As some of you know, I like filming trains. One of the greatest experiences of my hobby has been filming the Midwest Railroad Preservation Society switch their cars around and such. I joined the team about two weeks ago, even though I'm a familiar face from times I was invited to film on the property or the open houses I've attended. This particular day though.... it just blew my mind. So far, I've filmed on the property on four different occasions, five if you count this one (4 switching, once with a speeder.).

Why does this time make it so special compared to the others? Simple. An actual diesel (I kept making jokes about slapping NYC lettering on it) was used along with the track mobile, AND there was equipment that was moved that hasn't been for years! Weather wise, its Cleveland, Ohio folks... the weather here has mood swings. One minute its pouring, next it's sunny, then there's hail, then its no clouds visible! Quite the unique event, all at the B&O Roundhouse near CSX's Clark Avenue Yard where the Midwest Railroad Preservation Society calls home.

Folks, grab a drink and maybe something to eat as you witness classic switching at its best.       


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0CVbnibdcY < Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AdYh5APa1M < Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3wQaWFazE < Part 3

Hi, I finally got around to working on a story that I've been throwing around the idea of for a bit (probably about a year) , and was wondering if anyone knew when Western Maryland stopped using steam and when they stopped traveling to Elkins West Virginia? I have done a Google search and although I did get some of my questions answered, I didn't get them all. Those two being the major ones.

Any help is much appreciated!

P.S. can someone delete the other top that glitched on me?

I got a chance to make up a project for science, and decided to do something along the lines of how to run a railroad. For the scenario, A person buys the Flats Industrial Railroad, but they have no rolling stock or locomotives (other than a track mobile, but that's owned by one of the companies that gets served). The line is in Cleveland, Ohio and is 4 miles long, running from an interchange off the Norfolk Southern Cloggsville Line to some sidings at the end of the 4 mile stretch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flats_Industrial_Railroad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1wmsSfkw0M (old video but the only one on hand to give the general idea)

For the scenario, I'll say that there are 12 hoppers needed 3 times a week (Monday-Wednesday-Friday) and the hoppers all go to a customer in Chicago. In a perfect world, they'll be back by the time the 2nd load is ready to be shipped out. Norfolk Southern would basically pick up loaded cars and drop off empties Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Nothing happens Sunday, the hoppers just sit at the interchange till the locomotives from the new railroad, called the L&WI (Lakewood & Winterton Industrial) pick them up Monday morning.

Now for the questions...
1. What locomotive/s should be used? I was thinking, just to compare and contrast a GE-44 ton, a SW1200, a GP38 and a SD40-2. (Im tempted to add a F unit just to mess with the crew.  ) There really isn't much work for a second locomotive but should another one be bought/leased just in case the first one breaks? The flats industrial originally had one SW1200 but now they have 2 SW1200s and a SW1500. Im open to suggestions to other locomotives to add to the list. What would be compared is their horse power, fuel consumption and efficiency/reliability to the job at hand (hauling covered hoppers).

2. Should the railroad buy its own rolling stock/locomotives or lease?
What I figured rolling stock wise was to have 24 hoppers, and 2 box cars. The box cars would be parked on a siding as storage for parts and materials. Sites for buying/Leasing rolling stock/locomotives would be great!

4. What parts should be on hand, if any?
Basically if there's an engine like a SW1200 on property, should there be a motor on hand if needed, or is there other parts that are more important to have ready?

5. What would it cost/need to keep the railroad maintained?
Considering there is about 4 miles of main line, from the interchange to the first siding and about a quarter mile worth of sidings, about 9 switches and a lift bridge.  What maintenance needs should I look into? This is just an industrial railroad, but im sure some maintenance is needed every now and then.

6. Any other info I forgot to ask?
I figured Norfolk Southern would bill the company, so the shipping cost really wouldn't be a problem for the L&WI.

The reason for this project is just to get the general idea what it takes to run a small railroad. Any suggestions or advice would be great. The time for a lease/maintenance would be for a year, and the railroad was fully operational when bought. The one site im looking into at the moment is Sterling Rail (http://www.sterlingrail.com/classifieds/Listings.php?type=Locomotive&fsw=FS) If you have any other sites that you recommend, it would be great if you can share them with me. Hopefully this isn't too confusing.

Thanks!

Nothing like seeing the circus, I went once quite a while ago, and was a good show, story line was interesting (a "random" family got to be apart of the circus and the young boy used his imagination to create the circus or something... i forgot what tour that was.) Well, I always remember that show whenever I see pics or videos of the Ringling Bros. circus train. I was able to catch it once, on a miserable April afternoon, about a year ago, when I had a bike, and I was bored enough to railfan the NKP line, 2 blocks away from my house. Long story short, Norfolk Southern pulled a hat trick and sent it rolling down the NKP, when it was suppose to take the Chicago line from Vermillion to Rockport yard, then take the cloggsville down to the NKP in Cleveland. I was a really happy guy, even though the weather was absolutely damp.

Now, I usually check my phone whenever I get out of school and get in my car. First thing I notice is a text from one of my railfan friends saying that the circus train is coming through, and should be at Rockport around 4-6 P.M. for a crew change. It's only 3 P.M. (ok... 3:06 P.M.) so I go home and get my buddy, Daisy. I don't know whose bright idea was to bring her, but I had to go get my camera from my home anyway, and she isn't that bad. So I pick up her, and she's thinking I'm buying her Dairy Queen and checking the signals on the NKP to see if a train is coming. Boy was she wrong, but I'm sure the little ceasers pizza we shared and the track side fun was a welcomed change to ice cream and one boring auto rack train 

Figuring Berea was going to probably be a mess (usually isn't on weekdays) I went to Olmsted Falls, Ohio to wait across the street from the CV&WS model railroad club (I'm a member there). I walk daisy down to a bench, and we just sat there, listening to random chattering on the scanner and eating pizza. First train that passes is 15K, which is surprisingly short. I've had a couple of incidents of catching a heritage unit on 15K, but no luck today with him, just usual GE power. An hour later, the silence was broken with what my dog and I have been waiting for. "NS 047, Clear... CP 195... west, out" This is the fun part, sense the curve is at CP 195, so when I got up to look, there it was, 3 lights, and a black smudge followed by silver. SHOW TIME! Getting my camera ready, I set up for the shot, and roll film so I can take a couple of snap shots on my phone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDcXiXhnIeQ

Beautiful day, beautiful weather, and a beautiful train. I took a few glances at Daisy and to be honest, she was in pure amazement, never looking at me, just watching the strange cars that she has never seen before roll by. The train ends, and I look at Daisy as she looks at me before grinning. I think she enjoyed seeing the circus train, and one of these days I gotta get her to see one of Norfolk Southern's heritage units, I think she's ticked she hasn't seen one yet 

Just a note: The high and wide was NS 053 (I think... don't quote me on this) with 2 transformers. I didn't like most of the shots from that day, so I decided to add some icing to the cake for the circus train video. 

I know this isn't a Thomas board, but it sure is close to one, and really should be in the everything Thomas topic, but deep down, i feel like other people have wondered this... if not, hopefully wheels start spinning and you wonder too. Now the question is split into two things. as you may know, the culdee fell railway locomotives are incline locomotives. They never made the TV series but they were in the book series. Now, at a young age, I was introduced to the Thomas railroad series (im talking late 1999 as my earliest memories) and I got a set with Culdee in it along with a few other sets. Now here is where the fun begins. I HAD NO CLUE WHO CULDEE WAS! I never played with him much compared to others, in fact, back then, I played with Stephany and James the most. Getting back on Topic, I always wondered, why does Culdee have a rear face? That made no sense to me! I always thought it was a Dr. Jeckel Mr. Hide type thing. Cathrine i thought was a powered rail coach (Does anyone here even remember that wooden railway item?  ) so on, so forth... I was ignorant to the point it wasn't even funny. Then, I found Lord Harry in die-cast by ertl. That just confused me more. Lastly, about 4 years ago, I found the book series as a narration. Found out Catherine was a coach (a big one too, not like the small 4 wheel wooden model),there was quite a few locomotives, and they all had faces on their backs as well as their fronts!

Now for the fun 2 questions...

1. Why do these locomotives have faces on their backs.

2. Are they a totally separate character like Mighty Mac or are they the same locomotive that is just double faced?

Any info would be great!

Hello, I'm shipping a loco out for a friend to decal it for me, sense im not very good yet. When it comes back, I plan on buying a sound decoder. That is all planned as of right now. What I need help with is making this fine loco heavier. I mean, I put it on the club layout I go to and it pulled not even 15 atlas trainman hoppers up the helix. I want it to match my ATSF 4-8-4 at least (it pulls the 19 i currently own, and usually can pull a total of 20 cars on a good day) Anyone know where i can add weight and how for this loco? First time doing this, so I figured I'd ask, get the materials while the loco is away and get it running by February.

Any help would be great!

Mr Bachmann, i was wondering when the Alco S2s and Piggy back trailers were going to be released. The S2s said September and the piggy backs said November. I'm sure they'll hit the market before December, but i figured I'd ask.

My mom wants all of my model trains moved up to the attic, so she bought an industrial shelving unit from home depot. First thing i thought when i looked at it was "good for boxes... bad for stuff without boxes". So then i got the idea of making wooden shelves that are about 4-5 inches wide and so many feet long (i forgot how long the shelving unit is). From there, i'd have an NMRA track gauge and mark down the wood where ho scale rails would be. After that, i'd take my pocket knife and slowly carve down the line. The end product is basically 2 lines to be the same size as ho scale track, and would be lined up with about an inch of plexi glass so that if someone bumped the shelf, none of the models would fall off the track... easily  .

Anyway, i was wondering if anyone can give me tips or suggestions on this project. the soonest it will be done is October, so theres time to sort things out if needed.

Thanks for any help! 

Mr. Bachmann, i have been looking at the NMRA announcement page for a bit now, and i can't help but realize that there are different railroads for DCC ready & DCC sound value, but both descriptions say "available in DCC ready and with DCC sound value", yet there are 8 roads listed, 4 in the sound value and 4 in the ready. Does this mean that 4 roads will have sound and the other 4 wont? I know its early but any info on this would be great.

Thanks for releasing so many great items this year, as usual!

Being the steam fan i am, i wont be skipping up an opportunity to meet this famous locomotive a 4th time! (Owosso train fest 2009, CVSR steam in the valley 2010 , CVSR steam in the valley2011 & this) Got some great clips of them running, wish i had money to go to Toledo next week, but my next chance is probably the ferry move on the 7th. Either way, hope you enjoy the video and feel free to share your photos/videos of the NS 30th Ann. steam tour!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf4TD8YiEX4&list=UUs4YMd6QdOPf3spoIYhDPwg&index=1&feature=plcp

Went to a train show and a friend from the model train club i go to was part of a module layout group, and one of the people that had a section of the module layout had a B&O F7 dummy, looked like a athearn model, was being pushed by a B&O Shark made by Bachmann. The dummy had a hollowed out area where the head light was suppose to be. Inside, was a small camera that would record what was in front of it onto a TV. I can't remember what the make of the camera was sadly... but go figure i only remembered my friend said "you should buy one of these." Its not the first request i got to get one, and it seems like a fun project. Anyone know what this camera might've been and if it can be one where it records video, then you can transfer it to a computer? Would be neat to do this to a locomotive or a piece of rolling stock like a box car or caboose.

any help is appreciated!

Looking at a 1931 map of the Ex. nickel plate road line from rocky river ohio to Cleveland ohio and noticed that the industries have numbers after them.

Examples would include:
Jones (9)
Standard Oil (3)
Basket Co. (3)
Robinson spur (13)
Cleve. Furniture (22)

Then you got stuff like this:
Brown Bros. (10-10)
Lampson sessions (3-7)


so on, so forth. Any ideas what the numbers mean? here's the map

http://www.railsandtrails.com/NKP/1931Cleveland/NKP1931Cleveland-100.jpg

While doing a random search, i noticed that Circuses traveling by rail was really common, and it didn't seem like any of them owned their own motive power, just flat cars, coaches and other rolling stock used to transport the show. Did any circus have their own motive power, as in steam engines or diesels? Pictures of these locomotives (if any) would be great!

Was talking with a couple of friends from the local model railroad club (CV&WS in Olmsted Falls, Ohio)on Sunday and the subject was restoring stuff. I said i personally would like to restore C&O 2707, a 2-8-4 that used to be in Cleveland ohio... but that's probably a dream that will doubtfully come true (never said i gave up hope  ), but anyway, the chat reminded me of these 3 IC cabooses I've filmed last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF_0J-okUoE&feature=plcp

I was wondering, how much would it probably cost to restore them (interior and outside) to running condition. I have some experience with grinding and know its not something that happens over night. i forgot if they were rolling or friction bearing trucks, but just for the sake of the subject, lets say they're friction bearing. Would try to make some money by renting them to scenic railroads and what not.

Any ideas would be great!

I'm sure most people are aware that the ringling bros and Barnum & Bailey travels by train. I was on the computer talking to some friends and all that fun stuff then i saw a chat on a local train group about the Red unit (there's a red unit and a blue unit) was due for the Chicago line to go to Albany, New York. A friend about 20 miles west of me said a train was coming eastbound on the Ex. NKP, and i knew of a spot i wanted to film but never got the chance to. Ignoring the weather, i biked about a mile down the track to Mile post 191. after 10 minutes of waiting, it started to rain and i was starting to think of turning back. I didn't thankfully, and about 30 minutes later, I see a light and get my camera ready. As soon as the train was 2 blocks away, all i could think was "that's a strange looking auto rack..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRe8ZUlcXiU&list=UUs4YMd6QdOPf3spoIYhDPwg&feature=plcp

First time catching the Circus Train, and not exactly the weather i wanted... but i'll take it anyway 

Was looking at a picture of what looks to be a WP GS-4, and notice it had elephant ears. I thought this was odd, cause i thought GS-4s were just Southern pacific and they never had them.

http://www.yesteryeardepot.com/WP481.JPG

Also noticed that NYC seemed to be a fan of elephant ears and union pacific has them on 844. Whats the purpose of these?

Also, what are the pros and cons about them?

Hello, i was on trainorders today and read an article about oil burners, didn't give too much info past efficient (oil burnt per mile). This led me to questioning, what's the difference between Oil burners and coal burners? I know that western railroads favored oil cause it was cheaper out there and that's about it. Also, how do you fire an oil burner? I don't think you can have a oil can and just stick it through a hole or something... Any info would be great!

Thanks!

I'm sure im not the only one wondering this (if i am... oh well!   ), But how does the freight car business work?

Now, I've learned from previous threads that this subject is a bit broad, so i'll narrow it down the best i can to a few simpler questions.
1. If a railroad is using another railroad's freight car, I.E. NS using a CSX freight car, does CSX get paid for their freight car being used?
2. How does a company get freight cars? like if NS didn't have any cars on the property, do they contact someone or (i seriously doubt this   ) go send a couple of MP15s to go snatch some from someone else's storage yard?
3. If a car gets in a wreck, does the owner pay for the repairs, does the railroad it happened on pay for the repairs, or if its a reroute/trackage rights, does the railroad in charge of the train pay for the repairs?

I'll probably come up with a few more as time goes by, mainly if someone can answer #1.

when did railroads stop using stock cars to deliver cattle and why?

(yes i know circuses still use stock cars)

Dear Mr. Bachmann or any other bachmann officials,

Do you know what horns will be included in the new sound decoders? Really hoping for a Wabaco E-2!