The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

For the record (photos upthread on the previous page), ACWR F9A No. 271 was upgraded with a Scale Sound Systems speaker yesterday.  Nice.

I have one more speaker remaining from a recent order to be installed.  It was intended for SCL GP9 No. 1025, which desperately needs a new speaker.  However, upon further inspection, the speaker I bought is not ideal for this locomotive.  So, it will probably end up installed in SCL GP18 No. 1063 or SCL GP9 No. 1053.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I changed my mind. Instead of putting the surplus Scale Sounds Systems speaker into SCL No. 1063, I installed it into ACWR GP9 No. 6182.  With this (except for GP38 No. 3802 that’s a Rapido model and doesn’t need an immediate upgrade), the ACWR fleet is fully converted to these far superior speakers.



DFF

[davefoxx]

[CSXfan]

Love the A&R unit Dave, if you ever want to sell I am your guy, I have the 405 myself.

[CSXfan]

Also was gifted this A&R boxcar for Christmas.

[davefoxx]

I resolved a dilemma this morning and committed to it. When the SAL and ACL merged to form the SCL in July 1967, the new railroad relettered all locomotives for the SCL by the end of that year.  It would take years to get everything repainted into the SCL’s black and yellow paint scheme, but no locomotive made it to 1968 with SAL or ACL lettering.  The relettered but in otherwise original SAL paint became known as the “split image scheme.”

As a result, I decided to reletter this Proto 2000 U30B for the SCL, because the dilemma was what to do with this U-Boat?  If I ran it in the 1966-67 years (pre-SCL), it pretty much would need to be run in a matched set of brand new U30Bs.  I didn’t want to spend money and time tracking down a few more old Proto 2000 U30Bs and rebuilding them, like I did this one.  So, by relettering it to the SCL, it’ll be not-so-new and mixed into the locomotive pool.  It’ll look great with its sister U36Bs that I have.

This U-Boat (formerly SAL No. 806) will not only be in the split image scheme, it’ll be in the light green color that the SAL adopted only about a year or two before the merger.  GP40s delivered in this color became known as Jolly Green Giants.  Like the prototype, No. 806 will become SCL No. 1710.

Here is my attempt at removing the SAL lettering with Micro Sol.  It took probably a total of 35-45 minutes of soaking for the lettering to finally release. The road number on the cab is shown with a scrap of paper towel to keep the number wet.  It’s still fighting me as I type this.



Stay tuned,
DFF

[davefoxx]

I removed all of the lettering.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the numbers off of the numberboards without digging into the white background.  So, this required a little extra work, as I had to take the U-Boat apart and remove the numberboards.  I sanded them and applied a coat of white paint.

While that caused me to spend more time on this project this afternoon (no surprise there), I have started applying the new lettering.  I also went into the LokProgrammer file and updated the sound file for this U30B to change it to SCL No. 1710.  Apparently, I haven’t run this locomotive in quite some time, because I needed to update it to the current roster settings (e.g., momentum and brake settings to get a working independent brake).



DFF

[davefoxx]

I’m still working on the SCL U30B.  Actually, yesterday, I removed the decals that I installed last week, because I was dissatisfied with a few spots on the decals that had distorted after the Micro Sol application.  I’ve redone the lettering/numbering shown in the prior post on the fireman’s side of the locomotive, and I installed the roadname on the long hood on the engineer’s side.  A decal every night!

I didn’t feel like decaling today, so I tackled a whole other project.  Last month, ESU released an updated LokSound V5.0 version of the SD45 sound file.  Turns out, I was still running a V4.0 sound file . . . on a V5.0 decoder for whatever reason.  So, I downloaded the new file and uploaded it to both of my SCL SD-45s.  I spent this evening customizing each file, remapping the files to run with the ProtoThrottle and to control all lighting (e.g., headlights, Gyra Light, UDE light, numberboards, and class lights) and sound functions.   I also created separate files for the locomotives to run in a consist together, which allow only certain lighting and sounds to be active on the leader.  A quick reflash of the decoder allows me to run each locomotive individually or in a consist with the other SD45. 



I also used YouTube videos like this to get the sounds as close as possible to the prototype:

DFF

[wm3798]

Can you repost your basic track plan?  I went scouring through the archive and only found a lost link to a photobucket image on page 13 or so.  If there's something more recent, I'd be much obliged for a refresher.  My new "island" project is looking for a bit of inspiration.  Thanks.
Lee

[davefoxx]

@wm3798 (Lee),

I don’t have a track plan for my actual layout, but I can offer this- the track plan for where I got my inspiration: Gordon Odegard’s Bedford Valley RR:







The biggest differences between my layout and the BV RR are that I omitted the switchback in the interior of the plan, added a branchline like the Seaboard Central’s in its place, and connected the passing sidings on one end of the layout to increase train length.  I can always shoot some overhead pics of my layout, if it will help.

Hope this helps,
DFF

[wm3798]

Thanks.
I'm wanting to hold onto the two loops concept, with lower being mostly double track raceway, but I'm thinking the upper loop could be adapted to this sort of arrangement.
I'm still working out the actual footprint of the thing, but this is helpful.
I would probably hang onto the switchback, just because I like 'em, and with my Laurel Highlands theme, there's quarries and mines that are fun to switch under such circumstances.
Lee

[davefoxx]

I’m honing in on passenger train consists for the different eras of the layout.  Does any one remember a couple of “Pike-Sized Passenger Trains” articles in Model Railroader in the 1980s?

Currently, it’s the spring of 1972, and mainline passenger service looked like this.  Amtrak (or AMTK) is barely one-year-old.  Many locomotives and rolling stock purchased from the freight roads have not even been patched yet, let alone repainted in Amtrak’s Phase I paint scheme.  Begging forgiveness for the horribly selectively compressed consist, I’ve put together a prototype-ish consist (the Penn Central [PC] car isn’t 100% accurate- see below) for an Amtrak East Coast train in 1972.



1) I have photographic evidence of the prototype, former Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) E8A No. 593, in full SCL livery at Broad Street Station in Richmond, Virginia, on March 12, 1972!  It was even still carrying its SCL herald on its nose.

2) The SCL 10-6 sleeper “Miami” did go to Amtrak, eventually becoming AMTK No. 2701 until retirement in September 1981.

3) The PC 10-6 sleeper decorated as No. 4350 (“Octoraro Rapids”) is, unfortunately, incorrect.  None of the decals included with this Walthers’ car (mostly from the PC “Rapids” class) were for rolling stock that made it to Amtrak.  Would you have picked up this error?  I wouldn’t have without my Big Book of Amtrak.  So, there’s a 99.99% chance that this will never be corrected.  That said, a number of PC 10-6 sleepers did go to Amtrak with a few of these cars surviving on the roster up to 1991.

4) The Union Pacific (UP) Club-Lounge car No. 6202 (once known as the UP “Columbia River”) did go to Amtrak, eventually becoming AMTK No. 3370 and receiving the blunt arrow Phase I scheme before being retired in July 1981.

DFF

[GimpLizard]

I’m honing in on passenger train consists for the different eras of the layout.  Does any one remember a couple of “Pike-Sized Passenger Trains” articles in Model Railroader in the 1980s?

DFF

Pike-sized passenger trains; page 66, November 1980
Pike-sized passenger trains, Part 2; Page 90, January 1981

[davefoxx]

Pike-sized passenger trains; page 66, November 1980
Pike-sized passenger trains, Part 2; Page 90, January 1981

Nice!  I’m going to look those up now.

Thanks,
DFF

[packers#1]

I remember in 2007 they did a Pike Size Passenger Train article, I think in June 2007(?) if I remember correctly, it was like the second issue of MR I ever read.