P.C.C.M. #11 Part 1

Greetings All,

As reported the P.C.C.M. #11 series arrived on the N.Y.C.T.L. last week. A short video of the action was included in last weeks blog entry. Click here to watch that video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkVWflhhXtY&feature=youtu.be

Let's take a slower look at what's taking place in the #11 series;

Penn Central U30B 2875 was on the point of train VN-4. This is the newest engine in the N.Y.C.T.L. stable

Below we have VN-4 meeting Extra 2857 which is holding on track 3. Extra 2857 is powered by two GE U30Bs and two EMD F7As This train is an empty freight car drag heading to Selkirk to get the foreign road cars back to their home rails to reduce per diem charges.

An AMC Gremlin sparks a conversation between two commuters

VN-4 power showcase: PC GE U30B #2875, PC GE U28C #6533, PL ALCO C628 #6309 and a C628  leased from the US Army.

Block 1 of VN-4 originated on Ralph V's train KV-9 (Kings Port to Selkirk)

Here's a link to The K.P.D. blog; http://kingsportdivision.blogspot.com/ 

Cars two and three represent the first interchange of TOFC cars in the virtual ops

Block 1 cars include the Triangle Pacific 50' boxcar, the three gondolas, the PC boxcar under the over pass,

the tank car and two hopper cars. The NYC cars represent the beginning of block 2

Block 2 rounds out train VN-4. These cars are not part of the virtual ops but will find their way to local industries in the upcoming days / weeks

A focal orange brings up the markers on VN-4

And VN-4 arrives at Terminal Yard right on time at 1905 hrs.

The actual VN-4 was due out of Selkirk at 1000 hours and due in at NY 72nd street at 1900 hrs.

So a 1905 hrs arrival is in the parlance of the LIRR "on or close to schedule"

Next installment we'll take a look at getting these cars from Terminal Yard to their respective consignees.  

Thanks for reading!

New Happenings in Empire City

Greetings All,

Some new happenings in Empire City to report this week..

The Empire Belt has taken possession of former Mopac B23-7s 4632 and 4637. For my purposes I've designated them U33Bs . These shells were purchased from Bachmann after the original shell were stripped of paint and glue turning them basically into junk. I plan to put a simple patch out of the MOPAC on the cab and add some Empire Belt lettering down the road.

Over at Ralph's Warehouse a truck load of fencing from Neal's Hardware and Lumber has arrived. This spot has been approved by the Empire City Zoning Commission for an employee parking lot

Meanwhile over at Neal's Lumber and Hardware things are buzzing along at the fast clip as both rail and truck freight is being moved in and out.

A recent dumpster dive gave me some nice pieces of strip wood that I turned into steel loads.

Here they are on some bulkhead hoppers. Chartpak tape and weathering powders 

were used to highlight the loads

A shelf over the former controller shelf has been added to better finish off this side of the layout. 

The lower shelf is still useful as storage for things that need to be handy

I think adding a few buildings enhances the skyline and overall look of the layout. 

The buildings were taken from Mid Town area of Empire City

By re-configuring the street in the vacated area I can use this location for a rail served industry.

The area measures about 20" x 4".  Enough room for a low rise industry that can accommodate 2 50' cars

A drone view of mid town Empire City. Neal's Lumber is to the left and Caterpillar to the right. 

The re-configured street scene has opened up some nice scenic and detail possibilities so I want

to keep any new structure to about 3" in height.  

Empire City Caterpillar has received a new Rix Products modular loading dock and ramps. 

The siding here is double ended so any industry to the left is easily accessible.

Team Track? Nah...

Three 40' boxcars fit perfectly with plenty of room for Caterpillar to the right and the switch to the left.

This Wabash trailer was recently acquired during a used merchandise sale at my LHS. A thorough cleaning, some blue paint on the rims, replacing a crooked landing gear with some 3/4" brads and

some weathering have this trailer in T.O.F.C. revenue service. 

Two used Accuready NYC Pacemaker Service cars were also acquired. The cars were lightly weathered with weathering powder and put into revenue service. 

Speaking of revenue service Penn Central Car Movement 11 series is under way

Here's a short video from the N.Y.C.T.L.'s portion of the virtual ops

P.C.C.M. #11 series  

Thanks for reading and watching!

New Haven H16-44 Repair

Greetings All,

The shop personnel on the N.Y.C.T.L. worked overtime this weekend to get New Haven RR H16-44 #1605 back in service. The 1605 and 1604 had been leased by the wholly owned N.Y.C.T.L. subsidiary Empire Belt RR as power by the hour. Upon conclusion of the short team lease the NH 1605 and 1604 were returned to Power Pool A service and teamed up with a pair of NYC H16-44s to power train NH-5 (Terminal Yard to Cedar Hill Yard). The trip North went fine. The four unit F.M. lash up remained together at Cedar Hill and after inspection and refueling were assigned to Train CH-5 (Cedar Hill to Terminal Yard). On this trip the 1605 suffered a mechanical failure and had to be taken off line. The other three H16-44s had sufficient power and the 1605's consist position made it a simple matter of shutting the unit down. Let's take a look at what happened and how the N.Y.C.T.L. Shops quickly solved the problem;

New Haven H16-44s 1604 and 1605 on lease to the Empire Belt RR   

Train NH-5 Departs Terminal yard on it's way to Cedar Hill Yard

located in New Haven CT

Train CH-5 on it's way to Terminal Yard with the 1605 shut down.

That is definitely not a good sound to hear!

The remedy:

Remove the four screws attaching the shell onto the frame.

These are the screws nearest the wheels.

With the shell removed removed unscrew this Phillips screw that attaches 

the power truck assembly to the frame.

There are no wires to contend with so it's pretty simple to remove the power truck assembly. Note the  brass washer and worm gear assembly on the top of the power truck. A drop of oil here and on the washer  on the drive shaft coupling side should do the trick. In many case you will not have to remove the power truck but I did it here to give a better visual of the procedure. 

Use a good hobby oil for this application   

Test the unit

Success!

And there it is. A quick and easy fix. No special tools were required and

the whole job only takes a few minutes.

Thanks for reading! 

Penn Central U30B Project

Greetings All,

The N.Y.C.T.L. Purchasing Department recently acquired a second hand Athearn BB A.T.S.F. U30B for a paint project. I've long wanted to add a PC B boat to my fleet and after disastrous results from an earlier attempt with some second hand B30-7s this U30B project came to be.

PROTOTYPE INFORMATION: General Electric Universal series four axle 3,000 hp locomotive with an FDL-16 (V-16) turbocharged prime mover and equipped with dynamic brakes they were delivered to the New York Central from November 1966 to December 1967. A total of fifty eight  units were delivered numbered from  2830-2857 and 2860-2869. Numbers 2858 and 2859 were actually U33Bs. Classed by the NYC as GF30s (General Electric Freight 3,000 hp). #2830-2839 were built with traded in Fairbanks Morse trucks. Later replaced with GE-Alco trucks after merger. Cosmetically these units were delivered sans New York Central lettering on the long hood and with NYC heralds on the cab sides and front.

All of the above units were in service at the time of the NYC - PRR merger. The NYC was the only PC predecessor to have purchased this model.  During the PC era these units were assigned to Selkirk as their maintenance base and could be found on symbol trains like LS-1, TV-42, NG-3 and NY-4.

MODEL INFORMATION: Older Athearn U30B bought second hand. Model stripped of paint in 91% alcohol and painted with rattle can black. Microcale Decals applied and sealed with Model Master clear flat. Mechanical upgrades include extensive cleaning, hard wiring motor and adding KD#5 couplers.

PROJECT SUMMARY: Mechanical Upgrades.

 Athearn BB ATSF U30B as delivered. 

 This is an old school BB unit as you can see. Older motor. No flywheels. Metal truck side frames.

First step is to pop off the clips holding the worm gears and trucks to the frame

 That grimy looking area is where the frame sits on the truck. 

This is an electrical connection and needs to be cleaned

Now I can easily clean the wheels by rolling the truck over an alcohol pad.

Clean wheels and clean electrical contacts are a good start to the project 

Now it's time to hard wire the connections between trucks and motor. I've removed and cut the metal strap from the motor. Flux has been added and I'll solder the connections for good electrical contact. 

The finished power chassis. If a newer motor with flywheels becomes available for this unit then all I will need to do is pop the soldered strap off the motor, remove old one and insert new one.

It works!

PROJECT SUMMARY: Paint and lettering.

 The shell has been stripped in 91% alcohol. I was surprised by the color of the cab. The yellow spots below the stanchions are where a prior owner used some type of adhesive to secure the stanchions. I'll work on these areas with a razor blade. When dealing with used equipment be prepared to fix a prior owners fixes. 

The shell has been painted with rattle can flat black followed by rattle can gloss black and it is time for decals. PC Power book with picture of U30B is right in front of me, decals are cut and ready. A test fit looks good. Black coffee can lid used with water to soak the white decals. The black lid makes it easy to find any small decals that release from their backing paper during the process.   

 Getting the decals snugged down over hinges and latches, etc using Walthers Solvaset 

PC U30B 2875 has been released from the paint shop !
The white number boards are prototypical for the U30B

Here it is with two BB NYC U30Bs on a shake down run

Going solo on a transfer run from Terminal Yard to North Side Yard

Plenty of Penn Central equipment to make the 2875 feel right at home.

Prototype and model 

PROTOTYPE PHOTOS:

NYC U30B 2875   http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3162961

PC U30B 2875     http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1044383

CR U30B  2875    http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1901099

In CR Blue            http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3337301

SFLR 2875           http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2455978

last known owner

Thanks for reading!

Have a Cigar...band

Greetings All,

The New York Central Train Layout Paint Shop recently released NYC F7A #1644 for revenue service. The 1644 is painted in the NYC cigar band freight engine paint scheme that the NYC applied as an economy measure versus the lightning striped units in the 1960's. The Microscale decals used for this project, 87-88, advertises this paint scheme was used for NYC diesels from 1960 to 1968.

The New York Central owned 238 F7As that were built between 1949 and 1952. They were delivered in the classy black and gray lightning stripe scheme and numbered 1636 - 1873. The 60's saw the NYC looking at all manner of cost savings and one of those measures was the elimination of the famed lightning stripes. 

Our project locomotive is a Bachmann Plus SP F7A #356 purchased used on ebay.

I must admit this SP scheme is very catchy.  

The F7A has been stripped in 91% alcohol, painted with rattle can black and lettered with Microscale decals

Another shot of the F7A shell in high gloss finish

The 1644 has received some Model Master Flat to seal the decals and reassembled with Kadee #5s. 

Here it is on it's first assignment;

NYC 1644 and PC GP30 2228 are assigned to the Empire City Turn which will work various industries from Terminal Yard to Empire City and back.

2nd and 1st generation EMD power rolls thru the commuter station

A nice profile shot of the 1644

Making the Empire City turn on the West Side

Heading back towards Terminal Yard the EC Turn is working the Ford Plant

The Empire City Turn meets leased LIRR Alcos running caboose lite back to North Side Yard

Thanks for Reading!