Loads on Flat Cars

The club has begun a clinic night in place of one of the business meetings each month.  Club members are encourage to give a clinic about an area of expertise or interest.  The third clinic of 2012 was presented by Al Mayo on the evening of April 22, 2012, about weathering railroad equipment.  Below is a short summary of his clinic along with a few photos.

For our April clinic night, Al Mayo stopped by the Bill Library and gave the club a complete clinic on weathering freight cars.  Al has become a weathering expert over the years and shared some of the insights he has learned over the last ten years of weathering freight cars.  Al also brought along a number of sample freight cars and locomotives he has weathered.

Al presenting the clinic.

Al taped his clinic and posted it on his YouTube Channel.  You can watch all three videos below.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Box Car example.

A GP30 leads the Prairie Peddler through town.

The Prairie Peddler module is a 2′x4′ module featuring one of the vanishing wooden grain elevators from the plains of western Canada.  The module features a simple small town scene with a railroad station, gas station, along with the grain elevator.  A creek runs along the left side of the module and under the two mainline tracks.  One siding serves the grain elevator and has the capacity for two covered hoppers.

The module was built by Jim Spavins and is now owned by fellow club member Bob Applegate.  The module is still in active service with the club.  A how to guide following the construction of the module was written up in the book “Modular Railroading Handbook” now available in paperback as well as digital form.

Members build loads for gondolas and flat cars.

The club has begun a clinic night in place of one of the business meetings each month.  Club members are encourage to give a clinic about an area of expertise or interest.  The second clinic of 2012 was presented by Bill Evans on the evening of February 26, 2012, about building loads for gondolas and flat cars.  Below is a short summary of his clinic along with a few photos.

Model railroaders are always looking for loads to fill empty gondolas and hopper cars.  This clinic covered an idea for making a load of tarp covered crates or machinery.  There are two styles of tarps which were presented.

Finished Loads.

Building covered loads for gondolas and flat cars couldn’t be easier.  The first method is the easiest.  For this, cut blocks of wood into a rectangle shape so that it fits on the flat car or in the gondola.  Then, cut pieces of old plastic shopping bags so that it can be wrapped around the block of wood.  The idea is to wrap the piece of wood like you would wrap a present.  Go through a dry fit and once everything looks good, spread glue over the block and wrap it with the shopping bag material.  Once it dries, you can glue small scraps of wood to the bottom of the wrapped block to represent dunnage and also use black thread as a tie down.

Materials needed to make loads.

The second method is to cover a piece of foam using facial tissue.  This method is a bit more involved but produces amazing results.  The first step is to cut a piece of foam insulation to fit onto a flat car or gondola.  Then take some facial tissue and wrap it around the block of foam.  For the next step, mix up some acrylic paint (choose a color you want the tarp to be), white glue, and a little water.  Once this is ready grab a brush and wipe this mixture over the facial tissue.  This will affix the tissue to the foam as well as make the final surface look just like a tarp.  To finish off the load, add some wood and thread as in the first example.

That is the quick and easy way to make loads for flat cars and gondolas.  Enjoy!

Stu Dom oversees rewiring on Proto2000 engines.

The club has begun a clinic night in place of one of the business meetings each month.  Club members are encourage to give a clinic about an area of expertise or interest.  The first clinic of 2012 was presented by Stu Dom on the evening of January 22, 2012, about rewiring Proto2000 engines.  Below is a short summary of his clinic along with background documents with more drawings and information.

When the first Proto 2000 (Life-Like) engines came onto the scene, I raced out to buy everything I could in my preferred railroad (PRR), and there was plenty from which to choose. The engines were extremely detailed, looked better than almost anything I’d seen before, and ran well.
However, this delight soon subsided when I found that the engines ran much more slowly (perhaps prototypical) than the breed of engines most club members had (Atlas, Athearn & some Stewart).  However, many times these engines were not put on the mainline, because they would get overtaken by the majority of the trains. There were many words from other club members about these obstacles on the track, more than a handful of rear-enders, and I would reluctantly take these beautiful “beasts” off of the track and run my other engines.

I really wanted to run these engines, and began to look into the cause for this uncommon behavior. The first thing I noticed was that these engines came equipped with constant intensity directional lighting – which appeared to be relatively new to the off-the-shelf stable of engines. My original Stewart F units had very bright lights but I don’t believe they were “Constant Intensity” lights. Having some electrical background, I decided to take a further look into these engines to determine if this could be the cause of this phenomena, understand why this was the
case, and to develop a corrective fix. I initiated my first efforts on a pair of SD-9 engines that I had, and later moved onto SD-7, GP-7 & GP-9 engines.

In all cases, I found that the constant intensity lighting circuit introduces a resistance or voltage drop in series with the motor. This means that for a given track voltage, the actual voltage getting to the motor was up to about 2.5 to 2.8 volts less, which translates to about a 20% reduction at full power. The power that a motor is able to produce is directly dependent on the current in the motor, and Ohms Law would indicate that this current is also directly related to the voltage across the motor, so the motor was receiving less current than other engines.  To correct the problem, I developed the circuit (shown in the PDF at the bottom of the page) which allows the engine to operate at speeds consistent with other manufactures products.-Stu Dom

The attached PDF includes step by step instructions on how this type of modification can be made to a Proto2000 locomotive.

Download the PDF by clicking here.

Hexagon Layout Track Plan

Since the snow has finally started flying here in New England, it felt like a perfect day to stay inside and start working on a track plan.  As many of you might have seen on the website, last May I began work on a new O scale layout for the club.  The original plan called for the construction of a small 8′x8′ portable layout built in four sections.  The track plan was too simple with only a loop and two sidings and after much discussion among club members, I decided to expand the project and build the 12′x16′ modular layout now under construction – see the Wood River Branch blog.  While I am happy with this new layout plan, the downside is that the 10 module sections of the new layout will not be able to fit in one vehicle and I need to depend on the generosity of others to move it to shows.  The nice part about the original portable layout plan was it would have fit inside of my car.  Which brings us to the portable track plan challenge.

Original Portable O Scale Layout Plan.

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been enjoying the new Model Railroader back issue DVD  and reading many old issues.  During my browsing, I stumbled across an N scale layout in the May 1993 issue called the Trap and Garnet Ridge Railroad. The layout was designed as a hexagon and broke apart into three pieces.  This got me thinking about the original idea of building a self contained, portable layout to bring to train shows which could fit into one vehicle.  Borrowing on the original design, I expanded the sections a bit to make a layout with a larger 6′ x 7′ hexagon footprint which will come apart into three pieces.

Now is where I am looking for some help.  Since we have so many designers in the club, I thought I’d open up the track planning to the group (or anyone reading this on the web).

The design requirements are somewhat simple:

• The layout must fit on the three sections.
• Scales allowed – O scale (2 rail), S scale (2 rail), or HO scale.
• Must be standard gauge.
• The total height of any section must be less then 10″ when disassembled for transport.

Here is a pdf and jpg of the outline of the modules along with the design requirements.  If you come up with any design ideas you’d like to share, we will publish them here on the website as well as in a future issue of the club newsletter.  Send a pdf or image file (jpg, tiff, png, etc) to mprrclub at gmail.

Here are a few plans I started with:

Circle City Lines (O or S scale) – Download PDF Here

Canadian Pacific Slocan Sub (O or S scale) – Download PDF Here

Railroad Hobby Show

It’s almost that time of year again – time for the largest train show in New England: the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show at the Big E Fairgrounds in West Springfield, MA.  Once again, the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club will be displaying three modular layouts in the Young Building during the show on Jan. 28-29, 2012.

This year, the club’s HO and G scale modular layouts will be joined by a new O scale layout.  This layout, named the Wood River Branch, will fill an area 12′ x 16′ and feature modern short line railroading in southern New England.  You can see an overview of the new O scale layout on its own website at www.woodriverbranch.com.

In addition to the new O scale layout, the HO layout will see some new additions.  Several personal modules have been added to the 42′ x 72′ modular layout with scenes such as a railroad museum, the famed Woodlawn flyover, a tank car repair facility, as well as a few other surprises completing the layout.

The layouts will be set up in the middle of the Young Building.  Make sure you stop by and say hi.  We look forward to seeing you at the show!

For more information about the show as well as hours and directions, visit the shows official website at: www.railroadhobbyshow.com

Layout Plan for HO and O scale layouts.

The Rivulet Spacer Module.

This is the story of the construction of the new Rivulet Spacer Module.  It was constructed in less than 90 hours for the 2011 Durham Train Show.  You might notice some similarities to the “90 Days to Rockville” story – available at any online book retailer like Amazon.com.

Sunday September 24, 2011 – 10:00 pm

“C’mon Jim, you know you want to,” said Stu Dom, President of the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club.  We had just finished our annual post club meeting discussion at Dunkin’ Donuts where the group was discussing the layout plan for the upcoming train show the following weekend in Durham, CT.  Stu had drawn up the plan for the layout and was two feet short from completing the layout.  There was a need for a two foot spacer module the club didn’t have.  I think Stu was baiting me to see if I was just crazy enough to build a new module considering that the loading of modules for the show was just under four days away.

I knew I had some spare plywood around and a couple of pieces of flextrack and some roadbed.  The club had wire and electrical connectors.  I just needed a theme.  Then I remembered I had a stack of PRR Three Arch Viaduct kits in storage and could easily donate one to the project.  Since the spacer was only going to be two feet long, I only needed a single arch to cross a small stream or rivulet.  After a quick two minute and thirty five second conversation, the plan was ready.

Never one to turn down a challenge, I began my quest to build the Rivulet Spacer Module.

Monday September 25, 2011

Having lost about eight hours to sleep, I started bright and early Monday morning by drawing a full size plan of the module.  The module would be simple with the two mainline tracks and the third inside passing track.  The single arch stone bridge would be placed in the center of the module.  There were also some areas for details like a MOW area on the front of the module and a camping scene on the right rear corner.

With the plan set, I searched through my scrap pile and found some pieces of extra birch plywood and luan to use for the module frame.  The pieces were cut to size then dados and groves added for strength.  Everything was assembled with brads and wood glue.   By lunchtime, the frame was built, however I realized I needed more materials – like paint and spackle.  So off I went to Home Depot to buy supplies.

Upon returning, I began to fit the parts for the bridge.  The parts needed some modifications.  I turned to my diminutive yet trusty band saw and just as I began to cut the first cast resin abutment, I heard a snap followed by the realization that the band saw blade had finally worn out.  I guess that is par for the course considering that the club and I had managed to cut a few hundred module pieces with it through the years.  So back to the car I went, this time in search of a new band saw blade.

Down to about 72 hours to go, I finally had the bridge parts cut and installed on the bridge.  After a brief stop for dinner, I went back into the shop and fit the foam insulation around the bridge and carved the few hills and shapes into place.  By the end of the evening the module was taking shape.

Tuesday September 26, 2011

Tuesday started with spackle and lots of it.  The bridge joints needed to be filled and all the scenery contours received a thin coating.  Of course if I had thought ahead, I would have done this step the night before as it takes hours to dry.  This meant I had to spend the rest of the morning watching the spackle dry.

Once it had dried by mid-afternoon, I then began to paint everything.  This took about an hour and then I realized that paint takes hours to dry.  So I spent the next several hours watching the paint dry.  To be honest, watching the paint dry was a bit more exciting than watching the spackle dry.

With everything finally dry, I finally added the three tracks and wire feeds.  After a quick coat of paint on the tracks, I took a break for dinner before starting the scenery.  As I am prone to do, I made a complete mess of the workbench while adding ground foam and ballast to the module. However, it all seemed to magically when it dried overnight.

Wednesday September 27, 2011

On Wednesday morning, Stu made the mistake of dropping by the shop where I promptly put him to work assembling the harnesses for the module.  There was no way I was going to let him off the hook for baiting me into building this project!  While Stu was wiring, I finished the rivulet and added trees.  By the afternoon, the sides of the module were painted and a piece of plexiglass cut to fit the front of the module.  After a quick cleaning of the tracks, a test engine was run and the module was done!

Thursday September 28, 2011

On Thursday evening, just 90 hours after Stu suggested we build a new module, it was delivered for loading.  All in all, for a spacer piece, the module turned out pretty nice if I do say so myself.  Of course, I am wondering if I am setting expectations a little too high.  First it was 90 days for the Rockville Bridge module and now 90 hours for the Rivulet Spacer Module.  What’s next, 90 minutes?!

You can watch the 3 minute and 15 second time lapse construction video on the M&P YouTube channel at youtube.com/mprrclub.

* The current O scale module standards can be found by downloading the PDF here.

A coal drag through Cassandra, PA. Photo by Jim Spavins.

In early August, members of the Mohegan Pequot Model Railroad Club embarked on an extended six day edition of their annual club trip.  This year’s version brought us to the usually stops in Fostoria, OH, Marion, OH, Deshler, OH, Altoona, PA, and Enola, PA.  Despite rain and overcast skies on most days of the trip, all of the twelve club members attending considered it a success.

The first day of the trip, Tuesday August 2, was the typical twelve hour drive to western Ohio from Connecticut.  The three car caravan was able to catch a few trains in Bellvue and Fostoria before the sun went down in what was a preview for the next day.  On Wednesday morning, the group went to visit the Iron Triangle in Fostoria and was entertained by an unprecedented level of activity at the diamonds.  In a span of two and half hours, over 30 CSX and Norfolk Southern trains pounded the diamonds.  Typically, the club members bring folding chairs to sit in while waiting for trains to pass by.  However on this morning, with a train every five minutes, no one even had time to think about sitting down.

Needing a break from the traffic, the group proceeded west to Deshler, OH, for a relaxing afternoon at Crossroads Park.  The rail traffic settled down a bit as a work crew was working on the interlocking west of town which kept trains moving through town on one track.  After lunch and a few hours of train watching in Deshler, the group caravaned backed to Fostoria for the rest of the evening.

The next morning, the group started bright and early with a drive south to Marion, OH.  When the club members arrived, they were greeted by members of the Marion Union Station Association who had the station open.  The group was treated to a private tour of the station and interlocking tower which included an in depth lesson in signaling.  All of the member appreciated the hospitality.  The station is currently raising funds to fix the roof of the station.  (If you want to follow along with Marion Union Station, visit the Facebook page here.)  After the tour, the group had a quick lunch, then started back east towards Altoona, PA, for the remainder of the day.

Group Photo in Cresson, PA. Photo by Stu Dom.

Friday morning in Altoona started with a stop at the Altoona train station then a drive up to Horseshoe Curve when is opened at 10 am.  After seeing two quick trains, the rains started which chased the group from the curve.  The group decided to head west a bit to Cresson to grab some lunch to wait out the rain.  The sun finally broke through after lunch and the group grabbed its annual group photo by the caboose at the railfan stand in Cresson.  In an attempt to change the trip a bit, the caravan continue west to Cassandra, PA, home of a pedestrian bridge over the NS mainline.  This great secluded spot is perfect for photographers with a long straight away and a curve opening through a cut.  The sun held out as the group was able to see a number of trains at this location.  To finish out the day, the group went back to Cresson until sunset.

On Saturday, a trip east to Enola was the order of the day.  However, another new addition to the trip was added in 2011.  Instead of driving straight to Enola, the club decided to take a detour to Lewistown, PA, and its train station.  The station is currently owned and operated the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.  The club had to contend with more rain all day Saturday, but the station made a nice stop with its benches covered by the roof overhangs.  By late afternoon, the club was at Rockville Bridge but caught in downpours.  Most members called it an early day.

For the final day of the trip, the sun started to peak through the clouds.  The group spent the morning in the area around Enola including Rockville Bridge, Cove, and Enola Yard.  By mid-day, the group called it a trip, packed up the cars, and drove back to Connecticut.  Next years trip is in the planning stages so book your spot today!

Amtrak's 40th Anniversary Celebration

Over the weekend of July 23 and 24, 2011, the club setup a display at the New London Union Station as part of the celebration of Amtrak’s 40th Anniversary. Amtrak built a special train which is spending weekends at various stations throughout the country and on this past weekend was making a visit to New London, CT.   The club set up a small HO scale layout in the lobby which was joined by displays by Amtrak Police, Chuggington Depot, and the Mystic Aquarium.  Despite blistering heat, approximately 2,000 people attended the two day event.  You can view a video of the highlights on the club’s YouTube channel below.