Alcanman

Looks like the 'bomb cyclone' is heading for Marlborough as CSXT MP15AC #1173 switches Mass Container. Sad to hear of the fatalities caused by the extreme weather in the US. Our condolences go out to the families and friends of those who lost their lives.

Yesterday I weathered my new NS GP38-2 using this photo for reference. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2847378 The trucks and fuel tank were first painted with enamels and then weathered with powders. The loco body was given a gray wash. Quite pleased with the results which are subtle and nicely tone down the shiny, 'out of the box' look of the loco. original 'out of the box'...

Thought you might like this pic. I came across the photo when I was researching Marlborough. CSX local B724 which, of course, is featured on Marlborough, meets P&W power! https://sites.google.com/site/route2expressrailphotos2/p-w-and-csx-meet-on-pan-am-s-worcester-main-in-clinton-ma Mal

I simply rotate cars using a simple sequence. Usually 3 inbound and 3 outbound. There are only 6 car spots so I work with a total of 12 cars.

Looking good. Building a small layout enables trains to be running in a short space of time. If we had 12 inches of snow in the UK, the whole country would come to a standstill !! So far, we've only had a couple of inches of snow here in North East England.

The Hand of God!

The loads are removable. Usually, 2 loaded gons arrive and the loads are removed,the gons becoming empties. When the next loaded gons arrive they are switched with the 2 empties. The sequence is simply repeated, as required.

Steel loads at Marlborough

Happy New Year Joe. I have seen the Traincrew app before but I've never tried to use it.

Love the pics of 'The Slate'. They even have a 'Pikestuff' warehouse! Such a modelable scene, capturing the essence of small US railroading operations.

You simply press and toggle F9 to engage and disengage Drive Hold. I usually press F9 to engage Drive Hold then press the 'Inc fast' button on my NCE Powercab twice. This takes the prime mover revs up to around Notch 3.( Powercab will show speed step 20) Then press F9 again and immediatlely press 'Dec fast' once (Powercab will now show speed step 10) and the loco will pull away at a slow speed and engine revs will have notched down.

The 'Drive Hold' or 'Full Throttle' featured was added to ESU Loksound decoders about a year ago and is now included in factory fitted 'Gold' series models. For those of us with small switching layouts, I find it works well, giving the opportunity to easily increase and decrease prime mover revs as decribed by Prof Klyzlr. I hope to show the feature in my next layout.video.Meantime here is a short demo video from Matt Hermann. And the loco is an Atlas GP38 ... nice!

Just caught up with this thread. Nice work. Look forward to following your progress.

I've now discovered that my CSX GE B23-7, which I've owned for over six months, also has Drive Hold . I do wish Atlas would update their website and instruction manuals. They still show manual notching on F9. However, I'm delighted to now have 2 locos with this feature. Although the GE Dash 7 has a turbo charged prime mover, there is none of 'turbo whine' you get with an EMD.

I can't add to the good advice already offered but Bachmann 66 running problems are well documented here on RMweb. Mainly problems with the bogies. I had one which had to be returned. Others I have purchased are fine runners with no problems. 66050 was commissioned by Lord and Butler and released in 2014. Although your model is effectively brand new it may have been stored for some time and needs lubrication.

My letter to Santa was successful! Yes - Santa brought me an Atlas NS Geep. Although marketed by Atlas as a GP 38, the loco is actually a GP38-2 rebuilt from a GP38. The non turbo charged prime mover sounds great (I find the whine from EMD turbo charged prime movers can be a tad annoying after a while) Although not mentioned in the instuctions leaflet, the ESU Loksound decoder has the 'Drivehold' feature. This adds another dimension to the fun of switching. I love it! http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2847378

Wow? That is some spectacular scenery. Great work. I just noticed the 'Railroad Alaska' TV series is being re-run here in the UK. I must watch again.

Conrail GP40-2 #3358 switching boxcars at Mass Container, Marlborough MA Happy Holidays!

Nice work. Interesting that you are going to model 'late November'. Presumably that means no fall foliage and leafless trees? I once tried some fall foliage but wasn't entirely happy with the results.

Great progress. It's nice that you have the option to extend and include a run around later. I enjoyed the cab ride on a layout of such quality and very much liked the P&W power.

Here is a full length pic of Marlborough. The one storey warehouse at the front right provides a view block. To the right of the warehouse (not in the photo) is an un-scenicked area, about 20 ins long where spare freight cars can be held until they are needed. I usually rotate around a dozen cars. Spare locos are kept undeneath in one of the IKEA drawers. Keeps them dust free. I operate exactly as I did with my Palmetto Spur layout. 3 cars inbound and 3 cars outbound. Simple but fun!

Welcome Joe. It's great to know you've started building your layout. The location looks interesting, I can just imagine P&W power switching the spurs. I'm a big fan of the 3 switch Inglenook track plan. In fact, I've rebuilt Marlborough to the same track arrangement. Look forward to seeing your progress. Mal

Welcome aboard Joe. Here are a few new photos of Marlborough. Mal

My newly weathered covered hoppers are now in service on the Marlborough Branch. GE Dash 7 power working local B724 seen here departing for Framingham Yard.

Got to agree with you! I recently looked at a plan which had 10 turnouts, including a 3-way, 11 spurs and a run around. All in a space of 90ins x 18ins! I've heard of the 'switchman's nightmare' but that would drive insane! These type of plans also seem to get a very posiitive reaction from followers. I just wonder if those who design these layouts ever get round to building and operating them.! Thanks for the kind comments.