Rocking and rolling with a miniature DPU

[@kavemanthewoodbutcher]

You know, I just can't think of anything better to do with the rest of my life than to buy some land and build a railroad. Expect an E mail fairly soon sir. Thanks for the inspiration, your videos have re ignited a long forgotten dream.

[@stevevlietstra629]

I know and one thing it’s useful! 😊

[@armandoperez7967]

Wow! The track looks great! I love the miniature DPU!

[@armandoperez7967]

I wish the Escanaba & Lake Superior RR would maintain their track as well as you do!

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Mine is only slightly better maintained.

[@ferguscampbell2485]

Glad to see both engines back at work again. Both engines sounded to be under the same load as they came past the microphone. It appeared than you had better control with a engine at each end. Keep the the train running so we can enjoy a working rail road.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

A little more locomotive holding the train back is very helpful.

[@danielfantino1714]

At last. A real train. The first in a long time. 1 760 pounds. That was good 😊😊😊😊

[@MillBrookRailroad]

It was a good train.

[@alandent7231]

That was one good lookin train !

[@twiggs24]

Wow! I am very impressed.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Thank you!

[@backwoodssolutionsllc9823]

Nice run!😊

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Thanks 😁

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

Brave of you to back those fully laden flatcars over the switch you just derailed on. I wouldn't have had the balls.😰😉 All good in the end.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do.

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

It may be that the derailments only happen on empty cars. We had that problem in New Mexico on a customer's switch. Loaded tank cars went in and out of the switch just fine! locomotives? no problem. But reach in with an empty boxcar for cover and there was a likelihood of 96% to derail on the trailing wheels. Spotting an empty tank? again it was almost a guarantee to drop the trailing wheels. It turns out there was not enough support under the ties where the points were and the tamping machine our MOW had couldn't get under it so it had to be hand-tamped. Even 12 of the strongest men couldn't tamp like the 350HP diesel powered tamping machine.

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

@@SD40Fan_Jason I think you are right about the loaded/unloaded part but I was just happy that the train didn't derail and ran over the offending spot smoothly. 🙋‍♂😊

[@MillBrookRailroad]

@@MatthewBerginGarage I do more track work than I put on video.

[@MatthewBerginGarage]

@@MillBrookRailroad I wasn't making any snide comment about track work, I was just surprised that you went over a spot where you just derailed. I would not have been brave enough to to do the same because, as I have seen, re-railing a loaded train is such a royal pain in the butt.

[@marktaylor9975]

I think the cats ready for a safety briefing. The chickens seem to take Rail safety quite seriously. 😜🤓

[@artillerest43rdva7]

that was a big run ! hope that will take care of you for the rest of the season! great run w/o any issues! great job Aaron. have a great night!

[@mriley4955]

The house is looking good with the siding on

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Thanks

[@geraldsundberg3610]

That was quite a load of pellets!

[@MillBrookRailroad]

We haul about 8 of those over the course of the winter.

[@dmcry600]

That was fun to watch!!!!

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Thanks!

[@edlrailfanproductions3984]

at 5:13 I counted the bags of pellets and from my experience it looks like 40lbs bags and i counted 28 in just that frame making whats in that frame 1,120lbs thats insane that your little loco can pull that

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I was babying it. I normally pull a full ton with a single loco, which is about all it can do.

[@edlrailfanproductions3984]

@@MillBrookRailroad That's awesome!

[@WHJeffB]

1760lbs actually... 11 stacks of four bags x 40lbs per bag. Maybe 20 days worth for two houses?

[@YourLocalRailfan]

Do you serve actual customers?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

No. I just haul stuff I need to move around the yard. It's better than a garden cart.

[@wilmeaux12]

Looks as you are getting ready for the big snow dump forecast. Seems that this late in the season it should melt soon after falling. Welcome to Vermont?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I've seen snow in June. It's not summer until the 4th of July. Then it starts to get more like fall in mid-August.

[@geraldsundberg3610]

Is the cat flagging for you?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

He doesn't have the attention span.

[@paulrodwell6051]

Well done 👏 Is that the biggest load you have taken in one go? Your locomotives did you proud today 👏

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Thabks! That's about all I can do with a single locomotive is a ton. Running two locos means I don't beat the traction motors up as much.

[@paulrodwell6051]

@@MillBrookRailroad yeah all about doing what you can with what you have. Keep up with the interesting videos and good work. 👍

[@insAneTunA]

👍

[@geraldsundberg3610]

You forgot to put the sanders on to start!

[@MillBrookRailroad]

What's a little wheel slip between friends?

[@solarusthelonghaulerrailfa3226]

Well it wouldn’t be the MBR if something didn’t go on the ground 😊👍 and ever thought about getting a small silo for the wood pellets and a hopper or two

[@MillBrookRailroad]

With the stoves we have, pellets are best handled in bags. It keeps spoilage to a minimum.

[@solarusthelonghaulerrailfa3226]

@@MillBrookRailroad that’s understandable

[@williamcannon3885]

Just a little bit over power on the return trip

[@MillBrookRailroad]

It happens on every railroad.

[@williamcannon3885]

True lol

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

Would the gas engine been able to pull a wp train ?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

I have yet to find one that can.

[@justinmann7890]

What is the steepest section of track on your railroad?

[@MillBrookRailroad]

3.5%

[@kenshores9900]

Have rebalasted your tracks? They are looking good. I envy you your little point to point my railroad.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Not bad for next to zero budget, eh?

[@kenshores9900]

@@MillBrookRailroad so true. At first I thought the cat was a raccoon.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

@@kenshores9900 out budget is low, but not that low.

[@kenshores9900]

@@MillBrookRailroad I realize why you built your own locomotives. You have a lot of money tied up in rails and ties. Your RR like real ones serves a purpose. Thank you for sharing with us.

[@jerryslater5173]

How pounds per sag

[@MillBrookRailroad]

40 pounds per bag.

[@highrx]

40lbs a bag.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Exactly.

[@alanwbelcher]

Even the cat is playing chicken! Trains don’t get no respect.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

So true, but I'd rather deal with cats and chickens than traffic. That would be even worse!

[@jameswest685]

Am I green? Ok, I am.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

Stick around and I'll show you how to build your own.

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

If you had to do this quantity of wood pellets 3-4x a week, it would almost be beneficial to invest in some working covered hoppers and a pit with an augur. Then you could just order your pellets by the truckload instead of having to rely on plastic bags. And I'm sure if money were no object, you'd already be there, haha! Oh well, any excuse to railroad is a good excuse in my opinion.

[@MillBrookRailroad]

If money were no object, I'd be running heat pumps and not wood pellet stoves. Heat pumps are a lot less work, and the new house is tight enough. It can almost be headed with a candle. The pellet stove loafs along at its lowest setting most of the winter.

[@SD40Fan_Jason]

@@MillBrookRailroad True enough! I wouldn't imagine the EPA rebates for upgrading to a heat pump are not enough to cover the cost? I think when we made that exchange in 2011, the total cost was over $8000 and with the rebate, our out of pocket was still more than $2500. But it was a nice offset! Part of the deal was that we were supposed to show our old pot belly stove had been capped and was no longer usable. But we kept it and had certain leaks corrected instead.

[@ICUNA22]

Theat is not DPU. DPU sucks.