Model Railroad Podcast

  





hosted by: Ryan Andersen & Will Ayerst
Model Rail Cast #11
Mon, May 5, 2008
Posted by: Ryan Andersen

Notes for Show #11

Crew Lounge
Finally sight of Will's models, a pure MP3 feed and Equalising.  Please spread the word about us!

Railway Postoffice
Thanks again to all who have commented and contributed!

Round House
Operating a yard.

Coaling Tower
Model Railroader 08 and Model Railroad News June issues.

Archives
Servicing a steam loco.

Interchange Tracks
Railroad Radio: http://www.railroadradio.net/
Live Local: http://local.live.com/
 
Please don't forget to call the number 206-202-2395 to leave your feedback, comments, suggestions or to just to say 'Hi' and let us know that you listen to the show.

Download the AAC (Enhanced version with Chapters) of MRC Show #11

 
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Posted by: tcoiler on Mon, May 5 2008     http://www.pupman.com
Hi Guys!

Another great program. I had a comment, question, and an idea.

Comment: I really like your program. I think it is very well edited and while you two talk back and forth, the content of your talk is very high quality. The "density" of information in your podcast is pleasingly high so I don't feel like I'm wasting time or wanting to fast forward through any parts at all. I also like that Ryan is somewhat a beginner like me and Will is knowledgeable and willing to explain and share information. Keep it up!

Question: I read that train brakes go on when the air pressure is released. I've seen hump yards in videos and it looks like they just uncouple the cars and they roll down the hump. In the process the air hoses disconnect as the cars separate. So why don't they screech to a halt with the brakes on full then?

Idea: Would you be willing and interested in reviewing new or nearly new models that listeners send in? For example, I have an Athearn Genesis MP15AC DCC locomotive with sound. I could send it to you when you were ready, you could review it and send it back. That way you'd not have to actually buy the locomotive but still get to play with it. It would take some coordination so you'd not have 200 locomotives to review in one week and none the next week.

Thanks again for running the podcast. It's a valuable asset and I'll try to promote it at the next club meeting.

Chip
Posted by: Walter on Tue, May 6 2008     web.mac.com/waltermacvanepearson/Rockie_Pass_Rail/Welcome.html
for you question, and I'm only piecing together what I know about Semi trailers and the aerospace industry.

In semi trucks the brakes come on when pressure is released, there is a huge spring that the air pressure works against to release the brakes. this is so that when the trail is sitting not connected the brakes are on, and also that if an airline breaks, the release of air applies the brake instead of losing them with a large heavy load. Some times you will see on the highway a black tire make from a semi for a mile or so on one side, this wheel has lost pressure.

I know that Rail cars have air tanks under them. So if they also work this way, then all you would need to do is have quick release's that will hold the pressure from the air tank on the brakes. this is used in Aerospace in hydraulics, oil, fuel, and air lines incase of power failure to maintain some control.

Again I am only looking at the systems I know, someone else might be able to tell you for sure.
Posted by: RobHinkle on Tue, May 6 2008    
Another interesting show guys, what's with all that steam talk? ;)

One of the items that was mentioned during the talk about the steam servicing was about the fire insurance maps. Those maps started being done in 1867 by a company called the Sanborn Map company. They would survey all of the buildings in the town so they would know the fire rating of such buildings. Railroad buildings would obviously be included on the maps, where as tracks and the like may or may not be there in full. I've uploaded one of the ones that I have for the town of Lebanon Pa which shows the Passenger Station, Freight Station and Engine house in town.

Now back to the subject of Steam Engine servicing, I've been fortunate to have visited a couple of great sites here in the Eastern PA region, Steamtown which is located in Scranton PA and the Strasburg Railroad which is located in Strasburg PA. At Steamtown they offer a free tour of the shops they have there and you get to see all of the tools and materials they would need in order to service the engines. I've posted one shot of Steam Engine Tires plus some various ones of Steamtown and one of an engine in operation at Strasburg.

Additionally I've posted a couple shots of diesel engines from the Railroad Museum of PA, as well as a number of shots that I took at the opening of the Reading Railroad Museum that I spoke about in Podcast #10. And finally I've posted some interesting layouts that I've visited over the past two NMRA conventions as a member of the LDSIG (mentioned in future podcast)
Posted by: RobHinkle on Tue, May 6 2008    
Just wanted to add a comment on the Yard Limits discussion. If there is a main line that goes through the yard, Rule 93 will state that any train on that Main Line must proceed at Yard Speed unless the main track is known to be clear. On all tracks other than the main tracks engines and trains must not exceed Yard Speed.

Usually in Yard Limit areas, movements can be made by Yard Engines onto the Main Lines without permission from the dispatcher or Train orders. The trains on the main line would usually slow down to the Yard Speed just in case they found a switch against them or some other obstruction that would be blocking the way.
Posted by: tcoiler on Tue, May 6 2008     http://www.pupman.com
More hump yard/airbrakes -- google is my friend.

http://www.trainweb.org/railnuts/yard.html
and
http://www.s pikesys.com/Trains/brk_faq.html

It turns out that the air forms the springs that activate the brakes as well. The hump yard workers bleed the spring part of the air and the cars can then roll freely.

Chip
Posted by: MiG-19 on Wed, May 7 2008    
Just wanted to let you all know you have a HUGE fan in Okinawa, Japan. You are being heard literally all over the World! Ryan, Will, you two put on the best Podcast out there for model railroading, and the dynamic between you two is amazing. I love the fact that Ryan is a relative newbie and isn't afraid to hang it all out there and let us other newbies learn with him. I'm from Lexington, Kentucky, just south of Ryan's home, so it's good hearing you guys. Will, you offer great advice and are the other half of the coin.
I'm a retired Marine still living in Japan where I work with the US Marines, and my Japanese home has absolutely no room for a model railroad, but I'm dying to try my hand at making a diorama. Do you all think you will ever do an episode on dioramas? I think it would be well received. Will, maybe some day that diesel will show up in the logo!
Semper Fi,
Jay (MiG-19)
Posted by: dmcree on Wed, May 7 2008     www.tamvalleyrr.com
Thanks for another great podcast. Hang in there and your perseverance will pay off. We will tell all our friends!

They had an NMRA convention in Cincinnati a few years back and I went on layout tours in the area. Cincinnati is just chuck full of beautiful layouts in suburban basements. Several poeple built the basement to fit their layout design and then built a home on top to keep the rain out :-)

Keep on plugging,

Duncan
Posted by: dugzowl on Wed, May 7 2008    
Number 11 was another great show Ryan and Will. I love hearing about yard operations.

I would also like to thank all the great people here posting messages. I've been learning a lot just by reading your posts. Learning new techniques and tips is one of the best thing about model railroading for me.

Model Rail Cast - Rocking The Model Railroad Scene Since 2008

Douglas (newbie)
Maryland USA

BTW. The railroadradio.net link is going to http://jmri.sourceforge.net/DecoderPro/ not http://railroadradio.net/
Posted by: Jay Smith on Wed, May 7 2008     neclayout.webs.com
Great show, you guys really do rock!

One of the greatest parts of Model Rail Cast is the weekly show. Another one is the fact that you address everyone's comments on the air, I think that'll help expand the fan base as word gets out.
As far as building a diorama, I'm building one of Midway Tower on the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey. Would be more then happy to share what I've learned so far.
Keep up the great work.

~Jay
Posted by: Jay Smith on Wed, May 7 2008     neclayout.webs.com
Great show, you guys really do rock!

One of the greatest parts of Model Rail Cast is the weekly show. Another one is the fact that you address everyone's comments on the air, I think that'll help expand the fan base as word gets out.
As far as building a diorama, I'm building one of Midway Tower on the Northeast Corridor in New Jersey. Would be more then happy to share what I've learned so far.
Model Railroader did an article on how to apply air brakes to model railroading, i.e: waiting 2 minutes while the brake test is being completed, and so on.
http://www.trains.com/mrr/default.aspx?c=a&id=1090

Really looking forward to Will's show on Conrail

Keep up the great work.

~Jay
Posted by: tcoiler on Thu, May 8 2008     http://www.pupman.com
Web page error alert:

The railroadradio.com link actually points to jrmi.sourceforge.net.

Not like you can't cut and paste but still....

Chip
Posted by: Ryman on Thu, May 8 2008     www.modelrailcast.com/
Thanks Chip abd Douglas! Fixed.
Posted by: vonheine on Thu, May 8 2008    
Another great show guys! I look forward to the show every week.

I read many of the other posts, and I'm happy to see that other people also sense the great partnership and dynamic that exists between Ryan and Will. You guys have a sort of "magic" on the air that is hard to find. I hope the partnership lasts for many years to come. Keep up the great work.

The show gets better every week. I urge everyone to call-in and support the show to keep the phone line working. Also, tell all of your model railroad friends to listen.

The format and the topics are great. I love the operational stuff. I am very interested in yards and how to make a realistic scale yard that will provide hours of fun with realistic operations. Will has paved the way for this inspiration.

You guys can't really go wrong with any model railroad topic. The DCC stuff is great. I am researching decoders and ultimately a DCC system. Trackplans, and scenery, are all good topics. Hand laid track is something that interests me. It is all good, just keep it all going!

Joseph
Posted by: jimsmodeltrains on Thu, May 15 2008     www.stanfordhosting.net/jimsjunction
Enjoyed episode 11. Yards are interesting entities to operate. Give me a yard to switch over a mainline train any day!
 
 
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