Train Nerd's Blog

Rick Peltz's N-Scale Union Pacific Layout

9/23/2021

One of the benefits of belonging to the NMRA is the opportunities to visit other's layouts and network. Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Rick and Connie Peltz and viewing their N-scale layout. The western-themed layout is two-level, measuring 14' x 31', with a helix connecting the upper and lower levels. The layout beautifully captures the western plains, traversed by railroad and interstate highways. It has some unique construction techniques, including a helix made of uniform laser-cut sections.

Rick LOVES trucks and his collection of commercially made and scratch built models are featured on the layout.

Rick & Connie Peltz in the basement layout room.

The upper level track plan.

Lower level track plan.

Western scenery and Union Pacific power dominate the layout.

A good overview shot of the layout.

An engine terminal and classification yard are features of the lower level.

A bi-directional helix connects the upper and lower levels of the layout.

The bi-directional helix has four tracks - two ascending and two declining to connect the two levels.

The helix is made up of laser-cut sectional pieces of MDF board with notches for precise alignment.

This close-up shot shows the transition from the helix to plywood.

One of two rivers on the layout.

The poured water effects are perfection.

This cross-section reveals the materials used in construction.

In addition to railroad lines, the layout has a heavy presence of highways.

Rick remembers traversing these highways on cross-country family vacations when he was growing up, and the layout reflects that.

A typical scene on the layout showing 3D printed signals and river crossing bridges.

Rick's son has designed and 3D printed detailed signal bridges for the layout.

It turns out that Rick and I have something in common - we both like truck models!

Rick had an article published in the March/April 2017 N-Scale Enthusiast about his fleet of truck models.

These white metal Chevrolet C-60 trucks from Precision in Miniature are no longer made, but show up occasionally on eBay.

A well-equipped workbench is essential to any layout.

A few "works in progress" on the workbench.

3D printed signal bridges await installation.

These 3D printed bulk material trailers await finishing.

A beautifully detailed low boy trailer with load traverses a highway on the layout.

In closing, one of my favorite features on the layout is this commercial jet attached to the wall with a solid piece of wire.

Thanks Rick and Connie for hosting me! I look forward to a future visit to see your progress.

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DJs Trains Visits the Pittsburgh Mainline

3/1/2021

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We were very pleased to host DJ Arlia of DJ's Trains a few weeks ago for a tour of our layout. He has put together a fabulous video tour of our layout, interspersed with photos of the prototype we are modeling. It can be found on YouTube along with many other videos he has done - the link is below. Thanks DJ for making our layout shine!

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Schnabel Car Generator Move - 3/7/2018

3/1/2021

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On March 7, 2018, an unusual car movement took place on the Allegheny Valley Railroad, now Carload Express. A new generator needed to be moved from the Siemens Energy Plant in New Kensington, PA to a new natural gas-fired powerplant nearing completion in Ruffsdale, PA. Siemens owns a Schnabel car, used to transport equipment that they build. According to Wikipedia, A Schnabel car or Schnabel wagon is a specialized type of railroad freight car. It is designed to carry heavy and oversized loads in such a way that the load makes up part of the car.

We had some advance knowledge of this more thanks to an acquaintance. I took the morning off work and positioned myself in Oakmont, PA to catch the special train as it rolled through the main business district. Here are some photos.

The train was led by Carload Express MP15AC Loco 1559 in their always sharp maroon, yellow and black paint scheme. Allegheny Avenue is on the left.

The second unit was loco 4004, an EMD GP40-2 locomotive.

An idler flat car followed loco #4004, then the first piece of cargo a large tarped boxy piece of equipment.

This boxy piece of equipment rides on heavy-duty flat car, followed by another idler flat car.

This large cylindrical piece rides on heavy-duty flat car KRL 50803 owned by Kasgro Rail Lines of New Castle, PA.

The Schnabel car. KWUX 301, owned by Siemens Westinghouse Power Corporation, is the main event for this train.

Here the details of the Schnabel are visible.

Here you can see the points where the two halves of the Schnabel car attach to the load, in this case a generator.

Any caboose is a rare sight these days, but especially this climate-controlled caboose owned by Siemens that travels with the Schnabel car.

I chased the train to Verona, the next town, and got this better side view of the Schnabel car.

This wider view shows the caboose and Carload Express MP15AC loco #1554 bringing up the rear.

This train made it's way to the Brilliant Cutoff, which leads to the NS main at CP Home. From there, Norfolk Southern moved the loads to the SWP interchange at Radebaugh. Southwest Penn took the final leg of bringing the loads to a transload site near New Stanton, PA.

Our model collection includes this HO-scale Schnabel car handmade by the late Dean Freytag, Westinghouse Electric Corporation Car #WECX 200.

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In Memoriam - Jerry A. Kyslinger

6/27/2019

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It is with great sadness that we bid farewell this week to one our crew members, Jerry Kyslinger. Jerry had been fighting lung cancer for several years and it finally won the battle.

Looking at all the photos we have of layout construction, there is no part of the layout that Jerry did not have a hand in creating. He was there in good weather and in bad, always willing to take on any project with a boatload of "how to" knowledge, so evident in the beautiful models he painstakingly built. I credit Jerry with teaching Charlie about wood working, a skill he taught quite well. No project was beyond his skills.

His love of railroads and history, and an eye for detail, made him the perfect crew member. I would always make sure the coffee was on and some sharp cheddar cheese and Club crackers were on hand when Jerry was coming to a work night or operating session.

You will be sorely missed my friend. I know God has a shiny, reliable Volkswagen waiting for you to drive. Looking forward to sharing another cup of coffee with you in heaven some day!

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West Slope Signals Fall

6/13/2019

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As a part of PTC-related improvements on the Norfolk Southern Pittsburgh Line, all interlocking signals are being modernized and intermediate signals are being removed from service. While this is a necessary improvement and investment in the future of this line as a whole, it involves the removal of all PRR and Conrail-era signals from existence.

The new signals are being cut-over one interlocking at a time for the most part, working west from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. On Sunday June 9th, the signals of the famed West Slope between CP MO in Cresson and CP SO in South Fork were scheduled to be removed from service. I cleared my schedule to go see this cutover, but plans changed. A large derailment in Ohio had caused a backlog of rail traffic, so NS pushed the cut-over to Monday. Having nothing on my schedule, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend Sunday as an unexpected day to photograph every signal on this stretch of the mountain and use Monday to watch several signals fall. Enjoy the photos and videos below.

-Charlie

My first stop on Sunday was to shoot the morning Pennsylvanian heading under the PRR signals in Johnstown at the Amtrak station. The conductor gave a nice wave in the morning sunlight.

I spent the rest of Sunday shooting signals that had less than 24 hours before their removal. Here a loaded coal drag approaches the MP 257 signals at Jamestown. These heads are unique in that they are mounted on a road bridge and were once the eastbound signals for BC interlocking.

A hot intermodal runs east on track one under the MP 254 signals in Lilly.

A helper shoves hard on another intermodal as it ducks under the ancient MP 256 signals. This bridge was erected over a century ago.

Two eastbounds race to Altoona under the MP 263 signals in Summerhill.

A rare pedestal signal guarded MP 265 on the South Fork runner track. While not all are featured here, by Sunday's conclusion I could say I shot every single signal between MO and SO. Mere hours after I met my goal, there would not be a single signal between these points.

I raced home Sunday for a quick evening shift at my part time job. With a few hours of sleep under my belt, I awoke at 2 am and arrived in Summerhill by 4 am to watch this piece of history fall. At 3:30, I heard the last track warrant given to MoW workers to allow them to use all tracks between CP C in Johnstown and CP UN/AR in Gallitzin for the signal project. Within minutes of arriving in Summerhill, I watched the amber bulbs go dark as the signal was turned off. Moments later, a contractor was raised by a lift to start torching the bridge to pieces.

With three lifts holding the bridge's weight, a fourth lift allowed a crew member to cut the bridge from its legs. The left side of the bridge's wire insulation burned throughout much of the process.

The bridge was lowered to the ground just as daylight arrived.

The bridge was cut in half and laid to rest next to the tracks.

I relocated to Portage after Summerhill's signals were down. At 10am, track was returned to the dispatcher who would run one westbound and six eastbounds before granting MoW access to the track again. Amtrak 42 was the first of these eastbounds and would be the last train to pass the 258 signals in Portage, the last PRR signals on the West Slope.

Moments after Amtrak passed, NS crews removed the nuts on the base of the last signal on the West Slope. With a gentle push, this artifact crashed to the ground.

Lilly's signal bridge was left almost entirely intact when it was rested next to the railroad.

This video shows just a portion of the footage I shot in Summerhill set to the tune of the Night Ranger's appropriately-named song "Goodbye".

This full video shows the entire signal removal process in Summerhill.

Enjoy some final shots of the West Slope signals to the tune of Enter the Haggis's "One Last Drink". I imagine the signals were signing along as they received one extra day to light the way for commerce before their demise.

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London Underground

1/23/2019

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My daughter spent a semester in London last fall. One day she texted me that she had stumbled upon the London Transport Museum in Coventry Garden and went inside to explore their gift shop. Here's what she found.

Being a fan of passenger trains, light rail and transit, I had to have one of these for the layout. A bit shocked by the price, I did some exploring on the Internet but learned that this was an exclusive product that Bachmann made for the Museum only, and that was the only place they could be purchased. I asked her to to pick one up before the end of the semester and she did. Turns out she got the next to the last set at a close-out price of 20% off! It is OO scale (1/76), but is designed with a track gauge to run on HO scale track. Somehow she fit it in her luggage and brought it home.

The set models the Metropolitan Line, one of the newest lines with its distinctive red, white and blue paint scheme. The prototype train sets, manufactured by Bombardier, are 7 or 8 cars, but the model set has just four. Additional cars can be purchased to create a longer train set. Even the four car set looks impressive, seen here gliding into the station at Pittsburgh.

There are several videos on YouTube showing models of the correct length trains. An optional upgrade includes interior lighting, sound, and realistic third rail "sparks" from the power pick-ups. Unfortunately, these upgrade kits are sold out and no longer available.

The model is nicely detailed with reversing LED headlights/tail lights, windscreen wipers, cab interior and even lighted destination boards reading: "Aldgate, Metropolitan Line." My daughter rode that route a few times when in London.

Detailed interiors, roof and undercarriage details, and flexible diaphragms between the cars add realism.

It was a quick task to add Lokpilot 21-pin decoders to the head and tail cars, priced at about $25 each. Sound could be added, but I could not justify the cost or the effort - subway trains make very little noise.

A small access cover on the bottom of each car allowed decoder installation in just a few minutes.

The back of the cardboard box provides additional information about the prototype and the possibilities to expand the train set. What a great addition to the Pittsburgh Mainline!

Here is the prototype in action (Wikipedia photo). The model captures it perfectly! My daughter was very impressed with how seamlessly trains, subways and surface transportation connect with each other in Great Britain.

The distinctive "Underground" logo can be found in every station and on the street to direct passengers into each station.

Each individual line builds on the basic logo with its own color logo.

And to sweeten the deal, my daughter brought me a poster of the underground system map and a "Mind the Gap" t-shirt!

So now that I'm into modern British railroads, a future project will be to add a decoder to this Inter-City 125 passenger train by Lima, an Italian manufacturer, that I bought while visiting London in 1985.

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DCC Flag Men

9/30/2018

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One of our railroad friends bought some of these clever DCC Flag Men and sent a few over for our layout. They are small circuit boards with a 1/4 ounce weight that are positioned on your track to protect the rear of your train during switching maneuvers. Two copper contacts on the bottom of the board pick up track power, causing the LED held by the flagman to illuminate. A neat idea that adds additional realism to operations. They also double as a power tester.

They are available from Model Railroad Control Systems: http://www.modelrailroadcontrolsystems.com/dcc-flag-man-track-power-tester-8-pack/

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Penn Station

4/17/2018

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This image appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on 8-11-2017 and it once again reminded me of what an architectural gem the train station in downtown Pittsburgh is. I have always admired this building and only feel more that way as I grow older. Here is a bit about the station. Note: It has been suggested that the cap from a bottle of Crown Royal would make a decent decoration in HO scale for the center of the rotunda roof. ~ Andy

A number of years ago a lawyer acquaintance agreed to let me take a photo of the station from his office suite on one of the upper floors of the Gulf Building on Seventh Avenue. This is a view you could never get from street level, showing the building's atrium. I am told that this was often done in older buildings (before air conditioning) to help with ventilation, so that more offices had windows.

This old postcard shows the station in an earlier time. Note the old motor cars in front of the rotunda.

This interesting shot shows the architectural details of the station, with the rotunda clock in the foreground. (John Polyak photo)

This incredible photo shows the interior of the rotunda with the ornate center skylight.

There is one of these archways at each of the four rotunda corners. (John Polyak photo)

The station rotunda has been designated an historic landmark by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation

The rotunda is a popular venue for weddings.

The main floor of the station is then the perfect place for an elegant wedding reception following the ceremony. I don't recall ever being inside the station and the public cannot gain access today - it is only open to building residents and their guests.

The rotunda at night is possibly even more spectacular than in the daytime.

Each of the four corners of the rotunda has a carved head and the name of one of the major cities , here Pittsburg without the "h", served by the Pennsylvania Railroad.

New York, of course.

...and Chicago. The "1900" is the year the station was built.

...and Philadelphia. (all John Polyak photos)

The carved stonework at the upper floor is amazing.

More carved stonework on the side of the station. They just don't build buildings like this anymore.

A covered walkway leads along the outside of the building to the Amtrak Station at the rear, bypassing the splendor that lies inside the original station.

And here is the aluminum and glass doorway into the Amtrak Station.

The interior of the Amtrak station looks no different that any modern bus or train depot, lacking the charm of the original station.

This covered parking area, almost impossible to navigate because of the concrete support columns, provides short term parking while dropping off or picking up train passengers.

Passengers take an escalator from the waiting room up to the platform level. There are three stub-end tracks on the right and two through tracks on the left. Here passengers board the Pennsylvanian, Amtrak Train #42, which has spent the night at the station and will depart for Philadelphia, New York and points east at 7:30 am. The train is a popular and economical way to travel for the elderly and college students.

The opposite side of the station abuts the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway and serves as a stop for transit riders.

This view looking east from the roof of the parking garage on the opposite side of Liberty Avenue shows the two main line tracks as thy enter/exit the station from the Fort Wayne Bridge across the Allegheny River.

This bird's eye aerial views shows the station relative to its surroundings. The Fort Wayne Bridge crossing the Allegheny River is at the lower right. The two mainline tracks make a pretty tight bend coming into the station. This view also shows the train sheds over the station platforms, which were cut to allow construction of Interstate 579.

Any way you look at it, this is a magnificent building. While it is a shame that it no longer serves the number of trains it once did, at least it is still here and the interior office space has been converted to apartments/condos.

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Dressing Up Some MoW F30 Flatcars

1/8/2018

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As a quick weekend project, I decided to make a trio of Bowser F30 flatcars look a little better than they did out of the box. The main objective was to paint the molded plastic deck to look like weathered wood instead of yellow plastic. I'm pleased with the results of the project and look forward to replicating it on other flatcars and gondolas. See the pictures below for a step by step look at what I did.
-Charlie

I had assembled these kits long ago, but decided it was time to put together a decent Maintenance of Way fleet as the warmer months for track work approach. As you can see, the yellow deck doesn't look too realistic. The first step I took was to remove the wheelsets to prevent the cars from rolling around. I also put a dab of super glue around the bottom of the brake wheel stand where it contacts the deck. I forget how I had attached this piece before, but it was incredibly loose and prone to being broken.

The axlepoint holes were masked and Testor's Dullcote was applied to the whole car to give some tooth for paint to adhere to.

For now, I retained the plastic wheelsets. To prevent the brass-colored axles from standing out, I brush painted them a dark, grimy color.

The decks were painted using a technique shown in a Model Railroader video. I kept my brush wet and applied four colors of acrylic paint working from lightest to darkest. I was careful to apply the paint sparingly. Especially towards the last shades, I applied the paint unevenly to show natural variation. With each application, I worked quickly with little wet paint at a time. I would pick up some paint with the brush, deposit it along the middle of the deck for a quarter inch or so, then drag the paint towards the sides of the car before it dried. I masked the areas of the deck that are not meant to represent wood.

One major deviation I took from the MR video was not ordering the $40 paint set they used to achieve the same technique. I instead bought four bottles of paint at Joann Fabrics for around $5 that worked just as well. I applied these colors from right to left, starting with a base coat of Mississippi Mud and ending with Burnt Umber. The specific paint colors aren't critical, as long as they are a variety of tans and browns.

The ends of the boards were also painted to give some depth to the deck. For this, I just chose one of the darker shades instead of using the same technique as the top.

Here's an aerial view of the finished deck. I sealed it with dullcote before applying weathering powder.

Upon checking the cars' weights against the NMRA standard, I found that they only weight a measly 1.8 oz, less than half the standard weight of 4.5 oz. I glued lead shot into the underframe to add as much weight as I could, but this still didn't put the car up to 4.5 oz. I used 50/50 white glue/water applied with a pipette. The cars have some tracking issues, but a heavy load would resolve this.

With couplers rusted, air hoses painted, and weathering powder applied to the decks' steel and trucks, a final sealing coat of dullcote finished off the models. These cars now appropriately look like they have seen 50 years of service and are ready to serve the MoW needs of the PML.

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PRR Station Signs

12/10/2017

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We're pretty excited with these HO scale laser engraved station signs which arrived yesterday. I found them on eBay. They are sold in pairs, made to order with the station name of your choosing. They sell for $9/pair under user name: scalecitydesigns. I need to investigate the best way to finish them, but just having them is a great start to making our station platforms realistic.

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<<Previous

Rick Peltz's N-Scale Union Pacific Layout

DJs Trains Visits the Pittsburgh Mainline

Schnabel Car Generator Move - 3/7/2018

In Memoriam - Jerry A. Kyslinger

West Slope Signals Fall

London Underground

DCC Flag Men

Penn Station

Dressing Up Some MoW F30 Flatcars

PRR Station Signs

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