Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - Herb Kelsey

Pages: [1] 2
1
Museum Discussion / Re: Will the SR&RL #6 briefly run on the WW&F?
« on: July 15, 2013, 01:30:15 AM »
And while you're making magnets, why not a Kennebec Central version as well?  That would be something few have seen!

2
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: OK, Guys, Another Question
« on: June 29, 2013, 10:30:37 PM »
Right Mike.  The bold print is PM, normal print is AM.  Since they are labeled AM and PM I should have made them all the same.   :o

3
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: OK, Guys, Another Question
« on: June 29, 2013, 03:41:53 PM »
I agree that you are right regarding the "Dutch drop" being done after the passengers were unloaded.  Should have realized that one.  But I beg to differ on the Train three becoming Train 4.  What happened to the locomotive and cars of train No. 1?  That's the 10:10 AM Train 4, IMHO.

Train No. 2 runs from Bridgton to Harrison, turns and becomes No. 1.

No. 1 runs from Harrison to the Jct., turns and becomes No. 4.

No. 4 runs from the Jct. to Harrison, turns and becomes No. 5.

No. 5 runs from Harrison to Bridgton and ties up.

No. 3 runs from Harrison to the Jct., turns and becomes No. 6.

No. 6 runs from the Jct. to Harrison, turns and becomes No. 7.

No. 7 runs from Harrison to the Jct., turns and becomes No. 8.

No. 8 run from the Jct. to Harrison and ties up.

That's the only way the times work out for crews.  Other wise you have one crew only working four hours and another crew working well over 16, unless you assume a third train out on the line.  Remember there were only four engines on the road at that time and with necessary repairs that would strain the motive power week in and week out.

This schedule allows the north end freight activities arround Bridgton to be handled by a locomotive out of the Bridgton shops  or by the crew coming in off of No. 5, since they've only worked about 8 hours at that time.  The Jct. switching and sawmill switching on the south end would be handled by Train 1's crew and then by Train 3's crew during their dead time between trains, with tidying up being done by the crew of Nos. 7 and 8.

But it still leaves the question of what was done during that 15 minute overlap?.

4
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / OK, Guys, Another Question
« on: June 29, 2013, 02:30:48 AM »
Recall that Bridgton Jct had no siding.  No runaround track.  Trains into the Jct stopped on the hill, the engine would duck in out of the way, the train would be coasted down the hill using handbrakes, the engine connected to the opposite end and the train pushed into the depot on the end of the single track main.

My question comes from the scheduling of Trains 3 and 4 at the Jct.  Train 3 arrives at the Jct. at 9:55 AM.  Train 4 leaves the Jct. at 10:10 AM.  So, just what does Train 3 do for the fifteen minute overlap?  Do the passengers just cool their heels until No. 4 leaves and No. 3 can do the gravity dance to get them to the station?

Timetable attached:

5
LOL!

6
Glenn, thanks for the response.  That is about what I figured.  As the Junction is merely a stop on the MEC, it's times would dictate the actions of the B&SR.

As for being able to run the B&SR on the computer, you would need a legal copy of MicroSoft Train Simulator (MSTS) which, despite it's age, is still available at WalMart or on Amazon.com.  If you do get it and load it don't be turned off by the 2001 routes and trains which are horrible.  We'll be using all aftermarket third party stuff.  As of this writing, the Monson is in Beta Testing, the B&SR is close to Beta and the track has been laid for the SR&RL.  All of these routes are being done by Christian Schroeder in Germany and all are and will be freeware.

A good resource for what's going on in the sim and for downloads of 2-foot gauge equipment is the Elvas Tower website (www.elvastower.com).

And Richard, to each his own as the farmer said when he kissed the cow.  ::)  I have run to and from the west coast to Chicago both via Raton Pass and through Amarillo and love it, and am not alone.  But you will more often than not find me in Southwestern Colorado.

7
Richard asks, "...what do folks get out of this electronic model railroading?"  Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been a model railroader most of my life and modeling narrow gauge for about 53 years.  But I have an abiding interest in all things railroad from 2 foot gauge lilliputs to heavy mainline operations.  Problem is there isn't enough space, or time, or money to model everything that interests me.  And those things I have modeled had to be done in selective compression.

With the train simulator I can have any railroad I want that is available in the ether and/or I can build one myself.  I never have to clean track.  Rather than just a little diorama of, say, Bridgton or Harrison, I can have the entire B&SR, mile for mile, curve for curve.  Or, for that matter, I can and do have nearly the entire mainline of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe from Chicago to Los Angeles/Bakersfield/San Diego.  And I never have to clean track.  I also do not have to turn around and come back at the end of the room.  I can make up trains from individual cars and run them over any track available.  I can make set outs and pick ups as necessary, and I never have to clean track.  I can have all of those systems and operations without ever having to crawl underneath the benchwork to do wiring – no more holes burned in my shirts from hot solder.  As far as watching what I’m doing I can watch the train pass from trackside, I can watch the train’s movement from the front or the rear of the train and I can ride the train either in the cupola, on top of a freight car or in a passenger car’s seat or vestibule.  One thing I can do that I can’t do in a brass and plastic model environment is to run the train from the engine cab.  And I never have to clean track.  All of my engines have sound and realistic exhaust smoke and authentic sounds emanate from the cars as they roll over the line.

And did I mention that I never have to clean track?   ;D

As for realism and detail, well, you decide.

8
Thanks Glenn, that's just what I was looking for.  Man, there sure wasn't much time in those schedules for a lot of switching enroute. 

Does anyone know the timing on the MEC connections at the Junction?  I would think that making those connections would be a priority for the B&SR.  I wonder how much "pad" they had between arrival at the Jct. and the arrival/departure of the standard gauge connecting train.

Here's one of those mixed trains leaving Harrison.

9
As the B&SR route for the simulator gets closer to completion, the questions about the actual operation of the railroad begin to pop up.  So here goes:

1.  The published timetables found in books show eight passenger trains a day, four in each direction, with two originating in Bridgton and two originating in Harrison.  But the tables produced are products of May and June and I can't help but wonder if this isn't the Summer tourist schedule and not indicative of what was run during the rest of the year.  Since the railroad never seemed to have more than four engines on the property at any given time, it would seem that this breakneck schedule would severly tax the system to run year round, with two engines dedicated to the passenger operations, one or more to freight and probably at least one of the four in for a boiler wash or running gear work.  So the question is, were less trains run in the off season and does anyone have any timetables for the October to April months?

2.  What of the freights?  What was their normal operating schedule?  We know there was only one caboose and a full crew of the day (Conductor and two brakemen plus the engine crew) would require some conveyance besides a box car roof walk, so was there just one freight running at a time or??

Attached is a timeline based on the June 23, 1924 timetable and there isn't much time for switching freight if the trains were mixed.

Any Ideas? ???

10
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR Question Two
« on: February 12, 2012, 12:12:42 PM »
Thanks fellas!  I have access to Ellis' write up and will go do some study.  Thanks again.  This is a great board! :)

11
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / B&SR Question Two
« on: February 08, 2012, 08:02:04 PM »
This question concerns the vacuum brakes used on the B&SR.  Were they "automatic" vacuum brakes or the older straight version?

Why do the locos sometimes have the can (muffler?) on the ejector pipe and sometimes they don't?  Were the brakes on the engines vacuum also or were they steam rams?

OK, more than one question but that happens sometimes!  :D

12
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR Questions - Lots of Questions!
« on: February 05, 2012, 02:31:35 AM »
Glenn, that is perfect!  Exactly where my friend and I figured it would be.  Thank you very much sir!  :D

13
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR Questions - Lots of Questions!
« on: February 04, 2012, 10:37:36 PM »
Thanks, Glenn.  I'll dig into that.

Man, I'd love to get my eyes on those maps, Allen!  Is there any plan to digitize them, since I'm a long way from the WW&F?  :(

14
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR Questions - Lots of Questions!
« on: February 03, 2012, 10:00:24 PM »
OK, let's keep that one open and go for another question.

Is there a profile map for the B&SR out there anywhere?  One that shows the grades and elevations for the right of way?

15
Bridgton & Saco River Railway / Re: B&SR Questions - Lots of Questions!
« on: February 03, 2012, 07:00:48 PM »
Ah, still 3/10 of a mile or more of heavy grade after Mullins.  :)

Pages: [1] 2