft. Boxcar #80775
from Canton Box Company which has finally become a rail customer on the Kings Port Division with its new short spur.
After leaving Canton Box, the local picks up NYC "Early Bird" boxcar #90718 from another new customer, Reynolds
Beverage Distributors, loaded with Woodstock Hills Natural Soda, also
for Ralph's Grocery Warehouse.
Continuing to KP Steel, the local grabs KP&W gondola #2140 loaded with steel coils for Ford Motors and heads for Williams Yard.
The next day Train KV-5 (Williams Yard to Selkirk) with Block 1 for transfer to Terminal Yard heads out of Kings Port.
Engines: GP38-2s #8038/8045
Number of cars: 19
Number of cars in Block 1: 8
A pair of GP38-2s get clearance from KP Tower to proceed to Selkirk with train KV-5
PC 50 ft. Plug Door Boxcar #106502 is empty for Heilman Brewery, to be loaded for Reynolds Beverage Distributors
PC
Boxcar #104478 and NYC Early Bird #90718, full of freeze dried meals
and cases of soda respectively, are destined for Ralph's Grocery
Warehouse.
KP&W Gondola with steel coils is going to the Ford Motor Company plant in Empire City.
Two
empty PC hoppers for Hudson Coal. They will be sent to KP Steel when
loaded. The NYC hopper #834592 is headed to T&R Gravel for a load
of ore, also for KP Steel.
Bringing
up the rear of Block 1 is NYC 50 Ft. Boxcar #80775, headed to Hostess
Wonder Bread with prepared boxes from Canton Box. This is a new
contract between the companies so Canton is hoping to satisfy the big
brand. The Rock Island car is the beginning of Block 2 which is headed west after Selkirk and not part of the virtual ops.
Car Cards for Block1
The train
is seen on the high line while Penn Central freight KW-3 meets KP&W
train 160E. The King Port & Western has trackage rights on this
part of the PC's Kings Port Division to access their Fulton Ave Yard
which is about a mile away from the PC's William Yard. Meets between
two KP&W trains, two PC trains, or a mixed pair like that seen
below are common here.
After
the train arrives at Selkirk, Block 1 will be cut for a train headed
to Empire City on the N.Y.C.T.L., putting the ball in John's court!
I've referred to the joint operations scheme between my "Kings Port Division" and John's "The New York Central Train Layout" as "virtual ops". The quick summary, as noted in earlier posts, is that we build trains on our layout that include cars we both have in common and photograph them in action on both layouts to create the impression the cars have moved from one location to the other. In addition to being a lot of fun, the scheme has also motivated improvements on both layouts to enhance operations and visual interest.
It all started when we looked at photos of each others layouts and realized we owned some of the same freight cars. We increased the number after some car maintenance work and improvements (mostly me changing out horn hook couplers for Kaydees on some older cars that I wasn't using much), and also by sending each other duplicates of other cars we owned. We've built up a joint roster of over two dozen cars.
I assembled all of the cars we currently have in common at West Mill's Float Yard for a photo.
As you can see, there is a variety of rolling stock that includes hoppers, gondolas (looking at the pic I noticed I neglected to include one additional gon), boxcars, coil cars, and covered hoppers. This allows us several options for creating car movements between the two layouts.
Here's an example:
A new company on my layout, Woodstock Hills Natural Soda, needs labeled bottles for their product. They aren't rail served so they use the Kings Port Team Track for shipping. An order is made to Berk Enterprises on the N.Y.C.T.L. An empty boxcar (in this case an EL 40 ft. boxcar) is sent to that business on John's layout via his Terminal Yard. Here is the car card with the pertinent information.
John creates a local train at his Terminal Yard that includes the EL boxcar we have in common and sends it out to Berk Enterprises. Below is a photo John took of the EL car after it was spotted at the industry on his layout.
After a few days, John has a local pick up the car and return it to Terminal Yard where it is then placed in a train heading for my Williams Yard. (Seen behind the BAR car)
After a day or so I'll create a train seen heading into Williams Yard that includes a scene with the EL car and any others he has sent my way. Then I'll photograph a local train delivering the car to the appropriate industry...in this case the Kings Port Team Track where a truck rented by Woodstock Hills Natural Soda will offload the labeled bottles.
The EL car is shown below as part of a local coming out of Williams Yard on my layout.
Below is the car card for the car movement coming my way.
And here is the car being set out at the team track.
We tend to send between five to ten cars most times, taking turns as the freight agent selecting the industries requiring car movements. These scenarios take a bit of thought and planning but are an enjoyable hobby exercise!
In addition to photographing the car movments we have also posted some videos on YouTube. Here is my latest:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcuk-_c_WDM
Thanks for taking a look!
Hello again. Two blog posts in one night as I type while listening to the first NY Mets game of the season. They're down 2-0 to the World Series Champion Royals. Its "deja vu all over again", as Yogi used to say. Nevertheless it is SO GOOD to have baseball back! Spring is definitely here! This is also evidenced by the blooming of a hardy crocus in our Minnesota back yard.
I talked about my experience with copyrighted audio in YouTube videos in my previous post. I mentioned finding a site that offers free music that avoids that issue. Taking advantage of this service, I uploaded another video with musical background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx-1O9FBwvc
I'll probably do this again and perhaps alternate between train sounds and music while describing train movements on the Kings Port Division. If you watched the video above you got a glimpse at the "Virtual Ops" I've been running with John. This idea was inspired by an arrangement Allen McClelland's V&O had with other members of the so called "Lichen Belt" model railroads. I heard that they would set up identical trains and dispatch them in and out of staging, notifying each other by phone in real time so the trains' twins in the other basement could seem to "arrive" on the other layout.
We don't do this with entire trains or in real time, but we do "send" each other several cars that have orders to be set out at industries on our respective layouts. I'll go into this in more detail in future posts but the video above provides a brief visual explanation of what we're doing. Its been a lot of fun and has also motivated both of us to initiate layout improvements for better operations and visuals as we photograph and video the action.
More to come!
Meanwhile the Mets are working on a come back as the score is 4-3...but I gotta get to bed. Work week starts tomorrow. Have a good one!
Hello all! I've posted several videos with train sound effects in the background playing on my iPod as I film train action on my layout. For the first time recently, I decided to add some music to a video and learned a quick reminder about copyright.
I was posting a video tribute to the Penn Central since I was reminded by my friend John that March 31st of this year is the 40th anniversary of the last day of operation for the ill fated merger of the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads. Conrail took effect April 1st, 1976. Three of us; John, Neal, and myself decided to all post PC themed videos that day. I thought I'd so something different and play '70s music that made references to trains in the background as my black PC locos pulled trains by the camera. I got creative and arranged to have parts of Jimmy Hendrix's "I hear My Train a Comin'", The Doobie Brothers "Long Train Runnin"", and Cat Steven's "Peace Train" augment the video action. I was so pleased with the creative process and the way it came out that I completely forgot to even consider copyright issues.
Well,...YouTube didn't. My video's audio was muted immediately after posting. Clicking on the "Learn more" link on the message bar advising me about the issue told me that the Hendrix song in particular was a problem. I was given the option of deleting the song, which I did, but when I returned to the video all three songs had been removed. I've decided to leave it silent but wrote a description in the video's comments section about how the songs fit in. Here is the PC Tribute video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLuBVREZ6Pg
I did some research and found this site describing the YouTube copyright issue as well as options for selecting music that avoids the problem.
http://mashable.com/2010/12/08/ind-music-for-youtube-videos/#ey7B54L.9SqD
I followed the link to one of the Creative Commons audio sites; incompetech.com
http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/ and decided to use a selection for my next video...which I'll describe in my next post!
