WM Western Lines Engineering Report

[wm3798]

Started roughing in the foam between Cumberland and Thomas.  I'm seeing lots of trees here... although I'm tinkering with the idea of a little residential stuff... not sure yet.

Trees will provide a break between the towns, which is probably important.

Oh, and dig this... the train with the RS3s there actually backed itself all the way up from the long siding under Cumberland...  when I turned the system on, the throttle apparently reset to the last time I ran trains, so it was set at 035/128 in reverse no less, and it just quietly crawled around the Yough Valley, across Casselman Crossing, and around the papermill.  I didn't notice it was moving until it needed a little goose to push it around the last curve.  Short train (about 12 cars) but no defects reported!


Lee

[3DTrains]

Oh, and dig this... the train with the RS3s there actually backed itself all the way up from the long siding under Cumberland...  when I turned the system on, the throttle apparently reset to the last time I ran trains, so it was set at 035/128 in reverse no less, and it just quietly crawled around the Yough Valley, across Casselman Crossing, and around the papermill.  I didn't notice it was moving until it needed a little goose to push it around the last curve.  Short train (about 12 cars) but no defects reported!

Great stuff, Lee. I can only hope my trackwork is that bulletproof!

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[wm3798]

Jeez.  Having my thread drop to page two is like getting sent to the minors...

Here's a peek behind the curtain:
http://wmrywesternlines.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-than-i-can-chew.html

Lee

[MichaelWinicki]

Jeez.  Having my thread drop to page two is like getting sent to the minors...

Here's a peek behind the curtain:
http://wmrywesternlines.blogspot.com/2012/06/more-than-i-can-chew.html

Lee

Great blog Lee!

I'm kinda in the same boat, most of the people I run with are a couple hours south of me. 

My layout started out a little different though, in that I never figured on anyone ever running the layout other than me.  Back in 2008, I didn't have anyone to help me design it, build it or run it.  Consequently I designed it for one person.  And I did the KISS thing.  No hidden track.  Manually operated throws.  Simple wiring.   

It's easy to overcomplicate things.

[GaryHinshaw]

There seems to be some of that going around now.  Hard for me to believe that a lifer like you will sit it out for too long though.  Take a trip out to WM and go catch the new George's Creek units.

-gfh

[Philip H]

And Lee,
you might want to take a gander at Lance Mindheim's 26 May blog entry - lot's of good stuff there.

http://www.lancemindheim.com/blog.htm

[MichaelWinicki]

There seems to be some of that going around now.  Hard for me to believe that a lifer like you will sit it out for too long though.  Take a trip out to WM and go catch the new George's Creek units.

-gfh

Trying to complete even a medium sized layout is a daunting prospect, as I've found out.

You can blow through many tasks relatively quickly... Others are just tedious, no matter how you slice it.  The other day I was headed down to one of the guy's layouts a couple hours from here for an operating session.  On the way I had a chance to whine about the time it taking to "set" buildings so that they didn't look like they were simply dropped there from the sky, like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz.  Just a lot of futzing around that consumed far more time than one would think.

[wm3798]

All things electrical are the bane of my existence.  I really want the effect of signalling, but have no patience, knowledge or talent for it.  I love putting lighting in structures, but I'm impatient, so getting to light up results in a spider web below decks that becomes a nightmare.

And of course, when electrical stuff goes kaput, it's harder to run the trains...

I'm just tired right now, work has been overwhelming the past couple weeks, not to mention all the other distractions of spring...

But now, I'm pushing back from the damn computer, and I'm going to wire a decoder into a gorgeous brass diesel.  Wish me well!

Lee

[seusscaboose]

27 days since last post...  WOW...

of course, there is a trip to carolina in there... as well as an article or two...  plus real work...

you're foregiven.

[sizemore]

This thread needs an update!


The S.

[Philip H]

Well, having been in the room on Wednesday, I can confirm it's still intact, and at least 2 trains can run simultaneously.  And the effect of CUmberland is really well done, and improving every minute.

 

[wm3798]

Thanks for your ongoing concern.

Things have been at a stand still for some time.  Apart from it being all the little A/C unit can do to keep up with the 100+ heat, I've still got a house to paint, a porch to rebuild, plus some major repairs inside the house to tend to... Add to that a pretty substantial decoder work load, and you'll see my neglect of the layout is legit.

But there's some stuff in the pipeline that will hopefully be of interest.

[wm3798]

Okay.  Here's an update.  The layout still exists in the attic at Mill Street, although I am no longer a permanent resident at that location.  As many of you know, my wife and I have separated, and I expect before long we'll be divorcing. 

I've been selling off much of my locomotive fleet (Thank you very much to those of you playing along at home!) and also thinned out some of the rolling stock.  I've had several offers on the Cumberland Station building, but I'm not sure I'm going to part with that ... unless things really go south financially.

Anyway, the layout is safe for the moment, I've turned the keys over to my son Andy, whose room is just outside the train room.  At some point, though, I expect to do some controlled demolition to salvage key parts of the track plan that can possibly re-deployed, such as the staging yards, the main yard and engine terminal, Elkins, and the helixes.  Whatever's left will get stripped for parts, track components, bridges, structures and electronics etc. and either stockpiled for future use, or sold off.

I doubt I'll be hosting any more operating sessions, given the domestic situation, and the fact that much of the motive power and rolling stock is being liquidated.

My future plans are in flux, obviously.  But I still have lots of ideas rattling around in my head, primarily focused on a layout based on the good old Laurel Valley, my freelance shortline.

If you've read through these pages, you know that I was feeling a little overwhelmed by the complexity of the layout, mostly from a maintenance standpoint.  Operationally, it worked well, but it lacked the distance between switching areas that I would have preferred to have.  I definitely want to salvage the yard intact, since it was so brilliantly designed by the Railwire collaborators who helped me with thinking it through.  Hopefully I'll be able to re-use it as part of a future design, but worst case, I'll be happy if I can get a fair price for it.

So anyway, for now, I'll be tinkering with small projects to pass the time, and stepping up my visitations to other layouts to work on future articles for N Scale Magazine and perhaps other publications.  In the meantime, thanks to all of you for your well-wishes and also for your participation in the design, construction and operation of the Western Maryland Western Lines.  I've really enjoyed sharing it with you all, and getting your feedback, positive and otherwise.  This truly is the world's greatest hobby, populated by some of the world's greatest people.



Stay tuned for future developments.
Lee

[mcjaco]

Sorry about the personal news Lee.  And obviously not seeing WM updates will stink, but something better will come out of all this. 

[wm3798]

Anyone know any witty women with a great deal of patience, unlimited funds and an unfinished basement?