I know I haven't been around here for a while.
I do have a look every couple of days or so.
Just thought I would check in.
My trains are consuming me. I'm far worse now than I was in the teens.
Kind of funny really. It qas messing with my model trains back then that got me into electronics which after 2 quarters in a community college got me into computer science and mathematics and physics at the university. Now almost 40 years late I've come back around almost full circle. I already got the layout built and fully operational complete with a control panel. Also got some lighting going now.
I decided I needed a simple blinking LED for something which turned into I needed it to alternate red/green. So back into electronics I went and have already built both circuits as prototypes but need some more supplies to come in before I can build the actual circuit boards.
I suppose age, wisdom, experience, lots of higher education and a ton more patience has finally paid off.
About the only thing that has changed is the price tag of a lot of stuff and a good bit of technology. This never was a poor man's hobby and it's not even close to that anymore. Those days of saving up paper-route money for a year to buy a new engine for 10 or 12 dollars are long gone. Today a decent engine without sound you can get for a round $100 but it's going to be lower end. I ordered a middle-of-the-line modern era loco (EMD SD70ACe) complete with lights and full sound, pre-production, limited issue first run for $200. Honestly I would have expected something like that beast to go around $500. The only fear is it won't be able to handle my 18" radius curves which they open boast it "easily handles". That's a serious claim for a 6-axle monster like this one.
Anyway, I'm still around.
Just thought I would drop a line.
E
any pics?
Sure. These aren't current. But you'll get the drift.
I have several youtube videos complete with sound effects as well.
Palmer is named after my Mom.
videos
Good to hear from you Eric,
Glad all is well and you're enjoying
the model trains.
Good to hear from you. That's a pretty serious layout and some fine-looking engines. I hope those symptoms last fall got resolved.
Pretty cool Eric. Looks like fun
> Good to hear from you. That's a pretty serious layout and some fine-looking engines. I hope those symptoms last fall got resolved.
What symptoms?
The racing heart rate? It's still racing.
After all these years of answering no to medical history questions, come to find out tachycardia runs heavy on both my parents lines. It's a helluva thing to be walking around with and never realize it until one day you are completely out of breath and your heart is pounding from just walking up the stairs.
I sort of know what you mean. Recently learned that several of the guys on my mother's side have or had issues with leaking heart valves.
The structures in your layout look pretty sharp. What's that installation called a flood loader? I can't make out what the full-scale version would do.
A flood loader is basically a tower/silo facility that is fed coal from a mine by way of the chute. Coal cars are driven underneath and loaded one after the other in a short amount of time. Usually they are put over a main line track instead of a yard line like mine is so they can drive an entire train roster of empty cars and fill them all up and be on their way.
That makes sense. I think the BNSF has some video of one of these in a TV commercial.
In my home town of Duluth MN they had ore docks for loading bulk iron ore into Great Lakes freighters. Years ago, I was told they had a machine at the docks that would pick up an entire rail car and turn it over so as to dump the ore into the chutes leading to the freighter. Never saw it myself.
> Years ago, I was told they had a machine at the docks that would pick up an entire rail car and turn it over so as to dump the ore into the chutes leading to the freighter. Never saw it myself.
You mean like one of these?:
Pretty cool. The ore dumper must have been very much the same.
Looks like the wheels stay on the track and only the gondola box moves.
> Looks like the wheels stay on the track and only the gondola box moves.
No. Actually, there is a section of track laid trough it. It rotates the entire car and track all together.
What happens to the car couplers while the car is being rotated?
> What happens to the car couplers while the car is being rotated?
That I do not know. I imagine there are some dudes on both ends un-hooking and re-hooking them back up. Dangerous work for sure.
I really don't know how they do it. I've never seen it myself either.
Do a youtube search on "rail car dump loader" and you'll find it.
Heyl & Peller(sp?) bulds them.
E.
Have not got into the train thing, but there is a show in Raleigh May 30-31 at the state fairgrounds. Pretty big thing I'm told. They have a website.
