Running Bear's Coffee Shop XLIX
- Thread starter Bill Tidler Jr.
- Start date
BigE
Active Member
I also found this commentary:
Avon -- Meijer. You are on the north side of the tracks, viewing from the southeast corner of the parking lot, away from the store building. There is a huge open grassy area west of Raceway Road on the south side, but it may be CSX property. If you see something interesting, stay right along the edge of Raceway long enough to take your photos and you should be fine, as this area is far enough away from active yard operations that you shouldn’t attract any unwelcome attention from security forces. Mile marker QS 9 is visible from the Meijer lot.
Raceway Road has a NAG/NARL underpass of the tracks.
Avon -- Bridgeport Road. This location is provided for background info only, as it is NARL. Head east on US-36/Rockville Road to a right on Bridgeport Road. This is at the east end of CP MY – the interlocking limits are nearly a mile long! Here, the connections to the former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Crawfordsville Branch (which goes overhead about 3/4 mile east of here) diverge to the north and south. The north connection is used by trains headed to Lafayette and Chicago (only one pair of manifest freights use this routing, along with a local that services the Steel Dynamics mini-mill at Pittsboro, IN), but the south leg is occasionally used as an alternative routing for eastbounds out of Indy as this line rejoins the St. Louis Line main at CP IJ just west of downtown Indy.
It’s a rather nasty, narrow, low NAG underpass that is treed in all the way around and basically worthless for photos.
BigE
Active Member
Interesting post from my land surveyor's forum about rail road layout. A real rail road - not modelled.
One of the guys has been asked for a proposal but hasn't done any rail road layout work.
It's an interesting cross-over between 2 worlds of mine.
Very few of my surveyor buddies have done rail work except for locating easements and rights-of-way - myself included.
As a former surveyor I have done tons of road layout work and lots of curb and gutter layout. Doing curbs for a parking lot, for example, we do stake out the center radius points for the form builders. Those are never more than about 10-20'. For big road a center radius point might be couples away which is of course not really usable for a builder nor practical for a surveyor to stake out. Rail roads can often have WAY bigger sweeping curves putting their radius point as much as 5 miles away. I imagine lines that carried the 4-8-8-4 Big Boys, Challenger series and DDA40X would have such big sweeping curves. I suppose the SD70 model and new might fall in that as well.
Anyway, back to modelling tie-in with this: One of the respondents is mentioning banking. How many, if any, ever account for any banking on their curves? I have seen a lot of you all's video and I don't see any. I suppose using anything but hand-laid track and home-made roadbed wouldn't really be feasible. You might could bank flex-track but certainly not sectional. I haven't noticed anyone's layouts with banked curves.
A reply the other day to my post about putting wires on utility poles suggested that in HO the wire would be so small as to not really be seen. I would suggest a small black thread certainly would be visible and nearly to scale.
So how about banking?
I'm not talking about like at the Daytona or Talladega NASCAR tracks!
E.
One of the guys has been asked for a proposal but hasn't done any rail road layout work.
It's an interesting cross-over between 2 worlds of mine.
Very few of my surveyor buddies have done rail work except for locating easements and rights-of-way - myself included.
As a former surveyor I have done tons of road layout work and lots of curb and gutter layout. Doing curbs for a parking lot, for example, we do stake out the center radius points for the form builders. Those are never more than about 10-20'. For big road a center radius point might be couples away which is of course not really usable for a builder nor practical for a surveyor to stake out. Rail roads can often have WAY bigger sweeping curves putting their radius point as much as 5 miles away. I imagine lines that carried the 4-8-8-4 Big Boys, Challenger series and DDA40X would have such big sweeping curves. I suppose the SD70 model and new might fall in that as well.
Anyway, back to modelling tie-in with this: One of the respondents is mentioning banking. How many, if any, ever account for any banking on their curves? I have seen a lot of you all's video and I don't see any. I suppose using anything but hand-laid track and home-made roadbed wouldn't really be feasible. You might could bank flex-track but certainly not sectional. I haven't noticed anyone's layouts with banked curves.
A reply the other day to my post about putting wires on utility poles suggested that in HO the wire would be so small as to not really be seen. I would suggest a small black thread certainly would be visible and nearly to scale.
So how about banking?
I'm not talking about like at the Daytona or Talladega NASCAR tracks!
E.
BigE
Active Member
Eric, I don't superelevate the curves on my layout, it tends to cause problems with my larger equipment.
On our club layout, there is superelevation, in some spots to the extreme. If you want to superelevate your curves, probably no more than the thickness of a credit card would be all you need for the visual effect. The credit card would probably scale out to several inches.
On our club layout, there is superelevation, in some spots to the extreme. If you want to superelevate your curves, probably no more than the thickness of a credit card would be all you need for the visual effect. The credit card would probably scale out to several inches.
BigE
Active Member
Yeah, that's not much. My Amex card is 0.0315" thick in HO that comes to 2.74"
If my trig is correct that would be 2.7764°.
Even 2 CC's gives 5.5°
logandsawman
Well-Known Member
Good morning,
It is 23 degrees this morning and we are bracing for a gradual warmup to 60 by the middle of next week.
Nothing much new around here, I got a little steamer from ebay last week and got it running, going to paint it and use it to move log cars around on the logging spur.
It is 23 degrees this morning and we are bracing for a gradual warmup to 60 by the middle of next week.
Nothing much new around here, I got a little steamer from ebay last week and got it running, going to paint it and use it to move log cars around on the logging spur.
GarryCBQ
Well-Known Member
As some have commented, the news about the likely cause of the plane crash in the French Alps is disturbing.
Bill T - Thanks for the coffee.
Montanan - I like the photo of the GN switcher.
Big E - ... On my current layout, I tried banking curves, and I gave up on the idea because I had too many derailments on the curve. ... Speaking of curves, it is best if there is a transition from the tangent track to where the curve is at its minimum radius. This is much better than abruptly moving from tangent to minimum radius which could cause derailments.
Bill T - Thanks for the coffee.
Montanan - I like the photo of the GN switcher.
Big E - ... On my current layout, I tried banking curves, and I gave up on the idea because I had too many derailments on the curve. ... Speaking of curves, it is best if there is a transition from the tangent track to where the curve is at its minimum radius. This is much better than abruptly moving from tangent to minimum radius which could cause derailments.
montanan
Whiskey Merchant
All of the curves on my main line are super elevated and One curve at the top of a 2 percent grade I thought was going to be a problem. The only derailment I had was with my video camera on a flat car that had sprung trucks. After the camera rolling down a hillside and wiping out a herd of cattle, I managed to get the camera balanced and through the curve. The camera wasn't too heavy, but with the sprung trucks, over it went. I found out that all of my flats had sprung trucks.
Garry is right about the transition into a curve. Some of mine are hand laid and some are flex track, but with a 32 in minimum radius it's hard to notice the transition, but as the radius gets smaller, the transition will be a lot more helpful and possibly help in reducing any derailments.
Garry is right about the transition into a curve. Some of mine are hand laid and some are flex track, but with a 32 in minimum radius it's hard to notice the transition, but as the radius gets smaller, the transition will be a lot more helpful and possibly help in reducing any derailments.
BigE
Active Member
What happened to everyone?
You all go back to sleep?
I posted this earlier and waiting for some feedback.... alas.... all quiet as a church mouse everywhere.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/...367-lighting-power-supply&p=384320#post384320
To lighten up the day (no pun intended), my neighbor across the street, CJ who met "our" CJ last weekend comes over a few times a day. He's just as bored as me. He's a former Marine so we talk a lot about stuff. The other we were talking about school today versus when I went to school. I'm old enough to be his Dad so things are definitely different. We are becoming pretty good friends these days.
He was telling me about a psych class he had in high and the teacher posed the question about he difference between a sociopath and a psychopath.
The answer is :
"A sociopath comes into the room and shoots everyone in sight.
The psychopath does it in a bunny-suit."
Golly mercy!!! I busted out in raucous laughter!
Gees.... just another boring day already. Doesn't help I got up around 0400. Been up and down to and fro to the train room several times already but haven't done anything except open the windows. Maybe I really will clean the track today.
Necessary evil I now. Kind of like cleaning toilets - you just have to break down and do it at some point.
E.
You all go back to sleep?
I posted this earlier and waiting for some feedback.... alas.... all quiet as a church mouse everywhere.
http://www.modelrailroadforums.com/...367-lighting-power-supply&p=384320#post384320
To lighten up the day (no pun intended), my neighbor across the street, CJ who met "our" CJ last weekend comes over a few times a day. He's just as bored as me. He's a former Marine so we talk a lot about stuff. The other we were talking about school today versus when I went to school. I'm old enough to be his Dad so things are definitely different. We are becoming pretty good friends these days.
He was telling me about a psych class he had in high and the teacher posed the question about he difference between a sociopath and a psychopath.
The answer is :
"A sociopath comes into the room and shoots everyone in sight.
The psychopath does it in a bunny-suit."
Golly mercy!!! I busted out in raucous laughter!
Gees.... just another boring day already. Doesn't help I got up around 0400. Been up and down to and fro to the train room several times already but haven't done anything except open the windows. Maybe I really will clean the track today.
Necessary evil I now. Kind of like cleaning toilets - you just have to break down and do it at some point.
E.
Hey Guys, just to correct what's being said in the press--the reason we have two people in the cockpit during a BR break is not in case a pilot flips out...its in case the remaining pilot becomes incapacitated. I was a little surprised to learn that most European airlines didn't have the same procedure we have in the US. I'm 99% sure they will now. The press will probably put pressure on the faa and get the general public all twisted to have us have psych exams during our flight physicals and have a tube up our wazoo. People are quick to forget several things when it come to pilots-- we are people and we put our pants on one leg at a time just like you; this means we have to take BR breaks. Second, these incidents are EXTREMELY rare. This is the 3rd I can think of involving pilot suicide: Egypt Air, silk Air, and now this one--all foreign carriers. That is out of the millions of flights flown during that almost 20 year time period. Is that ok? Of course not, but you've got to consider the rarity of these events in the course of millions of flights operated when you think of enacting knee jerk reactions like new regs up to including cockpit cameras, all of which would not stop these types of incidents.
Lastly, we all don't make $500k a year, work 2 days a month, drive ferraris, and date supermodels, and sleep with our coworkers on layovers.
Just sayin...
BigE
Active Member
I hear ya BigB. I have known several big airline pilots and they were all ex-military and their heads were screwed on straight (far as I know). None of them came close to $500k a year, and worked WAY more than 2 days month, no Ferraris or supermodels or affairs with co-workers. I think you might painting with a too broad of a brush with that commentary.
The last full-time pilot I met was a USN Cmdr. F-18 instructor pilot. We met at a space shuttle launch and drank all day together. Quite the character off-base but 100% business otherwise. He offered to get me up for some seat time in a Hornet but we never worked it out. I'm sure he's long retired by now.
But I agree suicide by pilot is nearly un-heard of - especially with souls on board. You mentioned 3 but the only ones I ever heard were private pilots in their own smaller planes.
Like you said... just sayin....
Well "painting with a broad brush" is exactly what the media in the US does, and as a highly trained, professional pilot I for one am sick of having my profession called into question. The press and the politicians and these absolute idiots like Mary Schiavno come out of the woodwork to profess knowledge about things they no nothing about. This all translates into a nervous, anxious public and that generates ridiculous questions and nervous jokes on flights.
BigE
Active Member
Well... since no one has anything to say, guess I'll go nap out for a while. Got nothing else to do.
Track is all clean finally. Cleaning toilets is easier I think.
I did run a 2-engine consist with about 19 cars and all seems to be ok except for 2 cars I think may need a little weight. Then again, if I put them at the back of the field they might be ok. There was a few gondolas with some scrap copper in them.
E.
Track is all clean finally. Cleaning toilets is easier I think.
I did run a 2-engine consist with about 19 cars and all seems to be ok except for 2 cars I think may need a little weight. Then again, if I put them at the back of the field they might be ok. There was a few gondolas with some scrap copper in them.
E.
logandsawman
Well-Known Member
I think Big E took a nap.
