New Layout - Updated 6/4/06

Layout

LOOKING GOOD:thumb:
ARe you layering the foam or just one level? I was wondering I need to glue some together wasnt sure if it would work?
But keep going and you can always take a structure kit with you tomorrow, wouldnt be the first time for me doing that..
:D
Have fun TONY
 
Operational Question

I am planning on having a Diesel Fueling facility located on the layout. The question is, How is the fuel served to the facility? Does it come in via rail or on the backs of 18 wheelers? I have no idea as to the capacity of a modern diesel loco's fuel tank.

Any thoughts?
 
Fuel

Hey Chris,
Hmmm, Most fuel tankers you see on the hwy are around 7,500 gals.
Your average loco takes between 3,000 to Ithink 6,000 gals the facilites Ive been to and worked in usauly had a siding near by and had I think they are called 100,000 tower tanks set up as a fuel dump. most rail roads had dedicated cars just for picking up fuel from the terminals and bringing them back to the service depot. Things might have changed buy now havent worked in a yard in quiet sometime.
Hope this helped
Tony
 
Tony,

I just looked back through this thread and realized I did not answer your question from a previous post.

Yes, in some spots, I will be layering the foam. The main layer is 4" higher than the foam surface you see in the pics. In the area where the mine is going to be, I have installed risers, to which I will be attaching thin plywood and another layer of 1" foam. On the rest, I will be just layering 1" pieces on top of each other to achieve the 4" rise.

I can't remember, but in one of my sponsor laden posts, the type of glue I am using is listed. It works great for foam to plywood. I have also been using the cheapo latex adheasive caulk in abundance as well. I use the white to attach the roadbed to the foam, and I found some clear (it goes on white, but clears up) that I am attaching the track to the roadbed.

Thanks for the answer on the fuel. I guessed that it would be more efficient to come in bulk via rail than by truck.

BTW, are most modelers current or ex-railroad folk? It seems like a really fine job.
 
employment?

Hey Chris,
I wish I worked for the railroads directly, but no not at this time. I'm a truck and heavy equipment mechanic and spend a lot of time at the rail facilities fixing there support equipment.
Tony
 
pennman said:
Hey chris, it Sat morning and I just happen to be surfing the web and found this photo. it kind of blows everything out of the water but i guess when you need it you need it.
TONY

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=143741
Click to expand...

When U.P. first took over the S.P. they had a crew shortage as well as the rest of the problems that virtually shut down the system for a time. They regularly had locomotives running out of fuel while idling at various passing sidings all over the railroad. They usually found out about the problem only after dispatching a crew to pick up the train. Result was the crews were paid for unproductive time, so were not available to move trains that had fuel, and they had to get fuel to those trains and mechanics to get them restarted. When a diesel runs out of fuel, you don't just fill the tank and start it up!
 
So, I guess that both kinds of fueling are available to the railroad; keeping large quantities in store at the fueling facility and keeping a few truck on hand for emergencies as well. I think I'll cover my bases and go with both.
 
91rioja said:
So, I guess that both kinds of fueling are available to the railroad; keeping large quantities in store at the fueling facility and keeping a few truck on hand for emergencies as well. I think I'll cover my bases and go with both.
Click to expand...

Almost. I don't think the railroad keeps a fleet of tank trucks standing by for emergencies. There are petroleum dealers all over the country that will do on site fueling. Most small to medium sized truck fleets use them instead of keeping fuel tank & pump on site. I suspect that a railroad needing a train refueled out away from their regular fueling facility would just call one of these dealers to come fuel the train.
 
Actually, I'll bet any decent size engine terminal does keep a fuel truck available for emergencies. As someone who has operated a fuel farm at a non-airline airport, emergencies do happen - a lot more often than you think. The planes that land away at an emergency field with no facilites - we called a dealer just as Russ suggested. But all too often something would go wrong with the fuel farm infrastructure, the fuel pits, or the fittings wouldn't fit a particular airplane. And that's why we kept a fuel truck (actually 2 for the 2 types of fuel) at the field.

I've read of prototype operations using tank cars on elevated or raised track with a gravity feed hose to the locomotive. This would be a pretty efficient setup, plus gets around a lot of the very expensive environmental rules for fixed tanks and pressure distribution systems.

my thoughts, your choices
 
Terraforming has begun - Update 08/13/2006

Well, another weekend draws to a close. It was a pretty decent wekend here in NC; It rained on Saturday, so I got to take the obligatory trip to my LHS :D . I needed some more turnouts and some more ground throws. They had turnouts, but didn't have the ground throws I was looking for :curse: . I picked up my turnouts and a few trestles (not sure where they are going to go yet).

Sunday was supposed to be clear, and there was a looming honey doo list (cleaning windows that I didn't do in the spring, I have 27 on the house). The wife slept in, and I got to add some foam to the layout to start the second level. I am adding it in the area of the coal mine, and will hopefully connect that section to the 3% grade down to the staging level this week. Still have a bunch more drops to put in, and would you believe it, I have not even hooked up the Zephyr yet?????????? Maybe in a couple of weeks and I'll have something hooked up to run anything (at this point, I'll take anything).

Another weekend, and I got train stuff and honey doo stuff accomplished. It was a good weekend. Too dark in the room to take pictures; I have some later.
 
Update 08/20/2006

Hey again.

Wow what a wild weekend this was. I was planning on not doing anything this weekend because I was going to play golf with my dad in a father/son tournament at Pinehurst. All those plans busted when I had to take my wife to the hospital on Thursday (she is fine now, and back home, only overnight thank goodness). So needless to say I didn't get to play golf; but I did get some railroad time. I got most of the second level put up, and a bunch more drops run, but still, no running trains :curse: :curse: . Maybe I can have some power to the track later this week. Some pics for you.
 

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I think it KICKS MUCH A**, keep up the good work. Your layout is an inspiration to me. I have been banging my head against the screen for the last month and a half trying to come up with a track plan. I am trying to fit as much in to the space I have as I can. And until now, a second level never occurred to me. When I think second level, I think of a whole separate layout on top of the first which is not an option for me. I really like the way yours looks, I might have to try something like that. How do you plan to get the trains to the second deck? A gradual grade?
 
New Layout

If you are interested in operations, go DCC. There's so much more that you can do with it. Multiple trains, directional and speed control. I just wish it had been invented 40 years ago. If however; you only want to watch one train go around and around, DC will suffice.
 
Mr Plow:

The third dimension was the hardest part for me to think in. I thought about my layout in the same way as well; the second level had to be a completely different scene. But, it does not have to be. I used staging on the lower level, and placed it where it would be most workable.

My grade is 2.5% on one side and 3% on the other. It is only 4" between levels, which leaves much to be desired, but for the space I have, it works. And don't feel bad, I spent months on this plan, and it changes a little more every day.

BTW, you must be a big Simpsons fan. . .
 
Chris
looking good! I love that mine!....You know the two things that really strike me when I see pics of your layout are: 1) the daylight streaming in and 2) the quaility and solid feel of your workmanship and how it really "fits" and becomes part of the room's construction. My layout is in the basement and I really need to address the lighting issue before I get too far along with the scenery...seeing the lighting in your trainroom brought that to my attention.........Be patient, those trains will be running before you know it.
 
Steve, thanks for the kind words.

Sometimes you just get stuck with what you get, in my case, the lighting and the design. I have one small light fixture in the ceiling, and that big window; that's it. I get to work during the daylight hours, and I guess when it becomes winter, I'll have to figure out how to light the room so I can work.

Here in central NC, it is rare to have a basement in a house (its kinda flat, and cost prohibitive to dig a big hole just for a house), but I would kill to have a large basement to call my own; heck, my wife won't even let me have a barn or a shed.
 
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