Engineering Blog
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April 3, 2016 -- A year or more ago, Walthers announced their "Engineered Bridge System", which offeres a variety of bridge components of different sizes that are interchangeable. Their latest releases included four lengths of through girder bridges. Based on the parts and assembly instructions, I am highly confident that they either purchased or subcontract with Central Valley for these bridges. I've used the Central Valley 70' bridges in the past.
At a suburban Lewistown location, right near where route 322/22 cross Electric Avenue, there is a three span through girder bridge crossing the Kishacoquillas Creek. I didn't have the room for all three spans, but two spans was ideal. Since Central Valley didn't offer anything longer than 70', I waited for the Walthers 90' spans, which recently arrived.
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Milroy, the eastern terminus of the Milroy Secondary, is now operational.
The above view is eastward. The track running down the middle is temporary. To its right are two opposing turnouts (see image below). These turnouts will create an approximate 20 degree crossing and will connect to the existing turnouts in opposing directions. The temporary track gets me through an open house in May.
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The Allensville block, on the fictional Pennsylvania Midland Railroad, has become operational. A portion of the block, which spans the stairway, was completed last year. This section spans the aisle between the stairway and Big Valley yard.
In the image above, the PM line is the rear track. In the foreground is the Milroy Secondary, between Lewistown and Menzies. The two tracks running side-by-side in the open was a necessary evil.
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Took a rare mid-week day off "for the heck of it", and headed to the basement. I've been busy working on a bit of everything lately, mostly electrical.
Today I tore into the last few feet of benchwork to complete the branch on the upper level. This is a scene from the outskirts of Lewistown where the Milroy Secondary crosses the Kish Creek. On the far bank sits the Spanogle-Yeager mill with its spur. There will be a dam across the creek at this location.
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On the PRR Middle Division in HO Scale, the Chief Engineer has delivered his Q4 construction report.
It was mentioned last week that construction goals for the quarter were not met, for the first time in several years. That sent shares spiraling by 8%. The root cause was a delay in bridge parts from a new supplier in Milwaukee [Walthers], causing various projects to be rescheduled.
Shares returned to normal upon revelation of numerous unexpected infrastructure upgrades including yard lighting and main power panel upgrades. The chief engineer is also pleased to report that yards at Enola, Harrisburg, and Altoona have been fully completed and are currently undergoing quality assurance testing.
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The PRR Middle Division in HO Scale has a new main control panel, needed for the new PowerShield X and RRampmeter products discussed in previous blog posts.
The power flow for the command station and each boosters run parallel across the board, first passing through the RRampmeter and then the PowerShield X. Only one RRampmeter is currently installed, but as the photo shows, I have allotted space for one on each power bus. Alternatively, I can relocate the existing RRampmeter for troubleshooting purposes.
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The board of the Pennsylvania Railroad Middle Division in HO Scale may not be pleased when the chief engineer reports next week of the first miss of construction goals for a quarter, but hopefully that will be offset by the report that Altoona, Harrisburg, and Enola staging yards have been fully completed.
These yard areas have been deemed operational for some time, but the definition of operation required only one yard track per main line track, for run-through purposes.
The overall design calls for a total of 20 tracks. Trackwork was completed prior to the November open house; electrical work and detection was completed last week; and quality assurance testing was completed today.
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The Chief Engineer of the PRR Middle Division in HO Scale is please to report continued progress!
Per schedule, a two-track helix was completed. The outer track carries the Milroy Secondary from its junction with the Lewistown Secondary east to Menzies. The inner track carries the Pennsylvania Midland Railroadfrom northern staging to Allensville.
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The track gang has completed work on a second helix on the PRR Middle Division in HO Scale. As with the first helix, this is also a kit from Ashlin Designs.
It doesn't get any easier than using these kits, if the specs work for you. This helix has two tracks -- the inner with a 32" radius and the outer with a 24" radius. Over2.5 turns the track rises 10 inches.