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Adrian Wintle

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Everything posted by Adrian Wintle

  1. I believe the NS locos would be Dash 9-40CWs and the rest would be Dash 9-44CWs. Aside from RR-specific details (headlights etc.) they are otherwise indistinguishable.
  2. There is another K4 other than 1361. 3750 is at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. Last time I was by it was looking a bit rusty (outside display). Adrian
  3. It was nice to meet up with people again this year, some of whom I only see every two years. Adrian
  4. Some additional notes on the Acela. I have now obtained enough bits to make a full trainset. With a second power unit (in one of the coaches - it is trivial to swap shells) it will now travel around Kato 15" curves at a respectable speed. Without the second power unit there was really no hope of running a full set (PC-End Business-Business-Business-Café-Business-First-PC). Adrian
  5. The infamous Montreal, Maine and Atlantic used a mix of EMD and GE equipment, but it was on the large side (not really a shortline, but not a Class 1 railroad). Until the gas fracking really took off, my favourite shortline (Wellsboro and Corning) used a single EMD switcher (an SW1500, I think) for it's twice weekly train (2-3 cars). It replaced that with 4 SD40s (ex- Quebec, North Shore, and Labrador) for hauling trainloads of fracking sand. The locos used will be whatever is appropriate to the traffic and cheap. As a rule of thumb, think non-turbo for EMD (e.g. GP38s rather than GP40s) and think two-axle rather than three-axle unless the traffic requires it. Adrian
  6. The grain hopper dates from about 1981. If you really get picky, there are a couple of issues with it. First, the Bachmann models are of the 4650 cu. ft. hoppers (stepped ends) rather than the Canadian 4550 cu. ft. grain hoppers (straight ends). Second, with an ALNX reporting mark this was a CN-allocated car - the CP-allocated cars had ALPX reporting marks. Despite this, it is a nice car and accurately decorated. Adrian
  7. CN doesn't need to do heritage units. Some of their units are still running in their fallen flag schemes (IC and BCRail for sure) and a lot are running in older versions of the black and red schemes. Adrian
  8. Norfolk Southern still has at least six SD40s. They are listed as SD40-2s as they have been upgraded internally, but they are still on the short SD40 frames. http://www.nsdash9.com/rosters/3428.html Adrian
  9. I would agree. The majority of my stock has been converted to MT couplers regardless of the original couplers. For rolling stock it is often simpler to replace the trucks with MT ones. Locomotives can be more of a challenge but most can be converted relatively easily. If you are going down the MT route I would suggest getting the coupler height gauge. I do keep the Kato couplers on my passenger rolling stock and locos. Adrian
  10. Detail Associates did a 'City' and an 'Industrial District' as part of their Rail Scene 'Modular Backdrop System' line. These are artwork backdrops and are fairly small (about 11" by 4"). I don't know if they are made any more, but were fairly cheap. A better bet might be SceniKing who do quite nice photographic backdrops and have some that might work. http://www.sceniking.com/ Adrian
  11. I can't read the name. If I could I could probably figure out the provenance of it. Definitely Budd and, as you say, likely pre-war. Looks to be a sleeper-buffet-lounge-observation car. Further investigation suggests that it is one of the ex-NYC Brook cars (5 bedroom observation buffet lounge), built in 1949 for various services. I believe all seven of these cars are still in existence. Here is Babbling Brook: http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3574207 More: http://rrpicturearchives.net/rspicture.aspx?id=523336 Adrian
  12. Probably the most interesting bridge would be the Susquehanna River bridge. It goes over the mouth of the Susquehanna so it is a long bridge with a movable span in the middle (I'm not sure if it moves these days). To the south you have views over the north end of Chesapeake Bay and (on the west side) the very pretty town of Havre de Grace (the railroad passes over the north end of the town). To the north you can see (in order) the Rte. 40, CSX (ex B&O) and I95 bridges, and in the distance, Conowingo dam. The two pictures before Aberdeen above look to be taken looking south from the Susquehanna bridge. Adrian
  13. It does firmly have D for derail on the switch stand. I presume the terminology depends on the railroad/area as dave1905 calls them split point derails in the post above. Adrian
  14. A GP40-2 has three equally-sized radiator fans at the end of the long hood (we'll call it the back of the loco for the purposes of this discussion). A GP35 also has three fans, but they are large-small-large. Looking from the front of the loco, a GP40-2 normally has a sight glass opening on the left side of the long hood, approximately under the leading radiator fan (this distinguishes it from a GP40). Both a GP35 or a GP40-2 could have dynamic brakes fitted - the bulge and fan in the middle of the long hood - or not, depending on the railroad. Adrian
  15. As far as I can tell, the only real option in N scale are the Kaslo resin kits (some marketed by partners). They are not unreasonable kits to build, but they are not for the aint of heart. I have a couple of their SD60Fs (drops onto an Atlas SD50/60 chassis) and an SD40-2F (drops onto a Kato SD40-2 chassis) Adrian
  16. Since he wanted an "easier / quicker way of splitting / combining the consist", I would suggest that directly manipulating CV19 would be the easiest / quickest way. Adrian
  17. In Ontario the plates (front and rear) can stay with the owner or can be replaced. It is a case of what type of transaction was done. I have had the same plates on the last 4 cars since, in the last three cases, I traded in the old car so the plates were just transferred. The previous two cars lost their plates because I didn't trade in the old car so the dealership (understandably) wouldn't use the old plates since they were still registered to a vehicle outside of their control. This has been the case since at least the '70s. When the plates were of the form AAA NNN it was also possible to tell what region the original car was originally registered in. The changeover to NNN AAA (approx. 1987) also saw the central control of numbers so they were issued sequentially. They currently are of the form AAAA NNN (with the leading letter up to C) which has been the case since about 1998. The rear plate will also have a coloured decal in the upper right with the expiry month of the registration (pay more money, get a new sticker for 1 or 2 years). Adrian
  18. If there is a value in CV19 the unique address of the unit cannot be used to cause the unit to move (there are other CVs that determine whether lights etc. are controlled by the consist address or the unit address, but a typical advanced consist leaves the control of those set to the unit address). Either scheme you mention above would work and, typically, just removing one unit from the consist would be quicker. It would mean that the other unit(s) are controlled through the consist address. Adrian
  19. Our prime minister has insisted that the owner of the line (Omnitrax) must pay to repair the line. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/trudeau-pallister-meeting-1.4227610 I don't know whether that is a legal requirement or just posturing. Adrian
  20. They fail relatively often in race/rally cars. They do only have one moving part, but it does move very fast (rotationally). Either foreign objects, lack of oil, or cooked oil can cause a failure. Foreign objects can damage the spool which will cause it to be unbalanced while cooked oil or lack of oil will cause overheating which will ultimately damage the bearings which will again cause it to be unbalanced. From the relatively frequent occurrences of GE turbo fires, I would guess that the lubrication system is questionable. Adrian
  21. To have working ditch lights at both ends (i.e. constant + alternating) you would likely need six functions (Headlight front/rear, front DLx2, rear DLx2). Adrian
  22. Presuming HO Dash 8-40C? You could fabricate working ditch lights using surface mount LEDs (you can get them pre-wired if your soldering skills/eyesight/fine motor control are limited). A housing could be fabricated from plasticard, or see below. For cosmetic (non-working) or, potentially, working ones, Miniatures by Eric makes a number of variations of ditch lights as lost wax brass castings, some of which could be illuminated. https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/collections/ho-detail-parts-l-to-p?page=2 Adrian
  23. Here is a bit about the model and the prototype: Model: http://www.spookshow.net/freight/ahmcenterflow.html Prototype: http://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/ConrailEquipment/FreightCars/CoveredHoppers/FlexiFlo http://www.pcrrhs.org/image/sysx-800-941-h-flexi-flo-covered-hopper It was a pressure-differential discharge car, so unloading, I think, just requires hose connections at ground level. Loading would be a gravity load through the top hatches. Adrian
  24. The trucks look like 100T ones, applicable if the gross weight is in the 200000lb range (lettered on the side). If it is more like 140000lb then 70T trucks with 33" wheels would be more appropriate. Note that 2-bay hoppers can be very heavy if they are carrying cement or the like. Otherwise, nicely weathered. Adrian
  25. The very first numbered picture in The Great Western Railway in the 1930s has a Dia.268 arc roof third as the first vehicle in the train. Adrian
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