The "new" JJJ&E In N Scale

[Powersteamguy1790]

Bob,

I really enjoy viewing all the photos you post of your layout. You have such a variety of motive power it reminds me of the thought, "I never met a diesel or steamer I didn't like."

If I had the room, I'd have a passenger train from all the railroads. The paint schemes over the years have given us some beautiful named passenger trains.

This is such a great hobby! I enjoy watching what others are doing no matter what scale.

Thanks for sharing.

Tom

I appreciate all your comments Tom. Am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Keep resting up till you regather all your strength.

I have only enough room on my layout for four full passenger train consists. I rotate them out  every couple of months. Many of the steamers and diesels are always on the layout.

I just picked up a UP GTEL 8500 "Big Blow" Turbine #14 with DCC and ESU Lok-Sound from Scale Trains. I started to test it out on the JJJ&E's mainline about an hour ago before I reprogram the decoders in the three units. All is well so far.

Stay cool and run steam........

[Powersteamguy1790]

Two classic locomotives, the SP #4449 GS-4 "Freedom Train" 4-8-4 and the Milwaukee "Hiawatha" #1 pulling passenger car consists east of San Marino in the right turnaround area of the JJJ&E. The San Marino Freight yard is in the distance. The building in the immediate background is Roscoe's Engine Repair Shop. Both trains are running on the lower mainline tracks on this part of the JJJ&E.   




Stay cool and run steam.........

[Powersteamguy1790]

The American Freedom Train, SP #4449 at the Santa Fe style station in the center of San Marino



Stay cool and run steam.................

[Powersteamguy1790]

An old sepia photo of a ATSF 4-8-4 #3782 climbing the 1 1/2% grade on the mainline east of San Marino. The Monterrey Mountains are in the background. This locomotive has a very rigid wheel base and should only be used on N scale layouts with radii greater than 19 inches.



Stay cool and run steam.........

[Powersteamguy1790]

A panoramic view of the Monterrey River Valley with the Monterrey Mountains on the right and the town of San Marino  in the distance. (over 16 feet)



Stay cool and run steam...............

[Powersteamguy1790]

An early color photo of a generic Kato Mikado transformed into a Southern MS-4 Mikado #4839 using a GHQ pewter detail kit in the center of San Marino. This Southern MS-4 Mikado can pull 60 cars on level track due to the added weight of the pewter detailing



Stay cool and run steam...........

[Powersteamguy1790]

The double track main line Adjacent To San Marino Stock Yard



Stay cool and run steam......................

[ACL1504]

Bob,

Love that large freight yard.

Tom

[Janbouli]

Bob,

Love that large freight yard.

Tom

+1 on that.

[PRR Modeler]

Bob, you're layout is amazing. The things that really stand out to me are:

The roundhouse is huge and is amazing and looks even better with all the steamers in the stalls.

The Switching Yard really reminds me of a photo on my train room wall of Altoona with dozens of steamers under steam waiting to go to work.

My weakness in MRR'ing is anything to do with coaling and you do it up right.

Excellent job on the super detailing of the steamers. I'm embarrassed to say I have got rid of most of my steamers based on one section of my layout that has a 20 degree radius that because of the location can't be expanded.

As I said before excellent modeling.

[Powersteamguy1790]

Bob,

Love that large freight yard.

Tom

Thanks Tom.    That freight yard runs 14 feet from the Monterrey River Valley through the town of San Marino.

Stay cool and run steam.........

[Powersteamguy1790]

Bob,

Love that large freight yard.

Tom

+1 on that.

Thanks Jan.  I spent some time designing the freight yard on the San Marino side of the layout. My main concern was the large Switching Yard on the Turntable side of the layout. But in my thinking both yards have two different purposes.

On this layout, I can run trains point to point, just do switching on the layout or run trains continuously if I want. When I run trains continuously with diesels I usually  run 50+ car trains with four diesels (usually "E" or "F" units) in a consist. The cars in each consist are carefully weighted and placed in each consist so derailments almost never occur. All the wheel sets on the cars are metal and many of the cars have body mounted couplers. Now many N scale freight cars come with body mounted couplers. All of the cars on the roster of the "new" JJJ&E have been converted to metal wheel sets.

When I do run trains continuously, I feel most comfortable running two trains with 50+ cars in each train. Each train is pulled by four diesels. When I run steam, I usually run "big" steam which can easily pull 30+ cars on the outer mainline track which includes a 1 1/2% grade which runs over 40 feet.

Stay cool and run steam.......

[Powersteamguy1790]

Bob, you're layout is amazing. The things that really stand out to me are:

The roundhouse is huge and is amazing and looks even better with all the steamers in the stalls.

The Switching Yard really reminds me of a photo on my train room wall of Altoona with dozens of steamers under steam waiting to go to work.

My weakness in MRR'ing is anything to do with coaling and you do it up right.

Excellent job on the super detailing of the steamers. I'm embarrassed to say I have got rid of most of my steamers based on one section of my layout that has a 20 degree radius that because of the location can't be expanded.

As I said before excellent modeling.

Thanks Curt.

I really appreciate all your kind comments. When I designed and started building this layout in February 2009, many parts of it are from my remembrances of seeing actual railroad yards and turntables out in the western United States in the early 1950's. My dad was an avid O scale modeler and our family spent many months in those years traveling out west to see the different railroads when railroading was "king".

The turntable and 24 stall  Roundhouse is in a space 50"50" which is an ideal size for N scale. Two Mainline tracks run around the Roundhouse in the turnaround with radii of 23 inches which equates to 46 inches in HO scale. The radii on the rest of the layout are 28-30 inches in N scale.

I've been told by many of my railroad friends out west that the Turntable/Switching Yard reminds them of the Barstow Yard in California which I saw a s a kid. Now its nice to know that it also resembles the Altoona Yard.

I've spent many hours detailing many of my steam locomotives. They require continual maintenance and I rotate them in and out of service in three month periods. I still can do the maintenance work on them at the tender age of 76.

In the last year or so I've added some modern diesels just to see how they perform on my layout. I also have purchased quite a few PRR steamers and diesels recently as they remind me of my time in HO scale when I lived in Massachusetts.(40 years). Also lived in Jupiter Florida for sixteen years (1994-2009) when I switched to N scale as there are no basements in that part of Florida.

BTW, this layout was built in a room that I designed just for trains when I built my home in Frisco Texas. There are no basements here in Texas.

Stay cool and run steam........

[Powersteamguy1790]

The Industrial Park In The Turnaround Area East Of San Marino With The San Marino Freight Yard In The Background   







Stay cool and run steam.........

[PRR Modeler]

Great pictures.