Free-moNebraska

[Mark W]

Just spotted a Scale Train Turbine in Lincoln pointing South!  I hear it's heading for Witchita.   

Will chase and report back later.   

https://www.facebook.com/Wichita-Train-Show-Swap-Meet-463074327144344/
http://www.besttrainshow.com/

[Mark W]

Another show is in the books.  A lot of great people and great modelers in Wichita!  Glad they invited us down.

We set-up a 65x45 layout with the new WYE giving us some really fun operations.


At the top, we come off the Mountain, and snake our way through Marsland.


Today, Marsland has been a ghost town for decades.  The Module features a "could have been" Marsland supported by ranching and Stagecoach manufacturing.




Back in Lincoln, a modern Freight departs Eastbound, paralleling the overpass, Rosa Parks Way, through the WYE.




Here's that same view from Google Maps. 



Of course we had to have some fun with the new Scale Trains Turbine.  How about a Turbine pulling Turbine Blades!!  That's totally prototypical, right??


Meanwhile, some canoers narrowly missed two hungry grizzles.  The hikers may need some help yet...
(The deer must have found some fermented berries. Looks to be staggering.. )


Finally back in Lincoln, we get my favorite shot, looking East over Hobson Yard as a freight pulls out onto the Westbound Main.



Next set-up is our hometown show in Lincoln, NE, February 18th & 19th, then we'll pack up again and be off to Denver for the huge Rocky Mountain Train Show!! 

https://larhs.org/annual-show/

http://rockymountaintrainshow.com/

[casmmr]

For some reason when I clicked on "new" in your thread today, my computer took me to the first post dated Feb 23, 2014. So I decided to go through all the postings.  It is amazing the progress you have made.  The modules continue to look fantastic and you are always adding something new and exiting.  Keep up the great work and enjoy the fruits of your labors.  later, craig

[tefsom85]

Just found this thread.  Fantastic work.   I'm curious, how long is Hobson yard?

[Mark W]

Thanks.

Currently it is 4 sections (minus the wye) reaching 18 feet.  The yard itself is only about 7 feet, however it's designed so that I can insert extensions, which I'll be working on during this year's "Spring Training".

Here's the side by side design, including Rosa Wye and one extension.

[Mark W]

We're set up at our hometown show in Lincoln this weekend.  Once again everything has been running beautifully.

And what better way to kick it all off with the return of the Cab Forward!  This one has been stuck in the shops for about three years after experiencing a sudden loss of pressure.  It barely made it back to the shops, creeping along at a max speed of 15smph.  But finally, all critical hardware has been replaced (new decoder) and the mighty Cab Forward is charging up the mountains once again! 

Here we are celebrating the return to service with a run of about 50 cars up the mountain. 


And fresh off the Cab Forward repair, the shop crew successfully chased all the gremlins away from new the Scale Trains Turbine!   


Aside from that, I spent most of the day switching cars through Hobson Yard while my father delivered/picked-up locals and a few friends/family ran periodical through trains.  No promises, but I will TRY to take some video tomorrow!   

[basementcalling]

Excellent work and photos, Mark. Glad a turbine hauling turbine blades out the bugs out for ya. Now how did you fit the new blades inside the GTEL so it would run? 

[Mark W]

We've been preparing for our longest road trip yet (but not by far), taking the layout to Denver this weekend for the Rocky Mountain Train Show.

After Denver, we'll have traveled 4,643 miles with the layout, visiting 8 cities across 5 states!
If you're in the Denver area, come stop in and say hi! 

[basementcalling]

Mark, how many people in your club and how far away from home base do they live to support the club. Thinking that northern va DC area might need a Freemo club.

[Mark W]

There is a whopping two of us; me and my father.  So quite literally, if we can do it, you can too! 

The great thing about Free-mo is that it's not a traditional club.  No one needs to support anything except their own stuff and they can come and go as they please. 
The modules themselves, I've found the only thing they need to be is different than N-trak.  If they don't have 3 tracks and only come in straight or 90 degrees, people will love them no matter how big or small, even if it's still bare pink foam!   
The important part is have fun!

[Santa Fe Guy]

Wow only two of you, I am impressed. I along with 5 others were founding members of MelbNTrak back in 1988. We needed a lot more than that to set up, run and strip down.
My hats off to you and your dad. What a great thing you are doing for model trains and Free-mo in particular.
Rod.

[Mark W]

Early tomorrow morning, we'll be driving out to North Platte to begin setting up for Annual Train Show at Noon.  That means we'll need to load up everything tonight...

Aaaand here is the CURRENT state of one of our reverse loops. 





Think we'll get it finished in time?? 

Originally a single mainline loop with two sidings and a fake interchange to provide a more realistic appearance.  I still prefer the design, but as the layout grows and more and more operators join in the fun, additional staging tracks are needed.  So I finally decided to make this a dedicated staging loop.  Adding a passing mainline and and additional siding for a total of 5 tracks.   I also took the time to better secure the foam using Great Stuff as glue (works SOOO much better than liquid nails!) While the foam was separated from the frame, I also routed out the top of the birch endplates and glued in some hardwood for a better butt joint surface (3 staging tracks are laid directly on the subroadbed).

Last you can see where the original loop rejoined the mainline at two points (part of the fake interchange).  This also prevented us from automating the reversing turnout since the two turnouts would need to be thrown differently, depending on which track the train took.  I removed that second turnout and we're doing a clean split at a single point. 

Time is running out, just a few ours left before we need to load up.  May not get all 3 staging tracks but for sure the two mainlines will be operational this weekend!

[Mark W]

Made it!  The two mainlines are operational, and everything else is loaded up!

We'll have trains running before dinner tomorrow.  I'll share phone pics and videos to our Facebook page through out the weekend, and post high-def pictures here next week.   

[CNR5529]

Looking forward to seeing the next batch of pictures!

Your work (and speed!) with FreemoNebraska has been very inspiring to a group of us here, who are in the process of starting a FreemoN group in Ontario.

[Mark W]

We spent the weekend in Deshler, Nebraska with the layout set up for Spring Creek's Open House and Model Train Show.  Had an amazing time with an amazing crowd!  Far enough out in the middle of nowhere to keep the obnoxious folk at home, but close enough to bring out the die-hards!  Deb and Dave were also able to get reps from Scale Trains, ESU, Rapido, Intermountain, Athearn, and Scenic Express, as well as some great builders presenting great clinics! 

One major highlight was having this new item show up on the layout!




I had the honor and pleasure of running the first operational sample of the Tier4  Gevo and I can definitely say this one is incredible!