Arizona Gandy Dancers

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
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Been wanting to start a thread about our Adventures in Railroading this winter, in Arizona, but haven’t come up with a railroad name or club name yet.

What we do have is a bunch of Gandy Dancers building a 15” gauge pike in the desert outside of Pheonix, so Arizona Gandy Dancers seemed a fitting title.

Here is the bunch who just finished regauging our first switch. We are particularly proud of our fleet of 4 wheeled Maintenance of Way Cars and our take on a portable welding cart.
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Quick bit of background. Over the past year, Scotty Brooks and I approached the Sahuaro Central Railroad Museum Board to to create a 15” gauge live steam club for museum members to restore and operate their own grand scale railway equipment.

We got approval to proceed in mid January. So now we are preparing to lay the first bit of track and establish a “friends of the railway” community membership group to sustain railroad operation. The Museum has a stock pile of 12# rail and a bunch of snap track, plus 5 park gauge locomotives that we can restore to operation over time.

Yesterday we regauged the turn out in the pictures above and placed it into position outside our engine shed. It will anchor our first bit of mainline, passenger siding and freight yard located just outside the Museum entrance. Hence the smiles and Hoozahs!

One important note. We are organizing the railroad as an outdoor Sahuaro Central Museum Exhibit. Then
Exhibit will interpret early day Arizona railroading development. So we have a rich historical theme to build on and portray in 1/3rd scale.

Arizona Gandy Dancers are off and running!
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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Steggy
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Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Steggy »

Yikes! That turnout assembly in the second photo looks heavy enough to sink a small ship. What rail weight is that thing made from?
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Music isn’t at all difficult.  All you gotta do is play the right notes at the right time!  :D
Glenn Brooks
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Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Ahahaha, 12# rail with some WW1 era pressed steel sleepers.
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
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

The boys got extra busy today and cut the freight yard fence for the mainline - we now really have a “mainline” - laid out with white chalk - and threw together a double wide gate to keep the coyotes at bay (human and 4 legged). Mainline Just begs for two long sticks of rail either side! 60 tons ballast coming early next week. Then the real fun begins,..

We were debating whether to weld or bolt the rail joints up. Each joint would cost $21 for fish plates and track bolts. I asked our club Track superintendent, what was the longest stretch of continuous rail he ever welded? Thinking maybe 100 or so feet, then a bolted joint. 265 miles he says. Not one joint on the high speed mainline between Santa Fe and Casa Grande! In the deep summer heat, the rail simply grows taller between every cross tie! Well that settled the argument about how many sticks of 20’ long rail we could weld together.

Also the crew found 2pair of old mining wheels and decided to build our first rolling stock. Wallah! Your basic, time honored Arizona 4 wheel mining Jitney. All in one day.

All Ahead, Flank, Fellas!
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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....
rkcarguy
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Location: Wa State

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by rkcarguy »

Looking good Glenn, it's nice to see things getting started already. Land use "politics" in WA for such things are not so great, too much money in every little postage stamp of property. Too bad nothing panned out locally.
Regarding heat expansion, you can actually take the expansion rate of steel and work the math to see how much gap you need. I figured 1/8"-3/16" every 20', but that was also taking into account the rail baking in the sun to 150*F surface temp or being -10*F when the NE winds howl. Reality may be less. Its easy enough for me to remove the fish plates and open up the gap by taking a little off the end of the rail with a cut-off wheel if needed, so I have had the fish plates laser cut with slots for 1/4" of play with holes drilled in the rails so that the standard gap is 1/8" and can be anywhere from 0 to 1/4".
There is so many variables though. Temperature range, size and density of the rail, the time it will spend exposed to the sun, and so on. If there is room for the track to grow a little in the curves by allowing the ties to slide laterally outward, you may not need to have any joiners at all.
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Hey Ryan, yep, Washington is pretty much a lost cause, st least in an area local to us. We have a little drama from time to time here also. But the park we are in has an established live steam club, and a public designation specifically for this type of activity. So moving Forward. Our volunteer group is coming together nicely and we should get some serious track laying done in the two to three weeks… at least it’s sunny, dry and warm mid day each day… 70* at the moment.one of our guys just footed the bill for an additional 2000’ of rail, which gave us all we need to complete our first year install, and then some.

Glenn

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....
rkcarguy
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Location: Wa State

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by rkcarguy »

Glenn Brooks wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:32 pm Hey Ryan, yep, Washington is pretty much a lost cause, st least in an area local to us. We have a little drama from time to time here also. But the park we are in has an established live steam club, and a public designation specifically for this type of activity. So moving Forward. Our volunteer group is coming together nicely and we should get some serious track laying done in the two to three weeks… at least it’s sunny, dry and warm mid day each day… 70* at the moment.one of our guys just footed the bill for an additional 2000’ of rail, which gave us all we need to complete our first year install, and then some.

Glenn
That's awesome, congrats! I'll be watching this thread for updates as I look out at the dark and wet here for the next 3 months lol.
I kind of figured as such regarding WA. Maybe in Eastern WA, one could still have success.
I am very much keeping my build low key, the forward portion to be integrated into the landscaping along the driveway with a slight berm in between the two, and keeping my "RR theme landscaping" legal definition ammunition at the ready for any overzealous land use Nazi. Then it will wind downhill behind the house into the woods and out of sight.
Glenn Brooks
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Sure, stay in touch. Hoping to have 1200’ laid by end of march. 20 people so far volunteered to help. I think anywhere outside the urban growth boundary would be more amenable. But I have no desire to drive 3 or 3 hours each way to go work on the track… haha enjoy the view. Sunrise is in Barrow Alaska in another two or three weeks. It’ll pop out in Seattle around June15th
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
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Joined: Tue Aug 22, 2017 10:33 am
Location: Wa State

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by rkcarguy »

Will do! We actually have had a decent sunny yet cold week, but rain is returning later Saturday and maybe even snow next week. It doesn't help that it's only light from about 7:30am-5pm right now.
I have to move part of my driveway as mitigation to get my final and occupancy, and will be grading the ROW at the same time. So basically will be forced to do it here as soon as it's decent enough so that the dirt doesn't turn into cookie dough and try to swallow the excavator again:)

What did the min radius end up being there?
Glenn Brooks
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Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

Freight yard will be 50’, mainline 90’. The yard will be all 8# rail, mainline 12#, a few bits at 16# for one high ground loading service road crossing, and the turntable, and adjoining engine sidings will be 25# rail. We have these misc sizes in the inventory, so Iam using them to free up additional the 12# stuff to maximize the length of the mainline.
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
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Joined: Mon Nov 10, 2014 1:39 pm
Location: Woodinville, Washington

Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Glenn Brooks »

So what do you do when your track work in the desert grinds to a halt, awaiting permits?

Well... Play with Battleships.
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We’ve been given these by the Museum Board, to sell as a fundraiser to support buying track supplies and ballast. So transported to a local RC boat Club annual regatta as static display.

The vessels ware actually a foot longer than I thought.

Bismarck, lead photo, is 15’ loa. Prince Eugen, heavy escort cruiser, 14’ loa...

This makes the build scale around 1:55.

Screaming deal on price, as we really want these to go to an org or private ship modeler who is familiar with RC ship models.

Bismarck-$4975
Prince Eugen -$3900

Glenn
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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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Bill Shields
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Re: Arizona Gandy Dancers

Post by Bill Shields »

Really cool... no tracks needed.

Do the battleships have active cannons that shoot projectiles?

Somewhere in my mental archives I seem to remember seeing such that shoot either paint or marbles / ball bearings and the goal of a get together was to sink the other guy...either virtually or in reality (believe it or not)
Too many things going on to bother listing them.
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