Spreading Ballast at the end of Dobbs Track

At train Mountain, there are several ways to haul ballast. By far, the most fun method is to do it by train. After all, what model railroaders really want to do is "play trains." Thanks to Bert Newberry, who designed and built the loading hopper and the ballast cars, we have the equipment to haul ballast while playing trains.
Each ballast car, when fully loaded, weighs approximately one ton and all are equipped with air brakes. Pushing this heavy consist uphill was marginal. We probably would not have been able to push all five ballast cars up this hill on steel track, but aluminum track provides better adhesion allowing us to make the grade.
This new track will be over a mile long and go to the home of Bill Dobbs, a Train Mountain member whose property adjoins Train Mountain. Bill says," Anyone that wants to volunteer can come and help finish this track."

[@hoopoo3721]

I could watch that all day.

[@twatson703]

There are some more ballast spreading videos on this channel. Maybe enough that you can watch both day and night. Thanks for the comment.

[@MrBillCNW]

Hello to everybody at Train Mountain, Thank you for showing this video how you guys spread Ballast on the tracks that’s pretty cool. I would also like to watch you guys spread the Ballast after dropping it. Do you guys have a piece of equipment to spread the gravel or use a broom or what

[@twatson703]

With the Ballast cars, you must dump the Ballast to each side of the track, or you will derail yourself. Thus, the tool of choice is pretty much a good old fashion garden rake. Ballasting with a Gator is another method. If you look at the 2019 NG WW clips, there is a segment showing ballasting by Gator and spreading it with a power broom. See it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/nISUfqmvapZ_bNU. It's easier to get volunteers to do work if they can do it by train. Playing trains is more fun, even though doing it by Gator is more efficient.

[@MrBillCNW]

Thank you Tom

[@jeanniejares2783]

Hi my name is Chris I like your video

[@twatson703]

Thanks for the comment Chris.

[@generalelectricmotor9084]

The one dislike is from someone who has improperly ballasted rails

[@twatson703]

Just some Troll that has nothing better to do.

[@Andophonic]

Bill really has come a long way since his appearance in the 2006 Triennial dvd.

[@twatson703]

Well, I guess you will just need to come and find out what's new since the 2006 DVD. There's a 2018 DVD and BlueRay now that you should see.

[@ramtuff2007]

love trains

[@andrewwetzel6036]

So... Where is the Dobbs Line connecting to TMRR? What section? Inquiring minds, who live vicariously through y'all, want to know. And, thanks for posting such neat videos.

[@twatson703]

The Dobbs track ties in at Cooper Siding. If you watch the Loading and Hauling Ballast to Dobbs Track, the point where we start backing up is at Cooper Siding. You can find it on the map at this link: trainmtn.org/tmrr/Resources/maps/2018_4_1_Map_3.1.pdf You will find the Dobbs property on HWY 62 on the left (West) side of the map. Then Look North East of there for Cooper Siding.

[@andrewwetzel6036]

@@twatson703 Thanks. On the map is the new line following the bright red line that connects to Coopers Siding that runs on the north side of Railroad Ridge Road? If so, wow. That's a lot of private line. Can't wait to see the updated track map for the 2021 Triennial. Are there plans to develop the Cannonball Line any time soon? And the old proposed line up to Caboose Ridge?

[@twatson703]

@@andrewwetzel6036 Yes. It is pretty close to the red line. If you look at Google Earth, you can see the exact grade, but at the Cooper Siding connection there are some changes. The Google Earth image was taken in August, 2019, before any track had been laid. Measuring it on Google Earth shows approximately 3650 feet.

[@3006USMC]

This looks like fun.... to bad I’m from Missouri. Maybe I should start my own Railroad.?

[@twatson703]

If you come to Train Mountain, you will still be from Missouri. My Mom was from Windsor, MO.

[@jatcod24sci]

First of all I absolutely love the cars and wish my club had a few. (Train Mountain or Bert should offer the plans for these cars for sale.) But I did notice two things that I have questions about. First, is there a reason to only dump on one side of the car at a time especially on this new track? And second, is there a reason to start emptying the cars from the rear? It seems to me that if you started at the head of the train (direction of travel) you could open the next set of gates without having to back up after each car is emptied.

[@twatson703]

John, the only reason for not dumping on both sides at the same time was a lack of enough people. The reason they started dumping from the rear of the train was to begin as close to the end of the new track as possible.

[@jatcod24sci]

Thank you for such a quick reply. I kind of suspected the first answer. I knew there had to be a good reason for the second as well. Thank you so much for these wonderful inspirational videos. My club is already looking for a side discharge farm wagon to make our own loading hopper. I have an idea that we will not be as sophisticated with the ballast cars though.

[@twatson703]

@@jatcod24sci There are lots of ways to load and haul ballast. We had a hopper made of wood, but had a hard life and finally fell apart. We also have a hopper that a Gator can drive under. We still use it at times, but it is also easy to load a Gator with a front end loader if you have one handy. Location and number of people available often dictate the method.

[@jatcod24sci]

We usually get Mr. Bob Cat to come help. We are about to place another ISO container and about 150' through the woods. He may not be able to reach everything so our only other option is bucket brigade. At 55 years old I am one of the younger members in the club and am trying to convince the rest to make some of those ballast cars or something to save what is left of our collective backs.

[@twatson703]

@@jatcod24sci At only 55, you would be considered "just a kid" here. We have younger members, but the core work group of "locals" is mostly geezers. What they really want to do is "play trains," so they try to do as much by train as possible. That means you need to build the necessary work cars.

[@Tractors_Trucks_And_Pups]

I would love to be a part of this club or any mini train club!!

[@twatson703]

Train Mountain has members all over the world. You are certainly welcome to join. Also, there are many miniature railroad clubs and track around. There may be one close to you if you search.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

Is that a new rail line under Construction? I'm curious if ya'll are expanding the railroad

[@twatson703]

Yes, it is a new rail line under construction, but it is not a Train Mountain expansion per se, it is a private undertaking by Bill Dobbs to get to his house.

[@Wernerle2BeiYoutu6e]

Wonderful video. Really love it. But instead of skipping some parts of the way to Dobbs, please take the whole sequence and just let it run in 2 x speed or 4 x. Better to follow on GE and showing your extraordinary layout a lot better. Thanks

[@twatson703]

Thanks for the comment. Due to the huge file sizes, I usually must make multiple videos rather than one long one. Also, the camera battery does not last long enough to video the whole trip, and I cannot change the battery until the train stops so some portions of the trip are not recorded.

[@dennisfly1]

cool.

[@twatson703]

Now he gets to repair the damage that was done when the 2-4-2 Fire went through there. That mean more ballast to haul.

[@tonyordaziii7250]

Did you guys have a Union Pacific Challenger 3977 there awhile back

[@twatson703]

There have been Challengers here, but I don't think one has been here since 2015.

[@tonyordaziii7250]

Tom Watson the one that came from the Orange County Model Engineers

[@tonyordaziii7250]

What’s the next work week video

[@twatson703]

@@tonyordaziii7250 The next scheduled Work Week is next April. The next videos are unplanned at this time, but will be what ever opportunities become available.

[@tonyordaziii7250]

Tom Watson What’s the difference between Actual and Scale miles. My Live Steam Railroad’s miles of track is 42 Scale miles