WHAT TRAINS DID YOU RUN TODAY?

Got my K-Line Erie F3 back from Gunrunner this weekend.  Hasn't'  run in years.  Thanks John!

@Trestleman1 posted:

Coal train Sunday. My first time trying to add a video. If it's not right just ignore it. I'll say sorry in advance.

Wow! What a trestle!!!

Farmerjohn, While I was watching the video, Owen Fox listened over the phone... It’s a cool flick on a gorgeous home layout. Thank you for this nice scene. Happy Railroading from from your friends in Tennessee and Nashville...

@farmerjohn posted:

I ran my UP Lionel FEF3 with MTH passenger  car in a night scene. Never posted a video  before so I am learning.

Great video, love the night scene..

farmerjohn - Further to Miggy's comment, yeah some other shots of your wonderful layout would be great.  For example, I'd love to see more of your engine house (which appears to include an interior turntable) located in the top right hand corner of your 'night scene' video.   

Ran my Lionel Alco FA with a manifest of Menards cars

Like a sly black  panther emerging from its lair to go on the prowl a sleek bullet nosed Post-war Lionel 746 J class 4-8-4 Northern in its inimitable Norfolk & Western livery glides out of a darkened tunnel  in the Blue Ridge mountains of the Virginia’s.   It’s hauling a consist of mixed freight cars and is headed north to Hagerstown, Maryland.  

Two of my favorites, my MTH CSX 911 with First Responders train and my MTH 4141 with a military train

This evening I ran my Lionel/ MPC Penn Central GP7 with all Lionel Standard O cars.

A Williams Circus train Pulled by a CJB custom Allegheny Valley Railroad GP9.

Completed 1st of 2 road orders in operating session no. 2. After the 9 car tanker arrives in destination town, it backs through a busy area to spot tankers at storage facility.

Edit: Tonight a crew got a yard order for an EB M1a with an 8 car mixed freight and cabin car leaving the West yard for a town 100 miles down the line. After the consist was dropped at the yard, a fresh crew took coal and water, and backed the M1a to couple to another mixed freight for a WB return trip. That completes my operating Session no. 2. 

Thanks for the comments everyone.  Ran a UP mixed freight. On the high line which is above my little town I'm working on.*

@Trestleman1 posted:

Coal train Sunday. My first time trying to add a video. If it's not right just ignore it. I'll say sorry in advance.

Trestleman, nice vid. Sound with headphones on was great! Your trestle is amazing.

Farmerjohn: Your layout is super nice. The lights in the town buildings are a fantastic scene. I see the edge of a bridge in your video. I would like to see that sometime. Great train as well.

A PRR E6 Atlantic with the Broadway Limited passes a NYC beer train headed up by two Alco RS1’s.  It’s rumored the dispatcher gives the beer train clearance over all but the most important passenger trains!

John

@harleyhouse posted:

A Williams Circus train Pulled by a CJB custom Allegheny Valley Railroad GP9.

Hey harleyhouse: Does the dog - whose reflection can be seen in the window pane near the end of your video - enjoy running the trains as much as you do?

After work I ran my Weaver RSD12 C&O with a mixed Manifest of Weaver Boxcars and Lionel Piggybacks.

A complete and all original Lionel 726 Berkshire from 1946 with a working smoke bulb, Baldwin Disc Drivers and big 2426 tender strikes a pose on a curve and then it struts its stuff along the Shenandoah Short Line.  Not bad for a 74 year old.😃

@OKHIKER posted:

A complete and all original Lionel 726 Berkshire from 1946 with a working smoke bulb, Baldwin Disc Drivers and big 2426 tender strikes a pose on a curve and then it struts its stuff along the Shenandoah Short Line.  Not bad for a 74 year old.😃

Very nice run glad you shared it

A mixed freight powered  by Lionel turbine .

Finally got to run my new engine for more than a few minutes. Was running nice and smoking like a champ until the smoke unit burned out. 🤐loop

PH95. You asked about my roundhouse. It does not have a turntable inside but I did incorporate  a neet feature  which I think you'll like.

Sorry I messed that video up. I'll try latter.

This is a better video  of my roundhouse.

Hey Farmerjohn....

The operating doors on your roundhouse are sweet....reminds of a ballet (if there is such a thing in model railroading ) with such smooth motion.

I also LOVE that series of bridges in the background. I'm guessing they were scratch built? Really, really nice.

@farmerjohn posted:

This is a better video  of my roundhouse.

That has got to be the best model RR accessory I have ever seen. WOW!

I'm going to go sit in a dark corner of my basement under my little 4X8 layout and cry now

RSJB18 - I'm right there with you, both with a 4x8 layout and the crying (lol).

All I can say after seeing farmerjohn's accessory in operation is WOW!  Yes fj, I like it very much.

@RSJB18 posted:

That has got to be the best model RR accessory I have ever seen. WOW!

I'm going to go sit in a dark corner of my basement under my little 4X8 layout and cry now

I think you’ll have a lot of company, Bob. Though with only 4x8, it might get a bit crowed under the table I’ve got around 16x18, so I may be able to handle some of the overflow (but I call dibs on the corner with the cushion). You do realize that 4x8 is sort of the minimum size needed for a turntable and all it’s required accoutrements???

@farmerjohn posted:

This is a better video  of my roundhouse.

Command Control doors??? Now you’re just showing off, John That is absolutely magnificent, John... like so many others here, I am in deep envy.

This train has been in a suitcase for 60 years.  Guy got it as a 7 year old in 1950.  He gave it to me as someone who might enjoy it.  After adding a paperclip as a drawbar, and providing a tender, i fired it up and there she goes!  Built in 1948.  They don’t make em like they used to!

Thanks for the comments  everyone.  My roundhouse was built  on a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood.  A friend  Steve Kimble built it in his basement from a Korber kit. We worked on the door design for  a  long time. We finally figured  it out  and each door for now is opened and closed with a switch. Later  on by command. Just haven't  got that far.

A Quick salute to the NW Arkansas Train Show. "Who Was that Masked Man." Hope we get to see a few of today's photos later. He is always giving...

http://sugarcreekrailroadclub....s/mitch-2017show.mp4

http://sugarcreekrailroadclub.com/

"Links to the site for they get the credit, I am ONLY pointing to these videos and I am not claiming in any way that I took them or

@Hannibal-St Joseph RR posted:

This train has been in a suitcase for 60 years.  Guy got it as a 7 year old in 1950.  He gave it to me as someone who might enjoy it.  After adding a paperclip as a drawbar, and providing a tender, i fired it up and there she goes!  Built in 1948.  They don’t make em like they used to!

She's a Keeper!! Thanks for the share. What a find

https://youtu.be/sDVUg8rh4RE

My Lionel JLC N&W Y6b hadn't stretched its legs in awhile, so I got him down to drag the freight around the layout while being pursued by the new Legacy B&M passenger set. The Y6b has an ERR Cruise Commander installed and she runs like a Swiss watch these many years later. Sorry, I forgot to turn on the smoke....

In the background is my "S" loop with a Lionel Legacy first-issue U33c in GN "Big Sky " livery hauling a consist of S-Helper Service cars to pay the bills.

After cleaning the layout today I ran my Weaver RS-3 that I filed down the front and rear pilots so they would clear the rails. The manifest is all Vintage Atlas O and the gondola is a old AHM

Vision Line Run Session today with the new GS-5

Chris, that is some layout -- quite the spot to showcase your superlative engine collection!

I was wondering what you can tell me about that Santa Fe steam engine with the warbonnet tender decorations - haven't seen that one before.

David

@David98, thanks! The Black Bonnet was a collaboration between Pats Trains and Lionel. I was fortunate to snag one. I plan on doing a video on it in the near future and will post in this thread. It is one of the more unique pieces in my collection. Thanks again!

Chris' O-Gauge Layout

@lee drennen posted:

This evening I ran my Lionel/ MPC Penn Central GP7 with all Lionel Standard O cars.

Looks like a good runner, pretty smooth and slow for MPC.  Needs a caboose.

Thanks Joe. I guess I’ll have to custom make a caboose for it. I have a couple Lionel in mine.

After finishing working on the layout I thought I would run my MTH Hudson with a manifest of Lionel Standard O and a couple old AHM Boxcars I custom made

Two iconic Lionel post-war NW-2 Switchers ease on to their respective scenes along side busy trackside workers.  The first is a 6220 Santa Fe from 1949-50 while the other is a colorful 6250 Seaboard circa 1954-55.  In the background of the 6250 photo a Lionel PWC Minuteman  Motorized Unit prepares to haul a battery of missiles to bases ringing the city.

I ran a Santa Fe passenger train on the  high line in a night  time effect.

farmerjohn - Love your video (ie. the night time effect)!  Only thing that would have improved it (for me) would have been to hear the horn and/or bell when the lead A unit started crossing the bridge.  Thanks and keep those videos coming!    

I finally ran some trains last night after finishing up a project over the past month. The track definitely needs cleaning....

@RSJB18 Glad to see you are up and running! Looks great.

Lionel Trains Inc.’s 1994 version of the anniversary set.  Certainly not the same but those yellow and grey Union Pacific FA’s with its all yellow, grey and red pinstriped passenger car consist still looks pretty snazzy circling a layout.

This one is for those of you who are Baltimore Oriole fans.

MTH Proto 3 Maryland Midland diesel hauling Baltimore & Ohio boxcars:

Arnold

Ran another UP freight on my high line.

farmerjohn - Now you're talkin - Letting that horn go just before she crosses the bridge!  Doesn't get any better than that.   

@farmerjohn posted:

Ran another UP freight on my high line.

Thanks for another great share, john. May I add your layout to the list that I can share with my CEO when she shunts my train-play? "Hey Hon, Look at THIS Layout!!"

Elliot Quote: "You can bring your wife next time and show her how bad it could be."

--> Ill Never reach the heights of eagles, and Ill still try my best,"

Another angle from the other night.

OKHIKER, then Lionel complicated things even more by putting a 4 wheel trailing truck on the same engine and numbering it 2035!

I fouled things up so I’ll try again.  Two Lionel legends from 1947 stage a meet while taking a curve on the Shenandoah Short Line.  These two engines represented Lionel’s version of the PRR’s renowned K 4S Pacific.  The 2-6-2 wheel configuration was wrong but no one seemed worried about it at the time.  On the exterior line an O Gauge 675 hauls a short string of passenger cars while on the interior line its brother engine, an 027 Gauge 2025 pulls a short freight.  In the video the 2025 high balls it’s was down a straightaway.  These engines were identical twins except for their cab numbers.  I often wondered if the consumer of 1947 was aware there was no difference in the two engines.  Regardless, the motors in these engines may well have been the finest Lionel ever manufactured.

@farmerjohn posted:

Thanks for the comments everyone.  Ran a UP mixed freight. On the high line which is above my little town I'm working on.*

Love the town night scene, looks great...

@Chris1985 posted:

Vision Line Run Session today with the new GS-5

Wow, what a layout, beautiful trains, thanks for sharing....

Zero, I’m doing my taxes

I ran a whole bunch, I was unboxing things and testing them!

Mighty Milwaukee Road Hiawatha !

Lionel 6-18018 Southern Crescent 🌙 from 1992 with ERR upgrade and 1997 Lionel Virginian Rectifier Freight Set set # 6-11934

Ran a more modern train on my middle level. The reason I have this train is because my wife and I took our two children on a trip in 1997 on Amtrack around the country. Great memories.

@CLIFFORD posted:

Mighty Milwaukee Road Hiawatha !

Beautiful train, love it...

Ran my lionel SP Trainmaster and my 3rd rail SP Rdc for my grandson. He loves it when I have two or more consists running at once.

MTH Proto 3 Long Island B6 steam switcher hauling NY box cars:

Arnold

farmerjohn - Another nice video!  Love those Superliner passenger cars (I have some myself) but don't forget - the correct spelling is Amtrak.

PS: I agree with you - train trips usually produce great memories.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

MTH Proto 3 Long Island B6 steam switcher hauling NY box cars:

Arnold

Good smoker, love those smoking trains..

WM fan, like you, smoke is one of my favorite locomotive features. Most, but not all, of my MTH Railking engines are very good smokers, and I do my best to add the correct amount of smoke fluid at the correct time, so the smoke works well. When a locomotive mysteriously stops smoking, it is always disappointing.

I have never purchased a Lionel Visionline steamer, and may never be able to afford one, but it's amazing smoke (whistle steam, etc.) would be the primary reason for me to splurge for one.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

WM fan, like you, smoke is one of my favorite locomotive features. Most, but not all, of my MTH Railking engines are very good smokers, and I do my best to add the correct amount of smoke fluid at the correct time, so the smoke works well. When a locomotive mysteriously stops smoking, it is always disappointing.

I have never purchased a Lionel Visionline steamer, and may never be able to afford one, but it's amazing smoke (whistle steam, etc.) would be the primary reason for me to splurge for one.

I understand, that goes for me as well. Love your videos, keep them rolling..

A pair of Williams’ Golden Memory series F3 AA’s in their classic post-war B&O livery take the last curve before gliding in to the station at Cumberland, Maryland.  It will be continuing on from there with it’s consist of Williams aluminum B&O passenger cars to Washington DC.

-

Ran the Black Bonnets! Lionel Legacy ATSF 4-8-5 and the MTH Santa Fe F3.

@CLIFFORD posted:

Mighty Milwaukee Road Hiawatha !

Nice looking layout !   The mountains look natural with the backdrop.

UP past and present running at the same time. The lead diesel is my newest engine.

Ran my Weaver RS-3 Yesterday

A train of snowbirds. Seems like the two C628s should be pulling more cars. I ordered a cylindrical hopper yesterday and I’ll be looking for more when I can go to train meets again. I thought that the outdoor Kutztown meet on 3/27 would be too cold, but I might go after all.

A Lionel  New York Central L-3A Mohawk from 1998 strikes a pose shortly before departure. Then it blasts it’s way through the New York countryside with it’s colorful consist of NYC Pacemaker box cars and it’s haunting whistle hooting all the way.  Best Lionel whistle I ever heard.

Ran my Weaver RS-3 with a manifest of All Nations and Vintage Atlas O cars

Here  is my Amtrak train arriving on low level tracks below station

@farmerjohn posted:

Here  is my Amtrak train arriving on low level tracks below station

Super video, love that lower level idea, beautiful video, thanks for sharing.....

@rscott521 posted:

Love that smoking engine..

rscott521 - Regarding your Santa Fe Alco PA ABA consist, would that be two Lionel 'A' units - both powered (6-18952) - and one unpowered 'B' unit (6-18965)?

@PH1975 posted:

rscott521 - Regarding your Santa Fe Alco PA ABA consist, would that be two Lionel 'A' units - both powered (6-18952) - and one unpowered 'B' unit (6-18965)?

That is correct. The unpowered middle unit has the sound. I love the horns on these units. They give out an echo effect.

rscott521 - Yeah, I thought so.  I have the AB consist of that particular Lionel diesel set as well and also love the sound of the multi-chime horn when the horns of both units are blended together.  It's one of my favourite sounding diesel sets!  Great video by the way.  

Last night I ran the East End Local.    this is a local freight that originates in Youngwood Yard.   This train is handled so all work is trailing point switches.   It departs westbound and just past the yard limits switches the Depauw Electric Plant (electrical components).    Then it continues a ways to Scottdale at the bottom of the grade to Connellsville.     At Scottdale, there were 2 pickups at Rogers Overbearing, 2 at the freight station, 1 from the Team Track (public Delivery track on PRR), and one from Superior Oil.    Then there 2 setouts for Rogers, 1 for Cushing Feed, 1 for the Freight Station and 1 for the public delivery track.    

After that the train continued on to Connellsville because there is no room for a run-around at Scottdale.    At Connellsville, the loco was run around the train, the caboose (cabin) set at the rear, and the train started back eastbound.     It passed through Scottdale, and stopped at Alverton.    There it picked up one car from the Freight station and setout one at Havron & Son Elevator, and one at the freight station.

The train continued east and stopped at the west end of Youngwood.    Here it picked up 1 from the freight station and 2 from the Public Delivery Track.    Then it set out 3 at the Public Delivery track and 1 at the Freight station.    then the train continued on into the yard.     The cabin was dropped at the caboose track and the loco run to the engine house.   

I expect tonight, we may classify the incoming cars.

Hey Y'all,

I've had no train time for 2 1/2 weeks.  Yesterday I ran two trains.  My "Project ALCOs" pulled passenger cars.   My 0-4-0 switch engine pulled empty milk cars back to the dairy.  Here's my work-in-progress ALCOs.

And here is my little switcher getting a workout.

Bill

Farmerjohn, Awesome video, great trains running on schedule, Wow. Happy Saturday Everyone...

So, one more attempt at doing a video, Happy Railroading Everyone, enjoy your Saturday...

Larry - Great layout and excellent videos!  Regarding your Santa Fe set, are the engines and passenger cars MTH products or what?

My Legacy Tuscan PRR K4 and PRR Madison passenger cars.

My Williams Bangor & Aroostook

@Lehigh74 posted:

A train of snowbirds. Seems like the two C628s should be pulling more cars. I ordered a cylindrical hopper yesterday and I’ll be looking for more when I can go to train meets again. I thought that the outdoor Kutztown meet on 3/27 would be too cold, but I might go after all.

Very nice, who made the C628s??

@prrjim posted:

Last night I ran the East End Local.    this is a local freight that originates in Youngwood Yard.   This train is handled so all work is trailing point switches.   It departs westbound and just past the yard limits switches the Depauw Electric Plant (electrical components).    Then it continues a ways to Scottdale at the bottom of the grade to Connellsville.     At Scottdale, there were 2 pickups at Rogers Overbearing, 2 at the freight station, 1 from the Team Track (public Delivery track on PRR), and one from Superior Oil.    Then there 2 setouts for Rogers, 1 for Cushing Feed, 1 for the Freight Station and 1 for the public delivery track.    ... .... ...

I expect tonight, we may classify the incoming cars.

This is new to me. In running trains, are you giving real life pick ups and drop offs list of to-do? And what is the Classify the incoming cars, please.? <thank you>

@Ulus Ekerman posted:

Wow, love that mid-train helper, great video, thanks for sharing.

Miggy,

I have written a computer program that generates real switchlists for my cars.    These are based on what types of cars go to what industries, do they have track space etc.    This is similar to the "car-cards" idea you read about in many of the model RR magazines.    To do this stuff,  you need a way to route the cars.    And I find it most fun if the routing is done with a little randomness so I don't always take the easy way out.    All cars are moved by their car type and car number.    Each is taken to the specific industry they are routed to using the train. 

Classify the incoming cars means re-arrange them in the yard based on where they are supposed to go next.    Generally it means putting then together based on what train will take them out of the yard.     I have a "next destination" on my switchlists, so I know how to group the cars for the next time I run trains.

Miggy,

Here is a copy of the switchlist for that train, YCN34.     Youngwood-Connellsville Local.

Hi LeapinLarry,

In your first video posted last Saturday, I noticed how you solved the challenge of having tracks on different levels, but directly above each other, by utilizing a cantilevered rock work.  That is an outstanding solution to an age old problem!  Could you please elaborate on your technique or if it's already posted somewhere point me in the right direction?  My search attempts keep coming up empty!

Thanks in advance.

John

MTH Proto 3 Long Island B6 steam switcher running on DCS hauling Lionel Postwar 2400 series passenger cars:

Another favorite of mine is this MTH Proto 2 Pennsy Turbine. See it here pouring clouds of smoke in my basement: