As I mentioned in a previous post, Greg McComas stopped by last month for a visit. He brought along his GoPro camera and we shot a cab ride on the railroad. It begins at the engine terminal in Nelsonville and wraps up at the west end of North Pierce. Greg kindly loaded the video up to his YouTube channel so that I could post a link here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlArolLdoXw&t=10s
Enjoy the ride, and thanks again, Greg!
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Monday, March 30, 2020
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
A Little Video
During a recent operating session, Stuart Thayer caught some video of the action around Nelsonville. In the first clip, EC-2 is rolling through the crossovers near the east end of the yard.
In the next video, CX 412, which originated in North Pierce, is heading east toward the station at Nelsonville.
Many thanks, Stuart, for passing along the videos.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
The CWE in Print- Correction
There was one omission from the previous post, and while it isn't an article per se, I thought some folks might find it interesting. The railroad was featured in the November 2013 edition of TrainMasters.TV. The video provides some background on the location and purpose of the railroad along with a tour of the line. While TrainMasters.TV is a pay-for-view site, the CWE video is one of their free samples. Here's a link to the video: https://trainmasters.tv/videos/tmtv-2013-11-act-iib.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Bicentennial Unit!
As the time frame for my layout is the summer of 1976, I have always planned to have a bicentennial diesel on the roster. However, the project never developed much beyond that initial thought. Once I started operating on a regular basis, several of the crew members brought up the topic of a bicentennial unit. This started discussions about the diesels that were painted way back in the mid-1970's and the many varied paint schemes that were developed to commemorate the Nation's bicentennial.
Then in mid-November, Matt Snell asked if I had ever thought of doing a bicentennial unit. Turns out that he was looking for material for some articles and wanted to do something a little different. He proposed to do a CWE bicentennial unit for the railroad as the basis for an article and it took me just under a nano second to say "yes!"
While I'm sure many of you are already aware, Matt Snell is one of the most prolific writers in the model railroad press today. There is seldom a month that goes by in which one of his articles doesn't appear in one of the industry publications. And Matt and his wife Debie have created one of the most realistic and prototypically operated layouts in the country. Their Conrail Shared Assets Operation layout was featured in the 2006 issue of Great Model Railroads.
Matt proposed to use an Atlas GP38 that he had on hand as the locomotive for this project. As I already have two of these in operation on the layout, it seemed like the perfect candidate. Through the month of December, Matt designed the paint scheme, acquired the decals and painted the locomotive. I was speechless when I first saw it. Anyone who remembers the bicentennial paint schemes will instantly realize that Matt absolutely nailed the look of the locos of that time. Matt really outdid himself on this one.
So with that background, let's take a look at the unit in operation. In the photo below, 2000 has just emerged from Bell Knob Tunnel and is headed east toward Petersburg Junction.
Next, we catch 2000 approaching the west end of Big Chimney.
Number 2000 is on the point of EC-2 today, the Bay Flyer. It's one of the hottest trains on the railroad and operates between Erie, PA and Hunters Bay, VA delivering primarily auto parts, grain, and other priority freight. In the picture below, the train is rolling through Big Chimney, WV at track speed.
And below, we catch 2000 in a going away photo as it approaches the east end of Big Chimney and the entrance to Camp 3 Tunnel.
EC-2 is now marching up the 2.5% grade to Summit Springs and is approaching Cedar Falls Junction where the Sand Creek Branch connects to the main line.
After cresting the Appalachians at Summit Springs, we catch the train drifting downgrade into Nelsonville, VA.
And lastly, a little bit of video of the train dropping down into Nelsonville. My apologies for the unfinished scenery and video focus issue.
The pictures really don't do the engine justice- you really have to see it in person and in operation to appreciate the fantastic job that Matt did.
Thanks again, Matt, for a very special gift.
Then in mid-November, Matt Snell asked if I had ever thought of doing a bicentennial unit. Turns out that he was looking for material for some articles and wanted to do something a little different. He proposed to do a CWE bicentennial unit for the railroad as the basis for an article and it took me just under a nano second to say "yes!"
While I'm sure many of you are already aware, Matt Snell is one of the most prolific writers in the model railroad press today. There is seldom a month that goes by in which one of his articles doesn't appear in one of the industry publications. And Matt and his wife Debie have created one of the most realistic and prototypically operated layouts in the country. Their Conrail Shared Assets Operation layout was featured in the 2006 issue of Great Model Railroads.
Matt proposed to use an Atlas GP38 that he had on hand as the locomotive for this project. As I already have two of these in operation on the layout, it seemed like the perfect candidate. Through the month of December, Matt designed the paint scheme, acquired the decals and painted the locomotive. I was speechless when I first saw it. Anyone who remembers the bicentennial paint schemes will instantly realize that Matt absolutely nailed the look of the locos of that time. Matt really outdid himself on this one.
So with that background, let's take a look at the unit in operation. In the photo below, 2000 has just emerged from Bell Knob Tunnel and is headed east toward Petersburg Junction.
Next, we catch 2000 approaching the west end of Big Chimney.
Number 2000 is on the point of EC-2 today, the Bay Flyer. It's one of the hottest trains on the railroad and operates between Erie, PA and Hunters Bay, VA delivering primarily auto parts, grain, and other priority freight. In the picture below, the train is rolling through Big Chimney, WV at track speed.
And below, we catch 2000 in a going away photo as it approaches the east end of Big Chimney and the entrance to Camp 3 Tunnel.
EC-2 is now marching up the 2.5% grade to Summit Springs and is approaching Cedar Falls Junction where the Sand Creek Branch connects to the main line.
After cresting the Appalachians at Summit Springs, we catch the train drifting downgrade into Nelsonville, VA.
And lastly, a little bit of video of the train dropping down into Nelsonville. My apologies for the unfinished scenery and video focus issue.
The pictures really don't do the engine justice- you really have to see it in person and in operation to appreciate the fantastic job that Matt did.
Thanks again, Matt, for a very special gift.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Signals!
As I have mentioned on and off in past posts, I've been working on installing operating signals on a portion of the layout. Over the past several weeks, the last pieces have come together and the system is now working. I'm using the Signals By Spreadsheet (SBS) hardware and software and I'll provide some more detail on this later. I'm also using the signal aspects and indications used by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and there will be some more information on that later as well.
The goal is to eventually have full CTC control of the railroad from a remote dispatcher's panel and I've built the signals with that in mind. Fortunately, the SBS system is designed so that you can get bi-directional automatic block signals (ABS) up and running prior to developing the CTC system. This allows you to establish all of the required blocks and corresponding detection, get the signals built and in place, and develop the programming of the signals in steps. Gerry Albers, who developed and markets the SBS product, strongly recommended that I get all of the detection in place and the signals working before starting on CTC. Getting the bi-directional ABS system up and working is a tremendous amount of work and there's much to be learned in the process that will aid the development of the CTC system later. It should be noted that bi-directional ABS must be overlaid with a traffic control system such as time table and train orders or track warrants in order to provide conflict free movement authority. Thus we will continue to use track warrants until the full CTC system is up and running.
The section of the railroad that is now under ABS runs from Petersburg Junction to Cedar Falls Junction. This area includes Big Chimney, WV and the passing siding there along with the Purgittsville Branch and the Elkwater Branch. Let's take a quick look at this area.
Looking east toward Big Chimney, we see the signal at Petersburg Junction controlling the Purgittsville Branch in the foreground and the signal controlling the eastbound entrance to the passing siding at Big Chimney in the background. Here's a link to the track plan so that you can follow along: http://cwerailroad.blogspot.com/search/label/Track%20Plan. Note that there are no westbound movements approaching this section of the railroad as indicated by the Clear aspects. Also note the signal on the Sand Fork Branch which is displaying a Restricting aspect. This is the first of two signals on the branch before the connection with the main at Cedar Falls Junction.
Looking back west at Petersburg Junction, we see that the turnout is thrown for the main and the line is clear.
At the west end of Big Chimney, we see the signal governing westbound movements at the west end of the passing siding. Note the Stop aspect for the siding as the turnout at the west end is lined for the main.
Looking at the east end of Big Chimney we see that the turnout is lined for the main and there are no movements in the area as indicated by the Clear aspect.
The signal governing the westbound approach to the east end of Big Chimney also shows Clear.
So here's some video of the system in action. My apologies for the small size of the screen and the noisy Tortoises. Here's a link to larger versions of the videos which are posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ha3Ex63IH5qdu7nCjHF_A/videos. There is a local moving west and a way freight heading east toward Big Chimney. The dispatcher wants to arrange a meet there and have the local take the siding. He throws the switch for the local to take the siding at the east end of Big Chimney.
As the switch is thrown to the siding on the east end, the westbound signal drops to Approach indicating to the approaching local that the next signal will be Stop. The turnout at the west end of Big Chimney is lined for the main and the local will face a Stop signal at the end of the siding. As the local enters the block before the turnout, the eastbound signal on the siding drops to Stop. If there had been a train in the siding when the turnout was thrown for the siding, the westbound signal would have dropped to Stop.
Now the local comes down the hill from Cedar Falls Junction and heads toward the siding at Big Chimney.
As the locals moves into the clear in the siding, the dispatcher throws the turnout at the east end back for the main. The signal for the eastbound main now shows Clear for the approaching eastbound way freight. The momentary Clear signal eastbound from the siding in this short clip came about as the caboose cleared the block that contains the turnout. As there are no westbound movements in the blocks behind the local, the eastbound signal from the siding would show Clear as long as the turnout remained lined for the siding.
Next time, we'll watch as the eastbound way freight approaches the local in the siding at Big Chimney. Until then, here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
The goal is to eventually have full CTC control of the railroad from a remote dispatcher's panel and I've built the signals with that in mind. Fortunately, the SBS system is designed so that you can get bi-directional automatic block signals (ABS) up and running prior to developing the CTC system. This allows you to establish all of the required blocks and corresponding detection, get the signals built and in place, and develop the programming of the signals in steps. Gerry Albers, who developed and markets the SBS product, strongly recommended that I get all of the detection in place and the signals working before starting on CTC. Getting the bi-directional ABS system up and working is a tremendous amount of work and there's much to be learned in the process that will aid the development of the CTC system later. It should be noted that bi-directional ABS must be overlaid with a traffic control system such as time table and train orders or track warrants in order to provide conflict free movement authority. Thus we will continue to use track warrants until the full CTC system is up and running.
The section of the railroad that is now under ABS runs from Petersburg Junction to Cedar Falls Junction. This area includes Big Chimney, WV and the passing siding there along with the Purgittsville Branch and the Elkwater Branch. Let's take a quick look at this area.
Looking east toward Big Chimney, we see the signal at Petersburg Junction controlling the Purgittsville Branch in the foreground and the signal controlling the eastbound entrance to the passing siding at Big Chimney in the background. Here's a link to the track plan so that you can follow along: http://cwerailroad.blogspot.com/search/label/Track%20Plan. Note that there are no westbound movements approaching this section of the railroad as indicated by the Clear aspects. Also note the signal on the Sand Fork Branch which is displaying a Restricting aspect. This is the first of two signals on the branch before the connection with the main at Cedar Falls Junction.
Looking back west at Petersburg Junction, we see that the turnout is thrown for the main and the line is clear.
At the west end of Big Chimney, we see the signal governing westbound movements at the west end of the passing siding. Note the Stop aspect for the siding as the turnout at the west end is lined for the main.
Looking at the east end of Big Chimney we see that the turnout is lined for the main and there are no movements in the area as indicated by the Clear aspect.
The signal governing the westbound approach to the east end of Big Chimney also shows Clear.
So here's some video of the system in action. My apologies for the small size of the screen and the noisy Tortoises. Here's a link to larger versions of the videos which are posted on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Ha3Ex63IH5qdu7nCjHF_A/videos. There is a local moving west and a way freight heading east toward Big Chimney. The dispatcher wants to arrange a meet there and have the local take the siding. He throws the switch for the local to take the siding at the east end of Big Chimney.
As the switch is thrown to the siding on the east end, the westbound signal drops to Approach indicating to the approaching local that the next signal will be Stop. The turnout at the west end of Big Chimney is lined for the main and the local will face a Stop signal at the end of the siding. As the local enters the block before the turnout, the eastbound signal on the siding drops to Stop. If there had been a train in the siding when the turnout was thrown for the siding, the westbound signal would have dropped to Stop.
Now the local comes down the hill from Cedar Falls Junction and heads toward the siding at Big Chimney.
As the locals moves into the clear in the siding, the dispatcher throws the turnout at the east end back for the main. The signal for the eastbound main now shows Clear for the approaching eastbound way freight. The momentary Clear signal eastbound from the siding in this short clip came about as the caboose cleared the block that contains the turnout. As there are no westbound movements in the blocks behind the local, the eastbound signal from the siding would show Clear as long as the turnout remained lined for the siding.
Next time, we'll watch as the eastbound way freight approaches the local in the siding at Big Chimney. Until then, here's wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Chesapeake, Wheeling & Erie on TrainMasters TV
The full length video of the CWE that appeared in the November 2013 edition of TrainMasters TV is now available for viewing as a free sample. If you enjoy the video and some of the other free samples, consider signing up for TrainMasters TV. Here's a link to the video: http://www.trainmasters.tv/videos/tmtv-2013-11-act-iib.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Some More Video
The Thayer clan (Stuart and his brother Bill and nephew Pete) stopped by for a visit recently. Pete was able to catch a few trains in action on the railroad. Here's a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfDppCTpGsE.
Hope you enjoy!
Hope you enjoy!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Video Tour of the Layout
Peter Thayer and his father William came by several weeks ago to visit the layout. William is the brother and Peter the nephew of Stuart Thayer, a good friend and one of the regular operators on the Chesapeake, Wheeling and Erie. Peter did a video tour of the layout while he was here and yesterday he posted it on YouTube. For those who are interested, here's a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCGD92m1s8.
Hope you enjoy the tour!
Hope you enjoy the tour!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Video!
I finally bit the bullet and picked up video camera. While crude by any standards, as I certainly have a lot to learn about everything related to video, I thought it would be fun to post a few videos. So here goes.
First up, COXL 41 heads east out of Logan Tunnel just after leaving Hollister Yard at North Pierce, WV.
Next, COXL 41 continues its eastward trek, rolling through Big Chimney, WV. The train is about to tackle the 2.5% grade up to State Line Tunnel and the border between West Virginia and Virginia at Summit Springs.
COXL 41 exits Camp 3 Tunnel above Big Chimney and heads up the grade to Cedar Falls Junction and State Line Tunnel.
Last up, COXL 41 is passing the signal that controls the approach to Cedar Falls Junction where the Sand Fork Branch leaves the main line.
Video seems to be even more unforgiving than photographs, as you can see every little twist and bump in the track work along with any problems related to the rolling stock (such as the leaning hopper car). But that can prove to be useful in finding problem areas before they crop up in an operating session.
This first foray into video has been fun, and I'm looking forward to learning more about all the cool things you can do with this medium.
First up, COXL 41 heads east out of Logan Tunnel just after leaving Hollister Yard at North Pierce, WV.
Next, COXL 41 continues its eastward trek, rolling through Big Chimney, WV. The train is about to tackle the 2.5% grade up to State Line Tunnel and the border between West Virginia and Virginia at Summit Springs.
COXL 41 exits Camp 3 Tunnel above Big Chimney and heads up the grade to Cedar Falls Junction and State Line Tunnel.
Last up, COXL 41 is passing the signal that controls the approach to Cedar Falls Junction where the Sand Fork Branch leaves the main line.
Video seems to be even more unforgiving than photographs, as you can see every little twist and bump in the track work along with any problems related to the rolling stock (such as the leaning hopper car). But that can prove to be useful in finding problem areas before they crop up in an operating session.
This first foray into video has been fun, and I'm looking forward to learning more about all the cool things you can do with this medium.
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