Weekend Photos - February 2024

[healey36]

That looks like a nice remake of the S-2, Marty. It has a few features that look dimensionally different from the original 67X-68X (or maybe that's just the angle of the photo), but still very nicely executed.

[MartyE]

It is the Century Club 671. I just did a video of it on my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/k-Opqr3glv0?si=u_h84j5TjI2oKQIC

[webenda]

I can't imagine trying to reach a doorknob at the top of a ladder.

The DL&W had watch towers with doors at the top of the ladder. Here's an article about the one in Utica, NY with a photo that shows the door:
Do You Know About the ‘Watch Tower’ in Utica?

The ladder has been removed for security reasons as the tower is no longer used to control crossings.

In that case, this one probably has a ladder to a door on the outside. We can see a hand railing on the ladder near the top.


But this one goes through the floor.

[robert.]

A few miles from me was the last watch tower in use. Lansdale Pa. I'll see if i can fins some photos

[robert.]

http://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/RPOTD071025.html

[healey36]

"Watchbox", that's an interesting descriptor. Thanks for the photos, Robert and Wayne.

I could order a ladder made by Grandt Line, but where's the fun in that? I'm going to try to make one from a bit of hardware cloth.

[webenda]

Another Crossing Watchtower with entry through the floor.

[healey36]

Another good shot, Wayne, one that approaches the basic design of The Old Man's model. Looks like a single post in this example, with just a ladder to a hatch on the underside. There's also a pipe/chimney for a stove, which is interesting. Thanks for posting.

[webenda]

Those last two photos can be found at:
https://whippanyrailwaymuseum.net/museu ... s-signals/

The Whippany Railway Museum has some interesting information, such as, "At that time, crossing gates were hand-operated by means of a crank mechanism. The gates were lowered and raised by means of cables or chains running through underground piping from the gatekeeper’s crank base to each individual gate at the crossing."

And then they show someone cranking on a crank on the base of a crossing gate, not at the watchman's shack.

I wonder if the watchtowers had cranks in the tower or the watchman had to go up and down the tower ladder/stairs to raise and lower the gates?

[healey36]

I wonder if the watchtowers had cranks in the tower or the watchman had to go up and down the tower ladder/stairs to raise and lower the gates?

Sounds like it was a ground-level exercise, which I presume could get a bit tedious during periods of high-traffic. You'd have to be in decent shape to climb up and later descend that ladder a couple dozen times a day. I’d guess the gates were electrified in latter days, with controls installed in the tower.

A good friend is gradually downsizing his train collection and he sent me this Lionel 41 for safekeeping. I'm not too wound up about postwar, but there are a few pieces I've wanted to have and this is one of them:



It's a noisy thing, but I'm hopeful it will quiet a bit after a careful clean-and-lube. The 41 has a three-position e-unit, but no internal light for the headlamps. It looks like there's room for it, however, so maybe an add sometime down the road.

Seen here running north on the mainline, exiting the 305 bridge to pass the 126 station at Lionelville.

[webenda]

I made a constant current driver for the headlight in my Turbine Switcher.

It fits in the front part of the switcher, above the reversing unit.
This was in 2017. Back then I was able to drop by Radio Shack on the way home after work and pick up the parts. I miss Radio Shack.
Regarding LED size. The RS 276-320 was a 5 mm white LED. It was placed behind the switcher,s lens. A 3mm LED will fit inside the 3 mm hole in the back of the lens. A 3 mm LED is a better choice but my Radio Shack did not carry 3 mm white LEDs. I liked the 3 mm yellow LED for the headlight but chose the white LED even if it did not fit inside the lens.

[healey36]

Looks like a fun and effective solution to the lighting issue for the 41, Wayne. With Radio Shack gone, what's a good source for the components these days?

[webenda]

With Radio Shack gone, what's a good source for the components these days?

Your local electronics supply store, ebay, Amazon, https://www.digikey.com, https://www.mouser.com,
https://temu.com

Temu is interesting. They don't sell individual components but, for example, you get hundreds of resistors for less than the cost of a RadioShack 5 resistor package.
Example: https://www.temu.com/search_result.html ... ethod=user
The only thing about temu is that you often have to wait for the slow boat from China to arrive before the USPS can deliver your order.

[webenda]

...you often have to wait for the slow boat from China to arrive before the USPS can deliver your order.

How slow is a slow boat from China? One of the fastest cargo ships in the world is the Maersk Boston, a 294-metre container ship that can steam at an incredible 37 knots. 37 knot = 42.6 mile/hour.

But the Maersk Boston never sails at max speed. It is more economical to go slow. Five days ago it was moving at 17 knots.
Reference: https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/9313905

Maersk Boston speed vs. fuel consumption.
12kn:50tonnes/day
17kn:50x1.4^2=98tonnes/day
24kn:50x2^2=200tonnes/day
29kn:50x2.4^2=288tonnes/day*
37kn:50x3^2=450tonnes/day

*Wikipedia reports 300 tonnes per day at 29 kn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_M%C3%A6rsk_Boston

[healey36]

That's pretty interesting, Wayne, as the top speed of the USN's Arleigh Burke-class of destroyers is reportedly just north of 30 knots. These Maersk ships are Danish-flagged, so seems unlikely (but not impossible) they'd have military transport uses imagined. They have nice lines for box-haulers.