Modeling Monday: The "Punch List"

It's not that bad.  Really.

I guess you don't have to be into model railroad operations to know what a "punch list" is, but it wasn't until I starting reading about others' ops sessions that I started hearing that term regularly.  All it really is, at bottom, is a "to do" list.

However, unlike the usual to-do list, it's more retrospective than prospective.  Before an operating session, you have your traditional to-do list: all the things that need to be done to be sure your operating session runs as smoothly as possible.  You check the track & wiring, you check the locomotives & cars, you check your throttles, etc.  When you finish your to-do list, you're ready to roll, literally & figuratively.  By contrast, the model railroad punch list is also a list of items that need to be done, but here the "to-do-ness" doesn't become apparent until during or after your operating session.

But how do you even get a "punch list?"  Isn't everything operating wonderfully once you've finished your to-do list?  Ah, yes.  But one of the frustrations joys of operating sessions is that Mr. Murphy always attends, though he's never invited.  Inevitably, you either missed something or - more likely - something entirely new shows up that needs to be fixed.

My punch list includes fixing the south switch at Rocky Hill that suddently-and-without-warning decided to morph into a spring switch, resoldering feeders on the slaughterhouse and Dividend tank track sidings that inexplicably popped off sometime during the previous night, and fixing a throttle that decided to fall to the floor and break apart (though technically that's not Murphy's fault - I need to provide more security in the form of lanyards).  There are other items (see above photo), but you get the idea.

After reviewing my list(s), I'm beginning to think that maybe the distinction between to-do lists and a punch lists has less to do with their prospective versus retrospective nature, (um) respectively.  Perhaps a "punch list" is really nothing more than a list of all the reasons to give Mr. Murphy a hard punch in the nose.  Maybe then he won't be so eager to show up at my NEXT operating session...

Modeling Monday - Weekend Working the the Punch List

I don't work on the punch list as often as I'd like,

but when I do, it's usually on the weekends.

I mentioned in my last ops session report that one of the things such sessions are great for is seeing what you need to fix/address on your layout. Hopefully, over time, those lists of "to dos" will get smaller and smaller. I don't think they ever totally go away - there's always something to do. And if the layout's been dormant for a bit, the lists can get fairly long . . .

This is my fairly-typical list of things to do - some coupler issues, some programming issues, and a couple misc suggestions.

Speaking of suggestions, here's a list from one of my regular crew members, Randy. Beware of asking your crewmembers for Punch List items. They may just provide you with a few! 

As you can see, I've already knocked a few things off these lists - either by actually doing them, or - in the case of a few on Randy's list - moving them from one list to another.

The first thing I did was something that wasn't suggested by anybody, but I think will come in "handy" for the New Haven/Points West staging operator/mole. (sorry - couldn't resist the pun). For too long, I've been opening the staging box by grabbing that splice with my fingers. I'm actually a little embarrassed that it's taken me til now to just put a cheap little handle there. Much easier!

Next, I tackled the radio antenna/Berlin Branch plug-in issue I mentioned in my last ops report. I'd started having a lot of problems with the radio throttles losing connection and I discovered the problem was that the cab bus splitter I'd installed was being weighed down by the bus itself and losing contact in the socket. So, for this past session, I just cut out the Berlin Branch part of the cab bus and plugged the antenna in directly. The solution (short of buying/trying additional splitters) was to just prop up the splitter . . .

Found a scrap piece from cutting the "lips" off my AC Moore bill boxes (I don't throw ANYthing away), moved it up against the splitter, and clamped it in place.

Not all that elegant or pretty - and probably not a permanent solution - but problem certainly solved for now.

Another thing I noticed after this past session - though unreported by anyone that I recall - is that the long manual turnout throw in the Middletown Yard broke, a little bit.

As you can see in the photo above, the push rod (coat hanger, coming from the right) has slid over to the fulcrum-end of the actuating rod. Definitely not good for easy throwing of the turnout. The push rod needs to be at the far right end of the actuating rod. Thus:

I'd tried bending loops to keep everything connected, but it was especially hard to do so working under the benchwork - and trying not to break anything in the process. So, I'd just soldered a piece of wire onto the actuating wire to act as a "bumper/guide" to keep the push rod from sliding toward the fulcrum.

It was that little piece of soldered-on wire which finally broke off.

I figured another soldered-on piece of wire would eventually fail again - and, besides, I frankly didn't feel like getting out the soldering iron or gun and soldering above my head. So, after a bit of figurin' here's what I came up with...

Yup - just a plain ol' clothespin, clamped onto the actuating rod. It keeps the push rod from sliding around and is just the right width. I'd considered using an alligator clip to do the same thing, but I found the clothespin first. And I have a lot more clothespins than I do alligator clips. . .

And now I'm in loco maintenance hell.

So far, it's "just" adjusting couplers, but I'm discovering that the pilot couplers on all my DL-109s are droopy/low and there's no easy way to fix them. At least no quick solution so far...

If any of you have had the same experience with these engines (Proto 1000 DL-109s) and have a solution, please let me know. In the meantime, I may try to grind away some of the frame to raise the coupler. Fortunately, I don't have that far to go. Unfortunately, it's enough that not fixing it ensures that I'll lose my train from time-to-time. Like the Yankee Clipper. Which would be embarrassing. Especially during an open house. Ask me how I know.

But all in all, none of these punch list items are all that difficult. They just take a bit of time. Sure - it's time I'd rather be spending doing something else on the layout, but as I keep saying - like bubbles on a newly-poured resin pond, eventually they'll all be popped and when they are we can experience the joy that comes from operating a layout that performs flawlessly and maintains the illusion of that time machine many of us strive for.

Weekend Working through the Punch List

"Be careful what you wish for."

Like most model railroaders, I for a long time wished for more space for more railroad and I'm truly blessed to have a full basement to give the Valley Line (and the Airline, um, and the Shoreline) its due. And - even better - after wishing for a good crew of friends to help me with regular operating sessions, I have the best, most enthusiastic group of guys helping support my effort.

So I've been able to have regular operating sessions on a (fairly) large layout. And it's just as much a blast as I'd always hoped it would be. But . . . there is a downside. An ever so tiny cloud way out on the horizon of an otherwise clear blue sky. It doesn't look anything like a bunny, or a sheep. It's a funny-shaped, long, skinny cloud and actually looks a little bit like a word . . . I can barely make it out . . .ah yes -

M  A  I  N  T  E  N  A  N  C  E

It's one of the few things that can dampen your model railroad enthusiasm - and the larger the layout, the larger this cloud can be. But just like clouds bring much-needed rain, regular maintenance is necessary to keep your railroad healthy and happy. There's nothing like a good operating session to make those clouds pop up. And the best thing you can do to keep the rain off your parade (of trains) is to keep up with the maintenance and regularly work through your punch list of issues.

So that's how I spent my hobby time this past weekend - working through the punch list created after last month's session.

After snipping off some more KD "air hoses" and re-aligning/clamping the liftout between Somerset and Mill Hollow, I decided to figure out why the Airline local derailed on its way back from Middletown. Of course, the derailment happened on the only almost-inaccessible track on the entire railroad.

Yup, the track between Middletown and Mill Hollow on the Airline is tucked back behind the backdrop at Shailerville bridge. See pic above. To even see that track, you have to stand on a tall, 2-step step stool - making sure to tuck in your shirt so it doesn't damage the scenery - and lean over carefully. When you do all that, you can finally see the track...

There it is - coming from Middletown, which is on the other side of the wall. Close observation may reveal the cause of the derailment (especially if you click to embiggen the photo) - one of the feeders had popped off and poked up! Naturally - the only feeder I've ever had fail (so far, anyway) had to fail in the worst possible place! I can't access it at all from underneath, so I had to try and (re)solder it from above.

Very fortunately, as it turned out, this wasn't as difficult as I'd feared. I fluxed the wire and the side of the rail (both had already been tinned from being soldered before) and I used a long bamboo skewer to press the wire against the rail. I had the skewer in one hand and the iron in the other. Presto! Feeder reconnected!

After cleaning off the flux with denatured alcohol (you do clean off flux, don't you?), filing the solder from the top of the rail, and Bright Boy-ing the area, I moved on to my next problem: the turnout for the Meech & Stoddard siding in Middletown, the one "powered" with a coathanger.

TomD had a lot of trouble when switching this siding - he couldn't get the points to swing all the way over very easily, and often had to apply constant pressure to keep cars from derailing. Once I got under the layout, I saw immediately what the problem was - the coathanger had slipped over toward the tube. Consequently, there was almost no travel - certainly not enough to actuate the points on the turnout.

The solution ended up being simple in concept, but difficult to execute. I first bent the piano wire into a tight loop at the end - but even that wasn't enough to keep the coat hanger from creeping toward the tube over time (and the piano wire was a bear to bend in those tight quarters!). So I also soldered a scrap piece of copper wire as a "stop" to keep the coat hanger in place. It's certainly not an elegant solution, but it works. So far at least.

Another problem that crept up during the last session was the lack of bumping posts at the end of the east end staging tracks. When I redid this area a couple weeks ago, I installed nails at the end of each track. But that resulted in an unexpected problem - cars would actually couple to the nails!

So I went back, removed the nails, and did something more conventional and just as easy...

I used spare ties (you clip off a lot of them when laying flextrack) and glued them to the rails using drops of Aleen's Tacky Glue. Now there won't be any unexpected coupling and - bonus! - no possible damage to the couplers themselves. I should have just done it this way from the start.

Sometimes, while going through the "known" problems on your punch list, other things occur to you along the way. Case in point - photo above. One of the persistent points made during ops session job briefings is to let the Airline local crew know how to actuate the turnout in the tunnel at Somerset. Well - duh! - I finally got around to just labeling the darn thing! Thanks to Roman for his labeler (I'm going to try - really hard - not to label everything in the house. This is not a something you should ever give to someone with OCD. It just enables them. Not that I'd know anything about that. Nope. Not me.)

I still have a few items left on the list to do, but I think I'm going next to concentrate on finishing my little ProCab project. I really want to finish the mount/box - and really need to make sure the USB/Computer/PCB is working, um especially since it's already mounted in the box... And, of course, it'll be nice to get this mess cleaned up in time for the next NHRHTA Photo Archive session. But all in good time. These are just fun, little, puffy clouds. What more could you wish for?

Friday Fun: Shake Down Ops - 3/31/16

After not having an operating session since January 30, 2015 (other than my "Dad Ops" session last spring), I've had not one, but TWO sessions in three weeks starting March 11. Granted, they were only "shakedown" sessions - to see how everything would work after over a year(?!) of expansion and construction - but the Trains Did Run and, despite a few glitches here and there, they ran pretty well.

Here are some photos from the second of the two sessions. Unlike last time, we actually had some paperwork this time. And - for the First Time Ever - we ran All Four Locals. YAY!

TomD working the Air Line Local in Somerset. Despite being our tallest operator, he still needed a stool to reach the manual turnout in the tunnel behind the church. Powering that turnout is on the "punch list" for next session.

Meanwhile, the two Shore Line Locals (Pete's PDX-1 from New Haven & Randy/Joseph's PDX-2 from New London, a.k.a. the New London Local, the Haddam Local, or the South End Valley Local) met in Old Saybrook to switch industries and exchange cars.

Pete and Joseph intently trying to coordinate efforts between the two Shore Line locals in Old Saybrook.

Since all the turnouts in Old Saybrook are now controlled by this nifty panel, the "Saybrook tower operator" (i.e. me) has to work with the Shore Line locals to throw the switches as they need them. This job was a little tougher since the new turnouts I added don't yet have LED indicators. Reworking the diagram is another punch list item for next time (w/help from BillS).

Having left its cars for PDX-1, PDX-2 heads up the east leg of the Saybrook wye (and over the liftout) toward Essex, Deep River & East Haddam.

Meanwhile, way up north on the Valley Line, Pieter is at the helm of the southbound Valley Local which has finished its work in Wethersfield and is now working Rocky Hill & Dividend.

One of the downsides of working PDX-1 (Shore Line local from Cedar Hill) is that it's a pretty short job. It comes from "Cedar Hill/New Haven" (staging) goes straight to Old Saybrook, does Saybrook switching and car exchange with PDX-2, then returns to Cedar Hill. Even with all that, it doesn't take nearly as long as the other 3 locals. In the future, the PDX-1 operator will also operate "generic mainline" trains (on the prototype, there were over 70 in a typical day - so PLENTY to do!). Until then, PDX-1 being done, Pete enjoys heading up to Middletown to watch the interaction between the Air Line Local and the Valley Local.

Air Line Local on the left, powered by DERS-1b (RS-1) #0669 & Valley Local powered by K-1b #278.

After the Valley Local interchanges with the Air Line Local in Middletown, it has to highball down the river to East Haddam to swap cars with the New London Local (PDX-2). Here it is southbound over Shailerville Bridge.

Although nowhere near the size of Middletown, there's LOTS of activity in the sleepy CT river town of Haddam. It's called "East Haddam/Goodspeeds" by the railroad, but the town of East Haddam is actually on the other side of the river - Haddam being the only town along the entire 400 mile river that's split in two. Here we see the Valley Local and New London Local swapping cars. Once their work is done, they'll both work sidings back to their home base and tie up for the night.

A "shake down" session is a dress rehearsal of sorts - an opportunity to put the railroad through its paces, test out the timing of all the actors, and reveal any quirks or other problems that need fixing. Then the idea is to work through that punch list in time for the next session where still-yet-more problems will crop up, which you fix for next time, and etcetera. Like bubbles percolating up through your newly-poured resin pond, you pop each problem and eventually - hopefully - the problems will become less and less frequent and might even stop altogether. Eventually.

Until then though, the shake down session is yet another opportunity to have some fun with your friends. No matter what problems come up, you'll still enjoy running some trains. And what could be better than that?

Ops Session Setup

I held pretty-regular monthly operating sessions most of last year and right up through January of this year. And I just realized that with everything going on these past 5 months, I never did a post/debrief on the January ops session which is too bad since it included two women plus my next door neighbor (and former Saybrook tower operator - you'll want to click here for that story if you don't know it already). I even got to join in on the fun, operating the west end of the Shoreline. I'd planned on a post, but other things diverted my attention. Life and Work happened and - bing bang boom - here it is toward the end of June.

But work has settled down, my dad is doing really well, and the Missus' dad is holding steady. So, with the half-year mark highballing up the track, I thought it high time I host another ops session.

It's been a long time since the layout's operated - although some trains did run during the NERPM open house - so this next session will be a "shakedown" session. Nothing formal (e.g. no crew email), it'll be limited to core/regular operators only (those that know the layout best), and we'll likely stop the clock frequently to identify and fix problems as they pop up (or maybe not have the clock on at all). This session will be all about just putting the layout through its paces and creating a punch list of items to be sure and fix before "formal" sessions start next month.

But the first step, as with any operating session, begins with a "pre-ops ops session." So that's what I started tonight:

• Located all the cars at all the industries
• Ran the car movement spreadsheet
• Created switchlists for each town
• Started wheel reports for each train
• Filled-in supplies & noted what more is needed

There's still a lot to do:

• Pick the right cars needed for each of the four locals and complete the wheel reports
• Stage the locals, as well as all of the Shoreline trains
• Complete the remainder of the paperwork/packets
• Check throttles (they were buggy during the open house)
• Decide which locos to run, and assign them to the locals

If there's any interest, I don't mind actually posting the "Ops Session Checklist" document I created to keep track of it all. I've found that list super helpful in not only remembering what all needs to be done, but since I don't have to waste time wondering, I can motor down the list fairly quickly.

Heh - but it still takes about 3 hours or so to set up. About as long as the session itself. Sometimes longer. But it's all worthwhile not only to see the layout come alive, but to have another excuse to get together and spend some time with some great folks who share a similar passion and appreciate the fun escape as much as I do.

So here's to the first ops session of the 2018-2019 season - and here's hoping the resulting punch list isn't too long!

Friday Fun: Mr. Murphy's Mischievous March Madness Ops Session

While I'd love to have monthly operating sessions, the day job too often interferes. April will be my busiest month this year, but happily I've been able to string together two months of sessions in a row - February (report here) and now March too!

I'd decided that this session would be an "all-steam" session (except for the Shore Line, which would continue to use back-to-back DL-109s for ease of "turning" the trains, while still being prototypical), but I'm a little short on steam so - as you'll see - I had an I-4 pinch-hit on PDX-1 (eastbound Shore Line local freight) and an R-1 on PDX-2 (westbound local freight). While I don't know whether these engines were ever actually used on these trains, I do in fact have photo evidence of such engines being used on other local freights trains (I-4 on a local in Berlin, CT; R-1 on the Airline local). So I figured I wouldn't be stretching plausibility too much.

So that took care of the Shore Line locals. The Airline local (HDX-12) had K-1b mogul #278 for power and the flagship Valley Local (HDX-7) had big K-1d mogul #343 on the point. So just about all my in-service steamers were run for this session (except for my I-5 #1407, which I just realized I should have used for the Yankee Clipper and Merchants Limited... oh well, maybe next time). The rest of my steam locos are in the shop - which, I guess, is pretty prototypical anyway...

I've mentioned before that trying to run a full steam session is like poking fate in the eye. Mr. Murphy enforces his law pretty heavily during ops sessions and this one was no exception. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised - Murphy is no doubt Irish and considering its association with the Emerald Isle, March sessions can be particularly risky  Before folks even started showing up, it appeared that ALL but one of my throttle cords had decided to quit working(?!!). Yeah, I know, very strange. But I swear that's what I thought had happened. My ProCab/dogbone throttle would work with just one of my cords, but none of the others.

The problem - thanks to ChrisZ for figuring it out - was that the socket on the throttle was/is faulty. Some of the contacts are bent ever-so-slightly so I need to bend those back to guarantee contact with the male end of the cords.

Lesson learned - and thankfully before the session actually got started. The pics tell the rest of the story of a fun evening (despite Murphy's not-infrequent visits)...

The start of an ops session is always filled with promise, anticipation, and enthusiasm for the evening ahead. What could possibly go wrong? Just ask (from L to R) ChrisZ, Tom, Pieter, Bill, Jim, Bob, and Kaylee... 

Here's Bill and Jim on the Valley Local in Wethersfield. They got Murphy's first visit of the session. Despite having fixed (I mean it!!) the shorting issues I'd been having, the Valley Local shorted as it entered Wethersfield southbound from Hartford. So (re?)fixing that will be Priority 1 on the punch list.

Tom is the perennial Cedar Hill/New Haven staging crew and was willing to do it again this night despite an invitation to go out on one of the locals. ChrisZ is just starting the Airline local into Somerset.

Kaylee decided to give the tower/operator job a try (we think it was the only job on the railroad she hadn't done yet) which gave Bill a break to get out on the road.

Bob held down the New London/Boston and "points east and north" staging yard, while Pieter rode the caboose on PDX-1 and PDX-2 (with yours truly holding down the right-hand seat in the cab).

And what a train PDX-1 was this night! I-4 #1392 is such a beautiful locomotive, it's a real shame I've only run it a few times since I got it almost 7(?!) years ago. While technically a passenger engine, toward the end of steam ops in the late '40s, the New Haven occasionally used I-4s in local freight service - and even occasionally as pushers eastbound out of Cedar Hill yard. I think it looks pretty great on freight, if you ask me. Although I had to stage this train here rather than have it run behind the station on Track 6. The radius back there is just a bit too tight for it not to derail.

PDX-1 is probably the most varied of all the job assignments on the railroad. "All" it does is come eastbound into Saybrook (ostensibly from Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven), switches the local industries, leaves westbound cars for PDX-2 (westbound local) and picks up all eastbound cars. BUT, to do so requires finding rare windows of opportunity to cross the busy double-tracked mainline - twice! So there may not be tons of switching, but there's definitely a bit of stress - punctuated by waiting for, and watching, the parade of passenger trains rolling by.

Up on the branch though, it's a different world. After crewing PDX-1, Pieter and I took the helm of PDX-2, which runs up the Valley Line through Essex and Deep River to East Haddam before returning to Saybrook and continuing west to Cedar Hill yard. That's Pieter in the distance switching Essex, while Tom figures out his next move out of Cedar Hill.

Sometimes, the model works exactly as the prototype. And in this case, the north end and south end Valley Locals (HDX-7 and PDX-2, respectively) ended up meeting in East Haddam. That's the good news. The "bad" news is that when that happens the aisles can get a bit, um, "snug."  ChrisZ photobombs from HDX-12 for good measure.

Not being as pressed for time as the Shore Line local, HDX-7 is responsible for the switching in East Haddam, so Jim and Bill use their steam power to transfer some cars to PDX-2 while its diesel waits on the main. It was about this time that Murphy decided to make 343's brake full on/full off. So much for finesse...

Did someone say "diesel"?! Mr. Murphy apparently thought dimly of our all-steam session. Chris' #278 on the Airline local was the first to give us fits - until we discovered that the shorting issues were more likely due to turned-trucks on the brass caboose rather than the loco. But we didn't figure that out until DEY- (S-2) #615 was pressed into service. Once we swapped the offending caboose out, #278 was back on the point and finished the session in fine fashion.... and just in time for the 615 to go over and rescue PDX-2 who's R-1 (ESU-equipped Bachmann 4-8-2) inexplicably started bucking, balking and generally behaving badly. But, just like the prototype, what the diesel lacks in charm and charisma it makes up in reliability and performance. Above is the 615 switching Deep River on its way southbound back to Saybrook.

Thankfully, PDX-2 made it back to the junction without any further incident and held clear of the main while waiting clearance to enter Cedar Hill.

After meeting with PDX-2 in East Haddam, HDX-7 The Valley Local headed back to Hartford and here we catch it as it goes through Wethersfield northbound.

If you have a layout of just about any size, no matter how small, you're unlikely to have many - if any - incident-free sessions. Mr. Murphy always has a way of making mischief. The resulting punch list catalogs his greatest hits of this session:

• Check/fix wheels on caboose #C-301 for proper orientation/polarity
• Check/fix brake function on #343 (reset/reload decoder?)
• Check/fix operation of #3304 (reset/reload decoder?)
• Check/fix lighting functions on #0615
• (Re)fix shorting at north end of Wethersfield (south end of reversing section)
• Check/fix south grade crossing in Mill Hollow (#278 derailed here, backing southbound)
• Consider installing rerailer at end of Cedar Hill Track 1 to facilitate freight moves
• Shave some layout from in front of Dickinson Witch Hazel coal track to widen the aisle
• (and all the way back to the beginning of the evening...) Fix throttle cable socket on the ProCab

It's true that ops sessions are the best way to put your layout through its paces and show you what needs attention and/or what needs to be fixed. And with every ops session, that list usually gets shorter.

But it's also often true that the list may not get so much shorter, but different. I've been operating this layout in its current full form for about 6 years (actually, almost to the month!) and, like bubbles percolating up from your pond's freshly-poured resin, you never quite know where Murphy will manifest next. But the response is the same - you pop the bubble, tick off the punch list item, and improve your layout bit by little bit.

The cool thing though is that, no matter what Murphy has in mind, you'll have a lot of fun along the way. And if you have some great friends to help you along, that's even better.

Hope you're able to get to some modeling this weekend. I, for one, plan not only to get to some of these list items, but hope also to post some more progress on the DEY-5 build. Methinks Murphy's mischief will be mitigated by the marshalling of more modern machines...

The Downside of Ops Sessions: More Punch List Items

For those of you contemplating operations, this here little post will give you an idea of the types of issues that operating sessions will bring to the surface. Just like the bubbles coming up in your resin pond, you pop each one as it surfaces. It's just funny how such things hardly ever raise their heads until Ops Session Night.

And for those of you that are experienced Ops Session Hosts, how many of these sound familiar?

Equipment Issues

• Motive Power
• K-1 mogul had sound but no motion.
• Bonus: only happened occasionally
• Downside: only happened occasionally (so can't be replicated).
• K-1 tender truck derailing between Shailerville and under-Middletown.
• Possible track issue - more likely a tender-binding issue.
• Rolling Stock
• Some couplers mismatched in height and type
• PLE 35988, NWX 15356
• Remedy: use the coupler height gauge, and standardize on KD #58s
• Broken Coupler on NH 17050 (DCFC)

Electrical Issues

• Intermittent shorting on reverse loops and wye which are controlled by Digitrax AR-1s
• Remedy: adjust trip current; or replace with PSX-ARs if necessary.
• Feeders needed between Shailerville & Middletown (DONE)
• Need cab plug-in at east (left) end of Old Saybrook
• Remedy: need to extend cab bus from Essex up & over doorway and under Shore Line and install additional plug-in panel.
• Relocate the main radio antenna to improve coverage at New London staging (DONE)

Trackwork Issues

• Troubleshoot "Berlin Jct" switch
• Turnout that splits between Berlin Main and Main headed toward Wethersfield  - K-1 was picking points there
• File points on Track 6-8 switch in East Haddam (DONE)
• Fix/replace 24" radius curve and turnout on the Shore Line (west loop)
• The "curvable" ME turnout wasn't as curvable as I thought...
• Nails at end of airline staging (DONE)
• To keep things from rolling off into the abyss

Operations Issues

• Physical
• Uncoupling deep in Middletown yard
• Need a more-accurately-sized Remington mockup (DONE)
• Uncoupling tools
• Go back to coffee stirrer/dental pick uncoupling tools (short skewers not a huge hit)
• Knob on Middletown switch pushrod
• Having the cut-off end of a coat hanger sticking out of the fascia is a bad idea.
• Paperwork
• Trains Are Unbalanced
• Some trains have too much work; other trains don't have enough.
• The Valley local especially has too much work to do (they outlawed) - such a heavy workload may actually be unprototypical for 1947.
• Cars need waybills
• Using just switchlists, it's hard to keep track from one session to the next where cars are supposed to go.
• Need paperwork for Valley Local to go to East Haddam
• This will be part of a more-thorough ops/paperwork reworking
• Indicate grade crossings
• Even just marking them on the plywood - so crews get used to working with/around them.
• Bill Boxes or Binder Clips?
• To hold waybills at each town (when I get waybills)
• Label all industries
• Part of the "label everything" rule that's critical to successful operations.
• Put track layout/spotting locations on fascia
• "Label Everything"
• Crew Assistance
• "Conductor's Notes"
• Available in each town, like an "old hand" these notes would give crews some hints for for efficient switching in each town.
• "Engine(er's) Notes"
• For each loco/throttle, indicate how to get to all the different functions (besides the obvious ones of "bell" and "whistle")
• Especially important to note momentum/braking particularities.

And these all came about during a relatively trouble-free session! Now, admittedly, some of these items were already on my punch list to do, but haven't (yet) become so much of a problem that they've bubbled up to the top of the priority list. But the sheer volume gives you an idea of what you can expect on a medium-to-large sized layout - at least in the early days of operations.

So be sure to keep that in mind as you consider your own layout and how big you want it to be. I'm fortunate that I have many helpers - if I were a lone wolf, I'd either scale this layout WAY back or (hopefully) would not have bitten off so much to begin with.

In the meantime, I hope to get some time this weekend to cross some of these things off the list. Next session is only a couple weeks away!

Operating Session - 11/14/2013

The First Officially Official Valley Line Operating Session is now in the books.  After the shakedown session, I had a punch list of items to do, and I got to most of them during the last Train Time Tuesday.  I even cut a viewing hole in the right end of the Somerset module so operators can see when they're close to the end of the tail track (which is in a tunnel - ugh!).  I didn't get to power the points of the switch that's in the tunnel, but the operators did ok with it anyway.  It helped that Joseph was there - he's fairly tall, and the bamboo skewer/uncoupling tool was long enough to reach.

Nathan, Joseph & Roman on the Air Line Local switching Somerset.  Note hole cut in fascia on the right.

Ah, but I'm getting just a little ahead of myself.  You haven't met Joseph yet.  Actually, this session included THREE folks that were not only new operators, but had never even been to the house!  Roman & Nathan were able to come too.  To the extent that ops sessions are social events, this was a pretty cool development.  Bonus: all three of them are in their teens - it's very cool to know there are some young folks interested in the hobby and in operating.  Experienced operators & long-time Photo Library volunteers Dave and Tom also joined the festivities, operating the Valley Local.

Dave & Tom on the Valley Local switching Middletown.

I used the same paperwork as the shakedown session, but even though the switchlists and work was the same, this session timed out much differently.  I expect since 1/3 of the Air Line Local crew had never operated any layout before (kudos for his first time!), and I think that crew made an early tactical error switching the first town, the Air Line Local was very late to Middletown.  Consequently, they held up the Valley Local, much to the chagrin of the grizzled more-seasoned operators.

 

Youth won over experience though - the Valley Local had to wait.  I'll likely rewrite future paperwork to allow the Valley Local to leave Middletown when it's done with its work - at least on the days it doesn't go south to East Haddam (when it would need to wait for Air Line interchange cars for delivery to down-river customers).  The Air Line Local would still have to wait for the Valley Local since (on my layout at least) it turns at Middletown and would need to take New Haven and westbound cars back to Cedar Hill yard.

 

But that was a fairly minor glitch in the operation, which I suspect will also be mitigated by installing "O'Rourke's Diner" (i.e. a refreshment table) at the diamond in Middletown, just like the prototype!

 

Other than the scheduling this time around, the only other glitches were in trackwork.  Rocky Hill/Dividend continued to be the troublespot.  The south switch at Rocky Hill was (pretty much) fixed with the installation of a tension spring on the far side end-of-ties (I decided to keep turnout control consistent and not use a CI ground throw after all) and it operated fine during the session.  But the north switch at Rocky Hill was balky, not wanting to easily seat when lined for the main (thanks to Tom for pointing it out).  Fortunately, once I got a close look at it, I discovered that the throwrod/tie was rubbing/binding against one of the adjacent ties.  A little scraping with a #11 x-acto blade freed everything up and I'm happy to report that that switch is now operating flawlessly!

 

The only major glitch of the night was a newly-developed "Hump yard" at Dividend!

The "Hump" at Dividend



Another view of the "Hump" at Dividend, looking "north"

I don't know if there was an especially high amount of hot air (ahem) that evening, or what, but this track was fine as of Wednesday night when I last checked.  By Thursday night's operating session, the Valley Local crew had to run over a "frost heave."  Fortunately, the weight of the engine & cars packed everything down ok to allow operations, and nothing derailed.  Sending out a work train to fix this during the next Train Time Tuesday will be Priority Numero Uno.

Despite these relatively-minor items, I think it was a very successful session.  In addition to lancing the hump (ewww...), another few items were added to the punch list, including numbering the frog-polarity switches on the Air Line to correspond to the schematics (alleviating a lot of the confusion - and the resulting annoying buzzing when shorts occur!).  The list of "must do" items is, thankfully, dwindling, but I'm sure the next ops session will add some more....

That's ok though - with every session, the railroad is getting better and the better it gets, the more enjoyable it is to run!

Air Line Local at Mill Hollow, heading back to Cedar Hill Yard.

I plan to skip December as far as ops sessions go, to allow for the holidays and associated schedule.  But I also hope the time off will allow me to get to some other construction projects, including fixing the cracks in the backdrop, hopefully starting some scenery in Wethersfield, and maybe even (gasp!) extending the Valley Line south of Middletown to East Haddam!

Guess I'll have to see if Santa has any "extra time" in his bag of gifts that he can give me....

Weekend Work on the Shore Line

The tail continues to wag the dog in my basement. Yes, the Shore Line continues to demand my attention and takes away (a little bit bit more than a little bit) from my primary focus on the Valley Line. But it's my own fault, so I can't complain too much.

After staging all the Shore Line trains I'd need to run for a "typical" ops session (as "background". Um, yeah), and reviewing the intricate choreography required in moving 33 trains through a 9' scene over 178 minutes, I had a few trusted co-conspirators/instigators over for a dress rehearsal.

And it went actually went pretty great. The videos give you just a little taste. It sure gets busy in Saybrook! But I did end up with a punch list of things to do.

So I spent a good block of time over the weekend working through the list, trying to get as much of it done as possible in time for the next session....

First and foremost were guardrails. Not the kind you're thinking of - those inner rails on a RR bridge. But the ones that keep your car from going off a cliff. They work the same in HO scale, and can be made pretty easily and cheaply. Given the speeds of trains on the Shore Line, keeping cars from careening off into the abyss (apparently, it's a family tradition) is a high priority. Fortunately, it doesn't take much to prevent disaster. In the photo above, you see I just wedged in a scrap of masonite on the outside of the curve, and stapled a cardboard strip on the inner side. And it took less than 5 minutes. I really should have done this a lot sooner.

Since there's so much traffic on so (relatively) few staging tracks, and I'm trying to cram as much into those tracks as safely as possible, I need to make it clear to the operators not only which track is which, but how many cars will fit on each track. I had just used bent business cards between the tracks showing this info, but they were either in the way or would get hidden.

So I hit on this idea of using a label-er (loaned to me by Roman) to make labels that would go between the rails, out of the way of cars. Also, I made sure that the end of the label would go right on the fouling point. So as long as the label is visible, you not only know what track you're looking at and how many cars will fit on it, you know that cars on adjacent tracks can pass safely.

Unfortunately, once the staging lid is closed, you don't see ANY of this(?!) So....

I got out one of my many handy-dandy power saws (though I'm partial to the Sawz-All, I used a saber saw here) and cut off part of the "lid" from the staging box and moved the support wire back.

The last thing I did - and what took the most time - was expand the West End Staging yard. I'd already built out the East End staging as much as possible (click here for that saga...) - and that was already the bigger of the two yards! So I should have known that an extension of the West End was inevitable. My Shore Line Shake Down confirmed the need for - literally - just a few more inches (I was 3.25 inches short of being able to accommodate two DL-109s on my premier 7 car passenger trains). But I really didn't think it would be possible.

The above photo shows what I started with. As you can see, the end of the staging yard is a drop-down extension that ends right where it would start to hit the lift-out that connects the two Air Line modules.

But "all I needed" was a few more inches. Here's how I did it.

First, I took out the Air Line lift out so I could get to both sides. Then I made/added a 10" box/benchwork/extension. Yeah, I know I only needed 3.25 inches, but I only wanted to do this once - and this is the absolute maximum I could go before hitting another truly immovable obstruction.

I then clamped everything together, including a plywood splice along the back.

And then screwed it all together while still clamped.

Since it was only 10 inches longer, I figured I could continue to use the hook & eye support I'd been using to hold it up.

Oh, and what about the initial obstruction - namely that Air Line liftout?

Well, I already had my saber saw out, so it was just a matter of, um, "increasing the clearance" a bit. You can see the final result in the photo above. I put back my plywood lip/bumper at the end and added some rerailers to help my operators with equipment swaps.

And West End Staging went from 4 tracks of 16 cars each to 1 track of 17 cars and three tracks at 18 cars each! Certainly a lot more than "just a few more inches."

I'm really looking forward to seeing how these new additions work. I still have some stuff left on the punch list - not to mention having to come up with something easier than this

for the crews to read & follow. But all in good time. If things get too crazy on the Shore Line, I can always go back to the Valley Line.