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This blog is limited to articles; random photos or quick updates are posted to the FaceBook page.
Blog entries from August 2017 and earlier have been migrated from a former site and many of the images are incorrectly linked. These may be repaired over time.
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- Category: Engineering Blog
The summer is drawing to a close and I find myself facing More Yard Work!
Actually, with the recent announcement that Walthers Shinohara code 83 track production was drawing to a close, I expedited purchase of the last turnouts needed to complete the Lewistown Junction yard. Over the past few weeks I have completed all of the "through track" installation. Only trackage in the MoW yard and roundhouse remain, and all of their turnouts have been in place.
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- Category: Public Relations Blog
Your superintendent has faced The Kelly Questions on A Modeler's Life. As announced by Lionel Strang...
Kelly Questions - Jerry Britton
Still trying to decide between crunchy and smooth peanut butter, your router keeps giving you different directions to your bedroom, Alexa refuses to play any of your favorite Kiss Cover band songs.
We can’t help with any of that but we can help you become comatose as you listen to Jerry Britton try his hand at answering the Kelly questions.
Enjoy.
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- Category: Engineering Blog
Did something unusual this afternoon... actually worked on the model railroad! Believe it or not, this was the first time I had been engaged in "things trains" -- shows, op sessions, work sessions, etc. -- in over two months!
Let me recap how the year has gone...
Early in the year I did finish the rebuild of the Kishacoquillas Helix. About the same time a new podiatrist diagnosed that I had complete torn off my anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL). That's why I have been limping for years. Recently it was causing severe pain. Nobody diagnosed it before. Likely shielded by a previous back injury (repaired in 2009), the rupture likely occurred 15-20 years ago! So I was comtemplating surgery to fix the foot, finally,
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- Category: Engineering Blog
Following on the rebuild of the Kishacoquillas Helix. I set out to complete the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad connection, used for staging.
The helix redesign allowed for a redesign of this areas as well, and it will have more functionality in the end.
Departing the Milroy Secondary just west of Reedsville, the KV leads to Belleville in the Great Valley. However, as part of my Pennsylvania Midland Railroad concept, the track arrives in Everett as the PRR Bedford Branch. More on that elsewhere.
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- Category: Public Relations Blog
Your superintendent has been featured on A Modeler's Life. As announced by Lionel Strang...
It's another great story intertwining model railroading with everyday life. A native of Pennsylvania, this is the heart warming story of local boy makes good. Maintaining a very active blog, hosting an extremely well laid out website with millions and millions of visits, while building a fantastic layout.
Jerry’s truly a nonstop whirling dervish, always something on the go, the kind of model railroader I always hoped to be. Never wasting a minute of valuable time as he works toward finishing his fantastic HO scale Pennsylvania Railroad layout set in the 1950s. This interview has lots of interesting information and plenty of model railroading stories to keep you entertained as you travel the highways and byways of life. Enjoy!!
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- Category: Engineering Blog
Not a lot to report this quarter, unfortunately. As the image says, time to Re-Focus!
January saw another instance of water in the basement. This time only a half inch. Came up through the sump well. Whether a half inch or a foot, it takes the same amount of time to clean up, which includes bleach-mopping the entire floor.
I did get all of the benchwork built for a replacement helix to get from downtown Lewistown to the Milroy Secondary -- a.k.a. the Kishacoquillas Helix.
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- Category: Engineering Blog
This quarter was exciting for the division. Two open houses were held -- One in October for the NMRA MER regional convention, the second for The Model Railroad Open House in November.
Final grading (scenery) has been completed for half of the Lewistown Junction main line area -- specifically the stretch from Roundhouse Road crossing to the yardmaster's office. Roundhouse Road was modeled as a dirt road on the recommendation of a descendent of the local farm owner who recalls it was not tarred and chipped until the 1960s.
A first op session -- more of a "run" session -- was held on December 9th. John Frantz, Tom Jacobs, and Tedd Pounds put the Milroy Secondary through its paces and left a punch list for me to address.
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- Category: Engineering Blog
Perhaps unfairly, I didn't warn my constituents that The Belleville Epiphany was going to have a sequel...
The helix removal and nolix replacement will facilitate a design change for the Pennsylvania Midland, which interchanges with the Milroy Secondary at Reedsville.
I've updated the backstory of the Pennsylvania Midland, adjusting the route of the southern end of the bridge line. It now goes directly to Cumberland rather than Hancock.
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- Category: Engineering Blog
I'm pretty good with spatial relations and designing things in my head. Despite building a 24x32 railroad with a four track main line and yards terminating on corners, I haven't used CAD and everything has worked out just fine.
There's a helix on the Milroy Secondary (behind Milroy on the upper level) and I had planned to use the airspace above it to represent Belleville, on my fictitious Pennsylvania Midland Railroad (which, in my world, took over the Kishacoquillas Valley Railroad).
The space directly above the helix had to be kept clear, but I had allowed 10 inches on two sides of the helix for Belleville, and much more on a third side. But when it came time to design, I just couldn't come up with something that met my needs. And then it happened...
The Belleville Epiphany!
Subcategories
Public Relations Blog Article Count: 60
Engineering Blog Article Count: 102
Mechanical Department Blog Article Count: 15
Operations Blog Article Count: 6
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