On Track, with Deano

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Well folks, a BIG THANK YOU to you guys that chimed in with your ideas, ALL of them were good:thumb: , THANK YOU!

As you now know, i decided to go with Wayne's RR Museum idea:thumb: , to be honest, after MUCH thought, this was the only answer that worked out BEST in my situation.(keep in mind its the 70's) here were some of the reasons i went with the Museum:

1- the IRM is my FAVORITE place to go, why not model a similar place:mrgreen: .
2- GREAT explanation for all my NON-UP engines being on the layout.
3- GREAT explanation for all my steamers, come on, no RR could afford a steam program that has as many steamers as i have, a museum now, thats a different story:winki: .
4- GREAT explanation for my old passenger trains: Pioneer Zephyr, Areotrain, CNW commuter, UP streamliner and UP heavyweight passenger trains.
5- passenger train excursion runs put on by the RR Museum.
6- old engines could be included in UP freight trans as a second or third unit, as if it was on its way to the museum.
7- excellent switching opportunities to switch engines around at the museum.
8- since i am so familiar with the IRM, i think it would be AWESOME to put in a RR Museum but set it up with my own spin on it:thumb: .

well, i could keep going on, but i think you folks got the gist of it:winki: . BOTTOM LINE, the more i thought about it, the clearer it became that this would really be the BEST idea, considering all the stuff i have:thumb: .

UP will STILL be the top dog on my layout, my theme hasn't changed ANY, the layout is really about the UP in Southern WI, the Rock Valley Sub, only now, there will be a neat museum to add that will bring some variety to it all.

NO plans on paper, but its all very clear in my mind:winki: , the RR museum, GERN, United transfer, an auto paint manufacture, and a fabrication shop, all will be served by rail. a yard about the size of UP's Harvard yard in Janesville, and lots of country settings, lets face it, most of the places RR's run is where we cant see them, so i am NOT going to fill the layout with big cities, and lots of towns. double mainline, the inside line for switching, the outside, continuous running with 30r curves, mainly for admiring all my big engines going through country scenery. the track, all on a level flat surface, but with the illusion of grades:winki: .
well, its a dream now, till i move at the end of July and see what room i have to work with:smilie:.

Till next time...Stay on track!
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- Deano
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
Hmmm, if your museum is going to have so many old steamers and diesels, you will need a servicing area for them if they are to run excursions:mrgreen: Maybe a roundhouse styled museum might work, compete with working turntable that can acomidate even the Big boy and the Veranda?
 

Sarge_7

Member
Hmmm, if your museum is going to have so many old steamers and diesels, you will need a servicing area for them if they are to run excursions:mrgreen: Maybe a roundhouse styled museum might work, compete with working turntable that can acomidate even the Big boy and the Veranda?


Now that's what I was thinking:thumb::thumb::twisted:
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
From the Harvard yard...

CNWman, i REALLY LIKE your idea:thumb: , but honestly, a turntable that size would really eat up a lot of space:frowns: , so i will probably not go that route, we'll see what i end up having for room.

Jim, again, a GREAT idea, but i am hoping to do a 24'' wide around the room, it would be hard to do a round house in that space.

*****************************************************
FROM THE HARVARD YARD...
Well, i stopped by the North end of the Harvard yard after work:mrgreen: , it wasn't as eventful as i had hoped though, i just gotta get over there on a Saturday morning.

sorry the pics are kinda dark, i hope you folks can make them out:eek:ops: . no big engines today, a few MP15DC's at the north end, and to my surprise, an MP15AC #1447:eeki: , haven't seen that one there before. just thought i would throw in the CNW autorack, i just love to come across fallen flag cars:thumb: . funny thing about that CNW autorack, its right at home, and has probably been in that yard several times in its life, since the Harvard Yard was originally owned by the CNW.

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- Deano

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UP SD40-2

Senior Member
First shot, inspired by my trip to the Harvard yard today:mrgreen: .

Second pic, the IRM uses trolleys to take you to different points of the museum if you don't feel like walking, i think this bus would be perfect to do the same at the RV RR Museum:thumb: .

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- Deano
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Sarge_7

Member
Deano, just got word from the wife that we may take my boy to the Museum of American Railroads in Dallas nest Saturday. This is home of BigBoy 4018 and Centennial 6913:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::twisted::twisted::twisted: I'll post some pics if you want.
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Jim & Zachary, THANKS!:mrgreen:

Jim, WHOLLY SMOKES!:eeki: , THATS AWESOME!!!:thumb:
YES, PLEASE DO post pics from that trip, i know ANYONE that reads this thread would really want to see them:winki: ...ESSPESSIALLY ME!:mrgreen: .

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- Deano
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steamhead

Active Member
Deano...I was casting a critical eye on your layout.... and find it's as good as anything seen here, or in the nationally recognized MR' mags.....Excellent work..!!! Keep it up..!!! and I'm looking forward to your getting to work on THE ONE in the future..!!! :thumb:

BTW...Whatever happened to the GERN project..? :mrgreen:
 

sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
Maybe a roundhouse styled museum might work, compete with working turntable that can acomidate even the Big boy and the Veranda?

Turn tables large enough for the "Bigboy", were rare indeed. Also, considering the original use of these locos, there were only a couple of places where they needed to be turned.
Yes, this table would take a lot of space. So also would a wye! The big difference is that a wye could be layed "through" the museum displays, and be used for many different equipment moves. This adds to the concept of an operating museum...IRM is a point to point operation. With a wye, the loco would not have to run reverse. On the other hand, a runaround at each end of the P-T-P would make an interesting addition to the museum's operation.
 

jbaakko

Active Member
I remember reading that the reason for a Centipede tender, was so they could jack up the rear wheels, to turn some of the larger engines.
 
I remember reading that the reason for a Centipede tender, was so they could jack up the rear wheels, to turn some of the larger engines.

I had heard that as well...

Hey Deano, you have some really great models! You have so much UP stuff, was wondering if you had the Desert Storm SD40-2 or the "porch potty" SD40-2. I'm not a UP modeler but I have been tempted to get the Desert Storm camo SD40-2- it's just too cool!

Dave
 
Didn't they also jack the front axel on the loco too?

The way I heard it was they'd pull the big boy a little past the table, place angled blocks under the 3rd or 4th axle from the rear of the tender, then back up on the blocks, lifting the rear 3 or 4 axles up off the rails and allowing enough clearance underneathe to spin the table...
 

MadHatter

Charging at full tilt.
Thanks PJ.

You have to give it to these railway men- they really are awake when it comes to such matters.

Does that mean that the large turn table Walthers makes is incorrect?

Imagine doing this lifting the axel thing in HO Scale! :mrgreen:
 

Triplex

Active Member
I know the PRR had to do that when they leased ATSF 2-10-4s in '56, as they were longer than the PRR's own J1 2-10-4s. I didn't know any road had to do that frequently with its own power.
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Deano...I was casting a critical eye on your layout.... and find it's as good as anything seen here, or in the nationally recognized MR' mags.....Excellent work..!!! Keep it up..!!! and I'm looking forward to your getting to work on THE ONE in the future..!!! :thumb:

BTW...Whatever happened to the GERN project..? :mrgreen:
Gus, THANK YOU!!:smilie: , I'll take that as a complement:thumb: . i am curious as to what pics you are judging it by though, i post pics from my dads layout, and pics from my layout on here. dads layout is much larger, and much less complete, do to the size. the last pic i posted on here, with the Big Boy, was from my dads layout.

As far as my GERN goes, just like the rest of my current layout, i have stopped all work on it, till i move:winki: . the GERN, and the RVRRM are going to be the two biggest real estate projects on the NEW layout. the GERN wont be as large as Wayne's:worship: , it will pretty much be the same as i currently have it, but with provisions for hopper loading/unloading, and a tanker loading facility.

MadHatter, puddlejumper, Josh & Triplex, THANKS for the info on the centipedes:thumb: . if i remember right, the turntable in Green river & Cheyenne were the only two on UP's system that could handle the Big Boys without having to do anything but just drive them up on it.

Pete, YOU win the prize:mrgreen: , i plan on doing the Museum with a wye and a runaround track figured into it:thumb: .

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-Deano
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sumpter250

multiscale modelbuilder
Pete, YOU win the prize

The Prize?....The PRIZE ?......The PRIZE !, the PRIZE !, the....OH! Rackafrazzits! I just stepped over the edge of the abyss! BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE
:eek:ops::eek:ops::twisted:
 
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