Train shed cleanup and work on bad orders

A key accomplishment for me over the Memorial Day weekend was cleaning up my train shed so I can actually use my workbench, which has been in use primarily as one big storage shelf. It was mostly a task of cleaning and organizing, and in the process I even found a couple things I had forgotten about. I added some more shelves on two walls to keep tools and parts up off the workbench. Once I had usable space I got to work on various small projects that had been on my list for a while.

Organizing in progress, with new shelves to hold parts and tools.

I had a few extra laminate floor tiles so I put them in the center of the workbench to create a smooth working surface which will be easy to cleanup. First two tasks were some minor repair work on my fire watch tower, and repairing a truck on my UP caboose which had snapped off when it was damaged in a collision.

Organizing parts so they're easier to find in the future.

Next on the project list was swapping out couplers. I've adopted Kadee 909 couplers as the standard for my rolling stock as they're so easy to use and perform great. This BN hopper has original Aristocraft couplers which are fine if hooked to each other but they don't play well with other couplers.

With old coupler removed, I just needed to drill a small new hole and then assemble the new coupler. It's been a while since I did this so I took a few minutes to remember how to hold everything together without the springs popping out and flying across the room. That only happened three times on the first one.

Assembly is complete.

Testing height alignment of the truck on test track before reattaching to car.

Another car getting a coupler upgrade today.

As I completed work on each car I added it on to the end of my train.

These are the two box girder bridges I built from styrene years ago. A few ribs have broken off so I reattached them with plastic cement.

My final project was creating a second permanent battery car. This shows my first battery car which is a USA Trains BN boxcar. I used this as it has doors wide enough to allow me to get a Makita battery in and out, but as it is 1:24 scale, it looks out of place when I'm running 1:29 scale trains.

I selected a Burlington boxcar from Aristocraft to be my 1:29 scale battery car. The doors are not big enough to allow battery access, so I detached the roof to allow access. Just like I did for the first battery car, I built a cradle for the battery using styrene L-shaped channels to keep the battery centered in the car during train movement.

From the outside of the car, the only visible modification is a small hole for wires.

 

Spring construction update #2

Since my last post I finalized bridge placement and completed another segment of trestle, a rather short one so it was a relatively quick project.

After a trip to Home Depot for more bricks, I realigned and reconstructed my bridge piers so they were sturdier. They aren't pretty but they'll do the job and support the bridge, which is a heavy one as it's made of steel. I checked and double-checked the alignment of the bridge with the track in place to ensure the piers were placed exactly where I wanted them, then set the bridge aside but kept the track in place at it's final elevation. The stakes are marking where the trestle bents will go.

Measuring down from the track, I cut bents to the correct height and finished them by attaching the mudsill at the bottom. I made a double bent for each end of the trestle and then let everything sit overnight to dry.

The next morning I placed each bent in position, with the top of each one exactly 3/4 inch below track level.

I then glued the stringers on top of the bents and weighted them down to keep everything from moving.

After attaching the braces on the sides and clamping them in place, I let everything sit to dry out overnight.

Today all the weights and clamps could come off, and I put the track back in place. It's ready to go, aside from the sudden drop at the far side of the bridge. The next trestle will be a challenging one due to its length and curve.

This morning while on a bike ride on the Fish Lake Trail I saw an unusual sight—a westbound unit oil train heading up the Marshall grade on what is normally the eastbound track. I know both the eastbound and westbound tracks are signaled in both directions so each can support bidirectional traffic, but this was my first time seeing that in action. It was moving 15 mph at most, just slightly faster than we were on our bikes. Only two trains passed us during our two-hour bike ride (one each direction), less than the four to seven trains we would typically see.

Meanwhile, on the westbound track I would occasionally glimpse a maintenance car like this ballast tamper, explaining why the westbound track was closed today.

Continuing work on spring construction

I've found some time in between other yard work projects to work on the railroad over the past couple of weeks, and activity is picking up as we've entered a long period of warm, dry weather. Not exactly record breaking heat but still about 15+ degrees warmer than normal for this time of year which makes being outside very pleasant. Here are a few pictures from the work I've done in the past week:

Now that it's warmed up I've glued missing trestle pieces back into place.

Another section of trestle that needed a little bit of help. It's only the older trestle that needs work as the newer trestle work I made last fall is still in perfect condition.

I'm getting ready to build the next segment of trestle for my upper loop, so first step was building some more bents as I only had a few on hand. Got out my table saw and chop saw for the first time this year.

A pile of prepared bents, ready to have their tops trimmed off.

I've had a couple of derailments in this location. I thought the issue was a dip here just before the switch, but after leveling it off I realized it still was causing an issue. So then I thought I would create superelevation here (raising the outside track above the inside track) and it helped.

This is where I left off the upper loop last fall, with a tight curve that heads off vaguely toward a bridge.

I realized I've used up most of my individual piece track, so I needed to assemble some flex track. And I had to remember the best way to thread the ties onto the track pieces. Answer: On a flat surface with at eight feet of space to work with. My workbench was the perfect spot. I'm using six-foot lengths of track that are flexible enough to define gentle curves without the use of a track bender. The ties I'm using are in connected one-foot lengths. 

Here is the redefined curve that leads into a long tangent over the bridge. I decided I didn't like the large rocks in the middle of the curve so I'm pushing them back to make room for buildings or other structures next to the track

Once I had decided on the track alignment, I adjusted the bridge location and then built the first pier. I realized that these piers are too unstable because of their height so I'm going to put something sturdier here instead, after a trip to the Home Depot.

A final view of where I left off today.

And here is a reverse view looking through the bridge structure. I like how this straight tangent contrasts with the serpentine route below.

We have gone for bike rides on the Fish Lake Trail a couple times in the past week, and saw many trains, but I rarely can get a decent picture as they always seem to pass at the wrong spots. Here is the lead locomotive on an eastbound grain train.

Here is the trailing locomotive on the same train, passing Queen Lucas Lake.

For comparison, here is the same view from the first week of April of last year, showing how much water would normally be in the lake. The difference is likely the unusually dry winter we had this year which has caused the water table to drop.

It's definitely spring and many mid-spring wildflowers are in peak bloom, such as these arrowleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) along the Spokane river.

I love seeing fields of common camas (Camassia quamash), which from a distance can look like pools.

This red besseya (Besseya rubra) is a bit past it's peak.

Prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) is another favorite of mine.