Eastern Tn logging on the DG CC & W RR 1928

Doctor G

Well-Known Member
I have an audio recording of logging locomotives, but I can't find it, I'd like to use that as a sound track. My last computer had a shay whistle as a start up sound , that is the last time I remember using that CD. I havn't found it with my computer CDs, my audio CDs, nor have I found it in the RR room. Tom did I get you one to?? I know I was thinking about it but I don't know if I did.


Hey Bill,

Yes, you were very generous (still are) and you gave me that CD (a second copy?). Now with this move to town I will too have to hunt around to find it. I think it is with my CD's.

See you at the club.

Tom
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
found it!

I found my green frog productions Shay sounds CD!


I have been doing some work on some of my Hon3 locomotives, and have two of them running satisfactorily for the first time ever. These are an outside frame Australian 2-6-2T, and an outside frame 0-4-4T Forney. I have to get a coupler on the 2-6-2T, and re-solder a point on the switch where the narrow gauge diverges from the standard gauge between Ridgemont Tn. and State Line Ga, before I can see how well they pull the hill up to Gegoukayoosa. it looks like they might run well enough together to double head them.


I have replaced the window unit, that cools my attic RR, so it is possible to go up there in the heat of the day now, as long as I turn on the AC unit well in advance of going up there to work.

I have been poking at the Southern staging yard on my lowest level, trying to make it pehave, I found a feed wirew with a broken solder joint, and a point rail on a Walthers cone 83 Y switch, that sometimes doesnt line up right @ the pivot between the pointand the rail leading to the frog/ I'm going tp try to patch it, as I have torn up and replaced the flex track and comercial switches I used down there to same time so many time I'm beginning to wish I had bit the bullet and handlaid it to start with.

Once I get the staging yard working, it will be time to run track cleaning trains from top to bottom, and try to get tis thing operable. then, it will be time to fix my Tab system.

Bill Nelson
 

ytter_man

Member
You've got a list going there heh. I'd love to see the australian 2-6-2, they had some really neat locos.

I'm glad i built in the basement, it's nice and cool in summer and warm in the winter.

edit: somehow when i use the term au ssie (without space) it turns into aussie

Who's been playing with the wordfilters? sign1
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
SML Puffing  Billy.jpg Some work done.

I got that troublesome Walther's switch modified so the inside route is troublefree. something is going on on the inside route, but it is much more subtle; just one out of every ten or so random cars derails. Time to get out there with the optivisor, some bright lights and do some more careful study.

I got some power concerns squared away with the outside and inside southern Railway staging tracks, that problem was a broken solder joint on a feeder wire. I have some issues with the center track, but that appears to be an odd power routing issue, and changing the position of the gaps might fix that.

Up between Ridemont Tn. and State Line Ga. I got the point soldered on the switch which diverts the narrow gauge from the dual gauge. the Forney runs through it fine, the Puffing Billy still has some shorting issues that looks like the pesky trailing truck again, but it is running better than it ever has. here is a picture of the Pugging Billy, I'ts origin has been cleverly disguised bu adding a cabbage stack. it needs some paint work and a coupler now that it runs. the biggest consideration is should it be a State Line Railroad locomotive or a Marrietta and North Georgia locomotive (The M & N G @ Stateline is dual gauge).


fooling around up in the State Line area, I tried to run a locomotive onto the dual gauge turntable, but had no power on the turntable bridge. all the tracks leading to and from the bridge have power. I'll need to get a stool so I can get close enough to do some trouble shooting to see what is going on. I have a scratchbuilt dual gauge deck glued onto an atlas turntable, making use of it's indexing I'm hoping it is another broken solder joint, as if it is internal to the turntable it will be a wollybugger to fix.

Bill Nelson
 
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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
SML turntable w electrical  problems.jpg SML Southern  staging.jpg SML 4levels.jpg almost cute.

It is cute compared to the 0-4-4 outside frame forney that it will probably work with if I can get all of thier issues sorted out. they are both happy on the narrow gauge track but have occasional problems with the dual gauge .


After some extensive testing I went to put it away via the dual gauge turntable and found that my dual gauge turntable has no power to the rails. I got power to the turntable's leads, and I have continuity between the rails on the stock turntable, and the dual gauge deck I have scratch built on top of it, so the internal contacts between the base and the deck of the turntable are bad.

This is bad, as the track overlaps the base, so removal of the turntable for repairs will cause me to have to tear up trackand roadbed. most of the leads are flextrack, but the dual gauge approach , with it's draw to center the narrow gauge tracks between the . Also I have only had one of these apart, they aren't made to come apart, and are the very devil to get back together.

as a temporary fix, I can run jumper wires directly to the rails, but then I won't be ab;e to make a complete turn. this won't be a problem with the standard gauge engines, as this is geared locomotive territory, and I always run mine nose uphill to keep water on the crown sheet.

Four levels down I worked on tome track and electrical issues on my southern staging yard. the electrical problems were due to poor design of the gaps needed with power routing switches. I got all three tracks of the first section working well with the main Southern interchange locomotive, a very fine Proto 2000 USRA 0-8-0. This work though did expose a deficiency in this extroardinarily nice locomotive. I use under the tie magnents for magnetic uncoupling, and have them set in place to use the delay feture of the K-D couplers, where the couplers are pulled off center over the magenent, allowing you to push the cut of cars from that location without re coupling. the proto 2000 magnetic couplers do not have this feature, and thus need to be replaced.

Here is a picture of the defective dual gauge turntable (I'll have to try shootind some contact cleaner under the deck and praying for a miricle, before I tear it out ).

there is also a photo of the Southern interchange engine down in the southern staging yard; and a from the ceiling view showing Ridgemont, Montgomery frunace, the log camp @ Murray , and the Southern staging below that. Gegoukayoosa, on the narrow gauge is one level up.


The navigation seems to have changed, making it hard to find the logging/minning/industrial section Have we offended in some way?


Bill Nelson
 
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Doctor G

Well-Known Member
Hey Bill,

That "nose bleed" view of four levels of trackage can cause vertigo. Pretty impressive.
Doc Tom:cry:
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Due to the curve of the layout @ the southeastern (actual, not as represented in the model world) corner of the layout, you can see all four levels there. Unfortunately the only curve under Gegokayoosa Is away from the aisle, so I haven't been able to get a photo that shows five levels.


Have been doing some garage archeology, after moving out the G scale inventory. I found four bottles of home made beer dated 1992. That stuff was drinkable after two weeks, and hit it's peak @ about two months. It doesn't have an expiration date specified, but I'm sure it was a long long time ago.

I'm going to try to pack some fat plywood, my circular and jig saw, as well as a drill with a screw bit to the train club tonight, and try to see if I can make progress toward the roadbed for the sawmill area.


Bill
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
@the SL turntable.jpg @ the State line turntable

It was ugly but I was able to cut the center out of a couple of the ties on the added dual gauge turntable deck to get at the center screw. these screws have a tiny allen head that strips out. Either this was the one I've been in before, or that experience taught me to use a dremil to cut a straight screwdriver slot in the screw before I added the deck. Pulling on the deck I was able to screw it off the base, and so I did not have to disturb the track (thanks be to God!)

there are little spring loaded plungers that make contact with the contact plate on the base, and those plungers aren't soldered to the rail they just touch them. I cleaned up the contact points and reassembled the turntable with some dielectric grease behind and in the plungers, to help conductivity, and to hold the plungers in their hole against gravity during assembly.

back in the background of the photo is the Iron Mountain Ambulance, so anyone injured up on the mountain can be quickly and comfortably (right) evacuated to Dr. Gravestone's office down in the Berghausen-Shoemaker Lumber Co.'s Company store/office building down in Crooked Creek.

mission accomplished the dual gauge turntable is working again!


I did some investigating on the Puffing Billy's odd short crossing dual gauge switches. Operating the locomotive with a pair of 3X optivisor, made it obvious, the lead truck screw was just a tad low, and touched the rails in a dual gauge switch causing a short. with the optivisor on the spark was an obvious give away.

That locomotive's only remaining problem is occasionaly dropping its trailing truck on the ties when going backwards. I've got to get a standards gauge to it to insure it's gauged correctly, and if it is it will have to get a music wire spring ti try to help it keep centered.

Here is a picture of it with it's uglier sister the 0-4-4 Forney. in the background is #18 a PFM shay. It's there for repairs. It has a NWSL gear reduction in it, and I stripped out the set screw on the motor shaft. Years ago I glued the gear on and that worked for 6 or 7 years, but it is slipping again, so I'm trying to decide if I should rig it again, or buy another gear from NWSL and fix it right. need to do something, as it is a real hoss, and is missed when it is not available for duty on the Mountain.

Bill Nelson
 
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Sawdust

Member
Hey Bill, I like the Iron Mountain Ambulance. I don't think I would want to be sent to Dr. Gravestone's office though. :eek: Does he moonlight as a stone mason out back of the office? You guy's are great with your ficticious names.
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Dr. Gravestone is not fictitious . Grabinstien is German for Gravestone. And thus I translated and appropriated that name for the company doctor, as a tribute of sorts (we won't say what sort). I was also in the habit of referring to the area that the C&S inhabited as Gravestone County Tn . That seemed to escape notice, except from Dr. Tom, who I'm sure made the reference, but did not comment on it.

The Ambulance is a on-track white metal kit built around an NWSL flea drive. It runs well, but at higer speeds it will throw itself violently off the tracks.

Bill Nelson


Bill Nelson
 

steamhead

Active Member
You might try placing some weight on the floor or the underside of that ambulance to keep it on the tracks. After all, it won't do to have patients scattered all over the TN countryside....:mrgreen:
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
ambulance#1.jpg SML ambulance#2.jpg SML ambulance  underside.jpg Gus,

There is no floor! this is an on track kit, cast out of white metal, so there is some weight. The flea drive takes up the whole bottom of the ambulance.

I assembled the thing by gluing the castings , minus the floor, directly to to the flea drive. I glued a piece of brass tubing that an axle would just fit into under the nose, and then ran an axle through it and installed the wheels. it has some phosphor bronze wipers that center the wheels. it does OK, you just have to keep the speed down especially in reverse.

You want to be careful in the camps, the mines and @ the reloads-Nobody wants to take that ride down the mountain, and in any case there is a slow order in effect for the entire mountain division.

Bill Nelson
 
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Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Drive it fast , backwards, over the stub switch on the Cave Cove bridge, and it will certainly be your last ride.

Bill
 

Mountain Man

Active Member
I try to avoid ambulances that travel backwards at any speed. I already know where I was and, given that I would be in an ambulance, that it wasn't a good experience! :mrgreen:
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
NWSL Flea Drive

They still make them, you can get wheels and axles in various gauges and sixes, they also make an auxiliary axle, so you can power and extra axle for two axle drive if you need it, check out their website. they have always made good stuff.

Bill Nelson
 

Bill Nelson

Well-Known Member
Ideas

I can't believe you did that..!!! Where do you guys come up with these ideas..?? Great work..!!! :thumb:


I'm in my early fifties. I built my first ho layout with real scenery when I was eleven. My dad used to bring home model railroad magazines when he went of business trips , which he did often. I was studying those before I could read.

I won't claim a single original idea, although I may have used DPDT switches as ground throws before I saw anyone else's use of them documented (I was struggling through ways to make my stub switches more reliable). I have simply been paying attention to model trains for so long, I have seen a lot of stuff,

Sometimes I'm combining bits and pieces of stuff I have learned to do things differently, most of the time this is just stuff I have seen someone somehere do, and I keep hacking at it untill I can make it work.

Bill Nelson
 
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