PORT ELIZABETH MODEL RAILROAD CLUB Newsletter
September 2020
#9/2020
In this issue: PEMRC Calendar Clubhouse Märklin BR44, CS3 and Mfx+ Your story² Tynebridge Salt Lake Route Layout #2 Glenbrook Vintage Railway NZ The Strongest Locomotive Tender Corridor, Water Trough Signalman Jack Tailpiece(s) Committee
Wearing masks is not new!
#34027 Tye Valley SR West Country Class Pacific on the Severn Valley Railway leaving Bewdley with its impressive south signal box semaphore ©George Trub
PEMRC CALENDAR Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Public running Society day Londt Park, Sunridge Park
10:00 to 13:00
1st Sunday monthly
Limited gettogether
Booking essential contact host 6 Corrice Road Charlo juanpierrekruger@gmail.com
09:30 11:00
J-P Kruger 082 321 2233
Limited gettogether
Booking essential contact host 13 Lionel Road Walmer Downs
09:30 11:00
Mike 073 374 3280
Port Elizabeth Model Locomotive Public running Society day Londt Park, Sunridge Park
10:00 to 13:00
1st Sunday monthly
Limited gettogether
Booking essential contact host 6 Corrice Road Charlo juanpierrekruger@gmail.com
10:00 11:00
J-P Kruger 082 321 2233
Limited gettogether
Booking essential contact host 13 Lionel Road Walmer Downs
09:30 11:00
Mike 073 374 3280
Sun 6
Sep 2020
Sat 12
Sep 2020
Sat 26
Sep 2020
Sun 4
Oct 2020
Sat 10
Oct 2020
Sat 24
Oct 2020
Wed 2
Dec 2020
9-11
July 2021
National Train Show Santa Clara California, USA
29-30
Oct 2021
Eurospoor 2021 Event & Exhibition Centre Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Netherlands http://www.eurospoor.nl/
14-21
Aug 2022
NMRA National Convention 2022 Birmingham, UK https://www.nmra2022uk.org/
International Day of the Model Railway PEMRC event on Saturday 5 Dec. 2020
APPEAL:
1. My Story - How did you get into the model rail hobby?" 2. Send us pictures of your lock-down project(s) Please send your contribution regardless of grammar/spelling, long/short to: pemrailroadclub@gmail.com
CLUB HOUSE You may have wondered why here has been no news on this project for some time now. The plans and documentation have been ready for a while. Regrettably, the Municipal planning offices are not yet open for business so the plans cannot be submitted. Further, we all owe J-P a major vote of thanks for working with the professionals involved and getting the work done at no financial cost to the Club so far. However, J-P is doing work for the architects and engineer involved at no charge to return the favour. We really do owe J-P a huge vote of thanks. Without his efforts there would be no Club house.
EXTREME DETAIL
Märklin’s BR44 (HO model 39881) Steam Locomotive (Era III) with Märklin Decoder (Mfx+) boasts a lot of detail in the cabin including a flickering fire in the firebox. The flickering in the ash pan and the firebox can be individually controlled as well as the interior light of the cabin plus many other sound effects. High-efficiency propulsion with a flywheel, mounted in the boiler. In 2004, a new digital system by the name of “mfx” was introduced by Märklin. It was a completely new system with new characteristics: As with DCC, the decoders can also be programmed under mfx without having to open the locomotive. The settings in the decoders are done using so-called CVs (Control Variables). The most important new thing about mfx is automatic registration in the style of Plug & Play: When a locomotive with an mfx decoder is placed on the track, it registers itself on the CS3 (Central Station – Digital Controller) with an unambiguous ID. Note: The locomotive address on mfx is no longer necessary and thereby no longer needs to be changed or adjusted. mfx is the current system at Märklin and is used for all gauges (H0, 1, G) and for all track systems.
In 2013, Märklin expanded the existing basic mfx protocol by adding more application options: The “mfx+” format was born. It allows you to run and control locomotives in the “World of Operation Mode”. This means it is possible to operate a locomotive equipped with an mfx+ decoder not only with the usual locomotive controller but also to change in the CS3 into the cab mode and thus operate the locomotive using the fixtures that are usual in the prototype. Meanwhile, the cab for each locomotive can be turned on in the CS3.
Basically, an mfx+ decoder behaves like an mfx decoder. However, the user can also select among three modes with mfx+: “Without Consumption“, “With Consumption“, and “Refuelling at Maintenance Facility“, which provides additional realistic operating fun.
Mike Smout: “I have always enjoyed making and fixing things. As a youngster, I did all the home maintenance whether it was putting a new element into the kettle or repairing a broken chair. As a 12 year old, my father paid for me to attend Saturday morning sessions learning how to do woodwork at the Natal Technikon. I really enjoyed the course and learned much about how to use a range of tools and look after them. I built myself a desk which incorporated a turntable and Hi-Fi system and was always happy building small scale models. It started with Meccano and moved onto model planes using balsa and tissue paper. At the age of 14 I returned from a trip to the UK with a Hornby Dublo ‘train set’. It was set up on a board in my bedroom but never got very far. In my mid-teens I was more interested in girls and the surf. Fifty years later I retired for the first time to PE. At that stage I was working from home as an independent consultant and for the first time in many years had some spare time in which to pursue a hobby. One day (I think in 2003) I was walking round the Greenacres shopping centre and came across a group of men with a modular layout in an empty shop. A big friendly guy showed me round and explained the basics of DCC – something completely new to me. From that moment on I knew what I wanted to do but I had nowhere to do it. I lived in a two storey townhouse and the small third bedroom was my office. My garage had a low concrete roof and I just could not find space. However, in 2005 Anne and I moved into our present home and I worked out that I could build a model railway landscape on a 2m x 4m frame which would be hoisted above the car and lowered onto trestles when I wanted to run trains. I then made contact with Ray Green and joined the PEMRC and the rest as they say is history. I have much enjoyed the companionship of members and all the help I have received on a steep learning curve. I also met up again with the big friendly guy and now know him as Albert Brown.” In the March 2013 issue of Ralway Modeller, UK, Mike and his Tyne bridge layout were featured as well as in our local P E Express article on 3 April 2013 to invite the public to the Open Day at the PEMRC Convention.
LOS ANGELES to SALT LAKE Route – from the January 2010 issue of Continued from last month. Model Railroader staff elected to use KATO Unitrack with its built-in super ballast and elevated curves:
Kato Unitrack power feeders; use plug-in sections on the straight tracks, while the joiner type worked better for the curves.
Wire modifications. Kato turnouts use control wires with a plug at one end; remove these plugs to slip the wires through holes drilled in the plywood sub roadbed. The turnouts operate manually. A solid bond; five-minute epoxy was used to cement the miniature plug to the Unitrack. This prevents the plug from falling out when the feeder wires are pulled through the holes drilled in the layout surface.
Oh, that’s what it’s for. The blue plastic tool included with Kato Unitrack is for removing the track cliprail joiner. The tool levers the clipjoiner out of its socket. The KATO track is still placed on a cork bed to absorb some sound which otherwise would be amplified by the baseboard. Hidden holes. From above, it appears the Kato Unitrack doesn’t have holes for track nails. Underneath the track are hollow tubes that are opened with a no. 60 bit. The track is nailed down using these holes and at rail joints a bit of liquiid nail is also used sparingly. Testing the track plan. Before fixing the track, Dick laid out the Kato Unitrack on the Caliente yard side of the layout. He positioned the track as far away from the backdrop as possible to make room for the enginehouse and furniture factory.
Spacing guide. Dick used a notecard to maintain proper track spacing on the layout. The red marks of the main line match up with the super elevated double track from the Unitrack V11 set.
Floquil’s track weathering markers were used to tone down the shining track.
A BNSF Railway detour train passes under the Nevada state highway 317 bridge in Caliente, Nevada.
To be continued.
GLENBROOK VINTAGE RAILWAY From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia The Glenbrook Vintage Railway (GVR) is a heritage steam railway in Glenbrook, New Zealand. The GVR is run by a trust board of three trustees elected and appointed from Railway Enthusiasts Society (RES) membership. The board appoints a general manager who is responsible for day-to-day operation. The 7.4 km (4.6 mi) long railway carries up to 30,000 passengers during the normal operating season, which is from October to June, and is also available for charter throughout the year. The railway is staffed and maintained by volunteers and RES membership provides automatic access to all activities as a volunteer. Special Events are often held, such as "Day out with Thomas" weekends, Rail fan Days (with display freight trains and other unique consists), Country and Western days and night steam runs. J 1211 "Gloria" was purchased by Ian Welch, Russell Gibbard and Reid McNaught in 1972 for use with Steam Incorporated, and later was bought outright by Ian Welch. After use on the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway in 1985, 1211 was moved to the Glenbrook Vintage Railway for an overhaul to mainline running. It was first used on mainline excursions during the Rail 125 event in 1988, where it debuted in imitation of the original streamlining the class wore. Becoming the first operational locomotive of Mainline Steam, the locomotive saw use in both Islands hauling excursions. It was converted to oil firing in 1996 in the same manner as the JB class, with the oil bunker being re-instated in the North British JA tender this locomotive has been preserved with. The locomotive is named "Gloria" after owner Ian Welch's wife. It underwent a boiler overhaul 2013 to 2018 and returned to service in December 2018. J 1211 is currently based at the Glenbrook Vintage Railway. It is unique in the whole world that a railway line (not a siding) crosses the runway of an airfield. This is (or was) the case in Gisborne in New Zealand. Today (since 2012) the route is unfortunately closed due to storm damage. The 4-8-2 J # 1211 "Gloria" of the Mainline Steam Heritage Trust crosses the runway with a special train to Napier.
Once, The World’s Strongest Steam Locomotive.
NW #2156 (2-8-8-2) June 2020 at Johnsonville IN ŠRobby Cragg. Norfolk & Western 2156 is a four-cylinder compound articulated (Mallet) steam locomotive with a 2-8-8-2 (Whyte notation) wheel arrangement. The Norfolk & Western Railway built it in 1942 at its Roanoke Shops in Roanoke, Virginia as a member of the Norfolk & Western's Y6a class. It is the strongest-pulling extant steam locomotive in the world, although it is not operational. It was retired from regular rail service in July 1959, and is now owned by the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. Norfolk & Western Y6a No. 2156 is at left in this May 2015 view of the reunion of N&W's Y, J, and A classes in Roanoke, Va.
Norfolk & Western 2156 is the sole survivor of the railroad's Y5, Y6, Y6a, and Y6b classes (referred to as the "Improved Y5/Y6 class"). These locomotives developed 152,206 lbs of tractive effort when built, with later modifications bringing them closer to 170,000 lbs. Left: NW #1218 Type A 2-6-6-4; Right #2156 2-8-8-2
By comparison, the Union Pacific Big Boy locomotives developed 135,375 pounds-force (602.2 kN) of tractive effort.
N&W 2156 is also one of the Y6a's that received a new firebox with an extended combustion chamber of the type used on the Y6b class, which increased drawbar horsepower from 4400 hp (3.3 MW) at 20 mph (32 km/h) to 5600 hp (4.2 MW) at 25 mph (40 km/h). The only successful steam locomotives that developed somewhat more tractive effort, the Virginian AE class 2-10-10-2s, pulled trains at about 8 mph (13 km/h), while the N&W Y6's regularly pulled trains 50 mph (80 km/h), and some anecdotal evidence exists that they pulled trains up to 63 mph (101 km/h).
The Norfolk and Western Railway 2300 (nicknamed "Jawn Henry") was a single experimental steam turbine locomotive of the Norfolk and Western Railway. The N&W placed it in class TE.
The Virginian XA 2-8-8-8-4 Triplex #700 Ordered in 1916, she was unable to produce enough steam, had constant wheel slips and could only reach 5 mph. In 1920 XA 700 was returned to the Baldwin Locomotive Works. She was cut into a 2-8-8-0 and a 2-8-2 both which lasted till 1953. https://ifunny.co/user/iTrain Most Pulling Force (Non-Articulated) Road
Class
Wheel Arrangement
Number Built
Year Built
Tractive Effort (lbs)
AT&SF
Madam Queen
2-10-4
1 + 35
1930, 1938
113,087
B&LE
H1A-G
2-10-4
47
1929
102,106
Left: Madam Queen SF 5000 Below: Bessemer & Lake Erie H1A-G
Most Pulling Force (Articulated) Road
Class
Wheel Arrangement
Number Built
Year Built
Tractive Effort (lbs)
N&W
Jawn Henry
C+C+C+C
1
1954
180,000
Virginian
X-A
2-8-8-8-4
1
1916
166,300 (compound) 199,560 (simple)
The Norfolk & Western “Jawn Henry� steam turbine #2300
Read the full article here: https://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/largest.php What is Tractive Force? As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tractive effort is often used synonymously with tractive force to describe the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. In automotive engineering, the terms are distinctive: tractive effort is generally higher than tractive force by the amount of rolling resistance present, and both terms are higher than the amount of drawbar pull by the total resistance present (including air resistance and grade). The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical - that is, calculated from known or
implied mechanical properties - or obtained via testing under controlled conditions. The discussion herein covers the term’s usage in mechanical applications in which the final stage of the power transmission system is one or more wheels in frictional contact with a roadway or railroad track. Defining tractive effort The term tractive effort is often qualified as starting tractive effort, continuous tractive effort and maximum tractive effort. These terms apply to different operating conditions, but are related by common mechanical factors: Input torque to the driving wheels – the wheel diameter – coefficient of friction (μ) between the driving wheels and supporting surface and – the weight applied to the driving wheels (m). The product of μ and m is the factor of adhesion, which determines the maximum torque that can be applied before the onset of wheel spin or wheel slip. Rail vehicles In order to start a train and accelerate it to a given speed, the locomotive(s) must develop sufficient tractive force to overcome the train’s drag (resistance to motion), which is a combination of inertia, axle bearing friction, the friction of the wheels on the rails (which is substantially greater on curved track than on tangent track), and the force of gravity if on a grade. Once in motion, the train will develop additional drag as it accelerates due to aerodynamic forces, which increase with the square of the speed. Drag may also be produced at speed due to truck (bogie) hunting, which will increase the rolling friction between wheels and rails. If acceleration continues, the train will eventually attain a speed at which the available tractive force of the locomotive(s) will exactly offset the total drag, causing acceleration to cease. This top speed will be increased on a downgrade due to gravity assisting the motive power, and will be decreased on an upgrade due to gravity opposing the motive power. Tractive effort can be theoretically calculated from a locomotive’s mechanical characteristics (e.g., steam pressure, weight, etc.), or by actual testing with drawbar strain sensors and a dynamometer car. Power at rail is a railway term for the available power for traction, that is, the power that is available to propel the train. Steam locomotives An estimate for the tractive effort of a single cylinder steam locomotive can be obtained from the cylinder pressure, cylinder bore, stroke of the piston and the diameter of the wheel. The torque developed by the linear motion of the piston depends on the angle that the driving rod makes with the tangent of the radius on the driving wheel. For a more useful value an average value over the rotation of the wheel is used. The driving force is the torque divided by the wheel radius. As an approximation, the following formula can be used (for a two-cylinder locomotive) as shown here. T = 85 x d2 x s x p 100 x w The constant 0.85 was the Association of American Railroads (AAR) standard for such calculations, and overestimated the efficiency of some locomotives and underestimated that of others. Modern locomotives with roller bearings were probably underestimated. European designers used a constant of 0.6 instead of 0.85, so the two cannot be compared without a conversion factor. In Britain main-line railways generally used a constant of 0.85 but builders of industrial locomotives often used a lower figure, typically 0.75. The constant c also depends on the cylinder dimensions and the time at which the steam inlet valves are open; if the steam inlet valves are closed immediately after obtaining full cylinder pressure the piston force can be expected to have dropped to less than half the initial force, giving a low c value. If the cylinder valves are left open for longer the value of c will rise nearer to one. Source: https://www.fxsolver.com/browse/formulas/Tractive+Force+-+Steam+locomotives
CORRIDOR TENDERS
For the introduction of the non-stop Flying Scotsman service on 1 May 1928, ten special corridor tenders were built with a coal capacity of 9 tons instead of the usual 8; means were also given to access the locomotive from the train through a narrow passageway inside the tender tank plus a flexible bellows connection linking it with the leading coach. The passageway, which ran along the right-hand side of the tender, was 5 feet (1.52 m) high and 18 inches (0.46 m) wide. Further corridor tenders were built at intervals until 1938, and eventually there were 22; at various times, they were coupled to engines of classes A1, A3, A4 and W1, but by the end of 1948, all were running with class A4 locomotives. The Lord Mayor of London with Nigel Gresley, driver Pibworth and William Teasdale on the footplate of 4472 Flying Scotsman before the first non-stop run to Edinburgh on 1 May 1928.
WATER TROUGH In 1857, Ramsbottom became locomotive superintendent of the Northern Division, based at Crewe, taking over from Francis Trevithick. He is credited with designing and introducing the first water troughs to be used by locomotives to pick up water at speed.
TAIL PIECE This publication boasts about the following British “Firsts”:
WITHOUT GOOGLE, HOW MANY OF THESE DID YOU KNOW AND CAN NAME THE YEAR? The Oxford Companion to British Railway History states that the world’s first public railway, as opposed to just a railway – one which could be used by anyone on payment of the appropriate tolls – was the Surrey Iron Railway. It was a horse-drawn concern established in 1801 running from a wharf on the Thames along the River Wandle for 8 miles to Croydon since 1804. The Lake Lock Railroad Company believes they have the title to being first. It was built from the start to allow many independent users to haul wagons along it, as opposed to just one owner, thus making it a public railway. The first section of the line was opened in 1798 also still horse drawn.
The first locomotive was by Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick built in 1804 The first railway fatality on a railway was reported on in the January 2020 edition of our Newsletter. Who was he and when did it happen?
It’s before sunrise on April 12, 1863, at the Atlanta Car Shed, and Western & Atlantic 4-4-0 locomotive The General is steaming up for its 4 a.m. run to Chattanooga, Tenn. While the crew eats breakfast at the Lacy Hotel, about 20 Union soldiers disguised as civilians will commandeer the train, leading to the events known as “The Great Locomotive Chase.” Thom Radice recreated the scene on his HO scale W&A layout. Computer desktop wallpaper from the Model Railroader August 2020 issue
1000 issues for MRR but only 17 for me since July 2019! Roel
Confucius: “Look for helping hand at end of own arm.” SAR Class GF 4-6-2 + 2-6-4 Garratt Locomotive
COMMITTEE 2020: Chairman: Treasurer: Clubhouse: Layouts: Librarian: Editor: Workshops:
Roel van Oudheusden Attie Terblanche Mike Smout JP Kruger Carel van Loggerenberg Roel van Oudheusden Graham Chapman Mike van Zyl Mike Smith
roelvanoza@gmail.com terblalc@telkomsa.net ma.smout@mweb.co.za juanpierrekruger@gmail.com annie3@telkomsa.net pemrailroadclub@gmail.com chapman22@telkomsa.net carpencab@gmail.com ‘Shop’: mwsmi5@iafrica.com WhatsApp: 078 069 7699 Subscriptions for 2020 are R300 for the year. EFT is preferred, but the Treasurer may be persuaded to accept cash. Bank account: Port Elizabeth Model Railroad Club FNB Walmer Park, branch code 211417, Account no. 623 861 2205