Punch List

In the construction industry, as well as a few other trades, there is a thing called a punch list. You may have created one if you've ever bought a new house. You walk through the structure with the contractor and make a list of all the things that are not done correctly or missing altogether.

This is the punch list for the Allegheny Eastern, at least so far. The test trains running on track 4 revealed quite a few "kinks" to be ironed out.

The Helix:
Bad rail joints with misaligned rails that cause sharp bends in the track.
Straight sections in what are supposed to be continuous curves. The transitions in such areas forms a curve that is less than the minimum radius. Track 4 was so bad we rerouted the trains over track 3 so they would derail less...

Badly Aligned Joint

Bad Joints and "Straight" Curves

A new helix is being constructed with channels that will keep the curves at a specific radius. The track will be relaid after all the joints have been aligned properly and soldered together. I was warned about this and ignored the advice. After going through several articles in my magazine library I also learned that the track should be laid straight while the joints are done correctly. After the the joints are aligned and soldered properly the track can then be laid as a curve.

Wavy Roadbed:

When I elevated the roadbed I thought I was carefully lining up the grade. I measured the distance from the bottom of the roadbed to the benchwork and then cut a piece of 2" x 4" upright. What I should have done was used a 1" x 4" and made the support adjustable. That way I could move the roadbed up or down to make sure the grade was one long smooth climb and not a series of shallower and steeper grades. It was actually easier to get a smooth grade on the helix...

Waves in the Grade

Waves Through Kittanning Curve

Smoother Trackwork:
While I did a pretty good job of getting the track down, there were a few places that could have been better. One such area is the curve in the passenger mains at the west end of the yard. Rather than follow the center lines on the plan, I should have made the curve more sweeping and eliminated the short straight section. It just doesn't "flow" right, if you know what I mean. Another area I'm not happy with is the approach to what is now called Kittanning Curve. By following the plan I ended up with a kind of flat curve that just doesn't look, well, "railroady". I believe a broad reverse curve here would look a lot better, more like a real railroad snaking its way up a mountain side...

Flattened Curve at Keystone

Not Curvy Enough!

Not everything was a wash. The mains through the yard are almost dead straight, just as they should be. The long straight edge I used really helped. In a couple of places. like the area through Blair, the parallel tracks were not so straight and will need some rework...

Straight Mains through Llyswen Yard

Not So Parallel at Blair

Superelevation: 
This has to be redone. It's just too much. I used 1/32" thick strip of wood at the outer end of the rails. This is about 1mm. It should be more like 1/64". My 2-10-0 stalled here and just plain tipped over.

Not So Super Elevation

There are probably a myriad of other issues, but that's enough to keep me busy for a while.

Regards,
Frank Musick
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Allegheny Eastern Railroad