Model Railroading > ATSF 3751 & BNSF 3751 high over Esperanza Canyon

The three bridge spans are from ExactRail, the towers were plaster poured out of custom wood lined molds. The Northern is a 15(?) year old (first run) Broadway Limited Imports Paragon Series model. The two GEs behind are by ScaleTrains, ET44C4 & C44-9W, both custom numbered.

Pics also here...
https://pbase.com/mrmrl/bnsf_stuff


~ Mr. MRL



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/19 00:34 by MrMRL.

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The consist looks pretty good, enclosed autoracks might be a better looking train to look fuller. The canyon videos likely sound great at slow speeds with the steamer with the Johnson bar not fully open so it is feeding steam nearly the full length of the stroke and is not short and choppy like higher speed. The diesels could be running in 3-5 throttle to keep the steam from stalling but low enough to make the steamer work.

In the video the steamer should have whistled for the tower as they approached the crossing. Just like whistling a grade crossing but a different grouping of shorts and longs. If no one in your club knows I will dig up an old rule book and send it to you.

The purpose was to alert the tower operator to check and see he had switches and signals lined for the movement and he could get down to the ground to do a rollby. If there was no tower an approaching train might give the RR crossing signal to alert trains from the other road the crossing would soon be occupied so they should hold back.

Very nice shots. I have the 3751 in the flat paint. Great runner and great sound. You have great lighting for the shot and that baby really shines.

A couple of wonderful images!

Jan Austin
Chico, CA
J.G. Austin Photography

Santafes95 Wrote:
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> Very nice shots. I have the 3751 in the flat
> paint. Great runner and great sound. You have
> great lighting for the shot and that baby really
> shines.


Yeah, the BLI models of 3751 (and other ATSF Northerns) are all rather flat out of the box. I elected to hit my model with a couple passes of Testors gloss to represent the modern SBRHS excursion service.

Mr. MRL

Excellent work, and pictures!

Posted from iPhone

The whistle signal when approaching a railroad crossing at grade is one long sound. Your club can use it for approaching the tower in all 4 directions unless you find an applicable rule book or special instructions which specify otherwise.

I never worked across any Automatic Interlocking, one with train activated signals with no tower operator, where any train blew for the crossing.

fbe Wrote:
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> The whistle signal when approaching a railroad
> crossing at grade is one long sound. Your club
> can use it for approaching the tower in all 4
> directions unless you find an applicable rule book
> or special instructions which specify otherwise.
>
> I never worked across any Automatic Interlocking,
> one with train activated signals with no tower
> operator, where any train blew for the crossing.


Interesting info Alan, I never considered whistle signals for an interlocking tower. The only ingerlocking I deal with on a near daily basis is San Pedro Junction in Los Angeles, CA. Its an old Manual Interlocking tower that was changed to Automatic operation by BNSF’s San Bernardino Sub Dispatcher in the early 2000s after the completion of the Alameda Corridor project from Downtown Los Angeles to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, CA some 20 miles south. I’ve never noticed any passing trains (BNSF, Metrolink, or Amtrak) sounding whistles while passing it. The tower has been vacant for years now, and was recently scorched (interior) due to a fire started by transients. It will probably be raised sooner than later now. Kinda sad...

Mr. MRL

Another railroad tradition lost to history. The rules show it was once a requirement for the people involved. Once the 1 employee the horn was intended to alert was displaced by a box of relays the requirement for horn alerts got retired also.

The club could operate diesel sessions and run without whistle signal alerts at the tower. Other times they might operate steam and first generation diesels and trains could sound the whistles and horns.

The breaking point was not at a set time frame. On busy lines the operator in the tower might be replaced by CTC in the steam era. Other locations might find a tower operator at work post dieselization though not likely in the GP35 TO GP40 era.

Places where 2 railroads were involved it was almost always the second railroad which was required to build, maintain and staff the tower. If the second railroad became the stronger then the operator would be replaced with an automatic interlocking or CTC early on. If the second railroad was the poor partner they might leave the operator in place account that was cheaper in the long run. Eventually the stronger railroad would improve their CTC and make the tower an automatic interlocking or make the tower controlled by their dispatcher miles away. It would just be cheaper to take over the infrastructure and operation than to rely on a second party to fulfill their obligations.

Tons of history buried out there.

When the club is operating the steamer especially with a passenger train perhaps the steam enginer might blow for the tower for all the stories he heard from veteran engineers and firemen who worked steam before he hired out.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/19 11:51 by fbe.