Looking good Jim, glad to see it’s almost all behind you and you can start running trains again. Steve Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A big sigh of relief as the track cleaning train completes it's mission on The Sub. The train was preceded by a hand cleaning using WS' Tidy Track system. Train consists of five Aztec Predators, and is what I have developed over the years as being the fastest, best way to clean track. The first Predator uses a wet cloth roller (mineral spirits). First time around I add fluid every twenty feet or so, and less on each succeeding pass. The well car acts as an idler to keep the locos clean and distribute the liquid around the rails. The locos and second idler also do this, then there are four Predators with dry rollers to pick up what might be left. The final well car lets me know all is well with the train. Usually I only run two passes - and that's enough to keep things shiny - but this time I went four due to the time between trains and the amount of debris that came down, not to mention the dust. I'm happy to report everything went well, and I can now turn my attention to more clean up and scenery repair.
This just in... train-eating hill sighted in SoCal! The national guard is being called in. Details at 11. Seriously, glad to see the layout in such good shape.
Great to see trains running again! And BIG kudos to the contractors taking such great care around the layout!
Welcome back to running trains, Jim. How did the spline fare? Minimal damage? This was pretty funny....
There was some movement as evidenced by cracks in the ballast at several locations (none pictured). The cracks were parallel to the tracks on the sloping part of the ballast. The only thing I can think of is humidity related expansion//contraction - it was pretty moist for a couple days right after the incident - or temperature related expansion/contraction - for some reason the crew liked to leave the door open in forty degree weather. But the proof is in the running, and all appears to be stable. The bridge fits the way it always did, and other than those longitudinal cracks there is no other sign of problems. I'm breathing a lot better these days. And tackling the cleanup a little at a time.
That is some awesome news Jim. Sounds like the cracks are very manageable, especially if they don't seem to affect operations. Will add that I like the track cleaning train. Very nice setup.
I arrived at that configuration after many hours of experimentation, and thus far using mineral spirits has had no ill effects. I had used Goo Gone previously until reading an article in MRH that talked about types of chemicals and their effect on track. I see no negatives at this point from using mineral spirits.
Yep. First time ever I've not needed to tweak SOMETHING on a new loco. I still can't believe they are that good, but they are. I might quibble with a few details - the outline paint on the BNSF seems a bit strong, and the walkways on the UP look to be way too light, but proto photo confirms ST is correct. And the sound is about the best I've heard.
I assume you've seen this: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6RIkXobtXWJElbwEHIC-sg First thing I thought of was your layout.
Hey, thanks Dave! I'd not seen this latest incarnation. VERY nice! Getting close to where I can show what I've been doing in the way of repair/enhancement....
You may recall the disaster that befell the Sub because of a leaky valve in the kitchen above (disregard the fact that the total insurance settlement went to nearly 50k) and caused some scenery damage - here's a shot to refresh your memory: Making lemonade from lemons, here's what I've come up with: And a couple of closer shots from either end: I'm pleased with the progress so far; the road is based on the one that crosses the real thing near Keene, and thanks to Google's street view I can capture the details nicely.
