Empire Belt Coal Hoppers and Engines 'Stored Serviceable'

Greetings All,

One of things I note as I look around rail sites and books are long lines of freight cars and locomotives 'stored serviceable'. The ebb and flows of the economy and seasonal needs of shippers play their part to effect rail traffic. For an operations twist I put this into play on the N.Y.C.T.L. Here's my scenario;

On the Empire Belt RR the summer hiatuses of big coal customers Kings Port Steel (K.P.D.) and R.M.O. Electric (A.P.R.R.) have slowed coal production at Hudson Coal and reduced the need for coal hoppers on parent Penn Central. The PC has pulled the E.B.R.R. coal hoppers from their hopper pool as the PC is now able to meet their coal hopper needs with their existing fleet. Along with the E.B.R.R. coal hoppers the PC has pulled the E.B.R.R. pool power engines from the rotation as they are now surplus power. Let's see what this means for the Empire Belt.

A five engine lash up consisting of four Empire Belt pool engines and a PC U Boat are on track 1 at Terminal Yard ready to depart with a train of empty E.B.R.R. coal hoppers.

1/87th sale PC Ralph watches the empty hopper train depart from EBRR GP30 #2160. PC 6557 was the only U Boat with the red P.

The empty hopper train known as Extra 6574 rumbles thru Bedford NY.

Five Athearn BB engines have the empty hoppers well in hand. All engines are home painted. Four of the five are powered.

The Empire City rail fans are treated to a fine display of six axle power as Extra 6574 rolls over the High Line.

A local rail fan caught the train rumbling thru Empire City on it's way to the E.B.R.R.'s North Side yard.

Extra 6574 arrives at North Side Yard via the Hohman Ave entrance.

The engines have cut from the empty coal hoppers and run back towards Hohman Ave.

PC 6557 leaves North Side Yard caboose lite while a trio of idling EBRR engines look on from the industrial track. 

 6557 heading thru Bedford NY towards Terminal Yard.

North Side Yard track #3 is now occupied by Empire Belt SDP40s 6295 and 6294 and U30Cs 6574 and 6576 "stored serviceable". That's 12,000 HP waiting for an assignment.

Fifteen E.B.R.R. empty coal hoppers are also stored serviceable and awaiting the call to duty on track #3. Hint, Hint....

The E.B.R.R. crews will have to contend with the loss of track #3 for awhile as they continue to serve the industries of Empire City.  Management will have to make do with the loss of revenue from these hoppers and engines which they hope is temporary.

Many model railroaders have way more cars then they have need for on their layouts. Throwing a home road temporarily 'stored serviceable' freight cars and engines scenario into your own ops mix is a nice way to add something prototypical, challenging and different to your own ops sessions and a good way to show off your fleet. 

Why are those cars just sitting there taking up space? They're 'stored serviceable' awaiting assignment. Give it a try before you put your cars back in the box. 

Thanks for reading! 

  

A Different Kind of T.O.F.C.

Greetings All,

This week I had some fun building a couple of trailer kits and transporting the models via train to their final destination. Let's take a look:

Penn Central Train VN-4 that originated in Selkirk makes it's way thru Bedford NY towards Terminal Yard.

VN-4's power is this trio of Atlas Alcos that I painted into PC units.

Bedford Tower Operator 1/87th scale John B does a double take as he checks out these two trailers on flatcar.

That's not your everyday T.O.F.C.!

 The trailers are from Walthers Scene Master line.

Once VN-4 is yarded at Terminal Yard the guys come out to check  the unusual T.O.F.C. load.

The following day the Empire Belt with this GP9m-FB1-GP9m lash up with 1/87th scale Senior Engineer Sir Neal at the throttle will take the T.O.F.C. car and others in train EC-1 to their North Side Yard in Empire City

EC-1 meets the Coal Job as it makes it way to North Side Yard.   

The T.O.F.C. car passes the Empire City rail fan park where these two trailers are headed.

1/87th scale Sir Larry is out of the Hohman Ave tower as EC-1 arrives at North Side Yard.

1/87th scale Senior Engineer Sir Neal brings EC-1 in on track 3. The T.O.F.C. car will be cut from the train here.  

 The T.O.F.C. car is then shoved back onto the team track.

 A Matchbox forklift provides the muscle to lift the trailers off the the flatcar.

With the trailers off the flatcar the consignees have arrived to pick them up.

 A couple of days later the guys gather to sample the menu. 

The Empire City rail fan park now offering a variety of food for all that gather to watch the trains. 

 There's even Good Humor ice cream for dessert!

 1/87th scale rail fanning has never been this good!!!

Thanks for reading!!!!

Straightening Out a Project After The Learning Curve. Finally!

Greetings All,

Today I'm going to talk about the model railroading learning curve which I've found over the years can be quite sharp depending on the project. 

About 20 years ago I bought a trio of Life Like RF&P 50' boxcars at a train show. I really liked the paint scheme and body style which is why I grabbed the three cars. The cars came with talgo mounted horn hook couplers and plastic wheels that were standard at the time. Because I really liked the way they looked they were among the first of my conversions to body mounted knuckle couplers and the least successful . Here is a picture of a similar car as offered by Life Like.

Over the years I made some attempts to correct the self inflicted issues that came about from this early project. The cars became very wobbly and leaned heavily to one side. I caused this problem myself by attempting to sand down the bolsters to get the couplers to sit lower and couple with my other trains. Shims to lower the coupler boxes? At the time of the original conversion using shims probably never even crossed my mind. Ugh.... This was all part of my learning curve.

After getting frustrated with my early attempts with knuckle couplers I went all in with the Kadee Height Gauge, shims, 2-56 screws etc. 
 
Another of the other issues I had when converting these cars to body mounted knuckle couplers was that I didn't extend the coupler box out as far as I should have. It worked OK but didn't look that great. I saw this car liked the way it looked and tried to inexpensively copy the cushion coupler look. 

A search of my parts box to see what I had on hand to facilitate this endeavor revealed some old long talgo coupler shanks from a pair of cabooses and a pair of coupler box extensions from a 57' Reefer that my son wanted cut off from one of his cars.

On car #1 I've installed a pair of Kadee #5s into the long caboose shanks with 2-56 screws and attached them to the frame with another pair of 2-56 screws using the washer as a spacer to match my Kadee coupler height gauge. Sure wish I thought about this 20  years ago! A pair of IHC building shutters and two Kadee #233 gear box lids per bolster got this car to be stable. Finally!!! 

Car #2 got a pair of Kadee #58s, caboose talgo shanks, some plastic shims and the 233 gear box lids.

Car #3 got the old BB 57' reefer coupler boxes, a pair of Kadee #5s some plastic shims and the 233 gear box lids.

Kadee #58 meets Kadee #5. All cars have been equipped with Intermountain metal wheels.

The RF&P cars being tested at the head end of a train are pulling out of track #3. 

Being shoved back into track #3. So far so good.

The trio of RF&P cars are now back in service looking better and working reliably. And they are sitting straight!!!

I renumbered the cars a long time ago and thankfully that worked out OK. After so long in the box it's nice to see the cars in service.
Making a turn at Terminal Yard. And not leaning over!

All told I spent a couple of hours tinkering with these cars to get them to run reliably. It went from a project to an odyssey that I was determined to complete. As I noted most of the aggravation I caused myself. Fast forward 15 or so years thru the learning curve and this conversion is now a snap for me. 

Thanks for reading!  

Matchbox Fuel Trucks and Upgraded Cabooses.

Greetings All,

Over the past couple of weeks I took on some simple and inexpensive projects that transformed an inexpensive pair of Matchbox trucks for layout use, upgraded the worn out couplers on a pair of cabooses that were on the roster for about 20 years and enhanced one of them with new heralds, lettering and a Road to the Future slogan.

I bought two of these Matchbox trucks at my local big box store for 94 cents each.

I drilled out the rivets and separated the parts. I painted both with a rattle can of Jade Green from a company called American Slings. Here's one at work on the layout filling the diesel tank of a refrigerated trailer.

Gotta fuel those mechanical reefers as well. 

A pair of PC decals gives the truck a RR identity.

The NYC herald tells us this was a pre merger truck. I brush painted the rims with Americana brand Bluegrass Green acrylic hobby paint.

In the background where they add some visible interest to the scene

The next project was to upgrade and enhance a pair of Athearn BB cabooses that I've had for about 20 years. Below the are being shoved toward the Terminal Yard Shop.

NYC 24524 was fitted with EZ Mates in my first upgrade from horn hook couplers to knuckle couplers. The shoving and pulling of model railroad operations have taken their toll and the EZ Mates have worn out and need to be replaced.

P&LE 312 was found in the caboose box. I completely forgot I had it and it's probably been in the box for well over a year. It is in need of new couplers and a transfer from the P&LE to the NYC.

This caboose did have a significant role in a Septerber 1, 2016 blog post: During a long shove test I used this Athearn BB P&LE #312 bay window caboose. Newly minted conductor 1/87th scale PC Ralph is solo and protecting the shove move. Here he is getting orders and congratulations from Bedford Tower Operator 1/87th scale John B.
    Yuck! The rusty interior of P&LE 312 is revealed. This is one of my oldest units as I've been painting the weights for about 15 or more years. 1/87th scale AT JOE is busy swapping the couplers on NYC 24524. AT JOE can often be found around the shop area when he's not at the throttle.

P&LE 312 has had it's weight and under frame painted flat black. Both cabooses are now equipped with Kadee #5s

I did have some issues with the coupler lid staying securely fastened to the coupler box. I used a small drill bit to drill a hole in the center of the coupler box and attached the lid with a small screw leftover from a Bachmann product. Problem solved.

P&LE 312 is now NYC 21526 with a new NYC herald, reporting marks, number and the 'Road to the Future' decal added. Window glass had been added a long time ago.

Here's what the shell portion of the project basically entailed. I placed the bigger NYC decal over the original NYC oval. I brush painted the sides of the bay window with Americana brand Bluegrass Green hobby paint and added the new reporting marks and number from some leftover decals. After using Walthers solvaset to settle the decals down I brush painted some model master clear flat over the side and roof to protect the decals and give it a uniform finish. 

The new PC fuel truck and refurbished cabooses share the background as PC C425 #2422 rounds the curve at Terminal Yard.

A pair of 94 cent toy trucks added for some visual interest, two cabooses upgraded for better operations and one of them lettered and renumbered for better utilization. The Athearn BB bay window caboose is not prototypical for the NYC but with the better decals and Road to the Future slogan it's close enough for me.

Thanks for reading!