Thanks!

You're not talking about me,, are you Valerie?

Thank you!

Staggering the track 4- 6' will take out the kinks out of curves

@@philipasanchez5445 p0

@@ricardofernandopazos7689 Just like the prototype did. Well prototype rail is 39' and it was measured by 19 1/2". That was centered to the opposite rail.

These days, we use the jitterbug on the ballast when we replace a track panel.

That was a result of me getting tired of abusing my Felton track and switch broom. I saw the power brush attachment in the store and the first thing that came to mind was ballast regulator.

@@MillBrookRailroad Good thinking!

Thanks! We didn't even have a cameraman.

Thanks for watching and commenting! The loco has Lead acid batteries. The rails are aluminum and it works fine in western New York. There are railroads in the Buffalo area. I'm in Vermont and I run freight trains all winter long. The freeze thaw cycle does affect the track but not as bad as it does the roads.

@@MillBrookRailroad WOW I did not know that there were any outside scale railroads in this area of western NY . Have you been here seeing any of the RR groups in buffalo? I know of some model RR groups are located but none of the outside ones of larger scale. you did an amazing job with your set up. thank you for the great videos.

@@artillerest43rdva7 Mud Creek Central in Tonawanda is one that I've been to. I'd also been to Tonawanda Creek Railroad before it was removed.

Do you mean the vibrating tampers?

@@MillBrookRailroad yes

@@Trailer_Sailor I've thought about using one before putting track down. I'd be concerned about what would happen to the rails after the track is in.

7-1/4 inch gauge. The engine is battery electric.

You know, it's funny. Tony and I were discussing that very thing after the camera was off. I'll build something for fore and aft at some point.

They have a Facebook page for their club. m.facebook.com/MudCreekCentralRailroad

I would think an automotive chassis would be far beyond the loading gauge. Loading gauge is how high and wide the clearances are on the entire railroad. If you have one spot where a building is too close, that restricts the loading gauge of the entire railroad. An automotive chassis is quite large and a V6 is not small compared to 7-1/4" gauge, so I'm inclined to say it would not be practical. For example: the widest load I can haul on the MLBK are empty pallets. They don't weigh much but they are are 4 feet wide (about a metre and a third) and I can only haul three per car at restricted speed because it is a very unstable load. Also, when you're thinking of a power plant to run a locomotive, you need to consider how you're going to transfer that power to the wheels. There's something called the power curve and each type of transmission has a different power curve. With a train, you need the most power at startup. That was the ultimate demise of steam power. Electric motors can deliver the most torque at the lowest RPM when compared to all other forms of getting power to a wheel. You actually don't need a huge amount of power to move a train, either. Some of the earliest 7-1/4" gauge battery electric locomotives used large starter motors from automobiles from the 1910's, 1920's and 1930's. The MLBK 70 is powered by a single 500W motor. All that to say, you don't need a lot of power or weight for a 7-1/4" gauge locomotive and my gut feeling is that you'll spend more money and effort trying to convert something than building from scratch. I'm not against experimenting though, so if you want to try it, please document and share your experiences. You'll need to research weight distribution, weight per axle, loading gauge, power curves and get your center of gravity down as low as possible.

We're getting the railroad ready for winter, when the traffic rolls in heavy. One ton of wood pellets every three weeks, one car load of wood pellets every 3 to 5 days and snow plowing as needed.

@@MillBrookRailroad I hear that, winter probably have lots Snow coming for you all......A man's work is never done.......Great job on Track Repairs.

@@alexmodern6667 Last winter was rather snowy. Our first storm dropped over a metre.

@@MillBrookRailroad Wow that is some serious Snow fall! Lord knows we could use one of those storms out here in the super dry n dusty west coast. .......

@@MillBrookRailroad i just hope it was dry fluffy snow. When snow bank is taller than the plow....

The rail came from a variety of other backyard railroads that had either never been built or were being removed. This rail is 5/8" deep 6061-T6 aluminum. It is sold as 1" scale rail. Some people will tell you that it's too light for a train but it regularly takes 250-lbs per axle on my railroad. The supplier, if you want to buy it new, is Peter Nuskey in Southampton PA 215-355-3391. He also sells the slightly more expensive but much sturdier Culp Rail, which is just under 7/8" deep and is a 1/8 scale model of PRR 115-lb rail. Peter also sells tie plates, joint bars and switch frogs for Culp Rail.

facebook.com/MillBrookRailroad

This video was 2 years before we got the jitterbug.

That's a Ryobi 40V trimmer with a power brush attachment.

@@MillBrookRailroad thanks so much! Looks like an amazing timesaver.

Hmmm. I've heard rumor of large, stiff driver engines in 7-1/4" gauge. I'll be on the lookout for this Big Foot you speak of. :-)

The track is 7-1/2" gauge. All the equipment is 7-1/4" gauge.

If you buy new rail, track can be about $7-10 per foot depending on what you use for ties. Rolling stock starts around $1100 per car, but you don't need a lot of cars. Locomotives start around $2200 and go up from there. The nice part about it is it's all hand built and most of it is decent quality.

yes to cross tamping - gauge side of rail on one side of the tie and field side of the rail on the other side of the tie (same end of the tie, the goal being to concentrate the support of the tie directly under the rail. I would not bother tamping ballast under the tie in the middle - could set yourself up with a balance point in the middle then. The broom and train traffic will settle the ballast in the middle so that it holds the alignment. (This is how we do it on the class 1 I work for.) Just my two cents.

@@rascallhunter You will not set it up with a balance point. The point is, you give it a quick minimal tamp but not as much as the field and gauge side to keep the track from settling too much or uneven if it isn't packed tight. That's how we also do it on the Class-1 I work for. Next time look at the fingers of a track tramper. Especially the new ones. The fingers stretch right across the entire tie and gives it the same exact squeeze as the ones that are tamping the field and gauge sides of the tie plates. Bridge approach ties you especially make sure the 10ft approach ties are fully tamped because you especially do not want them to fall off quickly and give you profile defects on the approach.

I learned track work on the Wiscasset Waterville and Farmington Railway. Each technique has merit. We actually did more than what you see in the video, but it made the video over an hour and a half long so I deleted some footage and sped a lot of it up. This was, by no means, the last thing we'll do on this section before winter.

@@CSXtrackworker I will check out the Mark IV more closely next time I get the chance. My focus in my initial reply to you was hand tamping rather than machine.

@@MillBrookRailroad I love the WW&F. Such a great pool of talent and knowledge there.

Thanks! I have neighbors right across the road. The railroad I pulled up in West Bend, Wisconsin was on a typical suburban cul-de-sac. Getting along well with your neighbors and knowing your local zoning laws is key here.

@@MillBrookRailroad well if my neighbor was not 24/7 drunk driving though my yard and fence every other week it would be fine. Get along fine with all the others.

@@MoosesWorkshop That would tend to complicate things, wouldn't it?

That's Tony, owner of the Shady Pines Railroad. ...and yes, he's originally from Australia.

Yep when I was listening to Tony I though, ahh he’s an Aussie. We have unmistakable accents.

@@AustNRail Bonus points if you can tell what state he's from.

I’m thinking tony is from queensland

@@thekraftyguy8246 Melbourne, Victoria with some years in England, France and The United States.

Not at all. I didn't need a permit, and my taxes didn't go up until I built a new house. That's something that changes from town to town, however. Your mileage may vary.

Well I live in Harrison New York located in Westchester County. We're well known nationwide from the WESTCHESTER GOLF CLASSIC every year. I'm sure you heard of it televised on TV. Harrison has strict laws when it comes to permits when building on your property. You actually need a permit to install an above ground pool. At least that doesn't make one's taxes go up. I watched your 25 minute video last night of your train route in Connecticut. Unbelievable with all those crossing lights and train trestles. That must have taken years to build with lots of workers. The longest miniature train ride I've ever seen. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing.

If $45k per year is too much money, I want to know your secret. As for time to spare, it all depends how you want to spend the time you've got.

@@MillBrookRailroad Cheaper would be to move your loads using a conventional method, a pickup, or a polaris quod. If you don't want any of these for whatever reasons, it would be better to install a monorail. It requires one tenth of a time, with minimum maintanance and is able to move heavy loads around easily. The track is cheap and you can use a variety of methods and materials (even old steel pipe) It works perfectly. I ' ll link one for you, Sir. A bit crude but nevertheless quite handy. Cheers! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hrp6gtuq35zSlGQ.html