I have to say that your one of my top 3 model railroad you tubers DJ. Heck your number one because you are actually working on the line, sort of the boots on the ground. The info you give from a railroaders perspective helps in my planning all the time. Thanks and don't stop doing what you love, you are a great asset to modelers and railfans alike.
Great video. Thanks for telling your story. I've been a model railroader for 38 years and still learned several things. This will be a great video to share with my 13 year old son so he can hear someone else besides me say "find your era". Thanks again!
I appreciate you sharing your know how. I'm just a medical guy who had an HO scale layout in my parents basement when I was in junior high. Now just about retired I want to get back into the layout scene! I don't even have a place for a railroad yet, and the very first step is to convince the wife for some space...
DJ, I have been enjoying your videos for about a year now, Thanks for what you do! I drive a OTR flatbed delivering OSB out of the Weyerhaeuser mill in Flatwoods WV. At about the 6:00 mark what do I see, probably the most despised delivery we do, Allegheny Millworks right beside the 10th street bridge! This place is an absolute nightmare to get into and out of! Anyway keep the great work! Thx!
Hi Dj,I love your channel and your humor.you are one of the best youtubers I've ever seen. I have so much fun watching the channel. I have a big bedroom floor layout that is a double track mainline with an 8 track rail yard and I am thinking about replacing the 6 inch curve pieces with the 1 foot curved pieces reducing the string line derailments.the trains can be longer than ever. I can finally have 34 car trains on my outside loop. And I have 12 trains in total some of the engine bodies are H O scale with wheels that would fit perfectly on the wooden train tracks. That way I can operate the trains by hand to save electricity to reduce electric costs for my home and my grandmother. I also do that so I don't have to get track cleaning supplies for every single engine that is HO scale. But then there are costs of all the locomotive wheels from whittle shortline railroad and the 5 8ths screw in couplings for the trains. That is why I have a wooden train layout in my room. And I also like to make my trains look nice and clean. I am so glad I could make the trains very big and so much fun to operate on the railroad. I also deliver the freight from point A to point B and I haul everything coal to gifts and recycling materials to the costumers all over the imaginary Island Of Poultney. I got that from the Island Of SODOR from Thomas and friends. I love that show except All Engines Go. I hate that part of the show so much. I would rather watch chuggington. I think All Engines Go is the worst train show I've ever seen in my life but I like Big World Big Adventures because they got a new engine for the steam team on SODOR. Her name is Rebecca. She is very very kind and helpful to everyone even to devious Deisel who tricks her into doing the jobs that the other diesels were supposed to do but he gave her the wrong destinations to get the other diesels into trouble with the fat controller. Rebecca found out about the plan after she delivered the cars to the wrong place and told the fat controller what diesel told her to do and that got him into trouble and I think he deserves it. Rebecca is one of the best Engines ever. Sorry for going off topic. Thanks Cory Mears
You gave me some good advice! I'm in the planning stages, at 58 years old, to model three switch yards I grew up on as my Dad worked for the SOO LINE RR for over 40 years in Wisconsin and Michigan. I just bought a house with an open basement and I'm getting the plans together. Thanks for what you're doing.
Really great video DJ, so broad and informative. Thanks for validating my trigger of plywood spaghetti 🍝 double track 4 - 8 layouts. I can’t wait to get my prototype scene based layout started! On foam. 😂
I'm doing a freelance "what if" road. The question answered is, "What if steam and turbine power never went away?" I use modern era rolling stock and non-railroad construction, but steam and turbine motive power with the associated infrastructure. I do have a few diesels, but they're mostly switchers. Up to third-generation, with minimal road engines. No F-units, no E-units. I do have modern electric engines, though. You might see an Acela or a GG1. But for the most part the road engines are either turbines or steam locomotives. Additionally, I use three-rail O-scale for more realism and less setup for signals and accessories. I also use speed-controlled slot cars wired to a set of timers and signal units, similar to block signals on the rails, in order to make realistic car traffic. When the crossing gates are down the street signal is red and the slot cars in the block, stop. Then when the gates go up the lights turn green and the cars move again. The cars are wired internally to have headlights, tail lights and specialty lighting (for emergency vehicles). My layout is hi-rail, but it is extremely realistic apart from the "what if" factor. It's basically "Budget Miniatur Wunderland".
I have just found your channel. I live in North Texas. Except for the Houston Ship Channel we do not have legacy waterways that carried freight or passengers. Also don’t have a lot of mountains to cut tunnels through. We do have big flat prairies. So I chuckle when you talk about building next to a river. In fact a river in West Texas may have less water than your creeks and streams. I do enjoy your videos and RailRoad experience. I just wanted to thank you and have a little fun. I live in Dallas, which is one of the largest land locked cities in the world.
@djstrains - just getting back into my n scale model railroading and came across your channel - wow! I am LOVING your content! Thank you for such excellent work, insight and experience.
Good video, nice to hear the industry perspective. I appreciated how you highlighted some of the changes throughout time such as double track + lots of small trains compared to single track with big trains - made me realize some additional reasons I am planning to model Donner Pass during WWII era that I simply hadn't considered but fits in.
Probably have past by me! I retired 2years ago at At&t and went to work taking care of a long line fiber that is on CSX right away in Ohio and West Virginia. I don’t know many engineers, but know almost all the road masters, yard forman, maintenance, etc in both states.
Absolutely awesome video, so incredibly informative! And thank you for answering my question about train lengths/size. Sorry I'm a little late here to see the video!
DJ you are the man, just love this and the commentary and explanation of the RR wow I never this or that. Thanks again you are the engineer that rocks 🙂
Railfanning, stopped doing it since I work for the railways. Although the occasional oddity still can capture my attention and if time permits I happily take a picture.
Around the same time you started on the railroad I started over the road trucking, I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from climbing into that truck!!
On a layout, if you have a passing siding that holds 20 cars, that takes 15 ft so you are almost running double track any way. So two passing sidings and you are doing 30 ft. of track plus approaches and switch leads.
Wow, very educational experience. You are a able to describe something while keeping the subject interesting, educational and easily understandable all at once. Not everyone has this ability. Many in the education sector could learn from you
Hi DJ, Great video full of information. The railroad I work for sent us to their training center for 2 months in Georgia all expenses paid. Now the motel was more like Motel 6 and most of our meals were taken at Subway and Fast Food restaurants, as you were only given so much money per week on your meal card. But all in all it was a very enjoyable experience. Also I don't know if you didn't want to go into a lot of detail, but it's the GE's that give you the load limited warning when the water temp is below 155 degrees. You know the railroad I work for but I'm not really announcing that, big brother does watch social media and my comments are my own and do not reflect those of the company. Having said that, our locomotives use AESS (Auto Engine Start / Stop) system that will shut the locomotive down, but monitors things like temperature, main reservoir pressure and battery voltage. Of course you have to let AESS shut the engine down, if you hit the EFCO (Engine Fuel Cut Off aka red stop button) you disable the AESS and the locomotive will not restart until manually restarted. Now onto the model portion of my long winded reply (ha ha ha) I love switching operations but have been unable to choose a specific railroad or time period. With my very limited modeling space I choose to create a fictitious or freelance branch line serving a small town. I want the layout to look like a little piece of the real world, but I don't get stressed if my tracks don't have drainage ditches. I'm not knocking anyone who does enjoy modeling that detail, that is the great thing with this hobby, there is room for everyone. My branch is loosely based on branches like the P&LE Ohio River Branch or their Ellwood City Branch, but I didn't want to limit myself to just the P&LE. So though out the year you'll find different railroads operating the branch, but one important thing you mentioned you'll only find railroad cars on my layout that are associated with the industries served on the branch, no stock cars or well cars on this branch line. Also something I learned years ago, never say never in the railroad world. Yes railroad of today want all their customers to be located right along side the mainline, but that wasn't always the case. A couple examples, the Montour railroad had branches that reached coal mines in Westland, PA and Library, PA. Plus the above mentioned P&LE that had a branch that went to Shippingport. Cheers, Rich S.
That is so so cool I railfan the now Ohio River Secondary in fact ive chased DJ on it a few times it ends at National Gypsum Company two questions ive been wondering 1 was that formerly owned by Penn Central? 2 Didnt that go to the opposite side on the river of Mingo Junction Ohio at one point?
Hi @@moregltfirephotography4857, Yes at one time the Pennsylvania railroad owned part of the branch between Weirton and Kobuta. I believe the PRR section was called "The New Cumberland Branch". The PRR and P&LE had a switching agreement where every 6 months they'd alternate between who would switch the industries in Kobuta. The story I heard was a trestle on the PRR section below Shippingport was washed out and the P&LE became the sole operator of the line. During the end of the P&LE era, the section of the branch between ARCO Polymers and Shippingport was under the control of Duquesne Light and only saw occasional movements of High & Wide loads to the power plants. I never got the chance to photograph the Schnabel car on the branch, but heard reports it made several trips to the power plant delivering High & Wide Transformer loads. Cheers, Rich S.
@@RWSBaden wow that is so neat a lot of small lines ended with track washing out etc I'm really interested in the railroad history the Smiths ferry Branch owned by Youngstown and Southern was right across the river from Georgetown PA it followed the Little Beaver Creek to Negly Ohio it was a coal route they were going to turn it into a scenic railroad but then the south portal of the main tunnel collapsed and they closed up shop for good funny enough in 2018 or 2019 rails to trails dug out the collapsed section of the tunnel turned out it never collapsed there was just a mud slid over the south portal and the south portal looks just like the day it was buried just like new concrete no cracks or anything beautiful compared to the North portal there was also a 100 foot high trestle no one knows what happened to it there was even a original wood caboose Shawmut I think it was left behind but very very very stupid teens apparently torched it in the 70s
Well then...thanks for saving me from double tracking this year, passing siding with only 3 engines in my collections DCC roster, and a small yard (literally 4 tracks, one for breaking down & building trains, one for a team track, an interchange to the SOO/CN and the final one for a bulk transloading facility). My area of interest sees coal, lumber, and agricultural products, and car storage for 2 & 3 bay covered hoppers, surprisingly covered hoppers & boxcars are more common than coal gondolas, tanks & standard gondolas in the prototype area.
I appreciate you candid, blue collar viewpoint on labor and business. Congratulations on your successful, self-made career. Takes discipline to weather the changes and downsizing while keeping a good professional attitude. Safety and environmental was always job 1 with me, even if I felt my employer was paying lip service to those priorities at he expense of expediency. I too enjoy drone videography and your Phantom 4's perspective adds a neat dimension to your channel and is a real help for diorama building.
Fantastic video, lots of very valuable information. I really enjoyed watching it & I think it's one of your best yet. Thanks for putting it together & publishing it.
I worked at Elliott Turbomachinery a while back, when there was quite a bit of trackage on the plant property. The siding is under the truck, crosses Harrison Ave and proceeds to the right down to the PRR main in downtown Jeannette.
Excellent video. Problem with railroads is that they are controlled by Wall Street ( W/S wanted 1 man crew - are they insane- image if airlines only had 1 crew
Many railroads already operate with one man in the cab. Most Amtrak runs are that way. Many short line and regional operations operate with one man in the cab. Under the right circumstances, it works better than two in the cab.
Hi DJ, Been trying to get back into the hobby, the pandemic hasn’t helped at all as some health issues keep me out of big box stores, hardware stores, hobby shops, train shows etc. My uncle worked for the B&O, Punxsutawney to DuBois until his retirement back in the late, 80s or 90s. Don’t know what his job was exactly but did watch him work the yard in Punxsy when we were up from D.C. back in the 50s I remember parking ear the tracks out of Union Station and watching the trains going to and from. First lots of big black steam, then diesels and the electrics of the Pennsylvania R.R. I’m not going to try to replicate DC Union station or up around Punxsutawney but I do like that era. My trains, HO, are from the Sixties and Seventies and are DC. So I need to decide to convert to DCC locomotives from DC and get everything out of storage. I intend to begin with Four modular sections, as being in my 70s my daughter and granddaughter will eventually have to move them out of the basement. This will also allow for expansion. Watch your videos plus about 4-5 others to get up to date on all the changes. Thanks for the videos
Thanks for watching. Start small and just focus on one scene. Small but focused. There is a lot of satisfaction doing one scene great, rather than trying to hurry and build a basement empire
Catching all this back catalogue; another great segment. I was fascinated by so much of this, and particularly interested in what you had to say about appropriate train building, because you can actually see similiar physics at work with a model. I have some vintage hoppers that are diecast, and they track real nice, but if they're at the back of the consist and there are any unweighted or underweight cars in front, watch the fun begin! 😣😉
In Ft. Wayne, IN there is a rail line that goes for almost a mile and a half from the mainline to serve a bulk material facility (for the INDOT facility nearby?) and a few warehouses/lumberyard suppliers. The tracks cross Butler Road via a creepy (wooden?) bridge. I’ve seen in the late nineties an SD40-2 being used retrieve cars from the sidings. Nowadays I believe NS uses the SD40E?(SD60) as local switchers. I might never get around to doing some sightseeing (from the streets) one of these weekends for an update.
I’ve been taught physics for years and being very interested in full-size trains and models was great to hear you talk about the physics of driving a train. I would like to know what happens if you lose contact with an engine In the middle or rear of your train. I believe this is a radio contact. An explanation of the way this works would be very helpful to me. Thank you
@@djstrains Thank you so much. That’s what I thought would have to happen but just wondered. Also my initial second word should’ve been teaching not been taught. I very much enjoy your site
You say to model what I grew up watching? Well we would sit backwards on the top set of bleachers behind the local high school. There were 4 sets of tracks that went straight in both directions left & right and there was a locomotive manufacturing plant a couple miles to the right. It was fun to watch the trains go back and forth from the plant but that's about it 🙃😜👍
DJ could you explain how the yard trains operations are carried out ! My father was a rate clerk many years ago when computers were just coming in for the Atlanta and Saint Andrew's Bay Line and I've always been fascinated.
@@cdavid8139 back when they were still The Atlanta and Saint Andrew's Bayline and painted what dad called "Bayline green" and yellow ! Recently the paper mill that was a big part just shut down. Good to hear from you.
@@scificowboy1350 I used to do some work with a dude named Earl Durden who ended up owning them for a while. Later with GWI. I do remember the initial paint scheme for ASAB and driving down the highway from Dothan paralleling the tracks. Shame that the paper mill is shutting down. I never went inside that mill but have been inside many. Paper mills are typically big rail customers. SciFi Cowboy?????
There is those familiar GNWR hoppers. The 4750CF ones will likely be disappearing from salt service, they aren't loaded at American Rock Salt anymore, now the AEX cars are 2 bay hoppers mostly 3281CF cars lettered AEX/CAEX. Yes I only will buy stuff that fit what I will be doing.
Interesting to see what's happened since I got furloughed from CSX in 2008. Seems like management got worse. That's probably true of any large company... and the government! I guess i benefited from "Precision Scheduled Retirement! Thanks for all your insights... and sly sense of humor.
PSR was a terrible nightmare, Greed envogue. sir please never stop making awesome content, i really enjoy your explanations and personality, we are under your learning tree
I would not call it 'greed'. These are for profit businesses. Truckers and barges put huge pressure on rail to keep costs down. And technology does change overtime so with PTC and DPU capability railroads are going to adapt. Trip Optimizer is a great example of technology stepping in and understanding what is going on in a long train far better than a human can. (Sorry DJ...not trying to diminish your running skills).
How does your employer feel about their employees making videos and comments? Did you have to get permission? Do you ever catch grief? Several times I've switched jobs & I wanted a railroad job but each time it seemed as though they were on furlough and now I'm older than 60 and I'm best suited to photograph or work on a layout. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent video DJ, always informative! Question- what engines do you find best for flat switching, GP 38,39,40’s? GE B units? Slug or no slug? Keep the great videos coming my man👍🏼😎
Fantastic video as always! This video answered so many of my questions, thank you! I saw a SD40-2 leading a AC4400CW in McKeesport the day before Easter. And the engineer gave me a few extra honks. If you want to see that video I think it’s one of my most recent video. If I had to pick a fallen flag to work for I’d pick the B&LE. And recently they put in this coaling station near the CSX yard in McKeesport. Do they load coal train there?
Absolutely, one of the most informative how to, and how not to, tutorials on TH-cam! Thanks DJ awesome job!
I appreciate that!
I needed that today. Thank You so much! Can you share this video on your Facebook, twitter or other social media?
@@djstrainsabsolutely 👍
Plus chicks dig engineers! Love that one.
Awesome video…. You content is amazing. Love the fact that you mix real railroading with model railroading. Please keep this great stuff coming!!
Make sure you watch all previous 300 plus videos, lol: th-cam.com/video/VonvWyIMuV0/w-d-xo.html
I have to say that your one of my top 3 model railroad you tubers DJ. Heck your number one because you are actually working on the line, sort of the boots on the ground. The info you give from a railroaders perspective helps in my planning all the time. Thanks and don't stop doing what you love, you are a great asset to modelers and railfans alike.
That means a lot to me. Very appreciated!
Great video. Thanks for telling your story. I've been a model railroader for 38 years and still learned several things. This will be a great video to share with my 13 year old son so he can hear someone else besides me say "find your era". Thanks again!
Glad it was helpful!
Very enlightening information during the Q & A section. Good stuff. 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Looking great, DJ. Happy 2023 my friend!
You as well!!
I just started watching your videos and i can’t stay away
230 videos...WATCH...THEM...ALL. LOL
Excellent information, very interesting!
Glad it was helpful!
This is the video from the Railfan festhival. I watched it. Now im here and a fan. Thumbs up
FANTASTIC!! Thanks so much!
I appreciate you sharing your know how. I'm just a medical guy who had an HO scale layout in my parents basement when I was in junior high. Now just about retired I want to get back into the layout scene! I don't even have a place for a railroad yet, and the very first step is to convince the wife for some space...
Good luck Scott
DJ, I have been enjoying your videos for about a year now, Thanks for what you do! I drive a OTR flatbed delivering OSB out of the Weyerhaeuser mill in Flatwoods WV. At about the 6:00 mark what do I see, probably the most despised delivery we do, Allegheny Millworks right beside the 10th street bridge! This place is an absolute nightmare to get into and out of! Anyway keep the great work! Thx!
LOL, small world. Glad I was able to capture it though, lol.
Hi Dj,I love your channel and your humor.you are one of the best youtubers I've ever seen. I have so much fun watching the channel. I have a big bedroom floor layout that is a double track mainline with an 8 track rail yard and I am thinking about replacing the 6 inch curve pieces with the 1 foot curved pieces reducing the string line derailments.the trains can be longer than ever. I can finally have 34 car trains on my outside loop. And I have 12 trains in total some of the engine bodies are H O scale with wheels that would fit perfectly on the wooden train tracks. That way I can operate the trains by hand to save electricity to reduce electric costs for my home and my grandmother. I also do that so I don't have to get track cleaning supplies for every single engine that is HO scale. But then there are costs of all the locomotive wheels from whittle shortline railroad and the 5 8ths screw in couplings for the trains. That is why I have a wooden train layout in my room. And I also like to make my trains look nice and clean. I am so glad I could make the trains very big and so much fun to operate on the railroad. I also deliver the freight from point A to point B and I haul everything coal to gifts and recycling materials to the costumers all over the imaginary Island Of Poultney. I got that from the Island Of SODOR from Thomas and friends. I love that show except All Engines Go. I hate that part of the show so much. I would rather watch chuggington. I think All Engines Go is the worst train show I've ever seen in my life but I like Big World Big Adventures because they got a new engine for the steam team on SODOR. Her name is Rebecca. She is very very kind and helpful to everyone even to devious Deisel who tricks her into doing the jobs that the other diesels were supposed to do but he gave her the wrong destinations to get the other diesels into trouble with the fat controller. Rebecca found out about the plan after she delivered the cars to the wrong place and told the fat controller what diesel told her to do and that got him into trouble and I think he deserves it. Rebecca is one of the best Engines ever.
Sorry for going off topic.
Thanks
Cory Mears
I agree with the others! One of the very best channels on TH-cam!!
Very Appreciated!!
I enjoy hearing the engineer side of train operation and I enjoy your drone footage
You gave me some good advice! I'm in the planning stages, at 58 years old, to model three switch yards I grew up on as my Dad worked for the SOO LINE RR for over 40 years in Wisconsin and Michigan. I just bought a house with an open basement and I'm getting the plans together. Thanks for what you're doing.
I always liked the big red letters on the white engines. It really looks neat and stands out! Should be a lot of fun
You insight into the railroads is most appropriated😀👍👍👍👍👍
Really great video DJ, so broad and informative. Thanks for validating my trigger of plywood spaghetti 🍝 double track 4 - 8 layouts. I can’t wait to get my prototype scene based layout started! On foam. 😂
Sounds great!
Nice informative video! Thanks for making this.
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience of the workings of the railroad. 👍
Thanks for watching!
Lots of valuable informations. Helps as to built better Layouts! Thanx DJ. Greetings from Germany!
Awesome! So honored to have viewers from Germany!
Thanks for posting these. I've been looking at trains as a kid but didn't have the any real understanding about operations until these videos.
Glad to help! I have hundreds of videos
I'm doing a freelance "what if" road.
The question answered is, "What if steam and turbine power never went away?"
I use modern era rolling stock and non-railroad construction, but steam and turbine motive power with the associated infrastructure.
I do have a few diesels, but they're mostly switchers. Up to third-generation, with minimal road engines. No F-units, no E-units.
I do have modern electric engines, though. You might see an Acela or a GG1.
But for the most part the road engines are either turbines or steam locomotives.
Additionally, I use three-rail O-scale for more realism and less setup for signals and accessories.
I also use speed-controlled slot cars wired to a set of timers and signal units, similar to block signals on the rails, in order to make realistic car traffic. When the crossing gates are down the street signal is red and the slot cars in the block, stop. Then when the gates go up the lights turn green and the cars move again.
The cars are wired internally to have headlights, tail lights and specialty lighting (for emergency vehicles).
My layout is hi-rail, but it is extremely realistic apart from the "what if" factor.
It's basically "Budget Miniatur Wunderland".
That sounds bad ass! Love it
@@djstrains It's a plan and a dream, not a thing yet.
But thank you for the complement.
I have just found your channel. I live in North Texas. Except for the Houston Ship Channel we do not have legacy waterways that carried freight or passengers. Also don’t have a lot of mountains to cut tunnels through. We do have big flat prairies. So I chuckle when you talk about building next to a river. In fact a river in West Texas may have less water than your creeks and streams.
I do enjoy your videos and RailRoad experience. I just wanted to thank you and have a little fun. I live in Dallas, which is one of the largest land locked cities in the world.
I really want to visit the Texas railroad that uses the old Union Railroads RS2. Someday.
@djstrains - just getting back into my n scale model railroading and came across your channel - wow! I am LOVING your content! Thank you for such excellent work, insight and experience.
Awesome, thank you!
Good video, nice to hear the industry perspective. I appreciated how you highlighted some of the changes throughout time such as double track + lots of small trains compared to single track with big trains - made me realize some additional reasons I am planning to model Donner Pass during WWII era that I simply hadn't considered but fits in.
Great video DJ! That's how I got started in my railroad career.....retirements were happening faster than they could hire.
You got that right
Probably have past by me! I retired 2years ago at At&t and went to work taking care of a long line fiber that is on CSX right away in Ohio and West Virginia. I don’t know many engineers, but know almost all the road masters, yard forman, maintenance, etc in both states.
Absolutely awesome video, so incredibly informative! And thank you for answering my question about train lengths/size. Sorry I'm a little late here to see the video!
Glad it was helpful!
DJ you are the man, just love this and the commentary and explanation of the RR wow I never this or that. Thanks again you are the engineer that rocks 🙂
Much appreciated
Railfanning, stopped doing it since I work for the railways. Although the occasional oddity still can capture my attention and if time permits I happily take a picture.
DJ THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH ME I APPRECIATE IT AND YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY TODAY 😊 JIM KAMMERER OF PHILADELPHIA PA 👌
Best RR set-up video I ever viewed! Ty for your RR insights relative to model RR-ing!😊🎉❤
Glad it was helpful!
Around the same time you started on the railroad I started over the road trucking, I wish I could go back in time and stop myself from climbing into that truck!!
On a layout, if you have a passing siding that holds 20 cars, that takes 15 ft so you are almost running double track any way. So two passing sidings and you are doing 30 ft. of track plus approaches and switch leads.
Planning to join the railroad
Wow, very educational experience. You are a able to describe something while keeping the subject interesting, educational and easily understandable all at once. Not everyone has this ability. Many in the education sector could learn from you
Sincere appreciation!!!
Hi DJ, Great video full of information. The railroad I work for sent us to their training center for 2 months in Georgia all expenses paid. Now the motel was more like Motel 6 and most of our meals were taken at Subway and Fast Food restaurants, as you were only given so much money per week on your meal card. But all in all it was a very enjoyable experience. Also I don't know if you didn't want to go into a lot of detail, but it's the GE's that give you the load limited warning when the water temp is below 155 degrees. You know the railroad I work for but I'm not really announcing that, big brother does watch social media and my comments are my own and do not reflect those of the company. Having said that, our locomotives use AESS (Auto Engine Start / Stop) system that will shut the locomotive down, but monitors things like temperature, main reservoir pressure and battery voltage. Of course you have to let AESS shut the engine down, if you hit the EFCO (Engine Fuel Cut Off aka red stop button) you disable the AESS and the locomotive will not restart until manually restarted.
Now onto the model portion of my long winded reply (ha ha ha) I love switching operations but have been unable to choose a specific railroad or time period. With my very limited modeling space I choose to create a fictitious or freelance branch line serving a small town. I want the layout to look like a little piece of the real world, but I don't get stressed if my tracks don't have drainage ditches. I'm not knocking anyone who does enjoy modeling that detail, that is the great thing with this hobby, there is room for everyone. My branch is loosely based on branches like the P&LE Ohio River Branch or their Ellwood City Branch, but I didn't want to limit myself to just the P&LE. So though out the year you'll find different railroads operating the branch, but one important thing you mentioned you'll only find railroad cars on my layout that are associated with the industries served on the branch, no stock cars or well cars on this branch line. Also something I learned years ago, never say never in the railroad world. Yes railroad of today want all their customers to be located right along side the mainline, but that wasn't always the case. A couple examples, the Montour railroad had branches that reached coal mines in Westland, PA and Library, PA. Plus the above mentioned P&LE that had a branch that went to Shippingport. Cheers, Rich S.
That is so so cool I railfan the now Ohio River Secondary in fact ive chased DJ on it a few times it ends at National Gypsum Company two questions ive been wondering 1 was that formerly owned by Penn Central? 2 Didnt that go to the opposite side on the river of Mingo Junction Ohio at one point?
Hi @@moregltfirephotography4857, Yes at one time the Pennsylvania railroad owned part of the branch between Weirton and Kobuta. I believe the PRR section was called "The New Cumberland Branch". The PRR and P&LE had a switching agreement where every 6 months they'd alternate between who would switch the industries in Kobuta. The story I heard was a trestle on the PRR section below Shippingport was washed out and the P&LE became the sole operator of the line. During the end of the P&LE era, the section of the branch between ARCO Polymers and Shippingport was under the control of Duquesne Light and only saw occasional movements of High & Wide loads to the power plants. I never got the chance to photograph the Schnabel car on the branch, but heard reports it made several trips to the power plant delivering High & Wide Transformer loads. Cheers, Rich S.
@@RWSBaden wow that is so neat a lot of small lines ended with track washing out etc I'm really interested in the railroad history the Smiths ferry Branch owned by Youngstown and Southern was right across the river from Georgetown PA it followed the Little Beaver Creek to Negly Ohio it was a coal route they were going to turn it into a scenic railroad but then the south portal of the main tunnel collapsed and they closed up shop for good funny enough in 2018 or 2019 rails to trails dug out the collapsed section of the tunnel turned out it never collapsed there was just a mud slid over the south portal and the south portal looks just like the day it was buried just like new concrete no cracks or anything beautiful compared to the North portal there was also a 100 foot high trestle no one knows what happened to it there was even a original wood caboose Shawmut I think it was left behind but very very very stupid teens apparently torched it in the 70s
Well then...thanks for saving me from double tracking this year, passing siding with only 3 engines in my collections DCC roster, and a small yard (literally 4 tracks, one for breaking down & building trains, one for a team track, an interchange to the SOO/CN and the final one for a bulk transloading facility). My area of interest sees coal, lumber, and agricultural products, and car storage for 2 & 3 bay covered hoppers, surprisingly covered hoppers & boxcars are more common than coal gondolas, tanks & standard gondolas in the prototype area.
I appreciate you candid, blue collar viewpoint on labor and business. Congratulations on your successful, self-made career. Takes discipline to weather the changes and downsizing while keeping a good professional attitude. Safety and environmental was always job 1 with me, even if I felt my employer was paying lip service to those priorities at he expense of expediency. I too enjoy drone videography and your Phantom 4's perspective adds a neat dimension to your channel and is a real help for diorama building.
Actually its the Mavic air 1.amzn.to/3gnNl8N
@@djstrains I have an EVO1 and Mavic Mini. My next upgrade will be a 1" camera sensor. I encourage viewers to use their favorite channel's links tho.
Great overview and insight especially from a engineer. Keep the videos coming. Much appreciated
Thanks, will do!
Fantastic video, lots of very valuable information. I really enjoyed watching it & I think it's one of your best yet. Thanks for putting it together & publishing it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video
I worked at Elliott Turbomachinery a while back, when there was quite a bit of trackage on the plant property. The siding is under the truck, crosses Harrison Ave and proceeds to the right down to the PRR main in downtown Jeannette.
I live 1 mile away off of Altman.
Excellent video. Problem with railroads is that they are controlled by Wall Street ( W/S wanted 1 man crew - are they insane- image if airlines only had 1 crew
Many railroads already operate with one man in the cab. Most Amtrak runs are that way. Many short line and regional operations operate with one man in the cab. Under the right circumstances, it works better than two in the cab.
Excellent video DJ. Awesome drone footage.
Glad you enjoyed it
Very nice collection of railroad/model railroad stuff!
Thank you very much!
Fascinating insights DJ. Thanks for this. I really enjoy your channel.
Much appreciated
Another Great Video DJ 👍👍👍 ! I learned a lot from you , always a Big Thanks 🤩 !!!!
Glad to hear that!
Great video. I always learn something new. You give great advice and have made fall back in love with the hobby.
That is awesome!
You make such great videos. I enjoy them al and I have learned a great deal.
I am sincerely appreciative for that! Thank you!!
DJ, very enjoyable, interesting, and informative video. Nice job. Thanks for your time and effort.
Rich
Much appreciated!
Absolutely amazing video and your explanations of everything!
Thank you kindly!
Sweating isn’t always from physical labor, an intense “oops” episode will do it, too! Damn good video, once again!
Hi DJ, Been trying to get back into the hobby, the pandemic hasn’t helped at all as some health issues keep me out of big box stores, hardware stores, hobby shops, train shows etc. My uncle worked for the B&O, Punxsutawney to DuBois until his retirement back in the late, 80s or 90s. Don’t know what his job was exactly but did watch him work the yard in Punxsy when we were up from D.C. back in the 50s I remember parking ear the tracks out of Union Station and watching the trains going to and from. First lots of big black steam, then diesels and the electrics of the Pennsylvania R.R. I’m not going to try to replicate DC Union station or up around Punxsutawney but I do like that era. My trains, HO, are from the Sixties and Seventies and are DC. So I need to decide to convert to DCC locomotives from DC and get everything out of storage. I intend to begin with Four modular sections, as being in my 70s my daughter and granddaughter will eventually have to move them out of the basement. This will also allow for expansion. Watch your videos plus about 4-5 others to get up to date on all the changes. Thanks for the videos
Thanks for watching. Start small and just focus on one scene. Small but focused. There is a lot of satisfaction doing one scene great, rather than trying to hurry and build a basement empire
Great video DJ
Very informative really enjoyed it
Glad to hear it
Great informative video, abd honest also, keep up the
The good work!
A very nice and very sincere video! Great work!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Bro, very educational! Good job
It’s one of my favorites too.
17:50 horsecrap curve goes brrrrrr
LMAO!!
Thanks for sharing railroad knowledge.
Any time!
Catching all this back catalogue; another great segment. I was fascinated by so much of this, and particularly interested in what you had to say about appropriate train building, because you can actually see similiar physics at work with a model. I have some vintage hoppers that are diecast, and they track real nice, but if they're at the back of the consist and there are any unweighted or underweight cars in front, watch the fun begin! 😣😉
Good stuff man, thanks for putting this together and sharing it with us.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Cool! Thank you for sharing your story with us. I can honestly say I'm always learning something from every video and that's pretty good.
Glad to hear it!
You have been a faithful follower for a long time and I am grateful for you, my friend.
In Ft. Wayne, IN there is a rail line that goes for almost a mile and a half from the mainline to serve a bulk material facility (for the INDOT facility nearby?) and a few warehouses/lumberyard suppliers. The tracks cross Butler Road via a creepy (wooden?) bridge. I’ve seen in the late nineties an SD40-2 being used retrieve cars from the sidings. Nowadays I believe NS uses the SD40E?(SD60) as local switchers. I might never get around to doing some sightseeing (from the streets) one of these weekends for an update.
Very nice! I missed seeing your face though. --dunc
Next time!
Awesome video, very knowledgeable and list of great tips on such a short vid! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for such an informative video.
Glad it was helpful!
I’ve been taught physics for years and being very interested in full-size trains and models was great to hear you talk about the physics of driving a train. I would like to know what happens if you lose contact with an engine In the middle or rear of your train. I believe this is a radio contact. An explanation of the way this works would be very helpful to me. Thank you
I was told it will stay in last state as a default for a short period of time to prevent any dramatic change to the slack of the train.
@@djstrains Thank you so much. That’s what I thought would have to happen but just wondered. Also my initial second word should’ve been teaching not been taught. I very much enjoy your site
What a wonderful video DJ. Thank you.
You're very welcome
You say to model what I grew up watching? Well we would sit backwards on the top set of bleachers behind the local high school. There were 4 sets of tracks that went straight in both directions left & right and there was a locomotive manufacturing plant a couple miles to the right. It was fun to watch the trains go back and forth from the plant but that's about it 🙃😜👍
DJ, this video is soooooo informative. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
DJ could you explain how the yard trains operations are carried out !
My father was a rate clerk many years ago when computers were just coming in for the Atlanta and Saint Andrew's Bay Line and I've always been fascinated.
I have on my TH-cam channel home page a bunch of PLAYLISTS. Look for ones like Prototype operations because I have many on yards you may like.
I used to do some work for the Bay Line many years ago. Small world.
@@cdavid8139 back when they were still The Atlanta and Saint Andrew's Bayline and painted what dad called "Bayline green" and yellow !
Recently the paper mill that was a big part just shut down. Good to hear from you.
@@scificowboy1350 I used to do some work with a dude named Earl Durden who ended up owning them for a while. Later with GWI. I do remember the initial paint scheme for ASAB and driving down the highway from Dothan paralleling the tracks. Shame that the paper mill is shutting down. I never went inside that mill but have been inside many. Paper mills are typically big rail customers. SciFi Cowboy?????
There is those familiar GNWR hoppers.
The 4750CF ones will likely be disappearing from salt service, they aren't loaded at American Rock Salt anymore, now the AEX cars are 2 bay hoppers mostly 3281CF cars lettered AEX/CAEX.
Yes I only will buy stuff that fit what I will be doing.
Well done video. Thank you.
Thanks!
Thank you for this insight, a very good moment, besides your other good videos.
I appreciate that
"program you" 🤣
Again another great video. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm hooked! Love the content!
Awesome! Thank you!
Interesting to see what's happened since I got furloughed from CSX in 2008. Seems like management got worse. That's probably true of any large company... and the government!
I guess i benefited from "Precision Scheduled Retirement!
Thanks for all your insights... and sly sense of humor.
Great info thanks for the insights
Good video, DJ!
Thanks for watching
PSR was a terrible nightmare, Greed envogue. sir please never stop making awesome content, i really enjoy your explanations and personality, we are under your learning tree
Thank you kindly
I would not call it 'greed'. These are for profit businesses. Truckers and barges put huge pressure on rail to keep costs down. And technology does change overtime so with PTC and DPU capability railroads are going to adapt. Trip Optimizer is a great example of technology stepping in and understanding what is going on in a long train far better than a human can. (Sorry DJ...not trying to diminish your running skills).
Very informative!
Thanks for your knowledge and tips.
My pleasure!
This is an excellent video. Thank you very much!
You're very welcome!
Great video and info!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great and helpful content.
Glad it was helpful!
great video and grone shots thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
How does your employer feel about their employees making videos and comments? Did you have to get permission? Do you ever catch grief? Several times I've switched jobs & I wanted a railroad job but each time it seemed as though they were on furlough and now I'm older than 60 and I'm best suited to photograph or work on a layout. Thanks for sharing!
loved this video
8:55 Nice shot of the Everson SWP connection track there 😏
GOOD EYE!!!!
Very educational. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it!
How about a video of your top 10 favorite locomotives
I cant think of 10, lol. They are pretty much the same. Not much difference between the new Gevos. However the SD70s are garbage.
@@djstrains Okay but what are the 2 types of locomotive controls I forgot their names
I know one is desktop control which are in the AC4400CW’s (CW44AC) and the C40-8W (CW40-8)
Nice video! I have seen CSX 6440 twice in northern Indiana
great info
Excellent video DJ, always informative! Question- what engines do you find best for flat switching, GP 38,39,40’s? GE B units? Slug or no slug? Keep the great videos coming my man👍🏼😎
2 GP40's are better than a mother slug in my opinion.
@@djstrains Yessir
Fantastic video as always! This video answered so many of my questions, thank you! I saw a SD40-2 leading a AC4400CW in McKeesport the day before Easter. And the engineer gave me a few extra honks. If you want to see that video I think it’s one of my most recent video. If I had to pick a fallen flag to work for I’d pick the B&LE. And recently they put in this coaling station near the CSX yard in McKeesport. Do they load coal train there?
No, that's river to truck, no rail involved.
Oh. Thank you!
Thank you.