What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[MurphOnMillerAve]

George, I've seen plenty of devils in Jersey, but none looking like that. Hoodies and low-hanging pants seem to be the look of choice for some of them. Oh, and there are plenty of sumbiches, too, but I'll bet that's not exclusive to NJ, huh.

[G3750]

George, I've seen plenty of devils in Jersey, but none looking like that. Hoodies and low-hanging pants seem to be the look of choice for some of them. Oh, and there are plenty of sumbiches, too, but I'll bet that's not exclusive to NJ, huh.

Probably not, but don't forget these guys!

New_Jersey_Devils_logo.svg.png (87.67 KiB) Viewed 5510 times

George

[G3750]

Updated 12/17/2016:

Below are the 2-rail Peterson PRR gondolas I converted from 2-rail to 3-rail. They are now sporting Weaver Bettendorf trucks and couplers.

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Peterson_002_.JPG (46.32 KiB) Viewed 5480 times

Peterson_003_.JPG (48.52 KiB) Viewed 5480 times

George

[G3750]

Updated 12/23/2016:

This photo of the future train room (under construction) was taken Friday, December 23, 2016.

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The house has been framed and is under roof. Mechanicals are being installed.

George

[gregj410]

Congrats on a nice new slate to work with. I must admit I'm not the best at following these builds. It's rarely content related but simply my divided time. Hopefully I'll see more of this build than I did your other. For now I can say I've been watching since the very beginning.

[Steamfan77]

Nice space George. What are the dimensions of the room, and how tall are the ceilings?

Andy

[G3750]

Nice space George. What are the dimensions of the room, and how tall are the ceilings?

Andy

This is the first house we have ever had built. The room is 14' x 47'; the layout will be 11' x 47' (11' x 39.5' plus an 11' x 7.5' staging area). The ceilings are 9' high.

George

[G3750]

Congrats on a nice new slate to work with. I must admit I'm not the best at following these builds. It's rarely content related but simply my divided time. Hopefully I'll see more of this build than I did your other. For now I can say I've been watching since the very beginning.

Thank you. It will probably be awhile between progress reports on this version of the Panhandle. Our closing isn't until May.

But I do intend to make regular reports on the build.

George

[Rufus T. Firefly]

But I do intend to make regular reports on the build.

[G3750]

Updated 1/13/2017 (Friday the Thirteenth edition):

Here's the report:

• All pretense at forward progress has been halted. Last run scheduled for week of January 22-28.
• Boxes and plastic bins are being gathered.
• Inventory of items is being double-checked and some bins are being packed.
• New house construction is going great guns - inspections (structural, wiring, energy star) have been passed, siding is being installed, dry-wall is being installed.
• List of excess items, parts, etc. is being created. These will be sold.

Chris, you just went through this period of limbo. Doesn't it just kill you?

George

[G3750]

Update 1/15/2017:

As a result of a conversation with a friend on Friday, I have given the Staging Area a lot of thought and small redesign. This redesign if more focused on engine storage than the previous staging area. I’ve also thought about what larger engines I will be pursuing in the future – a Decapod and possibly a J1 (2-10-4 Texas type).

Below is my revision of the PRR Panhandle 2.0. What’s changed:
1) At the bottom of the diagram, to the right of where it says “126” is an O31 switch. The track diverging from the switch (and eventually joining the mainline at the top of the diagram) is where outbound trains from Weirton Steel will be assembled. I changed the geometry a bit and made the track a bit longer. Yes, to put cars into that track will require backing out onto the main for a minute or two. For the sake of identification – I am calling that a run-around loop.

2) I revamped the Staging Area. It now has:

• Two large access areas (red rectangles) that let me reach anywhere in the area.
• A large locomotive storage area – the double-crossover (4 storage tracks) + the 2 longer engine pocket tracks on the extreme right end of the layout (top & bottom). I think these will all suit engines requiring O72 curves.
• Storage for at least 6 locomotives.

Regarding Switching Operations in the Weirton Steel Yard (this is my thinking, comments welcomed):
INBOUND
1) All INBOUND trains will diverge from the Mainline at “126” on the track plan. They will go straight (the Mainline curves upwards) so as not to foul the mainline.
2) The locomotive will de-couple from the train, continue further into the staging area, and await further assignment.
3) A shifter (switcher) positioned on the run-around loop will back out, couple to the train, back the train out onto the main, and then push cuts of cars (ore jennies or coal hoppers to blast furnace; gondolas or boxcars to Strip Steel) to the correct mill. Once the cars are all spotted on their proper spurs, the shifter may take the cabin car to a track in the Staging Area or to the spur just to the left of the divider (I’m thinking of making that the Caboose Track). Alternatively, the shifter may position the cabin car on its track first.
OUTBOUND
1) All OUTBOUND trains are assembled by reversing the INBOUND process.
2) First the shifter retrieves a cabin car (yes, I know this is not prototypical). Alternatively it could position the cabin car on the run-around loop.
3) The shifter then grabs cuts of cars from the proper mill (full gondolas or boxcars from the Strip Steel; empty coal hoppers or ore jennies from the blast furnace). This takes place on the track at the bottom of the layout or on the run-around loop depending on the train length.
4) The shifter attaches the cabin car to the end of the train.
5) Finally, there are 2 scenarios for attaching the road locomotive:

• It pulls around the loop at the rightmost edge of the layout, enters the mainline at the top, and backs down the run-around loop.
• It backs out of storage and attaches to the train on the long track to right of “126” and pulls all the way around the rightmost edge of the layout, joining the mainline again just left of the Strip Steel building.

All travel is in the counter-clockwise direction.

PRR Panhandle 2.0 v020 staging.jpg (782.84 KiB) Viewed 5355 times

Your thoughts please – good, bad or ugly.

Thanks,

George

[rogruth]

Is part of the plan missing?

[G3750]

Is part of the plan missing?

Yes, the drawing focuses on the right side. The left side is unchanged.

George

[rogruth]

OK. I was a bit confused.

[G3750]

OK. I was a bit confused.

Happens to me all the time.

George