Model Train Journal

healey36 wrote:Okay. Reading along over on that "other" forum, I wasn't sure if you were still pursuing that objective.

Yes, I absolutely am. I would like to take that module to a show or meeting at some point in 2023. And that will require the assistance of someone with an SUV - it definitely won't fit in the car.

Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the forums.

George

Updated 1/8/2023:

In honor of MTJ not being dead and my train room actually being clean , here are some photos.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0mJsHvHoAvyVe

George

That is one nice bridge or maybe BRIDGE!

Jim K wrote:That is one nice bridge or maybe BRIDGE!

Thank you! It's the centerpiece of the layout.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Crossroads+of+Commerce&atb=v295-1&iax=images&ia=images&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cardcow.com%2Fimages%2Fset792%2Fcard00146_fr.jpg

George

G3750 wrote:Updated 1/8/2023:

In honor of MTJ not being dead and my train room actually being clean , here are some photos.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0mJsHvHoAvyVe

George

Thank you for the pictures, George. I see the smoke stacks waiting to be put in place.

I learned from reading your posts that the steel mill is going to have smoke and lights.
Maybe it will look like this?

Wayne,

That's the plan! I want it to look as realistic as I can make it - sounds, lights, smoke! Everything but the air pollution. If you look very carefully at the photo of the train room in my original post on this subject, you will see that I have installed a fan in the divider (the photos of the blast furnaces). There's a duct behind it that will divert smoke from the Open Hearth stacks out the basement window.

Yeah, I'm that crazy.

George

Updated 1/20/2023:

Over on OGR, a thread about Lionel (ex MTH) Decapods announced in the new catalog triggered a comparison between them and the 3rd Rail engines. That morphed into comments about minimum curve requirements of each. This past Sunday I held an open house (layout tour) for the Panhandle. With a number of people in the room, I thought about aisle space when the layout was completed. All of the above sparked an analysis of the track plan.

Here's what I've learned:

• 3rd Rail Decapods, both long tender and short tender versions, will run on O64 track. The short tender version will even run on O54.
• Changing the curves on the Weirton peninsula from O72 to O64 will buy me another 12" of aisle space at the front of the layout (where space is at a premium). The Weirton peninsula is not yet built (not even benchwork exists). The aisle paralleling the bridge is unaffected.
• Twelve (12) GarGraves O63 sections make up a full circle. Ross uses 16 O64 sections to make a circle, which gives me much more flexibility in accommodating yards and switches.
• Because the Weirton Junction Yard planned to use O64 Ross switches, minimal disruption will occur in that area (again, still unbuilt).
• A modification at this point will require replacement of one already installed O72 switch. This is not a big deal.
• 18" passenger cars should be minimally affected by the change.
• No other locomotives in my fleet are affected by the change.
• The full effect on yards and the buildings of North Weirton is still TBD.

I am re-working my track plan on RR-Track and still exploring potential impacts, but at this early stage things look promising. Going to O64 is a small compromise that might lead to an improved accommodation of people in the train room.

More when I have finished the analysis.

George

Reading this has me realizing how far you have yet to go. Press on, undaunted!

healey36 wrote:Reading this has me realizing how far you have yet to go. Press on, undaunted!

Thank you! I am not daunted. Progress has been steady, but slow (by my standards). We are taking steps to accelerate the building process once I get this Open Hearth monkey off my back.

George

A couple of Red Bulls and a steady stream of black coffee and you can work straight through the night...

healey36 wrote:A couple of Red Bulls and a steady stream of black coffee and you can work straight through the night...

Yeah, no problem.

Should be done - fully sceniced - in a week.

I'll get right on it.

George

Updated 1/22/2023:

After further review, the call on the ice still stands. I will be making changes to the layout. Here they are:

Switches 11, 12, 34, 43, 44 are eliminated
Switches 10, 35, 36 are replaced with RH O64s
Switch 9 - replaced with standard RH 11 degree
Switch 14 - replaced with LH O64

Weirton Junction Yard loses 2 freight car tracks but becomes slightly longer.

The aisle at the front (running along the bottom of drawing) picks up 1 extra foot in width along most of its length. This is the most significant gain and to my mind trumps all other advantages and disadvantages.

George

Aisle space equates to ease of movement around the layout. Even three or four feet can get pretty congested if you have a bunch of visitors milling around. I would think anything you can do to expand tight aisle space without seriously degrading/compressing the track plan is time well-spent.

My two cents...

healey36 wrote:Even three or four feet can get pretty congested if you have a bunch of visitors milling around.

Liberal application of a cattle prod addresses that rather well.

healey36 wrote:Aisle space equates to ease of movement around the layout. Even three or four feet can get pretty congested if you have a bunch of visitors milling around. I would think anything you can do to expand tight aisle space without seriously degrading/compressing the track plan is time well-spent.

My two cents...

Thanks Healey!

And Rufus, do you prefer an electric or gas-powered cattle prod? Which do you find most advantageous?

Asking for a friend...

George