Model Railroad Podcast

  





hosted by: Ryan Andersen & Will Ayerst
Model Railcast Show #26
Wed, Aug 20, 2008
Posted by: Ryan Andersen

MRC Show 26 Notes
Crew Lounge

  • Updates, updates, updates...


Railway Post Office

  • From the website:
    • Great Feedback:
    • ISR-had trouble downloading, saved as a desk top shortcut, then use Switch (a shareware product) to convert it into a wma. As per usual- another great show! The roundhouse was very imformative, helper engines, while not an unknown concept for me was still an unfamiliar area. Jay great job again, guys I really like the three person set-up here it rounds the show out very nicely. Ryan that sound effect editting for the crash was spookily effective for me. Curious to know a little more about UK freight railroading, how extant is it? UK EMD's that you see, are they GP's or SD's? Or something altogether different- and finally in regards to the smaller loading gauge and overall weight of UK trains what is the typical foot-poundage rail in use?
    • dugzowl-Another great show guys. Liked the information on the helper locomotives. Enjoyed the piece from IronSideRodger. Good to hear the pros and cons of steam, diesel and electric.
    • Wayde-On30 scale is a fun scale, in many cases, you can run an On30 railroad in the same space as a HO layout, the structures are bigger of course, was modeling in On30 for roughly ten years, but due to the decline in near vision, went up to Gn15 (converted some On30 stuff to Gn15), and since he prefers link and pin couplings, going with Gn15 was a smart decision for him. And says great podcast.
    • D. McCree-Enjoyed the nice section on helper operations. One thing left out was how the helpers got back to the bottom of the grade. Since this required running the locomotive light and required a crew, it meant that a crew was needed even after remote control locomotives were available. So on some helper districts the railroads experimented with remote control but found that they didn't actually save any labor and the remote controls added a lot of maintenance and broke down leaving trains stranded on grades, so they got rid of them and went back to using a helper crew.
      The section on diesel vs. electric vs steam was fascinating. Diesels and electrics both have dynamic braking which is a big advantage on going down mountain grades. Since the most troubles with trains occurred controlling trains going down hills this gave diesels a big advantage over steam in the mountains.
    • espeemike-finally caught up with the pod casts (makes for a great drive time). Really enjoyed the ride. You all are doing a great job and it is greatly appreciated!
    • Other..
  • Voicemail:
    • Duncan from CA
    • David from Carlsbad CA


Hobby News: JMRI wins major ruling in Federal Court- for more info, check Model Rail Hobbyist Website

Roundhouse

Basic DC wiring, power packs, hint of DCC and more.

Coaling Tower

  • Jay-Extreme Steam DVD Volume 1 (2005): Extreme Steam; By Pentrex. Mighty and magnificent steam engines rule the rails once again in this six-volume collection that follows some of North America's most legendary steam trains on excursions that captured the hearts and imaginations of train buffs coast to coast. It's an exciting journey that rail fans will want to experience again and again. Volume One features Canadian Pacific 2816, a 4-6-4, Milwaukee Road 261, a 4-8-4, Mt. Rainier Scenic 2-6-2 #7, Heisler #2, and 2-8-2 #17, Ohio Central 6325, former Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 and 1293, an ex-Canadian Pacific 4-6-2, also shows SP 4449 on Stampede Pass, Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 in Montana, and Frisco 1522 4-8-2 as it powers a BNSF Employee Appreciation Special through Missouri and Oklahoma.

Archives
Tim talks about the FL9 dual powred locomotive.

Branch Line
Not this week.

This Random Year in History
Next week for show 27, the year is 1925.


Interchange

Download the enhanced (better sounding) version of the show with chapters:  MRC Show 26 (AAC)
comments(8) • agreeboasted(1) • no waytoasted(0) • Listen
 
 
Commentsshow votes
Posted by: dmcree MRCS Pioneer on Tue, Aug 19 2008     www.tamvalleyrr.com
Speaking of powering layouts, my layout is completely solar powered by a photovoltaic grid on my roof. On hot summer days when the local power company is asking everyone to turn off unnecessary appliances, I can still run my trains. I posted an article about my solar system here http://www.tamvalleyrr.com/blog/jul8solarandprofits.html.

I switched to DCC some time ago, but found jobs for all my old DC power packs running ACCs and powering my turntable. I had to laugh when Ryan talks about that mysterious ACC designation on the side of the powerpacks. It was years before I figured out that was ACCesory and not some strange variant of AC (AC Chopped? AC Cut?).

Just recently in cleaning out my backyard shed, I threw out an old block-wiring power panel for a rather small layout. It was a rats nest of wires and switches and I never did learn to use it well.

There is ONE thing that DCC does so much better than DC that I am surprised Tim's kids haven't begged him to switch him over - you can crash trains with headlong collisions so much easier. When Gomez crashed his two trains together in the Adams family, he had to get those two trains to meet exactly at the junction between two electrical blocks. With DCC you can crash trains together much more simply - just point them at each other and open the throttles. No electrical problems :-)

Speaking of trains wrecks, check out the second youtube video on my website humor page for the "Scariest Model Train Wrecks" - http://www.tamvalleyrr.com/humor.html

TRYTH 1925 - Southern Pacific completed its 2 mile long tunnel underneath Donner Pass, designated Tunnel No. 41, and completed the double-tracking of the route over Donner Pass, relieving a big bottleneck in moving trains from California to the east.

Cheers,
Duncan
Posted by: MILWJKD on Tue, Aug 19 2008    
Nice job on the show without Will guys. Hope he's back next week!

It was interesting to hear the calls this week. I'd like to agree with the caller who said he'd like more MODEL railroad content, but to me, it's all about the same topic. However, a suggestion in that vein:

How about doing paired features? For example, the show on helpers. Talk about helpers on the real railroads, and then talk about how that would/could/is done on model railroads. Maybe ask on the boards or on the show for people who could help with upcoming topics. Just a thought. The show is good, we just want it to keep on the roll it's on and continue to get better.

One topic I'd love to see looked at is how railroads make locomotive assignments. That kind of topic could cover both how real railroads assign power to a train, and how model railroaders assign power to their model trains.

Cheers!
JKD
Posted by: Douglas on Wed, Aug 20 2008    
Another great show! Good work from the co-hosts. You guys did a great job. It was nice to hear that someone else is still using DC and not DCC. I love DCC, I've used it on a friend's layout. It is amazing!!!! But for me I still have to use DC due to money woes. I have no doubt in my mind that DCC is the present and future of model railroading. But until prices start dropping I'm still stuck with DC. Now do I eat this weekend or do I buy a new turnout? Big smile!
Agree with the 50/50 rail fan, model railroad topic. I'm proud to be both and I'm glad the Model Rail Cast show talks about both.
Enjoyed the Roundhouse on wiring!

1925 Train Fact
The Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway, Cleveland, Akron and Cincinnati Railway, Manufacturers Railway, Pennsylvania-Detroit Railroad and Toledo, Columbus and Ohio River Railroad merged into the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad December 10, 1925.

Keep up the good work
Douglas
Posted by: Ironsiderodger MRCS Pioneer on Wed, Aug 20 2008     www.ironsaddcasts.mypodcast.com
Haven't heard the show yet (just got back) but I made a rather embarrasing flub in that I failed to mention that the FL9 also had another noteworthy feature in that due to heavier weight needing to be spread out, the rear truck was 3 axle truck- the center axle was free-rolling.
Posted by: Ironsiderodger MRCS Pioneer on Thu, Aug 21 2008     www.ironsaddcasts.mypodcast.com
Just got finished- Ryan I knew you were a great editor, but now that I got to see the splices, cuts, etc; absolutely awesome work. Jay you found and have maintained your groove, clear delivery and timed very well.

A timely series for me all in all (as it always seems to be); I can't wait to hear #27.

Vicky- I ashamed I forgot to say it: Happy Birthday! Your brilliant voice completes the professional sound of the show.
Posted by: jamesk3142 MRCS Pioneer on Sat, Aug 23 2008    
Enjoy the show no matter how long. JimK
Posted by: jimsmodeltrains on Tue, Aug 26 2008     www.stanfordhosting.net/jimsjunction
Another great show.

The talk about DCC and DC was great. Having used both DC and DCC myself, DCC wins hands down as far as I am concerned - DC doesn't even come close to DCC for flexibility and realism, even on a small layout. Even though DCC is more expensive over all (I think), it's worth every cent of the extra it costs.

Just a technical aside - I had some trouble accessing the website for a couple of days immediately after show 26 was released. Don't know whether it was just my internet connection or the website.
Posted by: ironsidejackson on Sun, Aug 31 2008     Youtube.com/Milwaukeeroad261
I was looking forward to this episode cause I just got back from Canada and I was wondering what I missed on the model rail cast. So, anyways, Great Show!
 
 
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