Woodinville Shops

Discuss park gauge trains and large scale miniature railways having track gauges from 8" to 24" gauge and designed at scales of 2" to the foot or greater - whether modeled for personal use, or purpose built for amusement park operation or private railroading.

Moderators: Glenn Brooks, Harold_V

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Topics may include: antique park gauge train restoration, preservation, and history; building new grand scale equipment from scratch; large scale miniature railway construction, maintenance, and safe operation; fallen flags; track, gauge, and equipment standards; grand scale vendor offerings; and, compiling an on-line motive power roster.
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Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Train show is over and we had a couple of semi dry days this week, so got in a bit of winter track work, and sorted out refitting the air brakes and mechanical Oiler on the 1065.

Last summer I made a big design error on my portable bridge sections leading into the turntable area. I overlapped the rail across the joint between the two sections. Hence it was very difficult to separate and lay each bridge section back into line when I needed to move them off the driveway. So used the cutting torch to lop off the overhanging 2’ of rail on one end, and welded it back onto the short end on the backside of the bridge. This gives a clean joint for running the bridge section back into place. The two photos below show the final clean up work along the welded rail joint. Extra gang volunteer Forman Eric Lindbeck is doing the heavy lifting with the grinder.
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We also accomplished the annual boiler hydro test. Passed with flying colors. Pressurized the boiler to 200 PSI with narr a leak and no creaks, except for an errant loose fitting on the blower valve. Easily fixed.

This photo shows the back head plumbing immediately after the hydrotest.
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Plenty of valves, levers, and copper pipe to check, refit, and re attach, prior to bolting the cab back on. So far, all is well.

The last two pics display a cross head driven air pump mounted inside the steam chest, up against the saddle. The pump shaft also apparently drives an inline secondary water pump by means of an extension rod leading aft towards the drivers.

Anybody recognize this dual action pump design?? I have figured out the air pump, but the second, piston style water pump plumbing seems quite odd. Unfortunately the prior owner left me with no info on how this works, or even if it is effective.
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The water pump is held in place by the faded red painted mounting bracket bolted to the frame, just forward of the driver in the picture below. A water line leads from the tender to the rear of this pump, then loops over the top of the pump housing through the piping seen in the photo to the front of the boiler where it joins back into the main injector line.

The small 1/8” copper tubing joined to the water line is an air line of some sort. Seems like an air assisted mechanical water pump! This seems like a very weird design. Anybody know anything about this design?
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Thanks
Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Well, the 2018 Woodinville shop season is starting to get into full swing. Winter hiatus, and a 2 month ‘hardship’relocation in Hawaii now finished. So today I was finally able to get back into some ROW work on the trestle. Spring survey showed the Winter snows have finally melted out of the Pass and the spring runoff has pretty well subsided, so the mountain division has been declared pretty much open and clear for the final push. Also, as safety is a priority, The RR work rules have prohibited the extra gang from working unless the sun is shining and the crew can work in tee shirts. So,today was the first day I was able to get out on the track.

Got the western approaches to the trestle finished, and track laid across the bridge. Took 5 bags of gravel to tamp down the approach. Railbeds suck up gravel like water running through a sponge apparently.

Here’s a few more track photos. Small accomplishments make for big progress sometimes!

Western approach finished, with gravel and cement abutment in place.
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Below, View of rail laid out along the trestle.
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Looking back into the approach - forest division in arrears.
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Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
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NP317
Posts: 4557
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Northern Oregon, USA

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by NP317 »

Welcome home, Glenn!
I've missed seeing your track reports.
~RN
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by rkcarguy »

Good to see an update. I was wondering if you were coming back from Hawaii or not:)
Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Thanks Russ, glad to be back and working in the shop again.

Ryan, Haha, me to. Tried awfully hard to stay, but housing prices to expensive. More fun having a bit of room to spread out.
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by rkcarguy »

Housing is nuts in Hawaii, wouldn't get any room for our big boy toys over there without some serious cash.
Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

I found an acre with a nice house up on the north shore. But my wife wouldn’t go for the windy switchback ww2 Jeep trail of a road climbing Mt. Pupukea. And didn’t relish old time Hawaii country living. I loved it. Alas not to be.
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by rkcarguy »

Large scale cog railway could have been the solution:)
Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Finished up the east abutment today. More or less. You can just make out the super elevation on the left side of the trestle. Came out dead on the money!

Once the cement and grout sets up in a day or two, I plan on back filling this side of the trestle - resulting in a small 5’ to 8’ long mountainous “island” in the center of the gulley. Then build up the slopes with more rock work to conserve fill and stabilize the 1:4 slides of the slopes and the elevated road bed. My initial plan was to landscape a mountain cliff side rail bed, similar to the White pass and Yukon RR route leading out of Skagway up to a Lake Bennett, at least on one side. Lots of vertical rocky faces for a few feet of elevation gain, with precipitous rocky slopes leading down to a small roaring creek bed below. The creek would run off down into a lake ( koi pond) emaninating beneath the trestle and opening out to a larger, circular water feature along the track - where the wheelbarrows are in the picture. Backfill the island/rocky cliff to grade, and plant some bushy conifers on the backside to hide the neighbors driveway. The stream would wind the full length of the back yard, emanating from a mountainous waterfall in the “mountains” at the upland rear corner ofthe lot. An irrigation pump could circulate the water from the lake back up to the water fall. Initially I thought about building a water wheel and mill house to maybe generate power for the irrigation pump. Gravity would get it back down into the lake again. The HO guys do this all the time with fake, blue and white plastic water. Can’t be all that hard.

Also been thinking about an alternative stone and cement block arch bridge for this gap. built around a large piece of culvert steel I scrounged a few years ago. It might be an old culvert, or an escape tube from a nuclear submarine. The guy I got it from used to work as a nuclear welder and ship yard engineer at the Bangor sub base, over on Hood Canel. It’s stout as hell, maybe 7/16” thick tubing. Maybe next year, when the tunnel goes in.

Besides, probably would take all summer to engineer and build. Just want this track laying finished as expeditiously as possible. So a simple over engineered wood trestle extension is likely my final choice.
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Glenn
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
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Harold_V
Posts: 20231
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2002 11:02 pm
Location: Onalaska, WA USA

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Harold_V »

That sure looks nice, Glenn!

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
rkcarguy
Posts: 1730
Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by rkcarguy »

Looks good and stout, can't wait to see a train on it!
Glenn Brooks
Posts: 2930
Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Woodinville Shops

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Thanks Harold, hope all is well on your end!

Stout it is! Ryan. The Ottaway is almost ready to steam up! pushing for a Memorial Day Golden Spike Ceremony, either 2018 or 2019. Ahahaha. Not sure yet which year. :D
Moderator - Grand Scale Forum

Motive power : 1902 A.S.Campbell 4-4-0 American - 12 5/8" gauge, 1955 Ottaway 4-4-0 American 12" gauge

Ahaha, Retirement: the good life - drifting endlessly on a Sea of projects....
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