Early Spring on the Stoddard Hill Farm Railway

Today, we make some runs up and down the corkscrew on the SHFR.
Merchandise and ES-2-500 locomotives for sale on our website! www.millbrookrailroad.com

[@mdouglaswray]

Lovely video! Stout little engine you have there. I'd love to come and play with these toys!!

[@petercruikshank2618]

Do you think your son has the big yet? I really like all the attention to detail on his equipment. A master craftsman indeed!

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Hard to say if he has the bug yet. I think he may need more exposure to running trains.

[@Santafefrank]

Thanks for the video

[@StanFerris]

Fun!

[@danielfantino1714]

Nice spring day and run for sure. How rotating end caps are fixed on the wheel bearing/axle ? Who makes them ?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I think those are older Tom Bee trucks. Plum Cove Studios has some that are similar.

[@danielfantino1714]

@@MillBrookRailroad well heavy sideframe casting looks like them. I feel as exited as a kid with those rotating end caps. Plum Cove makes them with highly detailed cast the same way the real one, sideframe. Don´t know if they are sturdier. Thanks Aaron..

[@peter15871]

really nice railroad ,that 7% grade looks pretty steep on the camera view

[@MillBrookRailroad]

The Stoddard Hill Farm Railway corkscrew is a 4% grade and it looks steep when you're standing right there. The 7% grade is on the Shady Pines Railroad. That line is really steep.

[@daviddiehl197]

Think the bridge guard rails go on the inside.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

British practice is to have guard rails on the outside.

[@brutus1102]

What is the grade and track radius for the Corkscrew curve??

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I believe it's a 60 foot radius curve, but the grade is close to 4%.

[@psemraujr]

Is Banta Modelworks and Stoddard Hill Farm Railway one in the same???

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Yes. Stoddard Hill Farm Railway is owned by Banta Modelworks.

[@luigisaporito9350]

good evening..one question: the locomotive is powered by batteries or by heat engine?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

The locomotive is a battery electric.

[@luigisaporito9350]

@@MillBrookRailroad THANK YOU

[@rosesmith6208]

if I had something like that on my property I would not be able to keep the neighborhood kids from trying to ride it (when I am not around) no doubt the city would make me remove it because it would be considered attractive nusiance, I know my neighbor up the street who has had a horse boarding stable for years before the development came in had to put privacy fence around her whole property (I guess people cant control their kids apparently) but I think a train set up like that would be fun. of course I only have 3 acres you look liek you have a million there.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I'm only using 3 acres out of 6.75 at the moment. A fence isn't a bad thing but being considered an attractive nuisance has more to do with the way you and others handle visitors. You have the potential there to create more demand for this hobby. When they find it interesting, kids can be the best track workers, engineers or whatever and those are skills that they can take into adulthood. I know several young people who started out as curious onlookers and have grown into professional railroaders. Nationally, our education system is pushing science, technology, engineering and math education. A railroad requires all of that. You need geometry to calculate the route. Math to calculate how many of each part you need and to calculate how much it will cost. You need to apply a scientific approach when investigating track and equipment problems. I can go on, but I think you got the idea. These are all ways to present your project to the neighbors, if they ask. As far as zoning goes: first, get to know exactly what the zoning laws in your community say. If a railroad isn't mentioned, then it is allowed by default. Don't treat it like an amusement ride unless you want to deal with amusement ride laws (in some areas, amusement ride laws only require insurance and safety inspections which can be tolerable). Put something on one end that needs to be moved to the other end. If your significant other is into gardening, make the railroad connect the garden to the house. If you have a steep incline, build an incline railway that generates electricity. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. It isn't a model railroad or an amusement ride if you're using it primarily for a practical purpose.

[@sampatel5509]

No one says wheere this is located at.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

It is in Dummerston, Vermont.

[@sampatel5509]

@@MillBrookRailroad THANK YOU, four places I looked, nothing.

[@H4MEE]

Brown and sticky you say

[@dvone4124]

"The Vicar of Dibley" (BBC comedy) reference. Our reporter has wide interests.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

What's brown and sticky? A stick!