Preparing for NERPM

The 2023 New England Prototype Modelers Meet is coming up - June 16-18.

A lot of what I've been working on is in preparation for the meet.

1. Getting the layout operational. I'll be open for the Sunday layout tour for the first time in a while, and I'm also going to be hosting some casual ops sessions on Thursday just prior.

This has involved completing a lot of track work changes, completely rewiring the bus for additional circuit breakers and future signaling, and programming the locomotives for ProtoThrottles.

2. Expanding/updating a clinic covering the New Haven DL-109s (for Saturday night) - with still more new information since I presented the abbreviated version for Hindsight 2020.

Dale and Ryan ran some test ops on the tracks that are fully operational (the main line still needs power), and Alex and I tweaked 0502 and 0503 (the RS-2s) to serve as switchers for the ops sessions. The Stanley locomotive will be either the HH660 or the H16-44. 

I'm not sure which models to bring along this year. The majority of work has been on the layout itself rather than new models, which is where it has needed to be. 

I can hardly wait, though, I'm looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!

Oh yes I did!

John and I just got back from the Chicagoland Railroad Prototype Meet this weekend. We had an awesome time. Got to meet a number of people in person that I've spent a lot of time chatting with via email, and new people too. I highly recommend the meet, and plan on attending next year too.

But that's not what this post is about.

Tonight I started a new project. I won another Custom Brass 11-window Osgood Bradley streamlined passenger car. I have a bunch of the Rapido cars, but unfortunately they have yet to get around to the 11-window cars. And the reality is, those are the ones I actually need. The 10-window cars were primarily for mainline trains, and the 11-window cars had additional seating for commuter service. In all, I could probably use as many as five of the cars, but right now I have three.

Anyway, since I won the car, I decided to see if the Rapido underframe would fit in the car, since my eventual plan is (was?) to do just that. With a bit of work, and the removal of a number of parts on the brass car, it works.

There is more work to do, but it shows that the concept will work. Then I decided that I thought the roof would fit too. So I started to remove the roof. But the ends look better on the Rapido car too, and the way the end meets the roof is also different. As I worked my way of separating the roof from one side, I found that it would be easier to just remove the side itself.

Which presented another approach. Seeing if the side would fit the Rapido car:

So that's what I've started to do:

So yes, I removed the side from both a Custom Brass and a Rapido Osgood Bradley car. I'll have to remove the second sides of both cars, and figure out the best way to reassemble everything. I can use the bulkhead and toilet, but will need to get some additional seats and fix the seating too.

And of course, once I get these together, Rapido will be free to release their 11-window models for me to replace them with.

New England Prototype Meet and Planning

The Proto Meet is done, and as always I had a great time and it's something I look forward to every year.

Ops Session
First I wanted to get the layout operational so I could host an ops session on Thursday night. It's something that I want to do annually. Although I really need to get Whiting Street in operation, I decided it didn't make sense to try to cram that in before the show, and worked on the session instead.

Despite a couple of weeks of work, I still had a number of issues to address. One was a bad turnout, that would only stay on the diverging route. Of course, this is a crossover between Track 1 (the mainline) and Track 5. It was easy enough for them to hold it into the correct position when using it, but I don't know why it suddenly stopped working on the night of the session. It's one that has been operational and scenicked for years now.

I've already fixed it, although I'm not exactly sure how. It involved a thorough cleaning (scraping) with a dental tool. trying to adjust (bend) the centering spring, which is under the throwbar, etc. Somewhere along the line it started working again. However, a more permanent fix is planned. More in a moment.

Proto Meet
The most important thing for me is the inspiration I get from seeing the modeling, but more importantly, from friends. The only clinic I got to was the scenicking one in the main room.

Missing clinics wasn't entirely planned, our daughter's nurse was sick this weekend, so I didn't make it back for Saturday evening (I really wanted to go to Bill Welch's clinic) and I missed his clinic on Friday too, because several of the guys wanted to see the layout, but there was enough traffic that we didn't make it back from that and dinner.

But I get a lot out of just seeing old friends, and met some new folks too that I hope to stay in touch with. One of whom is a brakeman that worked the New Britain job in the late '60s, and another was a signal maintainer on the line at the same time. For example, I now have confirmation that the scale track was not only present, but still used even in the '60s. I also learned that even at that late date they switched out Stanley Works twice a day.

I had a number of in-progress things to display, and hopefully that helped some folks who I talked to about what I'm doing and how, and it also led to other ideas about what I can do differently/better.

On Sunday, I was on the layout tour (Chris and I usually alternate, since he's stuck at work every other year). I had a good turnout, and again spent a lot of time with some new friends learning a lot of new things.

The biggest thing I get out of the weekend is motivation to get more happening on the layout (and hopefully the blog), and that's already happened.

First, I want to have more frequent ops sessions. I don't have a set schedule yet, but the biggest challenge I've always had is that everybody else seems to be a good distance away. So I'd like a big list of people to draw from. In addition, I really want to have it open to as many people as possible. I'm hoping for once or twice a month, but it probably won't start until mid to late summer because of the work I'd like to complete first.

But I've set up a newsletter so folks can sign up and be on the list for when the sessions start:

Sign up for Ops Sessions and Open Houses

Plans
The goal for this summer is to finish the infrastructure, specifically:
Whiting Street Yard/Berlin Line
Circuit Breakers
Signals
Final track arrangement
Groundcover/ballast
Railroad structures (crossing shanties, gates, etc.)

In addition, there are already some changes underway. In the Fafnir section of the layout I had a lot of electrical issues (that weren't there a week before). This probably had something to do with the work I did to separate Stanley Works electrically, and the installation of a circuit breaker. In any event, I didn't get it fully working. But it's also an area that I wasn't always happy with. The bulk of the track was moved from the old Berlin Line section, largely intact. In addition, I've since found a lot more information on the track arrangement on that side of town, and wanted to make some adjustments.

So...

...I've torn it all up. There are some infrastructure issues (a part of the benchwork is plywood that is slightly lower than the rest because it was never intended to have trackwork on it, for example), and I can adjust Myrtle Street to be a much better arrangement to better fit structures. As a bonus, Stanley Works has a little more room too, so I can make adjustments there too (which looks like it will amount to at least 50% of that track arrangement too).

This is one of the benefits of operating for a while, and in using Microengineering track, since it holds it's shape and most of this track is not securely attached yet. Lockshop Pond may be adjusted a bit as well. Much of the track in this section will just be replaced, because the ME yard track system switches will also save space.

There are three sidings to add to the east side of town too, maybe a fourth. Plus we have to address the changes I've been making to the backdrop and area above the helix. I also need to finish the engine servicing tracks.

Signals and Switches
I'm excited about signalling, because I've learned that prototypically I have three pairs of signals to install. It's Automatic Block territory, so the mainline switches are tied into the signalling system. Because of this, I think I'm going to need to move to some sort of actuation for the mainline switches, since it will be difficult to detect the state of the turnout for the signals otherwise. That's OK, because I also really like how my buddy Dale has his mainline turnout controls locked, and requires a key to unlock them before throwing them.

These are still hand-thrown turnouts on the prototype. So part of my prefers the idea of Blue Point, Bullfrog, or similar control options. I can devise a method to lock the control, and they have contacts for the signals. But if I go with the Rapido powered option, then I automatically have the ability to turn the Rapido switch stands for the mainline switches. Right now I'm also testing Proto:87 Stores option for turning switch stands when throwing the points manually.

While I like that throwing the points directly makes it more intuitive, having only the mainline turnouts on the fascia is a good compromise. And I really like the combination of being able to lock the turnouts, tie into signalling, and operating targets. About half of the mainline switches are already scenicked as well, so it will be a bit of a project.

And, of course, I'll have to build the signals. The Highland is one of the lines with left-hand semaphores. I'm already working on getting the parts for those.

Not all of this has to be done to get the operating sessions running again. The paperwork worked fantastic this time (and I ended up being the Agent, which worked very well since I could easily see what I will change for the future). I'll cover that in more detail in a future post. But there's lots to keep me busy for the next couple of months!

This and that

OK, it's been a while since I've posted anything significant. So I'll have some new things soon, but here's a quick rundown as to what I'm up to.

NE Proto Meet
First, the NE Proto Meet was great fun. The response for the True Line Trains minibox continues to be extremely positive, and I can say I'm very happy with the work the new factory has done for us.

I attended a few clinics, but most of the time was spent chatting with friends and checking out the models. It's always a great place to pick up new ideas and techniques.

Layout Tour
The layout tour went well on Sunday too, but that's becoming somewhat routine. Dave Friedman brought over an R-1-b and L-1 for testing. The Key R-1-b had trouble (consistently) with only two turnouts that I'll work on. The Custom Brass L-1 was shorting on one of the 28" radius curves, but appeared to be something that might be rectified with tweaking the locomotive since he hasn't run it on anything less than 30".

I have both locomotives myself, and they have operated OK so far, but it's been a while (they are both DC still). So I will have to do some more testing and tweaking.

Operating Session
On the Thursday just before the meet, I hosted an ops session for several attendees. Bill, Chris and Joseph were helping out (and Bill supplied the motive power so the NH was leasing all power from the O&W that night). Two were new to me, Dave Fullerton and Will Lawrence from Nova Scotia. Dave Ramos and Tom Callan rounded out the crew. This was a great addition because I've been studying Dave's operation quite a bit for ideas.

Although initially he thought that he might be biting off more than he could chew, Chris had a blast as the Freight Agent. While we have a fair amount of tweaking to do, the process seemed to work pretty well.

Bill and Dave operated the Stanley Works, and completed their initial work very quickly. This is job we'll need to 'complicate' a bit. Will and Joseph handled the many through trains, and Dave and Tom were operating the New Britain switcher. We learned quite a few things about that job as well, but once they really got a handle on the layout it worked pretty well. Bill and Dave jumped in with an extra switcher for a bit to help out.

We identified some updates that are needed in the process and the paperwork, as well as the design of the layout (thankfully nothing major).

Layout Progress
So, as for the 'nothing major'. As things have been progressing well and we've been figuring out how to do things faster at Harvey's, it was time to get moving on my layout. So first up I decided to complete the ground cover and ballasting for all of New Britain Yard. I was able to spray paint the track, put down all of the ground cover and ballast, and glue it all done in an afternoon. Worked like a charm. Until...

For some reason, and for the first time ever (to me anyway), the glue didn't dry clear. It's patchy and looks horrible across the entire yard. I considered pulling up the track and cleaning it all that way, and would replace what was necessary. Which led to me thinking that I could do everything that I wanted appearance-wise if I handlaid all of the track in the yard. It's a dozen turnouts and track.

In the end, while considering my options, I started scraping up all of the scenicking (yes, between all of the ties too), and redoing it. I love how it's coming out, just a bit slow. But I'm making progress. Unfortunately it's time I feel I could have spent making more progress on the layout rather than redoing the yard.

I'll have more info with pictures in a future post.

Summer Projects
So Chris and I have been looking into what we want to work on. Because I've come upon more information about two of the four coal dealers that I'm modeling in town, I've been particularly interested in a proper fleet of hoppers. While we now have some fantastic RTR models from Kadee and Intermountain in particular, this is an area that will need to be supplemented by a number of resin kits and, yes, even some kitbashes. Well, more of a cleanup/modification of models with molded on parts rather than actual kitbashes. Either way it will require me to carve things off which is not one of my strong modeling points. I have a little practice on a DL-109 I've been working on as well.

So we've invited the rest of the Thursday Night Crew (the modelers anyway) to join us in working on some hopper projects. We've identified enough to keep us busy at least through the summer, but there will still be a few holes.

So that's about it for the current news. More information to come in future posts on these projects and more!

Grand Rapids!

Yep, it's been a while for an update. I've been working on the home projects primarily, plus a week's vacation. I'm heading out tomorrow for the NMRA Convention/National Train Show with Darren. Stop by the True Line Trains booth to say 'Hi!' if you're there.

Layout Tour and F&C Kit

Well I didn't get around to taking any pictures at the NE Proto Meet. But I had a great time. The layout tour went very well. The only issue was that I found out our coffee maker doesn't work. But 18 people signed the guest book and everybody seemed to really enjoy the layout.

Chris hung out up on the deck to direct traffic and chat with the visitors. As expected, they came in a few waves, but never too many to accomodate.

Since the meet Chris decided that we should build the new F&C NH 36' wood box cars. This is a re-release of the old NHRHTA model, although Steve says it's all new castings and it's a one-piece body. Here's most of the parts after flash has been removed:

The coupler height is way too low (about 0.07") and the trucks don't clear the crossties. Here it is after the addition of 4 red and one gray washer. I'll build up a bolster by drilling a hole to accomodate a styrene tube to build up a new bolster. I also had to modify the coupler box and file the coupler opening a bit to get it to fit properly.

More later.

NE Proto Meet Day One

I had a great time today at the Proto Meet. Showing off a few of the TLT models, meeting some new people, saw a lot of old friends, some amazing models, and Chris and I gave our NH Steam Clinic.

A few of the regulars stopped by for a quick dinner, then I was off to band practice. I'll have to find out how the slide shows were this evening.

The plumber is finished in the basement, so it's time to get it ready for the layout tour on Sunday. Chris and Pete will come by early to help out.

I'm looking forward to another day tomorrow!

Preparation and Planning

First off I'm still preparing for the Proto Meet. I'm out of ink in the printer, so that's a project for tomorrow. I'm printing up some informational things as well as photos to put around the layout for the tour.

The bigger challenge, however, is that the addition isn't complete yet. So I'll clean up the basement as much as I can. I'm sure a couple of folks will stop by on Friday to check things out. There may be construction in progress then. The same applies to Saturday, including having a few of the guys over for dinner.

It looks like Saturday night (after our church concert), and Sunday morning I'll be doing a final post-construction clean-up for the layout tour. I'm assuming, of course, that they're only working Friday and Saturday.

In the meantime, I've started some planning. After this project is completed, we're going to move the laundry out of the basement. That means that the ex-laundry room will be available for some expansion. The first thought is to try to squeeze in the New Hartford branch. I think that it would be possible (but cramped) to try to do New Hartford, Collinsville, and potentially Unionville. One thought would be to have an intermediate staging position to allow me to alter the consist to accound for Plainville work.

The major issue with this approach is that the ex-laundry room is still the utility room and requires working around the furnace, hot water heater, etc.

I will definitely be putting Berlin line staging in the room as well, although the intention would be for that to be hidden behind the scenicked New Hartford branch. But a few things occurred to me as I was taking measurements and visualizing the space.

First, I can provide locomotive storage/staging in this room. I was planning on trying to squeeze it into the main staging, but this would work better.

Second, I could put a turntable at the end, or a cartridge system, for turning the steam locomotives. It's not essential, but an option.

Third, I have the hookups in place, so I can install a utility sink and move the spray booth into this room, using the existing dryer vent.

I was also looking at how I'd rework the current Whiting Street Yard to connect to staging here. That's when a different approach came to mind. I could model some more of the Berlin Line industries, and build the Whiting Street yard in the utility room. This would allow me to extend this line. I could even go so far as to model down to the Berlin wye. The advantage of this is that YN-3 does the work in Berlin, as well as Cremo brewery.

So I wouldn't be able to extend the New Hartford local run, but I'd get work for another train in exchange. In addition, I would have additional work for the New Britain switching crews between New Britain and Whiting Street Yards. It would also be a simpler project to build, although I'll now have to rethink the spray booth/sink option.

I'll have to take some more measurements and draw up some plans for the various options.

So here I was thinking that I was just preparing for the Proto Meet and now I'm back to some layout planning. I won't even mention what ran through my mind regarding the helixes...

Photo Library Night

We had a good night at Photo Library last night. It was a relatively small crew, and Charlie, Chris and I were working on pulling, scanning, and inserting photos into the NE Proto Meet clinic. I think it's coming together well. We'll have around 100 slides (mostly non-published), for the presentation.

I'm still working on going through what we've got and putting together the Powerpoint now. Charlie will be scanning more of the negatives we pulled (they take a lot longer to scan). Chris and I will get together for lunch next week to iron out the details and make sure we'll be able to get to whatever else we may need to complete next Thursday night.

Here's a teaser (it's the cover photo):

Right now it looks like we're light on J-1 and L-1 photos.

NE Proto Meet -or- Deja Vu

Well, we're less than two weeks away! The NE Proto Meet is coming up quick and I've got to complete a clinic and get the basement ready for layout tours. To make things more interesting, we have a rehearsal on Friday night for a church concert on Saturday night, so unfortunately I'll be missing the slide shows on both nights.

I'll be manning the True Line Trains table, so stop by and say, "Hello!"

I'm also featured on the Model Railroad Hobbyist and Model Railcast Show podcasts, both of which are available on iTunes.

Here are some past posts regarding the Proto Meet:
http://blog.newbritainstation.com/2010/05/one-week-to-proto-meet.html
http://blog.newbritainstation.com/2009/04/progress.html

So, it's only about 3 years late for the layout tours (and still far from anything resembling 'finished').

One Week to Proto Meet

Well, I'm not quite far enough to be on the layout tour this year, but I'm having a few of the guys over for dinner to see the progress. Amidst the daily batch of sawdust, here's the the current state of the layout:



The "Holyoke/Waterbury" helix is in its final location, although not actually attached to anything yet. Eventually Stanley Works will be on top of it. The "Hartford/New Haven" helix is under construction (and the source of the day's sawdust). The deck for 2/3 of the upper level is in place, but not attached. I've been mocking up the track plan and making adjustments and it's going to work well.

In the end I opted to build the "Hartford/New Haven" helix around the pole after all. I shifted it slightly but it will allow a better connection to the layout in that position.


These last picture shows how the staging looks in relation to the upper deck. Well, sort of. The picture was taken with a flash so you could see it. Without the flash, they are pretty dark and disappear very well. Coupled with the depth of the upper deck and the planned fascia, the staging will be very unobtrusive when operating. You can also see the piece of masonite spline clamped in place where the Berlin line will be.

I'm hoping to complete the majority of the second helix this week. I have turnouts on order for the upper deck, and once they arrive I'll finalize the track layout for the east side of town, leading into New Britain yard. This is the most complicated portion and everything will be dependent upon that.
We'll see how far I get this week, but I'm looking forward to next weekend. If you're coming to the NE Proto Meet I'll see you there!

Progress?

Naturally it's taking longer than expected...

I've done quite a bit of painting, including the two doors in New Haven #292 Warm Orange. But I still have one hole to fill, and I will need help installing the supports on the walls.

Once the supports are up, I can do the rest of the benchwork by myself. In the meantime, I've been mocking up some track plans both on a long piece of sheetrock, and on the floor. I've been drawing options using chalk on the carpet. It's easy to clean up, but works well for picturing the options.

In particular I've been looking at the specific placement of the helixes (helices?) and how they will connect to the rest of the layout. This has actually been a very good process, because I realized that I had missed a very important change that I'll need to make. It will affect the Stanley Works section of the layout, which will have to be less accurate than it already was going to be, but it will also allow me to extend the Stanley Works complex on the model.

Check out the additions in the freight operations section as well. I've finally picked up a freight schedule close to my era (1955) and there were a few important revelations. It's entirely possible that the 1951 schedule will be quite different, but for now it's a good starting point.

So, I'm hoping to work on the wall supports over the next few weeks and maybe I'll have something worth showing anybody interested at the New England Proto Meet. I'm sure I won't have trackwork (or not much of it) but it least it will be progress.