Days of the Iron Horseman Revisited

That was a long time ago when the Iron Horseman had their headquarters down in the Old Port. I bet they made the trip to Weirs Beach every year. We lived in a quiet village on Rt 109 NH. Bikers would go past on their trip around the Lake. We have taken the Hobo Railroad from Meredith to the Weirs. The station is right in front of the pier where the Mt. Washington docks. You can take a 3hr cruise then come back and catch the train back to Meredith. Then we would drive back to Melvin Village. Check out this 'weirs' video. It shows the train, the ship, the station and a bunch of bikers from last June as they take over the area for a week. I bet we could find a lot of MGRS's who drove motorcycles in the old days and maybe even still.
Watch now

Trains Controling Themselves ?

I have always enjoyed the electrical part of building a layout. I do not know an ohm from a watt , I really don't, but I can visualize a wire and a toggle switch, I know what an insulated section of track means. I can imagine a device that will turn on, shut off, or redirect the path that electricity will take when a train activates it. So,. ..that's enough.

This is what I want. Sometimes, I will control all the stopping and starting myself. That is the normal way. But, other times I just want to watch and see what happens as the trains move around the layout. If two trains are approaching a crossing, I want to see one train come to a stop safely in front of the crossing and wait until the second train goes past. Then when it is clear the first train will start up and continue on.

Another scenario is a slower train pulls off into a siding and comes to a stop as the switch it just went over changes to straight ahead as the approaching faster train gets a green signal to pass. Then the train on the crossing starts up and re-joins the main line. Things like this are possible. It helps if you always run your trains in the same direction, but remember we always have the capability to manual override.

The advance stage of what I described above is to make it even more realistic by making it appear natural. A train will not always stop at a crossing, but only when there is a danger of colliding with another train.

I have done a little bit of this but I want to learn a lot more. The best thing I have come across is a controller that sits right beside the track. It has an infra red sensor that switches electrical paths when a train passes by and breaks the invisible beam. It only has a range of a couple of inches but it works very well and is dependable and does not 'stutter'. A nice feature is you can control how long after the last car goes by that the effect will continue. It is made by Lionel and I believe it is called 153I Controller. I have two on my layout and will get details if your interested. I paid about $27 for each of mine. I am using them to control several accessories but I want to try to experiment with stopping and starting trains.

If you have other ideas or know of other gadgets that are simple to use, please post your comments. Thanks John.

Remember the Lionel Catalog Days

Many of us started with our Lionel train.

I came across this in an old box I have saved since I was a kid spending hours carefully studying each page making up that mental wish list. What fun it was. Take a look and marvel at the things you wished your dad had bought and you had taken better care of.
View 1951 Lionel Catalog Pages
To view click above. Best viewed by clicking on 1st image and using arrows to advance.

Whats new after this one?

I am trying to keep up my modest collection of Maine cars.
This is the latest one I have. Does anyone know if there are any more since this one?

Favorites

The link from my email worked fine. I'll save this page as a "favorite."

A Little Boy and his first Train

Maine Eastern Brunswick to Rockland

Number 489 pulling 6 passenger cars leaves Wiscasset (see video) on its way to Rockland.



We took the same trip but ours was on Aug 29, 2007 and we left from Brunswick about 10:00am arriving in Rockland at 12:30pm. We had 3 1/2 hours in Rockland which gave us a nice lunch on a great water front restaurant with plenty of time to look in the shops and pick up some Maine Eastern souvenirs at the Station house. We arrived back in Brunswick at 6:00pm. The trip was interesting and scenic. You also see some unkempt secrets of backyards along the way. It was a fun trip and joined our collection of framed ticket stubs and snapshots.

A Water Level is easy and accurate.

The Water Level is a simple tool that is very accurate. We all know that water always seeks its own level. All you need to do is put the water in a hose, stretch it out and hold up the ends. Once you force out the air bubbles the water will seek it own balance and be the same distance from the top of each end when they are level.

Now to make it easy to see, you attach a piece of clear vinyl hose to each end with a plastic hose coupler. I would buy 8 feet total and cut it in half. So that each end has a 4 foot clear section. The length of the hose in the middle can be any length that is convenient. Now if you have two old yard sticks or pick up some cheap ones that stores like to advertise on, they are perfect to tape to each end so that if you stood them up side by side, resting on the ground, the water level would then read the same number on each yard stick. The numbers are not that important, they will vary depending on how much you fill it. The point is the water will always remain in balance. You can see it is the same height when they are side by side. Now, if you leave one end right where it is and move the other end 50 feet away, the water will still seek its own level. You can be sure that you are level within a quarter of an inch over the 50 foot distance when you position the yard stick to read the same number as it did at the point of beginning.

I also have a inexpensive laser level that I use to confirm the settings. The problem with it is it is hard to balance. A very slight error is magnified the further out you go in distance. That is the beauty of the water level, no matter how far you extend it you are still within your 1/4 inch of accuracy.

Great American Rail Road Classics

Here is something a little Different- Music @ Songs
By the famous and not so famous

John Henry A Steel Driving Man

Johnny Cash - Casey Jones+Orange Blossom Special (live)

Freight Train - fingerstyle guitar solo

I've Been Working On The Railroad - The Rooftop Singers

Orange Blossom Special - All Star Blue Grass Celebration

Famous harmonica player Charlie McCoy
This will get your train running top speed!

Nice Surprise - Mr. Johnson

Who's that? You always called him Doug!
What a nice surprise, to see the name Doug Johnson appear by itself today on the blog. It wasn't easy but by sure determination he got it done. I do not have a lot of DJ stories, but he was responsible for me joining MGRS. He was a pretty good salesman too. He didn't say much but he said the right thing. I wanted to join so bad, I sent in 2 years dues! Thanks Doug!

Welcome Eric !

Good Job. Eric was one of the few people who have whipped right in and signed up to the blog!

Nice Going, I hope you enjoy it.

John's Indoor train in No. Yarmouth

I hesitate to post this because it was the first video clip I ever made. My layout is setup to go outside as the tracks are switched right up to the basement window. (3rd one down) But before I make a lot of mistakes I want to talk to and see what tips other MGRS members have. I think it will be time well spent.

Here it is
Thanks, John

Great American Train Show - Portland OR. 2006

This is a video clip showing some sights and sounds of the Great American Train Show. If you listen close you might hear a child say "I wish I had a train" Everything from suitcase z-scale to garden size. The Rose City Garden Railway Society had an impressive display. Runs about 9:30 mins but you can manual advance it.

Watch it now

PS: These are good, but my favorites are still our very own Member Videos.

Tour my G-Scale Layout - Part-1

Found by Ray on You-Tube also has links to Part-2 and more.

North Conway Train Trip

Blog



Trip Pictures click here then select slideshow

This is a very nice train ride that only takes one hour to complete.

Printing Decals for your die-cast Truck

Did you know you can buy "decal paper" that fits right in your computer printer.
Here are a couple pictures of what I did with a plain looking model truck.
Take a look.

Great way to introduce Kids to Trains!

Slideshow click here

Perfect for Kids, because it's not to long, they don't get bored or hungry, plus it's not expensive! Here is what we did. Had lunch at home and headed into the Portland Amtrak terminal. You can park for free and then help the kids buy a ticket and maybe grab a soda or candy bar from the vending machine. Then head through those big glass doors and walk out past train number 684 that is warming up and ready to go. Board the modern passenger cars with large comfortable seats. Hear the Conductors call out "all a board" and feel the gentle lurch as the powerful DownEaster pulls out of the station. The ride is great as you parallel the Veterans Memorial Bridge into South Portland. You go right by the Oil Storage facility, pass through a cemetery and then go by Rigby Yard as the kids watch for the Conductor to come and punch their ticket. The ride takes you out to Black Point Road crossing through the scenic Scarborough Marsh area. As you enter the Town of Old Orchard Beach you see the ocean and travel past hotels and buildings the length of Grand Ave until you feel the train slow down as it goes through the center of town and comes to it's first stop. Old Orchard Beach cries out the conductor. But, instead of traveling for the next 3 hours to Boston, you get off right here. Wave good bye as the south bound train pulls away and you explore the area.

You only have to wait 10 minutes. You can see the Pirate Boat and other rides close by but you have a better ride headed your way! The northbound train number 683 is now pulling in to view on the same track you were on. How do they do that?, you ask the kids. The big engine seems to glide by the raised platform and passengers cars slow to a stop right in front of you. The door opens and the Conductor welcomes you aboard. You settle down and get your camera ready for the sights on the way back home. It's as much fun going back until the train pulls slowly back into the main terminal and you look out those big windows and see it come to a gentle stop. It's fun to climb down the steps, say good by to the train crew and walk along side those shiny cars and take one last close up look at the big diesel engine before you turn back into the Portland Terminal Building. The whole trip only took 40 minutes and you cannot beat the price of $2.00 each way for the kids and only $4.00 for adults. What a great way to have all the excitement of a real train experience and introduce it to the kids on a level they will enjoy.

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