Daley Train Log
Page 8
Another good session. I have been playing with the layout and locomotives for almost two hours. The entire mainline track has now been cleaned. I had a little trouble with one turnout - the locomotive (CN 6700) was stopping on it when going in one direction but not the other. I noticed that it seemed to be a little higher at the two ends than in the middle. I tried putting a thin shim under the track and that solved the problem - at least for the moment.
The test run with just CN 6700 worked just fine. I have also had a successful run with CN 6700 and 6708 lashed together.
I then decided to dust off the three cars (501417, 210048 & 78213) and clean the wheels with rubbing alcohol. The caboose's wheels were particularly dirty. I then updated my Filemaker Pro database where I keep a record of every maintenance activity for each car and locomotive. The last time I had carried out maintenance on the caboose was 2006.08.11. Perhaps more interesting, in two days time I will have had that car exactly 20 years.
I have one more goal in mind for today: to run a train around the complete mainline. The route will be Coaldale - Queenston - 2 times (Prairie Dog - The Channon - Pine Ridge) [this is a loop that can be repeated any number of times] - Black Diamond reversing loop - Pine Ridge - The Channon - Prairie Dog - Queenston - Coaldale. This will be a good test of the track. If I have no problems I can then think about operations involving various sidings and spur lines.
2:30 PM
I have completed running a train of 4 cars on the mainline route. Overall, this worked fairly well. I did have two minor problems. The B-unit (CN 6708) front wheels derailed in front of the Queenston station and again while on the Black Diamond reversing loop. In both cases I was able to realign the wheels and the train continued on. I am not sure for the reason in either case but will be keeping an eye on both the car as well as the particular location to see if I can notice a pattern.
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entering Queenston |
in Queenston |
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passing Prairie Dog |
passing spur to The Channon |
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mainline entering Black Diamond reversing loop |
on the reversing loop |
I think it is fair to say that my DCC system is working just fine. I am delighted and excited. It really feels like I am running a train.
Total time on this activity today: 3 hours.