Pacific Railway & Navigation

[C855B]

Torquemada-class fusion reactor?

Well, nobody expected that.    

[MDW]

Ok you genius engineers.......how fast do I have to run my trains up and down that bad boy to generate power?!?!?!?

[C855B]

Fast enough to achieve ~50,000,000° K. Should be able to do that with a couple of Kato locos at 12V and about 25 cars with pizza cutters. 

[MDW]

Thanks!  Was never any good with physics - nuclear or otherwise.......

[MDW]

Finished up the track work & wiring for Enright this past weekend.   Coupled with a temporary bridge over the Nehalem River, I can now run trains from Wheeler to Enright, add helpers, & run up the helix.   

Below are some crappy iphone pictures from my test runs......and so far, so good. Even with my yet to be SPified Bachman consolidations and a hodgepodge of freight car wheels & couplers, the layout & trains delivered as hoped.  A single consolidation - with the right wheels bullfrog snotted up - can pull a 24 car mixed train from Wheeler to Enright as planned, and with helpers added at both the front and rear, the train ran smoothly, if not a bit gingerly, up and back down the helix.

Upgrading to body mount couplers and standardized wheels will make a big difference, but I’m never going to be racing trains up and down the helix.   As it stood today, I was running at about 50 seconds to 1 minute/turn so about 7 or 8 minutes total time in the helix - that’s a lot, but not a surprise.

Next up is reworking a funky turnout in Wheeler and finishing up another bridge so that the entire run from Tillamook to the top of the helix is operational. I guess that’s when my building pace will slow as I spend more time running trains......
 



Michel

[Hawghead]

7-8 minutes total time in the helix.  That perfect for a "fast clock" beans for your operators.

Scott

[MarkInLA]

I've been skimming through this thread and only want to add: If there is any potential of trains derailing and falling into center of helices, instead of trains falling all the way to the floor why not put some sort of cushioning on a removable bottom plate; pillows, cotton in bags, etc....M

[MDW]

I've been skimming through this thread and only want to add: If there is any potential of trains derailing and falling into center of helices, instead of trains falling all the way to the floor why not put some sort of cushioning on a removable bottom plate; pillows, cotton in bags, etc....M

Thanks
There is a large flat drawing file cabinet right under the access hole that rolls out - can definitely pad that surface.... On one hand I’m not too worried about falling trains, but on the other, paying full attention to a train for 8 minutes will be a challenge!  Will figure something out.....

Michel

[MarkInLA]

I just got another idea: Add removable webbing of some kind along entire inside of helices so as to be able to see where derail/jamb-up is but still prevent trains falling at all !! Accessing will be rare anyway...Oddly, I really don't care for helices or multi-deck layouts ! Just felt like ideating here....

[MK]

Just felt like ideating here....

Learned a new word today!   

[MDW]

I just got another idea: Add removable webbing of some kind along entire inside of helices so as to be able to see where derail/jamb-up is but still prevent trains falling at all !! Accessing will be rare anyway...Oddly, I really don't care for helices or multi-deck layouts ! Just felt like ideating here....

Thanks!
Ideate away......always appreciate the feedback.    Given the space I have & my modeling goals, I do care for helices & a multi-deck layout 

Michel

[CRL]

Someone’s been playing with their dictionary and thesaurus again.

[MDW]

There is one more helix that sits directly above the one I just built.   I will put a horizontal layer of something under the lowest turn of that helix, as at that point, it’s starting to get pretty high up off the benchwork.   Thanks for all the great feedback.

Michel

[MarkInLA]

Guess a better word for coming up with original solutions is 'imagineering' which I believe is originally from Disney; their imagineering over at Animation in Burbank, or a separate Imagineering Dept in itself.
Another all-train store of decades went belly up recently, not far from there, too, on Hollywood Way. Thank online shopping for these sad reports. 
And it was before the pandemic I believe.

[MDW]

All good, Mark!
Appreciated the feedback.

Michel