WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wm3798]

More fun with modulars...


Crew dormitory and commissary for the west end of Ridgeley Yard.  Based loosely on the scale building at Knobmount Yard.

http://www.wmwestsub.com/thomassub/knobmountyard08.jpg

Lee

[sizemore]

I like it!

The S.

[wm3798]

Operations on the Thomas Sub are starting to come into focus.  Last night I ran the East and West locals, with the limitation of just one operator so they ran in sequence rather than simultaneously, which will be the protocol during an ops session.   In a nutshell, the East Local runs from Ridgeley to Elkins by way of Maryland Jct. and Thomas, and the West Local originates in Elkins, following the same route in the opposite direction.


Elkins Yard

There are industries to switch at Cumberland, Maryland Junction, Shaw, and Thomas (east to west)  There are facing and trailing point switches at most locations, and sidings for set outs.  So, a train heading west can work the trailing point switches, and leave behind cars for the facing points to be worked by the eastbound train.  The locals will also carry traffic to and from interchanges with the C&O at Durbin, and the B&O at Belington, both located in the fifth dimension beyond Elkins.


Thomas Yard.  Coal mine is at right at the bottom of the switch back. Industries are on the left.

In addition to local traffic, the East Local will include empty hoppers bound for Thomas and Elkins on an as-needed basis, and the West Local can pull coal loads when available.  The key there will be train length, which is limited by the passing siding at Shaw, which holds about 15 to 20 cars.  For traffic moving beyond Thomas, the 24" helix up to Kerens is another limiting factor.  In a pinch, longer trains can be split between Shaw siding and the yard at Thomas to let an opposing train pass.


Shaw Siding:  High line on the left of the gorge.

In and amongst this excitement, there will be a mine run turn that originates from Elkins to deliver empties to Shaw and Thomas, and pull loads from the tipples.  These loads will typically be held at the yard in Thomas to be consolidated with a coal extra moving east.  The coal extra will also originate at Elkins, representing hoppers from "beyond the benchwork" at Webster Springs, Bergoo, and Laurel Bank etc.  These cars will have to clear Elkins after the West Local is released, but before the East Local arrives to clear enough track in the yard.


Mine Run Turn working the Francis Branch at Thomas

Running all of this by myself sequentially, and without handling car cards, took about three hours.  This included working the industries in both directions, running a mine turn, and and a coal train.  Utilizing multiple crews and a yard operator at Elkins (and Ridgeley) should streamline this process, but with meets and paperwork we're probably still looking at a solid two hour shift to handle all the business on the line.

In the perfect world, this would require minimally:
A yard master for Ridgeley
A yard master for Elkins
2 road crews for the locals
Paper Mill crew

The Elkins yardmaster can run the mine run turn, and an extra crew can be called to run coal down the mountain.

I can have this part of the operation organized and ready, at least with switch lists in the next couple of weeks.  I just need to get some yard tracks installed at Ridgeley to be able to properly block and classify.

Lee

[Philip H]

Hubba hubba! Guess I need to sign up on the crew call sheet! The real question is which yard will Ed want to run?

[davefoxx]

Hubba hubba! Guess I need to sign up on the crew call sheet! The real question is which yard will Ed want to run?

Ed has always planned to run Ridgeley, which will have a lot more work to do than the yard in Elkins.  I wouldn't mind running one of the locals into/out of Elkins (I like the Thomas Sub) or, if necessary, acting as yardmaster at Elkins.  Or, I could just continue as the general counsel for the Laurel Valley Ry., sit back with my feet on my desk, partaking in Vitamin Y, and waiting out the next disaster at Hinshaw.  ;D

[wm3798]

Happily, the bridge at Hinshaw is soundly engineered, and even passed the scrutiny of a Pennsy OCS train with Major Dr. Dave Vollmer at the throttle...



Phil, you're on for a local... but you'll need to use the reliable WM power, not that coon-a$$ swamp monster ...  You'll scare all the bears out of the woods with that thing!

[Philip H]

That's just a first generation sound decvoder ... And considering how old the the Coffee Grinder is it's definitely era appropriate!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That thing was actually built while the WM still existed, wasn't it?

[wm3798]

Yup...


According to Spookshow, the Roco GP30 was introduced in 1974... So not only did the WM exist, the whole system was still intact. 
http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/rocogeep.html

But seriously, folks.  The old Coffee Grinder is always welcome... just bring plenty of back up power  ;D

To further update the crew, last night I finished rewiring the Maryland Junction panel, so now Brian will have complete local control over the junction turnouts and the new industrial spur for the sand loader (formerly the coal mine branch behind Casselman Crossing).

The turnouts at MY Tower and the west end of the Warehouse are also controllable by the dispatcher since they route the main lines, but the local operator can override them for switching maneuvers.

The next big turnout project will be the interlockings at the west end of the yard.  I may end up tearing up the subroadbed and building that at the work bench, as it's a pretty complex piece of railroad there, and there's not much room to work with for the mechanicals and electricals.

That might wait until post-ops session to make sure it's laid out to everyone's satisfaction.

Lee

[wm3798]

Here's the revised panel for Maryland Jct.  Really just a reference shot for Brian, since this is his domain.  Note that the slide switches at MY West and MY have been replaced with single push buttons.  These are the local operator buttons that work with the decoder.  The two push buttons at the far right operate a twin solenoid at the sand loader, seen here:



I've reworked the artwork for the panel so I can replace it, but for now it's ugly but functional.  I may swap out the bigger slide switches for the micro ones I have... The micros don't throw far enough to work as switch machines.

Ultimately, all of the main line switches and crossovers will be operated by decoders, and a fully functional dispatch panel will be built and located somewhere useful, perhaps in the next room.

Lee

[wm3798]

The time has come to get the A/C into the window.  This means cutting the main to pull the lift out section to get to it.  This will be a twice annual ritual, and I'm considering installing Ntrak style transition tracks instead of my usual flush cut rails.  The reason for this is the proximity of the turnouts on the left side of the window:



This one is the trickiest.  You can see the break in the sub roadbed just right of the points. 

My usual process is to paint the rail, ballast it in good and tight then after it dries solid, cut the rails right at the joint.


That's the joint at the fold-down section at the closet door.  It lines up tight and flush, and so far hasn't presented any issues.

I've got the window liftout all wired and ready, so I guess I should stop prattling on about it here and go get on with it...

Updates as they happen.
Lee

[nscalemike]

Lee,

Always impressed with not only the quality of your modeling but your updates as well.  Never seen your layout but almost feels like I've been there a hundred times.  You present some very useful ideas and the pictures are excellent!

Mike

[mcjaco]

I've been noodling about with the just using pc ties for the ends on my module, should anything terrible happen while in transit.  Those code 55 ties scare me when strictly relying on them and ends. 

Granted you only have to move that lift out section four times a year (two up and out, and two back in), but lift outs scare me.  Even with the greatest of care.

[wazzou]

Lee -

In the past when I've dealt with this, I have installed screws into the plywood sub-roadbed at the rail ends and soldered the rails to the screws on both sides of the joint.

[wm3798]

I'd seen that screw trick done before.  I even saw it before I built this section of track.  Sadly, I forgot about it completely prior to your little reminder here...  I think it will be worth the effort to add that little feature prior to making the cut...  I'll just have to yank up some track and put it back...or maybe not...  Stay tuned for further developments.

It's hotter than Hades up there right now... 91 today in Groove City, so I'm in that conundrum... too hot to do what needs to be done to install the a/c so it will be cool enough work...

Projects in the queue include the above lift out, plus installation of a new (to me) counter top for the dispatch/yard office.
To the steam bath!!
Lee