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May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 1
FFEEAATTUURREE AARRTTIICCLLEESS Puffing Billy Railway
Visit Australia's Century Old Puffing Billy Railway
Locomotive of the Month - UP 1989
Lots of Tips N' Tricks on Model Railroad Scenery -
Isaac Logan
Model Train Scenery Tip n' Tricks
Lots of Tips N' Tricks on Model Railroad Scenery -
Isaac Logan
Norfolk Southern's West Slope
Lots of Tips N' Tricks on Model Railroad Scenery -
Isaac Logan
Coming next Issue
To celebrate Norfolk Southern's 30 Year
anniversary, TheRailRag Magazine will
be doing a NS 30 Year Special covering
the railroad then, now & the Railroads
that make up NS today.
An Introduction To Trainz Simulator
Learn about Trainz, a computer simulator and 21st
century modelling
Model Train Scenery Tip n' Tricks
Lots of Tips N' Tricks on Model Railroad Scenery -
Isaac Logan
Puffing Billy Railway
Visit Australia's Century Old Puffing Billy Railway
Model Train Scenery Tip n' Tricks
Lots of Tips N' Tricks on Model Railroad Scenery -
Isaac Logan
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 2
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 3
Welcome back, to our 2nd edition of
TheRailRag. Wow! What a great first few
months and first issue!! Take a look at page
8 for information on our views!
Wow, what a busy 3 months since our last
magazine, NS announcing there doing 18
heritage units and Railstream adding 3 new
cameras to its live viewing system, good
work Mike and the team! Over the last 3
months I have done a lot of fiddling with
the magazine, in the way of graphics, colors
and article ideas. We had many great
comments on our first issue and thanks to
those guys but the guys I would like to
thank the most are the guys who also gave
us information on what we can improve on
and what they would like changed. I have
listed some of the things highlighted
All photos need Captions
Writing does not need to be so big
More Model Railroad Content
And more photos
I also picked up on a few things that needed
to be changed they are
Revamped contents page
Getting it out earlier
Add a list of the magazine team
Adding News, Comments & Product
reviews!
All of the above have been implemented
along with the suggestions from our
readers - Thanks guys
Onto this month's magazine! Some great
articles from our contributors again, great
work guys, THANKS A LOT! Along with
some by me on The Puffing Billy Tourist
Railway & Scenery Tips N' Tricks.
Enjoy our latest issue and may all your
Railfaning and modeling adventures be fun!
CYA in August!
Isaac Logan - Executive Editor
The Team
Isaac Logan - Executive Editor
Contact: [email protected]
Ryan Vince - Assistant Editor
Mike Kisser - Railstream Owner & Manager
Contact: [email protected]
Andrea - Editor
Contact: [email protected]
Andrew - News
Contact: [email protected]
For Advertising & Contributing
Contact: [email protected]
Our Team Try our best to reply within 24
hours when were available, if you have any
issue getting in contact with anyone, please
send an email to Isaac Logan - Executive
Editor & it will be sorted out
- Thanks TheRailRag Magazine Team.
LetterFromTheEditor - Isaac Logan
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Put together by - Andrew Tuttle &
Isaac Logan
Back to the good old days with NS Heritage units
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Norfolk & Western &
Southern merger of 1982. NS is going to honour many of the
railroads that make up the present NS system. The locomotives
will be 10 SD70ACes and eight ES44ACs from an upcoming order
for 25 units from GE. The 19 predecessor railroads selected for
heritage paint are: •Central of Georgia •Conrail •Erie • Erie
Lackawanna •Lehigh Valley • New Haven • New York Central
•Nickel Plate Road • Norfolk & Western •Penn Central
•Pennsylvania •Pittsburgh & West Virginia •Reading •Savannah &
Atlanta • Southern • Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia •Virginian
•Wabash.
NS plans to recreate the paint schemes as accurately as possible.
Can't wait to see them riding the rails! - Used With Permission of
NS Corp & NS Media - Drawing also used with permission from NS
& Andrew Fletcher - Thanks NS for letting us use them!
Less Accidents - more deaths - Operation Lifesaver
Operation Lifesaver reported that there was a reduction in highway-
rail grade crossing collisions in 2011 but an increase in fatalities.
There were 1,956 vehicle-train collisions in the U.S. in 2011
compared to 2,017 incidents in 2010; those collisions resulted in 262
deaths and 964 injuries. There were 428 trespass-related pedestrian
deaths last year and 346 trespass injuries
Operation Lifesaver President Helen M. Sramek said states with the
most crossing collisions in 2011 were Texas, Indiana, California,
Louisiana, and Illinois. States with the most pedestrian-train
casualties in 2011 were California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and
New York. - www.oli.org
W&LE Lifesaver Unit 102 - Photo by Richard
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Put together by - Andrew Tuttle &
Isaac Logan
Back to the good old days with NS Heritage units
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Norfolk & Western &
Southern merger of 1982. NS is going to honour many of the
railroads that make up the present NS system. The locomotives
will be 10 SD70ACes and eight ES44ACs from an upcoming order
for 25 units from GE. The 18 predecessor railroads selected for
heritage paint are: •Central of Georgia •Conrail •Erie • Erie
Lackawanna •Lehigh Valley • New Haven • New York Central
•Nickel Plate Road • Norfolk & Western •Penn Central
•Pennsylvania •Pittsburgh & West Virginia •Reading •Savannah &
Atlanta • Southern • Tennessee, Alabama & Georgia •Virginian
•Wabash.
NS plans to recreate the paint schemes as accurately as possible.
Can't wait to see them riding the rails! - Official Drawings are on
NS's Website:
http://www.nscorp.com/nscportal/nscorp/Media/images/herita
ge_images.html -- Source: NS Media
Railstream's Latest Cameras
Due the past 3 months new cameras have gone up in Chesterton, IL,
Berea, Oh and in Australia. Good work by the Railstream team on the
USA cams and me & Brian's team down under! Lots of new action to
be had at railstream.biz today!!
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 8
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 9
Questions & Comments
With TheRailRag Magazine Staff
First issue comments
Dear editor, Thanks for bringing us the RailRag online
magazine to all of us here at Rail Stream. It is an awesome
addition to the website and members area of the site along
with the Fostoria cams -- thanks a bunch Andrew
[Thanks Andrew, it you guys who keep us going. Ed]
Online
I could not stop reading until the end! Very well put together,
it's in my Favourites list. Thank you! - Robert Auran Forums
[Thanks - Enjoy our new issue. ED]
Sensational effort, well done to all the contributors. An hour
had passed while reading until I was snapped out of it by a
phone call. Nothing holds my attention that long -PegHorse
Auran Forums
[Thanks, great to see something free can provide enjoyment. ED]
It looks very good and I was pleasantly surprised to see some
English and Australian content. I look forward to seeing your
next issue -HSB RMWEB
[Being from Australia, Australian content suited and being an
online mag, we target the world, thanks for kind works. ED]
Wow - that's nice. Thanks for posting
Is it easiest to just always go to the issuu.com site to get the
latest issue? - Xrunner - modeltrainforum.com
[The best way is to bookmark www.railstream.biz, where the
magazine will be posted as soon as it goes live. I will also look into
a subscriber button where you get an email when it is out. ED]
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 10
Being a free magazine, contributors and
advertisers are what keep us going and
bring you this great content you read!
Advertising So we need your help, if you
are a company take a look at our
advertising options on the left on screen,
there are many options for you to chose
from so we are sure there's one that suits
you budget and needs. We have also
included the stats for our February, March
& April Issue, of both PDF downloads &
Online version views.
Contributing We are also looking for more
contributors to our magazine, although at
this time we are unable to pay our
contributors, all fund generated from our
magazine go into, the magazine &
Railstream but we may be able to work out
a discount on your next membership at
Railstream. We look for articles from
Prototype to Model & Simulator Trains, a
good thing to think of when submitting is,
would you want to read this in TheRailRag
Magazine? If the answer is YES, then
contact [email protected] - There
are also Editorial & Columnist jobs
available.
0
500
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2,500
Febuary March April
DRAFT ONLY
Views
Advertising & Contributing
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 11
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There are few spots left in the United
States that can compare to Norfolk
Southern’s east and west slope of the
Allegheny mountains in Pennsylvania.
With grades reaching 2%, helpers are
often set onto trains in Altoona, Cresson,
or Johnstown. The railroading action in
this part of the country is so great, that
hotels often offer a discounted rate on
your room if you do not see a certain
amount of trains a day during your stay.
With so much train traffic around, there
are multiple area’s along the line to stay
/ watch the action in what has to be the
most railfan friendly area this side of
the Mississippi.
Coming out of Altoona, the line
condenses into 3 tracks as it makes its
way out to S 10th Ave, also known as
“The Brickyard.” The Brickyard offers
great views on the far side of the
crossing, with a hilltop perch being the
favorite spot. The other side of the
crossing is a huge dip down a hill with
limited views, so it is best to park your
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car there and get set up. Trains coming
into Altoona are often in Dynamic
Brakes as they finish their decent, and trains starting up run by in full throttle as they try to gain speed before going up hill. From the brickyard, the line snakes up the mountain side away from all civilization. There are several locations along the tracks up in the mountain that you can catch a train, although a little hiking will be needed (so pack lightly!). From there, the line makes it’s way into Horseshoe Curve. This National Landmark is famous for having sweeping views for trains coming both East, and West. Although only open April through November, it is a must see if you have never been there. You will be charged an admission price of $6.00 to get in, but if you do the combo price for $10 you also get access to the Railroader’s Museum in Altoona. The trams runs every 30 minutes, so if you miss it, you have to lug your stuff up 18 flights of stairs. After Horseshoe Curve, the line once again goes back into the Mountain side away from roads. The line can be viewed from Rte 22, but that is limited. The next spot for railfans is the Tunnel
hill Overlook. Located at the intersection of Church Street in Tunnel hill, pulling into the dirt lot will offer you a stunning view of the Eastern portal of both tunnels, and views of the line as it sweeps up into the mountainside. Trains can be seen about 2 miles in the distance, but watch your step in the foliage, as going too far will put you over the edge of a long fall. If sweeping views aren’t your thing then sitting at the Gallitzin rail park will be. The park, located at the intersection of Jackson St and Convent St offers guests the ability to tour the inside of a Pennsy
Caboose. The Caboose is filled with memorabilia, and information about the railroad, while outside sits park benches, a small play area (complete with train), and an overpass with holes in the fence to allow for pictures. For an even better view, proceed down to railroad street and park right next to the tracks, across from the bar that sits there. This view offers STUNNING views of trains coming out of the tunnel as they head west, and equally as amazing views of trains going east. Perhaps one of the great locations on the West Slope, the Rte 53 Overpass is a
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prime location for railfans. When coming from Gallitzin to Cresson on Rte 53, you will pass over 5 tracks. Right after this bridge, pull your car into the little dirt patch that sits there and then immediately look left to see another path. Park your car in the beginning of that path and walk to the end. You will find yourself with a clear view of all 5 tracks, the signal bridge, and most importantly, quiet. The bridge blocks most of the noise from the road, and very rarely will you ever not be the only railfan there.
Proceeding farther west by about 3 miles, enters you into the town of Cresson, note that Cresson’s spots will not be along Route 53 as you come in, rather Front street which can be accessed by taking a right at the traffic light. Cresson offers a railfan platform adjacent to the engine facility, a gazebo, and a handicap entrance for any railfan. The views of trains going east can be obscured during the summer, as a small tree sits right next to the platform. Your best bet is to park in the small lot right next door, and sit atop the straight away
hillside across from the Station Inn. The Station Inn is located on Front street, and offers outstanding accommodations to railfans, with low priced rooms, a porch with track views, and enough railroading magazines to keep any railfan occupied for days. The local pizza shop Vito’s will give discounts to any Station Inn guests, as long as you show your room key. Continuing down Rte 53 out of Cresson, you will come across a road called Carney’s Crossing Rd. This road puts you right down at track level, offering
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straight away views of trains going West and a corner to show the struggles of trains headed east. Be sure to park your car on the left side before the crossing as you come down the hillside, as it keeps the car out of the way allowing for shots from all four sides of the crossing. Lilly is the next town that you are going to run into along the tracks. If you turn off of rte 53 and drive alongside the tracks, you can park on the corner past
all of the houses for views of the MP 254 signal bridge. This view is best in morning, as by 2pm you will get shadows on the traffic that passes by. As you look to the side of the signal bridge, you will notice that that it is another long straight away. This straight away lasts for just over a mile and then the line makes its right turn into Cassandra. Our last, and possibly greatest spot on the west slope is in fact, Cassandra. The
Cassandra railroad overlook is very well hidden, and you will miss it if you do not look closely. Once arriving in the town of Cassandra, look for the fire station on Main st. Continue straight past the fire station and continue as the pavement ends. You will pass one more house and then come across the Overlook with a spacious parking lot. The overlook is amazing in the fact that when you cross over the pedestrian bridge, you look west down a 2 1/2 mile straight away and the old Pennsy Signal bridge.
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Looking east you have a sweeping curve which leads into Lilly. Although you can record almost everywhere on the property, be careful when filming from the bottom of the hill as NS Police will be notified if the engineer thinks you are close. This part of the line is also the steepest grade that the trains have to travel on, with Eastbound’s averaging 15-20 MPH even on full throttle! Many families come to PA to visit Horseshoe Curve, but almost all of them do not realize what lies just to the west of there. The Railroading goldmine that is Norfolk Southern’s West Slope
- Joshua Powers “Jmano33”
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The Puffing Billy Railway -- Isaac Logan
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Locomotive of the
Month - UP 1989
Union Pacific 1989 is one of Union Pacific's Heritage Series
locomotives. Painted in the scheme of predecessor railroad,
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. It's an EMD SD70ACe
locomotive which is owned by UP.
Union Pacific started its Heritage Unit Program in 2005. The
program consisted of six SD70ACe's. Each was painted in a scheme
representing one of six railroads that make Union Pacific today.
They are not painted to the original schemes worn by the railroad
it represents but the scheme clearly defines the railroad. In
addition to a unique scheme, each unit is numbered according to
the year the railroad become part of UP.
The other locomotives in the Heritage Unit Program are: Missouri
Pacific - UP 1982, Western Pacific - UP 1983, Missouri-Kansas-
Texas - UP 1988, Chicago and North Western - UP 1995 and
Southern Pacific - UP 1996. They also featured UP 4141 which
say's "George Bush 41"
With the announcement by NS, that they will do 18 Heritage style
units, there will be lots of fun to be had beside the rails and on
Railstream.biz! --Article by Isaac Logan
>> UP 1989 turning his power in Durand, MI on
a snowy Sunday morning Photo Andy's
Backyard - By Andy
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By Isaac Logan
Step By Step
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 25
While tossing around ideas for a Model Train article for
the magazine, I was thinking around 3 things, a general
introduction to model trains, alternatives to plaster cloth
and a scenery technique article. I chose the latter, as I
enjoyed doing scenery and had plenty of supplies on my
shelf as I had just brought a heap of them. Although I
could have done it on the layout, I tried but was having
issues with getting good photos. So in the end I decided to
do a small diorama on a piece of foam which I could then
fit into the layout at a later date and so cam this article. I
hope you enjoy and learn some new techniques along the
way.
I started with a flat sheet of white foam but its up to you
what your scenery base is it can be foam, plaster, plywood
or whatever you use on your model railroad. Now start by
coating the area with full strength white glue from your
craft store. Make sure the whole area is coated as this is
what holds down everything thing else we place down.
Also, I recommend you work in small sections about 1 foot
at a time to make it easier. With our glue now down we can
add our first layer of grass, for this layer use Woodland
Scenic's Fine Turf, Grass Green. Cover the whole area but if
you miss a few places don’t worry. In some patches add a
little extra grass to simulate un-even ground.
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 26
With that complete now place some Woodland Scenic's
Corse turf around randomly create the effect of small
bushes. Now cover the area with a light misting of 70%
Isopropyl Alcohol. Let this settle into the material for
about 2 minutes before soaking the area with a 40/60
mix of white glue and water. Some people use 50/50 but
because the base has already been coated with white glue
the runny mixture, mixes with that fully soaking the area.
Now you can let it dry and go onto another section or
continue onto the next step.
With the first layer of grass down, it's now time to add a
second layer. This what gives the grass a feel that is real.
Unless you modelling someone's yard the grass shouldn't be
just one flat color. For my second layer I used Woodland
Scenic's Burnt grass but for this step it doesn't matter what
color you use, just use what feels right for you. I also added a
sprinkle of Woodland Scenic's 'Soil' turf. The amount of
layers you use is also up to you, you could use just the 2 or
go out and use everyone color Woodland Scenic's have to
offer. I have found that when buying in the shaker bottles you
actually use less because you can get the thinner, even
coverage. Once you have finished this step you want to have
all the foam/base covered.
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 27
Now for the small gravel road. I wanted a limestone type road
so I used Fine Buff, Woodland Scenic's ballast but you chose a
color to match the type of road you are trying to model.
To apply the 'limestone' use a spoon and pour the stones on
top of the wet grass following the path you would like your
road to take. Remember not to apply it to thickly because
most roads are dug into the ground before the surface is
applied.
Fill the edges around the road with more grass.
Now we move onto the thicker foliage, some Woodland
Scenic's bushes. There are two ways in which you can do
this, one is to put dollops of white glue on the base and place
the bushes on top and the other is to place them directly
onto the diorama/layout and then use more of the water and
glue mix.
Always use more than one color of bushes, like when we're
doing the base colors of grass we want to give it a more
natural effect. Its best to place them in clumps and not just a
little here and a little here, also plan for where trees will be
and arrange them around the areas which would be shaded
by trees, which would cause more growth.
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To add a little extra detail I decided to use some MiniNatur®
Grass Turfs. There come in small packs from Scenic Express.Pl
ease note that I think they are expensive, about $8 a pack so
only use them in highly visible areas, and in the foreground
but in saying that, I do love them!
To add the turfs, just pull them from the backing and place on
layout, if the glue for the scenery base has dried, paint on a
little bit of white glue (don’t use to much or you will wreak the
effect)
The final bit of detail I added was to sprinkle down some
yellow grass over the area, to simulate flowers/weeds in the
area.
For our last step comes trees for this small area I used 3
small pine trees. Two of the pine trees I brought on eBay
from China, they are low cost and still look great! These trees
can just be pushed into the foam using the wire based as
shown above. The 3rd tree was from Life-Like, it have a
plastic base so I glued it on and coved the base with more
grass and bushes. - Finish by adding a few autos or other
details to the scene
I hope my tips and techniques help you in your next scenery
project, remember just to let things go down naturally and it
will look more natural!! More photos of the finished scene
can be seen on the following page!
--Isaac Logan, Managing Editor TheRailRag
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I'd Been Working on The Railroad Article By Dave Ruffner & Photos By Jeff Geis
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 31
One of benefits of working at an operating railroad museum such as the Whitewater Valley Railroad is the opportunity to experience all facets of railroad operation. The WVRR is somewhat unique among operating railroad museums in that it actually runs between two towns, Connersville, IN and Metamora, IN. We are exclusively a passenger operation and run passenger trains from Connersville to Metamora on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) from May through October on a
timetable schedule. With the exception of one or two full time paid employees, most of the work on the railroad is done by volunteer employees, who donate their time and sweat to get the work done. Certain large restoration and rehabilitation projects are accomplished using contractors, but the regular maintenance work is done by volunteers. The Whitewater Valley Railroad's 76 mile line from Cincinnati OH to Hagerstown, IN, was built on the towpath of the Whitewater Canal. The
Indianapolis & Cincinnati began construction in 1863 and completed the line to Hagerstown in 1867. In 1890 the line was absorbed by the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis aka The Big Four, which was then absorbed by the New York Central. Commuter trains were operated on the line between Connersville and Cincinnati until 1933, when passenger service was abandoned. Freight service by Penn Central ended in 1972 at which time the Whitewater Valley Railroad was formed
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by a group of men who did not want to see the railroad completely disappear. Passenger trains began operation in 1974 after the WVRR obtained Ex Cincinnati Union Terminal #25, a Lima Hamilton product that was part of six locomotive order for CUT. The passenger train consisted of 4 Erie Stilwell Suburban and Semi-Suburban commuter cars and the operating museum replicated a small chunk of the commuter service, in its mission of preserving and interpreting railroad culture and history. When I started working at the WVRR in
1984 our track was in deplorable condition due to the fact that it was part of the Penn Central's former NYC Whitewater Valley branch and had been placed sometime earlier on deferred track maintenance. Many of the ties were rotten and the cinder ballast was choked with weeds. On my first run as a student brakeman our train derailed at the Laurel Feeder dam, nearly four miles from our destination. As I helped the crew re-rail the equipment, it became obvious to me that if I wanted to operate trains on this railroad without having to stop every whipstitch
to rerail derailed equipment, that I should apply the majority of my efforts there to track maintenance and restoration. I semi-officially joined the track gang in May of 1984, two days after the derailment, the only pieces of mechanized track maintenance equipment we owned was a broken down International pickup truck with hirail wheels and a newly acquired Grumman awaiting installation of its rear hirail wheels. The track gang at that point consisted of the Chief
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Engineer and me. I was able to expand our little gang on the day in question by collaring the 15 year old son of a couple of our members who happened to be handy while the Chief and I loaded ties and tools on our new truck. We were on our way out to repair the site of our most recent derailment, the situation that occasioned my decision to join the track gang.
Unfortunately we soon discovered that the missing rear hirail wheels made it impossible for us to run the truck on the track, which meant that we would have to drag the three ties up an embankment to the repair site. This site was located a few hundred feet from the Feeder Dam for the state's restored portion of the Whitewater Canal and there was a small park there with a
parking area and picnic tables. Track level is a good 20 feet above ground level at that point and by the time the Chief and I dragged three 250 lb. crossties up there using two man timber tongs (similar to ice tongs, except equipped with 18 inch long steel handles) the Chief and I were obliged to rest for about an hour before setting about replacing the scarred and broken ties with these new ones. In the meantime our teenaged helper was employed in bringing up the tools we would need in order to do the job. While the Chief and I rested and tried to get our breath, the boy brought up 2 track jacks, 3 shovels, a pick. a lining bar, a claw bar for removing spikes, 2 spike mauls and some new track spikes. The Chief and I soon discovered that telekinesis was not going to work and after our rest period got up and set about the job. The basic procedure for replacing a crosstie is very simple. Pull the spikes and jack up the rail to get the weight of it off the tie to be removed. Use a shovel to excavate a trench for the crosstie to occupy as it is removed. Use the pick or lining bar to loosen the material around the tie, then remove same using timber
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tongs and/or the lining bar. Lower the rail back to normal position, then excavate the tie crib so that the new tie will fit. (this procedure avoids producing a hump in the rail because many of the original ties were smaller than the ties we had to replace them with) Install the new tie under the rail with tie plates between the tie and the rail. Attach the tie to the rail with spikes driven by the spike mauls, being careful to maintain correct gauge. Repeat as needed, in this case twice. This little job took us six hours in all, from the time we loaded the truck in
Connersville until we arrived back in Connersville. The stated goal of our Chief Engineer in 1984 was to replace 100 ties per mile for a total of 1700 ties in one year. The actual figure was around 500 and that came only after a couple of extra days during which we ran big work parties on non operating days and nights. Our typical Saturday work crew consisted of 5 or 6 people, mainly folks we found loafing with nothing to do first thing on Saturday morning. A lot of people learned to hide when they saw me approaching them on a Saturday morning.
The following year, after we begged for it, the WVRR acquired a tractor loader backhoe, commonly referred to as a backhoe. Similar only in appearanceto the Case machine in the photos accompanying this article, it was an ancient Massey Ferguson machine and like a lot of the equipment obtained by operating railroad museums, nearly worn out. When we could get it to start, though, it was very handy for removing ties, and cut down on the workload a lot. On occasion we would have an experienced operator come out with us, and that person could not only use it to remove ties, but also install the new ones under the rail. Because of this
May, June & July - 2012 The Rail Rag Page | 35
machine we were able to double our annual production and replaced over a thousand crossties in 1985. Historically speaking, railroads began mechanizing track maintenance forces during World War II, at which time labour had become very scarce. Functions that had once required several men to accomplish were now handled by one machine and its operator. After the war these machines were improved dramatically as innovations came along in hydraulic technology applied to construction equipment. As the years passed, newer machines would replace older ones and the railroads would sell the older machines at auctions to
dispose of them. The WVRR obtained several pieces of track maintenance equipment at a Conrail auction of surplus equipment. We still own five of the pieces and those are in the photos that accompany this article. These are actually historic artefacts now, as most of them are gone from modern railroading, replaced by newer machinery whose function is similar. The machine with long rigid boom is an RTW 1040 tie crane or handler. The clamp is capable of holding three crossties at once and the machine can also pick up a 33ft long stick of 90 lb. rail if necessary. The machinery platform will revolve continuously 360
degrees, as will the tie clamp. It is self propelled and forward and reverse functions are controlled using the pedals. The brakes automatically apply when the movement pedals are released. The other tie crane pictured here is a similar model, a slightly newer RTW 1040b that I purchased a few years ago with the intention of converting it to a light brush cutting machine. With the exception of the articulating boom and the single tie clamp, it is virtually identical to original machine owned by the WVRR. My plans changed due to medical issues and I donated it to the WVRR in 2009. Tie cranes allow one person to pick and
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place crossties. The newest models you can see on the big railroads have been constructed by taking a light hydraulic excavator off its normal crawler chassis and marrying it to a rail chassis very similar to ones under these machines. John Deere is one of the notable examples of companies who have done this and I've seen several examples of these working in timber gangs on CSX. In the WVRR's case it eliminated the problems associated with moving crossties around. And while spending a few hours on one of these will tire out most people, the operator can accomplish far more work in the limited time available. The machine with the double flanged wheels on front and rear is a Fairmont W-114-C tie shear. Its purpose is to remove crossties and accomplishes that by using hydraulically powered shears to cut the tie into three pieces. The operator lowers the open blades into the ballast around the tie, then closes the blades which cut the tie into three pieces. The blades are powerful enough to cut the ties completely. After completion of the shearing operation, the operator raised the shears with the center section of the tie held in place
and moves ahead a few inches. She (Women operated the shear most of the time) then uses the hydraulically actuated dozers to push the tie ends (called butts) out from under the rail. Because we operate on fairly light rail (70 - 90 lb.) she then reverses to drop the centre section into the crib, before proceeding to the next tie to be removed. Depending on the availability of equipment, the three pieces are removed with either a tie crane or by hand. The next machine is the Kershaw W87- E rotary tie crib scarified. This machine works like a big rototiller and excavates the crib so that a new tie can be installed. This machine is quite an efficient excavator and if set up properly will produce properly sized cribs in far less time than it takes two people to dig out a crib by hand. In addition to that function it will also insert ties, using a handle attached to cable to winch the new tie into the new crib. A person on the ground is required to use the handle to guide the tie into proper position and usually a tie crane will place the new tie into the access trench, which the scarified excavated at the same time as it excavated the crib, using a bolt on extensions to the scarifier's drum.
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Another machine that was acquired at the same auction is our Plasser spot tamper, which is used to tamp the ballast under ties directly under the rails. The operator positions the tamping tools over the tie, opens the valve so that the hydraulic motors begin vibrating the tools, then lowers the tools into the ballast on either side of the tie. The operator then uses another handle to squeeze the tools and move ballast into place under the tie. If a certain amount of lifting is required the machine is equipped with rail clamps that apply automatically with the brakes and a large jacking bar operated by hydraulic cylinder to raise the tie and the rail simultaneously. Incidentally, tamping is where the name gandydancer originated. Before mechanization, lining and levelling operations were accomplished with large gangs of men using lining bars and tamping bars, which have heads on them similar to those on the tamping tools on the Plasser machine. A company called Gandy supplied many of these hand tools to the railroads and from a distance the gangs of men appeared to be dancing, hence the name. I've done this and it is very hard work. I much prefer mechanized tamping to manual, even though manual
tamping produces a much better job. For awhile one of our members owned several other pieces of equipment, including a Nordberg HydroSpiker that allowed two operators to drive spikes all day long by pushing the spikes into the ties with hydraulic cylinders. This gentleman was getting himself in the track contracting business and helped with our track maintenance enormously while simultaneously training his personnel to operate the equipment. We discover during this time why the big railroads no longer used this equipment, because it is maintenance intensive and broke down frequently. When running properly though, it would drive a lot of spikes in a very short time. Most of the spikes on the WVRR were driven by hand with spike mauls, or with an air hammer similar to a jack hammer. I used this hammer to drive spikes and it is nearly as tiring to use it as it is drive them by hand, because it weighs about 60 lbs. and the handle only comes up to my knees when it is sitting on a driven spike. The other machine we own from the original buy is the Kershaw ballast regulator, which came equipped with the front plow, side boxes and powered
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broom attached. This machine is very old and the power unit has a six cylinder International gasoline truck engine in it. However if you compare it to its modern counterpart, not much has changed. The purpose of this machine is to shape the ballast along the railroad, using its plow and side boxes. The height of plow and side boxes is controlled by hydraulic winches, a function that now uses hydraulic cylinders on modern machines. The front plow can be re-cofigured to work as a transfer plow so the extra ballast dumped along one side of the track can be transferred to the
centre or the other side. The side boxes can be moved in and out horizontally with hydraulic cylinders and are used to evenly distibute the shoulder ballast and also to shape the ballast shoulder to the proper slope. The boxes are equipped with digging bars to loosen ballast that has become choked with dust and compacted into what is called cemented ballast. These bars are deployed manually by loosening the set bolts and extending them. The power broom on the back of the machine is also a Kershaw product and as the nameplate shows it is powered with a 4
cylinder Wisconsin engine. It can be lowered to the track hydraulically from the operator station on the machine. Unlike the other machines covered by this article, which use hydraulic power for all of their functions, this machine uses a mechanical transmission and forward and reverse gearbox to for its propulsion. It is very difficult to use and had a bad tendency to derail itself when it was used. Because most of its functions can be accomplished with the backhoe, I suspect this machine will become a permanent static display item in our new museum facility currently under construction. Also included in the photos with this article are two of the newest pieces of track maintenance equipment. First, the small red machine with the rubber tires on it is an RCC Tie master that was acquired from the estate of a deceased member who built his track contracting firm around it. The Tie master is a nifty little machine that is powered by a two cylinder gasoline engine of about 25 hp driving a hydraulic pump. Its primary function is to remove and insert crossties and it is equipped with a two piece boom and tilting tie clamp for this purpose. It can clamp itself to the rail
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and jack up itself and the rail to facilitate tie removal, remove the tie, then lower the rail and carry the tie away for disposal. Then it can pick a new tie and return to insert the new tie under the rail. It is additionally equipped with a hydraulic tool circuit and hoses to power a spike remover and a spike driver, along with a hydraulic tamping hammer. It is light enough to towed behind a pickup truck on its rubber tires and can remove itself from the track using those tires and the tie boom. The gentleman who owned it passed away in 2003 and eventually his estate sold his equipment to the WVRR. We acquired the Case backhoe and a Ford hirail pickup truck in this deal as well. The newest piece of equipment owned by the WVRR is this International medium duty hirail truck with crew cab and crane. This truck was donated by a member who has belonged to organization from its start and recently retired from a long career in railroading, most of it spent in maintaining the track belonging to a short line that operates a few miles south of us from Brookville to Valley Junction on this same branch. The gentleman purchased and donated the truck last year and I have been told
that he came up once a week afterwards to use it and the Tiemaster to go out and install 25 ties a day. He begins by using the crane to load the Tiemaster and a bunk of ties on the truck, then drives to his work area and unloads both the ties and the machine. When he intalls all of the ties he brought, he reloads the machine on the truck and returns to Connersville and unloads. He leaves the spiking of the ties to another crew to accomlish from what I've been told. This is done with a hydraulically powered spiker attached to either this truck or the Tiemaster. The Whitewater Valley Railroad is forty years old this year and a lot has happened in that time. I rode the train to Metamora back in 1982 when it was but ten years old. As I mentioned earlier, I joined the organization two years later. Thirty years ago the mainline appeared to be part of the landscape, the rail hard to see under the weeds and grass that grew in the cinder ballast. I've personally witnessed and been a part of the rehabilitation efforts, $1.6 million funded by federal grants that has resulted in a fully ballasted main mainline upon which our passenger trains operate at 15 mph. I've also watched our track gang evolve
from several people using hand tools to a mechanized force capable of maintaining our track in its current condition. Personal health issues forced me to retire from active service as a volunteer employee of the railroad museum in 2006, but I still have the friends I've made there and the personal experience of working on the railroad, "all the livelong day."
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Your Introduction To Trainz Simulator
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When in the State of Ohio coming from
Pittsburgh you follow the NS Fort
Wayne line/Cleveland Line. This line is
a very important route for NS
intermodal trains travelling between
Harrisburg, Pa and Chicago. Allinace,
Ohio is also the point where the NS Fort
Wayne line and the NS Cleveland line
separate the Cleveland line continues
from Allinace up through Rootstown
and Ravenna , Ohio. At Allinace there
isn't a whole lot of photo opportunity's
but the Amtrak station and the little
area near the parking lot offer really
good views With the Amtrak station
being redone last year the Station is
well Light if you want to stay for and
overnighter the station also has
Electrical sockets for you to charge your
phone laptop and even your camera.
Amtrak comes in during the mornings at
1:39 am and 3:35 am east and
westbound. During the night there is
many moves to keep you active and a lot
of the crews on this part of NS are really
friendly toward railfans. If you decide to
stay at Allinace there is numerous
places to eat and to refuel your snacking
needs with the 24 hour gas station
across from the Mt. Union campus at
Allinace. Also during the day and night
you can expect to see a coal train or two
come off the fort Wayne line most of the
time they have a SD70ACE in the train.
And on days you can see up to 4
Roadrailers and also the Ethanol trains
which sometimes have CN Power on
them will show up on NS from time to
time and many intermodal trains plus
mixed freight plus sometimes if you're
lucky BNSF run to one Run trough coal
trains.
Visit Alliance Ohio - With Andrew Treece & Ryan
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Athearn's GP15-1 is loaded with details,
from working ditch lights to sand lines &
airlines, Athearn's Genesis series
locomotive has them all! My locomotive, is
painted for Norfolk Sothern and has
running number 1403. Although my unit
does not have DCC and sound, it has both a
8 & 9 pin plug. Many modellers say it's one
of the most details locomotive yet. Some of
the details include, detailed fuel tank, wire
grab irons, etched metal lift rings & grills,
celcon handrails, sliding cab windows and
lots of under body details. The locomotives
paint is good, but there are some minor
issues with the yellow on the handrails
seems to have run meaning the paint does
not finish on a straight edge. The loco runs
great on Dc, and I am yet to install a
PPRROODDUUCCTT RREEVVIIEEWWSS -- AATTHHEEAARRNN GGEENNEESSIISS GGPP1155--11
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decoder, although like many Athearn's it
runs noisy but I hope once I install a
decoder I will be able to fix this issue. Great
work Athearn on an amazingly detailed
locomotive, you guys still need to work on
you quality control and get those motors
quietened down!
The Dc version sells for $169.98 & $269.98
for DCC & sound. Also in BN, CR, MP, CNW
& UP, also coming is the GP15T in other
color schemes. - Isaac Logan
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<< U83924 heading
westbound at Vine St.
Fostoria, Oh. ahead of a storm
with UP 8053 leading, as they
haul empty coal back to
Chicago, as work continues
on the Tiffin St. overpass. --
Matt Smith
<< 146 with NS 6675 heads east in the early morning at Poplar St. in Fostoria,
Oh. as Bellevue and the next crew change close in.
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<< Mike Tierney: NS H-74 has a nice consist today , with NS 5425 and 5300. 5425 is one of
only 17 active Conrail blue units left on the NS roster and seeing it lead in perfect morning
sunlight was a added bonus! - Mike Tierney of New Jersey Aged 17
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Why Railfaning is better than Deer Hunting
Train lovers don't get mad at you for
shooting "Thomas The Tank Engine."
You can't use a scanner to tell when deer
are getting close.
No arguments when two people shoot the
same train at the same time.
Nobody cares if you use a railroad crossing
sign to "sight in" your camera.
Three words: "Hunting License Fee."
SD90MAC's don't need to be field dressed.
Working models of deer? Yeah, right.
There's no limit on how many trains you're
allowed to shoot or bring home.
Unless they're really dumb, your buddies
won't mistake you for a diesel locomotive.
A warm train room beats a tree stand any
day.
Trains can be shot all year long.
No taxidermist fee needs to be paid when
"mounting" your best trophy shot.
Wife wouldn't object too much to having
your "trophy shot" hang over dining room
table or displayed in the front room.
Kids don't run away sobbing "BAMBI"
when you bring a "trophy" home.
Filet of GP7 just doesn't sound too
appetizing.
A LITTLE BIT OF HUMOR & LAST WORDS! - OH deer!!
Two blondes were walking through the woods and they
came to some tracks.
The first blonde said: "These look like deer tracks."
And the other one said: "No they look like moose
tracks."
They argued and argued for a while and they were still
arguing when the train hit them. DEAR, DEAR People!!
A passenger train is creeping along, slowly. Finally
it creaks to a halt. A passenger sees a conductor
walking by outside.
"What's going on?" she yells out the window.
"Cow on the track!" replies the conductor.
Ten minutes later, the train resumes its slow pace.
Within five minutes, however, it stops Again
The woman sees the same conductor walk again.
She leans out the window and yells, "What
happened? Did we catch up with the cow again?"