I watched the January 2024 edition of the WHATS NEAT Model Railroad Hobbyist today and I saw that you are featured in it. It was cool to see your layout featured and very well deserved, Congratulations.
Daryl, I have just finished watching every episode from the start ( 2nd time) and it just blows me away how much work you have completed in just two years; outstanding and I can’t wait to follow you up until completion time. I’m a Aussie NY Jets supporter but have jump one the Chiefs train as I haven’t much time for the niners, great videos and can’t wait for the next one🇦🇺🇦🇺👍
I've used tile grout powder for tracks and dirt roads, it comes in greys and browns. Lay it on thin PVA and add more with thinned PVA or matt medium. A model vehicle can be used to put ruts and tyre marks in it.
That wood warping will drive ya nuts for the first couple or few years. I've learned that the best and sure way to fix ruptured track issues is to cut the track section away completely, repair the roadbed then relay the section of track then ballast again.
Daryl....just wanted to say hello from Memphis! I'm here because of Human(c)ity Livestream at Amherst....can't wait to see what you have. Your story that you mentioned on the live stream is exactly mine, I am an N Scaler for track to scenery ratio, realism, and I live in a small space at the moment. I have told everyone that I would switch to HO in a New York minute if I only had a warehouse! Thanks for what you do for the Hobby, I've been hearing about you guys for a while but I'm stuck down here in the south(Memphis) and options are somewhat limited. Keep it up brother! I'll be a lifetime fan!
The electrical boxes outside the tunnels are for four things. CTC, PTC, DP, and/or lights. None of the tunnels on the SLC/Evanston Sub have ventilation fans. In Altamont and Aspen tunnels, about every 200-300 feet inside the tunnel is a notch out with a telephone box with a lift up access door attached to the wall and light that stays on constantly. The telephones are gone now. The railroad placed oxygen generator hoods inside the telephone box that train crew can put on in the event of an emergency inside the tunnel with the locomotives running. They’re not the same SCBA units like the crews use down in Denver. But they will give the train crew about 30 minutes of fresh air. I used to train the crews when I was manager out there to just cut off the engines and get out of the tunnel. All the smaller tunnels don’t have the oxygen hoods, but we were working on DP repeater radios and antenna to go inside all of the tunnels because we were getting radio break errors that put our DP trains into penalty braking. I was not out there when PTC was installed, but knowing how it works, they need to stay in communication with the mainframe dispatching computers, so I’m sure the tunnels have been upgraded to have PTC antennas. I’m sorry that you’re having thermal misalignment issues with the dry cold air. I’m sure that is frustrating. If you can find an observation passenger car, the steam trains rarely run without it. It’s usually the Cheyenne car. But there’s a few others that they sometimes use. If you ever travel to Omaha, try to reach out to the heritage fleet folks at Fox Park in Council Bluffs. They sometimes will give tours. Thanks Kevin
Athearn's Big Boy is nice with Tsunami 2. I have it and love it. BLI details are nice but I am not a fan of their DCC controls patterns. I also have the Athearn 4015 diesel that came out last year in Tsunami 2 which I posted on my channel and love it!. I am pre ordering Athearn's 3985 Challenger that is due out this June of 2024. Rivorossi is still got a ways to go to get in the competition in my opinion. I will be at the show on Saturday, hope to see you there!
Enjoying your updates! Have a great time at the Amherst Convention along with Lombard Hobbies! Wish I could attend. Looking forward to your next update! Love the Union Pacific!
Daryl, re: Big Boys. I have owned several over the years. Rivarossi = very upgraded since the first came out in the AHM label in the 1960s. Much improved mechanism, but the fine details are still not as good as others. Athearn = the one I have is nice,. They have done several runs of them, including an "excursion version". Nice, but I'm not as thrilled with the sound as I am on others, but mine is an older run. The excursion versions were out a couple years ago, but somebody might still have one in stock. Your trip to Amherst may prove fruitful. BLI - they have produced a couple runs of Big Boys. The BLI is partly die-cast and it offers good weight. I sold mine because I had too many Big Boys and I am less than impressed with BLI decoders (reliability issues), but they have nice detailing and are often available.. Marklin/Trux = a real fine runner and nicely detailed. I had an older Trix 4-8-8-4 and I had a local shop install a Tsunami2, but I haven;t used it much since then, but it is a good runner. The Trix Big Boy also has a lot of die-cast and is nice and heavy. Their ads show that they currently list a UP 4014 in excursion markings with a factory-installed decoder. So, if you want an excursion Big Boy right out of the box you can go with Athearn or Trix (I don't remember if BLI ran one with the oil tender, you can check their site). The BLI and Trix seem heavier. The Rivarossi is cheaper, but IMHO you get less. You already have an Athearn 4-8-4, so there MIGHT be easier to double-head them. So each model offers its pros and cons. You have to decide on the features desired and your price point. I hope this helps versus adding to the confusion. As my youngest grandson says "Go Chiefs!"
I waited to watch this until after the game was over so I could either be consoled by one of the best layouts on RUclips or post “How bout those Chiiieeeefs?!” Thanks for another great video!
I have an older rivarossi big boy from the 90’s but I’m currently having the same conundrum trying to decide between a new Rivarossi or a Broadway Limited Imports. I recently switched to DCC finally and I don’t feel like converting my older big boy to DCC since it would be a massive pain. I’m probably gonna go with the Rivarossi because I can get it faster and it has Loksound.
Dear Daryl, sorry to hear and see the layout has been affected by such significant expansion and contraction issues. Indeed seems to be a lumber issue from what you’ve shown. Hope the extra screws will work out. Might be helpful to check your soldered track lengths and possibly de-solder and exchange for expansion/contraction joints.
Hi Daryl: Sure love your layout. I have the 4014 bigboy with the 2020 color scheme for the run to Utah and Promontory Summit recreation of the golden spike. I am looking for the passenger cars which were used in this consist and not having any luck getting the car names. Do you have the list of passenger cars and a supply source? I’d really love any help you can provide. Thank you in advance. Jim
Very much enjoying the layout progress- thank you for sharing! I drove from Echo to Evanston on Saturday- how come your layout isn't all covered in white? :0
BigBoy from Trix is very nice. Only I would change to a loksound5 and a bigger speaker. Märklin/Trix has always good quality but in comparison to other companies the sound is weaker.
thermal kinks are a modelers worst nightmare. If you don't want thermal kinks you need to use a Dremel and gap every rail where you have joints. If you don't do this the joint will pull apart or bind up leading to a kink. Also every place you have joints needs to be spiked down with nails and long sections of flex track need to be cut in the middle or they will act as a spring and they will kink over time.
I’ve had a horrible experience with Broadway Limited Imports’ Big Boy. I think that there’s nothing wrong with the model itself, but the decoder is just horrible. I’ve had to get the thing sent back to BLI multiple times due to the chip. I would highly recommend a stealth model, however. If you’re looking for a chip to put in it, the Tsunami 2 big steam decoder has actual recordings of 4014’s chuff, whistle, air compressor, feed water heaters, etc. Just a suggestion though, go with whatever you feel is best.
It depends. If you install it in a stealth model, it should be as easy as just plugging it in. If you take a Paragon 4 sound model and install it in there, it’ll probably involve some soldering. Stealth is just DCC ready with a different name.
I have a couple 90’s rivarossi Union Pacific steam locomotives. Specifically an 844, 3985, and a big boy I renumbered to 4014. The ones with the red boxes are the better ones. They’re both perfect but they’re pretty affordable and decent enough quality. I plan on converting mine to DCC
I recommend the athearn big boy. The riverossi is junk. All the did was put 4014 on it. The detail is the same from way back then and it Is pretty bad. If you get bli know the Paragon 4 is Proprietary and you really can't change stuff that's Why all the new FEF3'S are flooding eBay. I am still looking for a challenger to model 3985
There's been a bit of heaving, best get the plastic maintenance of way team out to cut and thermite that. Hopefully they'll actually do some work rather than just standing there doing nothing (like real rail workers do). In fact real rail workers might be replaced with plastic ones since the plastic ones are more productive.
I watched the January 2024 edition of the WHATS NEAT Model Railroad Hobbyist today and I saw that you are featured in it. It was cool to see your layout featured and very well deserved, Congratulations.
Wow, thanks!
Daryl, I have just finished watching every episode from the start ( 2nd time) and it just blows me away how much work you have completed in just two years; outstanding and I can’t wait to follow you up until completion time. I’m a Aussie NY Jets supporter but have jump one the Chiefs train as I haven’t much time for the niners, great videos and can’t wait for the next one🇦🇺🇦🇺👍
Thanks 😁 Go Chiefs!
I've used tile grout powder for tracks and dirt roads, it comes in greys and browns. Lay it on thin PVA and add more with thinned PVA or matt medium. A model vehicle can be used to put ruts and tyre marks in it.
Good tip, thank you
True
That wood warping will drive ya nuts for the first couple or few years. I've learned that the best and sure way to fix ruptured track issues is to cut the track section away completely, repair the roadbed then relay the section of track then ballast again.
Yep. Best approach.
Daryl....just wanted to say hello from Memphis! I'm here because of Human(c)ity Livestream at Amherst....can't wait to see what you have. Your story that you mentioned on the live stream is exactly mine, I am an N Scaler for track to scenery ratio, realism, and I live in a small space at the moment. I have told everyone that I would switch to HO in a New York minute if I only had a warehouse! Thanks for what you do for the Hobby, I've been hearing about you guys for a while but I'm stuck down here in the south(Memphis) and options are somewhat limited. Keep it up brother! I'll be a lifetime fan!
Thanks for the kind words.
I use the width of a razor saw to make a small gap in the joint that helps a lot. KCS hopper 😊
Great tip!
looks Great Daryl thx for sharing the awesome layout .😊😊👍👍
Very welcome
The electrical boxes outside the tunnels are for four things. CTC, PTC, DP, and/or lights. None of the tunnels on the SLC/Evanston Sub have ventilation fans.
In Altamont and Aspen tunnels, about every 200-300 feet inside the tunnel is a notch out with a telephone box with a lift up access door attached to the wall and light that stays on constantly. The telephones are gone now. The railroad placed oxygen generator hoods inside the telephone box that train crew can put on in the event of an emergency inside the tunnel with the locomotives running. They’re not the same SCBA units like the crews use down in Denver. But they will give the train crew about 30 minutes of fresh air. I used to train the crews when I was manager out there to just cut off the engines and get out of the tunnel.
All the smaller tunnels don’t have the oxygen hoods, but we were working on DP repeater radios and antenna to go inside all of the tunnels because we were getting radio break errors that put our DP trains into penalty braking.
I was not out there when PTC was installed, but knowing how it works, they need to stay in communication with the mainframe dispatching computers, so I’m sure the tunnels have been upgraded to have PTC antennas.
I’m sorry that you’re having thermal misalignment issues with the dry cold air. I’m sure that is frustrating.
If you can find an observation passenger car, the steam trains rarely run without it. It’s usually the Cheyenne car. But there’s a few others that they sometimes use. If you ever travel to Omaha, try to reach out to the heritage fleet folks at Fox Park in Council Bluffs. They sometimes will give tours.
Thanks
Kevin
Thanks for the info. Very helpful.
Maintenance roads are so nice. Way better than having to get track time and Hy-railing it out to your locations for tests and inspections.
Getting into mow on this layout.
Your roads look great!
Take care and be safe.
Thanks, you too!
Service Roads. They are a model to themselves. I look forward to the rutted results
Yes, I have thought about ruts. Not sure yet about the best method yet.
Athearn's Big Boy is nice with Tsunami 2. I have it and love it. BLI details are nice but I am not a fan of their DCC controls patterns. I also have the Athearn 4015 diesel that came out last year in Tsunami 2 which I posted on my channel and love it!. I am pre ordering Athearn's 3985 Challenger that is due out this June of 2024. Rivorossi is still got a ways to go to get in the competition in my opinion. I will be at the show on Saturday, hope to see you there!
Athearn BBs are not available right now.
Enjoying your updates! Have a great time at the Amherst Convention along with Lombard Hobbies! Wish I could attend. Looking forward to your next update! Love the Union Pacific!
I hope so too!
U have a great layout I'm just getting bac into the hobby now retired looking forward to making out to Lombard HOBBIES in in MIDLOTHIAN
It's in Lombard
Love your layout, we got dumped on with a lot of snow too. Time to pour hot cup of coffee and put some kids together. Lol.
Sounds great!
Morning Daryl , 10.30 am Monday Morning and I’m watching your Chiefs play the Bills
Go Chiefs!!!
Seen a kink, when you look thru bridge/tunnel. There is a kink on the up hillside just past the exit. Looks good Sir!
Yes, that will be replaced with a couple of bridges.
Daryl, re: Big Boys. I have owned several over the years. Rivarossi = very upgraded since the first came out in the AHM label in the 1960s. Much improved mechanism, but the fine details are still not as good as others. Athearn = the one I have is nice,. They have done several runs of them, including an "excursion version". Nice, but I'm not as thrilled with the sound as I am on others, but mine is an older run. The excursion versions were out a couple years ago, but somebody might still have one in stock. Your trip to Amherst may prove fruitful. BLI - they have produced a couple runs of Big Boys. The BLI is partly die-cast and it offers good weight. I sold mine because I had too many Big Boys and I am less than impressed with BLI decoders (reliability issues), but they have nice detailing and are often available.. Marklin/Trux = a real fine runner and nicely detailed. I had an older Trix 4-8-8-4 and I had a local shop install a Tsunami2, but I haven;t used it much since then, but it is a good runner. The Trix Big Boy also has a lot of die-cast and is nice and heavy. Their ads show that they currently list a UP 4014 in excursion markings with a factory-installed decoder. So, if you want an excursion Big Boy right out of the box you can go with Athearn or Trix (I don't remember if BLI ran one with the oil tender, you can check their site). The BLI and Trix seem heavier. The Rivarossi is cheaper, but IMHO you get less. You already have an Athearn 4-8-4, so there MIGHT be easier to double-head them. So each model offers its pros and cons. You have to decide on the features desired and your price point. I hope this helps versus adding to the confusion. As my youngest grandson says "Go Chiefs!"
Thanks for the info. Ch chiefs😁
I waited to watch this until after the game was over so I could either be consoled by one of the best layouts on RUclips or post “How bout those Chiiieeeefs?!” Thanks for another great video!
Hey, you can do both!
I like the overpass. Evanston does have one crossing the east end of the yard.
Excellent
Daryl, have you looked into the Athearn Genesis Big Boy? Great progress on your railroad, love it.
Not yet! I don't think they are available right now.
I have an older rivarossi big boy from the 90’s but I’m currently having the same conundrum trying to decide between a new Rivarossi or a Broadway Limited Imports. I recently switched to DCC finally and I don’t feel like converting my older big boy to DCC since it would be a massive pain. I’m probably gonna go with the Rivarossi because I can get it faster and it has Loksound.
Its available now right?
Dear Daryl, sorry to hear and see the layout has been affected by such significant expansion and contraction issues. Indeed seems to be a lumber issue from what you’ve shown. Hope the extra screws will work out. Might be helpful to check your soldered track lengths and possibly de-solder and exchange for expansion/contraction joints.
None of the joints are soldered. Things have settled down now that the temps are normal again.
Hi Daryl: Sure love your layout. I have the 4014 bigboy with the 2020 color scheme for the run to Utah and Promontory Summit recreation of the golden spike.
I am looking for the passenger cars which were used in this consist and not having any luck getting the car names.
Do you have the list of passenger cars and a supply source? I’d really love any help you can provide.
Thank you in advance.
Jim
There's a list on the UP website. Walther's proto is probably the best source
Hi Darryl,
Sorry that's you've been having problems with heave - we don't have wild humidity changes like that in Scotland
Been watching Monarch of the Glen. Would love to visit Scotland someday.
@@EvanstonSub You’re welcome anytime 👍
Great video watch you on what neat
Thanks 👍
Very much enjoying the layout progress- thank you for sharing! I drove from Echo to Evanston on Saturday- how come your layout isn't all covered in white? :0
Good question! Lol
Almost looks like the rail has expanded from hot air blowing directly on the drack
Not rail expansion. Wood shrinking as it dries.
I think "Sam's Trains" reviewed the Rivarossi version at the end of last year.
I'll check that out. Saw one today on RUclips. Details were a bit primitive in some spots.
@@EvanstonSub yes, that sounds about correct for the RRossi one.
hello Daryl & it's is Randy and i like yours video is cool Thanks Daryl Friends Randy
Thanks Randy
That's why I didn't use plywood only 2" foam
Foam is for beginners. Just kidding 😁
Stay away from Broadway Limited Imports, especially if you encounter problems, they aren’t the best for the customer!!!!
If I do, I plan to get a stealth model and add a tsunami2
BigBoy from Trix is very nice. Only I would change to a loksound5 and a bigger speaker. Märklin/Trix has always good quality but in comparison to other companies the sound is weaker.
I'll check that out
thermal kinks are a modelers worst nightmare. If you don't want thermal kinks you need to use a Dremel and gap every rail where you have joints. If you don't do this the joint will pull apart or bind up leading to a kink. Also every place you have joints needs to be spiked down with nails and long sections of flex track need to be cut in the middle or they will act as a spring and they will kink over time.
Things should settle down. First couple of years are the toughest
I would get the Athearn Bigboy it’s excellent I would stay away from BLI
Unfortunately, they are not available right now.
do not get the BLI one if it has paragon 3 decoder in it. I know 3 people that got one and it does not run well at all.
Thanks for the heads up
I’ve had a horrible experience with Broadway Limited Imports’ Big Boy. I think that there’s nothing wrong with the model itself, but the decoder is just horrible. I’ve had to get the thing sent back to BLI multiple times due to the chip. I would highly recommend a stealth model, however. If you’re looking for a chip to put in it, the Tsunami 2 big steam decoder has actual recordings of 4014’s chuff, whistle, air compressor, feed water heaters, etc. Just a suggestion though, go with whatever you feel is best.
Also, it’s impossible to speed match BLI steam decoders (Paragon 4) to any other brand in my experience. I’ve tried every method.
How easy is it to install a tsunami2?
It depends. If you install it in a stealth model, it should be as easy as just plugging it in. If you take a Paragon 4 sound model and install it in there, it’ll probably involve some soldering. Stealth is just DCC ready with a different name.
I wouldn't buy a Rivarossi, but then again I'm sure they're much improved now over how they were made in the 70's.
I have a couple 90’s rivarossi Union Pacific steam locomotives. Specifically an 844, 3985, and a big boy I renumbered to 4014. The ones with the red boxes are the better ones. They’re both perfect but they’re pretty affordable and decent enough quality. I plan on converting mine to DCC
Cool
Greetings from Kansas City - How ‘bout them KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 😊😊😊💥👍👍👍
Love it😁😁😁😁😁😁
Welcome winter prototical operation " frost heaves in Canada." Shrinkable heaves, derailment and slow orders operation.
Yep
That worker is sleeping on the job
Yep
Weather can be nasty to model railroads in cold or heat.
No doubt!
it was super weird to see you on what's neat. you cover your layout enough, but then he made a video thats kinda redundant. classic mrh.
Yep
I recommend the athearn big boy. The riverossi is junk. All the did was put 4014 on it. The detail is the same from way back then and it Is pretty bad. If you get bli know the Paragon 4 is Proprietary and you really can't change stuff that's Why all the new FEF3'S are flooding eBay. I am still looking for a challenger to model 3985
When is athearns big boy coming out. Could be awhile.
I will take a look real quick. I know they had a run recently.
There's been a bit of heaving, best get the plastic maintenance of way team out to cut and thermite that. Hopefully they'll actually do some work rather than just standing there doing nothing (like real rail workers do). In fact real rail workers might be replaced with plastic ones since the plastic ones are more productive.
Good point lol