From the Throttle - Bruce Lee
I hope it has been a productive summer for all of you as it has been
for me. While the newsletter staff has taken the summer off, much work has
been accomplished on our quarters in the Rec. Center.
The south half of the room has been completely finished; from suspended
ceilings and painted walls to cleaned, scraped and sealed floors.
Now our efforts move to finishing the north end before our annual show
on the 10th and 11th of October. Since much work has already been accomplished,
we should have time to get the ceiling hung and the walls painted before
the meet; but to do so it will require all of us donating our time to accomplish
this.
Please support these efforts by your attendance to our scheduled Thursday
meetings (7:00 P.M.) and special work sessions on Saturdays.
President's Soapbox - Leo Harker
It seems like such a long time now but I finally made it back. I took a couple of Thursdays off to
make my annual expedition into the Canadian Wilderness. Besides enjoying
some fishing, I was able to take a most unusual trip by train to a remote
area accessible only by train, air, or ship. A complete report will require
a full page article which I (hopefully) will have ready for the next newsletter.
The progress made, during my absence, on the ceiling in the layout room was astounding. All
grid-work completed in the south end, tiles laid, lighting installed and functional, maybe I should leave more often. Joking aside, I'm sure those faithful members who have been there in their spare time and contributed so much in the planning, organizing, material acquisition, etc., and worked through the confusion and "helpful advice from the bystanders", have wondered like some others, if we would ever see the project completed. Now that the project is this far in the
completion process, we should all be able to perceive the vision and
foresight that first came to someone's mind over a year ago.
Even though there is much work yet to be done, those who have participated
in the initial cleanup, removal of the sand and metal, floor scraping phase,
floor cleaning and repainting, finally seeing a ceiling in the room should
take a great deal of satisfaction in the progress made to date.
It should be even more satisfying to the group to know that we will be able to utilize the room for
a long period of time, unlike a previous experience.
At this time, we have sufficient space developed to assemble an operating layout using several of
our modules and have a first public showing during the Fall Show coming October 10th.
After the show, The Club should begin scheduling regular events with the various community
organizations to build a niche in the Community where we can fulfill
our commitment to promoting Local Railroad History and involvement in the
hobby as stated in our By-laws.
M-O-W - Alan Udy
Improving Smoke Units
WD-40 in a spray can will dissolve solids in a smoke chamber. Just stick
the WD-40 spray tube down the smoke stack into the chamber and give it a
very quick shot! Never shoot it onto a hot surface, do it with power off,
let it soak a minute or so, then power it up. When you do this, you can
smell the kerosene in the WD-40 burn off. Those of you who use smoke pellets
(some post-war Lionel models) remove the pellet first. Those of you that
use the headlight for the heating element, remember that glass shatters
when exposed to hot (filament) on one side and cold (the evaporating spray)
on the other.
Use a piece of nichrome wire about 12" long to wind a replacement
heating element for American Flyer (other makes use different lengths).
When winding nichrome wire around a piece of wicking material (a fiberglass
material, use the precaution to use gloves), wind it around a small finishing
nail and the wick to give a nice uniform loop. If you wind it too tight,
you will not be able to pull the nail out. If you wind it too loose, it
won't fit in the smoke chamber. Make the coil about 3/4" long with
about 3" on each end and check the resistance. If you don't get enough
length in your element, the wire will quickly burn out. If there is too
much resistance, there won't be enough heat to volatize the smoke fluid.
Just right and you've got a good steamer.
Cleaning Solvents:
Plain old lighter fluid (fairly cheap) for cleaning the old gook and
debris out of your gearboxes. It is flammable, but evaporates quickly. As
with most things, I know nothing about its carcinogenic character. Use the
precaution of using it outside. You can return momentarily after the solvent
is evaporated.
WD-40 is works well for some degreasing work. Spray it on metal steam
engine bodies and brush it into cracks and corners with a 2" natural
bristle paint brush (it does funny things to synthetic bristles). This cleans
the metal paint and leaves a sheen. WD-40 reportedly was originally developed
as a corrosion inhibitor for metals and is kerosene based. It is prohibited
from use in safety grade circuit breakers in nuclear power plants because
it has no lasting lubricating properties.
In fact, it was found to cause the binding of these intricate mechanisms.
It is good for metal surface treatment and cleaning, but keep it away from
plastics. After using WD-40 (or other degreaser) allow complete evaporation,
and then lubricate the gears and bearing surfaces with the appropriate compatible
oils and greases.
Chemical solvents found at hardware and even grocery stores, such as
tetrachloroethylene, may work fine (always test it on any plastics before
use). Remember, most solvents have some toxicity. All chemicals have a dose
response range within which you can safely use them, but remember, if your
house is of tight construction, you and your family will be breathing it
for a long time. Federal regulations require manufacturers to list all possible
hazards in their labels. Most products have warning labels. In order to
manage the risk when using these types of chemicals, you must understand
the risks and take precautions.
Toxicity of a chemical is its ability to kill cells. Besides toxicity,
other risks associated with using solvents. The product label mentions "cancer-causing"
and "birth defects." These terms refer to totally different properties
of a chemical. Cancer causing refers to carcinogenic properties or the ability
to transform cells, initiating cancer.
Birth defects refers to the ability of a chemical to cause mutations.
Other effects, such as toxicity, are immediate or very short term, whereas
the effects of carcinogenity and mutagenity may take many years to become
apparent.
Do you have to worry about all potential hazards? Not if used properly.
Common sense helps. Take the precaution to use outside if there is any doubt.
Minimize the contact of solvents with your skin or lungs. When you breathe
air containing solvent vapors, they pass through the membranes in your lungs
and enter the bloodstream easily and are circulated around the body. Further,
the solvents, if in your bloodstream, can pass through to the brain tissues.
Use outside! A garage with an open door and floor fan operating to circulate
the air may be an acceptable alternative, be sure not to use the garage
door to the house for some time after use. Use a small volume of the solvent
in a small glass (baby food) jar and only remove the lid when actually using
the solvent. Leaving the lid loosely covering the top of the jar minimizes
entry of the solvent's vapor into the air. Be sure to tighten the lid when
finished. Use tools such as old tooth brushes when applying the solvent
to the work to minimize exposure to your skin. Always store solvents so
that children not get at them!).
Along the Right-of-Way - Bruce Lee
There has been an ongoing project taking place among many of our members
- the design of our permanent layout. Many of you have contributed designs,
ideas, concepts and constructive criticisms.
The consensus seems to be that the layout should have the following features
and/or design elements (not listed in any order of priority or importance):
* HO Scale, standard gauge
* A long running main line which offers point to point operation with
the option for continuous running for shows.
* The area to be modeled is to be from Idaho Falls northward including
all the old OSL trackage between Butte and Idaho Falls (Note that OSL's
ownership of trackage ended in Silver Bow, MT.)
* Depict many of the branch lines and connecting Railroads along the
OSL right-of-way, specifically the Yellowstone Branch, Gilmore & Pittsburgh
with its unique switchback operation, and the Teton Valley Branch.
* Minimum radius for the main line of 30" and 27" on the branch.
* Where possible, minimum aisle width of 42" but in no case less
than 30".
* Staging tracks as necessary to facilitate prototypical operations
* Ideally, no duck unders
* Allow for a possible second entrance to the layout room in the current
location of one of the windows along the western wall.
* Use trackage plans from the steam era but do not limit operations to
any particular time or era (trackage which has been abandoned in the diesel
age need not be used for modern operating sessions)
These are the main points as I remember them and as you can see it is
no easy task to fulfill all of the above requirements.
As a local group of railroad enthusiasts, we are lucky to have a true
railroad historian living here in Idaho Falls, Thornton Waite. He has graciously
loaned many engineering blueprints of the various locations along the OSL
system for our usage in creating as historically accurate a track plan as
we can do. The ultimate end result of all our labors will be of a much higher
quality because of his donation of this information.
In addition, Thornton has made available his archive of photographs showing
many of the structures, locomotives, rolling stock and track layouts from
the days of steam.
An example of the information available is shown here. (Big picture so
scroll around)
The picture shows an active engine facility with many of the details
that will be essential to model this local land mark.
I encourage each of you to do the research today that will make our layout
qualify to belong to an Historical Society.
For those of you who have not yet put pencil to paper with your layout
ideas, we have blank floor plans of the Rec. Center available for you to
sketch you own railroad empire.
It is my hope that we will have completed the design process before our
annual show so we can have a copy of our plans on display.
Webmasters note: More information can be found by going to the Idaho Historic Railroads
webpage.
Starting on July 3, 1998 Idaho has a new excursion train. It's called
the Thunder Mountain Line and is offering service from Cascade to Smiths
Ferry over seventeen miles in the picturesque Payette River canyon.
The initial consist included an Idaho Northern & Pacific GP40 #4506
and two 1940 era ex-Santa Fe 44 seat passenger coaches, the New Georgia
#1502 and the Miami #2937.
This route has been rated as on of the top ten scenic routes in the U.S.
and though it is only a portion of the 99 mile line running from Emmett,
Idaho, if offers the rider an unique view of pristine river canyon land
not accessible by automobile. Passengers are treated to scenic spectacles
that include the historic Rainbow Bridge, the worlds shortest railroad tunnel
(carved through solid granite), wildlife and a diverse range of topography
that transitions from the broad meadows of Long Valley, through the narrow
defile of the Payette River canyon to the eddies of Smiths Ferry. Much of
the route is virtually unchanged from the time the line was built in the
early part of the century.
The line has been in operation with three excursions on Saturdays and
Sundays at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. through Labor Day weekend.
The schedule for fall and winter operations will be announced at a later
date as will the schedule for the annual Santa Train.
Ticket prices for adults are $22; for seniors 60 and over, $20; and for
children 4-12, $12. Children under four ride free as long as they sit on
an adults lap or share a seat.
For more information or reservations you can call 1-877-IDA-RAIL (432-7245)
Associated with this new excursion line is a new publication - Idaho
Rails. Idaho Rails is the official newsletter of Idaho Historical
Railroads who operates the Thunder Mountain Line.
I picked up my copy at our local hobby store here in Idaho Falls, Idaho,
Hobbies & More and the last time I looked, the proprieter, Ron Hatch,
still had some copies left of this free newsletter.
In this first issue are many articles about railroading in Idaho including
an article by Thornton Waite on Eastern Idaho Railroad.
For more information on Idaho Rails, they can be contacted at:
Idaho Rails, P.O. Box 98, 2981 Cutler Road, Cambridge, ID 83610
phone 208-257-3533 fax 208-257-3635 e-mail: ddopf@cyberhighway.net
Timetable
September 3 - Business Meeting
September 10 - Room Preparation
September 17 - Room Preparation
September 24 - Room Preparation
October 1 - Business Meeting
October 8 - Annual Meet Preparation
October 10 & 11 - Annual Meet (more information in the October Eagle Tracks)