Oliver Springs Industrial Spur - BNSF Switching Layout

[Wendell1976]

On 01/03/2021 at 14:39, Liam_uk said:

Few locos seen switching the Spur on a busy Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

The Santa Fe "Bluebonnet" locomotive looks really nice in the pictures. Keep up the good work with your layout.

 

Wendell

Idaho, USA 

[Liam_uk]

Its been a few months since I last updated. Well this has been mainly due to me doing some work on the upper deck, however that has now stalled.

 

Ive managed to get some 2 bay hoppers, up to 4 at the moment and looking to get some more.

 

[Liam_uk]

I decided to start ballasting the main run round area in the industrial area.

 

I looked at a few pictures and saw the mix tones within the ballast so tried to emulate that. 

 

managed to get a little help with the ballasting:

 

Next I am going to weather the rails and ties. Then crack on with the building in the top left hand corner. 

I haven't ballasted any of the spurs as I will do that after the track detail and buildings are in place. 

 

Few questions I have:

 

- If I was to have a hopper car spotted outside an industrial building, would they simply empty the hopper into a grate inbetween the rails?

 

- Thinking of the area in front of the run round, I was thinking of it mainly just being a simple grass area, but near the level crossing would I get away with some sort of diner? It would just be to add interest into the front area.

[Liam_uk]

Final update for today (due to photo size I have to do a few posts).

 

I have started to mark out the main grade crossing on the industrial spur side.

 

It is still rough and needs a bit more shaping but it is coming along. 

I am hoping to get a fully working set of lights and barriers, hopefully fully operating. Does anyone know of a UK supplier of these, or is it state side only to get one?

 

 

Also I have this Atlas GP38. It is DCC Sound, it worked fine when I got it home for testing. However now it has sound, it has lights, however it does not move. I have fully stripped the loco down, tested the motor, rebuilt bit by bit and it works fine (as in it moves when you but a 9v battery on the wheels), but once the mainboard is added it wont move.

I didn't know if there is a fuse on the mainboard or something that may have blown, does anyone have any ideas?

 

[mdvle]

6 hours ago, Liam_uk said:

Few questions I have:

 

- If I was to have a hopper car spotted outside an industrial building, would they simply empty the hopper into a grate inbetween the rails?

 

Depends.

 

Some hopper cars come with pipes on the underside for unloading through hoses, and there are also adaptors that can be used to attach to the discharge gate of a standard hopper to allow the use of a hose

 

https://www.magnumsystems.com/product/airlift-rail-car-discharge-adapter/

 

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/37541

 

So you could simply have concrete / pavement / gravel for the workers to walk around on, maybe a few spills, maybe a few hoses laying around - or a small hut for the hoses to be stored in.

 

Quote

- Thinking of the area in front of the run round, I was thinking of it mainly just being a simple grass area, but near the level crossing would I get away with some sort of diner? It would just be to add interest into the front area.

 

If it was a modern built area of track unlikely (though rule 1...) as modern rules tend to force more of a safety margin.  But an older section of track could have a diner, ice cream parlour, popcorn stand, small store, or any number of things next to the track - perhaps even a (small) station abandoned or converted into a 3rd party use (or the railroad still using for non-station reasons) or a former business that had a siding but has since changed purposes.

 

Examples:

 

This LOC (Library of Congress) image of the Central Vermont in the steam era - note the little popcorn vendor, or the ice cream across the road - https://www.shorpy.com/node/24300

 

Or this little ice/fuel vendor, never seen it open but still in place in Brampton ON on a shortline - https://www.google.ca/maps/place/64+Nelson+St+W,+Brampton,+ON/@43.6838777,-79.7652245,3a,75y,277.79h,85.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siLvGGe0FN5OFKdHpX5Fd7g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DiLvGGe0FN5OFKdHpX5Fd7g%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D287.48135%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x882b15a3285a4cf5:0x26c4497a57c272b8!8m2!3d43.6838872!4d-79.7653671

 

Again Brampton - former industry where the siding has been lifted long ago and the building is now office space

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22560024@N04/34329205825/in/album-72157681994687691/

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2021 by mdvle

[Liam_uk]

2 hours ago, mdvle said:

 

Depends.

 

Some hopper cars come with pipes on the underside for unloading through hoses, and there are also adaptors that can be used to attach to the discharge gate of a standard hopper to allow the use of a hose

 

https://www.magnumsystems.com/product/airlift-rail-car-discharge-adapter/

 

https://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/37541

 

So you could simply have concrete / pavement / gravel for the workers to walk around on, maybe a few spills, maybe a few hoses laying around - or a small hut for the hoses to be stored in.

 

 

If it was a modern built area of track unlikely (though rule 1...) as modern rules tend to force more of a safety margin.  But an older section of track could have a diner, ice cream parlour, popcorn stand, small store, or any number of things next to the track - perhaps even a (small) station abandoned or converted into a 3rd party use (or the railroad still using for non-station reasons) or a former business that had a siding but has since changed purposes.

 

Examples:

 

This LOC (Library of Congress) image of the Central Vermont in the steam era - note the little popcorn vendor, or the ice cream across the road - https://www.shorpy.com/node/24300

 

Or this little ice/fuel vendor, never seen it open but still in place in Brampton ON on a shortline - https://www.google.ca/maps/place/64+Nelson+St+W,+Brampton,+ON/@43.6838777,-79.7652245,3a,75y,277.79h,85.92t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siLvGGe0FN5OFKdHpX5Fd7g!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DiLvGGe0FN5OFKdHpX5Fd7g%26cb_client%3Dsearch.gws-prod.gps%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D287.48135%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x882b15a3285a4cf5:0x26c4497a57c272b8!8m2!3d43.6838872!4d-79.7653671

 

Again Brampton - former industry where the siding has been lifted long ago and the building is now office space

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22560024@N04/34329205825/in/album-72157681994687691/

 

 

 

 

Awesome, thank you for the help 

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Hi Liam, nice to see the update - afraid I know nothing about DCC so can’t offer any help there.

 

With regards to the other questions, there are some really good photos of Ardmore, OK posted by @dave1905 on pages 8 and 9 of my layout thread: “Modelling the ATSF in 1970 in HO” (link in my signature below) that may be useful, particularly with regards to grain unloading operations.  Hope they help, Keith.

Edited June 13, 2021 by Keith Addenbrooke

[long island jack]

try double click f6 could be in sleep mode or try a factory reset, does the QSI decoder have a wand, some time the reed switch sticks

[newbryford]

17 hours ago, Liam_uk said:

Final update for today (due to photo size I have to do a few posts).

 

I have started to mark out the main grade crossing on the industrial spur side.

 

It is still rough and needs a bit more shaping but it is coming along. 

I am hoping to get a fully working set of lights and barriers, hopefully fully operating. Does anyone know of a UK supplier of these, or is it state side only to get one?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've bought a couple of things from this Chinese seller with no issues so far.

This should link to their crossing stuff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/m.html?_ssn=wehonest_cn&_osacat=0&_odkw=&_from=R40&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313&_nkw=crossing&_sacat=0

[Liam_uk]

8 hours ago, long island jack said:

try double click f6 could be in sleep mode or try a factory reset, does the QSI decoder have a wand, some time the reed switch sticks

 

Thank you kindly sir!!

Straight upstairs and I did the reset with the reed switch and wand and now it runs.

[long island jack]

Glad i could help, i'm not a big lover of QSI decoders myself, had a few loco's with there decoders in, i either sold them or changed the decoder

[Liam_uk]

Rebuilt my GP38 this morning. 

Took time to get a picture of the current Oliver springs roster:

 

I've also put the flock covering down for the area in front of the run round. And then spent the rest of my time sculpting polystyrene for the corner behind the cement terminal. 

[dave1905]

On 12/06/2021 at 15:44, Liam_uk said:

- If I was to have a hopper car spotted outside an industrial building, would they simply empty the hopper into a grate inbetween the rails?

 

Depends on what type of hopper and what the commodity was.  For example the two CHTT covered hoppers have gate outlets.  A metal plate covers the hatch in the bottom and its slides towards the center of the car to open the hopper.  It is designed to drop into a pit or conveyor system.  Those types of hoppers haul cement, sand, roofing granules, etc.  Dense, heavy, powdered or granulated materials.

 

If it was a car that could be vacuumed out there would be a tube running crossways under the hopper so a vac hose could be attached to the car.  They are for commodities that are fairly light and can be vac'ed, plastic pellets, resins, flour, etc.

 

By the way the Chicago Heights Terminal and Transfer was a wholly owned subsidiary of the MP and then the UP.  The MP had several classes of cars assigned to the CHTT  and the UP uses it for the same thing, equipment trusts.

[Liam_uk]

Well Oliver Springs is no more!!

 

I needed the space under the main boards for storage as most of the stuff was either all over the layouts or the middle of the loft. 

 

Truth be told I am kind of happy as I didnt really like the 2 shape curves within 6ft of each other. 

 

However all is not lost as I have kept one side, and now have a space of 17ft 6 inch x 18 inch for Oliver Springs 2.0.

 

This will include staging area and scene are (maybe in the region of 5ft staging and the rest scenic), again as an industrial area.  If anyone has any ideas. Only things I would like is a cement plant (as I have the walthers medusa kit) and a wood yard/builder merchant (as I have a few centre beams and flats).

 

Oliver Springs 2.0 will start with me finishing the back scenes and painting them up.

[long island jack]

Have a look here, Rob  has all sorts of track plans, there maybe something that's suitable

 

 http://www.jomrd.com/index.php