Jerry, Is this former WP prototype, or SP? Great stuff! Espeeman, thanks for the kind compliments! Just doing what I can to illustrate slide fances, flange greasers, and other things the best way I can. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
They are actually on the Santa Fe. This is a section I am going to model, and I hiked up through there to get photos to help with my modeling.
As promised, detail shots of a flange greaser! Jerry, correct me if I get too far out to left field... Here's an installed greaser west of Cheyenne, near the Borie Cutoff: (note the older-style grease container) A detail shot of a gadget on the outside of the rail: (Jerry, does this actuate the system to get grease flowing???) A shot of the hoses, on the opposite track, uncovered: And lastly, the grease reservoir: A shot showing the double-track arrangement of the greaser hoses, and such: Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Are these activated by weight? There are numerous grasers around these parts but most are either dried up or aren't really "greasy". Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Jerry, The rock fences in Franklyn Canyon are new. I railfaned that area alot when I lived in the Bay Area when it was still the Santa Fe. No rock fences then anywhere. I guess the BNSF figured with so many slides (mud and rocks) in the winter in that area it was cheaper to do the fences rather than have a train derail and go into one of the million dollar houses below the main line. If you want to see rock fences the Feather River Canyon, Donner Summit, The Scenic line (the old GN in Northern Washington) and the other mountian lines in the west and northwest a full of them. Shannon WP LIVES ATSF LIVES Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Fantastic! Thanks. Another detail folks could add is the large darker around the greasers Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Thanks, folks!!! That darker area is chock full of spattered grease. You definitely do not want to step in it, elsewise you'll track it all over the car, the house, etc... Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Superb details! All these things are quite easy to add to a model railroad when you have all the neccessary info. Thanks for the wonderful clear pictures of the equipment. Will not be needing them on my layout, but the pics are invaluable for those with mountain model railroads Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
Your right Shannon.......in going through more of my photos, I found this one I took in 1984 while riding a Santa Fe piggyback train through Franklin Canyon. The train is going around the curve where the fence is now, and as you can see ahead of the lead unit, no fence. Consist on this train was a GP35/GP30/GP35.
Great class Hemi! Thanks for all the pics and hard work. One question/confirmation of my understanding. These rock or slide fences have nothing to do with keeping the rock from landing on the rails, correct? They are just a signaling device to let the engineer know that a slide has occured and therefore the line is obstructed? Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
I think that the steepest grade in the US is somewhere in WV or VA; about 3.5 to 4.0 percent. Seems like NS has to double the grade with its trains there. The Rockies are extensive, but the old N&W coal operations were pretty serious, too, and without the high HP diesels. If all that coal was still there, it might be a different picture today. Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
But...this flange greaser is a great model railroad detail whether you have tight curves or not. You could make the box lower so it doesn't get severed from the layout everytime you clean the track. The big, black spot is easy! Copyright 2008 Jerry DeBene
