We've been outside playing and riding bikes a lot lately, and I plan to start doing small projects here and there. Started with some minimal ballasting, but there's still work to be done. The trains seem to run OK, but I am concerned about passenger train speeds!! My new pacific runs significantly faster than all my other power, so I'll have to pay special attention to curves and kinks, etc..
The railway miles (km's) show it is 14 km to the summit, and 440m elevation gain (1320 ft approx). That makes a round trip 28km (approx 17.5 miles). With nothing to do that Sunday, and no where to be, and the beautiful mountain, I took that 8:55 Wernegerode train, and disembarked at Schierke. I knew I had 10 minutes head start before the train would start, and chose a path that paralleled the tracks. This was a gentle climb for a runner, 2% or so for the train. I covered about a mile and a half in that time, and then the train came thundering through the tall pine trees. At about 3k, I came to a sign that indicated the summit of the Brocken was about 5km away. That was much shorter than the railway mileage, and it is because the railway had to climb around the shoulder of the mountain, and then do a complete circle on the Brocken itself to gain the elevation. Undaunted, I turned, crossed the tracks, and proceeded down a rock slide until I was certain that I was really lost. Also, I knew I would eventually have to climb back up! I did have a small map of the national park, so I made my way to another trail that would get me where I needed to go. I thought following the tracks would be very dangerous considering the speed and the frequency of the trains.
I climbed a beautiful trail and linked up again with the railway as it starts its circle of the mountain. On this part of the trail, there were many people. Some were hiking, some biking. No one running. Just me. The trail undulates and another train roared past us. I reached a paved road that was much steeper. Still, I kept running. Many people were taking breaks as they climbed. The mountain bike riders were struggling in 'granny gear'. I slowed my pace, but kept running, and was passing the riders. I hit the summit in a little over an hour (and I estimate I ran about 8 miles to get there). High-fived the rock at the actual summit, and then ran down to the concession stand where I purchased a liter of water. In early September, it was about 45 degrees on the summit (5-10C). I drank my water, and did not linger.
Running down the mountain is a bit of a misnomer. For really, what I was doing was a controlled fall. I zoomed down to the railway crossing, and decided to keep going straight (as opposed to followign the tracks on the undulating trail). I picked my way along the trails, and found my way back to the Shierke station. It was 15 degrees warmer there (nearly 60-65), and I had time before the next train was headed down. So, I found a bench situated across from the station in the sun, and had my two bratwurst and pils. Here's a selfie I took of myself post run!
It was one of the best runs I've ever had and I hope to repeat it some day. Next time I may try and run all the way from Drei Anne Honne, since it really wasn't that much further.
You should go. Wernigerode is very quaint. I spent a weekend there. Rode up the Brocken mountain twice the first day. Second day, I rode the 2nd train of the day one stop past Drei Anne Hone, and ran 8 miles to the summit of the Brocken ( I didn't realize how straight the trail was vs the railway line, so I had to divert to a quiet, steep rocky path.) Once on the summit (and I ran all the way up, passing many cyclists and shocked German pilgrims, slapped the highest rock a high-five, and then turned around and ran right back down again. All told, it was a 13 mile run, which was rewarded with two biers and two wursts at the railway station.
Summer seems to be the time to go. Their schedule is very busy and you can buy a weekend pass for Eur 64, which allows you to ride as often as you like over the entire line. On my final day, I rode down to Nordhousen, but my HSB railcar didn't go all the way to the main station, and I ended up a lost traveler at a wind turbine blade factory. No joke!
I had a 1994 Roundhouse Liberty Belle. Never could get it to run right. I sold it in 2010 to a guy in North Jersey. It was related to me later that the throttle valve was actually just a ball valve. This explains why I never could get it to run right. A ball valve, when cracked, will vent 50% of its volume. It needed a throttle, got a ball valve instead. I had worked with Roundhouse directly for spare parts and they were great on the phone. It's for the best. Maybe someday in the future I will be back with live steam.
You know, since the REVO interface is on-board, I wonder if a smaller add-on board could be developed to convert the signals sent from a smartphone app to the locomotive. This type of interface could possibly be made for a variety of outputs. Not just model train related! I hate my garage door opener, for example. Maybe make adaptors that you can link to your garage door opener... Just throwing it out there. Coffee pot...house lights....etc..
The problem, Raymond, is going to be my ability to run my train when I'm not home. Who's going to remove the sticks and leaves?!
Well, that is true. I was really talking about the 'looks', but then again, I seem to recall there was a guy who had problems with the cowling on a GS-4. Who was that guy? Even complained about the shade of red. Gosh, if only I could remember his name. Seems like his initials were Raymond Manley!
The Aster stuff seems to be the gold standard for live steam. Then again, I was told that Roundhouse was a great and easy locomotive to run. Mine never ran well. Not even once in all the years I owned it. As a rule, though, live steam is cantankerous and needs constant attention. Availability should be about 50% if you're doing it right.
Now, THIS is a super exciting development. No wonder this specific video is showing up on other fora. Mike is clearly trying to remain cutting edge with technology trends. He is making it easier to run trains and to get involved with model trains. No specific remote will be required, reducing costs. I already have two smartphones and two pads, so that'd be 4 potential remotes I already have. I wonder if Crest will develop a similar device to convert wifi signals to REVO signals. That would be great.
Think of the possibilites: a small camera could be installed in the locomotive's engineer side and you could have a small pop up screen that gives the operator a view of the tracks. Perhaps even the ability to record the live feed. I got my son a RoboME robot for Christmas. It uses a smartphone app for some controls and customization. It was fun and Luke liked it a lot. It had a feature where if you had the iPad controlling it, you could connect using facetime and then the user's face appeared on the robot's 'face'. Just made it more fun. And isn't that what this kind of stuff is for? Having fun?
Mike is making it too easy to use his system.
I still like that Norfolk Souther Executive train and hope that I never see it in person!! And Luke's been talking about the 4014 and making drawings, etc. Even though he's never seen a Big Boy up close, he keeps talking about it. I'm going to make sure my railroad can handle one...
I am in awe of how realistic the steam and smoke and sound is integrated in your BR-50! Reminds me of the HSB 2-10-2T's I rode out of Wernigerode in September 2012!
I guess I should start running my trains and taking some pictures.
We've had a lot of rain the last few days here. But I did do a cursory inspection of the railroad on Sunday, and what I discovered is that I have a LOT of work ahead of me this year.
1. My steel bridge is listing about 10 degrees. Yikes! Need to lift and straighten, again.
2. After 3 years of settling and freeze-thaw, my once nicely curved brickwork/retaining wall on the East End high line has become oblonged or falling apart. I need to remove all the bricks, and relay them. I am also thinking that I should get fill dirt and start making a natural slope here. To the left of the upper curve is where I am planning to do work. This side is exposed to the main roads, and is the most public visual section of the railroad. aka, my wife notices when this is looking bad.
3. the track immediately in front of the woodpile has also sunk about 1"-2", since there is nothing to hold the ballast in place. This photo is from last Fall.
I seem to recall catalogs being made at one point.
Accucrap is not an accurate monniker. Their models are very well done and their price point is well below Aster / Fine Arts Models. Like everything else, they can be improved.
It was a lot cheaper than the LGB mogul, but didn't hold a candle to the operating characteristics. Needed metal wheels on the engine and trailing trucks and tender wheels, too. Couda been a contenda!
I had no idea it was short for 1/32, but never paid close enough attention. Hey, it has solid drivers!!
You might be better off with the MTH 1/32 passenger cars. Better odds of them actually seeing the light of day. Plus, since they're plastic, you can repaint them easy.,
In 1989, I went to the old HL Child & son's shop in Northhampton, MA on our annual trip there during Valentines Day Weekend. It used to be a huge hobby shop that had lots of G scale trains, plus all the other scales, and dolls, etc.. That year, I was shocked to see 4 Lionel large scale Atlantics on the wall, and for something like $189 a piece. Great Northern, Chessie Steam Special, NYC, and Santa Fe. After some deliberation, I plunked down all my Christmas and Birthday money for the Great Northern locomotive. I was amazed at the detail (this was 1989), and couldn't wait to run it.
At that time, all I had was LGB: Stainz, a 2060 diesel, and the 2017D stainz-american. Those engines would handle about a half dozen of the LGB 2 axle cars I had on hand with the standard 4' dia curves with ease. Never had any issues with them. When I got the Atlantic out, and it dwarfed the other engines, I was super excited. Then, I applied power, and was underwhelmed. This big engine could barely handle the lone 3080 passenger car I had (the LGB 4 axle western car). Forget trying to run up any sort of a grade. And then, to add insult to injury, the locomotive stopped running forward. So, I sent it back to the shop for repair. 6 weeks later, the engine was returned to me, repaired. This time, I was more careful, but still managed to mess something up with regular 12 year old running. After the second failure and only about a week of actual play time with the engine, we took it back and turned that locomotive in to three aristo cars, an LGB combine, and a half circle of 1500 curves.
But, after seeing how George Schreyer modified his to be a more consistent runner, I've been tempted to get another engine for short passenger trains. I've been able to resist the ones that show up periodically on eBay. Today, I got another 4-4-2 notice from ebay for one and it rekindled my interest.
How may of you have had these engines and did some minor modifications make these in to reliable runners?
I know what you mean about the lost train time. I have a semi-permanent loop set up in the basement that grew a second loop after we took down the Christmas tree this year. That's how I stayed sane this year. In other years, when I was more adventurous, I would get out the snow plow and clear off the mainlines outside. Too much snow and cold this year. I must be getting old.
I was talking with a buddy who was at the show and it appears that AML may be bidding to make the show cars for next year's ECLSTS. That's good news since the AML equipment comes with metal wheels.
Just the other day, I was commenting that I'd like to see an F40PH-2 made. I wonder what really happened to the LGB P-42 diesel molds.
I was encouraged to hear the news of the locomotives returning in the near future as well. Having just purchased four 0-4-0s as Christmas gifts (2 were for my kids), it's good to hear that there will be (likely) parts to support them! I love my FA's and am likewise glad to hear more will be made. It is interesting to note that the FA and the 0-4-0 were among the earliest REA/ aristo products made. Both operate on R1 curves (although you'll want to be careful backing the FA through reverse curves). I swapped shells on a modern FA-1 a few years ago to replace a nearly dead New Haven black box FA-1 and that newer style FA sits lower and runs great.
I know there are a lot of folks out there who were hoping for the Ore Cars and the Heritage Dash 9s. Maybe those will see the light of day.
One thing that should be kept in mind with this new company is it is being done 'on the side'. Meaning it is more like a garage business than what we've become accustomed to from the former Aristo Craft. Luckily, I have so much other work to do on my railroad that buying more stuff right now isn't a problem!
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To the left of the upper curve is where I am planning to do work. This side is exposed to the main roads, and is the most public visual section of the railroad. aka, my wife notices when this is looking bad.
Spring roundup.
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I created a new album for 2014. Here's the two photos there so far.