Tehachapi, BC

[GaryHinshaw]

Good question - I love this colour.  I cribbed it from a friend's HO layout and got a custom match from Home Depot.  I don't have a name for it, but here is the recipe:



I was honestly surprised how transformative a painted fascia could be - even if it's not obvious in the photos.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ha! Nice! I might go for that.

I've been auditioning a few similar colors myself, but there's nothing like a good recommendation.

[Scottl]

It is a nice colour, now that I am paying attention.  Maybe the fact that I didn't see it in the pictures speaks to it's suitability.

[nickelplate759]

There's something pleasing about a can of paint that just below the label indicating the color mixture says (en francais) "Can irritate the eyes...".

Although in this case it's sort of the opposite - the color just sort of disappears.

[GaryHinshaw]

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

Well, it's been a long time, but TBC has finally reopened for operations after nearly 4 years or operational inactivity.  We have an annual modellers meet every year in BC (except during COVID) and as part of it, we have nearly 10 Vancouver-area layouts open for operating sessions.  I hosted two this past weekend with 4 guest crew members each day and it was great to see things come back to life.  Here are a few takeaways from the sessions.  [These notes are mostly just rambling for my future self.  Read on as you wish.]

The good.  The layout ran well, with a few minor exceptions noted below, and no cars or locos were harmed in the process.    I've added a few mirrors in the back of the Vortex so crew members can follow their trains more easily when they are traversing the one-turn helix between the lower and upper deck, and that seemed to work well.  I've also improved the virtual signal panels that are displayed on the fascia and people had no trouble reading the appropriate virtual signals for CPs where the physical signals were not yet installed.

The bad.  Each session had one mystery short that tied up the session for 10 minutes or so.  The first was tracked down to an ExactRail gon that had an axle that was intermittently rubbing against a screw head on the coupler box and a wheel flange that was intermittently rubbing against the underframe in curves when the weight of the train behind it was applied.  What a PITA is was to track that down.  The second was when a sound-equipped SD70ACe ran a trailing point turnout that was lined against it.  (Curiously, the short did not clear by backing the train - by hand - off the turnout.  It was not until I physically pulled the loco off the tracks that the short cleared.)

The other issue I need to come to terms with is managing the serial staging in the Mojave helix.  Southbound trains pile up there and need to be flushed into the storage yard below and it is all to easy to let that slide and to have collisions when people are not paying close enough attention.  In one case, a train was parked a foot behind the train ahead of it, but the throttle was unwittingly left at speed step 1 so the train creeped for a foot before rear-ending the train in front of it, sending some cars over the edge.  Fortunately there was no damage.

The ugly. Before the sessions, I made a pretty big push to convert some more cars to FVM wheels with one resistor-equipped axle per car.  As I started dipping into my newly acquired Scale Trains branded FVM wheels with .540" axles, I soon realized that these do not roll in the 100-ton BLMA/Atlas trucks!  (Nor in my MTL 1035 trucks.)  WTF?  The axle length does indeed check in at .540" on the nose with my callipers, but the BLMA wheels are more like .537-.538" and that seems to make the difference between rolling and not rolling.  Boy was I pissed to discover that.  I'd be curious to know if anyone else has experienced this.

[GaryHinshaw]

The follow-up discussion of FVM/ST axle length was moved to an existing thread in the Product Discussion forum for improved visibility:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=55298.msg771308#msg771308

[ednadolski]

Lol, got vacuum? 

Just a friendly ping, trolling for any recent pics/updates.  (Nosey Inquiring minds or something.)

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Ahh, reviving a zombie build thread.    Thanks for asking; alas nothing photogenic to report, but there has been a lot of activity in The Shed.  Since the last update after the RMMBC meet in May, we hosted 3 more ops sessions over the summer to prepare for VanRail'23 in early September.  For that meet, I hosted 4 out of town guests and 2 local crew members.  We ended up running trains for over 5 hours!  A record for the layout.  Plans are now underway to host sessions and perhaps an open house for the NMRA/PNR regional meet coming up in May'24.  (Please consider attending the convention and joining some ops sessions.)

Some misc updates since the last report:
* I installed the last hand-laid crossover at CP Sandcut and will soon put it under dispatcher control.  I've had temporary Atlas turnouts there for years...  I still have 6 spur turnouts to fabricate and install before the mainline is officially complete.  Coming soon...

* I fabricated and installed signals at CP Caliente and CP Walong (the famous signal bridge - see below).  5 of the 12 control points now have fully working signals.

* I've expanded my reach into JMRI Operations to manage train handling, and added a Mac Mini in the Y/M's cubby to manage the train list.  The Y/M is now also tasked with flushing the serial staging yard in Mojave.  That has been working well in the last few sessions.

* I became somewhat frustrated with loco performance over the summer due to a combination of (apparently) dirty track and (apparently) balky TCS decoders.  I have been spending the fall obsessively upgrading the Kato units to ESU decoders with TCS KA-N1 keep-alives.  Along with some gentle track cleaning, the improvement has been stunning.  I can't wait to reopen ops in a few months!

* Aside from the balky locos, my single biggest operational frustration continues to be the mix of couplers I have in service: no fewer than 8 different manufacturers (MTL, MTL 'clones', Accumate, McHenry, Scale Trains, Kato, LEZ, AZL).  I'm really hoping the N-Possible and/or the VRK coupler come to the rescue soon!!

* I installed a ceiling fan over the summer to manage some heat build up.

* I continue to put off scenery until I can get it right.  Most of my trials to date have been unsatisfying...    I'll get there though.

* I attended a soiree at Mark Dance's house a month ago, along with Rene Gourley and John Geddes, to discuss the topic: "Is Model Railroading Art?"  It was very stimulating and it was great to catch up with Mark!



Over and out,
-gfh

[signalmaintainer]

* I attended a soiree at Mark Dance's house a month ago, along with Rene Gourley and John Geddes, to discuss the topic: "Is Model Railroading Art?"  It was very stimulating and it was great to catch up with Mark!



Over and out,
-gfh

Yes is it!

I just figured the Canuck's hot start had you preoccupied!

[Philip H]

one of these days we need a cab ride video.  Seriously.

[chuck geiger]

Drove over Pass from Mojave twice headed to Fresno and back for T-Giving always think of you.

[GaryHinshaw]

Two thumbs up.  It's been 4+ years since I was last there.  I need a new fix soon.  Every time I see that highway I think of this song:

I been warped by the rain, driven by the snow
I'm drunk and dirty, don't ya know,
And I'm still willin'
Out on the road late last night,
Seen my pretty Alice in every head light
Alice, Dallas Alice

I've been from Tucson to Tucumcari
Tehachapi to Tonapah
Driven every kind of rig that's ever been made
I've driven the back roads so I wouldn't get weighed
If you give me: weed, whites, and wine
And you show me a sign
I'll be willin' to be movin'
...

[ednadolski]

If you give me: weed, whites, and wine

IDK about the latter two, but you could always come to CO for the first.

[Cajonpassfan]

Two thumbs up.  It's been 4+ years since I was last there.  I need a new fix soon.  Every time I see that highway I think of this song:

Well, I'll be...never would have figured you for a Lowell George fan, Gary
Great night driving music...
Otto

[chuck geiger]

Two thumbs up.  It's been 4+ years since I was last there.  I need a new fix soon.  Every time I see that highway I think of this song:

Yes, Lowell George and Little Feat...covered by Linda Ronstadt too.