Picard Packers & Operations

Finally - I have some pictures! The new building for Picard Packers is more or less finished. I still need to do some weathering and scenery work around the building, but here are some pictures of it as it sits now.

The main structure is made from sections of a DPM bulk pack. The rear of the building is just plain matt board since it will "never" be seen. The loading dock shelter is a modified Pikestuff car repair shop.



















In an effort to try to make operations as stress free for operators as possible I am trying many different things on the BS&T. In these images you can see two of these things. The first is the multi colored sheet that lists the towns in each direction (East & West) as well as the expected order of trains through the area. The other new item on the valance is the track diagram showing the industries and sidings and their intended purpose. These items should help acquaint new operators with the layout and operations.










Speaking of Operations....

The BS&T saw it's first operations since I completed service on the nearly 140 freight cars on the layout. The maintenance identified that almost 90% of the freight cars had wheels that were out of gauge, quite a few with trucks that were too tight to the bolster, only a few underweight cars, and a lot of dirty crud. There is a large pile of old wheelsets outside Fixum Car Repair as a result of this process.

As a result of the maintenence process there were certainly fewer derailments, especially at one pesky little spot on Daredevil Ridge. I think the new rule about stopping at the start of the grade and proceeding slow helped there as well. Part of the problem on the ridge was a turnout with points out of gauge. There were a few other derailments in Stevenville with the same cause. I'll check those turnouts as I install ground throws on them before the next operating session.

The first operators to arrive last Sunday noticed a strange smell in the air. I had just completed wheel cleaning on most of the locos and the smell of rubbing alcohol was fairly strong. Dirty loco wheels was one of the things that caused problems during the last op session and I left it to the last minute, of course.

Well, that's it for this update. Later!

Scott

Car Service

My original plan was to work on the new building for Picard Packers last weekend, but since the next operating session on the BS&T is May 27th I decided my priority should be car service. So I've been working on that.

I'm checking weight, coupler height, coupler springs, wheel gauge, and cleaning wheels.

Most of the cars on the BS&T are weighted properly, but there are a few that are a little light. So I'm adding old wheel weights where necessary. Some flat cars and ore cars will be getting new weighted loads.

Coupler height has been an issue with lots of cars so it's taking some time to get this one resolved. There haven't been too many coupler spring issues.

Wheels and wheel gauge are another big issue. The wheels on almost every car are out of gauge - usually too narrow by a hair. As I've read, metal wheels are cleaner, but when they are dirty it's a big job to clean them. Plastic wheels, on the other hand get dirty faster, but are a breeze to clean. Wheel cleaning is the dirtiest part of the process. Hmmm.... perhaps I should give Mike Rowe a call.

Anyway, I am about 1/2 done of this. I will finish over the weekend, hopefully, and get back into buildings and scenery next week.

Later!

Scott

Posting For No Good Reason

I am creating this post for no reason other than to thwart some of the emails I will receive if I do not. Ha!

Other than working on freight cars this week I haven't done much on the layout. Last Sunday I started a new building for Picard Packers - putting some of my DPM Bulk Packs to good use. I hope to get most of it finished this weekend.

In the way of pictures I will cheat and post some I didn't use last week.

I've decided to call this area "DareDevil Ridge", at least until I think of something more suitable.




I haven't done much in the harbour area around Chappell Seafood in quite a while. But this should make a good "before" picture.




I have done a little bit of work to the Fred-Ex building. A couple weeks ago I put a foundation under it and started working on a fence along the street. Eventually there will be a fence all around this building with gates for freight cars and trucks to load and unload.



So, there it is - a post just for the sake of making a post. I should have some pictures of the new Picard Packers factory next week. The old one has been cut down in height and placed in the town of Stevenville where it will be the Corporate Headquarters for the conglomerate.

So, until then....

Scott