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+--- Thread: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge (/showthread.php?tid=9623)
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - tompm - 02-11-2023
Great job on the scenery.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-15-2023
Thanks everyone for the great positive feedback as I enter the homestretch in Mud Run. I've been up to my ears in difficulties while running trains this week and I've been trying some different combinations of equipment in attempts to understand some basic issues currently plaguing Rainbows in the Gorge.
You may recall a post a couple of weeks ago about spending a Saturday in track rebuild mode. In ballasting a tricky section of track I'd ended up resecuring the track to the roadbed and altered the lay of the track and suffered a multitude of derailments, especially with my nemesis, The Apollo. The Apollo is a re-creation of a Trailer over Flatcar fast-freight service that used to run on the former LV mainline and taken over by the Delaware and Hudson at the start of Conrail. I have 18 flatcars, 89' 6" long with a variety of piggyback trailers and containers on them. The couplers are body mounted and a good distance from the trucks which are inboard probably by about 12'. These cars are a challenge on a hilly, curvy layout like mine. Add in trailers balanced on a single support frame that roll a good bit coming around corners, and you have the recipe for disaster, especially if you're in the foreground finishing business like I am in Mud Run.
Anyway, I'd been running the Apollo around the upper (viewing) level of my layout to verify that the track through Mud Run was still supportive of operations with the Apollo. What I failed to reverify was the operation of the same train coming up from the storage level at a steady 2% grade and then making the turn around Mud Run while every car in the train was below the grade of the locomotives pulling it. Whatever slight change I'd made to the alignment of the track was the last domino in a chain of necessity that decreed that as those locomotives came around the curve that the trucks on the first flatcars would pull into the curve and derail. Trailers fell off the decks of the flatcars and got wedged in my new scenery in the curve, couplers were pulled out, locomotives fell over, the little hair in my head was pulled out, etc.
Looked at a lot of stuff, and spent a good deal of time running individual flat cars and tuning them. Found a cracked end of a flat car that was supposed to support the coupler pocket, a few saggy couplers that would catch on rails or ties, tight trucks, etc. Played around with train length and reduced the length of the train (a 2% grade is substantial, and when the full length of it is running up hill, there's a lot of stress on those couplers and there's quite a bit of lateral force on the wheel flanges as they negotiate curves being pulled from the front (by the locomotive consist) and the rear (by the rest of the train).
Even with the tune-ups I still wasn't satisfied with the operation. I typically run the Apollo counterclockwise, and that S-turn in Mud Run is on the uphill grade running that way. Reversed the operation to run clockwise (downhill through the S), and things are a lot better and I think I can now see light at the end of the tunnel.
So, here's my advice:
- Long cars (flats, box cars, passenger cars, auto carriers) can be tough to run on lots of layouts. If you want to run these monsters, do your homework. It's not just the radius considerations you should address. Total train length, turning cars on a radius and running around that radius while running up and down grades should all be considered. All changes in grade should be very smooth and gradual. I'm right on that hairy edge with Mud Run and would probably rethink the design if it weren't so close to being finished.
- Passing tracks with these monsters can also be a problem in curves. Give yourself plenty of leeway.
- If you run TOFC, consider methods to secure trailers to the flats. A wayward trailer can do a lot of damage if it decides to slide off the deck of the flat.
- There's a good bit of variation in coupler height from manufacturer to manufacturer. I have Walthers, Atlas, Accurail and maybe a few others, and attention to keeping similar coupler heights together in the train will probably save you a good bit of aggravation.
Been doing a little more scenery work as I tweak train operation. Hope to show that in the next few days.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - tompm - 02-15-2023
Todd
I feel your pain. While my layout does not currently have any grades I have experienced many of the problems yo have described. These problems are what lead me on my crusade to check and tune up every piece of rolling stock I have. At the moment I am finished about 98% of the freight cars and I have yet to begin the passenger cars.
The difference in coupler height has been one of the most frustrating to deal with. I have a section of track that bounces a little. If the couplers don't match in height there is a good chance the cars will uncouple. I have a Kadee couple gauge and every car and loco get checked against it. Older cars I can understand them having issues. Many Athearn blue box cars have Kadee washers added to the trucks. What drives me crazy is the number of new cars that have coupler issues. I have to change out the plastic couplers on all Athearn, Roundhouse, and Bowser cars otherwise I run the risk of the coupler breaking under the strain of a long train. I can't tell you how many Rapido and Intermountain cars I have had to tweak the trip pins because they are too low and catch on rails. I purchase about 10 new Intermountain steel reefers and had to change the wheels from 33 inch to 36 inch on all of them so they would pass the coupler gauge.
Since I am starting to collect equipment for TOFC I really appreciate your insights. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - mr bachmann - 02-18-2023
hi , interesting read - you educated me on making trees from real plant spruce and scatter material , thanks .
re - running 89 fooers , try a coupe of 129 footers in the rake , the artic autoracks pull the Big Boy down to size .
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-18-2023
129 feet! They wouldn't last long on my curves... Glad I could help with the trees, most of my layout is covered with them since I model a remote gorge! I'm always hunting for new techniques and new thing to use for building trees.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-18-2023
The last foreground scenery was successfully installed this evening in Mud Run. Pictures follow. It's now time to move to the gorge scenery underneath the White Haven RR bridge. Finally, a CHANGE OF VENUE!
Mission Accomplished!RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - tompm - 02-18-2023
Awesome job. It is cool to see this come together. Thanks for sharing the journey.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - cn nutbar - 02-19-2023
Hi Todd---I'll let the icons speak for me---
---truly a great scene !!!
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - mr bachmann - 02-19-2023
Lovely , great scenery , thanks for sharing .
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-19-2023
Many thanks! I know it's not the first time I've said in this forum that sharing my progress with you fine people is really rewarding, and I hope I've provided some new techniques or encouragement to take one of your own projects to completion.
No rest for the weary, however! We move about 14 (non-scale) feet to the east. I know I've posted some photos of this area in "Side Shot Saturdays" or "Photos of the Week", and each time I see a photo I see how nice this area could be if I finished the scenery!
There are two railroad bridges between Jim Thorpe and White Haven, PA on the former LV mainline. While the CNJ travelled strictly on the west side of the Lehigh River in the gorge, the LV started on the west side, switched over to the east side at Penn Haven Junction, and then crossed again just south of the town of White Haven and then crossed over the CNJ and paralelled the CNJ toward Wilkes Barre. There's a contemporary shot on the west side of the Lehigh here: https://www.railpictures.net/images/d2/8/2/4/4824.1621524858.jpg.
I never had enough room to duplicate the straight section of the river here, as my storage level is in the way. So, my river bends sharply just past the bridge. The real bridge is a double track (2 sets of deck girder bridges), but since the double track was reduced to a single they only use half of it. So, mine is a single deck girder bridge with two abutments rising from the riverbed and two abutments built into the river bank.
Here's the current scenic state.
On the far right you see the ends of my I-80 bridges (intent on leaving those as is), the crossing of the CNJ (in 1976 the tracks had already been pulled up here) and then the deck girder bridge that's probably about 60 feet to the surface of the river. If I've had extra paint from the Mud Run project, I've been getting rid of it on the foreground rocks and the riverbed (which still needs copious amounts of Realistic Water to be applied. There's a bunch of dark brown, painted surfaces that desperately need attention, most of which are behind the bridge.
The fun begins behind the bridge. Rather than squeeze myself in between the bridge abutments, I'm going to take down the bridge until the scenery is done. That means I won't be running any trains on the viewing level after the dismantling, which means I may have extra incentive to get this project completed, or it may mean installing a temporary bridge I can run on in the interim without abutments.
So, just like Mud Run, the first order of business after dismantling will be getting the riverbed fully painted and prepped. Once the riverbed is poured, I'll be working from the back to the front in stages (painting, layering with ground covers, applying shrubs and underbrush, and then finally trees). I'll once again be providing progress reports as things progress.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - tompm - 02-19-2023
I am impressed by the bridge and the scene already. I am looking forward to see how the work progresses.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-19-2023
Thanks Tom. With so much going on here (an interstate highway, an active railway crossing over an inactive one, a river and a railroad bridge with massive abutments), this was always going to be a feature that draws interest. I wanted to make sure I had a good handle on background and foreground scenery before attacking this one. So, it's time.
Took the bridge and the free-standing abutments out this evening. Won't be running trains through here for a while!
I also spent some time making sure of the abutment locations. Before I removed the bridges and after pulling the abutments out I dropped a small plumb bob from the support pins under the ends of the bridge sections and got good centering, spacing and alignment for each free-standing abutment. Marked those locations on the Sculptamold and made adjustments with a hobby knife to clear the Sculptamold and plaster cloth off of the plywood base.
I'm going to add a bit more Sculptamold to areas around the base of the abutments and want to keep the Realistic Water from seeping under the areas for each abutment, so I made two surrogate bases out of Styrofoam board and screwed them into the plywood base from underneath. Once the Realistic Water finishes curing, I'll remove the surrogate bases to give me a little more room to work.
Painting starts tomorrow!
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-20-2023
Did some base coat painting this evening, focused mostly on the riverbed or the banks just above it. With the river making a sharp bend (in real life it's much more gradual), there will have been quite a few scouring events during heavy rainfalls. I gave some thought to adding some of the ruins of the old canal that existed on the west side, but there just isn't enough room. It's going to be a rocky bank with some stubborn trees and shrubs. As I get about 20 feet up the trees will get more substantial. Tomorrow night I'll focus in on detail work on the potential rock areas and detailing the riverbed itself. Once I'm happy with the riverbed I'll get the Realistic Water out and pour the lowest areas (in the turn) first and build up toward the edge of the layout.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-21-2023
Adjusted some of the riverbed tonight with a pallet of greens and browns - I have to detail the rocks prior to pouring Realistic Water.
In the meantime, I've installed my dam - a blue tarp that I secured up against the edge of the layout with a few screws into a piece of scab plywood, and worked under the supports and secured using the grommets of the tarp. If I do get some drips, the tarp will keep the polyurethane from setting up in my carpet. I also ran a bead of silicone between the tarp and the riverbed. Eventually there will be a piece of fascia at the edge of the river.
RE: Rainbows in the Lehigh Valley Gorge - TMo - 02-24-2023
While I pour the Realistic Water in stages (and trying hard not to get any refuse in there while I do it) and watching it dry, I've gotta find something else to work on. Turned my attentions to my only 2-bay concrete hopper that hadn't been weathered to date. This one was a D&H that I'd forgotten I picked up. It ended up back in the bowels of my storage area and I found it about a month ago and lashed it to the rest of the concrete local, but it looked quite out of place - it was a shiny silver car amongst the beaten and abused.
Although this isn't the car I'm working on (mine has rectangular covers on the roof), you'll get a feel for what it looked like before I started in on it:
To take the shine off of it (it really was a bright silver paint), I hit the entire model with a coat of Tamiya X-21 flat base. That stuff dries to a white chalky coating that when dry, you rub off with the end of a brush to give a "fade" effect. The flat base also gives the rest of your washes and powders something to grab on to.
I did a gray wash on most of the model to further dull things up and then proceeded to do a wash of burnt umber on the lower sections followed by a rust wash on the top of the hopper body and on the ends. Wheels and trucks got the standard gray/rust paint.
Added a set of Kaltrak decals (one on each side) and then got my PanPastels out. Hit the ribs with some rust, added a bit on the roof and hit some details. Brushed a liberal amount of brown on the underside and then added a bit of gray to the sides. Hit the whole model with a good spray of Dullcote and let her dry.
Here it is just prior to the caboose and looking a lot more like the rest of my covered hopper fleet.