DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
More SDL39 action on a yard transfer job at Hennepin Overland. We recently kickstarted switching operations using JMRI switch list. So far I am really enjoying this method over car cards. Very slick system!
Time for me to show off!
- Thread starter DakotaLove39
- Start date
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Just finished a modification to my FreeMo module to allow me to use my NCE powercab with it. Most FreeMo groups I can find use Digitrax, and I equipped my module as such. A simple wire harness and Tamiya connector on the track power bus lets me use the module at home and Digitrax elsewhere.
Last edited:
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Really loving the JMRI operations at my club. Jobs have been super fun and intuitive!
Photos from our second official ops night.
Photos from our second official ops night.
IronBeltKen
Lazy Daydreamer
I've been using JMRI switchlists for almost 10 years now, so I [and my guest operators] wouldn't have to carry around, and shuffle thru, thick stacks of car cards. I color-code my switchlists: On manifests I use green text for pick-ups, red text for set-outs; for yard switch lists red means incoming, green means outgoing.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
It's been a while. While I've been working on Nokomis District at the club, I've been pretty fizzled out on model railroading otherwise during the summer. That and tree issues at the cabin pretty much kept me away from running trains for a while.
Soooooo, I decided to run eight locos and 90 cars for fun.
Soooooo, I decided to run eight locos and 90 cars for fun.
Alcomotive
Grandson of an ALCO Builder
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Nokomis District is alive. Full track power established. We have already begun running jobs! 
Actually, it's had a dramatic impact on our ops scheme. One of our main yards used to be slamming busy, and the other fairly dead. We switched the midway point town to take cars from the dead yard, and Nokomis is now worked from the busy yard. This, amazingly, has led to an unexpected balance for both yards, even with Nokomis being hungry as heck for everything it can get. My brainchild wants every covered hopper from here to Chicago and its AWESOME to finally watch it work!
MILW MP15AC'S picking up cars for Nokomis elevators at Hennepin Yard.
The power must run around to the tail to pull into the district.
Baldwin AS-616 #567 builds the next Nokomis train later that evening. Hennepin Yard is fed directly by the rural branchline, giving farmers a direct route to send their grains to market.
MILW 6005 leads a GP35 and GP9 on a 30-car grain train. Most of my grainers are Intermountain or ScaleTrains cars.
MILW Twin Cities Hiawatha behind E7 #18-B and #19-A
SDL39 #585 leads three F7's on an 'I&M' train.
Another big milestone for me personally is that I've completed four ESU Loksound installations this past week. I've been wanting to emulate Milwaukee's Iowa & Minnesota trains which ran North-South between the TC and Iowa back in the day. Usually the power was goofy stuff like SDL39's, GP9's, F7's and GP20's. My SDL now has three ESU-equipped F7 buddies to tool around with. Hopefully with more variety to come.
I mean just look at this crazy lashup. This is the good stuff!
Photo from my friend Greg Smith who shot this from Dayton's Bluff way back when.
Actually, it's had a dramatic impact on our ops scheme. One of our main yards used to be slamming busy, and the other fairly dead. We switched the midway point town to take cars from the dead yard, and Nokomis is now worked from the busy yard. This, amazingly, has led to an unexpected balance for both yards, even with Nokomis being hungry as heck for everything it can get. My brainchild wants every covered hopper from here to Chicago and its AWESOME to finally watch it work!
MILW MP15AC'S picking up cars for Nokomis elevators at Hennepin Yard.
The power must run around to the tail to pull into the district.
Baldwin AS-616 #567 builds the next Nokomis train later that evening. Hennepin Yard is fed directly by the rural branchline, giving farmers a direct route to send their grains to market.
MILW 6005 leads a GP35 and GP9 on a 30-car grain train. Most of my grainers are Intermountain or ScaleTrains cars.
MILW Twin Cities Hiawatha behind E7 #18-B and #19-A
SDL39 #585 leads three F7's on an 'I&M' train.
Another big milestone for me personally is that I've completed four ESU Loksound installations this past week. I've been wanting to emulate Milwaukee's Iowa & Minnesota trains which ran North-South between the TC and Iowa back in the day. Usually the power was goofy stuff like SDL39's, GP9's, F7's and GP20's. My SDL now has three ESU-equipped F7 buddies to tool around with. Hopefully with more variety to come.
I mean just look at this crazy lashup. This is the good stuff!
Photo from my friend Greg Smith who shot this from Dayton's Bluff way back when.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Some photo highlights from yesterday. NP #858, my Bowser RS3, also got a full LokSound & Scale Sound Systems install recently. The result is an RS3 model that sounds friggen awesome and draws a lot of attention.
I've mostly used 858 as a switcher since the sound upgrade, so last night I enlisted it to help me shuffle some log cars between storage and the layout.
The MRR bug bit me hard again (if you can't tell, since I am posting here again!) and that also means GETTING ALL THE PROJECTS OFF THE WORKBENCH. Included in that push is Hennepin Overland X10, a BlueBox rotary snowplow I saved from our "scratch & dent" sales pile. This model was a terribly overweathered GN rotary which I painted black, painted the blade yellow, and custom lettered for our RHS. I also cobbled together a coal tender out of random trucks and a really cheap body. The result is a big but lightweight pair with a lot of dead air inside. It has a 5-pole open frame motor to run the plow blade with a DH126 decoder, but otherwise I hope later on to throw a steam sound decoder at this set and really bring it to life.
Also with us yesterday my friend Greg. He recently worked on his pair of MNS Fairbanks and brought them with to run some ops jobs.
I've mostly used 858 as a switcher since the sound upgrade, so last night I enlisted it to help me shuffle some log cars between storage and the layout.
The MRR bug bit me hard again (if you can't tell, since I am posting here again!) and that also means GETTING ALL THE PROJECTS OFF THE WORKBENCH. Included in that push is Hennepin Overland X10, a BlueBox rotary snowplow I saved from our "scratch & dent" sales pile. This model was a terribly overweathered GN rotary which I painted black, painted the blade yellow, and custom lettered for our RHS. I also cobbled together a coal tender out of random trucks and a really cheap body. The result is a big but lightweight pair with a lot of dead air inside. It has a 5-pole open frame motor to run the plow blade with a DH126 decoder, but otherwise I hope later on to throw a steam sound decoder at this set and really bring it to life.
Also with us yesterday my friend Greg. He recently worked on his pair of MNS Fairbanks and brought them with to run some ops jobs.
Alcomotive
Grandson of an ALCO Builder
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Behind-the-Scenes video of my pet project at the H&O RHS this past year, Nokomis grain district! This thing had me absolutely enthralled and forced me to dive into actual research into the grain industry. I am happy to say the final result is a near-perfect example of "OPERATION", as in switching work, in a layout originally meant for roundy-round show.
I'll try to do some video later on of the jobs we've cooked up for the district. They're just interesting enough to avoid inducing headaches and overall pretty fun. I have ideas for future Ops elements to compliment Nokomis, but we need to get some other parts of the layout world fine-tuned first.
I'll try to do some video later on of the jobs we've cooked up for the district. They're just interesting enough to avoid inducing headaches and overall pretty fun. I have ideas for future Ops elements to compliment Nokomis, but we need to get some other parts of the layout world fine-tuned first.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Runs very well. Nice and smooth.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Thanks KB. That was something I really wanted to do at the North Metro club, but I was never able to implement it. They wanted the fixed cars returned to exactly where they had come from. At the Hennepin Overland, we have a much smaller layout which we're trying to squeeze every available bit of Ops work from, so my idea was graciously accepted. It's not something I hear much about from other modelers.
If bad order cars are found during official Ops sessions, we encourage operators to try and limp the car to the nearest RIP track (usually one in each yard/industrial area) if they feel it's doable, otherwise it's 0-5-0 to my workbench. Bad order cars are noted on the completed switch lists. The car is removed from service in JMRI until I fix it, then I change its status in JMRI and 'move' the car to whichever RIP track I choose. JMRI is set up to vacate whatever is on those tracks, so it will generate a switch list calling for a crew to pick the car up and take it wherever it's needed.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Got a new Little Joe! One of the last from MTH HO as we know it. Sadly it's just as much a lackluster performer as my older one. Between MTH and BLI, I can't get over the hilarity that these so called "premiere" model makers can't help themselves but overcomplicate the electronics.
Atleast, this is my opinion after owning a BLI 261 and these two Joes. Interestingly both Paragon 3 and Proto Sound 3 seem to do a lot of complaining when you want to use them like an actual, large locomotive. I had E-74 out for a 30 minute shakedown run by itself before hooking up to my 30-car grain train. When pulling a train alone, E-74 suffers from an unpredictable stutter, as if the track or wheels are dirty. (They were both recently cleaned). I'm attributing this issue to the DCS board trying to handle more power than it is capable of.
So, since I apparently damaged the sound function of E20 last month (our club layout has no mercy if you short on some switches), I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and give it a plain ol' Digitrax decoder just so I can get a fair interpretation of the motor and gearing of these Little Joes. I have heard the mechanical stuff is very well done, just that Proto Sound 3 seems to completely jam it up with its lame performance.
Atleast, this is my opinion after owning a BLI 261 and these two Joes. Interestingly both Paragon 3 and Proto Sound 3 seem to do a lot of complaining when you want to use them like an actual, large locomotive. I had E-74 out for a 30 minute shakedown run by itself before hooking up to my 30-car grain train. When pulling a train alone, E-74 suffers from an unpredictable stutter, as if the track or wheels are dirty. (They were both recently cleaned). I'm attributing this issue to the DCS board trying to handle more power than it is capable of.
So, since I apparently damaged the sound function of E20 last month (our club layout has no mercy if you short on some switches), I'm going to put my money where my mouth is and give it a plain ol' Digitrax decoder just so I can get a fair interpretation of the motor and gearing of these Little Joes. I have heard the mechanical stuff is very well done, just that Proto Sound 3 seems to completely jam it up with its lame performance.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Speaking of MTH HO Little Joes..
E20, the 'cigar band' scheme one, suffered a derailment and subsequently a significant short on a switch last month, which was strong enough to de-solder two power pickup wires from the trucks, and two other wires within the DCS guts.
I absolutely can't stand DCS anymore as it doesn't allow me to do the things I really want to do with my Little Joes, so E20 has gone under the knife. Last night I completely removed all traces of the original MTH electronics. I stripped the frame all the way down to the original speakers, motor, and the wires for each. I am also leaving the pantograph motors just in case I find a way to put those back to use. I've heard an ESU decoder can work with them just fine (but it remains to be tried).
BEFORE, with original MTH guts:
AFTER removal:
That's quite a massive change, isn't it? There's so much free space left on the frame, which I hope to now line with dead weight. My one complaint has been that the MTH Joes just can't pull a lot. They are heavy, but not heavy enough for 12 axles.
Side note, I also learned that the DCS/Proto-Sound system relied on a sensor bolted to one side of the motor to read RPM's, which DCS was programmed to interpret as scale MPH. Now I understand why it was near impossible for me to speed match anything to E20 no matter what I tried.
Next step will be trials on straight DC for funsies, then with a basic Digitrax decoder to evaluate performace. I've heard a lot of positive remarks about this motor and driveline, but I've never seen any proof that they're good.
E20, the 'cigar band' scheme one, suffered a derailment and subsequently a significant short on a switch last month, which was strong enough to de-solder two power pickup wires from the trucks, and two other wires within the DCS guts.
I absolutely can't stand DCS anymore as it doesn't allow me to do the things I really want to do with my Little Joes, so E20 has gone under the knife. Last night I completely removed all traces of the original MTH electronics. I stripped the frame all the way down to the original speakers, motor, and the wires for each. I am also leaving the pantograph motors just in case I find a way to put those back to use. I've heard an ESU decoder can work with them just fine (but it remains to be tried).
BEFORE, with original MTH guts:
AFTER removal:
That's quite a massive change, isn't it? There's so much free space left on the frame, which I hope to now line with dead weight. My one complaint has been that the MTH Joes just can't pull a lot. They are heavy, but not heavy enough for 12 axles.
Side note, I also learned that the DCS/Proto-Sound system relied on a sensor bolted to one side of the motor to read RPM's, which DCS was programmed to interpret as scale MPH. Now I understand why it was near impossible for me to speed match anything to E20 no matter what I tried.
Next step will be trials on straight DC for funsies, then with a basic Digitrax decoder to evaluate performace. I've heard a lot of positive remarks about this motor and driveline, but I've never seen any proof that they're good.
KriegslokBR52
Well-Known Member
I absolutely love the Milwaukee electrified route (was born too late to see operations...and on different continent
) and those "Little Joes" are some of my favorite electric locomotives. Coincidentally wasn't the real E20 also involved in major derailment, that caused also major rebuild with modified F unit cabs? I would just put a decoder in, no sounds and slap in as much weight as possible without wearing out the mechanism...apply the KISS principle.
) and those "Little Joes" are some of my favorite electric locomotives. Coincidentally wasn't the real E20 also involved in major derailment, that caused also major rebuild with modified F unit cabs? I would just put a decoder in, no sounds and slap in as much weight as possible without wearing out the mechanism...apply the KISS principle.
Alcomotive
Grandson of an ALCO Builder
Do you have a video of it running? How is the lighting and marker lights etc....?
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Headlights and amber beacon only, no other lighting from the factory.
DakotaLove39
Always Improvising
Long and busy summer! Between the warm weather and the Hennepin Overland layout being shut down, I didn't touch trains at all.
I got a pair of brass Boxcab models. Fun stuff! These are a Nickel Plate run from 1975. The motors are unhappy and the drive gear is bone dry, so this will be an interesting project to convert to DCC.
I did try to get ESU into my Little Joe, #E20, however I couldn't get the decoder and motherboard to fit appropriately. I have instead ordered in an ESU LokSound PNP type, meant to be a direct fit for Athearn RTR models, to try out. It's much more flat in profile and I think will fit in the Joe just fine.
I'm also busy turning a Kato model into MILW 572 as it was a Minnesota local. And beyond this, I have my hands in so many projects again, I can't even list all of them right now.
I got a pair of brass Boxcab models. Fun stuff! These are a Nickel Plate run from 1975. The motors are unhappy and the drive gear is bone dry, so this will be an interesting project to convert to DCC.
I did try to get ESU into my Little Joe, #E20, however I couldn't get the decoder and motherboard to fit appropriately. I have instead ordered in an ESU LokSound PNP type, meant to be a direct fit for Athearn RTR models, to try out. It's much more flat in profile and I think will fit in the Joe just fine.
I'm also busy turning a Kato model into MILW 572 as it was a Minnesota local. And beyond this, I have my hands in so many projects again, I can't even list all of them right now.
