Operating Session #17

August 12, Trainmen assembled into three crews of two operators each. Bill Myers was assigned to the special running out of Atlanta. A wide range of trains were dispatched, including artillery, mixed, cotton, and hospital. "Random Events" added the unexpected, a wreck train and a telegraph section. Operators also encountered a car with a broken axle, sabateour torching a bale of cotton, officers intervening and demanding two cars off fed and hay dropped on a siding. Bill's special was the spoiler as the other trains had no idea to expect him. Makes for a real-life prototype experience.

After each session, I ask everyone to supply me with highs and lows of their experience. During their runs, they also note where they had issues, e.g., derailments, short, poor loco performance, and anything I need to know for a smooth operation next time.

Here are a few pics from that Saturday...

Corey and Roger are picking up platform cars of cotton in Kingston. Their Random Event was a torched cotton bale, and to uncouple that car.

Here we have Jim on the right, a first timer. He is the Superintendent for our sister NMRA Division, The Garden State. You can read about Jim,  layout updates, and the activities of their division in the Whistle Stop newsletter. Google the NMRA, Garden State Division and their website will pop up. He and Glyn are taking a train through Kingston, on its way to Chattanooga. 

Rob, the engineer, and conductor Dave are making a move in the north end of Big Shanty. Most of you probably know that the Great Locomotive Chase began nearby. By the way, this crew had the car with a broken axle. 

CATOOSA - Mantua Rebuild

I have embarked on the next addition to the W&A stable of locomotives, the Catoosa. She was a Norris built locomotive, same manufacturer as the Yonah. As always, a key reference for the Mantua General alterations is Al Mueller's manual...

One of the more prominent elements to his rebuild is his  idea on making room in the tender for a new motor, decoder, speaker and capacitor. Once the tender top is removed, grinding away some of the frame is needed to accommodate these parts. And since the original model comes with a plastic wood load, that is not acceptable for a fine scale model replication. Here's a page from Al's manual on preparing the form for the wood load. 

Now here's the result of my attempt to replicate his instruction. You can see that I added a brass plate and water tank cap; the cap is from Precision Scale.

 

These next two photos show the tender interior exposed. By being able to remove the wood load there is easier access to the motor section without needing to remove the entire tender. It also allows for more ventilation. The black tip coming out of the tender front is a drive shaft cup from NWSL. The drive shaft mechanism is another redesign element also offered in Al's manual.

I use a motor from a fella named "Motorman" who restores and rebuilds a wide variety of motors and can be found on the internet. He operates via eBay usually. This motor is a Swiss Maxon 13 mm 7 pole coreless motor-High torque (150731330992). They run about $45. My locos are able to pull 12-18 car trains which is quite a feat given that the Mantua General's are not known for their pulling power. Of course I weigh my cars below the NMRA standard to about 30 grams. 

The decoder is a Tsunami Micro. But these have been discontinued. Their replacement decoder is called Econami. Al has installed one or two and vouches for their reliability and easier programming as well as installation; these are slightly smaller believe it or not.

'Resources for Old-Time HO Modelers'

We are a small niche in the world of model railroading. And when I find a person, site, group or blog that is also interested in, if not devoted to, period/Old Time railroading I do what I can to promote their existence. Hopefully this translates into greater visibility and at best connections and trade craft sharing as well as product purchases.

Here is one such site by John Ott. I have not had the pleasure to meet John, yet, but noticed he or someone from his site visited my W&A blog. I usually check out those who are checking out us and found John's site to be quite uplifting in that he does promote manufacturers, vendors and fellow modelers. Listed are everything from figures to kits; some of whom many of us know such as BTS and Bernie Kempinski's USMRR. 

I encourage you to visit his site, http://www.ottgallery.com/FavoriteLinks.html which is also listed with other notable sites and clubs on the right side of our blog page.

"Model Railraods Go To War"

Anyone looking to build a model railroad depicting a military or war theme needs to acquire this book by Bernie Kempinski. Bernie is known for both his modeling and his writing as he has been a contributor to Model Railroader magazine, other publications and the author of several other books on model railroading. In this, his latest book, Bernie covers the earliest uses of railroads such as the Crimea to our more contemporary era of "Rockets on Rails".

Bernie includes many period, prototype photos as wells as pictures of model railroads that are not often published because their builders are more focused on building their respective layouts. He includes many modeling tips, techniques and layout plans most of which Bernie has created, so he speaks from experience. Track plans include two of the American Civil War, one for WWI, two for WWII and two more contemporary settings. Place your order through Kalmbach Publishing. 
Although more that the American Civil War is presented, Model Railroads Go To War is another example of the possibilities for modeling this extraordinary era of our history.

ACWRR 2015 Calendar

 

The 2015 Official Calendar of the American Civil War Rail Roads Historical Society is now available. It features many layouts and models in N, HO and O scales by various members of our yahoo group, Civil War Roads. Most photos were shot by D.C. Cebula who had one other of his photos featured in the 2015 NMRA Calendar. Please contact me by leaving a comment and email address. I will contact you ASAP.