Many thanks to Norm & Curtis, the engineer & brakeman
on the Disney Steam train for letting me ride in the cab last
Friday 11/3/06.
All Non-commercial, Private, at our home, large 15" gauge, Grand Scale Steam and Electric Railroad ....Everything was and is built locally from scratch. Becky and I have done and do as much as possible ourselves. and as of 4/17/05 our "Little Engine that Could" ... "Davey Boy" .... electric switcher engine was delivered ..... And in Nov 05 our all steel Warren Truss bridge that Dave Moeller and I built was placed with a 100 ton crane. .... And this past May - August, 2006 we built our new switch, laid all the new rail to, over the new bridge and finishing loop #3. See photo below and a link to those new pages,
Our layout also features a 14' high functioning water tower, 50' train station, 65' tunnel, play house, play grounds, etc. and a new Railroad Bridge, including a 68.5 foot long free span Warren Truss all steel section. David Moeller (engineer, neighbor) and I built it ... Melvin Harris gave us the indea of steel instead of wood and drew a sketch of one on his kitchen table ... Dave & I took it from there. I welded it all ... Becky says we should call the new railroad bridge (B&B) .... Brains and Brawn! .... Meet Brawny Hemp!
5/19/07 Update .... finished another switch ... a #8 this time and finished tying our #2 loop back into our main #3 loop. Next we have to build an addition 16' X 65' train barn and storage area.
Here also it a photo of the hand pump car speeder that I had Melvin build for us ..... the genius he is ...he designed and built this hand car with a 50's Ford 4 speed gear box. Dave Moeller and I picked it up 5/25/07 ... I am just starting messing with a paint scheme ... I will be also be adding rough sawn wook to the aluminum surface.
Our new "Draisine" (German for Hand Car Speeder) ... We have team or singles races up to 1/2 mile
8/6/06 Update ...... We placed our gold splice bar and bolts today finishing our 4 year phase 3 project by tying our new phase 3 loop into our main line!!!!!! I still have about 130' of deep fill and 1" crushed granite to place under the last section of track .. But it is now connected!
8/12/06 .. Update .... Dave & I finished with all the road bed this morning ... Dave & I worked till noon yesterday and then I went out again from 5 - 10 pm ... worked in the dark with my head mounted LED spot light. Dave, Becky & I took our Maiden Voyage this morning ... It is wonderful!!! Smooth and it takes about 6 minutes non stop and that is loop 3 without any repeat track. We will usually stop with our passengers on our bridge, at our view point if Mt. Shasta is visible, and at 3 road crossings making the loop about 10 minutes long. We then still have loop one and loop 2 we can switch onto if we wish. Prolly won't do that unless we have 2 or more engines running at once. .... our phase #3 loop
7/22/2006 Update .... We now have almost 1 mile of total track laid. Yesterday Dave Moeller and I set up with level and lasser, welded, placed and blocked 90' of straight rail and today we did another 30'. ,,,, We only have about another 120 feet of track to lay to finish our summer project of completing
6/10/06 Update! ... After a 2 years of planning and building today is a milestone on our 8 year layout ... we now as of today have track thru our new stubb switch that Dave Moeller and I also built from scratch and custom made in place to fit our existing curve. The test trucks ran thru this switch as smooth as butter!!! We also extended our straight section to and over our new bridge! ... Here are some short movies I have also added to our movie page you can also access below on this page. These new movies show our first trip with "Davey Boy" our electric yard goat over the new Warren Truss all steel bridge we placed last November just before the winter rains. Plus see more photos our new Switch web site! ( Part of Phase #3 also)...... Also, be sure to check out Our New Forney Style Steam Engine Being Built
A note .... After building this switch, and granted it may be one of the only ones ever built directly into an existing straight and an existing curve and probably much harder than building one seperately that can replace any straight section. But, Dave & have only the greatest respect for anyone that builds these things! I used to think Hillcrest and Harmer Steel and others charged way to much. Not so! ... these things really take a lot of engineering, planning, time and the utmost care and patience! .... If we had to build these for someone else we'd charge a LOT MORE than they do!
Before starting these movies ... stop the music at the top of this page first and turn you volume way up to hear the great steel on steel sound.
8/12/06 - More Phase 3 Movie
I had only 15 seconds for this 5th movie and a lot of track to cover to show some of the latest track on the far side of the bridge ... I am really flying here and still couldn't get it all in .... the last section is passable but has only the wood and steel ties and no road bed yet. ... More to follow. Do have some stills I will put up on the phase #3 and flat car page.
And on the still photo just below this we are now as of 7/13/06 all the way around to the telephone pole in the background.
Update 7/16/06 ... We are now up to the far left side of the photo below.
Switch almost finished ... Derailer guards placed and almost ready to add splice bars and weld into place. This is also where we will be building 2 more switches for our Y to turn our train around and run in the opposite direction. Before this though we have to build the one on the other side of our new tunnel back into our main line.
David Moeller
My very good friend, neighbor, engineer and train nut too ... Dave ... I'll have that bacon crispy & the eggs over medium ( ; >)
Becky and myself ... Doc Hemp (6/30/06 - Is our 43rd Wedding Anniversary) If it weren't for my wonderful wife's support NONE of this could ever have happened!
I LOVE YOU BECK!
ZERO Deflection in the 3" crown we built into this all Steel Warren Truss Bridge. An electric, steam double header. With our long flat car attached we would have about an 80' train now.
5/17/06 Update - Dave Moeller and I have already started in designing and building our own multiple custom in place switches. We are building them into our existing curves and straights utilizing the already in place curved track without needing to pre build or bend hardly any additional track. We will be getting our load of new track, spilce bars and 3 new full sized and reconditioned switch stands any day now!
The huge loop of additional track will be going over the new Warren Truss bridge Dave & Built last summer and loop back across the land bridge on the other side .....I am also adding another switch, rail and stall to the train barn. ...... By the end of this summer we should have 3 main large loops we can take.
2/12/06 Udate .. Finally another perfect day today ... 80 degrees, Went to Gerlinger Steel and picked up 2 junk pieces of 10" wide X 1/8" Thick by 50" long flat bar .... Designed and built a whole new bracket and support system for the tables in our passenger cars. Welded the base plate of the table to the flat bar and cut 2" Channel to finish off the sides .... 6 screws hold the whole thing in solid as a rock now!
Also, be sure to visit our movie section .. links below
Click on the photo above of my mom & our grandson Bryan To see how our caboose was built by Jay Snavely & Jerry Nash
Blowing down the cylinders on Xmas Eve 2004 before leaving the station ...
Thank You Ed Ruether for these photos
Riding Railkits - Start Your
Back Yard Hobby Here! .. Rod Johnston is another dentist that loves
trains. He is the John Johnston of the comic strip "For Better or Worse".
His specialty is the smaller ride aboard and most affordable scale
home railroad that can be used on small or large plots of land as
recently featured on the show "Tracks Ahead".
Please visit his Riding Railkits website and tell em Doc Hemp Sentcha!
Grand Canyon Train Trip in Sept 04! Grand Canyon Train trip from Williams Arizona to Grand Canyon and back. Lots of exclusive flood photos from the train!
See Our (Becky & Dave's) Favorite G Scale Locomotive
We have a little bit of G Scale stuff we run at Xmas and out back on the deck for the kids to run and we have some of it displayed in our dental office as well. We love trains of all sizes and Scale and otherwise.
John Woods Arborway 15" Railroad This is by far the best Grand Scale Railroad in the USA! I was very
saddened today to learn of John's death in a motorcyle accident .. this also
hits home because Becky and I both ride a lot too. I have been riding and racing
for over 40 yrs. now.
Discover Live Steam article about John
This web site is hosted & made possible by C. David Hemp DDS INC. .. Dental Site, And B.A.D. Chariots ... Also all Educational, Hobby, & Non-commercial.
