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On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train! ) could be reliably pulled around the layout.  And while the Lionel Big Boy pulled it like a champ, we are not likely to run this train when open to the public as finding any derailments would be a lot of work (a lot of ground to cover with people moving around the layout).

Andy

On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train! ) could be reliably pulled around the layout.  And while the Lionel Big Boy pulled it like a champ, we are not likely to run this train when open to the public as finding any derailments would be a lot of work (a lot of ground to cover with people moving around the layout).

Andy

That looks like enough ore to fire up Carrie in Swissvale again!

On Wednesday night (11/30/22), we were at Kennywood for some maintenance work and took a break to conduct this experiment to see if a 137 car ore train (about 80 feet of train! ) could be reliably pulled around the layout.  And while the Lionel Big Boy pulled it like a champ, we are not likely to run this train when open to the public as finding any derailments would be a lot of work (a lot of ground to cover with people moving around the layout).



Andy

Absolutely, Andy! One finds that you have to balance what you want to do (super long consists) by what works and is practical when the public is watching.......we usually run these super long trains when it's a more private session.

Peter

Absolutely, Andy! One finds that you have to balance what you want to do (super long consists) by what works and is practical when the public is watching.......we usually run these super long trains when it's a more private session.

Peter

Well with four tracks on the mainline, it might be fun to make a show out of it. If there’s a derailment, dispatch the MoW crew from the yard with a crane to help clean it up!

@rplst8 posted:

Well with four tracks on the mainline, it might be fun to make a show out of it. If there’s a derailment, dispatch the MoW crew from the yard with a crane to help clean it up!

We actually decided to run a shortened version of this train - only 110 cars (we took out the heavier cars).  And the crowd did get one show:

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😁

Also, due to the warm weather, we had our largest crowd of the season so far.  We use a counter to tally the number of people that come through and report the numbers to Kennywood (we started doing this voluntarily and they really liked it, as it helps them evaluate how they operate).

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Andy

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Last edited by Andy Hummell

And here is another batch of pix:

The "Santa in the Windmill" scene is probably the most popular, based on comments.

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Pittsburgh, being the birthplace of the modern zombie horror genre, also means that our "Zombie Attack" scene is also very popular.

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My module is a mashup of Polar Express and National Lampoon's Vacation / Christmas Vacation, with the addition of Rudolph and a lurking Yeti.

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Sasquatch and the Dino Dig are popular with kids.

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8-9 Minions can also be found on the layout (number depending on if my Polar Express is running), and are a big hit with the kids when they find them.

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Andy

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@Andy Hummell, your group's efforts exceed by miles my ability to comprehend what you guys do, even with the wonderful and abundant photographs and information you have provided.  (I belong to a club with a traveling layout that is a simple rectangle with four main lines measuring 16' X 44' comprised of 18 modules, so I understand the concept of joining modules.  But what you guys do is incomprehensible for me!)

But what transcends all of that is the fact that you set-up and take down the layout in its various configurations fequently to satisfy a busy show schedule.  The man hours involved; the weight moved in and out; the challenges; staggering.

Nothing comes close in my memory to what you guys do with your traveling layout.   

BRAVO!!!

Last edited by Pingman

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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