Tehachapi, BC

[Scottl]

Even with the plywood grassland and the copper wire pipelines everywhere, it is awesome.   I tried it both with and without the sound and it still gives me that sense of a train working hard up the grade.  At 1:20 when you see the head locomotives reappear, it is a magic moment, but I really like the end with the DPU on its own too.

It never occurred to me before, but the DPU unit is valuable insurance in case you have a coupler separate.  Otherwise, it is a long (smooth) grade down for a runaway.

[Philip H]

Gary,
Fantastic video. Glad to hear the feed back on the couplers. When did you weather those box cars?

[GaryHinshaw]

By coincidence, another videographer caught the same train on the Loop, with a better camera

https://vimeo.com/56851891

Crank the sound!

Scott - DPU's are definitely runaway protection on this hill!  Philip, all the weathering dates back to Maryland, alas.  (The HS patch/ex Corinth & Counce is by Tom!)

-gfh

[mark dance]

Beautiful Gary!  Nice work.  Happy New Year

BTW: the voice of unfortunate experience here. If you are worried about the risk of a string line putting cars on the ground, then I suggest either put in some temporary mesh "scenery" now (could be as simple as a masking tape lattice) or maybe attach thin strips of adhesive-backed foam to the sides of the roadbed in areas you are worried about.  You can get rolls of adhesive backed foam insulation stripping inexpensively and just "tape" it to one or both sides of the roadbed where you are worried.  I use it in the helixes.  It is easily removable for photo/video, maintenance, etc. before you get any basic scenic covering in. 

Being proactive here is kinder than having a guest operator leave with a massive guilt complex because they caused a derailment, which you already foresaw but didn't do anything about, that put your favorite equipment on the floor.  Again, the voice of experience unfortunately.

See you in two weeks.

md

[John]

+1 what Mark said .. cut some thin 1 inch strips of cardboard .. staple to the inside of the curve .. its cheap insurance .. I speak from experience ..

[svedblen]

+1
Looks great.

* The helper is running in DPU mode on the same throttle as the lead units.  Nothing runs like a Kato....   

Have you speed matched your engines? Any info on how you did that?

Is the rear engine running exactly at the same speed as the others, or is it deliberatly running a tad faster or slower? Or would that mean catastrophy? Any experiences to share?

[GaryHinshaw]

Agreed on the need for protection!  Except for the set-out track where the cement train is parked (which requires a custom curved turnout) the track, wiring, and tortoises on the shelf are now permanently in place and working well.  (The progress is not very photogenic, hence the dearth of updates lately.)  I've cut some temporary roadbed for a shoo-fly under the Loop that will give me a closed loop of track on the upper deck.  Once that is hooked up, I'll starting making landforms from card-stock webbing.

The DPU setup has been surprisingly easy so far.  I just hand-picked 4 Kato GE's that were speed match to within ~10-20% and put them on the train.  Everything here is still DC (DCC is next on the list!) and is being controlled with one throttle.  I did a lot of testing with just head-end locos before attempting this!  Judging from the slack, the rear DPU is pushing pretty well on the last 8 or so cars, while there is plenty of tension still at the front of the train.  But these locos run so smoothly, and electrical contact has been so reliable, that I'm getting pretty confident that I'll be able to use 1-man crews on most trains. (I shot the second video with my hands off the throttle entirely...)  Live helpers will still be a fun option, especially on the heavy, loaded grain trains.

Even without DPU's, train performance has been pretty reliable.  There has been no threat of string-lining in a 14' train, despite the super-eleveation and relatively steep grades.  At the same time, I still feel like I'm pushing the limits of what these models can and should do - which is exactly the feeling I want the operators to have!  To say that I'm pleased with this would be a gross under-statement.   

-gfh

[mark dance]

DCC Pusher Operations add a whole new dimension to Ops.  Every layout should have one!

md

[DKS]

Every layout should have one!

Every layout...? 

[mark dance]

Every layout...? 

Don't tell me you didn't look at your plan and at least think about it!   I did! 

I am sure that mine shifter could use a little help every once in a while!

md

[DKS]

I am sure that mine shifter could use a little help every once in a while!

True dat.

[GaryHinshaw]

Perhaps there is a Little Tehachapi in your future David.     As far as I can tell, if a fast train catches a slow train on that line, it just pushes it along (e.g. around 1:35 in the video).  Sounds like a job for Bullet Bob!

[jagged ben]

Gary,

Awesome videos.  It's like your dream is coming to life.  (haha)

I bet with DCC and separate control of the DPU(s) you could add 15 cars to that train.  A Digitrax throttle with the two knobs works fine.  Do it all the time at the club.   Not that is always goes smoothly, but let's just say you didn't lay that track, so I'm sure your results will be better.      I haven't even speedmatched my locos (although I do generally use only Katos with Digitrax decoders). 

Perhaps you could even add 10 cars without DCC, although you might need two DPUs instead of one.   Put up the fall protection first though!

Love the UP train sitting on the siding.  Reminds of a scene I saw there myself just over six years ago.

[GaryHinshaw]

I'm pretty sure I could add another 10 cars without too much trouble (...) but I would definitely need another unit somewhere.  Between the 18" curves (the Loop itself is 21" though) and the 2.4% in the Loop, these units are working - I love it!  (My dream coming to life, for sure.)

One thing I have definitely noticed is that it's counter-productive to use multiple units at the head end if they're not decently speed matched.  They tend to fight each other rather than pull the train.  I'm hoping DCC speed matching will help that situation.  In the meantime, I have enough units to pick & choose for match.

I like that cement train too.  I need more 2-bay hoppers though - that's almost my whole fleet of them, and that will be one of my main switch jobs.  I've got Chuck trying to scrounge up some IM kits for me.  What I'd really like is for IM to make a Trinity 2-bay for a little more variety.  Probably not high on their list though.

-gfh

[ednadolski]

Yo Gary, that video really does it!   That's gonna look incredible with the scenery in place -- and you'll have to be sure to leave a removable section, so that you can get in there again with the camera!   

Ed