Part 4 - A trip down the Midland Western (using DCC) - action on the grade

Note:  all DCC references are for grade operation with an NCE pro cab running steam engines with tsunami 2–2 decoders.

The Midland Western is a subsidiary of the Gulf Coast Lines, operated by both the Missouri Pacific and the Frisco.  The year is 1940.

Working from switch lists and waybills, the train crew always knew that they were going to have a steep climb up the westbound grade out of Laskey.  The shop crew in Midland accordingly assigned one of several Russian decapods available to take No. 3 to Thunder Grove.  Two from the Missouri Pacific and two from the Frisco are always on the property, along with two that belong to the Midland Western itself. Long ago the Midland Western realized that Russian decapods were the ideal power for this line, good tractive effort combined with light axle loading suited to the lightly built track.

On occasion in the past, a mikado from either the Missouri Pacific, or the Frisco had been on the property.  These engines were generally assigned only to switching in the yards at either end, thought to be a little heavy for the light trackage out on the branch.  Today, though, none were in Midland, so a decapod was assigned instead of one of the several Missouri Pacific consolidations also always on the property.

Before departing Laskey, both brakeman had walked the length of the long train, checking all the couplers and the air hose connections, while the hogger (engineer) pumped up the air brakes to service pressure.  Long ago in the past, when the line was first built, a train had actually accidentally parted while going upgrade.  On that day of all days, the air had not been properly checked. The last four cars and the crew in the caboose enjoyed a wild unrestrained ride all the way back down to Laskey, where they were finally able to set the hand brakes and stop.

With the air brake pressure up and all inspections completed, the hogger sees the highball sign from the conductor way back at the caboose at the depot. He sounds two shorts on the ATSF six chime whistle (F3), opens the cylinder cocks (F4) eases the throttle open with the Johnson bar (F5) in full forward position, and begins to creep forward. He closes the cylinder cocks after a few seconds (F4 again), and runs the train a little past the depot, to where underbrush begins to reclaim the right of way. Here he blows down the boiler (F10) good and hard to clean it out and ensure maximum steaming capacity where it will be needed on this demanding uphill trip ahead. After about 15 seconds, he closes the blowdown  (F10 again.)

Luckily, there's been no rain overnight along this part of the line, and the hogger finds that no sanding is required to avoid driver slippage.  The fireman is working very hard to keep the fire up, and accordingly the steam pressure, which he keeps just below safety valve release pressure.

The 1632 is a coal burner, which means that when heavily worked on a grade like this one, lots of cinders are coming out of the stack, as well as relatively heavy smoke caused by the intense draft that results from the heavy steam exhaust from the cylinders going up the stack.  Fortunately, the wind is blowing the trailing smoke off to one side, so the cinders and coal dust are not settling on the caboose and the passengers riding inside. 

Oil burning steam engines occasionally run on the Midland Western, and this grade is a favorite place for the fireman to sand the flues to clean the flues, the heavy exhaust causing a stiff fire draft that pulls a shovelful of sand right through the flues to scour out thick oily residue that comes out in thick greasy black smoke.  When the crew in the back sees this happening, they rush to close all the windows in the car to keep from being coated with this oily mist.  Fortunately, this is not the case today.

Finally, the engine crew can look ahead and see the water tank at the top of the grade where they will definitely need to take on water that's been largely used up steaming up the grade. The problem here is that with the tank being right at the summit, they have to stop at the tank while the train is still mostly on the grade, so, starting after taking on water will prove difficult to get the train past the summit.

😱😂

They actually are the "function" button numbers on the cab.

Part 3 - A trip down the Midland Western (using DCC) - action at  Laskey

Note:  all DCC references or to operation with an NCE pro cab running steam engines with tsunami 2–2 decoders.

The Midland Western is a subsidiary of the Gulf Coast Lines, operated by both the Missouri Pacific and the Frisco.  The year is 1940.

It's now the middle of the morning and Midland Western train number three is approaching the small settlement of Laskey, about 7 miles west of Midland. The engineer blows a single long blast on the 6-chime whistle (F2, 5 seconds) to notify the agent on duty at the train is near. Being a lightly traveled branch, the Midland Western is not signaled in any way, although telegraph has been used this morning to notify the Laskey agent that eastbound train No. 4 is not far out, and a meet between the two trains will be conducted at Laskey.

Both trains are too long for the passing track so a once-common maneuver known as a double saw-by will be conducted to get the two trains around each other.

https://www.trains.com/mrr/how-to/model-railroad-operations/how-a-saw-by-works/

No. 4 eastbound has no business to conduct in Laskey, so it proceeds on east to Midland, leaving No. 3 to set out and pick up a few cars.

The arriving car consist is:

UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10360
UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10366
Seaboard Air Line boxcar 18822
Kansas City Southern boxcar 15550
SSW flat car 85082
Texas & Pacific boxcar 30467
SSW boxcar 36502
L&A boxcar 15027

The first move is to set the caboose out of the way, on a trailing-facing siding leading to a gravel pit a half-mile away.  The passengers must leave the caboose by law, while switching is conducted, so they disembark and wait inside the small wood depot on the north side of the track. Once the caboose setout is done, the team track, with a facing switch, must be worked. This means that the locomotive must be on the east side of the involved cars, pushing, and pulling with the pilot coupler.

Three cars on the train are being set out on the team track, and three are being picked up from the team track.  The three being set out from the train are:

UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10366
Seaboard Air Line boxcar 1882
SSW flat car 85082

These cars are spotted on the passing track, so that the 1632 and the remainder of the train can back up and work them with the pilot couple from the side facing the switch. The remainder of the train will remain coupled to the rear of the locomotive during the team track moves to stay out of the way.

With these remainder cars behind it, the 1632 backs up past the east end of the passing track.  The head end brakeman jumps down to throw the switch from the main into the passing track.  However, the three cars currently on the team track, scheduled to be added to the train, must be removed before the new cars can be moved on to the team track.

The empties being pulled from the team track are:

CKRX 10000 gal tank car 324
Missouri-Illinois boxcar 4125
Midland Western flat car 160

These cars are pulled out, then shoved onto the main in front of the depot to await addition to the train.  The three setout cars are then pulled from the passing track and shoved into the team track, with the brakeman directing the box car door be spotted at the loading dock ramp.

It's now time to reassemble No. 3 for departure from Laskey. Engine 1632 and the remaining five cars unaffected by the switching now run around, via the passing track, the three cars picked up from the team track now sitting on the man. These being empties, they will be added to the very rear of the train, out of the way of switching moves scheduled at the next siding, Donna Pass.

The engine and the five remainder cars back up to the three being-picked-up cars on the main and couple up. The reassembling train then backs into the gravel pit spur to pick up the caboose, to be coupled on the end of the three picked up empties from the team track.

One move remains, however. Five loaded Missouri Pacific 40' gondolas remain to be picked up from the gravel pit spur and added to the train.  They will go on the front of the train right behind the 1632, since they are all headed to the next set out at Donna pass, loaded with pea gravel for ballast work currently underway on that section 7 miles to the west.

The final train consist moving west out of Laskey is:

Missouri Pacific gondolas 70876, 71093, 24318, 24319, and 24306
UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10360
Kansas City Southern boxcar 15550
Texas & Pacific boxcar 30467
SSW boxcar 36502
L&A boxcar 15027
CKRX 10000 gal tank car 324
Missouri-Illinois boxcar 4125
Midland Western flat car 160

No. 3 looks very different now than when it pulled into Laskey about an hour ago.  A 13 car train is a very long one for the Midland Western, especially facing a 2% upgrade about a mile long, just west of Laskey.  The crew is apprehensive, wondering if they will have to double the hill, essentially breaking the train in half and taking it up into sections to be reunited at the passing siding at the top of the grade.  The train slowly pulls up so that the caboose is at the depot, so the passengers can get on board and ride, expecting quite a show on the grade from the 1632 which will be at near capacity on this trip uphill.  The engineer opens the cylinder cocks, sounds two shorts on his personal ATSF 6-chime, and slowly pulls the throttle open to start moving. He knows that he will not be doing much, if any, cutoff on the Johnson bar going up the grade, running at full steam, and the sharp bark of the superheated exhaust will be heard a mile away.

Note:  all DCC references or to operation with an NCE pro cab running steam engines with tsunami 2–2 decoders.

The Midland Western is a subsidiary of the Gulf Coast Lines, operated by both the Missouri Pacific and the Frisco.  The year is 1940.

Midland western westbound mixed train number 3 stands out on the main, getting ready to depart. The cross-compound air pump is heard in the background pumping the train brakes up to air line service pressure before departure. (Air pump sounds for an automatic background sound.)  While this is going on, the engineer and fireman walk around the running gear of 2-10-0 no. 1632, oiling around on the valve gear and rods, and tapping the rods occasionally with a hammer to check for flaws.( another automatic background sound.) Both brakemen walk up and down the length of the 8-car train, checking the air hose connections and the couplers.  When done, the rear brake man returns to the caboose, while the head end brakeman walks to the from the train, and climbs up the tender to get into the "doghouse" (brakeman shelter provided on the tender deck by state law to prevent overcrowding the engine cab.)

Air line service pressure is achieved after a few minutes, but the train will not move until the conductor signals to the engineer to do so.  The train is short enough that the engineer can look back to see the conductor give the highball sign, which is a vertical wave of the entire arm up and down. In this case, though, the train is not actually leaving, but it will back down the yard to the yard office to pick up the few passengers that will ride the caboose. Passengers are not allowed in the caboose until all switching is completed.

The engine has been standing for some time now, and condensate water ihas collected in the cylinders, so the engineer must open the cylinder cocks before backing (F4). Slowly backing down a couple of hundred feet down to the yard office, the engineer closes the cylinder cocks after about 10 seconds. Before reaching the office, he cuts the steam off (option key), which silences the chuff and all that is heard from the engine is the rods clanking as the train slowly drifts to a stop with a minimal brake application right at the end.

After a few minutes of passenger and LCL freight loading into the caboose, the train is ready to depart Midland. The engine has been standing still long enough to have to open the cylinder cocks again.  The engineer pulls two shorts on his personal ATSF six-chime whistle and slowly begins to open the throttle softly to take up the coupler slack in the train, so as not to cause passenger discomfort in the caboose. (coupler crash function.) After 10 seconds or so, the engineer closes the cylinder cocks, but the 1632 is having difficulty getting the train in motion on the rails wet from a 4:00 AM thunderstorm.  She loses traction and drivers slip.(F19).

Once sand is applied to the rail (F21), the 1632 gets hold of the rail and the train rolls out of the yard, approaching the Midland Western's 20 mph speed limit. The yard in Midland is an interchange yard that runs parallel to the north – south Missouri Pacific mainline. But once outside of the yard, the Midland Western begins to curve towards the west, heading towards the Frisco interchange at Thunder Grove 20 miles distant. Once on the curve, after whistling at the last grade crossing in Midland, the line enters a non-populated heavily wooded area, where the engine crew customarily blows down the engine safely to clean sludge and accumulated particulates out of the bottom of the boiler. (F10).  The engineer closes the blowdown valve after about 10 or 15 seconds. The train is now rolling at speed westbound towards the first community it will encounter, Laskey.  At speed, the engineer is able to use his Johnson bar to cut steam usage back some.(F5). The chuff audibly softens as the train continues its relatively uneventful trip to Laskey.

In today's Model Railroading world, availability of parts for user repair is almost always a myth. You almost always need to buy another engine to get the parts.

Reminds me of the joke about the guy with two pet chickens. One got sick, so he killed the healthy one to make chicken soup to give to the sick one.

😂😂😂

The problem with " earth" color paint is not the availability of colors, it's the ability of my eye to see how "earthy" it really is. I must've tried four different times getting a sample pint but once I put on the layout, it looked like anything but earth. That's why I finally gave up and went with the Pittsburgh color from the book. It doesn't look anything like earth in my area, but it looks good in the scenery in that particular book. It's going to be really underlayment more than anything else, to keep the pink or blue from showing through your scenery that you'll be putting on later.

One last thing.  Paint that insulation board the minute you get it down on the table.  All the books recommend "earth colored latex paint."  That's a hard thing to find.  One of the books recommended Pittsburgh "tobacco," although soil colors vary widely by region. My friend's paint store was able to match that color so I've got a gallon of it and I've been putting it down on a little second layout that I'm building at the other house.

Nate, there are dozens of websites and YouTube videos about how to build a 4 x 8 model railroad table, how to put foam insulation on it, etc. And a lot more about beginning with model railroading in general. I wish all that had been around when I started. It will help you avoid a lot of mistakes that the rest of us made in the past. Just start searching on YouTube. You'll be astounded at how much stuff there is there. Do be advised, though, there are often several different ways to do a particular task, and a different video and opinion 😱😂 for each one. Just spend a few evenings exploring those.

If it were me, and I was just getting started today, I'd get one of those two train sets that the Bach Man mentioned. Steam or diesel, your choice. And get a few more freight cars. I'd stick with buying new ones at the moment, there's always hundreds of them on eBay but they are all pigs in a poke with all kinds of issues that you don't know about yet.  When you eventually do start wanting those cars, there's a bunch of people here to help you, myself, Jeffrey Ward, Terry Tonges and other regulars, who are here all the time.

Those two train sets come with an oval of the Bach Man's EZ track.  There are more various pieces available to expand your layout beyond the oval that comes with the set.  And there are books with track plans using that track along with lists of what pieces you need. I used that track on my mainline when I first built my present layout 17 years ago. It's still there, although painted and covered in ballast now, and it's working fine. I did find that it did not fit well with the desired geometry of my yards and sidings, so I used other brands of track there.

Good luck and please report back as you progress.

Train no. 3 consist:

Frisco 2-10-0 no. 1632
UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10360
UTLX 10000 gal tank car 10366
Seaboard Air Line boxcar 18822
Kansas City Southern boxcar 15550
SSW flat car 85082
Texas & Pacific boxcar 30467
SSW boxcar 36502
L&A boxcar 15027
Frisco side door caboose 28

DCC ready means that it does not have a DCC decoder and speaker but has wiring "ready" to install them.  DCC equipped means that the DCC system is already in the locomotive.

Direct command control is a relatively new invention in the last 20 years or so, in model railroading. It is a universe  apart from the old transformers and power packs that used to run train sets. The operation of the train is not controlled by variation of the voltage of the track, but rather variation of the voltage within the locomotive via coded (hence " decoder") electronic commands, sent through the rails to the engine.  Other coded messages sent to the engine control sounds At one time some decoders only controlled the train speed, with no provision for sound, but I believe those days are past. Since you are individually. controlling locomotives, you can run several on the same track at one time completely independently of the other.


 The only DCC thing resembling a " controller", ie a single operating module, that I know of is the Bachmann EZ command, which also is the simplest to for a beginner. Do not try to run DCC equipped trains with an old toy train transformer. I will destroy the decoder.

DCC is a wonderful thing and if you are just getting started with Model Railroading , I'd advise that you start with it at the beginning instead of thinking you'll save money now and upgrade later. When I first got DCC, the difference in the fun quotient was astronomical, unbelievable.

Part 1 - preparing to depart the Midland Yard.

Note:  all DCC references or to operation with an NCE pro cab running steam engines with tsunami 2–2 decoders.

The Midland Western is a subsidiary of the Gulf Coast Lines, operated by both the Missouri Pacific and the Frisco.  The year is 1940.

Westbound train no. three is a mixed freight, with a few passengers carried in a side door caboose .  In the past, there had been enough passenger business to warrant an ancient open-platform wood combine on the end of the train. But that car is now in storage and lovingly preserved by the shop, awaiting an upturn in passenger business.

Today's run will be handled by the Frisco. The train is due out around 7 AM, so the Frisco engine crew arrives around 6:30 AM to find Frisco 2–10–0 number 1632 with steam up already, done by the engine watchman starting at 5 AM. 

The crew climbs on board to move the engine to the head of the freight that was already assembled by the yard crew during the night, and is standing ready on the outbound track. The night before, the engine watchman had installed the engineers personal whistle on the engine, a well-tuned deep-toned six – chime from the Santa Fe (cv 120, whistle no. 38).  The engineer sounds a long blast on the six chime to announce imminent movement. (F2).  He then opens the cylinder cocks to evacuate condensate water from the cylinders (F4), sounds two shorts on the six-chime, and slowly opens the throttle to move gently forward.  After 10 seconds, he closes the cylinder cocks (F4 again.)  Approaching the switch at  the throat of the yard, he cuts the steam to drift to a stop just beyond the switch.  ("Option" key.). The side rods can be heard clanking as the engine gently drifts to a stop just beyond the switchstand   https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/cab/cab204.htm?source=froogle&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImarb1YG2_QIV5hvUAR1ASAaiEAQYAyABEgJ9lvD_BwE

The head-end brakeman climbs down from the cab to realign the switch, to allow the engine to back in to the yard . He then notifies the engineer to back up, using the standard hand signal, rotating his arm and hand in a wide circle.  The engineer sounds three shorts (F3) on the six-chime notifying the crew of a back up move into the yard to couple up to the waiting freight. The engine smoothly begins to move backwards and the brakeman swings up into the cab as it slowly passes. 

No. 1632 slows to an almost imperceptible crawl as it approaches the train.  The rear brakeman signals the engineer with the backup hand signal, and when the couplers meet, he swings his hand horizontally at his waist to tell the engineer to cut the steam.  The engineer has hit the cars a little too hard, causing a crash sound to happen (F7, a relocated function on the decoder.) Fortunately no damage occurred. The brakeman couples the tender air hose to the rest of the train's air brake system, and the engineer pumps the train line up to service pressure before the train moves. When this is finished, and the brake test is conducted, train no. three will be ready to leave the yard westbound.

If you can see the outline of the old lettering under the new paint, it would be better to strip the paint, remove the lettering and start over again. Repaint with gloss black so you don't have to add gloss coat to get your decals on right.

I checked, it's out of print and sold out.

You need to model the Missouri-Illinois.  Get Charlie Duckworth's book.

https://cowcatchermagazine.com/latest-book-released-by-mopac-society-highlights-the-missouri-illinois-railroad-in-the-lead-belt/

It may be out of print.  I know the author, I'm checking.

You can do it.  Relax.