In a recent post I mentioned having some photos of my coal train so here they are......enjoy! Head end power (HEP). This next photo shows the front end of the train snaking its way around Jeff Sicklesteels desert modules. This is just a shot of the lead unit but the angle that it was taken at gives you a different perspective. This shot shows the DPU unit pushing the end of the 70 car train. The engine is a Kato -9 custom painted and detailed in the UP lightning strype/wing scheme. I had this engine pushing nearly two hours and never had a single problem! Overhead shot. This last shot shows the entire train, which is about 25' long. [ 16 June 2002, 22:13: Message edited by: Craig Martyn ]
Craig, Very nice. I am, of course, drooling now but it's a small price to pay. I'm glad to hear that the DPU didn't give you any problems. I've never tried it on a long train like that and was talking about modeling the DPU's at a convention and one fellow all but laughed at me and suggested I was in for a rude awakening if I thought I would be able to run that way. (sigh) Anyway, I recently joined a club so I will have a chance to run the longer trains now. I just ordered 72 of the Atlas Coalveyors so that will be the most I will run probably, although in reality I will probably run 36 cars most of the time. Keep up the good work!
Looks realistic Craig! Do you have to "bunch" that long a train to get it started to rolling, or can the engines just lean into it and giver her the old grunt and drag? Hauling the long strings are somewhat different than the short ones, right? Ha! (Same in real life!)
Thanks guys! Doug: DPU's are great fun, BUT, you need to have a weighted train that rolls well (this is where MT's come into play). My DPU was maybe pushing about 15-20 cars at most, which is still more then enough to cause problems, but with the speed of all three engines matched fairly well, good track work and a semi slow speed, you can have a long, DPU'd train that will run flawlessly. Good luck with your train! Watash: This train does have a TON of slack in it. I actually pulled about 60 cars with a single SD90MAC on level track with no problems. Two engines can get all 70 cars started fairly easily. I ran this train (with out DPU) on a HUGE N scale layout on an LA areas club layout and when it was going up the nearly 3% grade it was just creeping, but as the majority of the cars started down the hill, the speed picked up dramatically and began to PUSH the engines! (yes, all 70 cars pushed the engines and I had no problems) Pretty amazing and realistic. One thing I have to stress as well is that I regularly clean the wheels on my cars. I do this by taking out a long peice of track, laying a paper towel over it, soaking alcohal in it and running the cars back and forth. I then run then back and forth (this is done by hand of coarse) over a dry sheet to take off any alcohal residue left over. I would not use Goo Gone as it leaves a residue on the tracks, wheels, etc. I heard from a friend of mine who knows a lot about chemicals that Goo Gone will actually etch wheels if used over long periodes of time. Alcohal only for me from now on........ Anyway, cleaning weels will improve the trains rolling capability and the track and engine wheels will stay cleaner longer. whhheeewwww, what a long post!
Great pics...love those long drags... what club module was that you were running on btw? And how long ago was it? Mike
Yeah I had to sell a LOTTTTTT of detail parts to pay for that train!!! As EMD90FAN said, I am working on modeling SP's tank train. The hold up is that you cannot buy jumbo tank cars painted for tank train (in the scheme that I want anyway). I bought 60 Atlas 33,000K tank cars, stripped them all and they have since all been painted black. At this point, about 30 are completely ready to roll, with MT trucks and everything. I will have to get back to work on this train, but I will get some pictures for you guys with in the next couple of weeks.
The club is the Orange County N' Gineers, which I am a member of. The desert modules are owned and were built by Jeff Sicklesteel who is the president of the club. This was back on May 4/5 at Fullerton RR Days, right in the Fullerton RR station parking lot.
OUTstanding! Craig, that is pretty impressive! I have a 30-40 car drag freight that I roll thru pink foam hills and plateaus, and even tho it is cool looking, it doesn't copmpare to 70 cars!! I met a buddy on the base from San Luis Obispo who likes to come over to work on my layout. We laid track, roadbed, and built scenery forms last sat, and really got a lot done. Cool kid, altho he is partially dabbluing into the 'Dark Side', dual scales in HO and N. I am trying to convert him...... I need to get some more pics of the layout's progression,a nd maybe get started on that GN great dome conversion......
