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Post by boxcarwilly on Apr 29, 2018 9:57:21 GMT -5
I have had that problem with a couple of mine. On closer inspection I found that they were getting snagged on obstructions in the track. In one instance, a straight pin which I use to hold the tracks in place, was up just a little bit to far and snagging the bottom of the truck. Pushing it all the way down to the track bed solved the problem. In another instance I found that the points on a couple of my turnouts were catching the wheel flanges and causing the engines to stall and slip. I ended up replacing the turnouts so now those locos run freely over them. In as far as grades, I don't have a problem with any of my ES44's managing any of my grades, but all of mine are no more than 2%. Of course the steeper the grade and the heavier the load, you'll come up against some issues. This holds true for all Z scale engines. They only have so much power.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Apr 26, 2018 14:19:08 GMT -5
Interesting. Thanks. It's something I always wondered about.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Apr 26, 2018 9:42:59 GMT -5
I am curious. Has anyone ever seen an RDC Budd, pulling regular passenger cars?
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Post by boxcarwilly on Apr 15, 2018 16:00:39 GMT -5
I have Marklin turnouts in my sorting yard and I've been applying ballast and I have come up against the same problem with the turnouts sticking. I have two ways of solving this problem. 1: Before ballasting, I cut pieces of clear plastic into strips about 1/2" to 3/4" wide and as long as the switch machine on the turnout is. I do this for the front and back. With an sharp hobby knife, I make a slit in the base as close to the turnout as possible. After doing that, I insert the plastic strip into it. Then I apply a little bit of diluted white glue and then ballast. This allows me to ballast the outside of the turnout right up to the mechanism casing. 2; If I should happen to get glue under the turnout as you described above, then I use undiluted rubbing alcohol and with the aid of an eye dropper, I put a few drops on the point slider, the pivot, and the manual use knob. I let this soak in for a few minutes, then I work the switch either manually or electrically and observe the action. If sticking still persists, I apply more alcohol until the points move freely. This whole process also works for MTL switches both manual and electrical. I would think it would work for Rokuhan and Atlas as well.
Here's a helpful hint. If none of the above works effectively and you really don't want to remove the switch to clean and repair, use a small jeweller's screw driver and pry the entire switch up from whatever is supporting it. In my case, they are supported with cork. Then apply a generous coating of alcohol to the cork and put the switch back down. I have never had to use this process, but I've heard that it works very well when used in conjunction with one of the two methods above. Of course, whatever works for you is dandy.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 13:08:13 GMT -5
Dave.
All my GP 9's and 35's, some if not all of my SD 40's and perhaps one of my Mikado's. These are the one's that are, or will be retired.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 12:59:30 GMT -5
Selling off my excess engines makes perfect sense I know. The problem being, it's like selling off your kids. There were times when this would have been preferable especially when they were teens. I guess I've become too attached to these engines and while I'm almost at the point of running the bigger engines exclusively, I still like to keep them on a dead track in the yard just for display. What I'd really like to do is weather them, add graffiti, fade the paint, even show one or two in different stages of decay or dismantlement. I agree that someone somewhere might get some use out of them particularly if they are just starting out, it's just, well, they are the ones I started out with. Who knows, I may just decide to run them on a special type of train just for old time sake. You know, like real railroads do to celebrate special events or anniversaries of the line and so on. Excursion type of thing. If you've read the complete thread on Beneficiary Wanted, you would understand the problems I will be facing in 15 to 20 years. It's not as simple as many believe. I'm not going to go through the entire thing again, but suffice it to say, I have put out feelers to rail museums within a days drive of my place with a donation proposal, and have yet to hear back from any of them. It's just one of the problems many model railroaders face I guess.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 12, 2018 10:41:41 GMT -5
Read my post on Beneficiary Wanted. I don't have any kids that are interested.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 11, 2018 11:20:26 GMT -5
With any prototypical railroad, as new engines are added to the fleet, older engines are retired from service. So it is with my layout or railroad. I have 6 GP35's which I no longer use on my layout. They all still run, but I don't use them any more, so I keep them on a section of track in my yard. I have 3 GP 38's, two of which I use for yard switching only and one for my work train. I have 5 SD40's, that I use from time to time in varying lash ups on flat surface runs only because they do poorly on grades. The couplers don't hold together. I confine all my long hauls to my SD70 and 75's and ES44 AC's. I also have 3 sets of F7a & b units and 2 of the F9a and b's that I use for passenger car hauling, and when not in use, they also sit in the yard. My GP 9's of which I have 6 on another line, will eventually have their own resting place but for now, I bring them out of their boxes and use them for hauling my coal and lumber trains. They will eventually be used for switching purposes only. All my long haul freight handling on this line is confined to my SD40's, 70's, and 75's, and the ES44's. All my RDC's for both lines I use now and them, and when not in use, they too have, or will have their own resting places. I know I should probably sell some of my older engines, and I have considered it, but I just can't seem to part with them. I didn't thing it was possible to develop a sentimental attachment to these little grabbers, but it appears that I have.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Mar 1, 2018 18:30:20 GMT -5
I have 7 SD40, and I'm really only satisfied with 2. The rest, although good runner, they have very week couplers and do not hold together very well when running in tandem or triples. I sent 4 of them back to MTL and they said they replaced the couplers but when I got them back and tested them, the problem of uncoupling persisted. Bottom line, I only run 2 of the seven. The rest are sitting on a don't use track.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Feb 11, 2018 12:22:33 GMT -5
Greetings, I'm from Fife, near Edinburgh. I didn't have any particular part of Canada in mind, but I'm planning a simple three loops, all un-connected, with some timber buildings (ie which will hopefully look like a timber mill or something like that) and lots of trees! The locos and rolling stock I have are a mix of Canadian Pacific and Canadian National - I was in Vancouver in July last year and went to Central Hobbies and they steered me in the right direction. Martin Martin: If your visit here was confined to the Vancouver area, you'll be limited on what you can do. However, if you want to use your imagination, you can model just about anywhere in this great country. The prairies though can be pretty boring unless you are modelling grain and corn fields and grain elevators. However, since you are looking at a timber mill and lots of trees, might I suggest northern B.C. or northern Ontario. You could also consider anywhere in New Brunswick. All of which are pretty heavily timbered and have or had extensive logging. I could also suggest Vancouver Island around the Port Alberni region. It's heavily timbered and is extensively logged. It is quite mountainous as well so it would give you lots of variety. This area is no longer serviced by rail, but that doesn't mean to say you can't model the old railway that ran from Victoria to Port Alberni and beyond. As far as your CP and CN equipment, when you do your research on the area you choose, you'll need to know which rail line services that area and run the engines exclusively within it, either CP or CN. Of course, there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to modelling. Pretty much anything goes. Central Hobbies is a great place to go, Excellent people and very helpful. I've been there. Will
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Post by boxcarwilly on Feb 10, 2018 13:08:19 GMT -5
Greetings Martin.
I'm a Canadian from the prairies and I'm curious as to what part of Canada you are planning on modelling. Perhaps I can help with some ideas. What area of Scotland are you from?
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Post by boxcarwilly on Feb 8, 2018 12:44:15 GMT -5
I too have MTL F7's and yes they are noisy, (sound like my old Datsun wagon) but they do have excellent pulling power, as long as they are run on flat surfaces. They do not do well on grades. The big thing I have found with mine is the fact that they all wobble like they are unbalanced like my ex wife. I also have a B unit that acts very strangely in that, when it runs in one direction, it leans as soon as power is supplied. Change direction and it leans the other way. It's the strangest thing and there is no visible reason I can find for this to happen. It's like it has two separate motors each powering one truck. I know that's not possible given the size, but nevertheless, that's what it looks like.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Jan 26, 2018 12:57:09 GMT -5
If by foam board you are referring to the same stuff that is used in house insulation during construction, I use straight pins to hold the track in place. Then I ballast my track by applying glue to the outside edges of the Micro Trains track and then carefully add the ballast. I have often thought of removing the pins once the ballast has dried, but then decided against it because of glue that holds the ballast letting go over time.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Jan 24, 2018 13:18:53 GMT -5
Clarification: Hunter Harrison was not the former president and CEO of UP but rather CSX. However, it was he who approached UP regarding CP's acquisition.
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Post by boxcarwilly on Jan 24, 2018 12:56:13 GMT -5
The acquisition of UP by CP was on the news and in all the newspapers up here 4 or 5 years ago. It was the talk of the town here for a long time as it was feared CP would pull its repair facilities and freight hub out of Calgary and move them to the US putting a lot of people out of work. That didn't happen. Also there was talk of moving CP's headquarters from the downtown core to Omaha as well in order to consolidate operations of the two rail lines, which also didn't happen. As for the UP locos up here, we never saw them until shortly after all this went down. You could very well be right about the special arrangement thing, but I have seen 2 or 3 lined up for service at the yard here. Co-Incidentally, the former CEO and president of UP became the CEO and president of CP several years ago and he made quite a few enemies with our former mayor and city councillors. He also had some very unkind things to say about our fire department regarding a CP derailment in the yard. He retired last year, but I don't know who took his place. As for Norfork Southern thing, I've heard nothing about that.
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