I have to apologize, but I've been so busy with getting ready to put our house on the market, I let this slip by me. The polls closed last Friday and here are the results:

Kitbuild:

• First place: ezdays
  Second place: nachoman
  Third place: scubadude

• First place: Chuck
  Second place: nachoman
  Third place: Sailormatlac

• First place: Sumpter250 and Ralph (ite)
  Third place: AF350
  

Conrails' yard job WPMA-03 sets out an empty hopper at the Flying Fish Brewery's cullet track

Bruce

Attached Files

Image(s)
   

So if you happened to catch my "I'm still alive and I'm back" post in the Lower Berth, you'll know that I now have a basement to work in, maybe not as ideal as I wanted, but the rest of the house that goes with it makes up for a lot. So it's what I have to work with, and I plan to make the best of it. Probably going to need two decks to get what I really want.

Some things have not changed: still modeling the Reading, era mid-50's. I do not plan to make this layout in any way duplicate exact Reading trackage anywhere, more of a "Reading feel" to locations and operating practices. Switching to Peco Code 83 track this time around, in my down time I picked up some samples of different stuff (used Atlas lat 2 times) and I prefer the Peco, plus they have a decent variety of turnouts. Plan is for #6 for yards, #8's for any mainline crossovers, #5 in industrial sidings. 28" minimum radius - I don't run long cars, don't currently have any passenger cars but even those were shorties on the Reading. Mostly first generation diesel, have a couple of T-1 Northerns, and they handle 28" radius with no problems at all, even with the drawbar in the close notch.

The tricky part is the stairs - they come down from the top center, and then split left and right at the middle wall, with a landing and 2 steps down to either side to get to the floor level. I was trying to avoid duckunders, but this arrangement let me fit more track with the penalty of a liftup section right at the stairs to the right.

I made up a few variations before I hit on this one. It's by far not complete, just the lower level so far, and a lot of tweaking is needed. I've been gradually refining it to fit. One thing I worry about is that maybe I'm stuck on this arrangement and am just trying to make it work, and a different one would fit the space better and I'm just not seeing it. Best place I can see for a yard with engine facilities would be in the upper right, around the curve.

Without further ado - this is what I've come up with so far.



So, blast away...

--Randy

haha. Haven't been over here to visit for a LONG time. Lots new - new house, basement to build in - all sorts of goodies. Figured it's time to get some expert advice on my new goings on and see what people have to say. Maybe keep a running thread of my progress. Yes, I now have my very own basement to work in, or rather most of one. Needs a lot of work. It's already finished - badly. So step one will be tons of demolition. The ugly paneling will have to come out. Because of the way they installed the paneling all the way tot he top of the 9 foot ceiling and THEN installed the drop ceiling grid, at the 8 foot level, the ceiling will have to come out too. Lighting was pretty poor. The carpet is horrible. So out it all comes. Walls and floors sealed, new wall covering, with a thin later of foam insulation. Couple of silly walls (all non-load bearing) to come out. New subpanel put in near the garage, so I can then run whatever I need for the layout.
The good, it's dry and not too humid. The stairs come down about in the middle, and the mechanicals are all off in one corner, already walled off in their own utility room.
The bad, the horrible finish job, it's broken up into 4 sections. Laundry is still downstairs (future plans call for making a master suite upstairs out of 2 of the 4 bedrooms and the existing master bath which is just a shower stall, sink, and toilet. There will be plenty of room for a bedroom, walkthrough closet, nice bathroom, with space left over (and en extra door) which is where the laundry will end up). So for now, I have use of about 3/4 of the basement, though plans I've come up with so far put staging and a helix in the laundry area, which really doesn't interfere with the washer, dryer, or sink. Also, since the house is a raised ranch, the garage sucks a LOT of potential layout space. 2 cars+ wide and almost deep enough for 2 cars front to back as well. I guess if I am dreaming, I could do a Tony Koester and build a new half high firewall in the garage that extends out at hood height and that would give me a good 13x20 extra space, but it would also be off the laundry. ANd expensive to do.
The other good (at least in summer, although not for model railroading) is this place came with a pool. All summer I've been living in it, when I'm home. Drifting around the pool is relaxing and makes it easy to visualize possible track plans. Now that it's getting cold, time to close the pool and start on the railroad. I'll expect I'll be back here frequently, little more 'high level' that the other place I usually hang out.

--Randy

Conrails' WPMA-17 drops a box car at the AGWAY Mill

Bruce

Attached Files

Image(s)
   

Hello!

This posting is part of an answer to Ray. Here i will describe how to make a better prototipical appereance for this caboose with simple methods.


Left, a caboose just out of the box. Note the freight car trucks
Right, a some years earlier reworked caboose. Fitted with Kadee T-section trucks converted to leaf springs. at this time there were still no caboose trucks by Kadee available.


The same seen from underneath.
Left original. Note short coupling device, for US rolling stock useless as there are no side buffers which could hook up themselves in tight radii.
Right reworked.


Today it es easier. I choose a pair of Kadee HGC Caboose trucks with leaf springs. There may be better cabosse trucks by Tahoe Works, but thes are very hard to get them here overseas.
Also a pair of those Kadee scale head whisker couplers and a pair of the new narrow width coupler boxes.


Note the collector's item differences. They will pay for the differences; i as moder RR will not. These cabooses were purchased at bargain prices.
And it will be equal if you get the Märklin or the Trix variant, they are all the same with exception of wheel sets, couplers and the "collectors's difference" as pictured above.


Remove the short coupling device (KKK). Here i made it quick and dirty by cutting. You also can demount the car completely the remove the KKK.


The narrow Kadee coupler box was simply glued onto the bottom of the car. There are also made provisions to fit a classic Kadee #232 coupler box by screwing.


The bashed car.

Lutz

I went to the Twin Cities Model Railroad sale at the State Fairgrounds today and, among other things, purchased six Walthers Trainline tank cars for $5.00 each. Seemed like a great deal...and I was looking for tankers. They are all lettered for Gulf and look like this: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/v/vspfiles/photos/931-1612-2.gif">http://www.modeltrainstuff.com/v/vspfil ... 1612-2.gif</a><!-- m -->

I did some research and only found one prototype pic of such a car...so I was able to at least confirm that this was a genuine scheme. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cdm16688.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16688coll2/id/24">http://cdm16688.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ ... oll2/id/24</a><!-- m -->

If I'm reading the description below the prototype photo correctly it seems to indicate that the original photo was taken in September of 1968, which is perfect for my Penn Central era. I was wondering if anyone has anymore information about these Gulf cars or cars of similar make. I'd like to further confirm that they might be appropriate for a late 60's early 70's time frame.

I'm planning to turn my Kings Port Oil Supply into a Gulf Oil Co. facility.

Thanks!

Hello guys,

I need help in developing a track plan for a FREMO americaN N scale module.

What I want to have is a place to service and store about 20-30 modern (1970s - present) diesel engines.
The modules are only 15 3/4'' wide and the track has to begin and end in the middle of each end of the module.

I bred over the project for a few weeks now and I have problems in finding a track plan.

There is no need for a turntable or a transfer-table or engine sheds.
Only storage tracks are needed.

Maybe I do not have enough (prototypical) knowledge to succeed.
Please let me know any ideas, sketches, hints or suggestions you may have.

Thanks in advance.