The train consisted of a variety of freight cars but was mostly made up of hoppers and boxcars. The train weighed about 1,400 pounds and took more than 2 hours to assemble, measure and run. There were also hundreds of hours spent testing and practicing for the event.
The record train was operated by five engineers, each responsible for five to seven locomotives and 150 to 300 cars. The layout is operated with Digital Command Control (DCC). “It was crucial for each engineer to keep up with the segment of the train ahead,” Gribbell added.
Chi-Town Union Station is located in a 10,000 square foot building. The club’s layout focuses on modeling passenger trains that served Chicago in the 1950s and ’60s. The layout has more than 8,000 feet of O scale track in operation.
“We settled on using our three-track, 573-foot, B&O main line,” Gribbell adds, describing the run,”We started our pull on track three turning through 1,680 degrees and rising and falling about 22 inches until just prior to reaching the starting point, then switching over to track two. From track two we crossed over to track one and went up and through the station and then back down onto the B&O’s track three again.” During the run, the train could be seen running alongside itself on all three tracks.
The train was measured on a relatively long, straight section of track. “A licensed surveyor established the specific length of a marked section of track,” Gribble said,”On record night, the train was indexed through that section and incrementally measured with lasers and optical measuring equipment to get the overall achieved length of 1,112.06 feet.”
Chi-Town Union Station
8275 Cooley Lake Road
Commerce, MI 48382
This was a fine exhibition in coordination and train handling. The comment made by the gentleman from Colorado regarding this operation being easier on a full size railroad: (a) obviously, a train this size would have been broken up into smaller (say 125 car limit) sections; (b) depending upon the operating era, communication between the lead and booster locomotive engineers would have been by whistle, short-wave radio, etc.; (c) in the days before electronic sensing, some well-experienced engineers could "feel" the need for power increase or decrease to keep the train rolling cohesively.
good work to club as was good read of your train and members
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did you put on video to show that record of your train length on layout that night?
Full size railroading would probably be easier than coordinating this stunt. At least real railroads don't pull the ends off of cars when they start to pull.
That would have been a sight to see and being that it's O-Scale, what a massive train!
Imagine waiting at the crossing gates for that puppy to pass by, lol. Excellent job guys! Yes, lets see the video please.
Where is this club, and do they have openhouses?
Yes they have open houses every weekend starting nov.4,2010 through the spring. I have gone many times and am pretty sure they open only on weekends. There is an admission but I will attest to the fact that it is worth the $4.00 (last season price that I paid). I give it an AAA+++!!!! Everyone running it is cordial and answers your questions.
This is just an absolutely astounding accomplishment!
Congratulations to the Chi-Town Union Station Model Railroad club.
A Bird's eye view would be the Cat's Meow
"WHEW"
Please make a video of this event!! Fantastic!!
HOLY COW
as an electrical engineer I'd like to know what kind of power did this puppy use ???? Also GOOD WORK
I second that notion by Kelly. A video of this record breaking feat would be great.
This is cool. Next time someone suggests that I have too many cars I will explain that I am simply getting ready for a record attempt.
I've been there once, quite a layout! Sounds like I need to visit again. This layout is in an old grocery store.
wow
Unreal, now we need to see video of this train in action! Can MR acquire video of this train to post online? Thanks!
That is absolutely amazing! I have never even heard of a train that long.