As bad as yesterday was, today was an excellent day to run trains. Although I'm not able to use a locomotive to pull a train longer then 4 cars around Summit Curve, No7 can easily push a 6 car train up the hill and into the yard with little problem. I used the straight in route through the 3 way switch as an arrival track, to avoid pusing cars through multiple turnouts. Then I broke the train down with No6.and stashed it on the storage tracks. Might be that a dozen hoppers will serve out the coal hauling capacity quite nicely.
Monday, September 26, 2005
1034
Having had time to reflect upon my operations yesterday, I'm filled with operational ideas. The push pull method of operating the coal trains is quite resonable I find, and will make many operations simpler. I propse that all coal drags will run as extras, and get in as many runs as they can in a day, while the only scheduled train will be a once daily mixed, that might perhaps originate in Anns Creek and run up to Port Lavender and return. Freight traffic shouldn;t be heavy; mail, assorted supplies for the mines and the local commissary and of course the return of empty cars to the interchange. The mixed train may also bring in an assorted hopper or two that the coal drags may have been obliged to leave behind due to grade restrictions into Port Lavender. The Port Lavender interchange I have decided isn't actually in the town of Port Lavender. Indeed it is an interchange with the WV&K that is situated on a ridge above the town, with the narrow gauge tracks dropping down the reverse side of the slope into the adjacent valley, thereby accounting for a grade in only one direction on the layout. In reality it should be possible to take more empties into Anns Creek than loads to be brought out.
Switching possiblities are still under considerations in the Port Lavender yard. At this time inbound trains are shoved straight through the 3 way turnout onto the arrival track. This makes it easy for the road engine to cut loose from the train and slip onto the Ready track out of the way. The switcher can then deal with the train. I'm not sure if I want to stash all the cars then attended to the unloading, or simply unload them as they are pulled off the arrival track. Since there are a mixture of hoppers and gondolas, the gondolas being required to be unloaded by hand will naturally take longer to dispose of than the common hopper.In the first case, the switcher would draw two cars at a time and deposit them on the dump track and adjacent storage track. The Dump track can accomodate two cars beyond the laoder and still have room to switch in loads, perhaps two more if they are the last to be dumped. The Storage track can hold 5 cars.
I beleive intially trains coming in on the Arrival track will get sorted into cuts of hoppers and gons, as they are stashed onto the storage tracks, in the meantime a string of empties has been strung together on the departure track (when a few more cars are actually built) for the road engine to remove. Once the outbound empties are gone, the switcher can begin sorting the loads and then dropping them back on the departure track to be picked up the next time in.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
0553
With hoppers basically dealt with, we add another problem to the mix. How to handle the handful of other frieght cars that travel the line. Mainly flats and boxes, and the occasional cargo handled in a coal gon, but I would like to have some tank cars too just to keep things interesting. I've had an interest in the production of oil in the Applachians and would like to show some of this traffic in the operations of the WCNG. Also present at Port Lavnder is a single Interchange track that will eventually be accompanied by a stretch of "dummy" standard gaauge track with some sort of transloading facility between them.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
0618
Weather permitting this weekend I believe I will run some experimental operations with both freight and coal drags. Coal drags will have to run sans a cabin, but that would be not all that improper. In reality all I will be doing is a little switching in the yard. I would like to rehab some track and begin work in the Anns Creek area as well, once again at the pleasure of Mother Nature.Failing that I would retire to The Shop and work on getting the additional cars I have on the bench in there. The place could probably used a good cleaning and sorting so I can find things in there as well.
I really feel like I need to show some sort of progress this week. I'm in a rut that I just can;t seem to get out of. Fall weather is coming on, a fine time to be outdoors playing, and getting the enginehouse off the porch really ought to be a priority, but I just can't seem to get interested in it. The design of the Engine Terminal itself is still in flux, I may have to excavate to make a new place for the enginehouse and fill the TT pit and dig a new more appropriately placed one. I had thought that I might do away with turning facilities alltogether because the Shays really don;t need thm, but now am thinking that there might be a tender locomotive in the future and perhaps even a small railbus that would need to be turned.
I keep returning to the push pull method of moving the coal trains, unusual yet prototypical, but making coal train movements much easier. The road engine can pull on past the collery with a switcher hiding on the cabin track. The switcher can pull loads out onto the siding and placee empties under the tipple then the road locomotive only has to pull forward, couple on, and lean into the train to shove it back up the hill to Port Lavender. No2 would be my intial choice for a Anns Creek shifter, but if heavier trains than she can master would be required, No7 could take the service. I have thought of using both No7 and No9 simoultaneously to double the coal traffic into Port Lavender, particularly if I decide to place a second mine somewhere on th loop beyond the wye.
1039
Weather says sunny for Friday and partly cloudy for the rest of the weekend, of course this is subject to change, so I reckon I need to come up with a plan of action. If its dry enough to excavate Friday morning, I'll move out the border and make room for the enginehouse to be installed and work on associated trackwork. I beleive I will fill the currant turntable pit and procure a new one, placing the engine house so that the locomotives can access it without crossing the TT. Teh TT lead may serve as sort of a service track as well. I may be able to mill some wood for the trim on the enginehouse as well. Saturday I will finish up the door and siding on the engine house, and begin working on the window framing and trim, I may carry on with the conversion of the remaining gons and the construction of the two hoppers remaining while I wait for glue to try as well. I'm not happy If i'm not multitasking!
1228
While at lunch I laid out some track compnents and have decided I will get the excavation for the terminal done on Friday. Tonight I will attempt with some dilligence to get The Shop in some sort of order. I have bits and pieces everywhere in there that I will need to sort out, and I'll make up a shopping list for projects I'd like to get completed in the near future. I figger to get the excavations done on Friday and get the stock for the trim of the engine house milled out. Then work all day on the enginehouse on Saturday. That will leave me with Sunday afternoon to put track in place in the new engine terminal. I will have to make up one more switchstand fot the two turnouts that will be there, but they shout be easily installe don the bench, instead of trying to place them in situ. Will attempt to locate the standpipes I began working on so long ago, with an eye to perhaps a quick and easy finish.
Thursday, Septmber 29, 2005
0534
Got heavy rain this morning, and a lot of lightning. But its supposed to be a lot nicer this afternoon, and the rest of the weekend. We shall see. Replaced the bulbs in The Shop last night so at least I can see in there, but thats about the total extent of what I got accomplished. I'm looking at alternative sources of ballast tonight, hopefully something that comes in a bag at Home Depot. A decent supply would let me clean up the mainlaine between Port Lavender and Anns Creek, and allow me to put Anns Creek Yard back into service. I need to get some small storage containers as well, I have several piles of castings for various things that I made with leftover resin from the On30 hopper casting project. I need to sort these and file them away for later use.
1114
My book on the Uintah Railway arrived today. Funny that the last one I ordered is the first one to get here. The Uintah is quite an inspirational line. Mostly Shays with a few neat rod locos , going up stiff grades and around sharp curves. Trains were limited to 6 cars or so with the use of helpers. I see a lot of the WCNG in the Uintah. I had thought of the use of No7 and No9 in the same train, perhaps I might someday have enough operators to make doubleheading a possibility.
Friday, September 30, 2005
0845
It looks like a possible move is now in the works, and we might be in a place of our own by next spring. Now this makes a difference in a lot of the construction plans that I had. Should I finish the engine terminal just to have to dismantle and move it in a few months? Or should I just concentrate on building more rolling stock in preparation for a Big New WCNG? Many things to contemplate. I think I'll go ahead and clean up Th Shop this morning and see what sort of a mood I'm in after that. Perhaps a little physical exertion will inspire me.
2200
Got the Shop cleaned up and ready to go, Wasn't as bad as I orginally thought, mainly just needed to put away tools and sweep things up. Got another flat car converted to a gon as well.
