It's a little hard to see (it's N scale after all) but the little S2 tandem made it out of the yard in splendid manner. Lots of room for 20 cars+ on the Spur 4 run around track. The job went well until the very end, when the job crew (me) discovered the yard crew (me again) hosed them by fudging up the Goodyear inbound raw materials blocking. Oh well. Live and learn. Out with 20. Back with 18. Very satisfying to see it all work as well as it did. Now for the real test: Find some guest operators to give it a run.
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Steve - Congratulations on another successful ops test!
How many operators will be able to run with the current configuration?Comment
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Right now three would be the max. Double ending Brittain allows for a trim switcher job at the East end - A light duty position and would probably be staffed by me. The primary Brittain switch job at the West end and a combined Spur 4, inbound / outbound road job would make up the other two positions. The latter position would alternate between Spur 4 and road jobs to keep the yard in balance and provide inbound cars for the Spur 4 industry.
A retired B&O man lives just a few blocks from me and says he's more than willing to give it a run. Next week perhaps.
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The test ops session mentioned above went very well. Another person who had never operated on an N scale layout before and now believes it's not only possible, it can work pretty darn well.
The need for an active staging yard can no longer be ignored. To get something up quickly I salvaged some 1x3s and 1/2" plywood from some deconstructed sections and built a connector between the hole in the wall and the staging apparatus, which is now being used in it's fifth configuration IIRC.
I also learned that one of the central North Carolina ops guys who moved away years ago now lives in NE Ohio. We've made contact and I'll get him up to see the layout soon. Should be fun.Comment
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Uh Oh. Someone made off with the West end of Brittain Yard. Call the AC&Y police.
When I built this section I used a combo of Blue Point and home-built switch machines. Now that I've given Brittain a pretty fair work out it's become apparent the home-builts are not going to stand the test of time. Since it's MUCH easier to make this kind of modification at the workbench I sucked it up and pulled the section. At 20 minutes from starting the wire disconnects to clamping the section to the work table I'd say the "plan to move" mantra paid off. Try doing THAT with L-girder benchwork. 😁
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No kidding, Steve!Originally posted by Steve H AC&Y View Post
You certainly proved that piece of advice.
I missed your previous post. Glad to hear the ops session went well.
Are those Wago lever-lock connectors I see? I love those things.Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch, March 1978
Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!Comment
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Last edited by Steve H AC&Y; 05-24-2022, 03:28 PM.Comment
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That yard is very well done. It looks like a working yard for sure! -
Thank you guys. I've not done ballast work in over 20 years but it came out fine. The static grass application technique is nothing you can't find on several dozen or so UTube videos. Kind of fun to try some things I'd been thinking about and seeing how they worked out.
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Nice!
That's the kind of yard I enjoy...
The Little Rock Line Blog
Rule #1 of model railroading.
It's probably responsible for the greatest number of shoddy layouts because no one feels compelled to improve themselves. Meh, good enough...Comment
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Very good representation of a backwater yard!
JoeComment
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Looks great, Steve, and good on you for not falling into the trap I see too often: yards are not a place for junk to collect. Old brake shoes, a busted knuckle or two, and the occasional bad air hose, yes. But the car inspectors want clear walkways.
The ballast looks just great!
The one suggestion I might make is to add some small piles of traction sand here and there where switch crews opened the valve to gain traction on wet or icy rail. Pretty common site in flat switching yards.Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch, March 1978
Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!Comment
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I wish I had a photo, Warren. The sander pipe outlets on a locomotive are a few inches above the rail, so excess sand does fall in and out of the gauge. It's a fine, whitish sand typically uniform in hue.
And it can be problematic too. There is one power switch at King Street Station which regularly used to get filled with traction sand, preventing the dispatcher from being able to get correspondence at that switch when needed. We'd then have to go dig out the sand between the points so the switch could line and lock, and then DS could line a route over it. -
Here's a video I found of the sand being applied. https://youtu.be/hOPaWGzjXOk
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I agree with Allen. The grass makes your yard more appealing. Great job.Comment
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Thank you fellas.
The yard is not really intended to look like a back water operation. What I'm shooting for is the "deeper you go, the deeper it gets" kind of look, as in deeper into the yard the deeper the grass. Up to a point of course. Here's a photo of the ladder. The grass height diminishes to nothing the closer you get to the ladder. I'm still working on this part of the yard. There will be a little bit of foliage but not much.
To Paul's point about car inspectors walking the yard: The tan colored spaces between the tracks are intended to represent those paths. Same for the space between the ladder and the main. The brakeman needs a clear walking path as he/she moves between the switches when classifying cars. I think the main is too close to the ladder to model this space correctly but I'll see what can be done.
The entirety of Brittain Yard is built on sandy soil, hence the underlayer of color on the hillside. Both the main and the yard lead rise slightly out of the yard, just as on the prototype. Photos from the early 60's show these tracks just about covered with what I believe is traction sand. The plan will be to represent that on the model. Traction sand is spread in the ladder too but I don't want to add any more grit to the turnout point area so I'm planning to use chalks or pan pastels to add a sandy highlight to the ladder. The blackish color at the points is meant to represent the grease (? - I'm not nor ever have been a professional railroader so I'm guessing here, based on observation alone) used to keep the manual mechanisms fluid.
Lots to do yet but so far I'm pleased with the results.Comment
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The yard ladder and transitions look great. I really like the way you dropped the height of the grass/weeds! As to debris, it is fairly common for most of it to be picked up and tossed away from the yard, on the grass towards the back of your scene. The hard part will be bits of paper representing switch lists and such. I have yet to figure out a good way to do those in N.
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Yep, chalks or Pan Pastel is what I'd use too, Steve.
You have every reason to be pleased with the results!
Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch, March 1978
Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!Comment
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Funny you should mention the itty bitty bits of paper. I have been thinking about just that. I was going to try white wrapping tissue cut to size (itty bitty). I'll hold them in place with a dilute matte medium solution. Has any one tried that method?Originally posted by Alan B View Post
A related question: Where is the most likely place you would see discarded paper in a yard? A/D tracks? Ladder? Everywhere?Comment
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Steve,
Really liking how your Brittain yard is coming together!
I "archived" (stole?) this picture from a collection of Elgin, Joliet, & Eastern pictures that really showed some of the points other have made about details.
Please keep sharing your progress on your railroad. It's coming together nicely!
Tim Moran Akron, OHComment
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Beautiful reference photo, especially showing the walking path for the yardmen. Also confirms I do not have enough room to do it justice, just as I thought. The miniature AC&Y yard crew will have to be a bit more nimble than their prototype counterparts.
Another thing I've been thinking about, and the photo shows it perfectly, is spillage within the yard body. I added a little while ballasting the second half of the yard but went easy with it. Easy to over do it. Good examples in the photo. Thanks for sharing.
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I'm thinking the yard lead. I know I have seen some strewn around the hump lead at Balmer Yard.Originally posted by Steve H AC&Y View Post
Southern Railway Slate Fork Branch, March 1978
Old magazines can still be fresh sources of hobby information!Comment
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