A visit to Ralph's layout

[steinjr]

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of paying a visit to fellow forumite Ralph and his wife Susan here in the Twin Cities, and I got to see in person some of the great modeling that has gone into his Kings Port layout.

I have to tell you guys that as great as this layout looks in the photos Ralph has posted (http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewtopic...=54&t=5197), it looks (and sounds) even better in person.

Ralph and I spent about 2 1/2 hours looking at the ingenious and good looking ways how he had created some of the things on his layout, ran three trains together, and finally - after my wife and kids returned to pick me up again to go to a family gathering with relatives in the afternoon - showed my wife and kids a long freight train snaking through the magnificent scenery.

Some of the things that look even better in person than in the pictures : the sheer size of the Kingsport works, the Gern plant and Empire Grain - these places really look like they need railroad service. The way the transition between scenes and min scenes are made - there are no jarring scenery breaks. All the signs and billboards around the layout. The way masonite roads looks totally like real concrete roads. The smashed up prision bus by the wrecked train in the scene from The Fugitive.

The way wood and cardboard has been used in so many creative ways to create great looking structures and scenery - e.g. how two empty boxes from Athearn Blue Box cars has turned into a great second story on the engine house, with caps of juice boxes for vents. Shampoo bottles having been turned into blast furnaces (?), knee joints from bits and pieces of plumbing looking extremely believeable as industrial large pipes, sprues as smaller pipelines, meat skewers as steel beams in elevator legs, large bottle caps sawed in two making very believable water outlets/culverts under a plant, crushed cars at the recycling place made from tin foil molded over a hot wheels car and then painted/flattened, car float and two fuel barges made from wood, the way the switch controls were made from the small metal hatch locks and fishing wire - they worked perfectly, and lots of other things. It was just such a wonderful demonstration of how ingenuity and imagination are the chief components of a great layout.

And the round control stand in the corner totally blew me away - with MRC controller being mechanically linked to the 1:1 size speed throttle and reverser, and the great sound effects through a hidden speaker when you run a train. Here is a little video showing Ralph at the controls stand, moving a train consisting of an E8 and two passenger cars in the background: http://youtu.be/UpFdrBwMjJQ

We also had great fun running three trains together, with me at the throttle and Ralph as the conductor, throwing switches and controlling the power districts as we ran around the layout. We first got a GP30 from the locomotive terminal in Kings Port, pulled a couple of cars from one industry and shoved them back onto the rest of the train, which had already been assembled in the yard.

We then had to wait in the yard for a longer passing freight pulled by three engines to clear the track - here is a couple of videos showing out train holding in the King's Port Yard while we wait for the passing train - the first one shows the passing train at the top of the hill behind Kingsport, and the second shows it arriving in the yard after having come down the hill and around the curve past the steel mill:

Local holding in Kingsport yard, freight train passing in background: http://youtu.be/2Z2U4odw-xY
Local holding in Kingsport yard, freight train passing in foreground: http://youtu.be/5otweVk2HG0

After the other train had passed, we recived clearance to head out of Kings Port and up the hill. Our train got underway, slowly clawing its way up the long hill out of Kings Port, and then continued until we got to the aggregates plant, where we spotted an empty hopper.

From there we continued to the oil barge terminal, where we pulled a tank car. Then, leaving the rest of the train in the yard, we took an inbound car over to the huge GERN plant at the outskirts of West Mill. We had to displace a gondola from the scrap yard to get out car into the GERN track. Then we spotted the car for GERN,and put the gon back. So far, so good - the engine was working flawlessly, no delays waiting for customers and paperwork - everything was going so smoothly that we were starting to get slightly spooked.

After we went back for the rest of the train in the yard by the oil terminal, we headed for our last customer of the run before handing the train over to the next crew in West Mill. We pulled up next to the massive Empire Grain in West Mill, cut off the two covered hoppers bound for Empire, and shoved them back into the covered unloading track. After spotting the cars as directed by the guy at the plant, we pulled out, moved back to our train, pumped up air and pulled out heading for the point where we would hand over the train to the next crew.

Whaddayouknow - Mr Murphy made a visit. A car derailed on the switch just as we pulled past Empire. We dumped the air and got down on the ground. Not too bad - no track damage, and all cars were upright. With a little assistance from the guys at the elevator and the guys from the car float yard right next to us, we actually got the car rerailed pretty quickly and could in short order hand over our train to the next crew.

Later in the day, after having gotten a ride back to Kings Port yard, we took the local passenger train for part of it's run. We pulled a classy, lovely looking old lady for this run - a Penn Central E8 pulling two coach cars. Here is a little video shoving us pulling out of the tunnel and stopping at the passenger platform in West Mill: http://youtu.be/LWKyp7ZsrNE

For our final train of the day, we got a transfer run of Kings Port and Western (KP&W) covered hoppers from the steel mill yard in Kings Port to the float yard in West Mill. This time we got a GP9 for our locomotive. With a short train (6 hoppers and a caboose) we made good time, and soon pulled into the float yard at West Mill. I stopped, Ralph pulled the pin and set the brake for the caboose, and then signalled me to pull the rest of the train past the swich. When I stopped past the switch, Ralph got down, lined the switch and signalled me to back up.

Suddenly he started signalling "stop!". I quickly got the train - which barely had started moving - stopped again.

Turned out that some nitwit from another crew had failed to line the turnout the correct way after dropping off some cars at the other float yard track, so we had been heading into the wrong track, where there already were some cars. I pulled forward again. Ralph lined the second switch for the right track and then signaled for me to back up again. This time we went into the right track, with the engine slowly shoving the cars down the track until Ralph signalled all clear.

Ralph set the hand brakes and made the cut, and got back on the engine. We pulled forward on the main, relined the switch, and went back for our caboose. We then left the caboose and engine on an available track in West Mill, so the next crew would have power available for the morning job.

Before we went home, we stopped alongside some kids (who looked a lot like my sons) looking at a longer freight train coming through West Mill on the main:
http://youtu.be/5ozTi4sYgMs

I had a blast - it is so great that people from many parts of the US and many parts of the world can come together through this forum, and even get to meet each other in real life.

And the wives also had a great time - comparing notes on crazy model railroader husbands, and realizing that they were not alone in having to deal with us. They both agreed that it had been a very nice "play date for big boys", which ought to be repeated some day :-)

Smile,
Stein

[Mr Fixit]

Sounds like everyone had a damn fine time all round, Stein.

I loved the "play date for big boys" comment.

Ever so slightly green with envy, :mrgreen:

Mark

[Tyson Rayles]

[ngauger]

Great to hear that you had sucha fun time.. Even the wives to

Thanks for posting the videos too!!

[Ralph]

Stein,

Thanks for the great detailed description of our ops session, and for the cool videos! My favorites are of the long freight in Kings Port. I laugh when I see how I missed the cue that you were filming me at the control stand..and what was I looking at after the train went by?! It was fun to show the control stand in operation though! It was a very enjoyable time and the first opportunity I've ever had to show the layout to a fellow hobbyist. Other visitors admire the scenes for a short time and then go on their way, but Stein and I actualy operated the layout. This is a big deal for me since I hadn't orginaly designed the trackplan for that purpose...it was more of a "watch trains go around a long run" kind of set up...but I've been working on it over the last couple of years to create some operations possibilities. It really IS fun to switch cars and set up train meets, especially with a like-minded modeler getting involved. Stein's decriptions of the action are thorough and I WAS gratified to have so few glitches. My favorite GP30 ran beautifully as did the other locos called to service. One small derailment did not mar the session (especially since we had all of that help getting the car back on the track! ).

I'd have never guessed that someone from Norway who I exchange comments with on a model railroad forum would actually visit my basement empire and help me run trains! Turns out that he has family in Minnesota who live only a few miles from my home. Wild! And, now you've broken the ice for me when it comes to having other people get involved in running the layout. Big Blue members...if you're ever in the Twin Cities area...come on over!

Stein, thanks again for visiting and for really opening up a new dimmension of enjoyment of the hobby. It was a treat to meet you and your family!
Ralph

[steinjr]

Was a first visit to a fellow forum modeler for me too. It was enormously fun to see the scenes that I had seen on the forum in real life.

I'll select and post some more pictures when we get back to the cities - we are currently on a small expedition out into western Wisconsin to experience the St Croix Valley with the kids.

Smile,
Stein, posting from a hotel in St Croix Falls, WI

[modelsof1900]

Thanks Stein, thanks Frank.
A very good looking layout and a very nice report.

[ezdays]

Was a first visit to a fellow forum modeler for me too. It was enormously fun to see the scenes that I had seen on the forum in real life.

I'll select and post some more pictures when we get back to the cities - we are currently on a small expedition out into western Wisconsin to experience the St Croix Valley with the kids.

Smile,
Stein, posting from a hotel in St Croix Falls, WI

Sounds like you're having a ball. It's nice to visit or have another forum member visit your layout. I've have both and it is always rewarding. Thanks for posting this.

[Sumpter250]

Stein,
- - to the "Visitor's club".
It's a different ( much larger ) world, when you can put a face, a voice, and a hand shake, on an avatar on a forum.

[steinjr]

After two family expeditions in the heat - one to the St Croix valley to allow my kids some rock climbing in the Interstate State Park, and one north to Fergus Falls to visit with relatives, we are finally back in the Twin Cities, and I have had the time to go through photos, select the most representative, and resize them for web use (800 x 600 pixels).

Here are some photos from my visit to Ralph's layout last weekend:

1) The view towards the left from the door - the farm miniscene closest, then the hill w/Hedley aggregates, then West Mill w/Empire Grain in the background


2) The view towards the right from the door - the fugitive minscene closes, engine terminal and Kings Port Steel mill behind it:


3) Me and two out of three members of my family admiring the layout from inside the U - Ralph is hidden behind my bulk :-)


4) A closer look on the fugitive scene - fugitive under bridge, crushed prison bus in front of derailed engine:


5) The engine terminal in Kings Port:


6) The yard at Kings Port Steel


More pictures in next post

[steinjr]

7) Fuel barges at the oil terminal


8) The latches used to control turnouts - note red and green dots showing normal and deviating path through turnouts


9) Power plant - note water outlets made by cork cut in two


10) Ready mix plant, also note power block diagram on fascia - the layout had a well thought out and executed DC block design


11) Ralph in front of Empire Grain in West Mill


12) GERN plant at bottom of U


13) Sal Monella's recycling and Canton Box Company (in background) - note crushed cars made from foil wrapped around hot wheels cars, painted and crushed


Last set of images in third post

[steinjr]

Last post of images from Ralph's layout

14) Empire Grain - a place that really needs rail service


15) A nice surprise for visitors from Norway - Norway days being celebrated in West Mill


16) Hedberg Aggregates in the hill


17) Going back a little - the engineering plant in the right hand corner - observe construction equipment on bridge - to explain missing railing on one side :-)


18) Baseball field - look at those lights in the corners - amazing work


19) And finally - a miniscene that made my boys giggle - a row of portapotties :-)


That's it - I have more pictures, but didn't want to drown you guys in pictures

Smile,
Stein

[faraway]

Great photos of a great layout. Thanks for sharing!

[Ralph]

Thanks for taking all of those pictures Stein! It was fun to see you and your family focus in on small details like the Norway Days sign. I must have missed the boys laughing at the portapotties. Some of your photos show areas of the layout I haven't photographed much. Thanks for the new perspectives!

[Charlie B]

Yes, Thanks Stein.
We are seeing things that Ralph has tried to keep from us. Now we all now how great his layout is. Your pictures give a good overall view.
We all try to get close so the pictures look more realistic, but sometimes it is best to stand back and get the over-all view.
Two thumbs up for the photographer , and, well for the Modeler.
Charlie