ESPEE IN OREGON 2013

This year’s Espee in Oregon Meet was held in Millersburg (north of Albany) the first weekend in June.  This year’s meet featured a pair of industry tours on Thursday, layout tours on Friday, and a day’s worth of clinics—both formal and informal—on Saturday.  As usual, the meet provided an opportunity for fans of the Southern Pacific in Oregon to meet and greet and share information and modeling techniques with emphasis on Oregon-based layouts. 

Herewith some photos from the tours:

Fiberboard (former Duraflake)--one of the last major industries in Millersburg, OR.  Fiberboard makes high quality particle board.

Fiberboard input and grading.

Fiberboard mixing silos.

Fiberboard kiln.  Wood fiber temperature is carefully controlled.

Rick Franklin Industries facility in Lebanon, OR, was our second stop.

Locomotives at Rick Franklin Industries, Lebanon, OR.  It was good to see an old friend, LLW 5399, resplendent in “Black Widow” paint and full light packages.  The Albany and Eastern and RFI units in the background show railroad impartiality to the two big state universities <Go Beavers!>.

In contrast to the LLW 5399, here is the parted-out radiator end of W&P 1851, another SD9.   Rick Franklin salvages and parts out a vast array of railroad equipment.  Some gets reused as originally designed, other gets repurposed (flat cars becoming road bridges) while some goes to scrap.

RFI purchased this unique bit of SP maintenance gear, formerly based at Oakridge for use in tunnels.  Rod Loder, our meet organizer just checked it out.

Larry V’s railroad empire, loosely based on the Valley and Siletz.  “What if?” the V&S made it over the Coast Range to the Coast?

Chuck C’s double deck (and more!) Modoc empire. 

FIRST TRAIN INTO OAKRIDGE!

As I completed the primary wiring at Oakridge, the urge to run a train FROM somewhere (Springfield) TO somewhere else (Oakridge) became quite compelling.  While I await parts for the bridge I will build at Westfir, I finally conceded the need to place a temporary bridge (piece of plywood) across the gap, followed by cork and track.  With the track for the new Oakridge East Main block wired, it was time to run a train!

I grabbed my current road power—a set of Atlas GP40-2s, several freight cars and a caboose and assembled all of this at Springfield.  A baker’s dozen cars and a caboose were hauled RR-West to Oakridge, becoming the first official train into Oakridge. 

First train arrives in Oakridge.

I already had several locomotives over in Oakridge that I used for checking out basic track and wiring.  The first train represents the first time a train including cars and a caboose arrived on scene.  The pair of GP35s on the engine lead of the photo were used to check out the wye and its auto-reverser electronic module.  I deliberately used less expensive locos with basic decoders installed for this test task.  No need to blow an expensive sound module for the wye electrical reversing checkout!

That baker’s dozen cars just didn’t look like enough cars for a proper SP train, especially on the main, sidings and yard tracks, all of which are at least twenty (actual) feet long.  Now it was time to do some switching to add more cars.  My trusty Baldwin DRS 6-6-15 did the chores, though I had to help it a little once the train grew to 25 cars.  It took quite a while to assemble the train as I ran the Baldwin at slow switching speeds, appropriate for the task.  I am beginning to understand quite how large a railroad I am building!

Switching more cars into the train at Oakridge.

The return trip RR-Eastbound to Springfield had its own visual thrill as the long train wound its way through the S-curves beyond Westfir.  This is the first taste of what this layout was designed to portray:  long SP freight trains winding their way through the valley and up into the Cascades.  The railroad is coming alive!

First RR-Eastbound proceeds toward Springfield.

REVISING OAKRIDGE

Once the track was laid in Oakridge, I cleared off the tools to make way for wiring.  I kept passing by the RR-East end of Oakridge and past the wye on my way to the center part of Oakridge and RR-West end.  Each time I walked past the RR-East throat I noticed a track alignment that seemed awkward.  Indeed, it was!   The switches along the RR-East leg of the wye retained an artifact of an earlier track layout that no longer had meaning.  Critically, the switch to the sand house “siding” used a left hand turnout instead of the much smoother right hand orientation.

Original track alignment at RR-East Oakridge.  Sand house “siding” is in the foreground with a left-hand turnout accessing the end closest to the wye.

After a couple of weeks of passing by this spot, I knew I needed to revise the track layout.  The left-hand turnout off a right-hand curving track  was a poor track alignment with an implied “S” curve.  The diverging route of this turnout will be used by all helper power and any other power serviced at Oakridge, such as the Oakridge Turn power.  Although diesels and Cab Forwards might not have a problem, ten-coupled locos such as a 2-10-2 might not “like” such an arrangement.

Out came some turnouts and a curve template to see what might be done.  Flipping the sand house turnout to a left-hand one and moving the wye leg curves closer to the rest of the RR-East switch ladders would fit.  It also turned out I could correct a misalignment of  the switches for the Maintenance of Way (MOW) spurs seen in the middle of the RR-East wye leg.  That misalignment was an aesthetic problem more than an operational issue.  It came about because of my need to solder frog wires to Micro Engineering turnouts before turnout installation on the layout.  The hole for the frog wire for the switch within the wye leg was in the wrong place, upsetting its alignment.

New track alignment trial with curve template and a pair of #6 turnouts overlaying the original alignment.

With some trepidation, I took a good putty knife in hand and began prying up the old track.  I used Dap 230 adhesive caulk to hold down the track.  This was my first time revising a track layout where the caulk was used.  I am happy to report the track came up easily with a little bit of care.  All three switches were pulled up and reconditioned for re-use.  One section of track came up easily and was re-used.  One other section was a bit tougher to get up and I ended up detaching ties from rails in a few spots—easy to do with Micro Engineering flex track.  I consider the track removal a success, as the high value items—the turnouts—were all saved and half the track was saved.  The damaged section of track contributed short  filler sections to the new track layout.

RR-East Oakridge wye tracks removed. And surface prepared for new track alignment.

With the old track removed and turnouts reconditioned, the new track was laid out and affixed.  The new alignment looks much smoother than the original layout and should not present operating issues.  The track alignment revision is something one should be prepared to do on any model railroad.  Its usually best to revise sooner rather than later, as that ends the frustration much earlier.  In this case, the track had not been wired yet.  It was not in service, and yet my experienced eye told me a change was necessary.

New Oakridge RR-East track alignment.

ADVENTURES IN WIRING

With track laid and permanently affixed at Oakridge, I’ve been in “the Land Down-Under” (with apologies to my Australian and New Zealand readers).  Switch machine installation and wiring have occupied much time.  Most model railroads require a fair bit of time spent with these less-than-glamorous tasks.  For a railroad preparing for signals and Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) as it is built, a bit more time underneath the layout is required.  Troubleshooting the wiring has occupied a particularly frustrating part of that time.

My first bout with troubleshooting was documented in my post on my return to basics of model railroading (http://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2013/03/back-to-basics.html), wherein I related my mental block  with the Tortoise wiring pattern.  One positive outcome of that challenge was my return to a basic tool for use during wiring: a continuity checker.  Allan Gartner (http://www.wiringfordcc.com/index.htm) provides sound, advice STRONGLY recommending the use of such a device.  I can only add my “Amen!” to that. 

For much of the Oakridge wiring, I dutifully had a pair of continuity buzzers clipped onto the block bus wires as I wired each track.  That caught a couple of slips on my part.  Unfortunately, I did not ALWAYS have the continuity testers attached, nor had I used them (as recommended!) on my turnouts before I installed them.  The result was totally predictable within Murphy’s Law—shorts popping up in wiring done without the aid of the continuity testers. 

Most of my troubles in Oakridge traced back to the turnouts.  I wore out my first triangular file (probably poor filing technique as well as a LOT of turnouts!) on many of the turnouts used in Oakridge.  As a consequence, I had a number of supposed electrical gaps in the pc board ties that still conducted.  Several of these were in ladders of four or five turnouts, all in one electrical block.  My only viable choice was to pull out the rotary tool and cut/enlarge all gaps.  This eventually cleared each short, but it took a while to convince myself of the need (mental block!).

One “last” short was cleared in a previously “clear” block for the Oakridge Siding.  This block has a single turnout at each end.  Everything was fine until I hooked up the frog wires.  I neglected to attach my continuity tester during this operation (The block was clear already, wasn’t it?), so “Murphy” raised his head again and promptly produced a short.  It took a couple of days of tracing the wiring, staring at the switches and cutting some gaps before I finally went back to basics—remove the last thing I did before the short showed up.  I removed the frog wires from the terminal strip.  Sure enough, there it was—the frog ties had not been gapped properly.  The pair of pictures below illustrate this tale.

Oakridge Siding East Switch with continuity tester attached.

Oakridge Siding East Switch frog close up with new, deeper gaps cut in printed circuit board ties.

LAYING OUT OAKRIDGE – 2

The challenge of successfully laying out a yard on a ninety degree curve requires careful attention to geometry, innovation, and a few compromises.  The photo at RR-East Oakridge illustrates the split into the four major track groups at Oakridge.  Left to right are the depot tracks (house, siding, mainline), four yard body tracks, the engine facility (eventually splitting into four tracks) and the turning wye and its miscellaneous spurs. 

RR-East Oakridge.  Incomplete “siding” in the foreground is for the sand house.

As noted in the previous post on Oakridge (http://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2013/04/laying-out-oakridge.html), I began by laying out the depot tracks.  These three tracks form the inside radii of the ninety degree curve.  These tracks include the mainline with its higher track standards (42” minimum radius and #8 turnouts), which established a broad curve as the inner base for the remaining track splits.  My original full-size track planning used #6 turnouts for the yard tracks.  I found I needed to use a couple of #8 turnouts (with their extra length and shallower divergence angle) to match the inner curve formed by the mainline.  This used more length before the curve, which impacted subsequent track splits for the engine facility and wye.  It appeared I was running out of space for these latter track splits. 

The solution was to slightly curve several #6 turnouts for the engine facility and add a modest curve before the first turnout off the wye.  The choice to curve the #6 turnouts was not taken lightly as it effectively tightens the curves for those tracks.  I was careful to keep the resulting curves broader than the 36 inch minimum for secondary trackage. 

I still needed a solution to the space issue (tracks pushing further toward the wye tail).  I could not get all three tracks into the engine shed plus the run-around track in the available space.  The compromise solution, compatible with the curved #6 turnouts, was to drop down to 32 inch radius for the outer pair of engine shed tracks.  This compromise of my design standards is acceptable for me because I know all of my SP steam, including a 4-10-2, will work around 30 inch radii.  This was proven in my former operations at the Cal Central Model Railroad Club which had a 30 inch minimum radius.  Ironically, the engine facility run-around and the first engine shed run through tracks (the inner pair of the facility) have broader curves, so any long wheel-base visiting equipment can still use the facility.

Oakridge Engine Facility.  Engine shed features two run-through tracks and one stub.  The oil track will be outside the shed and machine shop although it appears to overlay the paper template for the shed in this photo.

Oakridge Engine Facility.  Engine shed and machine shop outline has been trimmed for this photo.  Boiler house (foreground) has been dry (tape) assembled to check for fit within the wye.

Oakridge Wye

Oakridge.  Engine facility lead will be extended to RR-West switch ladder behind the camera.

RR-West Oakridge

RR West Oakridge.  Depot is an American Model Builders SP Depot Type 22 kit.  This is a stand-in for the actual Oakridge depot, which was a modified version of the SP Type 22 (hipped roofs and open air extension).

ROAD TRIP!

As Spring came forth in Oregon, it was time for a road trip!  My SP Cascade Line scenery will reflect late April foliage.  My blog post last May (http://espeecascades.blogspot.com/2012/05/on-site-research.html)took note of the Spring foliage along the Cascade Line.  It was time for another visit and lots of photos. 

We began in Springfield.  My model Springfield already has the track installed and wired, so this trip gathered photos of structures, industries and the overall landscape (think backdrop).  The historic Springfield depot still exists, albeit moved a couple of blocks.  It now serves the Springfield Chamber of Commerce.

Preserved Springfield Depot

The preserved and moved Springfield depot now stands closer to the Willamette River with a park-like setting.  This provided closer access to the river and railroad bridge than on my prior visits.  I took a number of photos from both sides of the bridge.  Although the Walthers bridge kits I chose to use for the pair of main spans do not exactly model the Southern Pacific’s spans, they still capture the “look and feel.”  I also discovered the Springfield side bridge approach is a ballasted deck pile trestle, albeit fairly short—three and a “half” bents.

Willamette River Bridge

Alongside the approach to the Willamette River is the Momentive (ex-Borden) Chemical plant.  Borden established their plant at Springfield in 1960.  Although the nominal year for the physical plant of my HO scale Cascade Line will be 1954, I will exercise “time rubber” to include interesting industries.  Borden heads that list, so it will appear in model form.  The challenge will be picking through chemical plant features appropriate to an earlier era than today.

Momentive (ex-Borden) Chemical plant.

One industry present in 1954 and still functioning today is Rosboro Lumber.  This is an extensive mill with several tracks, switched off of multiple drill tracks alongside the main and siding in Springfield.  Selective compression will be needed, but several features will identify Rosboro Lumber.  First is the characteristic round roof main mill.  Second will be the shed with “Rosboro Lumber” still visible on the side.  Finally, another characteristic structure with a clerestory needs to be modeled.  Rosboro will be a major shipper on my HO scale railroad.

Rosboro Lumber main mill shed.

Rosboro Lumber Co. sign on building side.

Rosboro Lumber clerestory shed with mill power plant stacks in background.

Our road trip took us on up the Willamette Pass highway.  I took more photos of the hillsides behind Oakridge.   In spite of the overcast skies, these will prove useful for backdrop painting.  The overcast eventually closed in around the 4000 feet level in the pass, so there were not many photo opportunities on this trip.  Not to worry; last year’s photo trip provides lots of photos for higher elevations.

Oakridge yard and nearby hill sides seen from Crestview Street bridge.

LAYING OUT OAKRIDGE

With trains rolling in Springfield, the time has come to expand the empire to the next station: Oakridge.  The steam era helper station of Oakridge will be the heart of my SP Cascade Line.  Its principal function will be the addition of helpers for the mountain climb.  Oakridge also provides a key industry role, serving a pair of large lumber mills: Pope and Talbot to the geographic east and Western Lumber at Westfir to the geographic west.   The Oakridge local will serve both mills, taking their products back to Eugene for classification (switching into trains) further movement. 

<Recall my sidebar note about Southern Pacific railroad geography in Oregon.  Tracks headed TO San Francisco are “west bound.”  Tracks headed AWAY from San Francisco are “east bound.”  In Oregon, this means most RR directions are opposite geography.  Oakridge is a prime example of the confusion, as RR-West is at the geographic east end of town.  My blog posts identify the railroad geography with a “RR-east or –west” identifier.>

My HO scale version of Oakridge will feature all tracks present in 1954, albeit with concessions to space available.  The RR-West yard throat quickly splits into two switch ladders for the mainline and depot tracks and the four yard body tracks.  A long lead for the engine house and wye also takes off from the RR-West throat.

Oakridge RR-West throat.  Tracks are (left to right): House, Siding, Main Line, and four yard body tracks.  Engine house lead breaks off to the right of the yard body track switch ladder.

Oakridge depot area looking RR-East from the RR-West throat.

My layout design efforts consistently found a need to employ a “pinwheel” ladder on the RR-East end, somewhat similar to the real Oakridge.  My HO scale version features a much sharper ninety degree turn with many implications to the switchwork.  In a very short distance, the RR-East end throat must split into roughly four switch ladders for the depot tracks, yard body tracks, engine house, and miscellaneous spurs within the turning wye, and then cause all of those tracks to bend ninety degrees. 

Oakridge RR-East throat splitting into four track groupings for the depot tracks, yard body tracks, engine house and miscellaneous stub tracks in the turning wye.

The Oakridge RR-East throat puts to test my design minimums of 42 inch mainline radius, #8 turnouts on the main and 36 inch minimum radius and #6 turnouts off the mainline.  I began by laying out the depot tracks, working to keep the mainline standards in place for the main and siding.  In the end, I was able to keep a broad radius on the house track, as well.  I originally laid out the switch ladder for the four yard body tracks using all #6 switches.  Geometric reality set in as I got very precise with the track layout and I realized in a “duh!” moment that at least the first switch for the yard tracks needed to be a #8 switch to match the close-by geometry of the depot tracks.  A similar consideration added another #8 switch  as the first one serving the engine house.  It looks like the subsequent #6 switches will remain as such.

I am now wrestling with getting the engine house tracks into and around the engine house in the available space.  In the image below, four curved tracks are heading toward the space blocked out for the engine house.  Unfortunately, there actually need to be five tracks here.  I am contemplating a custom-built curved switch or two, but it looks like I might just make it with short-length #6 switches.  This is work in process, so you might see a completely different arrangement in later posts.

Initial track layout for Oakridge engine house.  One more track must be fit in the space of the inner three tracks shown.