Great Model Railroads 2005 by Kalmbach has a very nice writeup of the Sandy Ridge & Clear Lake -- 3.75" scale 7.5" gauge. Eight pages including color photos and a track diagram. Nice! The road's web site is http://members.tm.net/melcaswell/
Charles
Great Model Railroads 2005
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Yes they are BIG! I don't know that even Unka Jesse's Mighty dodge pick-em-up truck could haul one of those locos. If you check out the drawings, you will notice that their wheel standards are almost the same flange and thickness as the prototype two foot gage railroads. The equipment will NOT operate on IBLS standard 7.5" gauge track. Charles
SR&CL - not your ordinary 7.5" gage RR
Jack and his crew have gone a long way to make the SR&CL something different from the typical 7.5" gage railroad.
It is not just the scale or the size. It is not just the rail weight or the wheel profile. It is not just the point-to-point "trackplan". It is not just that there are more steamers on-site than diesel-outline locomotives. It is not that there are almost as many locos as pieces of rolling stock. It is so much more.
The SR&CL is different from the typical 7.5" gage railroad in that it is there for a purpose other than hauling people around for fun. The SR&CL is a railroad that is all about moving goods. To a large extent, the goods being moved are firewood product. The majority of other moves are of track-building supplies - rail, ties, ballast, and tools, with rocks a distant third.
Hauling people is mainly done to support moving those products. Someone must cut the tree bits down to a rail-haulable size, and someone split the bigger pieces, and someone must cut the smaller pieces down to a size appropriate for the pot-belly stove in the roundhouse. Someone must lay the ties and the rail and bolt it together. Someone must spread and tamp the ballast, which is, by far, THE best job on the railroad, I can assure you!
But there is more to it than moving goods. The SR&CL is a railroad where thinking is required of all personnel (except the engineer, who had better follow the signals from the conductor and the brakemen!). Timetable and train order operations are in effect. Unscheduled trains leaving the yard require orders. Many work extra orders have been written on the SR&CL. How many 7.5" gage railroads do you know of which run under TT&TO? I know of one other - the Deerfield & Roundabout, and would love to hear of any others!
And this equipment is big. Momentum rules the day. Crew members need to be able to predict the behavior of the train and of the cars, and need to trust their co-workers. Through the dilligence of the crew, injuries have been few and far-between. Even when handling thousand of pound plus trains on slippery rail up and down grades above 5.25%. Even when handling chainsaws and log splitters and buzz saws and anything steam.
How does all of this come together into a smooth operation? Through adherance to rules, good planning, and safe practices. Once you have those key aspects under your belt, the railroading comes rather easily! The business-oriented twelve-inch-to-the-foot railroads could learn a thing or two from Jack and the SR&CL, if they were willing to listen.
I think that the attached picture gives a pretty good feel of what it is like to work for the SR&CL. Shown (left to right) are Blaine, Jack, and Tom, with a scheduled train (no white flags!) at Phelps station. I took this picture in 2003, if I recall correctly. Note the heavily-wooded area and the all-weather operations.
I am proud to be a member of the SR&CL crew. They're a good bunch of guys. They've got a big crew this weekend, 6 people, I think, including guys from Canada, Northern Illinois, and various parts of Michigan. Lets see - the work list for this weekend included steamer maintenance, steamer construction, electrical investigations on #25, leaf control, branchline track extension, tie replacement, firewood cutting and collecting and splitting and delivery, and probably a couple dozen other things that Jack thinks up. I couldn't make it this weekend some late work-related distractions[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif"%20alt="[/img] and a touch of a cold.
-Billybob
It is not just the scale or the size. It is not just the rail weight or the wheel profile. It is not just the point-to-point "trackplan". It is not just that there are more steamers on-site than diesel-outline locomotives. It is not that there are almost as many locos as pieces of rolling stock. It is so much more.
The SR&CL is different from the typical 7.5" gage railroad in that it is there for a purpose other than hauling people around for fun. The SR&CL is a railroad that is all about moving goods. To a large extent, the goods being moved are firewood product. The majority of other moves are of track-building supplies - rail, ties, ballast, and tools, with rocks a distant third.
Hauling people is mainly done to support moving those products. Someone must cut the tree bits down to a rail-haulable size, and someone split the bigger pieces, and someone must cut the smaller pieces down to a size appropriate for the pot-belly stove in the roundhouse. Someone must lay the ties and the rail and bolt it together. Someone must spread and tamp the ballast, which is, by far, THE best job on the railroad, I can assure you!
But there is more to it than moving goods. The SR&CL is a railroad where thinking is required of all personnel (except the engineer, who had better follow the signals from the conductor and the brakemen!). Timetable and train order operations are in effect. Unscheduled trains leaving the yard require orders. Many work extra orders have been written on the SR&CL. How many 7.5" gage railroads do you know of which run under TT&TO? I know of one other - the Deerfield & Roundabout, and would love to hear of any others!
And this equipment is big. Momentum rules the day. Crew members need to be able to predict the behavior of the train and of the cars, and need to trust their co-workers. Through the dilligence of the crew, injuries have been few and far-between. Even when handling thousand of pound plus trains on slippery rail up and down grades above 5.25%. Even when handling chainsaws and log splitters and buzz saws and anything steam.
How does all of this come together into a smooth operation? Through adherance to rules, good planning, and safe practices. Once you have those key aspects under your belt, the railroading comes rather easily! The business-oriented twelve-inch-to-the-foot railroads could learn a thing or two from Jack and the SR&CL, if they were willing to listen.
I think that the attached picture gives a pretty good feel of what it is like to work for the SR&CL. Shown (left to right) are Blaine, Jack, and Tom, with a scheduled train (no white flags!) at Phelps station. I took this picture in 2003, if I recall correctly. Note the heavily-wooded area and the all-weather operations.
I am proud to be a member of the SR&CL crew. They're a good bunch of guys. They've got a big crew this weekend, 6 people, I think, including guys from Canada, Northern Illinois, and various parts of Michigan. Lets see - the work list for this weekend included steamer maintenance, steamer construction, electrical investigations on #25, leaf control, branchline track extension, tie replacement, firewood cutting and collecting and splitting and delivery, and probably a couple dozen other things that Jack thinks up. I couldn't make it this weekend some late work-related distractions[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif"%20alt="[/img] and a touch of a cold.
-Billybob
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UnkaJesse
- Posts: 4090
- Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:29 pm
- Location: Tennessee, Obion County, Town of Troy
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Charles, my mighty Dodge Cummins will haul that dinky little old lokie and trailer plus the Chevy PU too with no problemo. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img]
Unka(I loves my Dodge, I really does! Can you tell it??)Jesse
Unka(I loves my Dodge, I really does! Can you tell it??)Jesse
"The same hammer that breaks the glass, forges the steel" Russian proverb
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Marty_Knox
- Posts: 1728
- Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:50 pm
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Maybe you can tow it behind your pickup, Jesse, but you couldn't haul it IN your Dodge. No. 10 weighs 2500 lbs, and is 10' long.
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Marty_Knox
- Posts: 1728
- Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 6:50 pm
- Location: Michigan, USA
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Early on I convinced Jack that he should use flanges and wheels to the same scale as the locomotives. The wheels are built to the AAR wheel profile in 3 3/4" scale. The flanges are 5/16" high.
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UnkaJesse
- Posts: 4090
- Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:29 pm
- Location: Tennessee, Obion County, Town of Troy
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Ah, no problem Marty, I will just drop the tailgate to gain another foot and a half on my 8 foot bed. As to weight, an earlier Mighty Dodge 1/2 ton was loaded with 4,800 pounds of sawmill carriage parts and hauled to Memphis for machine work. Of course it was down on the rubber axle buffers, but made the trip in fine shape. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif"%20alt="[/img]
Unka(Very careful to avoid potholes on that trip, yes indeedy! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif"%20alt="[/img])Jesse
Unka(Very careful to avoid potholes on that trip, yes indeedy! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif"%20alt="[/img])Jesse
"The same hammer that breaks the glass, forges the steel" Russian proverb
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Hope you did the driving in the daytime, Unka Jesse. Otherwise you blinded every oncoming driver. Charles
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UnkaJesse
- Posts: 4090
- Joined: Sat Jan 04, 2003 10:29 pm
- Location: Tennessee, Obion County, Town of Troy
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Yeah Charles, I did all the hauling in the day time. When we were building the sawmill, I had a 63 GMC V6 panel truck that I would haul material from the steel supplier 10 miles away. Only had a driver's seat so I could stick 20 foot channel iron in the thing by putting it against the firewall on what would be the passenger side. Several times I hauled 20 foot loads that almost lifted the front wheels off of the ground. Must have been some good bearings in the back axle is all I have to say. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/crazy.gif"%20alt="[/img]
Unka(It steered lighter than if it had power steering!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img])Jesse
Unka(It steered lighter than if it had power steering!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img])Jesse
"The same hammer that breaks the glass, forges the steel" Russian proverb
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
For some reason, I did not pay attention to this message when you posted it. I juuusst happened to pick up a copy over at a friends house today. Thumbed through it and found the article. I looked real good. HOWEVER, since I wasn't wearing my glasses, all I could do is look at the pictures. So now I guess I am going to have to go buy one so I can read it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif"%20alt="[/img]Great Model Railroads 2005 by Kalmbach has a very nice writeup of the Sandy Ridge & Clear Lake -- 3.75" scale 7.5" gauge. Eight pages including color photos and a track diagram. Nice! The road's web site is http://members.tm.net/melcaswell/
Charles
Fred
Re: Great Model Railroads 2005
Unka(It steered lighter than if it had power steering!! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img])Jesse
You can do the same thing with a minivan, Unka Jesse, if you just pick up enough flat rocks for the whole flower bed wall in one trip!
Charles