The Diesel Servicing Facility and Shops at Preston Miller - Operations - Mixed Trains

 

The area around the roundhouse and turntable is about 85% finished.  It is still lacking a lot of little details and figures but it is time to move on.  As the mood strikes me, I will add details as I go forward a little bit at time.

Just to left, or west, of the roundhouse is the "new" diesel servicing and shop facility.  The two structures were kit bashed while I was recovering from my first knee replacement.  Three kits from Pikestuff make up the complex.  The pad is styrene concrete and the stalls have pits modified for use with code 70 rail.  The complex, built at my desk, sits on its own base.  The toggle switches along the fascia are on/off switches various sections of track within the complex (The noise from 7-10 sound equipped locomotives can be a bit much).

The three Southern units are sitting on the inspection track.  The stores department is located behind, to the left, of the covered pit. Two tracks run into the shop building with one track extending all the way through the building and out the far side.  The inspections/stores building and shop are separated by a office/admin building.  The fuel and sand tracks will be in the left foreground where the narrow pad of concrete extends off to the left.  Two tracks run into the shop; one extends all the way through the building.  The Preston Miller Yard lead runs behind the shop building.

Ballast for the engine facility and yard is a mix of 2 parts Highball cinders, 1 part Arizona Rock GN/SP Gray and 1 part Arizona Yard Mix  Still some work to be done including servicing details, figures, etc. ground cover and some static grass but the scene is approaching the 80% point that will allow to me to move on.

 

Operations -  Developing a Freight Car Fleet

 

Alert... Before going any further, I want to warn you that I can't believe I went through all of this to come up with the information for some software data files or to fill out a couple of hundred 4 destination Micro Mark two sided waybills.  If you are not interested, to the degree that I am in operations, you may want to skip down to the section on mixed train service.

 

Backdating the railroad has meant changes to the freight car fleet and operating scheme. 

 

As some of you already know, I use Caroute Version 6 for windows from Decapod Systems for generating switch list on the Madisonville Sub.  The Caroute system is basically an automated version of the 4 destination waybill and car card system offered by Micro Mark.  But, instead of carrying around and sorting a bundle of car cards, Caroute generates a switch list. I went over the Caroute program in some detail in the August 27, 2020 Post.  A link to it can be found in the Blog Archives on the right.

 

Regardless of the system you use, I think there are a number of logical steps one should take before creating the 1975 era data files for Caroute or creating a stack of Micro Mark car cards and waybills. 

 

I started by preparing a 1975 era schematic illustrating my route structure.  The sections highlighted in gray are represented by staging.  

 

 

Another chart was then prepared illustrating extended connections.

 

 

Towns & Industries

 

Next, I did  a internet search and came up with a list of the largest industries located in or near each of my towns.  While I know that some of the industries listed weren't around in 1975, including the GM assembly plant in Bowling Green (1981), they were included anyway.  

 

Here is the list for Bowling Green.  I made a list for each of my towns.  After reviewing the lists, I choose the industries I had space for and highlighted them in yellow.  Existing space on the layout (spurs) and car type were the major criteria for picking the industries.

 

 

 

Rolling Stock

After I decided to back date, it was pretty obvious that some changes had to be made in the freight car mix.  The first thing I did, was remove about 40 cars.  These included cars that were two modern or didn't logically fit in.  Unfortunately, those included my fleet of orange Red Caboose and Intermountain Railway Tropicana 57' reefers I had accumulated over time and significant expense.  The Tropicana reefers went into a storage box along with a few of my other favorite cars.  Since I have no interest in "collecting" locomotive or rolling stock, the rest are being sold off. 

So, how many freight cars do I need?  To answer that question, keeping in mind that I don't want the layout crowded to capacity or looking like a museum, I developed the following chart.  The quantities are just estimates and due to the limitations of the Caroute software, most but not all cars will take 4 "operating sessions" to complete a routing cycle.  Additional cars can be added to represent overhead traffic (Car not originating or terminating on the Madisonville Sub.).

 

 

Now...  All of this seems like a lot of work to this point, but I kind of enjoyed the process.  And, there is bit more.  I inventoried my rolling stock and assigned it to an industry.  Every box should be  filled so I am short a few cars.

.

 

And finally, since all of my cars are routed or received from off line points, a rolling stock interchange chart was created along with all the information needed to create the Caroute data files or the Micro Mark 4 destination waybill.

All of these charts were created with Excel so it is easy to go back into the spread sheet to add new cars or make changes.

Mixed Train Service

A post or two ago I mentioned the addition of mixed train service to the Madisonville Sub.  To that end, I added a old AMM combine to the roster (still on my work desk undergoing modification) and a new Bachmann combine that I found left over from my store inventory.  While I plan to add some grabs and weathering to the Bachmann combine in the near future, I decided to press it into service now on the Sparta mixed.  The daily Sparta Mixed originates in Madisonville (staging) and runs through Bowling Green to Sparta (staging) and returns to Madisonville.

Led by Central of Georgia GP-7 #130, the short mixed is about to cross the Cumberland River near State Line.

 

A few miles south (railroad east) the old heavyweight combine has come to a rest in front of the small Westmoreland passenger shelter.

And finally, we catch the mixed passing by the company houses and MOW yard just outside Tunnel 2.

 

As always, feel free to email me your comments or suggestions at

sdepolo@outlook.com

 

Progress to Date - 18 months in Review

The Madisonville Sub layout and blog, as they exist today, were started in November of 2019.  For those of you who have been around since the beginning or joined in along the way and for those who are new to the blog, I thought I would use this posting to briefly review progress to date.  There are 40 plus easy to acesss posting at www.madisonvillesub.blogspot.com that cover the subject matter in detail. There are posts on lcomotives, rolling stock, weathering, scenery, operations, signalling, structures and more.  They are listed in the Blog Archive on the right.  In addition, I have cleaned up and increased the font size on all of the earlier posts to make them easier to read.  As always, your comments and suggestions are welcome.  

And finially, if you would like your name to be removed from the blog's email mailing list, please let me know.  And thanks for the over 4.000 individual views to date.

sdepolo@outlook.com

December 11, 2019 - The Beginning

 

Prior to October of 2019, I spent some time thinking about my then current Sn3 layout.  It was about 85% complete and quite frankly it had run it's course and I was board with it.  On the 8th of October 2019 I had my first knee replacement and I spent the following 2 months planning the new layout.  Initially, I thought about doing at contemporary switching layout similar to Lance Mindheim's "Downtown Spur".  But soon after, I decided that I wanted the challenge of building something else; a mushroom style layout.

 

The proto-freelanced plan was originally based upon a regional railroad running from Madisonville, KY on the north end to Chattanooga, TN on the south end.  The overall size of the layout is 27' x 23'  The plan, as originally drawn, can be seen in the December 11, 2019 post.  Here is a up to date plan.

The Mushroom
 

 

Most of January and February of 2020 were spent building bench work

By the beginning of March, pink foam was being installed on the L-Girder bench work.  On the lower level it is three inches thick and dead level.  The back drop is tempered masonite.  The summit, on the upper level of the mushroom is directly above this area (State Line, KY) 

 

The easy to apply backdrops were purchased from Trackside Scenery.  The roadbed is cork.  The bridge here was built using a combination of Walthers kits.  Track and turnouts are Micro Engineering Code 70

 

By early May, track had worked its way up the helix to the summit at Cumberland Gap.  Most of the visible curves on the layout are 36" plus.  The helix has a radius of 30" on a 2.2% grade.  The sub roadbed on the upper level is cabinet grade plywood.  At this point, all the track work is operational except for the upper and lower staging yards. 

 

Tests revealed that 30 car trains with a mix of cars, up to 89' TOF's, went up and down the helix without any problems.  All of the locomotives are equipped with Tsunami2 sound decoders, KA1 or KA2 Current Keepers, and TCS 1740 speakers and enclosures.  The layout uses a NCE wireless Pro System.

The scenery base on the upper level is a combination of pink foam profiles, cardboard lattice work and painters paper.  The painters paper scenery base is quick, inexpensive, gives the area a semi-finished look, and most importantly protects the lower level from falling objects.  By the beginning of July, my grandson and I were holding informal operating sessions.  The northbound train on the upper level is waiting at the end of double track for the southbound headed towards a meet at Cumberland Gap (Summit).

 

Progress slowed during October and November of 2020 following my second knee replacement.  But the completion of the upper and lower staging yards was finished by the end of January 2021.  Then scenery work started in earnest on the lower level.  The railroad was also being backdated from around 1995 (CSX) to 1975 (Southern/Central of Georgia)

 

The river crossing at State Line.  Basic ground cover is paving sand from Home Depot.   Natural materials, static grass, ground foam, and Super Trees from Scenic Express are also used.

 Tunnel 1

Tunnel 2 (Bottom of helix) and Company Houses.  The company houses are from Walthers and the figures are from Woodland Scenics.  The tunnel portal came from CC Crow.

 

The CEMEX plant at Westmoreland.  A combination of kits were used.

 

 

The Village of Westmorland

 

Central Kentucky Grain (Bowling Green)

 

 And most recently, the Roundhouse at Preston Miller Yard (Bowling Green)

 

The Roundhouse - 1975 Era Operations - Motive Power - Locomotive Programing - Signalling

The Roundhouse at Preston Miller

 

Before moving on to another topic, I thought I would include a up to date picture of the roundhouse at Preston Miller.  I started working on the roundhouse during the first week of June.  I started working on the scenery around the 12th of June.  The scene, as of the 5th of July, still isn't complete, but its about 80% done and presentable.  I still need to add figures, a few more vehicles, and other small details.

 

The change to 1975 Era Operations

Originally, I envisioned the MBG&C as a semi independent 1995 era Class III railroad with close ties with the CSX.  Unfortunately, in 1975 that scenario doesn't work very well.  The CSX merger didn't take place until 1986 and the area I model was dominated by the Louisville & Nashville.  In 1975 the L&N, like most major railroads prior to the Stagger Rail Act of 1980, had not really started to abandon or spin off secondary or redundant rail lines to short line or independent operators.  So, where does that leave the MBG&C? 

I have always been a fan of the Central of Georgia.  In fact, it is the only historical society I currently belong to or have donated to in the last 4 or 5 years.  So from both a fan's point of view and a logical point of view, the MBG&C beaome a subsidiary of the Central of Georgia and/or Southern Railway.

The Central of Georgia Railway reached Chattanooga (the Southern end of Madisonville Sub) in 1891 through the purchase of the Chattanooga, Rome & Columbus Railroad.  And, in my version of history, it reached as far north as Bowling Green and then Madisonville, KY prior to the turn of the last century.  In 1963 the Central of Georgia was acquired by the Southern Railway and in 1971 the Central of Georgia Railway was combined with the Georgia & Florida Railroad, the Savannah & Atlanta Railway, and the Wrightsville & Tennnile Railroad to create the Central of Georgia Railroad.  Following the merger, the Central of Georgia from the track side point of view, slowly started to fade into the Southern.  Interestingly enough, even after the Central of Georgia lettering on the side of locomotives was changed to Southern, locomotives still carried "CofG" lettering beneath the cab side numbers well into the Norfolk Southern era.

The 1975 era MBG&C Operating Schematic.  Note that the Madisonville Sub has been extended north, via L&N trackage rights, to a connection with the Penn Central at Evansville, IN.  In all likelihood, in 1975, the Illinois Central and Louisville & Nashville in Madisonville would not have been a friendly connection for the competing Central of Georgia/Southern subsidiary.  In exchange, the L&N has trackage rights over the Madisonville Sub to reach the east end of the L&N's Sparta, TN branch. 

 

Along with the above mentioned changes, I plan to give the railroad a more "rural" feel; somewhere between a branch line and a secondary mainline.  This, again, is consistent with my preferred "laid back" type of operations. 

This SD-9 paint scheme pre-dates the 1971 merger but, on some units, itlasted much longer.  This is a custom painted and detailed Proto 2000 shell mounted on a Walthers Proto chassis.  It is equipped with a Tsunami2, KA1 keep alive and a TCS speaker & enclosure.

Here is a Proto 2000 factory painted SD-9.  The 3 digit number indicates ownership, probably for accounting purposes, by a Southern subsidiary.

 

And in this case, its another Central of Georgia SD-9

The last new locomotives purchased and lettered for the Central of Georgia were 10 EMD SD-35's in 1966.  The 222 is a factory decorated model from Atlas.  It is also equipped with a Tsunami2, KA1 current keeper, and a TCS speaker and enclosure.

Central of Georgia # 130 is a Athearn Genesis factory painted GP-7.  These are extremely difficult to find so I took what I could get and bought a non-sound version off ebay.  I added my standard Tsunami2, TCS KA1 Keep Alive, and TCS speaker & enclosure.  Athearn also made a version lettered for Southern but with CofG sub-lettering under the cab number.  Eventually I hope to find one of these.  Other Southern models have also been done with the CofG sub-lettering.  When it comes to Southern subsidiaries, models are easy to spot.  They normally, but not always, carry a 3 digit number instead of the customary Southern 4 digit number.

 

 

Tsunami CV Settings

 

Several people have sent me questions about my "basic" Tsunami and Tsunami2 programing.  Every one of my locomotives get the following changes before they ever get on the layout.  I also program CV17 and CV18 for the long address.  There is a simple program on the internet for determining these values (http://www.ruppweb.org)

 

The following table list the values for CV67 through CV94 (user loadable speed table).  These values closely match those associated with CV25, value 11 on the original Tsunami and provide a much flatter speed curve at lower speeds.  And the combination of momentum and a flatter speed curve will result in excellent low speed performance and realistic notching of the prime mover.

 

Once I am done with the initial programing, I make some further adjustments on the layout. I usually lower the prime mover volume (CV 131) to around value 100, the bell volume (CV 130) to around value 65, and the whistle volume (CV129) to around value 85.

 

And finally, I program my locomotives to respond as realistically as possible; they seem heavy, real heavy,  and there are no jack rabbit starts or stops possible.  Its not for everyone, it takes a little practice, but I think everyone should give it a try.  Oh, and while I haven't tried it, I think Loksound decoders feature user loadable speed tables.

 

Atlas Searchlight Signals....  At Last!

 

Yep... They finally arrived after over a year.  Atlas announced them in November of 2019, I ordered 12 of them in January of 2020 and they arrived today (July 11)  They are based upon the old BLMA signals and are exquisite.   I now have all the components to install the signal system including the signals, signal control boards, cabling, and block detectors for 7 ABS blocks and one interlocking/CTC section protecting the helix. 

Speaking of block detectors, I found these from Parkdale Hobby on ebay.  They are similar to the ones offered by NCE but include a couple of enhancements; a time delay circuit and a pot for adjusting sensitivity. 

Mixed Train Preview

 

In addition to the Cumberland, #3 and #4 mentioned in the last post, I decided that a mixed operating between Bowling Green and Sparta would make a nice addition to the Madisonville Sub.  

 

Several railroads, originally chartered in Georgia, were required to provide passenger service in order to retain state tax credits.  The Georgia Railroad was one such railroad.  Not wanting to risk the loss of those tax credits, the Georgia Railroad maintained mixed train service until 1983.  Most of the Georgia mixed used old heavyweight coaches or combines. 

 

A Georgia Railroad mixed at Camak, GA circa 1964.  Roger Puta Photograph

A couple of weeks ago, I ran accross an old AHM combine at my local hobby shop.  It was inexpensive, about $10.00 as I recall, so I bought it with the thought of changing out the trucks and couplers and placing it in mixed train service.  It's currently on my desk undergoing the conversion.  In addition, I also discovered a Bachmann heavyweight combine in my stack of left over store inventory.  As a bonus, the Bachmann combine is already lettered for Southern.   I should have them ready for service and photographed for the next post.

As always, your comments and suggestions are always welcome

Email me at sdepolo@outlook.com

Construction Udate #30 - Scenery around the Roundhouse, L&N yard office & service at Plum Springs, KY

The roundhouse scene on the east end of the yard is partially tucked in under the upper level.  As a result, I built up the initial land form on 2 pieces of  removable 1" pink foam using a combination of pink foam profiles and cardboard strips.  This was done on my work desk and then set in place on the layout for the photos.

The pink foam profiles and cardboard strips were then covered with 2 layers of plaster cloth.  Again, the plaster work was done at my desk and then the sections were set back on the layout for the photos.

 The plaster cloth was followed up by a coat of gray/brown latex house paint.

Once the paint dried, a base layer of ground cover was applied (pavers sand) along with a bit of Woodland Scenics blended fine turf.  After the ground cover dried, about 15 minutes outside in the sun, additional detail was added.  The following photo shows the progress from right to left.  The retaining was was made from scrap rail and a piece of stripwood mounted on a piece of styren.  The styrene back will protect the wood from the diluted matte medium used to hold additional scenery materials in place.

The overall scene, back on the layout, with ground cover and some details.  I installed a strip of LED's over the scene in an attempt to cut down some of the shadows from the upper level bench work.  Once the scenery is installed on the upper level, the shadows created from the room lights should disappear. 

Trees are next.  I made up about 60 Super Trees to start.  It took about 8 hours to make these trees spread over 3 days.  Here they are on my work desk ready to install.  I suspect I may need a few more.  Most of the trees will be installed on my work desk.  Then the sections will have be installed permanently in order to fill in the scenery between the sections and finish off the "planting" of trees.

                                      

 I made about 60 trees for this scene.  About 40 were "planted" before the two sections were set in place permanently and then another 20 were added.  But, before I am finished in this area, I suspect I will need to make up another batch...  But, it's looking pretty good.
                                                                                                                                                                             

    

The L&N Yard Office and Diesel Fueling Facility at Plum Springs - A bit of a diversion while the matte medium sets up...                                             

 

I needed a little side project while I waited for the matte medium (ballasting) and a fresh batch of trees to dry.  I rummaged through my stash of kits and came up with a Walthers Diesel Fueling Facility and one of the Atlas assembled Modern Yard Office. I purchased 3 of the yard offices when I found out they were discontinued.  It seemed to me that by combining the two, I could create a yard office and small fueling facility for the L&N near the General Motors assembly  plant in Plum Springs.

 

The fueling facility was assembled and painted the per the instructions.  I came accross the tool box and air compressor in my parts box so they were added next to the pump house.  The tool box and air compressor are from JL Innovative.

 

The yard office was a little more work.  While the yard office is sold as "assembled" the windows and doors can be popped out with a little pressure.  Removing the glass, from the doors and windows is a little more difficult but I still managed to pop most of the glass out without damaging it.  Don't try and remove the roof, its just about impossible.  I looked through my L&N reference material and by the mid 1970's, anything the L&N did paint, was painted a very light gray including the siding, doors, and windows.  So, I painted them all grey.  After about a half an hour, I masked off the sides and painted the metal roof green.

Before:

After:

 Here is the final result.  I still need to spend more time going through my details box.  Not bad for a 1 day project.

 

Mid 70's Operations

The Southern didn't join Amtrak until 1779, so... it seems to me... the Madisonville Sub should have a mixed train or two.  To facilitate mixed train service, two Southern FP-7A's have been added to the roster.  Both are recent Proto 2000 models.  The factory sound equipped units came equipped with LokSound so I bought these without sound.  Tsunami2's, KA1 current keepers and TCS speakers and enclosures have been installed.  

Train #4, the northbound "Cumberland" is the daily mixed between Chattanooga, TN and Evansville, IN.  What little overhead traffic the Madisonville Sub receives comes primarily from the Penn Central at Evansville and is handled by #3 southbound and #4 northbound.

 

 More on 1970's operations in a future post...