You have observed the diamond shaped signs on rail cars. You may understand that they are there to warn of the possible hazards of the materials in that rail car. What you probably want to know is what are the correct markings or signs should be on the rail cars on my layout. With this clinic I will share with you a little history of the warning signs, now known as placards on railroad equipment. We will see what the correct placards are for what commodity in which era. We will start with the 1906 American Railway Association Regulations for the Transportation of Inflammable Articles and Acids and review the changes up to the current DOT regulations
The steel industry has a rich history and formed the backbone of America's growth. And from moving raw ingredients to delivering finished product, steel has been an integral part of railroading. This clinic will provide you with a basic understanding of steel making processes and vocabulary. It will give you a guide to the inner workings of rolling mills and some of the specialized railroad equipment found in and around a steel plant. Many references (both prototype and modeling) will be presented to enable you to accurately add this fascinating industry to your own layout. Although mostly a prototype clinic, modeling ideas will be injected as the presentation develops.
Learn how prototype research can improve your layout's design and operations. Discussion includes tips for researching time and place, types of prototype documents, ICC valuation records, the National Archives and the Library of Congress holdings, Sanborn Insurance maps and other sources of information in a digital world. Freeman's article Research in the Information Age appeared in Model Railroad Planning 2002.
How do you model an urban railroad that served 500 industries with 60 switch crews a day in a 500 square foot space? This clinic includes the process of compressing elements of the 1956 prototype, the creative solutions to maximizing the available space for the HO-scale design and a look at the prototype research. You may find out that you have more room for your railroad than you think.
As a public company, the SP issued annual reports to its shareholders that are readily available today. These reports are very useful to modelers in that they contain information about RR operations, locomotives and rolling stock, facilities, paint schemes and various business dealings.
Part 1 - Fundamental Concepts - Prototype and model
Bruce expands upon Signaling Made Easier series in MR and the Railroader's Application Handbook to cover adapting prototypical signaling to model railroading. ABS, APB and CTC signaling are discussed along with their impact on railroad operations. Clear differentiation is established between block and interlocking signals and speed versus route signaling. Signal placement, compatibility with DCC and how to drive different signal types are addressed. Bruce explains how to use the SMINI card coupled with the power of the computer to reduce layout wiring and system cost while maximizing system flexibility and prototype fidelity.
Part 2 - ABS, APB, turnout control, and grade crossing systems
Bruce explains optimized block occupancy detection and its application to Automatic Block Signaling (ABS). Then, Bruce clarifies how the prototype utilizes "Traffic Sticks" to determine directional movement across block boundaries to set up Absolute Permissive Block (APB) signaling thereby providing protection for bi-directional operation on the same track. The importance of "traffic sticks" in setting up grade crossing warning systems is discussed along with its utilization with a new Prototypical Grade Crossing Control (PGCC) card. Additional coverage includes prototypical turnout control and protecting hand operated switches in signal territory.
Part 3 - Centralized traffic control systems
Bruce explains CTC operations and how it can smooth traffic flow on your railroad. Typical operational scenarios are explained. Straightforward programming techniques make it is easy to "cut-paste-and-change-numbers" to set up a highly accurate C/MRI-based CTC system for any model railroad. Utilizing a standard set of callable subroutines makes the programming easy while maximizing prototype fidelity. Additionally, setting up entrance-exit interlocking plants is discussed along with using dynamic graphic interactive displays to emulate modern dispatching operations.
Bruce and his crew of 38 are modeling ten prototype railroads operating in the Pacific Northwest in 1955. Features include the SP from Portland to Dunsmuir using the Siskiyou line, SP's Coos Bay branch, SP&S from Portland to Eugene, independent logging and mining operations, and the NP, GN, SP&S and UP operations into Portland. The system includes 7 classification yards. Up to 120 trains operate during a 24-hour simulated day. Prototypical fidelity with the system designed for super realistic operation is achieved. This fast moving, all color presentation provides an exciting status update and operational overview of this monumental effort.
Research for modeling and operating the SVOS was conducted with the aid of more than 60 members of OPSIG, LDSIG and SP, SP&S, NP, UP and GN Railroad Historical and Technical Societies. With their assistance, a 5-drawer file cabinet is packed full of prototypical information now in use to accurately model every station, industry, tunnel, bridge, trestle and the general overall railroad right-of-way and its operation. For example, over 250 prototypically based structures are being created. As a thank you for the efforts expended, Bruce illustrates what is being accomplished and the resulting excitement achieved via prototype modeling.
Everyone loves bridges on their layouts, but limited selection and unrealistic design of commercial kits mean many scenes are not as interesting as they could be. Craig Bisgeier, an avid scratchbuilder and modeler, believes that we can all do better modeling with basic tools and parts and a little information. Follow step by step as Craig explains the basics of truss bridges, basic bridge design, and what's available out of the box (and why most of it is awful) to the average modeler. Craig then goes through how to use commercial kits and parts to improve the looks of the off the shelf models, and how to make custom bridges that will stand out on your layout with just a little more effort. Emerging technologies like laser cutting and 3-D printing are also pushing the limits of what's now possible! The clinic ends with a humorous discussion of what NOT to do. Join Craig and see what you can do to improve your bridge modeling!
Craig Bisgeier, proprietor of AmesvilleShops.com, designs freight car kits on his home computer and has them laser-cut by a third party. He is able to create cars and structures he needs for his own layout, and sells extra copies to other modelers to help pay for his hobby expenses. And he wants to show you how you can do it too. We will go through the basics of the software, how to use it, and basic kit design. Then he will discuss available materials to work with, how to prepare a set of drawings for a commercial cutter that will save you time and money. He will show several examples of his work, including several car kits he's made as well as structures which would be nearly impossible to model by hand. Finally he will do a visual walk-through of how an average laser-cut car kit is assembled. By the time you leave you will have a good idea of how to get set up and start creating your own kits!
