MC HO module pictures

I may have mentioned this before, but finally serious works gotten done after sitting idle half made for a few years.
both SS and NKP will be active and interchange cars. Turnouts are all hand made and the crossing was hand made but switched to a Walthers.

Central Valley turnout kits fill in the ties part and the points, but its practically all hand laid. Close to wiring it up and running.

nice! just make sure you don't run your South Bend section into the Michigan City add-cars because they haven't cleared the yard lead yet...

Great work! Please continue to post more photos so we can share your progress!

-otto-

BRofC 2-10-2 shuffles some cars at Burnham while Lil Joe arrives with a coal drag.

taken a while but now serious progress can be done on the Burnham yard.
For my layout this is another critical interchange point as the Belt Railway of Chicago will move cars on to other lines, like the North Shore I will be modeling, I will focus more on the North Shore freight operations than passenger but some passenger runs will be possible, especially when I will model the Milwaukee Terminal. I have the model for it, so there ya go.

North Shore had a very diverse Freight service, but little seen by the average passenger.

Real Burnham yard is pretty straight, but I have to bend and loop it around to fit, but the track arrangement is the same, based on the CERA book. On one module you see both the north and south ends of it at the same time but there is no physical connection, you have to imagine the distances. Some kind of visual cue might break it up.
The yard has a north and south tail track for the switching duties, because of my looping around needs I found I could complete the loop of the north and south tail tracks so now I will be able to have a loop for testing and demonstration and whatever. Perfectly level. Reality makes a benefit for the model. Cool.

Still early stages of construction the pic is a throwdown of track to test, but its working out lots better than I expected.

Finally got a new loop laid on the new modules. This is 24 inch radius code 83. Surprisingly my little joe runs fine on it. But it will still be better on the 26" minimum as its specs say.

Its hauling about a 24 car train and it still has power to spare. This is the first day since I have owned this model in years that it has seriously operated continuously pulling any kind of train. WooHoo!! Wheel fix I did was the problem now its all gung ho to run. Did a few loops with this train. Module area is the Burnham Yard of the South Shore so its right at home.

Did some down and dirty track planning today and recently and it continues, I was able to sneak in the Bendix switching and NYC interchange and work in the freight depot area to the east. I swore to myself I was going to get that great puzzle switching into this layout and I think I succeeded. There are no runarounds directly in the freight depot area, so the work train has to post in the bendix area and run cars in as appropriate switching moves can be done and run them into the freight depot. This will make a very interesting run session, consider the new planning added run length, and passenger operation splitting in between. No room for the gravel pit but a non-working switch may be placed to represent where it runs off.

Nice Joe. Who manufactured it?

Funny you mention the gravel pit, it used to be owned by family friends. I have never asked them why they quit railroad shipments, but I know it happened before my time. Today the NICTD trains crawl past on the airport line and there's a little critter switcher on display along with a Mike Mulligan-style bucket crane from P&H.

byte wrote:Nice Joe. Who manufactured it?

Northwest Short LIne import. I had some sqiggle problem with the lead trucks on one end, it would derail forever. Found the middle screw (or hole) was totally stripped of its threads. Drilled straight thru and put a solid mini screw and nut, now it holds great, runs fine. It's minimum radius is noted 26"
but I have managed it on 24", but the apron railings start bumping the nose, so I have planned the CSS&SB portion of mainline of this layout to 26" minimum, except some industrial areas just mentioned, my 2 700 class engines will take 15" radius, and I declared industrial areas should handle 15" radius, unless I plan on the Joe to work something. Mostly the Joe will handle the interchange service while the 700s peddle around.

I'll have more pics later. I will setup some test display trackage to see how things fit in reality.

some time later now more work done.



Little Joe drags interchange cars onto the South Shore trackage.

Right now I have a dogbone loop on either side of this module and I can continuously run across the diamond here, doing testing and checking trackwork I know I still have tweakages to do. Now I can seriously run trains around checking cars and track.
I can do DC and DCC here. Thats by design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTbB7Ap_8CE

South Shore Little Joe pulls cars off the Nickel Plate interchange to the South Shore main, while 2 passenger cars await clearance as NKP 772 awaits, mars light flashing.