With such a huge project, naturally we had to think of ways to ensure that everything worked before being used. You can't lump together several hundred meters of wire and just assume it works.....

...I'm a three man!

 

Numbers are important as I once witnessed at a boating lake “Come in number 9 your time is up”. “Oops we only have 6 boats”. “Number 6 you have capsized.”

The McKinley Railway is primarily about how we operate trains, whether under human or computer control. From the trackplan you will see that the existing layout has three large stations and one freight-only location, with an additional 12-track central staging yard outside the main layout room.

These locations are all connected by two independent double track main lines which weave their way around the layout through visible and hidden sections.

The Red/Green Mainline 'weaves' it's way towards McKinley Road Station

Gauge	OO (1:76)
Size
> Original Layout	25’ x 20’
> Extension	25’ x 18’
Period	British Rail 1956-1975
Prototype (loosely)
> Original Layout	From London to Manchester via Birmingham
> Extension	From Birmingham to Halifax via Sheffield & Wakefield
Track	Peco Code 100
Locomotives	RTR
Rolling Stock	RTR
Power & Control	DCC - Digitrax, Signatrak, TrainController
No. of Operators	1-18

One of my jobs as the weather man is to crew the trains. I call these crew  “the little people”  one because a I am a little person myself topping the measuring stick at five foot three and three quarters of an inch ( I have no idea what that is in grams and amps as I am not familiar with the metric system). The second reason is in some of the locos I try to create little scenarios and I even give the crew names. Let one thing be clear I have never claimed any hold on sanity. Insanity does not run through my family but it does meander through.

If the tender drawbar is above the line of the main driving axles there will be a tendency for the loco to try and lift its nose whilst running. If the drawbar is below the driving axles, the loco will try and lift its rear end. Establishing this configuration shows where the ideal place is to add extra weight to the locomotive.

Balancing the locomotive during weighting means that the chances of damaging the motor are reduced.

The final test of weighting and balancing is to attach a loco to a secured point and increase the throttle to a third. If the loco doesn't have wheel slip this indicates that too much weight has been added and there is thus a danger the motor could burn out.

Your brand new steam loco has arrived. You’ll be excited by the livery that you have been waiting months to see in the flesh. You may even be impressed by the detail. You are one happy bunny.

But alas dear reader, you will always be disappointed by the plastic lumps in the tender that are supposed to represent coal. It never looks right.

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