The Carolina Sandhills Lines in HO Scale

[davefoxx]

Yep, Sawyer, you nailed it: June 2007 issue of MR.  I’m not sure I remember that article, so it was a nice read.

Thanks,
DFF

[Chris333]

On the Googler today and saw something that looked in place on this thread.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shelby,+NC/@35.3037207,-81.5664736,3a,24y,284.42h,95.99t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sCIHM0ogKEICAgICE6NC8MA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgpms-cs-s%2FAPRy3c9Epgm-cccwlawjgTpmsqsgXi5xpcr9iaDjPYcExHUdXSuy-LUpJc2xOaV6UwrxNG1TuYZnL5eHQSr9mTHFq9vQW9dgOpWuXUexYCHu0jTLFosgY0fL7oQlOqWBWKP_oOTl4EY%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi-5.992061298814079-ya118.09982379568544-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352!4m6!3m5!1s0x88571fbb05ff04d9:0x1a5f2fe8f2f2e381!8m2!3d35.2923513!4d-81.5356463!16zL20vMHlmazk?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDExMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

[eja]

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

I certainly do.   I spent countless hours studying them and dreaming of what might be....

Think I may still have them buried away in some box somewhere.

[davefoxx]

On the Googler today and saw something that looked in place on this thread.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shelby,+NC/@35.3037207,-81.5664736,3a,24y,284.42h,95.99t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sCIHM0ogKEICAgICE6NC8MA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgpms-cs-s%2FAPRy3c9Epgm-cccwlawjgTpmsqsgXi5xpcr9iaDjPYcExHUdXSuy-LUpJc2xOaV6UwrxNG1TuYZnL5eHQSr9mTHFq9vQW9dgOpWuXUexYCHu0jTLFosgY0fL7oQlOqWBWKP_oOTl4EY%3Dw900-h600-k-no-pi-5.992061298814079-ya118.09982379568544-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352!4m6!3m5!1s0x88571fbb05ff04d9:0x1a5f2fe8f2f2e381!8m2!3d35.2923513!4d-81.5356463!16zL20vMHlmazk?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDExMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Neat!  I passed through that area back in June 2025.  Wish I’d had the opportunity for a slight detour.

Thanks,
DFF

[mcjaco]

Great stuff on Chuck's Podcast! 

[davefoxx]

Great stuff on Chuck's Podcast!

Thanks, Matt!

DFF

[Philip H]

Agreed. I really enjoyed it.

[davefoxx]

Thank you, Philip!

DFF

[davefoxx]

I suppose for posterity, I ought to drop this here:

DFF

[wm3798]

I concur. Enjoyed the story arc!

I'm really digging that Bedford layout, too.  The amoebic shape is very appealing.

Lee

[davefoxx]

I concur. Enjoyed the story arc!

I'm really digging that Bedford layout, too.  The amoebic shape is very appealing.

Lee

Thanks, Lee!

DFF

[davefoxx]

This poor little Geep has just suffered one problem after another, preventing it from being a workhorse on the layout.  Well, tonight I addressed that.  First, it had developed all sorts of howling and squealing, so I disassembled the locomotive and cleaned and lubed all of the gears and bearings.  That old light oil on the bearings was dark and nasty, and the old gear lube was thick and gross.

While I was in there, I also addressed the other major problem.  The speaker had gone bad, so it sounded awful.  I ordered a Scale Sound Systems speaker (#AHGS-7915-RC1) a few weeks ago and installed it while I had this GP9 torn apart.

With all of that fixed, confirmed with a test on the programming track and laps on the roundy-round, I present Seaboard Coast Line GP9 No. 1025, as it returns to the active fleet and is spotted in Southern Pines, North Carolina.



DFF

[davefoxx]

In addition to making repairs to a Seaboard System MP15 (but that’s a story for another post), I upgraded to TWO separate Scale Sound Systems speakers and surrounds in the Seaboard Coast Line E8 pictured here.  Makes a real difference.  Technically, since it’s the spring of 1972 on the layout, the E8 is now owned by Amtrak, but the prototype No. 593 wouldn’t see the Amtrak paint shop until later that year.  Ah, the rainbow era.



DFF

[davefoxx]

Here’s the next project on the layout: a defective turnout replacement.  The turnout to the staging track for my passenger trains causes intermittent derailments.  Since the day it was installed, passenger cars heading into the diverging route have occasionally ridden over the far point on this turnout. 



You can see how the point is lower than the stock rail at this angle.  I also discovered that the stock rail is not notched nearly as well as that of the replacement turnout.



The replacement shows a much neater construction with a point rail that sits at the proper elevation and also notches into the point rail much better.



DFF

[davefoxx]

Well, that didn’t go so bad.  There’s always the fear of cutting into trackwork, especially around turnouts, that a rail will pop loose on the wrong side of a cut.  When I cut up the old turnout, I stayed about an inch or so back from the rail joiners.  Then, I was able to just pull the small piece of rail and the rail joiner out, preserving the good trackwork.  A spritz of wet water loosened the ballast, and I scraped and sanded the cork roadbed back into a condition to accept the new turnout.

To be able to drop the new turnout in, I cut rail joiners in half, so they could be slid on the turnout without overhanging the end of the rail.  Once the turnout was in place, I slid the rail joiners across the rail joint.  The new turnout fits perfectly and only required trimming ties and two rails of the diverging route to match the butchery that I did to the original turnout.  I painted the turnout before installing it, so I will only have touch ups to do.  I do have two feeders to reconnect.



DFF