Another project change report was received down from management.
Car Dept Report:
After consulting two other railroads and numerous attempts to repair the fleet of silverside passenger cars, the decision was made this evening to sell off the equipment. It was quite disappointing as the cars were great lookers, but the performance quality is well below standard. The CEO has come to an agreement with management at the Peconic Railroad to purchase six Wheels of Time passenger cars to replace the silversides. A test train was run on Saturday and the cars passed with flying colors. Management was also very pleased with the cadillac-smooth performance of the E7A. There was some operational issues over some of the turnouts due to the six-axle trucks. Peconic shops reports that the wheel sets probably need to be adjusted for proper gauge plus the fact that the turnouts presently don't have proper controls to allow for a good solid throw.
As crews tested the passenger equipment, times were recorded between station stops. Below is the new passenger schedule:
CRIP Passenger Schedule v1
Below is a staging inbound/outbound report along with a typical operating session time line of events for four operators:
Staging Blocking OS Notes
Monday, September 20, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Farewell to the Peconic Railroad
The CRI&P CEO had the pleasure of operating along side some of the great N Scale CEOs today on the final run of the Peconic Railroad. It has been a pleasure operating on the HO and N scale versions of the Peconic Railroad. The railroad has been such an inspiration to many even converting myself from the perils of HO scale. It will be sad to see it go, but we are looking forward to the birth of the L&HR which will start construction in November.
A special thanks to Larry Keller of the Peconic Railroad for inviting me to operate his layout.
A special thanks to Larry Keller of the Peconic Railroad for inviting me to operate his layout.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Progress Report 09.17.10
Progress continues...
Signal Maintainer Report:
Got my soldering groove on. Utilized the CR&E's tip of keeping the booster on to instantly know of any shorts. Re-pulled the bus wire for the top level peninsula. I still have yet to pull the bus wire for the remainder of the top level, but holes are drilled. Signal Maintainer Little reports that the following are complete:
Once wiring has been complete, a train will conduct extensive tests on the trackwork to determine any dead spots on the layout.
Signal Maintainer Report:
Got my soldering groove on. Utilized the CR&E's tip of keeping the booster on to instantly know of any shorts. Re-pulled the bus wire for the top level peninsula. I still have yet to pull the bus wire for the remainder of the top level, but holes are drilled. Signal Maintainer Little reports that the following are complete:
- West Davenport
- Davenport Yard
- Rock Island
- Joliet Grain Co.
- Blue Island
- Burr Oak Yard
Once wiring has been complete, a train will conduct extensive tests on the trackwork to determine any dead spots on the layout.
Progress Report 09.16.10
Progress continues on the CRI&P.
Back Shop Report:
Carrie Ave Shops report that 15 locomotives are ready for service (decoder, trip pins cut, etc). Three are traveling to Peconic Shops for electronic upgrade this weekend. For the initial operating session, only 18 CRI&P locomotives will be active. Five locomotives will be leased from the Peconic Railroad.
Clerk Report:
All locomotive cards have been created.
Little by little, crews continue to make progress on the layout.
Back Shop Report:
Carrie Ave Shops report that 15 locomotives are ready for service (decoder, trip pins cut, etc). Three are traveling to Peconic Shops for electronic upgrade this weekend. For the initial operating session, only 18 CRI&P locomotives will be active. Five locomotives will be leased from the Peconic Railroad.
Clerk Report:
All locomotive cards have been created.
Little by little, crews continue to make progress on the layout.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
CRI&P Goals Update 09.15.10
Time to reflect back on our goals set back in August. We continue to make progress. Some items have been put on hold due to budget constraints.
CRI&P Goals (before Nov 20th, 2010):
Inaugural Operating Session ~ Saturday, Nov 20th, 2010
Day 224 of N Scale
173 Days since first board was cut (just under 6 months)
CRI&P Goals (before Nov 20th, 2010):
- Design Blue Island track configuration (Complete)
- Purchase and complete all track installation for Phase I (Complete)
- Drop and solder all feeder wires (45% complete)
- Purchase and install all tortoise switch machines
(Changed - will utilize SPDT slide switches - Not purchased yet) - Industrial Trackage will need slide switches installed, but this can wait (see above)
- Paint and install blue backdrop for entire layout (put on hold)
- Purchase and install all decoders for remaining locomotives
(purchased - Peconic Shops to receive 9/14) - Install low profile wheel sets, cut all trip pins on all cars (98% complete - 4 remaining)
- Purchase/install DCC plug-in jacks (not purchased yet)
- Purchase/borrow additional throttle (negotiating lease terms with DB&W)
- Install, paint fascia. (put on hold)
- Install waybill boxes (will be temporarily installed, but not permanent until fascia is installed)
- Create waybills (90% complete)
- Stage Layout (not started yet)
Inaugural Operating Session ~ Saturday, Nov 20th, 2010
Day 224 of N Scale
173 Days since first board was cut (just under 6 months)
Progress Report 09.15.10
Progress continues on the layout...
Car Dept Report:
12 cars were outfitted with low-profile wheel sets
10 cars had trip pins cut
3 cars underwent various repairs
4 cars require non-MTL low-profile wheel sets
All other cars are complete.
Clerk Dept Report:
All waybills are printed, cut and complete.
Signal Maintainer Report:
The other night crews welded the feeder wires to the rails in both Burr Oak Yard and West Davenport Yard. Upon testing, I found locomotives would traverse half the layout and then stop. There was nothing on the NCE box indicating a short. I checked my feeder wires. All seemed ok. What could it be? Finally, I gave up as I had enough for the evening.
Re-visited the situation this evening. First of all, I have determined a color blind person should not be the foreman on a cabling job. Red and dark green wires become one general dark color with poor lighting. Secondly, if a color blind foreman is the only choice, said foreman should only work during daylight hours.
So, foreman Timmy and his beautiful assistant Sarah set out to determine the source of the believed short. Assistant Foreman Sarah had plenty of ideas (and questions), but too was perplexed by the situation (daddy, why can't we run trains?). I started by cutting all the feeder wires that were soldered to the bus cable in both staging yards. Nothing. Damn! I search back and forth the full distance of the layout for anything that might be laying across the tracks creating a short. Boy is the layout dirty, but nothing that would create a short. This is quite perplexing. But wait, Assistant Foreman Sarah has found something. "Do you hear that daddy?" Hear what, I ask. "That sound? It sounds like a shhhhhhh sound." Hmm...maybe she found the source of the short (a high pitched sound). I searched up and down in the area that Sarah heard this noise (the ovalix). Maybe I had listened to the radio in the car too loud one too many times. I don't hear a thing. Assistant Foreman Sarah was called off to other duties. I continue the search. I then noticed that the test locomotive stopped just past the overpass in East Rock Island. I press on the bridge and the loco moves. The loco traveled the rest of the way to Burr Oak Yard if I held the bridge. Why would this Atlas plate girder bridge be causing a short? Why is there nothing indicating a short on the NCE system? Have I lost my mind? Quite possibly. So, I began to ponder the situation. Maybe the bridge wasn't shorting the layout, but simply blocking the flow of electrons to the layout beyond this point. But, what about the feeders I had installed to the bus in staging? Wouldn't that have provided power to the rail beyond the bridge at East Rock Island? I went to investigate the bus wire situation at Burr Oak Yard. Uh...oh! Foreman Timmy called in the problem to the CEO. Foreman Timmy failed to notice that the bus wire pulled up from the first level to the second level was not one, but two sections actually tied off. Temporarily secured the two bus wire sets. Re-attached one test set of feeder wires in Burr Oak Yard. Headlight! Tested, all is ok. Success! Foreman Timmy has been put on Administrative Leave (again) and Foreman A.T. Little has resumed leadership of the job.
Assistant Foreman Sarah inquired about the status of the layout later in the evening. I briefed her on the situation summarizing that daddy messed up. Assistant Foreman Sarah reassured me "daddy, its ok. Mistakes happen." Yes, Sarah, they do. Thank you!
Progress will continue over the weekend when lighting is better.
Car Dept Report:
12 cars were outfitted with low-profile wheel sets
10 cars had trip pins cut
3 cars underwent various repairs
4 cars require non-MTL low-profile wheel sets
All other cars are complete.
Clerk Dept Report:
All waybills are printed, cut and complete.
Signal Maintainer Report:
The other night crews welded the feeder wires to the rails in both Burr Oak Yard and West Davenport Yard. Upon testing, I found locomotives would traverse half the layout and then stop. There was nothing on the NCE box indicating a short. I checked my feeder wires. All seemed ok. What could it be? Finally, I gave up as I had enough for the evening.
Re-visited the situation this evening. First of all, I have determined a color blind person should not be the foreman on a cabling job. Red and dark green wires become one general dark color with poor lighting. Secondly, if a color blind foreman is the only choice, said foreman should only work during daylight hours.
So, foreman Timmy and his beautiful assistant Sarah set out to determine the source of the believed short. Assistant Foreman Sarah had plenty of ideas (and questions), but too was perplexed by the situation (daddy, why can't we run trains?). I started by cutting all the feeder wires that were soldered to the bus cable in both staging yards. Nothing. Damn! I search back and forth the full distance of the layout for anything that might be laying across the tracks creating a short. Boy is the layout dirty, but nothing that would create a short. This is quite perplexing. But wait, Assistant Foreman Sarah has found something. "Do you hear that daddy?" Hear what, I ask. "That sound? It sounds like a shhhhhhh sound." Hmm...maybe she found the source of the short (a high pitched sound). I searched up and down in the area that Sarah heard this noise (the ovalix). Maybe I had listened to the radio in the car too loud one too many times. I don't hear a thing. Assistant Foreman Sarah was called off to other duties. I continue the search. I then noticed that the test locomotive stopped just past the overpass in East Rock Island. I press on the bridge and the loco moves. The loco traveled the rest of the way to Burr Oak Yard if I held the bridge. Why would this Atlas plate girder bridge be causing a short? Why is there nothing indicating a short on the NCE system? Have I lost my mind? Quite possibly. So, I began to ponder the situation. Maybe the bridge wasn't shorting the layout, but simply blocking the flow of electrons to the layout beyond this point. But, what about the feeders I had installed to the bus in staging? Wouldn't that have provided power to the rail beyond the bridge at East Rock Island? I went to investigate the bus wire situation at Burr Oak Yard. Uh...oh! Foreman Timmy called in the problem to the CEO. Foreman Timmy failed to notice that the bus wire pulled up from the first level to the second level was not one, but two sections actually tied off. Temporarily secured the two bus wire sets. Re-attached one test set of feeder wires in Burr Oak Yard. Headlight! Tested, all is ok. Success! Foreman Timmy has been put on Administrative Leave (again) and Foreman A.T. Little has resumed leadership of the job.
Assistant Foreman Sarah inquired about the status of the layout later in the evening. I briefed her on the situation summarizing that daddy messed up. Assistant Foreman Sarah reassured me "daddy, its ok. Mistakes happen." Yes, Sarah, they do. Thank you!
Progress will continue over the weekend when lighting is better.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Project Change Report 09.14.10
In hopes of building a better and stronger Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad, management has decided to make a change regarding the tortoise switch machines. The CEO looked to the expertise of the long running Peconic Railroad which uses a variety of turnout control methods. On the CRI&P, it was originally decided to utilize the Tortoise switch machines for major control points and SPDT slide switches for the industrial turnouts. Considering the CRI&P has no desire for central dispatcher control of the turnouts plus the cost factor, it has been decided that the tortoise switch machines would be considered a luxury on a layout of this size. A more practical and quite effective solution would be the use of SPDT slide switches. Their somewhat easier installation requirements and cost savings would be quite beneficial to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The CEO expects to save approximately 79% or a little over $240 over the original planned turnout controls.
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