Great Northern railway

Very impressive number of upgrades, Sam!

'road test' mods on the SF 4-6-4 Blue Goose.

The trailing truck was derailing a couple times at the last ops session so lead was added to one axle.

Seems to have worked as no derailments.

However the rubber connecting tube was twisted so a longer piece of metal rod was inserted between the motor and gear plus a piece of plastic put over the gear shaft and metal rod to prevent any 'racking'. 

Clevelander visiting the GNRW.   

Ross from Cleveland and Chuck (local) 'ran' some trains today.

All 3 of us are from Cleveland so we had a good time discussing 'old memories'.

Also, both of us in the 'CORPS'.

Ross (left) and I went to the same A.J. Rickoff elementary school in Cleveland back around the early 50's.

C&O 2-6-6-6 pulling 33 freight cars.

Bill from the Dayton area and his friend, John, from Florida stopped by to 'run trains'. 

That was a quick 4 hours by the time engines were 'pulled' out of the roundhouse, connected to a train and reached our 'destinations' and used the switcher to put the cars in the 'yard'.

Started with a couple of freight drags.

DM&IR  M-4 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone pulling about 33 freight cars.

MTH model that just arrived this year with, not only smoke, but also smoking whistle.

Bill running a GN N-3 2-8-8-0 and 30 freight cars.

A Tenshodo model that has been heavily weighted plus lots of LED's.

Departing Havre.

Next was passenger trains.

GN S-2 4-8-4 passenger train.

N&W J 4-8-4 passenger train.

GN S-2 at Tye.

N&W J at Waverly.

GN S-2 at Wilmar.

That's awesome. You're making me want to take a road trip across the state!

@BillYo414 posted:

That's awesome. You're making me want to take a road trip across the state!

You're always welcome.  See Struthers, Ohio is around Youngstown: Bernie Kozar's neighborhood.

Things you can also do in Cincinnati: Lebanon train rides, Wright Pat Airforce Museum: free, Cinci Zoo, Newport aquarium.

NMRA MCR DIV 7 meeting which is, usually the 2nd Sunday of the month.

Exact date and location are:

https://www.cincy-div7.org/

@BillYo414 posted:

That's awesome. You're making me want to take a road trip across the state!

There are also some other good layouts to visit nearby to Sam, like Bill Bramlage's Tower City and my own Pennsylvania & Western. 

Cincinnati is a 'BIG' modeling city as Div 7 has around 65 registered layouts.  In this 'thread' I have posted pictures of all the layouts I have visited.

@BillYo414 posted:

That's awesome. You're making me want to take a road trip across the state!

Viewing photographs and videos of Sam's, Bill's, and Bob's layouts over the years, I'm ready to slip across the state line and bum a ride with you, Bill!!

Well how about that?? I just might plan a trip here in the future. Definitely no chance of me getting enough free time before January. After that? It could happen.

Y'all can find a listing with links to many of the Greater Cincinnati area layouts, including club & museum layouts, on the Cincinnati Division 7 website here >> https://bit.ly/Div7LayoutList

PAM

Some more PM.

The N&W J had trouble pulling the 10 car passenger train.  I got new traction tires and put them on the engine.

I, also, put the 'bullfrog snot' on the insulated side drivers.

Same for the DM&IR M-4 2-8-8-4 as the engine had trouble pulling 33 freight cars.   Used alcohol on a q-tip to clean the drivers before adding the 'bull frog snot'.

Had to reverse all the cars via the upper loop and the one passenger train seemed to have a lot of drag.  Found a 'draw pull' drag of 1.9-2.0 ounces; after oiling all the axles, the drag went to 0.3.

Used some diesels that I like to use for testing, etc to reverse the passenger car order via the upper loop.

Had to replace the throw bar and re-solder one turnout point.  Choke cable was 'sticking' so put oil on the outside of the cable as it had some rust on the surface and all's 'good'. 

Track cleaning and oiling axles.

Track Cleaning:

I don't do this too often, about once a year or so, as the track seems to 'stay clean'.  Sometimes I used two old track cleaning cars by Ulrich which I soak, often, the cleaning pads in enamel reducer.  Other times I use the old fashion 'eraser'. 

I've read where 'people' don't recommend using abrasive erasers on track as it scratches it.  Personally, I've been using an eraser on 1500' of track for 42 years and haven't had any problems of excessive dirt accumulation plus it seems it would give the engines better traction!   

A long shafted screw driver helps me get into tight spaces without damaging 'stuff'.  Also, no long sleeve shirts to 'snag' things.

I went the 'lazy' route by not doing any track that has rolling stock on it.

Along this area, I did all the mainline except the top tier where I would have had to get my 'top side' creeper'.  Also did the logging track.

Always fun where the catenary is located!

Logging area.

Laundry area was easy with no scenery.

Able to, also, clean the top tier mainline in this area.

The Glacier Park area is most prone to oxidation due to the 'snow'.

I used enamel reducer to, often, clean the 'eraser' and wipe it on paper towels.

Oiling car axles:

A few weeks ago I oiled a set of 14 passenger cars and the results were very good going from around 2.2 ounces to 0.5 ounces 'draw bar' pull.

The results for freight cars was no so good. Besides a 'draw bar' pull test on 43 freight cars, I also used an inclined piece of track for testing.  Some cars with bad rolling characteristics improved with some oiling.  Other cars rolled freely but I oiled them anyway.  This was a mistake as it appears that it's best to not oil free rolling metal axles on 'slippery' plastic trucks , at least in HO gauge.  The draw bar pull went from around 2.3 ounces to 3.3 ounces after oiling!  Fortunately, I only did these 43 cars and I'll more 'selective' on which freight cars to oil in the 'future'.  In the 'old days' I would only lubricate axles with dry graphite powder.

I tested the 'newly' oiled cars with a set of PRR electrics.  They pulled the cars but I'm sure 'oiling' the freight cars did not 'help'.

Picked up a set of digital calipers at Harbor Freight for only 20 bucks.  Nice to get accurate numerical readings versus my old 'dial' type calipers.  Can also 'zero' out the initial setting.

Sam, nice review of track cleaning and truck oiling pros and cons, with great scenery to see in the process.  I didn't know you had tracks running through the Laundry area.  Always a great photograph review!

Do you suppose the oil acted as a solvent on the plastic?

@BillYo414 posted:

Do you suppose the oil acted as a solvent on the plastic?

no as the oil is plastic compatible.  Figured the oil is a friction.

Most of today's HO trucks use Delrin plastic which is very 'slippery' so metal axles roll very freely with the coefficient of friction being very low. 

Before/After.

The picture shows the yard where there is dirt before (upper rail not shiny for about an inch) and after cleaning (rails on bottom 1" of track rail is shiny).  Some rail had this accumulation of 'gunk' but, for the most part, the 'gunk' was very light and not noticeable until cleaned.  I wasn't having any electrical issues with the amount of dirt on the rail heads: just thought I'd do a little PM and clean the rails.

I like Delrin. Good material to work with on a mill or lathe. I could see how it might be self lubricating. It is slippery.

I'm taking close notes for when I have my share of track to do maintenance on!

New delivery:

Latest magazine on the C&O 2-6-6-2.

video of my 1309:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ienkgQ3BryI&t=1s

This one is by PFM made in 1974.  Cab detail added, painted, 10 LED's and decoder added.

Large train show in Dayton, Ohio this w/e (Nov 6,7).

https://www.daytonlocal.com/ev...ayton-train-show.asp

10' concrete viaduct for 14 bucks!

When I put in the new turnout to lead to the new passenger yard in the next room, I had to remove a large, removable piece of scenery.  I was going to re-insert the scenery back in its place but it seems like I've been crawling under there several times to 'fix stuff'.  I was thinking about just screwing some Masonite  hardboard to the wall and just painting it 'mountain' colors.  This morning I decided that a viaduct would 'work' plus I could get access to the track.

This is the removable piece of scenery.

I got some 1/8"X4'X8' Masonite (only 14 bucks) and used my table saw to rip  two pieces 12.5" wide.

I then made arches 10" wide and columns 1.75" wide to make full use of the 8' length.  A compass was used to make the arches.

My miter saw cut the straight edges of the viaduct.

A reciprocating saw with a fine tooth blade was used to cut the 'arch'.

Had to be careful when handling the final product to insure the 'viaduct' didn't break at a weak point.

Used 'left over' grey paint from my RC airplanes to paint the viaduct.  I needed another 25.75" of 'viaduct' to cover the entire length.

i'm always hitting the table supports that stick out when I crawl under that location so I used my sawzaw to cut them flush to the table top.

Too much vibration from the sawzaw created a minor earth quake in the yard!

Nothing fancy  but it's better than the wood wall.  Also, it's a good 10' away from viewing so I didn't see any need to get 'fancy' with it.  I painted the 'guard rail' on the bottom track as there are two track levels at this location.    I'll be putting up another piece of Masonite under the bottom track to cover up the wall.

I painted some 'mountains' (if you can call them that!) on the piece of Masonite that will go under the bottom track.  It may look a little strange with mountain peaks under the bottom track.  Will see how it looks when I screw the Masonite under the track after the paint dries.   I'm sure my comrades will give me some 'advise' when they see it!

Neighborhood kids came over to 'run trains'.

I never complain when their mom brings me some homemade food

Nice idea on the viaduct, Sam!  Yes, I’m sure the gang will give you advice!

Good kids who like trains and homemade goodies; A winner indeed!

Thanks Mark,

GN did have a viaduct but it was in St. Paul, crossed the Mississippi and was stone; details!

The paint was dry this morning so I screwed the painted Masonite below the viaduct.  It gives a 'background' block to the stark blank wall and, with the Seattle's yard in front, hopefully, observers are more interested in the yard and miss the fact that the mountains are below the viaduct.  Now I have to re-rail all those freight cars that vibrated off the tracks!

The BEFORE:

GN stone arch bridge.  Is now a pedestrian walkway. Impressive in that it is around 130 years old.  I guess I could repaint my arch to look more like the original by adding lines for the mortar and adding beige paint.   Something for the future.

MMM: I did come close to duplicating the number of arches: 12 versus my 10.

Looks good!  That’s a nice photograph of the one in St Paul.

Interesting. 

Saw the below passenger car from a large online store selling a passenger car that, when first brought out, was around 75 bucks.  Just a year ago I bought a 15 car set, including 5 of these dome cars, for about $800.

I've noticed on Ebay that sellers are asking very high prices on items.   Don't know if they're actually selling this stuff at that price!

Glad I've bought most of what I want and if there is something I might want to buy, I'll just wait until prices 'come down'.

Not saying it's 'right or wrong' on the prices but I, as a buyer, have the choice to 'pass'.

Big train show in Dayton this week end: one can, usually, find 'good buys' at train shows even in 'inflationary times'!

I've, also, noticed huge price increases on food products.  I used to get 'prime rib' for non-Christmas/Thanksgiving holidays but at 32 bucks a pound, I don't think so.  My Oscar Meyer bacon is now $9.90 a pound (used to get it for around $5).  When I bought it, I bought a lot of it at once(25 packages) but 'running out' of my cache.  Will switch to 'alternatives'.

And gas prices this morning, jumped from $3.03 to $3.30.  I just 'topped off' the tank yesterday and with a 34 gallon tank, I can wait for it to 'drop', especially  this time of year when I don't do much traveling plus being retired.

HO Broadway Ltd BLI 537 D&RGW Rio Grande Vista Dome Passenger Car Silver Pony

$252.95

Selling off some of my 3-rail stuff if anyone is interested, go to the 'sell' department.

At my age, need to stick to mostly my HO stuff and just keep my Lionel stuff that I had when I was 5-13 years old plus the GN 3-rail stuff.

NMRA DIV 3 train show in Dayton, Ohio.

Joe and I wanted to get there about 30 minutes after it opened to avoid the 'line'.  Got there and the parking lot was full and had to park in the grass.

Two buildings on the Montgomery fair grounds were used.

First building was 'stuff for sale'.

This product was just reviewed in the last NMRA magazine.  Fiber optics.

Real wood bents versus plastic.

NRMA Div 7 was well represented.

Owner of Dixie Union Station in Mason, Ohio.

Owner of Hamilton Hobbies in Hamilton, Ohio.

About a 4' statue.

Impressive 'kit bashing'.

Got one of these when I was around 7 years old.

All metal; probably from the 50's.

The 'big' stuff.

Nicely detailed cars.

Good selection of scale S gauge.

Nice sets of N gauge passenger cars.

Custom building.

Second building had, mostly, layouts.

War railroad.

Just what I needed: more freight cars.

These were made by Bob Fink that passed away.  All 'wood base' cars. 

Already had Kadees and nice trucks.

This car was by someone else.  All those barrels were turned on a lath.   Couldn't resist buying this car!

A lot of these cars had 'bill boards' which I didn't have.

I have one of these but this one has a 'round' roof.

Cool; has dunnage inside the door.

This is a 'contemporary' made car but has a B&LE 'billboard'.

Always liked those curved corners along the top of the car.

WOW!!  Again, I say WOW!!

Hey, I recognize some of those faces from your operating group.  I made an online purchase from Dixie Union Station a couple of years ago.  I believe it was an O gauge Western Maryland caboose.

Greg and his son Dan came down from the Detroit area and we 'ran some trains'.  They are, also, GN fans.

I'm looking forward to going up there to visit their area layouts.

I'm selling the bulk of my 3 rail stuff so they went home with a 'boat load' of stuff.

Profitable visit for Greg and Dan!

NMRA MCR DIV 7 November meeting pictures.

Meeting first, Roy gave a clinic on the Norfork and Southern and then we visited 2 layouts.

The usual crowd of 50 or so.

Larry Goodridge's layouts.

He has 3 layouts in the living room/dining room and 2 in the basement.

HO WW II layout.

Z gauge.

HO layout.

Basement.

2 3-rail layouts.

1800's layout.

Another 3-rail layout.

Lots of nicely weathered structures.

2 walls of 3-rail trains.

Bo Sis's layout.  House is only 5 years old so he has done a lot of building in that short time.

Lots of nicely done structures.

Nice pics Sam!
One correction -- the first layout visit is Larry Goodridge, the second layout (PRR) with the 5 year old house is Bo Sis.

I was lucky enough to pop over to Bo's a couple weeks ago during one of their 'work' sessions to snap a few photos & used one in the meeting announcement for the Div. 7 facebook page

PAM

Thanks, I'll change that.

A nice video of my GNRW GN R-2 that Greg and his son Dan took last Saturday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTZ7PvzdrFw

@Mark Boyce posted:

Profitable visit for Greg and Dan!

Mark, brought home some very nice items, but more fun was making a new friend.  Sam is very hospitable and his layout is spectacular!  Almost makes me want to model in HO

Greg,

Thanks for the kind words.

Some really incredible photos here. I love that car with the barrels. Very impressive! Do you know if it was based on a real car? Great looking steel mill in the more recent post too!

Bill,

I just assumed it existed.  Even if it didn't, I still like it; something different.  I 'googled' cooper barrel train cars but nada.

I 100% agree. If it didn't exist, it should have!

Me and my Dad took a visit to Sam Parfitt's layout and picked up a few things he was selling while and it was amazing to see!! I got to run one of his R2's and it had really nice sounds in it. I had a great time hanging out at his place for the short time we were there, would love to go back again at some point.