Track Plan

        The track plan for the Quarry division of my layout is pictured below. The industries served will be a locomotive servicing location, a rock loader, and a cement loader. The locomotive servicing place will feature a scrap yard, and maybe a see-in where the building goes out of the side of the layout. The rock loader will be part of a quarry scene, and it will be able to serve 10-12 car trains with its two tracks. The quarry will feature a road going down into the quarry pit, which will end at my "trap" door. The siding for these industries will go down at approximately three percent, while the main line will go up at approximately three percent. This will make the feeling of "this is a quarry" go even further. The cement loader can serve trains of about eight cars, and has a conveyor going into the hill to bring the processed cement from the plant. The covered hoppers will be "loaded" one hatch at a time under an approximately 30" round tube. 

        The different types of trains will be run separately to add operating interest to the section. Train one will be full of ten to twelve hoppers and 44' aggregate hoppers and train two will be full of cement covered hoppers. The covered hopper loader siding was moved to be adjacent to the rock loading siding with space for dump trucks and front loaders. More will be changed as I go. -David Cutting

Micro Engineering N scale Concrete Tie Flextrack

This fine replica of contemporary concrete tie flextrack from Micro Engineering is very close to its prototype. Concrete tie flextrack is now in regular use in the united states and most parts of Europe and Asia. The track features acetal plastic ties and either weathered or non-weathered code 55 nickel-silver rail. The This track represents pre-stressed concrete ties with the characteristic lowered center cross section.
        Interest in concrete railroad ties increased after World War II following advances in the design, quality and production of pre-stressed concrete. Concrete ties were cheaper and easier to obtain than timber and better able to carry higher axle-weights and sustain higher speeds. Their greater weight ensures improved retention of track geometry especially when installed with continuous-welded rail. Concrete sleepers have a longer service life and require less maintenance than timber due to their greater weight which helps them remain in the correct position longer. Concrete sleepers need to be installed on a well-prepared subgrade with an adequate depth on free-draining ballast to perform well. In 1877, M. Monnier, a French gardener, suggested that concrete could be used for making ties for railway track. Monnier designed a tie and obtained a patent for it, but it was not successful. Designs were further developed and the railways of Austria and Italy used the first concrete ties around the turn of the 20th century. This was closely followed by other European railways. Major progress was not achieved until World War II, when the timbers used for ties were scarce due competition from other uses, such as mines. Following research carried out on French and other European railways, the modern pre-stressed concrete tie was developed. Heavier rail sections and long welded rails were also being installed, requiring higher-quality ties. These conditions spurred the development of concrete ties in France, Germany and Britain, where the technology was perfected. On the highest categories of line in the UK (those with the highest speeds and tonnages) pre-stressed concrete sleepers are the only ones permitted by Network Rail standards. Most European railways also now use concrete bearers in switches and crossing layouts due to the longer life and lower cost of concrete bearers compared to timber, which is increasingly difficult and expensive to source in sufficient quantities and quality.-Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
        The track is in gauge and stays bent when it is bent, instead of wanting to spring back like Atlas track. The track can keep its gauge when bent very tight. There aren't any holes provided for spikes, so you must drill your own holes or glue the track down. I purchased my track un-weathered, but you can also get it weathered. If you want clean ties, then you can get it weathered and not have to get your ties all grimy.                                               
        Micro Engineering's new concrete tie track will allow modelers of the contemporary scene to keep their track as up to date as their locomotives and rolling stock. -David Cutting       

Atlas N scale GE Dash 8-40BW

This Atlas Master Line Dash 8-40BW is a fine replica of its massive prototype. The detailing is extremely fine, as well as the paint scheme, and the mechanism is smooth and reliable.
       The Dash 8-40BW, or B40-8W as some call it, is a four-axle road diesel locomotive built by GE Transportation Systems for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) in the early 1990s. It is part of the GE Dash 8 Series of freight locomotives. The locomotive model designation is interpreted as follows: B (B type truck arrangement, 2 axles per truck) 40 (4000 horsepower) -8 (the generation when it was designed, in this case meaning the late 1980s) W (Wide cab). ATSF was the only railroad to order the B40-8W, and a B unit (cabless booster unit) was almost made with it, but because the price would have been the same for B40-8Ws with cabs or without, they decided to order units with cabs only. All of ATSF's B40-8Ws became part of BNSF Railway, and many of them were repainted into BNSF's orange, yellow, and green "Heritage 2" paint scheme. -Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
        The model follows the design of other Atlas models with its many interlocking shell pieces. The pieces include the cab, walkways, radiator, body, and flexible acetal plastic. These parts have fine molded on detail such as lift rings, grab irons, and air horns. 
        The mechanism is like the other atlas models of today. It has a heavy split cast metal frame which encloses the five-pole skew-wound motor and a pair of brass flywheels, one for each side of the motor. All axles are driven and all wheels pick up electricity. The model comes factory-equipped with accumate knuckle couplers.

BNSF 515 leads a hopper train

        A light board is held in place by the split frame. The locomotive has directional headlights. I soon replaced this board with Digitrax DN163A0. The installation is very simple - just spread apart the sides of the locomotive and pop off the shell. loosen the screws on the frame and and swap the boards, making sure that the decoder is in the right way - I actually put the decoder upside down and couldn't get the two sides of the frame back together! The 8-40BW ran smoothly throughout its speed range, although there was some slight binding - something that others might not have a problem with. 
        The lettering is very sharp and opaque and the small details are easily visible.
        Overall this is an amazing locomotive from Atlas and I think that it will be much appreciated by modelers of the contemporary era. Especially attractive is the pricing for the quality. -David Cutting