New Jersey Under Wire- a 1979 era electrified layout

[Green_Elite_cab]

Well, I'm new to this site,  but I'm told its a good place for Conrail and Pennsy modeling, So I figure I'm in the right place!

As the thread name suggests, I plan to model the electrified lines around New Jersey, in particular around 1979.    I hope to one day have some sort of Northeast Corridor layout, but I know thats a far-off project. I've been doing my research though, and I'm curently working on creating a schedule of all average Weekday trains on the Northeast Corridor during July 1979 between New York and Metropark Station.   Haven't gotten it complete yet,  but I do have all Amtrak/NJ DOT trains going West.   There is about 96 or 97 passenger trains in one 24 hour cycle,  just going one way!  I'm still working on the freight schedules,  which I have,  but they aren't so simply put as passenger schedules are. 

Needless to say,  I question my own sanity for attempting to pull together so much data,  but the NEC is a lot easier to model for "one hour" of the daily schedule.   

For now, I am "collecting" the equipment I'll need, and occupying myself with my 4x8 layout.   My Layout is loosely based on the "Callahan Central",  the layout found in the Model Railroader book "From Set to Scenery".   I had picked it at age 13,  and though its not quite ideal for what I run now,  its functional enough that it is still enjoyable to operate,  especially after recently rebuilding the original Yard from the book into a more compact, yet triple capacity yard. 

Here you can see a rough approximation of the track plan in XtrakCAD



Here, we can see representatives of my 1979 Electric fleet.  (from left to right- E33, GG1, E44A, E60CP, GG1).



I also have a very large fleet of Electric Multiple units-

Arrow IIIs (2 "singles", and 7 Married pairs [14 cars])

A recent "RTR" version. 



All the rest are kits in various stages of completion.  The real trick will be powering and lighting these cars!





I have several SEPTA MUs as well, including 2 brass Silverliner IIs (GEM), three Silverliner IIIs, and a Silverliner IV





Even though I put a lot of emphasis on electric stuff,  I still run mostly diesel trains. 



Here is a Video of my Layout in operation-

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This is what i'm currently focusing on.  I have plenty more!

[Kev1340]

Looks like you've got a lot of work lined up there! What you've done so far looks great. I'll be interested to see how you get on with those kits.

Cheers,

Kev

[Dave V]

Very awesome!

I would love to hear more about your PRR-style catenary.

[DKS]

A subject near and dear to my heart! Spent three years commuting from Princeton Junction to NYC, so a fair chunk of my life was spent under that wire, and many more years spent around it. I'll enjoy keeping tabs on your progress.

[Green_Elite_cab]

Looks like you've got a lot of work lined up there! What you've done so far looks great. I'll be interested to see how you get on with those kits.

Cheers,

Kev

The kits are by Imperial Hobby Productions (IHP), and unfortuneately are no longer produced.  I was very fortuneate to acquire many of these in a trade,  otherwise I probably would have given up on modeling New Jersey.   The Arrow IIIs have been the dominate NJ commuter car until very recently, and I don't know how anyone could model New Jersey's commuter operations without them.

As you might guess, i'm taking my time and being very careful, since there are no spare parts, and no replacements!

I actually have made a lot of recent progress on them, but I have yet to photograph any of it.  Most if it revolves around "cleaning" the body shells of flash and fixing some "weak" parts.

The big risk I took was using a sanding drum and a dremel tool to clear out the flash along the windows from the inside.   In many cases, the flash was so thick that carving it out with a knife was dangerous, and filing/sanding everything down took forever.   A sanding block on the inside also took to long, and risked damaging the shell since.   The dremel tool takes out a lot of material with little pressure, and as long as I am careful, i won't remove to much material from the inside of the shell. 

Once I get the flash cleared,  these kits are not too frightening.   They have a lot of parts, but they go together easy.  The only other big challenge is creating the Stemman pantographs.

Though one was included with the RTR Arrow III above, they will not be available for separate sale.  Fortuneately, I've already produced at least one,  though it has been difficult to do.   Having since the IHP Stemman, and comparing it to my own,  I think I could produce a "hybrid" that will fit my needs.

I need to invest in a metal photo etching kit of some kind that will allow me to mass-produce identical bases, pantograph shoes, and other components.  The arms can be made from brass tube and wire, and i've made a jig for that already.    If I can make enough  of them, i might even be able to sell a few to get my money back on the investment.

I will definitely post pictures here on their construction soon.

Very awesome!

I would love to hear more about your PRR-style catenary.

The catenary is so far a combination of Andy Rubbo and Bill Kachel's method of catenary production.   (Rubbo's Articles can be found on "The Keystone Modeler" Issues  #50, 52, and 56.  Bill Kachel's methods can be found here- http://kc.pennsyrr.com/model/downloads/catenary.pdf )

Andy's stuff is super detailed and fine scale,  while Bill's is a little less prototypically accurate, but much more simplified and "robust".    I've been generally following Andy's construction methods.

The main difference is that I've been using steel wire for the "supports", and brass/phosphur-bronze for details and tolley wire.    I've found that the steel wire is a lot more rigid, and I feel that will improve the strength of the overhead.   The auxiliary wire will be steel wire as well. 

While the steel wire will and has rusted, as soon as it becomes painted, this should not be a problem. 

Right now, I need to clear off my workbench before I build anymore catenary structures.   

A subject near and dear to my heart! Spent three years commuting from Princeton Junction to NYC, so a fair chunk of my life was spent under that wire, and many more years spent around it. I'll enjoy keeping tabs on your progress.

Awesome!  Any stories stand out in your memory that I might be able to translate into something modeled? 

Would you happen to have a sense of the amount of electric vs diesel freight on the Northeast Corridor?  That has been the hardest subject to figure so far.   I have been able to figure out consists for most Amtrak trains and some of the NJ DOT ones,   But i'm told that by 1979,  diesels had begun replacing electrics on freights, despite electric freight running into 1981. 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Whoa, how have I missed this thread?

Man, this is very cool.

Very.

[S Class]

I used to follow your progress on the Zealot forums, good to see you've made the migration and are still active. I will be watching with vicarious juice jack interest.

[Green_Elite_cab]

I used to follow your progress on the Zealot forums, good to see you've made the migration and are still active. I will be watching with vicarious juice jack interest.

Yup!  I migrated over to the "new"  "Gauge" forum when Zealot got out of hand.  I'm happy to report that I have made some real progress on my electrified modeling.

When I was still on Zealot, I wasn't really sure that I was going to be modeling these things,  since there was pretty much only slim chances that I'd be able to get all the models I really needed.   However, with the E44s and the Arrow III models,  I pretty much have obtained all the "necessary" models needed to represent New Jersey under wire. 

Without a large number of Arrow MUs and the E44,  any electrified layout would probably seem to be "lacking".   


At the very least, I'm in a good postion to model something fairly unique, which makes me feel pretty good. 

***Somewhat relevant rant***

There are still some major No-Shows out there, like the Arrow IIs. Both have been announced by the major commuter model companies (IHP, IMW),  but we'll see what happens there. 

Still looking for some conrail GG1s.  I'm not to satisfied with the IHC/AHM models, but I don't want anything to do with MTH and its DCS decoders.    Broadway Limited GG1s in the Conrail and Amtrak schemes are getting hard to come by though, and they command high prices on Ebay.

Those new Metroliners and MP54s with sound (by walthers and Concor respectively) are also fantastic, though I don't know who can afford a train of those!  Gonna have to sell some other stuff to afford them!

Whoa, how have I missed this thread?

Man, this is very cool.

Very.

I  Think I've seen pictures of yours stuff, including a sea of blue on a kitchen table.  Thats quite a fleet!

[Green_Elite_cab]

Here are some Catenary construction photos.

The first step is to measure EVERYTHING.  Each structure needs to be done individually,  since even being off by a little bit will result in mal-alligned structures and wires.

I usually start with the poles, marking on each of them cut and solder locations. Brass H-beams of the size typical of catenary can be bought in bulk in 3' lengths, which are then cut down to the desired size (you get about three averag poles out of one length of "H5" brass column).

  In general, it is wise to allow the catenary pole to extend ~ 3"  beneath the benchwork,  so that clamps or other mounting hardware can be added later.   

I use a mire box and a saw,  though i'm sure a dremel tool would also make short work of it. 




I mark the pole as I go so I know what "where" it belongs,  so that it doesn't get mixed up with the other poles.    Starting from the top, I mark all the locations that will need solder or some sort of cut.   By starting from the top,  All the excess pole length will be on the bottom,  where it can be used to mount the pole solidly.

Taking a page from Andy Rubbo's catenary article, I used a small round dremel cutter to make dimples in the catenary poles where wires will "connect" to the pole.   The dimple can either be used to keep detail wires (like the ones supporting the transmssion arms) in place,   or as pilots for a drill press, so that the drill bit doesn't run all over the surface of the pole when drilling holes for the cross catenary. 

Andy Rubbo's article also reccomends various jigs for the details such as transmission arms and such.  They are probably a good idea,  though I've chosen to free-hand them, and measure as I cut. 

For stability, I place the dremel tool in the dremel drill press.   Here, i'm making the dimples at the top of the pole for the transmission arms.  I then moved down the pole, adding dimples and holes where necessary.  I cut slightly to one side of the webbing to make life easier when drilling holes.




I have no photos of this, but next i cut small brass angle pieces for the transmission arms.  These vary from location to location, in terms of size, configuration, and amount.  Mine are roughly 13 feet across, which is consistent with some measurements, though not all.

Using Tix Flux and the thinnest Silver Solder I could find,  I placed the flux where I wanted the parts to go, then added solder, letting it sizzle.  It can be tricky, since you can only use a small amount of solder to avoid blobs.  The existing solder melts quickly, and so heat needs only to be applied briefly (unless you want the other "half" of the arm to come off).

Next, i tinned the "tips" of the arms and soldered them together as you see here-



They are still vulnerable, but once the other detail supports are attached, these arms will hold quite well.

placing flux in the "dimple" above the arm, and on the arm tips,  I take a length of thin brass wire,  and stick one end into the dimple, and solder.   I let the wire rest on the arm tip,  and as soon as the dimple solder hardens, I cut off the excess and solder that tip.   

The next part is the hardest part of the transmission arms,  since you need to solder the "hangers"  for the transmission lines.     Even if you let the assembly cool,  you have to be quick with the solder, otherwise the tip will come apart, which can be very frustrating.

I used a jeweler's claw to hold the assembly upside down while applying the solder and hanger.  Its a quick in and out solder job, but it holds well.  The end attached to the pole is bent a little to give some more surface area, and is nestled between the to arms for strength.   



Here are some completed pole assemblies.  This one has some details on it, such as grab irons and insulators.  The grab irons are metal wire bent with a special jig the cuts them to size, then bends them to the right shape.






Next, the cross braces are prepared, but I'll save that for another post another day!

In the meantime, some more electrics.

I have to thank Andy Rubbo again for his Awesome article, of which i borrow heavily, and letting me stage my E44s on his electrified module!

[Hiroe]

Green,
If I may ask, whereabouts are you local to?

--Drew

[DKS]

Would you happen to have a sense of the amount of electric vs diesel freight on the Northeast Corridor?  That has been the hardest subject to figure so far.   I have been able to figure out consists for most Amtrak trains and some of the NJ DOT ones,   But i'm told that by 1979,  diesels had begun replacing electrics on freights, despite electric freight running into 1981.

Memories of my time spent hanging around the corridor have grown misty and vague over the years, I'm sorry to say. It was the late 70s-early 80s, during a time when I worked a couple of blocks from the Princeton Junction station. When the weather cooperated, I'd have my lunches on the platform. At the time I began this habit, I don't recall seeing more diesel than electric, or the reverse; it seemed to be well mixed. I always enjoyed catching the sight of a grungy old E44 rumbling past, which had already grown infrequent. I will say that I do have one searingly vivid--and equally sad--memory of a grey, sullen day as I caught a glimpse of a long dark line of somethings in the distance creeping toward the station. Eventually I could tell the power was a GG1, and I got excited--until I saw what trailed behind: she was towing about eight or nine of her sisters, their pantographs all lowered likely for the last time, as they quietly headed north (RR east) toward whatever destiny awaited them--likely scrapping. I actually had tears in my eyes. (I even had photographs of the sight--alas all the photos were later destroyed.) Since that time I noticed that passenger trains no longer had the occasional GG1 on duty; seemingly overnight they were all gone. Absent, too, were the E44s, and diesels were noticeably taking over. My days at the station were never quite the same since then.

[Ian MacMillan]

Damn this stuff is gonna be nice!

[Green_Elite_cab]

Green,
If I may ask, whereabouts are you local to?

--Drew

Hainesport, NJ.  Its between Mt. Laurel and Mt. Holly on Route 38.   I'm pretty sure we've met before, I think at the Mass Transit show in October at Rutgers.   Not last year, but the year before that. 

I'm still trying to figure the feasibility of an NEC modular club,  but I just don't have time anymore.   I'm starting to think an interlocking of any reasonable size will be impractical for modeling purposes, as far as catenary is concerned. 

Memories of my time spent hanging around the corridor have grown misty and vague over the years, I'm sorry to say. It was the late 70s-early 80s, during a time when I worked a couple of blocks from the Princeton Junction station. When the weather cooperated, I'd have my lunches on the platform. At the time I began this habit, I don't recall seeing more diesel than electric, or the reverse; it seemed to be well mixed. I always enjoyed catching the sight of a grungy old E44 rumbling past, which had already grown infrequent. I will say that I do have one searingly vivid--and equally sad--memory of a grey, sullen day as I caught a glimpse of a long dark line of somethings in the distance creeping toward the station. Eventually I could tell the power was a GG1, and I got excited--until I saw what trailed behind: she was towing about eight or nine of her sisters, their pantographs all lowered likely for the last time, as they quietly headed north (RR east) toward whatever destiny awaited them--likely scrapping. I actually had tears in my eyes. (I even had photographs of the sight--alas all the photos were later destroyed.) Since that time I noticed that passenger trains no longer had the occasional GG1 on duty; seemingly overnight they were all gone. Absent, too, were the E44s, and diesels were noticeably taking over. My days at the station were never quite the same since then.

I remember seeing a picture of a train like that.  In at least one incident,  a "funeral" train of GG1s actually got misrouted over half the Conrail system.  I think they were going to Indiana to be scrapped.   I know that by 1979, a good chunk of the GG1s had been retired, and the last few hung on until the end of December.  Starting 1980, E33s and E44s were the only electric freight.  Those only lasted into 1981 (I think November was the official end),  but by that time only a handful were running anyway. 

I'm not sure when Amtrak officially retired its GG1s.  Some sources claim 1981, others say mid 1980.   They started vacating the corridor as AEM7s began to arrive.

Well, I guess If I had to pick your brain a little more, what exactly did an E44 sound like?  Every once in a while, I entertain the idea of putting sound in my Rectifiers. 

*****************************************************************************************
Speaking of GG1s and AEM7s,  does anyone know about what font that BLI uses on its Amtrak GG1?   Technically, I need to add a "4" to the front of # 917,  since by 1979, the GG1s were being renumbered for the arrival of the AEM7s.

Unfortuneately, I can't seem to find anything that looks like it matches.   I'd rather not remove the hole number just for uniformity's sake.



Right now, I'm working on some other electrics.  I just finished fixing the underframe of my Arrow III to be consistent with the prototype.  When I get more #80 drill bits, I'll add door chains and grab irons. 




I'm also working on this E60CH model. Its more or less completed as far as the kit instructions are concerned.  It just needs couplers, roof wires, and the upper Gyra-light/Red marker housing.     There is a good chance I'll cut a bevel into the pilot as well, and I'm definitely going to add some pilot details to that barren E60 face.  The Atlas AEM7 wind shield wipers made convenient E60 wipers as well,  but they might not be so easy to find anymore. 

I'm hoping I can get more of the Amtrak American GK kits.  I have three others (one is an E60MA kitbash, another is NJ Transit 958, and a third is an undec unit that I'm saving to maybe make another E60MA).  These perform a little better than the Bachmann E60s,  so I have more faith in them.

[DKS]

Speaking of GG1s and AEM7s,  does anyone know about what font that BLI uses on its Amtrak GG1?   Technically, I need to add a "4" to the front of # 917,  since by 1979, the GG1s were being renumbered for the arrival of the AEM7s.

Show me a photo and I should be able to help out.

[skabat169]

What make are your E44s?  The reason I ask is that I have an ALCO Imports one that runs terrible (and needs a DCC upgrade), and I could use advice on how to proceed.

Also, I have purchased several of the ConCor MP54s.  So far they're smooth runners, and do have a decent pulling power with the traction tires.  One had electric issues, but removign and reinstalling the circuit board fixed them.  I have yet to try them in DDC mode though, still waffling on whether or not to get the sound decoder.

-<Steve