Teething Woes

Well, it's been a long five years. I believe I started the first incarnation of the Allegheny Eastern in the fall of 2008, probably September or October...

Allegheny Eastern: October 2008

The original idea was a multi-level layout along one side of the garage With a short peninsula for the helix to get to the higher level(s). There were a few drawbacks so I decided to correct them. It was the beginning of the "organic" design process that led to the present layout...

So it's an anniversary of sorts. With the exception of the helix, the mainline on the All East is complete enough to run trains. It seems like it took an eternity to create the fifteen by fifteen "storage system" that now fills our two car garage...

Allegheny Eastern: October 2013

The loops that replace the helix are now in place and trains are running. Well, A train is running. I put together a short freight and proceeded to test the trackwork. Seems fine. Unlike the helix there were only a couple of places that needed adjustment and those were easily dealt with. The only major issue is the pulling power of the locomotives. My L1s was the first locomotive I tested and it would stall while hauling a ten car train up The Hill. It also had trouble making it over the top at HOMER. To make things worse, the loops have changed the entire traffic pattern and trains now have to go UP The Slide at Bennington. This short stretch is meant for downhill traffic only and the grade must be close to 3%.

I took the L1s to the workbench (the kitchen table) to deal with the traction problem. In its place I attached a FM H-16-66...

Test Train Idling On The Westbound Main at Juniata

The little diesel was able to pull the train better, but still had trouble climbing The Slide. Once again it was a traction issue. Still working on it, trying a rather unique (read oddball) solution.

The other thing I was able to discern by running the test train was the new traffic pattern. The "four" mainlines are now just one long track that passes itself four times. The test train ends up running all the tracks, covering roughly about four hundred feet. This complicates operations quite a bit. The entire layout is now controlled by only one analog throttle. Hands off running of multiple trains is a tad impossible at this point. Even using DCC the layout would require multiple operators. A double edged sword in that multiple operators is a good thing, but the operators (IE grandkids) aren't always here. There is also the question of kids operating trains. They tend to have that "crashes are cool" mentality. Horrifying thought. Definitely need safety nets and/or scenery to keep trains from taking The Plunge.

I'll let you know if my traction solution works. I should know sometime today.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Allegheny Eastern Railroad