[clemmie_doris12]

Things are getting closer to the final day.

Decals are being applied.
[attachment=1:1luz089z]2017-04-27 17.57.36.jpeg[/attachment:1luz089z]

The track is getting ballast.
[attachment=0:1luz089z]2017-04-15 23.01.01.jpg[/attachment:1luz089z]

[clemmie_doris12]

In addition to having a tighter seal, a plug door provides a flush surface on the interior when closed. This can be advantageous for quite a few different commodities. The two that come quickly to mind for me are food stuffs and lumber products such as plywood.

[clemmie_doris12]

Nate, that may or may not have been the engineer. I would be more inclined to think it was a mechanical department employee. He was probably there to release and/or apply the brakes during the rerailing process. They might have had to frog the other end back on the rail and that would also require someone to operate the locomotive.

[clemmie_doris12]

Tim, I would think that diaphragms were always black. The material used in their construction would not work well with paint.
As for your multiple attempts at posting, this was due to a sever issue. It has been corrected and all seems to be good, now.

[clemmie_doris12]

The track is almost complete.

[attachment=0:2woxnu8c]2017-04-01 18.38.02.jpg[/attachment:2woxnu8c]

[clemmie_doris12]

Thanks, Bill. I’m trying to make it look as realistic as possible. The two ties in the foreground are going to be replaced with switch ties that will hold an MP main track switchstand off of the Carthage Sub. When we get it surfaced all the way, I am going to spread 2″ granite ballast on top for looks. The rail is 110 pound. I intend to rattle spike it and add anchors. It is two sticks of rail in length – 78 feet. So, it should be good for another cab or maybe a locomotive.

[clemmie_doris12]

Here are some current photos of the track that the caboose will sit on at my farm. We are very near to having it completed.
[attachment=1:1t16mk37]2017-03-25 16.49.59.jpg[/attachment:1t16mk37][attachment=0:1t16mk37]2017-03-25 16.50.07.jpg[/attachment:1t16mk37]

[clemmie_doris12]

This sign is approximately 10 feet wide and two feet tall.

[clemmie_doris12]

Bob ?,

Thanks for posting this information. We don’t see a lot of info on this subject.

[clemmie_doris12]

Mike, I think your engine looks pretty good. I agree with Gary, you did a fine job of capturing the West Bottoms atmosphere. I spent 25 years working for UP in KC, so I am very familiar with that area.

[clemmie_doris12]

Good information, Nate. Thanks for posting.

[clemmie_doris12]

The car got away on a spur that came down off of the main. You can’t see it, but it is behind the car in the photo that shows the car and not the bridge. Obviously, the track ended somewhere prior to encountering the roadway. The MP used dirt berms at the end of many spur tracks. They were not very good at stopping cars that had a lot of momentum. I can attest to that from first hand experience.

[clemmie_doris12]

Indeed, my wife was the foreman on this job. She supervised and ran the tractor while my neighbor and I unloaded and distributed the ties. She made sure that we got all of the ties equally spaced and properly lined up. She helped distribute the plates, also.

[clemmie_doris12]

Trackwork is progressing for the final resting place for the caboose.

[clemmie_doris12]

Ryan, I have been pretty busy with personal and MPHS business through the holidays and I am a bit behind with this discussion.

I was a conductor and trainmaster on the MP/UP, so I have a lot of experience with car and train tracking systems used by various railroads. I spent a lot of time as a trainmaster type in KC where you live or die by efficient interaction with other roads.

It seems as though each individual railroad has its own system for describing car types. But, each system is required to “speak” with UMLER (Universal Machine Language Equipment Register) which is maintained by the AAR. This allows for easy exchange of information when cars are interchanged. The AAR created a subsidiary called Railinc to maintain this system. Every car moving in interchange is required to be registered in UMLER. Take a look at https://www.railinc.com/rportal/web/guest/home and you should find plenty of info on UMLER and STCC codes.

To answer your question about car trip plans, the date and time a car is released affect the trip plan. There are cutoff times based on the scheduled service for each customer. If the release is after the cutoff time it will schedule to the following business day as indicated by the frequency of service a customer is scheduled to receive (3 days a week, 5 days, everyday, etc.). The original trip plan assumes that all moves are made as initially scheduled. As the car progresses, the plan is altered if the car arrives late or early. The original plan is retained and the transportation folks are judged by how well they were able to adhere to this plan. I left UP about three years ago, but, at that time, the big goal was to remove variability. It used to be OK to get a car to destination early. Now, they want it to arrive exactly when it was scheduled to. That’s a pretty tough goal. I don’t know if they are doing well or not.

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