We Have Weather

Have to laugh sometimes...Blogger statistics show no hits for the latest entries and lots for "Autunite". The one that gets the most hits is "Bending Space and Time".  Apparently there are more people interested in radioactive ores and Einstein than I thought. Hope it's not a disappointment to end up reading about a model railroad.

Be that as it may, I'm having a discussion with the folks over at Railwire on what direction the layout should be taking from here. While there seems to be general agreement on the generic approach and the Average Eastern, the actual application is a whole 'nother box of rocks. The major question for me is "Do I rip up the completed roadbed and start again?"...

Current Layout Plan

I forget exactly how many times I have started over. Every phase of the design up until a few months ago has been build, tear down, rebuild. In some cases this meant all new bench work. There were also some extensions and modifications. Most of the later mods were roadbed, including at least four major overhauls. Once I got to the overall design shown above I was sure this was what I was looking for. The only thing that has changed aside from a few realignments has been elevation. Currently there is none, the roadbed is level.

Is there a way to add the Average Eastern to the existing trackwork. Aye, there's the rub...

In previous entries I have shared plans that cram the AE inside the four track mainline. I tried to separate the two railroads with rivers and streams. There are quite a few real instances where competing railroads share the same river valley. On the layout, however, there isn't enough space to create a sizable river like the Lehigh.

It appears that I might have to bite the bullet yet again. Based on the discussion thread at Railwire the latest track plan looks like this...

Average Eastern Revised Track Plan

I tried to reuse the existing spline where ever I could, shortened the mainline and tried to hide it without burying all the trackwork. There are three interchanges. At Average the AE connects with a four track C lass 1. There's an interchange with a two track Class 1 and the Quotidian Company Railroad at East End. I incorporated suggestions from the discussion thread like the industrial center at Quotidian and the number and spacing of the AE passing sidings.

While doodling I also drew up an idea for the Quotidian Company logo. The Shay is short with very little room for lettering. I thought a prominent logo might work. The black diamond is a pretty common symbol in the anthracite region, used by a number of railroads...

Quotidian Company Shay

Then I played around with a drawing of a Consolidation like the Allegheny Eastern might have owned around the turn of the century...

Average Eastern 2-8-0

In this case I was able to use lettering and the logo because of the tender length. The locomotive drawings came from The Railroad Paintshop. I've used their drawings several times when designing paint schemes.

I added this to the garage/wall...

"Meteorology Center"

I had this hanging in the front hallway and realized it would be more useful in the garage. The temperature was in the teens (or below) outside when this was taken. The temp in the garage was 45 degrees. The humidity was 70%. It was still too cold in the garage to work comfortably. I'm thinking the humidity made it seem even colder, but I'm not a meteorologist.

Regards,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

Catasauqua

There is a lot of undeveloped real estate on the left side of the layout. One way I thought to utilize this space was The Eastern Electric. I couldn't figure a reasonable way for the steam road to get across the mainline so I thought the trolley line would be good idea. I even thought I could make it a freight carrier with steeplecab motor units running in the street. I would interchange with the mainline or maybe even cross the mains to interchange with the Average Eastern. Since any bridge would require ridiculous grades and trolley lines use such grades it seemed feasible. The idea didn't seem to work the way I thought it might.

Then I remembered Catasauqua on the Lehigh Valley...

Catasauqua

The Lehigh & New England actually crosses the LV four track main at grade...

Lehigh & New England Crossing

Crossing a busy mainline must have been a nightmare in the real world, but it sure works for the layout. I added a crossing just like it to the track plan. Now the Average Eastern can access the space on the "south" side of the mainline using this very unique feature. I was able to add several industries to this side of the layout...

Average Eastern January 25th, 2014

Thinking on it, a run around track should be added on the south side of the crossing. This would allow switching the facing point sidings without running back across the mainline. Other than that I'm thinking it makes good use of an otherwise wasted space.

I'm still playing with place names. In keeping with the theme I had originally gone with synonyms for Average. That's where Quotidian comes from. I ran two other names together to get Commonstock. Alpha is named for the cement plant located there. Owertown is just bad spelling for Our Town.

There are a LOT of water courses on the layout requiring lots of bridges. This seems more "real" to me if you know what I mean/ Railroads and highways often follow rivers and streams. Many times a river has any number of feeder streams and places where two streams join to form a river. I also included a lake formed when a dam was built across the river. Here in Tennessee all the rivers were dammed for flood control and power generation during the Roosevelt  era.

This week saw the arrival of the Average Eastern's first locomotive, a Baldwin built 2-8-0. Unlike every other engine on the property, the Consolidation was purchased specifically for the short line. I've been reading that these Bachmann "Connies" are great performers. They certainly look great. I plan to keep this beauty as delivered for the most part. Not keen on wrecking another locomotive. Just some lettering changes, a light weathering and DCC...

Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0

That's all for now,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

Sketchpad

Still working on ideas. I made another sketch while wondering if I could include the trolley line that was formerly the Logan Valley. The Eastern Electric as it's called on this "average" layout, serves Average with a connection to a larger city. I pictured the left side of the layout as a main road (RT 442, named for my favorite Oldsmobile). The private right of way of the Eastern Electric runs parallel to the two lane highway. Of course the idea doesn't really work, but I had to try it out. I'll have to lay it out on the layout to get a better idea. May have to scrap the idea completely and build a separate traction layout...

Sketch: Track Plan

For the most part I think the branch/short line will work. Looking over other track plans and such there doesn't seem to be any particular rule to how industrial sidings work. The industry is located here and they need a siding is the only priority. Trailing point turnouts are preferred but are not always possible. In some cases a switchback siding may be the only alternative so I threw one in at Common. The anthracite and/or autunite mine will be supplemented by "wildcat" loaders, a kind of team track for mom & pop mining operations. Still wondering how to work in a logging operartion or lumber mill.

One location I'm having trouble with is the former "Horseshoe Curve". I envision the mainline tunneling through a ridge line that is cut by the river. The branch crosses the mainline and the river twice. In between the river bridges the branch runs through a cut in the ridge... 

Sketch: What To Do

Problem is that the branch is in the foreground and at a higher elevation. On most model railroads the exact opposite would be the case. I'm not sure how it will look. Once again I'll have to lay it out using real track in the space allotted.

A much easier area to work on is the engine terminal and yard. The yard is small as befits a railroad the size of the Average Eastern. I tried to set up the sand, water and fuel in a logical flow coming out of the two stall enginehouse. The facilities sit between the tracks so two engines can be serviced at one time. Not sure how many small time roads would do this, but this is my railroad... 

Sketch: Average Facilities

With the cold snap we've been having and other interruptions progress is slow, but sure.

An interesting aspect that has surfaced is the use of both DC and DCC on the layout. The mainlines are DC, controlled by two MRC twin packs. Since the "orbiting" trains run at constant speeds on their own track without human intervention that's all that's needed. The Average Eastern is DCC. Since one track is used by multiple trains it's imperative that each locomotive be controlled individually. I have the decoders and installation instructions for the Bachmann 2-8-0's on the roster. A Bachmann doodlebug will handle the passenger traffic.

That's all for now,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

Woe is Us

Anyone who is familiar with steam locomotives and railroading back when steam was king of the hill knows that each railroad has a "character" all its own. Most PRR engines sported the squared off Belpaire firebox while Reading and other anthracite roads used the round and very large Wooten design. Each builder and railroad had their own standards of design. They were so different you could not mistake a Santa Fe locomotive for a Northern Pacific, a Southern, a New York Central or any other railroad...

Great Northern F Class 2-8-0 

Pennsylvania H Class 2-8-0

Reading I Class 2-8-0

The biggest exception to this individuality were locomotives built to the standardized designs of United States Railroad Administration. The USRA was a government agency that nationalized the railroads towards the end of World War I. Railroads like the Rutland, Baltimore & Ohio and Southern embraced the USRA "recommendations". These locomotives have a "family" resemblance with similar cabs, equipment arrangement, etc between types...

Rutland USRA H Class 2-8-2

Baltimore & Ohio Q Class 2-8-2

So what's my point?

Like many Pennsy modelers I spend a bit of time bemoaning the fact that there are very few, if any, PRR steam models.  Pennsylvania fans are not alone in this predicament. Most of the models available at this time are based on those USRA designs. This wasn't always the case. Once upon a time Bowser made a whole line of PRR equipment in HO...

Bowser Manufacturing Products

Minitrix had several models of Pennsy steam locomotives in N scale. Bachmann made a visually respectable copy of a Reading locomotive. This was also true of Mantua's HO scale models of Reading and Lehigh Valley prototypes...

TYCO/Mantua HO Scale 2-8-0

By today's standards these earlier locomotives left a lot to be desired but made a good basis for hobbyists to create better models.

Of course back then the model manufacturers were smaller operations. Varney, Mantua, Bowser and others worked in smaller lots using low temperature alloys. They had produced small parts during World War II for the war effort. Their manufacturing equipment was supplemented by the vast quantities of surplus machinery available after the war. The result was a quality product at rather low price, a boon to the model railroading hobby.

Time passes and two things happen...Plastic, perfected by the needs of the military, comes into vogue as a modeling material. During the same period diesels replace steam as the major power on the real railroads. Unlike steam, diesels are "cookie cutter" technology. For the most part they look exactly the same from railroad to railroad. The most obvious difference is paint schemes. For model manufacturers this means they no longer have to produce a specific mold for each railroad. One mold can make models of dozens of road names. One need only change the color schemes. Although the molds are now more expensive, bigger lots can be produced. More paint schemes means more customers. Producing locomotives and rolling stock models is more cost effective. The new production processes are a double edged sword. The molds and machinery are more costly. You have to sell a great many of each model to offset the cost of manufacturing. The more generic the model, the better the return on the investment. Diesels seem to readily lend themselves to this idea. Steam locomotives, on the other hand, do not. The USRA designs are the only "generic" steam prototypes available. The modelers end up with USRA locomotives lettered for roads that never owned any. Works fine with the trainset crowd but serious modelers have a different perspective. They tend to get a bit ornery.

Fast forward to the 21st century. Many of the model manufacturers are no longer small independents with family ownership. Those have been replaced by large companies that specialize in toys and replicas of all kinds. Since these producers deal in production runs unheard of in the "good old days" they have higher overhead. They cannot afford to produce anything that doesn't sell in very large quantities. This effects not only the physical shape of the product but also the color and lettering scheme.

So...For modelers of less popular roads, IE most of the fallen flags, this is bad news. If you model steam from the more individualistic railroads, or diesel from the more obscure roads you are out of luck. Diesel fans have it somewhat easier because they can just repaint and detail the beasties. A Southern Pacific F unit or Geep can be made to resemble a Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad locomotive...

Southern Pacific GP-9 #3418

Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie GP-9 #559

On the other hand, it is not easy to reproduce most of the Delaware and Hudson's steamers using any of the models now available...

Delaware & Hudson 2-8-0 #1080

I don't think I even thought about this until I started doing research for the layout's new operating scheme. Now I have come away with a totally new perspective. Don't think there's a real solution for this. Not sure if some reincarnated Gordon Varney or Irv Athearn could survive in today's business climate. If I ever hit the lottery I'll give it a shot.

In the meantime diesel may be the balance of motive power on the layout's four track mainline.

Rebuttals are always welcome,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

Autunite?

Rather than go with the organic method I used to design the mainline, I decided to try "planning" this go 'round. I used the XTracCad software to strip the track plan down to the four track mainline and printed out hard copies. Lots of hard copies. I started making sketches, lots of sketches, of what I thought the branch line might look like. I consulted different plans from magazines and John Armstrong's "Track Planning for Realistic Operation" trying to get ideas. In the end I just went with it and made up my own. The best one so far came out like this...

Track Plan: January 12th 2014

There are actually three railroads in the plan. The first, of course, is the mainline. The second is the Average Eastern, a short line that interchanges with the mainline at "Average" and runs to "Quotidian" At "Quotidian" the short line interchanges with an industrial line. In between the little railroad serves various towns and industries along the way. I added as many industries as I could without overcrowding the layout (I hope). I also tried to make some of the businesses interdependent.

At Average I'm showing a water tank (1), a coal and sand facility (2) and a two stall engine house (3). I'm still wondering whether or not I should include a turntable. There are no turning facilities at the other end of the line so why put one here. There is also a small yard, a siding for a work train and a siding for serving the ashpit and coaling tower. In Average proper there is a passing siding with an L.C.L freight house (4), a depot (5), and a team track (6). The team track can be used for any sort of freight and serves those customers without their own siding.

The tracks cross a creek and pass a siding for a mill (7). It recrosses the same creek and follows it to Somplace. Here there is another passing siding and three more customers. The coal & lumber dealer (8) shares a siding with a small warehouse (9). A rock crusher (10) is served by a second siding.

After leaving Somplace the tracks run for a distance along the river until they reach a siding for a rock quarry (11). The line crosses another creek and still following the river swings around a curve into the hamlet of Common. There are two industries here, a fuel depot (12) and a scrap metal yard (13), both served by the same switchback.

Coming out of Common the line loops around a lake formed when they dammed the river. As it crosses a stream that feeds into the lake it enters the village of Stock. there's another passing siding here as well as an LCL freight house/depot (14) and a grain elevator (15). The right of way keeps following the river until it reaches the Alpha Cement Plant (16). It curves right and crosses and recrosses the river and a loop of another railroads four track mainline.

On the other side of the bridge lies Quotidian, the eastern terminus of the road. Here is a depot (17) and a team track (18). Quotidian is also the interchange with the Quotidian Logging & Mining Company. Quotidian logs hardwoods for lumber (19) and related products while the company mines yield anthracite coal (20) and a uranium ore called autunite (22). Although the latter sounds like I'm going over the top, autunite was actually test mined near Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania. As it turns out deep mining anthracite and autunite requires the same methods. The anthracite is shipped in hoppers to various destinations. The autunite is shipped to a mill in Cannonsburg PA for refining. At the autunite mine there is also an engine house and facilities (21) to maintain the company's sole Class B Shay.

The roles of the various industries are not set in stone. They will probably change as the idea develops after more research. The logging operation and coal mine are suggested rather than actually modeled. I'm not sure what the autunite mine should look like. I'm assuming it looks the same as any other deep mining operation. Information on the production of uranium is rather scarce due to the nature of the stuff. Since World War II it usually involves armed guards and other security arrangments. I thought this would make a pretty interesting alternative to the typical coal mine. It may be that I'd be better off just skipping the idea and modeling a second anthracite mine.

Regardless of what customers I use, I'm pretty comfortable with the track plan. I'm not sure about the curve and bridges just west of Quotidian. Doesn't seem like this would happen in the real world.

Open to suggestions,

Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

Back To Square One

So over the past month or so I was really losing heart.and at a point of throwing in the towel. I found myself seriously considering, as a local storage ad says, "Giving my garage back to my car". Needlepoint started looking pretty good from a hobby point of view.

What went wrong?

Perhaps I took on more than I could handle. Building the layout while trying to build a roster and a fleet of cars that spoke "Pennsy" is a lot of work. Trying to recreate a specific period (1949) was also a headache. Ultimately it didn't seem to be "fun" anymore. If I remember correctly, fun is what a hobby is all about. When it gets to be too much like work, maybe you're headed in the wrong direction.

Still, I like to think I aimed high but fell short. In doing so I went further than I ever thought I could. I also learned that my attempts at kit-bashing weren't to my liking. With the possible exception of the PCC and the passenger sharks it seemed I was destroying rather than creating. I was running out of equipment.

So here we are, back to square one in a manner of speaking. The layout is being taken back a couple of incarnations. Fortunately the odd construction techniques lend themselves to "revision". This might be a mixed blessing. Had I used 3/4" plywood and 2" thick extruded foam I might be hesitant about tearing out big chunks of expensive material. The styrofoam spline is very cheap to make and replace. In many cases I reused existing sections and just bent the spline to the new shape. It took just a short time to level out the mainline and realign the right of way...

Former West "Altoona" Realignment

Former "East Altoona" Realignment

The previous "bypass" around Juniata yard has been removed and the roadbed relocated to the "east" side of the layout at the town currently called "Someplace" (still working on location names)...

Relocated "Bypass"

The former "ALTO" interlocking has been disassembled and the parts will be recycled. There are no crossovers on the mainline at this time. One #10 turnout will be used for the branchline to mainline connection. Eight #7 turnouts will be used for the sidings along the branch. There is also a wye, but I have to develop the trackplan before I know how it will be used...

Former "ALTO" Interlocking

Since the branch doesn't need to be completed for the trains to run it can be extended as track is purchased. Fits the budget perfectly. I can buy a few sections at a time when I visit the local hobby shop. Fortunately code 55 in small lots is getting easier to find again.

All four tracks should be in operation in a week or so. The idea of operating mainline trains as "orbiters" (read round d' round) still holds. It's the road names on the trains doing the running around that will change. I can run equipment from several other favorite railroads. Because of family connections with upstate Pennsylvania I've always had an interest in the anthracite roads. The odd camelback steam and other eccentricities of these lines gives them character just as unique as the PRR.

I've been digging deeper into the railroads I listed earlier. Turns out that some of these roads had run-through agreements with other lines of interest. The Jersey Central, for instance, allowed the Reading and the Baltimore & Ohio access to Communipaw over their four track section of mainline. At Aldene the CNJ had connections with the LV and the Rahway Valley. I hope to see these railroads represented as well as the NYC, Erie, Lackawanna, EL and New Haven. I'm envisioning different operating "sessions" for the various roadnames, but you never know. Could just go crazy and run them all together. Grandchildren don't seem to mind much.

I have to say that the more we talk about this "generic" incarnation of the All East the more it appeals to me. I can still model the four track behemoth I remember from my boyhood, but don't have to build a exact replica. This less disciplined approach makes a big difference. Model railroading is fun again.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

The Average & Eastern Railroad

Since we are heading east and making the focus of the layout more generic it was felt that a change of name was warranted. The four tracks represent about two and one half miles of mainline belonging to the railroad d'jour. As part of our "genericization" we decided the mainline would pass through a small town called Average. The town is the headquarters of the Average & Eastern Railroad, a short line with a few miles of track. There's a small interchange yard, a station/office and facilities to service the locomotives. The motive power includes some second hand steam and one diesel. There's also a number of local industries.

From Average the line runs east through hills and valleys to serve several small towns. At the hamlet of Sometown there are several small industries including a rock crusher. From Sometown the line curves into the village of Common with it's switchback sidings. Further east lies Stock, little more than a grain elevator and a few houses.

There's a Portland cement plant a short way out of Stock. A set of bridges and a trestle carry the A&E over a loop in a class 1 mainline.

The line terminates at Quotidian (a real word, believe it or not). Here there is a connection with the Quotidian Stone & Lumber Company. As it's name implies, the company owns a quarry, a lumber mill and several acres of forest land. The company owns a single locomotive, a venerable Shay built in the 1930's.

I realize that using the remnants of the Allegheny Eastern to represent the class 1 is probably overkill. This connection is usually simulated by a short section of track running nowhere. I've always disliked that sort of arrangement. It seemed to me that the Class 1 should have more presence and actually function. Granted I could have used a short loop but because the layout is big enough I chose to go overboard.

The Average & Eastern Railroad

The Class 1 operation is basically round d' round with four trains running at any given time. As I mentioned above there is literally two and a half scale miles of four track high iron. Basically it serves as a backdrop for the real show. The short line will be where all the action is. Just haven't figured out all the various details yet. I hoping this post will draw some feedback.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad

2014 A.D.

Time to look back, reflect as it were...So on and so forth.
My new years resolution is to do more and talk less (at least layout wise). Yea, like that's gonna happen.

The Allegheny Eastern project started about five years ago. The current design has evolved over a number of incarnations. Lots of lessons learned, good and bad.

Some of the pro's...
Extruded styrofoam can be used to create spline roadbed. It is easy to work with, extremely light and more durable than you would think. The styrofoam strips can be used in combination with masonite or plywood to create even stronger roadbed.

A substantial helix can be built using inexpensive 6mm underlayment and pvc pipe. Once the height is established the length (circumference) and spacing of the levels is constant and requires no adjustment. On the Allegheny Eastern the helix was about 40 feet long and 8 inches high. The levels were spaced 2" apart.

With spline construction it is definitely easier to construct a grade starting from the top down. Set the height and you need only worry about the length to the bottom. This distance will be dictated by the grade percentage. As an example, a 2% grade from 8" requires about 33 feet of track length (1 scale mile in 1:160).

I doubted it at first, but N scale locomotives can perform well on grades, pulling long trains (I ran thirty 40' cars) on grades as steep as 3%. Traction aids, such as rubber tires, will be required on single units. Multiple units can do the job right out of the box. Depending on the weight of the locomotive, on level track long trains are possible with or without traction "enhancement".

Some of the con's...
The operating scheme was centered around helper service on the east slope of the Alleghenies. Great idea, but maybe not in N scale for several reasons. While it's no problem double heading to pull a train up the mountains, it's an entirely different proposition to push a train up the hill. PRR standards call for double heading passenger trains, but pushers are required on freights. Regardless of whether couplers are truck mounted or body mounted the train will derail. It will either get pulled or pushed off the track depending on which locomotive causes the problem. The pusher and the head engine have to run exactly the same at the same time. Even then it is a hairy operation.

Once at the top of the hill another issue appears. How do you separate the helpers from the train? In theory the passenger train slows so the "puller" can uncouple and run ahead. For freights, the pusher drops off and slows as the train proceeds westward. Sounds great, but in reality it doesn't work quite as easily as it sounds. Manual uncoupling requires a stop. Automatic uncoupling with magnets also requires stopping (although it's shorter). The magnets have to placed just so and even then are not always reliable. All of this operation also requires a fair amount of space. The bulk of a train must be over the summit so the road engine(s) won't stall. For a freight that would mean at least ten feet of track on the downhill side. That was not available. The helper loop was located too close to the grade to allow this to work.

Doing all of this with a single operator is impossible. Yes I do realize that should have been obvious from the start.

With only 2" of space between helix levels it was not possible to make any repairs to the track. The helix had to be disassembled. I believe it may be possible to construct the helix so it expands vertically for maintenance. I'll have to try that sometime, but not on this layout.

I found I don't like backdrops. Regardless of the conventional wisdom I like being able to see most of the layout. While some would think it less realistic, I find the effect of a busy mainline is enhanced when trains can be seen everywhere.

Probably the biggest problem (no pun intended) was the size of the layout. The amount of track required for four mainlines and the yard totaled about 700 feet. That's 240 pieces of code 55 flex track. It would have cost about $1200 at today's prices. As it stands right now there is over 400 feet of track installed, not counting the helix. The helix needs to be retracked. Regardless of whether I use code 80 or code 55 that will cost an additional $300.

In a series of discussions here over the holidays it was decided to cut our losses. The layout will be completed but there will be a change in direction. The helix is gone and the grade has been eliminated. Because of the construction techniques used this was a lot easier than it sounds. The entire operation took an hour or so. Most of the track was left intact. A new section will be created that replaces the helix and completes the loop...

A Change Of Direction

Most Of The Mainline Still Intact

It's been decided to make the layout more generic. By moving the location further east and out of the Alleghenies several opportunities present themselves. With the elimination of Gallitzin and the helix and the attending mountain scenery there is now plenty of room for a rather extensive branch line...

January 10th, 2014

Since the layout will be more generic it is no longer limited to time, place or even prototype. A little more discussion and some quick research uncovered the following eastern railroads with four track mainlines...

New York Central
Pennsylvania
New Haven - Boston to New York
Lehigh Valley - Catasqua
Erie - Jersey City to Suffern NY
Lackawana - Dover, NJ to Passaic, NJ
New Jersey Central - Jersey city to Phillipsburg, NJ

Keep in mind all of these lines became part of Penn Central and/or Conrail. We can add Amtrak to the list as well as the regional commuter lines. Shouldn't forget NS and CSX (although I would rather).

I'm not sure of the details on any but the Pennsylvania so more research is required. Rather than modeling a specific line, we could alternately run any equipment from any of these roads. I know there are great differences in standards among these railroads (understatement of the year). Not sure where this will go but I'll keep you posted.

Regards,
Frank Musick

Building a dream layout on a nightmare budget

The Average Eastern Railroad