Justinmiller171 Wrote:I have heard that Peco code 100 turnouts aren't NMRA compliant, Is there anything I need to do to make sure they run well?
No one's ready made turnouts are up to NMRA standards, but Peco is closer than anyone else. I think the place the Peco is "off" is track gauge at the frog. The gauge should be at NMRA minimum at that point on the turn out. You can fix them to work reliably by using the NMRA gauge to check the spacing between the rails and the guard rails and gluing shims to the guard rails to get the spacing between the guard rails and the stock rails perfect so that the guard rails will "catch" any wheels that want to "wander" and pull them to the stock rails. That will keep cars or locos from trying to take the wrong route through the frog. One of the guys in the club found that .005" styrene made perfect shims to shim the guard rails.
The latest issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist has an article by Joe Fugate on how he uses Central Valley switch tie strips as cheap jigs to make his turnouts. Even if you don't want to try handlaying turnouts, there are a lot of good tips there on what you want to find to have reliable turnout operation. The magazine is free if you haven't seen it before.
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Steamtrains Wrote:The only thing I did to my Peco turnouts was lay them down, and let the trains ride through them. Not a SINGLE instance of them causing ANY sort of problem.
But then, I only have 40+ turnouts....If I were to have twice that, maybe one would give me trouble....
NMRA compliant..?? I would ask the NMRA to change their specs to fit the characteristics of Peco turnouts....
Agreed! Never have had to make any modification to a Peco turnout and have been using them for many years now. Never had a derailment in one of their turnouts, unless a car had wheels that were out of gauge, and that was very rare. After having used both the electro-frog and insul-frogs, I just prefer the insul-frogs because of the simpler wiring. Plop down the turnouts and track, connect one set of power feeders to it and I'm off and running! Sure has made testing out potential track arrangements very enjoyable.
It may be the nature of modular railroading, but we have had problems with all kinds of switches. We have fewer problems with Peco than other brands, but they also give problems. The "fix" for the Pecos is so simple that it is silly not to do it, and be certain that the trackwork is "bullet" proof.
Okay, I'm absolutely certain that I will be getting Peco track.
I ordered the subscription to RMC over 6 weeks ago and I haven't gotten anything yet, this is probably due to the hurricane. But I can't wait
Justinmiller171 Wrote:I ordered the subscription to RMC over 6 weeks ago and I haven't gotten anything yet, this is probably due to the hurricane.
The city manager of Newton, NJ reported on September 1st that there are still were 48 homes without power in Newton, but that the town had not suffered extensive damange during Irene and the aftermath :
http://www.newtontownhall.com/blog.aspx?CID=2
Carstens can be slow with new subscriptions (and renewals) even at the best of times. At least in my experience - but it might be harder for them to deal with foreign customers.
Smile,
Stein
steinjr Wrote:Justinmiller171 Wrote:I ordered the subscription to RMC over 6 weeks ago and I haven't gotten anything yet, this is probably due to the hurricane.
The city manager of Newton, NJ reported on September 1st that there are still were 48 homes without power in Newton, but that the town had not suffered extensive damange during Irene and the aftermath : http://www.newtontownhall.com/blog.aspx?CID=2
Carstens can be slow with new subscriptions (and renewals) even at the best of times. At least in my experience - but it might be harder for them to deal with foreign customers.
Smile,
Stein
Seriously? I suppose I should believe it, last saturday I got caught behind a Convoy of utility trucks from Georgia getting off at my exit of the NJ turnpike, so they definitely weren't heading home. Still, I don't think the weather should be significantly holding up that subscription, I think that it just usually takes time for such things. Fortuneately, apart from power outages, and not totally unexpected flooding, I don't think there was a lot of damage. Most people i've talked to (today I met someone who lives in Atlantic City, a mile or two south of where the hurricane made landfall) say they feel it was unnecessary for our governor to evacuate everyone.
I would just call them up during business ours and politely asked if they have recieved your order. If there is any trouble, they'll let you know.
What's crazy is that it's areas that are not even along the coast that got hit hard. I-81 up in Binghamton is washed out, areas of Upstate New York along the Esopus Creek (Catskill Mountain Railroad), Phoenicia, NY, areas along Route 17, Vermont, etc. Little Ferry, NJ (NYS&W) was under water. It looked like Venice with the rescue boats going up and down streets. It's like Hurricgnes all over again.
A friend of mine is going upstate to her family this weekend in the Syracuse/Rochester area and has to take the NYS Thruway up to Albany and head west because parts of Interstate 81 were so badly damaged.
Green_Elite_Cab Wrote:Fortuneately, apart from power outages, and not totally unexpected flooding, I don't think there was a lot of damage. Most people i've talked to (today I met someone who lives in Atlantic City, a mile or two south of where the hurricane made landfall) say they feel it was unnecessary for our governor to evacuate everyone.
GEC,
I seriously hope that you are only referring to your area. If not, you surely haven’t been watching the news. Northern New Jersey has been devastated by the flood waters that were brought on by Irene and we had more flooding yesterday due to the heavy rain overnight as the ground is basically at saturation point. There is no place for the water to go. If you weren’t flooded by the initial deluge, you still have to be careful because the ground water level is rising and flooding people’s basements from below. Damage is expected to be in the billions and I believe it. While the flooding was indeed expected, its reach and intensity was not. Towns that don’t usually flood, did. Those that typically flood, flooded much worse. Some towns/citys were almost completely underwater. Paterson and Wallington come to mind, as well as towns that are more local to me such as New Milford, Westwood and Hillsdale. And this is just a tiny sampling of affected towns.
As for the Governor overreacting, the people who you talked to must be joking. A lot of people, including those on the opposite side of the political aisle, as high up as the President, have said that he did a great job and that lives were saved by his actions. It’s not just the lives of the morons that wanted to wind-surf, or wave-surf, or whatever they wanted to do during a class 1 hurricane, that he was worried about, it was also the emergency response people that would have to take precious resources away from real emergencies that weren’t created by stupidity to go help/save those that were.
Justin,
I’m sorry for the hijack, but I just wanted to set the record straight for those who don’t live in areas that weren’t affected by Irene.
It’s been my experience, although several years ago, that print magazine subscriptions always take a while to process and start mailing. Be patient, it will come.
Mark
It's ironic, Brooklyn was right in the path of the hurricane and we got by with minimal damage.
Just got this E-mail from Carstens:
Dear Mr. Miller,
Thank-you for subscribing to our Railroad Model Craftsman magazine.
Your first issue is October and this issue is at the printers now, with a release date of September 9th.
Please allow 12-15 business days after the 10th for delivery.
Please contact this desk when your issue arrives.
Thank-you,
Carstens Publications Inc
Lynn Good (Customer Care)
Well that explains everything,
Southern Tuxedo Wrote:GEC,
I seriously hope that you are only referring to your area. If not, you surely haven’t been watching the news. Northern New Jersey has been devastated by the flood waters that were brought on by Irene and we had more flooding yesterday due to the heavy rain overnight as the ground is basically at saturation point. There is no place for the water to go. If you weren’t flooded by the initial deluge, you still have to be careful because the ground water level is rising and flooding people’s basements from below. Damage is expected to be in the billions and I believe it. While the flooding was indeed expected, its reach and intensity was not. Towns that don’t usually flood, did. Those that typically flood, flooded much worse. Some towns/citys were almost completely underwater. Paterson and Wallington come to mind, as well as towns that are more local to me such as New Milford, Westwood and Hillsdale. And this is just a tiny sampling of affected towns.
As for the Governor overreacting, the people who you talked to must be joking. A lot of people, including those on the opposite side of the political aisle, as high up as the President, have said that he did a great job and that lives were saved by his actions. It’s not just the lives of the morons that wanted to wind-surf, or wave-surf, or whatever they wanted to do during a class 1 hurricane, that he was worried about, it was also the emergency response people that would have to take precious resources away from real emergencies that weren’t created by stupidity to go help/save those that were.
Well, I didn't say i disagreed with Christie on the evacuation either, even i recognized that if people WERE there (and panicking), it would have been a much harder situation to control. I made that point to my friend who still rolled his eyes, but whatever, thats his problem. He might not be lucky next time.
I guess it really must be bad up north then, since on the southern end of the state, i keep hearing people say how much the storm seemed overhyped. Its not that sections of local towns didn't flood or that trees weren't knocked down, but like i said, the flooding appeared to be just about where it usually is when it floods, so my view of it must be skewed. I'm sorry if I painted inaccurate picture, i made the first mistake and assumed things were roughly the same across the state.
I suspect that what happens here with cyclones is what happened there (but in reverse)
We get the most severe damage can be up to 100km south of the track of the cyclone as it comes in over the Great Barrier Reef, where the lucky ones are on the north side of the cyclone track
This is because in the southern hemisphere the cyclones rotate clockwise, so anything to the south of the track (of a westbound cyclone, which is the only ones we obviously get in Queenslands East coast) gets fresh winds straight off the ocean and maximum destruction, the people on the northside get the `return' winds from back over the land- which have usually lost most of their moisture and some of their windspeed by then
That's what happens here every year when the cyclones hit us (oh joy) but could be a possible explanation for the differences in damage north and south of the actual storm track (which is usually based on the eye path)
Okay, I think we have had enough meteorology for a model railroad forum
I will be ordering the track soon and if I am lucky I may also be getting the foam in the next few weeks, that means I should have the layout operating by the end of the month.
When the track arrives I will start a new thread since this one is getting pretty old :?
Would CSAO ever operate an isolated spur like the one in my plan?
Or would any other railroad keep an engine at an industrial spur, where the railroad's local would exchange cars of the track leading to the spur, then the engines stationed at the spur would do the switching?
