Garden railroad electrical/electricity questions and answers

Garden Railways

Garden railroad electrical/electricity questions and answers Is it safe to power your trains outdoors? Will I get electrocuted? It’s completely safe to run track power outdoors! Our trains, like those in the smaller scales, run on low-voltage DC, usually 18-24V. Thus, it is perfectly safe to run your trains outdoors, even in the rain or […]

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Questions and answers about large-scale locomotives and rolling stock

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What grade can an engine climb? Different engines will climb different grades. If you are trying to stay within full-size railroad practice, your grades should be no more than about 3 percent for mainline traffic (3″ of rise in 100″ of travel) or 5 percent to 6 percent for logging, mining, or industrial lines.  I […]

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Questions and answers about large-scale locomotives and rolling stock

common_scales1

What grade can an engine climb? Different engines will climb different grades. If you are trying to stay within full-size railroad practice, your grades should be no more than about 3 percent for mainline traffic (3″ of rise in 100″ of travel) or 5 percent to 6 percent for logging, mining, or industrial lines.  I […]

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‘Big Boy’ passes early pressure test

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy is another step closer to running this year after it passed a Federally required hydrostatic test. Union Pacific posted a video on YouTube Wednesday showing workers knocking on the locomotive with hammers while pressurized water filled the boiler. One scene shows a pressure gauge at 300 pounds per […]

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‘Drunk, shirtless’ man arrested after boarding ‘Starlight,’ trying to operate locomotive

Amtrak2

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A drunk, shirtless man was arrested Monday after climbing aboard a moving Amtrak train and attempting to operate the second locomotive in the consist, sounding the horn repeatedly. The Sacramento Bee reports Dylan Thomas Baldini, 26, of McCloud, Calif., was arrested after boarding the Coast Starlight in Mount Shasta, Calif., about 1:18 […]

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Prototype drawings of Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive

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Click on the image or link to download a PDF of this drawing of the Union Pacific Big Boy In 1941 the Union Pacific RR took delivery of its first 4-8-8-4 single-expansion articulated steam locomotives. Aptly named “Big Boy,” these 7,000 hp, 386-ton locomotives were the heaviest and among the most powerful simple articulateds ever […]

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