In August 1845, the town of Scarborough (the UK’s oldest and one of its most popular seaside resorts), welcomed its first ever tourists to arrive by train. That historic first steam journey was on the world’s most famous steam icon, ‘Flying Scotsman.’ More than a century and a half later, ‘Flying Scotsman’ lead the celebrations to mark the 160th anniversary of the event.

It was 160 years ago that more than 15,000 people turned out for the opening of the York to Scarborough railway line. Residents lined the streets of Scarborough, to be serenaded by singers and entertained by brass bands, welcoming the very first steam train to Scarborough’s newly constructed wooden platform.

The steam trip to Scarborough, by ‘Flying Scotsman’ runs along the 42-mile route to the coast. It has been the backbone of the local tourist economy for 160 years.

A slice of New Zealand history has been marked with the last remaining Toll Rail electric locomotive (EW 1805) being handed over for restoration. The EW electric locomotives started work in 1952 and most were retired in the 1980’s. The EW locos have been replaced by Ganz Mavag electric units.

I’ve compiled a list of some common railroading terms with simple definitions. You might hear some of these railroading terms mentioned from time to time. The railroading terms I’ve listed here are reasonably universal, but some may vary depending on where you live.
Part 10 in this series includes another six railroad terms:

Draw Bar Forces
The longitudinal forces at the couplers between locomotives or cars. These forces can be draft or buff, depending on train operation.

Dual Control Switch
A switch equipped for power or hand operation.

Dummy Hose Coupling
A device designed to couple unused air hose for protection against damage and to prevent foreign matter from entering the train line.

Effective Securing Device
A device applied to secure a manually operated switch. It is vandal/tamperproof and designed to protect railroad workers.

Electrically Locked Switch
A hand-operated switch with an electrically controlled device to restrict the movement of the switch.

Emergency Application
A reduction in brake pipe pressure at a rate sufficient to cause control valves to move to the emergency position.

Happy Railroading!

In 1937 there were an estimated 788,672 miles of railroad in the world.

At least 44 people lost their lives during the building of the New York City’s subway, with thousands of other workers left injured.

The highest speed recorded on any national railroad is 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph) by the French SNCF high-speed train.

1928

The first Diesel-electric passenger locomotive built in North America was a two-unit 2-D-1-1-D-2. It represented a joint effort between Westinghouse, Canadian Locomotive Co., Baldwin and Commonwealth Steel Co. Each unit had a Scottish-built Beardmore V12 12″ x 12″ engine rated 1,330HP @ 800 rpm. Max. safe speed was 63 mph.

This model train set blog will list various railroad terms over the next few postings. Here are some more:

Demurrage
Tariff charges assessed for detaining freight cars beyond their specified time limit.

Derail
This track safety device is designed to guide a car off the rails at a selected spot. Its purpose is to protect against collisions or other accidents.

Dispatcher
The person in charge of all movements (and issuing Form D’s) within a designated region. Abbreviated as Dspr.

Disturbed Track
A section of track with a temporary speed restriction due to track maintenance or a defect.

Draft Force
Pulling force (tension) on couplers and draft gear during a slack-stretched condition.

Draft Gear
This is a cushioning device that transmits draft or buff forces between the coupler and the locomotive or car.

Ottawa Valley Garden Railway Society members are building an indoor On30 model train layout for winter operations.

Track plans from a number of magazines were searched for ideas to include in an urban switching layout with lots of industry and a waterfront. As early cars and trucks rather than horses and buggies would be preferred, the era of 1920 to 1930 is being considered.

After months of discussion, it has been decided to build the Key Harbour terminal of the LAKE NIPISSING RAILWAY (LNR). The railway is to link its two long established sister companies: the Georgian Bay Navigation Company and the Lake Nipissing Navigation Company.
This photo shows that laying roadbed and track has commenced.

In July 2005 the Ottawa Valley Garden Railroad Society (Ontario, Canada) hosted the fourth annual American Invasion of Ottawa. It was a tremendous success with thirteen visitors from six different states taking part.

This photo shows a club member (partly visible on the right with the water bottle) steams the shay with its ore train out of Bell en route to Blue Mountain Mine.

Every year Win N Trak model railroad club in Canada raffles off a small layout to raise funds for the N scale model railroad club. A portion of the proceeds goes to a charitable organization. This year, the club is supporting the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital.

The raffle winner will receive the layout as well as a Life-Like starter set.

This year’s draw will take place on April 17, 2006 at 7:00pm.

The Echo Valley Railway Guild in Saskatchewan, Canada has its model train layout located in the basement of a local school.

The current layout is located at Davin School and interestingly enough, the original layout was also in a school. However, the first school was unfortunately closed and demolished.

The club’s current model train layout is a representation of the Crow’s nest pass area of southern British Columbia and Alberta. The CP line and the Kaslo and Slocan Railway are modelled.

These photos from The Echo Valley Railway Guild show a narrow gauge trestle and Sirdar.
The Kaslo and Slocan section is is done in HOn3.

Ft. Mcleod (Mcleod) is modeled from which the line proceeds around the room passing through Crowsnest, Moyie, Sirdar, Nelson. To do this the line passes under the peninsula and circles twice around the room.

The Echo Valley Railway Guild strongly support the hobby of model railroading. It with other model railroaders has taken on the task of producing a regional and two divisional NMRA conventions. The guild opens it’s doors to the school children at least once a year. Together with the Regina Model Railroad Club, The Echo Valley Railway Guild have sponsored a model railroad show.

The track plan belonging to the H.O. Model Engineers Society focuses on the 1950’s in south central Ontario (Canada) with Hamilton as the hub. The major railway subdivisions represented include Canadian National Railway’s Oakville Subdivision from Oakville to Hamilton and the Grimsby Subdivision from Hamilton to Merritton, near St. Catharines. The Dundas Subdivision is also represented as one leg of the Bayview Wye leading to the hidden staging yard. The Canadian Pacific Railway operates on the Goderich Subdivision from Guelph Junction to Hamilton, as well as trackage rights on the Oakville Subdivision. The Toronto Hamilton & Buffalo Railway operates on the Welland Subdivision from Welland to Hamilton, which includes the New York Central Railway, as well as trackage rights on the Oakville Subdivision. The cities of Buffalo, Toronto and London are represented by common hidden staging yard, which feeds traffic to the modeled portion of the layout.

A digital command control system for train operations is being used (Digitrax), along with a computerized model railroad interface (C/MRI) system designed to operate the centralized traffic control system from a dispatcher’s panel located in an adjacent room. Train movement is monitored by the dispatcher and will be controlled from signal lights along the right of way. A variable speed, fast time digital clock used on the previous layout, is used to control passenger and freight movements. High frequency two ways radios are used to communicate between the dispatcher and all train crews. Both freight and passenger cars are switched into trains or industries based on a computerized car forwarding program, (Shipit) which selects appropriate rolling stock for specific customers and prints switch list orders for the conductor of each train crew.

Most of this technology was in place on the Delta layout and will continue to create prototypical operations on the new layout. The new layout is far from complete, but the club is attempting to use as much of the new model railroad technology available to create a realistic 1950’s era transportation system.

Model railroad Club With Checked Past

The H.O. Model Engineers Society was formed in February 1948, and started its first scale model railway in 1950, in the basement of a restaurant at Main Street and Park Row in Hamilton, Ontario. A few years later the club moved to the basement of a member’s home in Aldershot and then moved to a two-car garage on Gage Avenue North in Hamilton, where a much-improved layout was built.

In 1961 the club moved once again to the basement of Booth’s Hobby Shop on Concession Street on Hamilton Mountain, where a new layout filled a 25′ X 50′ room. At its peak, it required fourteen engineers and two dispatchers to run a full schedule with fast time clocks.

By the late 1970’s construction on the layout was almost dormant and in 1979 it was decided to dismantle the layout and move.

In the spring of 1980 the Society began construction of a new layout in the basement of the Delta Bingo Hall, at the intersection of King Street and Main Street East in Hamilton. This renovated grocery store was just a few blocks from the location of the first layout. The 42′ X 52′ layout required ten engine crews and a dispatcher to operate trains over the 500 foot long mainline. The era was 1967, Canada’s Centennial Year, and the geography depicted Hamilton to North Bay with the scenery showing all four seasons.

In late 1996 the owner of the building decided to renovate it back into a grocery store. The membership was devastated! The layout was dismantled in early 1997.

A new home was finally secured in June 1997 at the Stoney Creek Plaza. After fifteen months of extensive and expensive renovations to the basement area, it was subdivided into four areas: a 18 X 20 museum of railway artifacts, a 18′ X 24′ library/lounge, a 6′ X 60′ workshop and 42 X 62 model railway layout. Construction of the layout began in September 1998.

About 25 years ago Bill Taylor had a dream. He wanted to build an outdoor live steam railway in the woods around his home in Charleswood. Bill was an avid model railroader and had a 750 sq. ft 1000 foot HO model railroad in his basement that started in 1969. Bill also liked going to the N.M.R.A. “National” conventions and each year a side tour to a live steam railway would be featured.

Today Bill Taylor is President of THE ASSINIBOINE VALLEY RAILWAY. The AVR is 1.5″ (1.6″) scale 7.5″ gauge and is located on a seven acre site immediately west of Assiniboine Park (nicknamed “The Route Of The Hazel Nuts”).

The railway started in 1995 and currently has 56 members. Club members spend most Saturday afternoons working. The club currently has 3 diesel locomotives, one box cab under construction and several steamers under construction by various members and about 18 cars plus 10 more under construction. The AVR use aluminium rail on wood ties on ballast and sub-roadbed construction with a ruling radius of 50’.

A massive 5,400 feet of track is on the ground. The main line is 3700’ with seven passing sidings. There is a turning wye and movable 12 foot lift for unloading.

The picture above shows #202 is now re-painted in old CPR colours and lettered for the AVR. Was first run in her new colours at the October open house in 2005.

Club members have built a 24’ x 12.5’ station that serves as a club room and will store up to 12 pieces of equipment in an attached dog house. A four track car barn measuring 31’ x 10’ has been built for additional rolling stock and miscellaneous storage, along with a 14′ x 10′ maintenance building.

The live steam railway winds through an aspen and hardwood forest making for an enjoyable ride. Main line will allow travel in both directions for a total run of 7400’ and a time of 25 minutes plus waits for opposing traffic. An automatic CTC signal system which also operates the switches is being planned.

The AVR Club operate five open house weekends for the public on the 2nd weekend of June to October, plus a Christmas light run every evening in December (with 984 riders in one night). Club members give about 15,000 rides per year and welcomes visitors.

Above photos from THE ASSINIBOINE VALLEY RAILWAY show CAR #572 and an earlier construction shot of mounting the door details into the side of the car.

THE ASSINIBOINE VALLEY RAILWAY is located at 3001 ROBLIN BLVD., WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA and has an excellent railroading website.

The Redstone Model Railroad Club was founded in 1958 as the Redstone Model Railroad Association. Located on Redstone Arsenal, the club has been an active center for model railroading activity in the Huntsville, Alabama area for almost forty-four years. The club layout is the Alabama Tennessee and Northern Railroad, an HO scale notional railroad that is set in the southeastern United States.

Then came that fateful day, April 3, 1974, when the building and layout were destroyed by one of several tornados that devastated the area that day. Building 3541 was leveled; 16 years of work gone. In the photo at left, benchwork is visible on the right side, along with the entire southeast wall that was blown outward. More benchwork can be seen to the left. Debris was scattered over several hundred feet and very few items were salvaged from the area.

Members had meetings at the Redstone Recreation/Service Center on post for several months.

In November of 1974, seventeen charter members and three junior members filed for Certification of Incorporation of Redstone Model Railroad Club, Inc. The purpose of the corporation was to organize and promote greater fellowship between model railroaders and advancing the hobby of model railroading. This action started the “rebirth” of the Alabama, Tennessee, and Northern Railroad. The Army provided another building in the fall of 1975.

Making a Realistic Logging Car from an Athearn 40 Foot Flatcar

Perhaps no railroad cars were subjected to abuse more than the gondola and flatcar. How often have we seen bent and swayed back gondolas and looked down, from and overpass, on the gnarled flooring of flatcars. As these cars reached the end of their useful life on major railroads, many found their way to short lines and logging railroads to serve a few more years.

The Redstone Model Railroad Club has a downloadable PDF file on its website showing how to age and weather an out-of-the-box plastic flatcar. Ray Long has put together easy to follow, illustrated step-by-step instructions that will produce a well used piece of rolling stock that would likely be found on a logging railroad or short line. Ray shows you how to weather the finish and to distress the wood flooring with realistic results.

Visit the Redstone Model Railroad Club website and see what they are up to.

Help With Your Model Train Sets:

October 22, 1949

On this date the Danzig-Warsaw express derails in Poland with more than 200 people killed.

G Scale railroading is becoming increasingly popular because it combines the realism of trains with a natural environment.

The Vancouver Island Garden Railroad Club (Canada) is a perfect example. The club was formed for like-minded people to share their ideas and interest in garden railroading. These photos show a couple of different garden railroads belonging to members.

Several other photo can be seen at the Vancouver Island Garden Railroad Club website.

Continuing this series, here are some more railroading terms of interest:

Bulletin Order
A BO is used to notify railroad staff of changes in instructions, procedures, or rules affecting the movement of trains.

Cab Signal
This signal indicates track occupancy or condition and is located in the engine control compartment. The cab signal is used in conjunction with interlocking signals, and with or in lieu of block signals.

Cab Signal System
A CSS system permits cab signals and the cab warning whistle to operate.

Camp Car
This is an on-track boarding/bunk car or vehicle used to house railroad staff.

Computer Controlled Brake
A computer based electro-pneumatic system (CCB) that controls air brakes on locomotives and cars.

Control Operator
Employee assigned to operate a CTC or interlocking control machine or authorized to grant track permits.

Control Station
The location or Dispatch Office where the Operator is on duty. The remote control signal appliances or switchesare operated from here.

Controlled Point
A station specified in the timetable where signals are remotely controlled from the control station. Abbreviated as CP.

Controlled Siding
A circuited siding where both ends are governed by signals under the control of an Operator or Dispatcher. Abbreviated as CS.

Controlled Signal
Controlled by a Dispatcher or Operator, this is a fixed signal, capable of displaying a Stop indication.

The Worthing Model Railway Club (formed in 1964) holds an annual exhibition with the 2006 event planned for September at the Boundstone Community College, West Sussex, UK.

The model railway club has several layouts including:

WITTS END (available for exhibitions)

GAUGE: 0-16.5
STOCK: Scratch built
PROTOTYPE: Narrow gauge
DESCRIPTION: Country terminus with limited goods facilities and a small loco shed
SIZE: 16′ x 18ins (20′ x 6′ to include safety barriers and maintenance area.

WELLS GREEN TMD (available for exhibitions)

GAUGE: OO 4mm
STOCK: Highly detailed 4mm scale locomotives.
PROTOTYPE: Crewe International Electric Maintenance Depot.
DESCRIPTION: A small electric depot based upon current EWS operations in the North West, featuring highly detailed AC electric locomotives in an authentic grimy, gritty atmosphere. The depot concentrates on undertaking routine maintenance to locos, and includes a locomotive washer, and a scrapline containing electric locomotives surplus to EWS’s requirements. A fueling road for diesel locomotives also enables many different varieties of loco to appear.
SIZE: 5′ x 1′ plus 3′ x 1’6″ fiddle yard.

NINE MILLS
(pictured: Fiddle Yard construction)
GAUGE: N Gauge 9mm
STOCK: Ready to run, modified ready to run and kit built.
PROTOTYPE: See description for full details.
DESCRIPTION: It is an N gauge layout built to 9mm gauge and features handbuilt points in the main viewing area, although for ease of maintenance, it is planned to replace these with proprietry units at some stage in the future.

It is a ficticious MPD located in the Banbury, Oxfordshire area which gives members the excuse to run Midland, Western and BR Standard rolling stock as well as Inter-Regional trains from the Southern and Eastern regions. In other words, something for everyone.

The period of this layout is depicted as being in the early post-nationalisation era when rolling stock of the “Big Four” (LMS, GWR, SR and LNER) could be seen alongside the new BR colour schemes.

The layout, as it stands, may be operated in its present state although future plans will enable this layout to be shown in its present form or as a continuous run. The estimated date for the continuous run is 2005, unfortunately, the rebuilding is at a stage where we cannot now show the original layout.

SIZE: Approx 20′ x 2′ (undergoing upgrade to new size 20′ x 8′)

NORTHLANDS WOOD

GAUGE: OO Gauge
STOCK: Propriety ready to run stock.
PROTOTYPE: “Modern image”
DESCRIPTION: The layout is a double track “tail chaser” with a large through station where the track splits into 4 lines to provide a variety of services. The station is based on a modern refurbished station but not based on any particular location. Because of this a wide varity of motive power may be seen.
SIZE: 12′ x 14′

The Worthing Model Railway Club has an informative website that is well worth visiting.

The Erin Mills Model Railroad Club in Ontario, Canada, holds its February Clinic Day on Saturday, February 18, 2006. The first one will be on tree stumps and the second will be a small laser kit.

The clinic on tree stumps will include making the moulds (demonstration) and then using them to make the actual stumps and them demonstrating how to use these stumps on your model train layout.

All parts required for the laser kit will be included along with instructions. Paint and Glue will also be provided. Attendees are asked to bring along his or her own modelling tools to complete this project.

The model railroad club clinic will cover all aspects of constructing a laser wood kit, from painting and erecting to adding finishing touches.

The clinics will be held at the Sheridan United Church, 2501 Truscott Avenue in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.