SOOOOO!
Saw some pictures, today. Mostly of the Friday setup, but they are coming.
Its Thursday. Around here middle of the week. Everything is put away. Private owned rolling stock is locked away in barns. I have access to the Ridge Live Steamers club owned cars, engines and my own rail bus and riding car. Of the rolling stock, access to about 50 cars, some ride on, some passenger coaches. All in one four track building. In no specific order.
Spent all morning digging out two box cars, two flat cars with one of them a bulkhead flat and two gondolas. What I was looking for were easily distinguished cars, but with a matching alternate. Like the flat car and the bulkhead flat. The box cars are different roads and colors and so are the gondolas.
There are 6 Wabash gondolas, all black with white lettering, just numbers to distinguish them apart and they were just shoved back in to the storage track.
So a little one powered truck rail bus, has to have a riding car to operate, so what can it haul? On the flat of the yard and car barn, 5 or 6 cars, shoving in and out of the car barn tracks. But on the layout, with the terrain, curves and elevation of maybe 3o to 40 feet, not sure. What happens, when overloaded? Does it slip, burn up (don’t want that happen’in) or just stop. Found out, it has a 30 amp breakers that automatically resets. Another question answered.
In the afternoon, I hauled a gondola from “Pine Level” (follow along on the track plan off the Ridge Live Steamers website, if you wish) over “Hays Hill” (not on the map, but a through track in the northeast corner going from the house to “Can Yard”) to “Can Yard”. In my mind that is where another train would bring the cars, to be hauled up to Baxter Jct. Anyway climb the hill over “Summit” and take the route out of “Baxter Jct.” to the sidings and switch backs.
Hauled the gondola up over the top and down to the mine. Ran back to “G” Barn and grabbed the box car and bulkhead flat. Hauled them to “Can Yard” and then up to “Baxter” through “Baxter Jct.” Ran around the cars at the passenger station and put the bulkhead flat on the “Team Track” and shoved the box car to the “Freight House”.
Tripped the breaker with the two cars, riding car and rail bus going to fast climbing the hill. Slowed down and just eased along, towing everything back and no problems.
The 6 Wabash gondolas, could be hauled to “Can Yard” by another train and then the rail bus, small switcher or box cab could haul them two up the hill at a time to the mine at “Baxter”, bring up the next two and bring down two. Do that a couple of times and everything gets cycled through and the big engine can haul it away or the next Way Freight can grab them as it rolls through.
Simple Ops, like cars for like cars. Haul them out, bring them back.
Glad to hear that you are enjoying another new aspect of the model railroading hobby.
