Playing Trains

[wm3798]

To the several of you to whom I owe decoder installations, take heart.  I'm on it.  Seriously.

Okay.  I confess.  I've been having a blast playing trains on the new Thomas Sub.  The way I look at it, I have to have it running properly so when I do get your decoders put in, I have a place to properly test them.  Logical?  I think so.

The Thomas Sub starts at Maryland Jct. there by the big paper mill... same as it ever was.


It ascends the hill and crosses over the main line and the Potomac River as it arrives in Shaw.

This is where the new work begins.  There's a long siding at Shaw, which is where I've been setting up meets.  The turnouts that control this siding are run on decoders.  This turns out to be more fun than a human should be allowed to have.  There will be more of this tomfoolery, I assure you.

Next you cross the gracefully curving and treacherously tall "high bridge" on your way into Thomas.


This scene will be a show stopper for sure.  I've done some more work on the bridge today, and it's really coming along nicely.  Then we roll into Thomas, West Virginia...


This is where the lion's share of the business takes place on the Thomas Sub.  There's a couple of industry tracks, and a switchback down to a large coal mine.  This will be the domain of my VO1000 switcher.  Working cuts of 4 cars at a time, it can handle the steep switchback easily.  I spent an enjoyable hour just now swapping empties for loads, and pulling the freight up to the storage track to be ready for the next through train.

The industries at Thomas include a sawmill, which in addition to flat cars full of lumber and boxcars full of framing, also provides an on-line source for wood chips and pulp wood for the paper mill.  There's also the farmer's coop and a Kingsford Charcoal plant.

More in a bit!

[ArtinCA]

Looks good Lee! And running is the best way to find out if you were out of your mind when you designed it..

Art

[Philip H]

I know you were up to something when you stopped bitchin about wiring and such . . . lookin good!

[asciibaron]

the tail track is too long  ;D

[wm3798]

Ah yes.  The wiring.  I had to fix a couple of badly soldered connections to my slide switch switch machines... what a pain.

But anyway, I love the traffic flow of the point to point branch line, and I'm going to love it even more when the yard gets reinstalled.  But even before that, I could keep three crews busy on the new work without driving another spike!

There's empty hoppers to bring up from the east, loads to haul down, the mine run to swap them all out, the local to Thomas, and a local to the paper mill that can all be worked out of Elkins Yard.  Anyway, here's some updated views for you all to chew on...


The bridge now has "feet" and all the piers are more or less leveled up.  Still a few tweaks to make, but the superstructure is now complete (Thanks, Gary and Daryl!)


The Big Tipple at Thomas... Technically I'm calling the switchback the Francis Branch, which diverged at Thomas to pick up some loaders at a strip mine nearby.  No room to model a strip mine, so the old Model Power classic stands in for the time being.  


I'm starting to scout some new photo locations to scenic first...


Here's the Boss of the Francis Branch.


And just to show that I'm not a total slacker, here's the GP9's I recently converted for Henry Nipper.  They've been doing a lot of runs up and down the hill over the past week!

Your RS-3's are next, Henry!  And I can assure you, they'll get plenty of run time lugging those black diamonds!  There's also a stray K4, a couple of big steamers and Randgust custom job on the bench too.

I might have some of you guys come down and run the railroad so I can get the work in the back shops caught up!

Lee

[asciibaron]

weren't they using a truck dump on the Francis Branch?  it's in teh Lielich book i think.

[sizemore]

The bridge now has "feet" and all the piers are more or less leveled up.  Still a few tweaks to make, but the superstructure is now complete (Thanks, Gary and Daryl!)


And just to show that I'm not a total slacker, here's the GP9's I recently converted for Henry Nipper.  They've been doing a lot of runs up and down the hill over the past week!

Lee

The top photo is F$%@ING sexy. I may or may not need to change my pants. Did you use the bridge feet I gave you?

The bottom photo screams mid-sixties WM photo even if the Circus-9 is a bit later.

The S.

[up1950s]

Is the bridge on a grade Lee ?

[wm3798]

Thanks, Tim.  I'm going to maybe restage it with some RS-3s, and F unit or two and those tall nose geeps to get a better feel for the British Invasion era.  Might even wear my skinny tie while I take the pictures...

The bridge feet are from the Micro Engineering kits that Gary contributed to the cause.  Those HO ones are going to get fiddled with to fit on the truss bridge.

Richie:  Nope.  It's dead level.  The approach from the east is a less than 1% climb once it hits the truss bridge by the paper mill.  then Thomas is level, and there is a gradual creep up to the helix, which is a nasty 3%+ affair.

I love this thing.  But tonight, decoders.  I swear!

Lee

[GaryHinshaw]

The top photo is F$%@ING sexy.

The S.

Ooo, Wild Mary.  She could give a dog a bone.  ;D  [Can I say that on RW?   :]

Looking good Lee!