The New Oakville Sub

What if I sent you a few on pass through status?

 

I'm always open to visitors...long as they're DCC...

 

Is there any other way to run a locomotive?:tb-biggrin::tb-ooh:

Contact me via PM and I will work out the run through agreement!

 

What I really want to know is how you speed matched your locos? Are they all matched up so you can mix and match at will, or are they all in set consists?

 

I picked the slowest running loco I have - an Atlas Dash 8 40-B - and matched everything to that. This needs a bit of tweaking now and again - sometimes the decoders seem to have a life of their own - but the Digitrax PR-3 and JMRI's Decoder Pro do the job nicely. I set up an old computer in the main room so I don't have to go far to get the job done.

And of course as new locos get broken in, every so often I need to reprogram them a bit.

I might note it's not a good idea to program "cold" locos - everything changes as they warm up, and that's when I do the programming.

 

Gorgous layout you have there. The SP unit as well as the other heritage units roam the system, they've all been over Tehachapi many times. The MP unit was actualy in BNSF hands for a bit and ran as a trailing unit on a BNSF train over Tehachapi once.

 

Thanks!

It looked to me like UP generally kept the heritage fleet running where the honored road ran - I know the CNW unit is frequently found on ex-CNW lines..

I think most of the units have been to the Chicago area at one time or another.

It's good to know they've all made it up and around...

 

:thumbs_up:
biggrin:

 

Jim, you know what I would like to see on your layout is a passenger train like a California Zephyr or a Super Chief:thumbs_up::thumbs_up:
but since your layout screams the year 2010, an amtrak setup would do too.

 

I've got a UP business train on the layout - shot it some weeks back - the Amtrak is the only thing left in boxes...just have too many trains! NOT!

 

Continuing our tour of The Oakville Sub we find a southbound exiting the valley:



Another southbound begins to round the mountain - the first of many:



We zoom out for a longer view:



A few minutes later a northbound exits a rare section of tangent track and enters the curve:

 

Good point. Even in DC, you can't tell how engines run together until they warm up a little.

 

We continue on our tour of The Oakville Sub:



Usually you can just pick a spot and the trains will come to you - sometimes more than one!

Here's another coming out of the Caliente horseshoe:



And a shot of the whole curve:



I call it Caliente because that's essentially where it is on the plan - but because of what's underneath I am unable to make it a good representation of the real thing.

Here's a southbound coming out of the curve:

 

My jaw drops almost every time you post something new!! It just looks spectacular!!

 

Jim, how are those new athearn 30,000 gal. ethanol tankers? I just got some and noticed the road numbers on the ends of some of the cars are slightly crooked , are yours? They seem kind of light too. How do they track in a long train? They are nice looking cars.

 

I am TRULY impressed, this is about the best I've ever seen, no doubt. I love the
cleanliness of it all. No over indulgence of buidlings to confuse or clean. Absolutely fantastic. I doubt if anyone can even come close to this.

fatalxsunrider43

 

I honestly didn't look at the ends critically. And other than one reluctant McHenry which keeps letting loose at the worst possible time, they're great. I managed to get all ten of the GATX in the latest release, and will get more if they do more numbers in the future. I'd say I'd try for the first release as well, but I don't think Ive ever seen any offered.

And thanks everyone for the kind words! Next week we'll move into the main room...

 

Main room ????? You mean to tell me that this is just a smaller portion of the entire thing, Oh my goodness !!!

fatalxsunrider43

 

His track plan for the three rooms is all the way back on page one of the thread...

Brian