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We had to take the siding and wait for a freight heading for Slateford Junction, where we ran around the train. Now with 664 on the head end.
50+ freight cars on the way.
OOOOHHH !! I got to model that.
We enter the yard on the D+L just south of Steamtown.
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This weekend is Railfest at Steamtown, I was up there with Tomustang and my family for a bit today. Here are a few pics from there.
And I have some good news on 663.. The people from tri-state were working on the coupling on the air compressor today, so we may have a plan to get her running soon.
I will most likely be going back up to Scranton again tomorrow morning to see what's up. I'll post some more then.
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e-paw Wrote:OOOOHHH !! I got to model that.
If you can discover the right technique for modeling that, and get it done, please, post the "how-to" ![Cheers Cheers](https://bigbluetrains.com/images/smilies/extra/cheers.gif) .
In the meantime, I just might have to play with some ideas. That kind of "falling water" has always been a "difficult issue", and I'd like to add a bit of that to the falls, on the "seaport" module.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
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well I was going to try this method first.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics.com/show/video/MakeWaterfall">http://woodlandscenics.woodlandscenics. ... eWaterfall</a><!-- m -->
But,, before I even get into that I got a few more pics from the Scranton rail-fest.
Starting CNJ (original)1554 an ARHS owned D&L leased RS-3
Four and a quarter with her crew.
I need to make a decal of that
Steam power through the window of DL&W 664
664 on the caboose hop heading west.
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Lastly,, an overview of the turntable.
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The Woodland Scenics video is a good start, just remember, that video is for an 80' > 90' high "fall", and what you want is about an 8' > 10' "fall".
To put that another way, do the "Scenics' Fall" in Z scale ( +/- )
There isn't the volume of water, the rate of flow, or the "turbulence" in the shorter fall. Most of the rock in the area of the fall, will only be "wet".
That's why I made the comment " That kind of *falling water* has always been a *difficult issue* ", and is also the reason I haven't " got it done ".
I was thinking about using a very light, mono filament fishing line, for the "frame" of the water, and then brushing on the W.S. Water effects. In any case, play with the materials, "off layout", to get the feel of working with them. Considering the size of the falls, I would think using all clear, and then stippling the white "foam" in with a short bristle artist's brush, and white acrylic paint, after the "water" had set up.
Last thought.....try this, and the W.S. method from the video....then choose which works best for you. Have fun
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
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Over the last two weeks our attention has been turned to DL&W 663. On the last excursion she suffered a compressor failure where it started to shake violently at high RPM's. This damaged the after-cooler and a water line that runs to the cab heater. The cab heater was a simple solder fix as it is just brass pipe, but the after cooler was a different story. To get to it the main air reservoir had to be removed first and then the after cooler was removed and repaired. All this work was performed by a different crew, It was our job to put it all back.
The reservoir was lowered into a pit equipped with a jacking piston at the bottom of it, this made it a lot safer and easier to do.
663 was then spotted in position over the air tank.
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The blue sign is incorrect,,,, we are all just big children.
The after-cooler was next installed into place and tightened down. It removes some of the heat from the compressed air so that any condensation settles in the reservoir and not in the brake lines.
With that all finished the air tank was jacked into position and strapped in place.
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This all sounds simple but it was a lot of hard, heavy work with plenty of potential for pinched fingers and bumped heads. The biggest problem that we had was that none of us were there to see the tank removed, and we didn't know what straps went where. All of the support straps are different sizes and only go in one way. After several best guesses we took the straps over to 664 and matched them up to what went where. Then amazingly it all dropped into place.
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Here are a few shots of the tank all strapped in.
All that's left to do is hook up the plumbing at the front of the tank and fit the automatic drain valve in-between the small pipe and the reservoir shown at the bottom of the pic.
I'd like to thank one of the newest members of our crew Tomustang who dove right in and was not afraid to tackle one of the rougher jobs that we have done with these units.
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Steve, I'm glad you got the air tank figured out. It looks good. I hope they give you many years of service.
Charlie
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Thanks Steve, I also appreciate you including me in on the project.
Tom
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Last weekend we finished up all the underside air connections on 663 and tested them with compressed air from the round house. We found no leaks and pressure held nicely. We then moved on to disconnecting all the plumbing from the compressor in 663 so that the Tri-state crew could move it out of the way for a more thorough inspection. I have posted a copy of an email from them explaining what they found.
" Gentlemen,
This past Sunday Dave, Matt, and myself removed the air compressor from it's mountings in 663. At this point the coupling is free and was able to be inspected. I feel that we can reuse it once it gets put back together. The air compressor on the other hand shows signs of having a bent crank on the driven end. The roller bearing also seems to have extra movement that you would normally not find. It is my feelings at this time that the air compressor should be replaced or completely rebuilt.
Mike "
So it looks like 663 will be down for some time, hopefully she will be running for next years excursion season. On the other hand, 664 is running like a champ and the restoration on the B-unit is moving right along.
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Maybe you can get some equipment manufacturer to rebuild it as a tax write off. As for the coupling, I would want that replaced they are just too much work if they fail. Our ALCO had a Thomas coupling that drives the auxiliary generator which wasn't too bad to get at. We had to replace drive belts on the rear end and that involved moving the air compressor and the drive for the aux. generator. I didn't get the generator lined properly and was replacing the flexplates every year.
I finally got it right 2 years before I retired and they are holding up well.
Charlie
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With the government shutdown we have not been able to do any work on the F units. Steamtown is part of the national parks service and will be closed until all the children in Washington quit there temper tantrum. Mast of the staff over there has been furloughed, this means that we can not be allowed on park grounds until all the children in Washington quit there temper tantrum. I hope this all ends soon for everyone's sake, because until all the children in Washington quit there temper tantrum, lots of people's lives are being put on hold. ( as a note I hate both sides of the isle with equal discus and hold no political affiliation.) I promise that will be my last and only political rant.
But on a better note. Our F-3's have been invited to The "Streamliners at spencer" <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.nctrans.org/Events/Streamliners-at-Spencer-">http://www.nctrans.org/Events/Streamliners-at-Spencer-</a><!-- m --> Here is an exert from the ARHS face book page announcing the event.
" Well the ARHS received the official invitation from the North Carolina Transportation Museum to bring Lackawanna painted F3's #663 and 664 to Spencer next June for the Streamliners at Spencer event. After analyzing the details regarding schedule and expense the ARHS BofD has accepted the invitation.
Given that nearly all the major railroads refuse to move these older locomotives except in special moves (at great expense) this will probably the only time you will see this many cab unit diesels congregate in one location. "
Hopefully I will be able to get down there to witness this, as it is kind of a big deal for us to be included in this event.
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Last Sunday we held our last work session of the summer season, Steamtown will now be going on their winter schedule. That means weekdays only, So I will not be able to attend very many (if any) restoration days ![Nope Nope](https://bigbluetrains.com/images/smilies/extra/nope.gif) .
Here is another Email explaining what this winter holds for the F units & our FA.
Bob, Justin and myself were at the work session today in Scranton. Several things happened. Today was the end of the season for the F-3's
First 663 was moved to track 14 where it was drained for the winter.
Next we looked at the compressor and what was needed to remove the hatch above it. A couple minor brackets and some piping was disconnected. We then tried to work on the bolts holding the roof hatch with mixed success. Due to the hatch on 663 having the dynamic brake resistors, everything near them has been subjected to some heat. Even with penetrating spray many of the bolts will not come out without breaking off. In total we got about 16 out of 36 to come out. We did not try the ones on the outside edge of the roof so there are more yet to go.
After 3pm there was the great shuffle of equipment. 663 came out of track 14 and was replaced by 664.
663 was moved to track 5 in the back-shop in preparation of compressor removal on this Thursday.
We started to identify and label high voltage cables in the main cabinet area with the goal to eventually identify what wires in the locomotive match up with those in the main cabinet. This is going to take considerable time.
Most likely the B unit will be moved into the sandblast bay this week which will allow us to start removing the panels on the sides. We will drop the panels, removed rust, apply rust converter and a coat of paint to both the frame and the existing panels. Additionally a good number of screws which hold the batten strips to the locomotive have broken off and need to be drilled out. All of this will be our winter project.
Also regarding our FA, a supplier of proper FRA windshields has been located in Trumbauresville, Pa and their quote of $275.00 each is very reasonable considering all other estimates were four figures.
Rich
So I will keep you informed the best I can till Spring.
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I was checking my Email and was surprised to read this
Today at 5:31 PM
OK I am testing to see who might be able to make a work session this coming Sunday? The B unit is indoors and many screws are removed. If we have three other than myself we can remove some of the panels. Please let me know. Once we have some panels down then the tedious work of drilling and tapping holes and rust cleaning can take place. We can continue to work on weekend this year apparently until the weekend before Christmas.
So off to Steamtown I go.
I looks like the crew had some fun removing the compressor from 663. There are a bunch of pics on the ARHS Facebook page that show what they did.
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