Seaboard Central 2.0

[Rich_S]

Happy Father's Day!

Before I head out the door to spend some quality time with my father today, I'm going to pull all of the motive power and freight cars off of the layout.  That'll not only give me the opportunity to do a thorough cleaning of all of the track, but then it'll be time to decide what to dig out of storage and run.  Change can be a good thing sometimes.

DFF

Dave,
   Happy Father's Day to you as well.
   The Juice train looks great. Change can be a good thing sometimes, unfortunately for me change has turned into a little bit of a nightmare or obsession. I haven't decided yet which one. I now have enough equipment to run my layout as:

• A Chessie System Branch Line
• A Conrail Branch Line
• A L&HR Branch Line
• A P&LE Branch Line
• A P&WV Branch Line
• A Southern Branch Line
• A Union Railroad Branch Line
• A Western Maryland Branch Line

So many choices, so little time 

[rickb773]

Dave,
   Happy Father's Day to you as well.
   The Juice train looks great. Change can be a good thing sometimes, unfortunately for me change has turned into a little bit of a nightmare or obsession. I haven't decided yet which one. I now have enough equipment to run my layout as:

• A Chessie System Branch Line
• A Conrail Branch Line
• A L&HR Branch Line
• A P&LE Branch Line
• A P&WV Branch Line
• A Southern Branch Line
• A Union Railroad Branch Line
• A Western Maryland Branch Line

So many choices, so little time 

There are 7 days in a week. You'd only have to double up one day! 

[davefoxx]

Dave,
   Happy Father's Day to you as well.
   The Juice train looks great. Change can be a good thing sometimes, unfortunately for me change has turned into a little bit of a nightmare or obsession. I haven't decided yet which one. I now have enough equipment to run my layout as:

• A Chessie System Branch Line
• A Conrail Branch Line
• A L&HR Branch Line
• A P&LE Branch Line
• A P&WV Branch Line
• A Southern Branch Line
• A Union Railroad Branch Line
• A Western Maryland Branch Line

So many choices, so little time 

Well, you could do what I did.  Try to find a way to plausibly mix your varied fleet onto the layout.  In my case, the layout focuses on the Seaboard System and Aberdeen & Rockfish with an interchange with the Southern.  I'm currently trying to sell off my excess rolling stock (late 1960s/early 1970s C&O) to thin the collection and raise some cash for the hobby budget.  Thankfully, a few C&O locomotives survived into the '80s in the pre-Chessie solid blue scheme, so I can keep one or two for my pre-CSX merger era when the Seaboard and Chessie were beginning to mix it up.

DFF

[davefoxx]

I received my Chuckpak today (man, he's fast!), which contained two used Deluxe Innovations' articulated five-unit Twin-Stacks.  I don't have any containers yet, so, when I placed these lightweight cars on the track, I really expected them to derail before they even completed a lap or negotiated a turnout.  To say I'm pleasantly surprised that they haven't even derailed yet, despite running them wide open around the layout, is an understatement.  Shocked is more like it.  Anyhow, I've been running them through crossovers and on superelevated sharp curves, and they're running great.

I almost forgot how much I enjoy watching articulated cars snake through trackwork.  Plans are to replace the plastic wheelsets with Fox Valley metal wheelsets and to body-mount the couplers.  However, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" has crossed my mind.   

Fun, fun!  Now I get to go container shopping in the near future.

DFF

[Philip H]

Those do look nice. Makes me want to get back into TOFC/COFC modeling.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Very nice. I'd recommend watching Timonium for containers. A few shows ago I stocked up on generic looking 40'ers from some junk table for a few dollars a piece.

Your posts inspired me, the other night I set out all of my 89' flats and had a train that wrapped all the way around Windsor St. I also realized that, if I count the shitty Concor ones, I have enough trailers and containers to fill it all. But I do still need five or six Deluxe container chassis, at least.

So... keep going!

[davefoxx]

My newest purchase, as a result of a ride on the Auto Train last week, was eight Kato Superliner cars.  Although they would have no business being on the former SAL line through Aberdeen, North Carolina in the 1980s, these cars are cool, and Rule No. 1 applies.  I have not only long wished for a reason to run Superliners, but these cars will serve as a pleasant reminder of our trip.

DFF

[eric220]

I'd think you'd need a pair of bulldogs to pull that train. Just sayin'.

That rationale sounds very familiar, except in my case it included my wife insisting that I buy at least four MHC's as well. When we took the CA Zephyr on our honeymoon, she remembers a long string of them at the end of the train, so let it be so. With the Pacific Parlor Car in addition to the Superliners, I can recreate either the Zephyr or the Coast Starlight, both of which we have ridden.

[davefoxx]

That's great!  I'm not sure if Cynthia would be up for another long-distance train trip anytime soon, because she didn't sleep well on the train.  However, we agreed that the better option for us would have been a larger bedroom rather than two smaller roomettes.  The kids slept well, though.  That was my first time on a Superliner.  I enjoyed it and the sights, admittedly, because we rode along former ACL and RF&P tracks.

By the way, I have a second F40PH that just needs to be decoderized.  I could have set it up to run in that shot, but I don't like running DC motors without decoders on DCC rails.  It tends to overheat the motor.  I know, because I tested that locomotive the other day, which ran great with the first F40PH, but, after several minutes, the shell was very warm.  I'll probably pick up a decoder with my next MBK order.

Truthfully, though, if I were to model the Auto Train, ignoring the obvious need for auto racks, there weren't Superliners on that train in the 1980s, and, for motive power, I would need a couple of P30CHs.  I don't see any manufacturer offering that locomotive in N scale anytime soon.  But, I don't mind.  As you can imagine, even a truncated Auto Train would overwhelm the Seaboard Central.  So, for now, it's a western train lost in eastern North Carolina.

DFF

[Rich_S]

That's great!  I'm not sure if Cynthia would be up for another long-distance train trip anytime soon, because she didn't sleep well on the train.  However, we agreed that the better option for us would have been a larger bedroom rather than two smaller roomettes.  The kids slept well, though.  That was my first time on a Superliner.  I enjoyed it and the sights, admittedly, because we rode along former ACL and RF&P tracks.

By the way, I have a second F40PH that just needs to be decodorized.  I could have set it up to run in that shot, but I don't like running DC motors without decoders on DCC rails.  It tends to overheat the motor.  I know, because I tested that locomotive the other day, which ran great with the first F40PH, but, after several minutes, the shell was very warm.  I'll probably pick up a decoder with my next MBK order.

Truthfully, though, if I were to model the Auto Train, ignoring the obvious need for auto racks, there weren't Superliners on that train in the 1980s, and, for motive power, I would need a couple of P30CHs.  I don't see any manufacturer offering that locomotive in N scale anytime soon.  But, I don't mind.  As you can imagine, even a truncated Auto Train would overwhelm the Seaboard Central.  So, for now, it's a western train lost in eastern North Carolina.

DFF

Dave, You can always say that Amtrak is trying out new equipment on train 92 in North Carolina. Personally I like the F40PH over the Pooch, (P30CH's) but would really like to see a SDP40F for Amtrak  I know you can fake a SDP40F using a FP45 

On a side note, last year Suzie and I rode the Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and return. Loved the trip, plus now I can claim I've been around Horseshoe curve on a train 

[davefoxx]

Dave, You can always say that Amtrak is trying out new equipment on train 92 in North Carolina

Great idea.  Seems plausible.  I'll say that.  Thanks!

Personally I like the F40PH over the Pooch, (P30CH's) but would really like to see a SDP40F for Amtrak 

I like the F40PH, too, but an SDP40F?  No way.  Not me.  I don't want to have to replace my track when that thing rolls over a rail on my Atlas Code 55 track.  Where am I going to get replacement flextrack?!   

On a side note, last year Suzie and I rode the Pennsylvanian from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and return. Loved the trip, plus now I can claim I've been around Horseshoe curve on a train 

Nice.  I would really enjoy that trip, too.  What was the cost and the length of time of the layover at Pittsburgh?

DFF

[Bob Bufkin]

Back in the 70s when I regularly took the train from Charleston, SC to Alexandria, VA the SDP40F units were normally in charge.  Still using ex SCL and other pre Amtrak cars at the time which I still think are better riding and more comfortable then current Amtubes.  And the last time I went around Horseshoe was on the Manhatten limited which was part of PC at the time and with dirty cars and really late into Chicago.  Took the same train a few years earlier under PRR and it was much nicer then.

[Rich_S]

Nice.  I would really enjoy that trip, too.  What was the cost and the length of time of the layover at Pittsburgh?

DFF

Dave, I live Northwest of Pittsburgh, so our trip started in Pittsburgh. We had about 1.5 hour layover in Harrisburg. Just enough time to get a good look at the state capital building and a nice lunch at the Gingerbread man restaurant near the station. 

We caught this beauty at the Harrisburg passenger station


We didn't get a chance to check out Harris tower, maybe next time.

If you're riding round trip in the opposite direction, you'll have to lay over in Pittsburgh. The train leaves Pittsburgh at 7:30 AM and Arrives Harrisburg 12:55 PM, we actually arrived 12:35 PM 20 minutes early. The Westbound train departs Harrisburg at 2:36 PM and Arrives Pittsburgh at 8:05 PM, again we arrived in Pittsburgh about 20 minutes ahead of schedule.  From Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, it was $62 per person round trip. The only downside of the trip was they would not allow us off the train at station stops for photos, most station stops were only two minutes. 

One of these days were are going to ride the Capital Limited from Pittsburgh to Cumberland. We've already rode the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad,




but riding the Capital Limited back to Cumberland would be a good excuse to ride the WMSR again 
If you haven't taken a trip on the Wild Mary Scenic, I highly recommend it. The only down side is you end up at the C&P station in Frostburg as the WM station on the mainline burnt years ago. The WMSR is also another trip that can be made by train. The Amtrak station in Cumberland is within walking distance from the Holiday Inn and the Holiday Inn is within walking distance from the WM Passenger Station in Cumberland.  I know I'm getting a little off topic, but at least it's all train related   

[davefoxx]

I'd think you'd need a pair of bulldogs to pull that train. Just sayin'.

Better, Eric?  We're running on DC and DCC here on the Seaboard.    Amtrak F40PH #379 still needs a decoder.  I even added a few "business cars" to the end as a treat.  Enjoy!

Excluding the fictional business cars, this is the longest passenger train that I've ever owned.  I reeeeeeally like it.  Anyhow, I look forward to the production of Code 55 track, so I can expand the layout.  Then, these trains will be able to stretch their legs a little bit more.

DFF

[davefoxx]

Rich,

I know PRR GG1 #4859 very well and have seen it a couple of times.  During the crew training for the last Conrail Express, we were permitted down onto the closed platform and were able to walk right up to it.  On the first Conrail Express, I took these pictures:




Heh, I just realized that I've now seen this Amtrak locomotive a couple of times, too.  It made an appearance at this year's CRHS Rail-B-Q:


And, I've been lucky enough to ride behind these beauties a couple of times:


Your suggestions for Amtrak train trips are very tempting.  All of them sound like fun.  I've also never ridden on the WMSR, so there's that, too.  I must plan the next vacation.

DFF