There's a lot of updates to share on the Leeds Hill Railroad. Most are just bullet points, but one major thing takes precedent: I am rebuilding the railroad in my new home. Scroll down to see the plan and photos of early progress. Since it's already mid-October I most likely won't have anything running until next spring.
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Just because I don't have a railroad doesn't mean I can't work on my rolling stock... Remember the boxcars I bought a few months ago? I finally got a chance to start modifying and repairing them! Boston & Maine
I actually managed to finish this car today. It needed new grab rails, a new brake rod and brake wheel, different trucks & couplers. I also did a touch up to the paint job on the catwalk and steps in each corner. I also thought it would look nice to paint the handles on each sliding door. I think it makes them pop a little, which is a nice change to the single color of the car. The one thing this car is missing is a step next to the brake line. I had ordered it, but the company sent the wrong piece. So, I have to wait for that still... See Before and After shots below!
Today I had a short running session with Toby and a modified "Troublesome Truck" for cleaning the track.
To modify the truck I cut the brake lines off each side and screwed an LGB cleaning unit to the bottom. I may need to modify the car slightly more, as the cleaning pads are a bit too low. It came off the rails twice today when the pads got caught on a rail gap. But, it definitely works! I noticed a significant improvement in power pick-up after a few laps around the inner loop. Oh, I also took the face off both troublesome trucks and hope to decal the cars at some point in the future with "LHRR" and car specs.
As of tomorrow I'll have all the track I need to complete the second track around Piscine Loop. When I return from my vacation next week I'll be working on the Railroad until it's done!
In light of that, I've spent the last few days working on my yard design for the next section of the LHRR. A working yard will mean that I can be fully active with my trains even though my RR only has a double loop. So, I did some research (including talking to friends online) and drew up a design... Today one of my (several) orders from eBay came in! This particular one was a lot of 3 used box cars. The manufacturers were unknown, so I took a chance.
They are pictured below: a Boston & Maine, a Virginian, and a Santa Fe Refer. It's not much, but today I took apart my Forney and it won't be going back together until I have it all rewired! The only actual thing I did today to modify the loco was drilling a hole and screwing the charging socket into place.
Okay, so, really the second track around the Piscine Loop of the LHRR isn't even done yet. But, I'm staking claim to additional space for my railroad anyway. Here's a quick before and after shot of the remaining length of the back wall of our garage that I have yet to monopolize (thus far). The intention here is to extend the track running from Piscine Loop out this way then around the corner. Along the way there will be a small yard for my rolling stock. I may be able to fit an engine shed in somewhere too...
Today I did a couple hours of work on the Leeds Hill Railroad before the rain began. I started by working on the grade from the wye to the back curve then moved on to working on the wye itself.
I added a bunch of rocks to the landscape to give each track the sense that it has it's own space. This also allowed me to plan the route for the left curve of the second loop of track. Looking at this photo, I think I may add more rock to the right-most space. These rocks also serve as a path for me to get to the rear curve, as the bottom space in the photo will have one or two more tracks in the future. At the moment, any future construction is delayed until I can buy more track and the ballast for it. This could be a decent delay... |
Hello!My name is John. This is my website dedicated to all things model railroading! I hope you enjoy! Archives
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