My back was hurting to the point of having difficulty walking at that point, so I shoved it off to the side. I went back later when I wasn't hurting so much and put it back on the track.

Me too!

You'll always get the derailments as long as the camera is facing in the right direction.

I might have just rerailed it again if I could have lifted it once more.

Volunteer work day is 20th of April.

That geep weighs a heap more than my little critter. I hope you didn't get hurt!

@@MillBrookRailroad nobody was on it. No injuries except for some wounded pride.

That's the important part. Pride heals better.

It is quite handy, even if it was built on a shoestring budget. The track cost about $7000 to build over the course of 10 years. It's due for a rebuild in the next few years. I have a locomotive build project coming up soon on the channel. Lots of machine shop work and fabrication.

This winter has wreaked havoc on the track.

There's plenty of movement in the coupler pockets. This engine does fine most of the time. The rails were too far apart and the wheels on 71 are narrower than the rest.

Thanks!

Maybe I should stop cleaning it with alcohol.

Give 71 a break, she's young and inexperienced. :-) 70 turns 14 this year, by the way. That's 14 years of little improvements and one major rebuild on a locomotive that someone else built.

Years ago, I was a political junkie. I consulted candidates and helped campaigns. I got burned out on that game. None of the parties suit me anymore. Rather than seek out a political point of view nowadays, I seek out the truth in current events. Sometimes, it's hard to find, other times impossible. Sometimes, I get lucky and find it. Sometimes, the truth is reassuring, and sometimes it's unsettling, other times horrific. The more local an issue, the easier it is to find the truth. Sometimes. People are complicated. I'll go back to the trains and the cats now.

​​@@MillBrookRailroad once there was cats and trains, named Chessie and Katy.

Ain't capitalism grand? If only commerce had anything to do with the government... It ain't called "free trade" for nothin'! I still don't know how people can't understand that...

@mustachemike802 I do like me some capitalism. Without money and trade, the whole world would derail as much as some of my plow trains.

@@MillBrookRailroad politics will make you gray, cross eyed, and just crazy! the sad part is, that it went from service to the people of this nation, to what is in it for me. with the power of money, nothing is safe, or off limits with some people. you are so correct, there is nothing better then curling up with a furry friend and having a “purr therapy” session! that unconditional love and companionship just makes my day! calming and peaceful to have a cat next to you, or laying and purring like “a big rig diesel “ making you feel so good! if it is possible to fix local ,then it might work on the national level. but who really knows.Thank you for the great note Aaron, take care and be safe out there!

The gauge of the wheels are fine. They're just on the narrow side on 71. Still within spec, though. The wheels on 70 are Tom Bee wheels. They're a bit on the wide side. The flat car has 2.5" scale wheels, so they're extra wide.

Thanks!

At least a 75 foot long railroad would be easy to maintain.

@@MillBrookRailroad More fun than a hand cart. If I were to put in a rail line like that it would be around the house and back yard. Grandson would be ecstatic.

And I know that cannonball has a good set of power trucks and wheels sets that you might want to look into

The 71 is inspired by the concept and design of the 70, but it's bigger in every dimension. The only parts they share are the electronic parts, the bearings, and some of the sprockets. 71 is the beta prototype for a production run locomotive I've been working on. There is still work to do to make it perfect, but few people will encounter the tie failure rate I'm experiencing at the moment. The major reason for all the derailments is the track itself. All those spots I derailed on were wide gauging out beyond the length of the track gauge. The 70 seems to have stayed on because the wheels came from a different supplier, and the tread is slightly wider than 71's. 70 was made by someone else.

The rails were too far apart, and that engine has the narrowest tread in the train.

No. Back to the track repairs. 71 was built with some quality control measures in place. 70 was not. Two different manufacturers.

I build them. Millbrookrailroad.com

It'll be fine. It's only a herniated disc and a pinched nerve root. As long as I'm careful, I stay off the ground.

More like the ES&D.

The other tracks don't run in winter, they don't see the tonnage I run on mine, and they all have heavier rail than what I have.

I'm also wondering if it's a flange issue

Not a flange issue. It comes off on the same spots. A recent track inspection revealed some wide gauging in those spots. Why 70 didn't have a problem is beyond me. Maybe the wheels are slightly wider. The 105 is a 2.5" scale narrow gauge flat car. It has wide wheel treads, so it's much more forgiving.

@@MillBrookRailroad oh ok glad that it's just the track gauge cheaper repair . Yes it is strange but as frustrating isn't it .

@@MillBrookRailroad Might be time to enlist the help of a machinist buddy and see if he/she can't turn you up a special set of wheels with wider treads? Or just buy some I guess.

Les locomotives sont reliées par la même radiocommande. Vous pouvez coupler plusieurs récepteurs de locomotive avec un seul émetteur.

The wheels are slightly narrower, but still in tolerance. Different wheel suppliers.

@@MillBrookRailroad - Hmmm.. Even if they are narrow, that wouldn't explain the propensity to derail on something other than a switch. Just reminds me of a 4-wheel scale test car we handled once. The car had been overhauled but the tolerances in the pedestals was too tight. Ergo, there was virtually no suspension. Just four stiff wheels and it loved to climb over the outside rail.

I'm not opposed to building a 2 truck loco, but gas is a lot of work to build and maintain. Electric is easier and a lot more reliable.

Sure! Let's go with that.

The rails had spread out beyond tolerance, and the wheels are on the narrow side.

@@MillBrookRailroad Shit. I was involved in correcting such a track issue on a veteran railroad bofore anything derailed. Tolerances, max and min, are good to maintain.....

Yes. The rails had spread. 71 has narrower wheels than the 70, so it's more prone to wide gauging.

@ookRailroad RMI has nice WIDE tread wheels, maybe you should consider a wheel change out on 71 if it's to be a Home Road engine. Then not worry too much about wide gauge track until EVERYthing starts falling off the rails...

The rails were too far apart and the wheels are on the narrow side.

I hadn't noticed. ;-)

I used to work for a shortline. You're absolutely right.

@@MillBrookRailroad In the past, with model railroads I've built, I'll take old, or scrap box rolling stock, and weather them and position them in the underbrush around parts of my railroad, to simulate that very idea. The most fun one I did, was to take the shell of a locomotive I'd used as a donor for another model, and detail it like it'd rolled a rail and got shoved off into the bush, only to have its prime mover cut out of it and salvaged, and the rest of the engine just left to rust.

At least it brings a few jobs to Mississippi. They could have built the plant off shore and shipped the wood chips to it by boat.

They been them by rail to Baton Rouge La. Put them on ships and down the Mississippi River. To England..

Cold weather, split tie ends, and worn rail worked together to spread the rails. 70 handles it better because the wheels are wider.

@@MillBrookRailroad Thanks! Hope all is well with you. Where we live we may get some snow once every 10 years. Like looking at it but don’t miss it.

When you rely on a little railroad, as I do to move wood pellets, you sometimes have to tolerate less than perfect track conditions. The engine was fine hanging out in the ditch while I put everything else away and let a couple Tylenol take effect. The batteries don't mind the cold that much. The engine house is unheated.

Ya, make MILB RR great again !

It's your fault your broke. Biden has been fantastic to our family. Work harder Republican freeloaders

We change leaders by voting them out of office, not through treason plots. Remember: Guy Fawkes met the same fate as Ned Kelly.