Model Railroad Podcast

MRC Show # 19 Notes - Designing your MRR World

• Crew Lounge: Sweet 16 DVD immnent, Will's ATSF stuff arrive! and all your feedback.
• Roundhouse: Part 2 of Designing a Model railroad you can enjoy and be proud of.
• Coaling Tower: 101 Things you can do with a Model Railroad, Model Railroader August 2008
  
• Archives: Diesel locomotives of the American Locomotive Company, 1932-1969
• TYRTH: 1932
• Branch Line: ???
• Interchange: Our 'links of the week'

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 19 (AAC)

Crew Lounge
Will update: Almost all items ready to collect, and a date set for benchwork.
Ryan Update: Almost finished the sweet 16 DVD!

Railway Post Office
Feedback and updates.

Roundhouse
The second part of a 4-part (or so) series on designing your model railroad.  From a basic layout to a crafted master piece you can enjoy and be proud of.

This week, how you can go about designing your railroad, and the importance of planning in the procedures. We give a few hints and tips on how to avoid obvious pitfalls and provide some methods for working out what you'd like to include, and sketching and designing the layout of tracks and industries. We also clarify a few of the points made last week.

Coaling Tower
A positive MR review finally, Model Railroader August 2008 recieves the thumbs up for it's 8x4' sheet segment and a huge PRR steam scenery-based layout.

Archives
The diesels of Alco from their entry into the market with the #300 demonstrator to their demise in 1969:

Early & Mid-era Locomotives

prefix
HH = High Hood switcher
DL = Diesel Locomotive
S = switcher
RS = road switcher
Px = Passenger
Fx = Freight
A = A-unit (with cab)
B = B-unit (cabless)
C = 3-axle trucks with unpowered centre axle
D = 3-axle trucks
 
Middle
number = model
 
S1 = 600hp McIntosh Seymour Straight 6
S2 = 1000hp Turbocharged McIntosh Seymour Straight 6
S3 = 660hp Turbocharged McIntosh Seymour Straight 6 on AAR Type A Trucks
S4 = 1000hp Turbocharged McIntosh Seymour Straight 6 on AAR Type A Trucks
Fx1 = 1500hp Turbocharged V12 Alco 244
Fx2 = 1600hp Turbocharged V12 Alco 244
Fx4 = 1800hp  Turbocharged V12 Alco 251
Px1 = 2000hp Turbocharged V16 Alco 244 (six axle trucks, middle axle non-powered)
Px2 = 2250hp Turbocharged V16 Alco 244
RS1 = 1000hp Turbocharged McIntosh Seymour Straight 6
RS2 = 1500hp Turbocharged V12 Alco 244
RS3 = 1600hp Turbocharged V12 Alco 244
 
Late-era Locomotives
Prefix is always C, denoting a Century series loco – all Alco 251 v16’s, introduced 1963 but too late to gain enough market share to save Alco.

Middle number
4 = 4-axles
6 = 6-axles
8 = 8-axles
 
Last pair of numbers = hp i.e.
24 = 2,400hp
25 = 2,500hp
28 = 2,800hp
30 = 3,000hp
 

This Random Year in Train History - This week: 1932

• The Independent City Owned Rapid Transit Railroad (IND) opened - 1/3 of the NYC Subway.
• New York Central abandoned the Old Forge Branch.
• The Depression reached a low point in mid-1932, with unemployment standing at 12 million. The net income of railroads plummeted from $977 million in 1929 to a loss of $122 million in 1932; the industry would not be profitable again until 1937.
• B&O - After reaching a high of 452 in 1929, B&O stock drops to under 4. National Limited inaugurated as first all Pullman air-conditioned train. Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh and the Buffalo and Susquehanna added to the B&O System.
• The DT&I discontinues all passenger service in Michigan, leaving only passenger service between Springfield and Jackson, Ohio.
• Original NS Railroad enters receivership
• Alco 300hp demo units built and sold to LV, Navy, United Fruit Company between 1931 and 1938, but over 50% built in 1932.
• PRR introduced P-5a electric loco. The P5A was the first electric locomotive to be built in quantity on the Pennsylvania Railroad. Their class number was 4700's. They are built with box-like cabs, the major difference from the P5 is the horsepower. P5s were rated at 3000+ while the P5a produced a whopping 5000+ horses. After the GG1 took their position as passenger haulers, they were moved to freight service. After that, it wasn't rare to see three coupled together. (an FT was 1,350hp in comparison)
• The Southern Pacific Railroad gained control of the Cotton Belt system on April 14, 1932 but continued to operate it as a separate company until 1992, when the SP consolidated the Cotton Belt's operations into the parent company
• The first radio broadcast from a moving train occurs when New York City station WABC broadcasts from a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad train operating in Maryland.
• The first completely air-conditioned sleeping car trains began operating on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
• The last steam-powered Southern Belle passenger train operates on the Southern Railway on December 31st. The train's equipment was replaced with electric multiple unit cars the next day.
• 1932 was the height of the depression for American railroads as evidenced by this table: in 1929 955 locomotives were built, in 1931 53, in 1932 just 3! Those 3 that were built were manufactured in railroad shops so they were probably cobbled together from old parts

Branch Line
???

Interchange
http://www.tamvalleyrr.com/ - Duncan Mcree's Tamalpais Valley Railroad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alco - ALCO on Wikipedia

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 19 (AAC)