Center NMRA gauge

I have built several of these for friends layouts.  From my experience that CENTER gauge is a really important one, especially for a lot of home layouts and their usually smaller radius curves.  Thanks for posting, I think it will help a lot of NEWBIE layout builders.  Russ

I like the Clearance Car...

...Might have to invest in one.

Definitely the way to test

Definitely the way to test clearances. Looks like lots of this looks good and later everyone finds out it does until a train tries to go buy.

 GREAT video. thanks for

GREAT video. thanks for posting

Lot of projects...

Looks like you've found lots of projects for the club to complete before the MCR!    

Neat idea, and excellent diagnostic tool. 

Randy

Conifers

Your conifers look fantastic. How do you make them. Great video. 

Cool video

   It would be neat if you could chalk up the car or add carbon paper so it leaves a mark on anything it hits. Optionally it could be equipped with a dremel and cutting disc and just correct the problems as it ran :> ) ......DaveB

Interesting Video

I agree that the conifers look nice. I used a somewhat simpler method for testing clearances when I built my RR. I uses an 86' hycube,  a well car with 2 of the tallest containers I could get and a GS-4 backing up.. It was really easy to roll the car(s) thru the tested areas to check for clearances. I built a 50's era layout and if the hycube etc cleared I knew anything else would and I've never had a problem. For those of you doing steam, some engines can have a fairly large overhang at the front or rear or across the cylinders and these need to be tested as well, hence the GS-4.

I remember the time years ago when my brother scratchbuilt an NYC bay window caboose. He had it down at a friends layout running it when the steps caught on some scenery and got popped off. I guess both items got fixed.

Have fun. Great look a a nice layout.

Espee over Donner

We did some similar tests

We did some similar tests with big articulated locomotives, 2-8-8-4, 2-6-6-6 and 2-10-4 for the longest rigid wheelbase we could find. With freight cars we used full length passenger cars with diaphragms close coupled as well as some long piggy back flats. There were some problems found some of which were corrected. The 2-20-4 is a great test unit for turnouts as the J1 has 4 axle tender trucks and 10 rigid drivers as well as plenty of overhang. Generally if this works everything else does.

Wow 2-20-4....

....Thats a BIGGGGG loco!!

Well you know every thing is

Well you know every thing is bigger in Texas, including my fat fingers. I was going to correct it but on second thought it makes it more enjoyable with your witty comment.

Checking Clearances

I scratch built one of these cars when layout building some time ago, I painted it bright colors so I could find it and see it from a distance .I used thick styrene sheet about 80 thou, plastic I beam with a pair of old bogies .It was built very strong so if dropped it wood not break. It was built so as if that went around the layout every thing else wood go, The clearances were slightly more than the biggest vehicle operating on the layout .Every thing was built to accommodated this vehicle so the tunnels and cuttings and all buildings etc were built to the same standard.

clearance

Very good advice....and its definitely the way to go - on my smaller Placerville Branch I just used the NMRA gauge and whenever I forgot to use it I would inevitable have to come back and carve out some rock facing that was out of bounds.

Tom Ebert

the section

  Anyone with access to a table saw could cut a piece of wood to the clearance section then chop off an appropriate  car length and screw some trucks and couplers on it to make a clearance car in a few minutes of work.....DaveB

Homemade Clearance Cars

ChiloquinRuss,  OZ and  ctxmf74, great advice on constructing a clearance car from scratch.  Whether homemade or purchased, this is a good tool to have.  It only became more obvious when my iCar would hang up on various obstructions on some layouts.  It became obvious (in hindsight) that these layouts were likely built using the owners largest piece of rolling stock.  Usually the issues were with side clearances, but at least two were overhead issues (one owner built tunnel portals low on purpose to give an older-era look).

In any case, engineering your clearances to meet some standard gives confidence that future problems won't occur.  In this, Tom ( tomebe) is exactly right.  Inside tunnels and hard to reach places is where a rolling gauge will keep you honest.

Matt

Conifers - Follow Up

barlloyd and  Patrick Stanley, the conifer trees were there long before I joined the club.  I asked one of the long-time members about them yesterday.  He said "Oh, you mean the Life-Like trees?"

Apparently they're straight out of the box - probably a 1970's box, at that!  

Matt  

Using Big Cars to check clearances

There are a couple of comments about using bigger cars to check clearances.  I think this is a good way to check, but may limit use of weird cars in the future.  The layout in this video has been in use for 45 years - for the most part with no problems, including with long passenger cars and such.  

The one location that surprises me after viewing the video at home is at 2:56.  Here there is a through girder bridge that the Clearance Car hung up on (about 10 seconds earlier).  I took the Clearance Car off and ran the remainder of the train through, and the trailing 40' gondola clears the same spot by maybe 1/16"!  I'm convinced that if I look closely at other member's passenger cars, I'll find wear marks along the middle of their side sills!

Matt   

Future Projects

Thanks everyone for the comments.

Randy, you said:

You've got it!  We've had a new president this past year who has renewed interest in a general polishing of the railroad - starting with track renewal.  He just commented yesterday that a video I created several years (one of the first with my then-new iCar) is what set the stage for the renewal work that has just started.  This video certainly allows some objective evidence on things that can be done.  The nice thing about it is that the work pointed out can be done by folks with a varying degree of interest and skill; moving scenery here and there are quick and easy changes, raising the tunnel will require a bit more skill, same for the bridge and grade crossings.  The various turnout strikes and signal bridge alterations a bit more experience and confidence, etc.

Matt