Building the Achierton[Ack-her-ton] Southern


E

Exohead

Member
Hello everyone. I haven't been on for a while so I'm here to give an update on just about everything that involves trains and me:eek::cool::eek::cool:.

I know shocking.

Update #1: Updating equipment

I have been working on attempting to get roller-bearing trucks on all of my current equipment, as well as metal wheels. I am also putting HO scale Kadee self-centering "whisker" couplers on everything as well. Almost every unit of my motive power fleet is being painted for Achierton Southern colors, white and they will have a bright orange stripe down the side, bordered with black stripes, and will say "Achierton Southern" down the orange portion of the stripe.

Update #2: Cleaning old equipment

It has come to my attention that a lot of my equipment not only looks weathered on the outside, but is rather old and worn on the inside. I am currently in the process of lubricating and cleaning the insides of all of my engines.

Update #3: Building the actual layout for the Achierton Southern

Using the new Atlas RTS 8.0 freeware, I have designed a suitable track plan for the Achierton Southern Railway, a freelanced railroad that I have designed set in the rather deep south and featuring a small portion of the Appalachian(I'm pretty sure I spelled that right) Trail near the very edge of the layout.

Update #4: Why I haven't been on in so long

I haven't been on in so long for four main reasons.

Reason 1: I have a new girlfriend that I have been spending a lot of time that would normally be used on trains.
Reason 2: I haven't had access to a computer because I screwed mine all up with viruses.
Reason 3: With what little time I have to myself I have been working on getting Updates 1-3 completed, so I haven't had the time to use my computer.
Reason 4: School is back in now so I have to go there every day from 7am-4pm. It's not a lot of fun, but the government says I have to, so I do.

I hope you enjoyed my little explanation:). Bye bye for now!
 
Exohead said:
Hello everyone. I haven't been on for a while so I'm here to give an update on just about everything that involves trains and me:eek::cool::eek::cool:.

I know shocking.
Click to expand...
I know right?

Exohead said:
Update #1: Updating equipment

I have been working on attempting to get roller-bearing trucks on all of my current equipment, as well as metal wheels. I am also putting HO scale Kadee self-centering "whisker" couplers on everything as well. Almost every unit of my motive power fleet is being painted for Achierton Southern colors, white and they will have a bright orange stripe down the side, bordered with black stripes, and will say "Achierton Southern" down the orange portion of the stripe.
Click to expand...
Personally, I would find it annoying if all my units were white, but whatever floats your boat. Make sure you get every detail of that weathering, it's easier to see a crappy job if the loco's a light color.

Exohead said:
Update #2: Cleaning old equipment

It has come to my attention that a lot of my equipment not only looks weathered on the outside, but is rather old and worn on the inside. I am currently in the process of lubricating and cleaning the insides of all of my engines.
Click to expand...
Have fun with that ;)

Exohead said:
Update #3: Building the actual layout for the Achierton Southern

Using the new Atlas RTS 8.0 freeware, I have designed a suitable track plan for the Achierton Southern Railway, a freelanced railroad that I have designed set in the rather deep south and featuring a small portion of the Appalachian(I'm pretty sure I spelled that right) Trail near the very edge of the layout.
Click to expand...
The all-knowing Google doesn't say that's spelled wrong, and neither does FF spellcheck, so I think you have it right.
I'm considering having my layout model that general area, any tips?

Exohead said:
Update #4: Why I haven't been on in so long

I haven't been on in so long for four main reasons.

Reason 1: I have a new girlfriend that I have been spending a lot of time that would normally be used on trains.
Reason 2: I haven't had access to a computer because I screwed mine all up with viruses.
Reason 3: With what little time I have to myself I have been working on getting Updates 1-3 completed, so I haven't had the time to use my computer.
Reason 4: School is back in now so I have to go there every day from 7am-4pm. It's not a lot of fun, but the government says I have to, so I do.
Click to expand...
No comment on the girls.
Viruses... I had a comp trashed by those once. McAfee did nothing to stop them, and in fact does more to annoy me than it does to stop viruses. WHY did I ever install that stupid program...
There is never an excuse! 11th commandment! "Thou shalt use thy internet every day." :D
Midterms yet? :eek: Had mine today. :mad:

Exohead said:
I hope you enjoyed my little explanation:). Bye bye for now!
Click to expand...
Bye bye!

...

Five.
 
I would just say, as I've been on it before, that the Appalachian Trail is pretty easy going. Don't go scimpy on the rocks, just don't go crazy on it. If you want some comedy in your layout, do what I did when I hiked it, and put some rocks in and then put a guy that laying face down on the ground. I stepped on an un-sound rock and fell flat on my face. It hurt me more than it did the environment... unfortunately.

The only tip that I could come up with other than the rocks is that the trees are all blazed different colors for the different paths. I would make some forks in there here and there and show some colors indicating a different path.
 
I hiked the AP for about 200 miles ten years ago. It was a tough haul. Some of the trail was so full of rocks, it was hard not to fall. The worst part was in the little corner New Jersey the trail passed through. Really badly maintained, garbage piled up everywhere, and we spent an entire night with a bear attacking our camp. :eek:
 
UP2CSX said:
I hiked the AP for about 200 miles ten years ago. It was a tough haul. Some of the trail was so full of rocks, it was hard not to fall. The worst part was in the little corner New Jersey the trail passed through. Really badly maintained, garbage piled up everywhere, and we spent an entire night with a bear attacking our camp. :eek:
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Like they say...
New Jersey is a terrible state :D
No offense to anyone living in New Jersey. But seriously, Massachusetts is definitely the best state ;)
 
UP2CSX said:
For what? I understand the health care plan, state budget, and total taxes are all pretty bad. Boston's an interesting city to visit though. :)
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Because it's fun to laugh at our inefficiencies.
And out-of-towners. I love how they complain about how cold it is (winter) or how hot it is (summer).
Plus, we have some cool trains.
 
Wolf, I left California because it was no longer to fun to laugh at our inefficiencies, especially when I was helping to foot the bill. Massachusetts is heading toward the same kind of bankruptcy at a rapid pace. If you don't have to pay the taxes and put up with the bureaucracy, I guess it won't bother you. But you do still have some cool trains. :)
 
Nothing new on the layout yet. Just finished my track plan. It's not much, but I gave myself some wiring challenges I'm sure. I sorta intended too, but I sort not-intended too. I have to of the 30-degree crossings on the layout, and both are connected to eachother. I plan to use DCC on it.

I'll put up an "in-a-nutshell" post here in a second.
 
Exohead said:
Nothing new on the layout yet. Just finished my track plan. It's not much, but I gave myself some wiring challenges I'm sure. I sorta intended too, but I sort not-intended too. I have to of the 30-degree crossings on the layout, and both are connected to eachother. I plan to use DCC on it.

I'll put up an "in-a-nutshell" post here in a second.
Click to expand...

...
And a second counts as... what? 10 hours? :D


I gave myself some construction headaches on my layout plan, too. I have a loop-to-loop plan, with a single-track mainline (though it does appear to be double-track at one point). I also had to add a duckunder for access into one of the loops, and some hidden staging inside a hill that, if all goes as planned, will end up being removable.
It's part of the fun to have challenges. If your layout isn't challenging in some way, it's not going to be as fun as it could be.
 
So true. Yeah. School had a two-hour delay and I posted that and then got busy trying to type something else that I completely forgot to do it. I'll put it up at some point. I'll get to it when I get to it! Lol. Okay. Done talking to read myself talking. lol.
 
Most every state North of the Mason-Dixon Line is nothing more than a socialist heaven. That's why I moved back to Dixie. I lift my leg on the Yankees like the dog that I am, LOL.

Ben Butler was from Massachusetts. A thoroughly evil individual and war criminal. But y'all DO have some cool trains. :p

The most cool trains y'all had were in Pennsylvania though, and I guess Maine 2-footers were OK. B&O was below the MDL, so it doesn't count as a Northern RR.
 
B&O ran into Pennsylvania and there was some in New York. The farthest in to New York that I think they got was right up to the Staten Island transfer, but if they went farther it doesn't surprise me. I have to say that the coolest railroad of all time was the White Pass & Yukon RR in Alaska.
 
Yeah, the B&O ran all over Ohio, so I'd say they were a Yankee road, especially since most of their original trackage was incorporated into the Federal Government railroad lines during the late unpleasantness between the states. :) The N&W was a lot more of a Southern road than the B&O
 
Mosby tore the B&O a new rear end :) When he didn't, McNeill's men did. Together, CS Rangers wrote the manual on irregular warfare, especially in the wrecking of rail transportation.

The B&O was indeed a Federal railroad during the War for Southern Independence. No Confederate railroads then in the War exist today.
 
UP2CSX said:
Yeah, the B&O ran all over Ohio, so I'd say they were a Yankee road, especially since most of their original trackage was incorporated into the Federal Government railroad lines during the late unpleasantness between the states. :) The N&W was a lot more of a Southern road than the B&O
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I'd say the B&O was a Yankee road especially because it's Baltimore Yard kept getting ransacked and burned by the Confederates.
 
DaWolf85 said:
I'd say the B&O was a Yankee road especially because it's Baltimore Yard kept getting ransacked and burned by the Confederates.
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Yeah...Harry Gilmor's Calvary. Baltimore was the New York of the Confederacy and not real Union friendly.

Senator Camden (for whom Camden Yards are named) of Maryland gave us much of the West Virginia railroading which we know and love.
 
I layed down my track this weekend. It's a completely different track plan now, and I never wrote it down. I used Camper Seal tape from Lowe's for my roadbed. I bought a 30' roll of it for $7. 3/16" thick, just right!
 
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