Pikes Peak "N" Gineers Model Railroad Club

THE RAILHEAD

SEEKING SERIOUS N-SCALE MODEL RAILROAD FUN SINCE OCTOBER 13, 1989

Important Dates
Layout Hours and Address
Just a reminder
Welcome, Larry!
Here's an idea worth stealing
Ultimate in railroad modeling
Review-Bachmann's 2-8-0
Bachmann's next steamer?
What were railroad land grants?
Were land grants gifts?
The first Federal land grant to RR's
Did the government give money
Railfan notices flat wheels!
Eligible for a Darwin Award
How do tenders hold their water?
Whistle Stop: Kato's GN passenger cars

The new year is underway and the Pikes Peak "N" Gineers' train is pulling out of the station.

The club has decided on many of its activities for the year. One of these is participating for the first time in the Great America Train Show on Saturday, March 27, and Sunday, March 28, at the Denver Stockyards. To get our train rolling, Joe volunteered to head the committee to get our traveling layout ready to operate for the first time in more than two years.

Joe and his committee has knocked off the cob webs and dusted off the scenery. Buildings, vehicles, trees and people have been glued back into place. The layout looks pretty good. The big thing that remains is to put it together and see if we can still run trains on it. This is a problem since the traveling layout takes up more space than is available in our club room.

Don't forget, our first open house of the year is a mere two weeks away. Fix up any bad order cars and locos and test 'em to be sure they do us proud. Module owners might think about sprucing up their property, too. We hear that some of last open house visitors were disappointed that more progress hadn't been made since their previous visit.

Taking this advice to heart, Sweetgrass now can boast of a new fence to keep the cattle from falling off the cliff-a major concern of Kirt's-and a new corral. Each of these new scratch-built features has a gate.

There are indications that similar improvements may be coming real soon at Grizzly Gulch and at Dry Branch.

Of course, Joeyton continues to grow and grow and grow.

That's a great example for the rest of us.!

This is just a reminder to all members that THE RAILHEAD presents the minutes of club meetings in an edited form for confidentiality and space considerations.

Please see our Stationmaster for an official and complete copy of the minutes of any meeting.

Webmaster's Note:  Meeting minutes will not be published on the website.
PPNG members may obtain minutes from the Stationmaster.

We have a new member. He is Larry Cothren, who has visited us a couple of times and apparently liked what he saw and heard. Larry has 10 years experience in HO and N scale model railroading. He prefers modeling the 1940s and 1950s and he's good at track work and planning.

So, mark up your copy of the roster once more:
Larry Cothren
You can get this information from the Stationmaster.

Welcome to Pikes Peak "N" Gineers Model Railroad Club, Larry!

I received my copy of the latest NTRAK newsletter and found a clever idea that is well worth stealing. Perhaps this could be a club project for us.

TV Vans for TV Publicity

Alan Schappell, of the Philadelphia NTRAK club, has a string of modules with a busy city street running parallel with the tracks. The intersections have working traffic signals, which isn't surprising, since Alan's business is the maintenance of traffic signals in his local area.

To add to the urban scene, Alan has created two replicas of the vans used by each of the four local TV stations to cover the local news events. When one of the crews show up at a train show, Alan makes sure that it is their vans that are in easy to photograph spots on his modules. This helps him get some publicity for the show and for his club.

At the start of the project, Alan went to the local stations and made side views color photos of their actual vans. These, and a sample of the Busch #8301 Mercedes 'Sprinter' commercial van, were sent to 'After Hours Graphics,' PO Box 62373, Sharonville, OH 45262. Send SASE w/55¢ postage for info and sample. They produced sets of decals that fit the vans and are typical of the four local stations.

If the vans are used in specific spots all of the time, the lighted version (headlights and tail lights) could be used. The chassis would be glued to the road and the bodies lifted off and exchanged as needed.

Now I ask you, can you imagine any of our local TV stations resisting taking pictures of its van on our layout and not showing it on the air? Only the advent of World War III could prevent it-and maybe not even then.

Wouldn't this be a good project for our Publicity Committee? It wouldn't cost too much. Placing the appropriate van at the train wreck in Joeyton (with Joe's permission, of course) at the right time would garner great and memorable free publicity for the club.

As published in the January/February 1999 NTRAK Newsletter

The recent introduction of oNeTRAK modules has spurred interest in several new approaches to modeling. Bob Gatland, of the Long Island NTRAK Club, has announced a real breakthrough in realistic train modeling. He calls this approach 'RUSTRAK'. It is the modeling of abandoned railroads.

There are a number of advantages to the idea:
1. Electrical wiring is not needed.
2. Derailments are reduced to zero.
3. Connecting tracks that are either too long or too short are no longer a problem.
4. Collisions, caused by distracted operators talking to viewers, are eliminated.
5. Dirty rail and wheels are no longer a problem, in fact, they are a goal.
6. The system is compatible with DCC, Aristocraft Radio Control, Lindsay NTRAK throttles and all models of MRC throttles, as long as none of them are plugged in.

Caution! A fellow club member may already have modules that fully qualify for these 'standards'. Be kind in pointing this out to them.

I, too, bought the Bachmann 2-8-0 (two actually) and have found it to be a great locomotive. It runs very smoothly and has a number of outstanding features, including the see-thru area between the frame and boiler (no worm gear in there), all separate detail parts, see-thru wheel spokes, blackened side rods, a crew and just a great overall look.

I have not tried to alter mine or to add weight. I have seen one disassembled and think there is very little room to add weight. I suspect that with its low amp pull, it probably could accept more weight, but I'm happy with the number of cars mine will pull (at least 12).

The one way you might add weight would be to follow the approach demonstrated in an article in M[odel] R[ailroader] not too long ago. The article suggested using heavy gauge tin-lead solder. As I recall, the author super-glued 'rods' of the solder inside the roof of the cab. The issue is, of course, that all that extra weight on one end will upset the balance of the model.

As for the domes, yes, though they don't look like it, they come off and so replacement domes could be fitted. BTW [by the way], about six or eight months ago, Mainline Modeler ran an article with numerous photos of prototype 2-8-0's that resemble the Bachmann model, definitely an idea starter for kitbashing or otherwise modifying this model.

There is a rumor that Bachmann will be releasing a new steam engine. It will be a USRA 4-8-2 Mountain. There is no word on when it will be released.

This is a very misunderstood subject in the general public's mind. The following information is from the eighth edition of Association of American Railroads' Quiz on Railroads and Railroading, January, 1951.

In 1850, the Federal Government owned nearly 1,400,000,000 acres of wild land in the West and in the South. For a generation, the government had offered its lands to settlers at low prices, but there were few buyers because of the lack of transportation in regions where they were located. In 1850-1871, following an earlier policy of granting lands to aid canal and wagon road construction, the government made grants of land to railroad companies, directly or indirectly through the states. The purpose of the grants was to encourage the construction of railroads through undeveloped territory, to attract settlers, to enhance the value of and create a market for vast tracts of theretofore unsalable government-owned lands, to increase taxable wealth, and, most important of all, to strengthen and unify the nation.

Lands were granted to railroads in alternate sections, corresponding to the red squares in a checkerboard, with the government retaining the sections corresponding to the black squares on the checkerboard. Federal land grants were made to companies which built approximately 8 per cent of the present railway mileage of the United States. Ninety-two per cent of the present rail mileage in this country received no land grants from the government.

No. The railroads received upwards of 131 million acres of land from the Federal Government, the estimated value of which, at the time of transfer, was approximately 94 cents an acre, or $123,000,000.

In return for the lands granted, the land-grant railroads, and railroads which competed with them, carried government troops and all government property used for military purposes for one-half of standard rates until October, 1946. Prior to 1941, the land-grant railroads and competing lines also carried government property used for non-military purposes for one-half of established rates. In addition, the land-grant railroads, until 1941, carried United States mails for four-fifths of standard rates. In December, 1945, Congress repealed the land-grant rate provisions, effective October 1, 1946.

In March, 1945, the Interstate Commerce Committee of the House of Representatives reported that the railroads had already "contributed over $900,000,000 in payment of the lands which were transferred to them under the Land Grant Acts." Between the time of that report and the end of land grant deductions in government rates, there were further payments estimated at not less than $350,000,000. Thus the total contributions of the railroads to the government through rate deductions on account of land grants were approximately ten times the value of the lands at the time they were granted to the railroads.

The first federal railroad land grant, approved September 20, 1850, conveyed to the State of Illinois 2,595,133 acres of lands which had been on the market for years, without purchasers, at $1.25 an acre. The State transferred the lands to the Illinois Central Railroad Company on condition that the railroad, when completed, would pay the State of Illinois a charter tax based on a percentage of its gross revenues, in lieu of other taxes on its 705.5 miles of land-grant railroad in the State, and that it would carry United States troops, property and mails at reduced rates.

To the end of 1949, the Illinois Central had paid the Federal Government about $25,000,000 in reduced rates on government troops, freight, express and mails, on account of the land grant, and had paid the State of Illinois approximately $131,000,000 in gross revenue tax. It is estimated that the latter is about $48,000,000 greater than normal railway taxes would have been. Thus, to the end of 1949, the railroad had paid some $73,000,000 for lands which could have been purchased outright at the time they were granted for not more than $3,248,000.

No. The Federal Government made loans of bonds to hasten the construction of six pioneer railroads. These were not gifts but were loans, bearing interest at 6 per cent. The amount loaned totalled $64,623,512. The amount repaid, principal and interest, was $167,746,490.

Gary said, "Spent about 45 minutes this morning along side the Conrail main in uptown Harrisburg watching two mixeds go by with an amazing number of flat wheels, especially on the gondolas. One was so bad you could actually see the bad wheel wobbling. And yet, with the many intermodals passing through, the number of flat wheels on those cars are few in number. Why is there such a problem?"

Robert, an engineer, replies, "This problem persists on all railroads as the cars are interchanged. In general freight, the flat spots occur when the cars are shoved to a spot with too much air set on their brakes, or when the cars are shoved with the hand brakes set too tight. These conditions cause the wheels to slide on the rail creating flat spots.

"The reason the intermodals aren't as bad is that they aren't spotted and switched out like the general freight cars are. Thus, less opportunities to slide the wheels."

"Extreme flat spots like you described on the one car can create problems with rail if the temperature is cold enough to make the steel more brittle. The banging of the flat wheel on the rail could cause a break."

Greg butts in with, "On the Hemersly Iron RR here in Oz [Great Britain], wheel impact detectors are used to detect flat spots at an early stage. Are these devices used in the U.S.?"

Robert replies, "We have not used them on any of the railroads I have traveled."

But John says, "Greg, the Soo Line uses them in the Minnesota area. There is one just north of Winona, MN that has been wreaking havoc with Amtrak and also has been making a lot of work for the car men at St. Paul Yard. It caught Amtrak P40 819 about the time that you were to be in the area. The P40 had to be set out at Winona causing an extended delay plus slower running to Chicago for the Empire Builder. It then spent a week at St. Paul while the Soo turned the wheels."

JP then tells Robert, "I recently spent a couple of days watching trains at a crew change point for one of the larger railroads and observed the following causes of flat wheels.

"One evening, the crew of a drag freight of the major railroad was getting ready to tie up but first they had to work the interchange with the local short line. Shortly, I hear someone working the ground tell the engineer, 'There are an awful lot of hand brakes set on the interchange cars. I guess I should go release them."

"The engineer replied, 'We've got six units up here. Let me see if I can pull them.' No hand brakes were observed being released and the cars almost immediately began to move amid much noise of brakes and dragging wheels."

"The next day, the local short line was making up their train. The short line engineer had made several 'perfect' joints while kicking cars, each car being kicked coupling to the cars without so much as a bang but, just enough force to drop the coupler pin. The short line engineer commented over the radio, 'Dang, I'm good!'"

"At this point the conductor of the short line crew reached up to the brake wheel of a brand new IBT lumber car and tightened the hand brakes. When the engineer began to move the string of cars with the IBT lumber car on it, of course the wheels skidded along the rail. The IBT car was moved perhaps 1,000 feet one direction and 2,000 feet the opposite direction before being left by the short line crew, hand brakes still set."

"Another short line I often visit has no locomotives with dynamic brakes. There is a 2% grade approaching the location of their major customer. The dispatcher of this customer's railroad reports the short line trains often 'skid into town' with brakes locked on days when the rails are wet and/or have a lot of leaves on them in the Fall."

JLS, also an engineer, added, "The Soo Line, being basically a flat land granger road, never did buy much power (if any) with dynamic brakes. When they took over the skeleton of the Milwaukee, their motive power men never did recognize that they were running a railroad with real grades (even though the western extension was abandoned, Milwaukee still had some 2% grades left) and generally continued their policy of rejecting dynamic brakes. They tended to run Soo power as controlling units and the 'inferior' Milwaukee units as boosters, and thus the dynamic on the Milwaukee units weren't taken advantage of. Handling their trains on the steep grades of the Twin Cities area created so many flat wheels than one could usually tell whether a passing train was SOO or BN, just judging by the number of flat spots in the train!

"After CP took over SOO, they started buying engines with dynamics, and, wonder of wonders, the crews loved them! And, it became harder to judge the color of the engine pulling a train by the sound of the trains' wheels."

3645 Jeannine Drive, Suite 108

Tuesday: 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Fridays: 7:00 - 9:00 PM

Saturday: 1:00 - 4:00 PM

This piece appeared in the November 5, 1998 Denver Post. I wonder if the UP Cinder Dicks should arrest this guy for trespassing, or violating the law by shooting across a railroad, or give him a medal for a Darwin Award [cleansing the gene pool].

Hunter shoots self in face

Craig- A hunter said he learned an important lesson after he shot himself in the face Monday morning when he spotted an elk near a railroad track about 20 miles south of Elk Creek, Colorado.

Jarold Sanchez, 23, rested the barrel of his gun on the track to take the shot. The bullet ricocheted off the second rail and grazed the side of his face. He was taken to Routt Memorial Hospital where he received 40 stitches and was released.

Sanchez said the shooting taught him the barrel of his gun is lower than the sight.

Jack said, "I have recently read that very large locos like the heavy freight 4-12-2's held upwards of 18,000 gallons of water in their tenders. Were the water tanks compartmented like ice trays in order to reduce the sloshing effect of the liquid cargo while in motion, such as is the case with tanker ships?"

Brian replies, "I'm not aware of any that were compartmented, but most, if not all, had baffles inside to curtail sloshing."

Bob adds, "Brian, when we restored the [UP] 3985, Lynn Nystrom and myself spent hours in the bowels of the tender knocking down the scale. The baffles have large lift out sections that reminded me of the water doors in a submarine.

Kato has scheduled the release of sets of GN smooth side lightweight passenger cars in January and February, 1999 or, so they advertise.

There are a total of four sets. Each set has four cars in it, presumably painted and lettered for the Empire Builder, the longest continuously running passenger train in the United States. AMTRAK still runs it.

Kato's ad says, "Each car highly detailed and accurately painted, with individual car number/name. Buy more than one set to build authentic consists for some of the best known railroads!"

Well, if you want to have the authentic consist of Great Northern's Empire Builder, you'll have to do a lot more than buy Kato's four sets. It makes me wonder, "Why did they bother?"

Great Northern's crack passenger train, the Empire Builder, began operations in 1929. On February 23, 1947, Great Northern relegated its heavy weight cars to lesser trains and officially inaugurated its streamlined Empire Builder, using light weight cars.

Editor: Charles J. Bay

THE RAILHEAD is published monthly by the Pikes Peak 'N' Gineers Model Railroad Club, P.O. Box 594, Monument, CO 80132; Telephone 719-488-9318. Subscription is covered through membership in Pikes Peak 'N' Gineers, a nonprofit corporation. ©1999. All rights reserved. We assume letters, questions, news releases, and club items are contributed gratis.

In 1951, what later became known as the Mid-century version of the Empire Builder appeared with GN using almost a completely new set of streamlined cars. The 1947 cars' Empire Builder lettering was changed to read Great Northern and the 1947 cars were assigned to lesser trains, like the Internationals.

Then, in 1955, Great Northern revised its light weight Empire Builder for the third time in eight years. It introduced two types of dome cars (the only Northwest railroad to do so), and some other new cars. It relegated some of the 1951 Empire Builder cars to lesser trains, and brought back some 1947 Empire Builder cars that had been refurbished.

To see what the 1947 version looked like, find a copy of the December, 1991 Model Railroader. It has an excellent 16 page spread on that train, complete with color drawings of each car.

The best overall sources of information on the 'modern' Empire Builder are John F. Strauss, Jr.'s Volumes 3 and 4, Great Northern Pictorial. These books spell out the consists of each version in detail. Most of the following information comes from Volume 4.

Personally, I like the 1955 version the best because I like the dome cars and the fact that it was the longest version, the only one requiring four passenger F's to pull it. If I ever complete the construction of my train, it will be really neat and-unique.

Anyway, I digress. Back to Kato's attempt to separate you from the green stuff in your wallet.

Kato has repeated the mistake that Con-Cor made several years ago. Some of the cars in the Kato sets never ran with each other. So, if you want to run a prototypical train, skip the Kato sets unless you want to pay an exorbitant price for just one or two cars.

For the unconvinced budding Empire Builders (EB), let's look at the sets.

Great Northern Set A1
RPO 37:  first used in the 1951 EB.
Coach 1128:  first used in the 1947 EB.
Diner 'Lake Michigan':  first in the 1947 EB
Observation 'Twelve Mile Coulee':  first used in the 1955 EB

Great Northern Set A2
RPO 40:  First used in the 1947 EB
Coach 1122:  First used in the1947 EB
Diner 'Lake Superior':  First used in the 1947 EB
Observation 'Port of Vancouver':  First used in GN's Internationals.

Great Northern Set B1
Baggage 280:  Was rebuilt from 1101 in December, 1967 and assigned to priority mail service on the Empire Builder.
Coach 1131:  First used in the 1947 EB
Dome 1322:  First used in the 1955 EB
Pullman 'Blewet Pass':  First used in the 1951 EB

Great Northern Set B2
Baggage 270:  Built between 1948 and 1950. Assigned to priority storage mail service on the 1955 EB.
Coach 350:  Must be an advertising misprint. None of the Empire Builder coaches had three numbers and none of the coach numbers ended with '350'.
Dome 1333:  First used in the 1955 EB
Pullman 'Santiam Pass':  First used in the 1951 EB

So, there you have it. While I'm sure that Kato has done its usual fine job of painting and lettering which make for great looking cars, I will not be buying any of the sets. My incomplete train is already more complete and more prototypically correct from an operational view than anything I could put together from these sets.

I do wish that Kato had made a better effort to do what it advertised: "to build authentic consists." I would have given them some green stuff from my wallet.