and he replies - Those web sites have a wealth of detail and there are a couple of NYC interest sites you can get on through Yahoo. Plus the NYC Historical Society has a bunch of members with info on how these things operated. If I can locate more info I'll send it along.
An overflow barrier is a layer of concrete tiles placed over the roadbed on either side of the running rails As the tender scoops water it sends a cloud of spray over the sides of the pan as well as sending a wave of water onto onto the tiles. In effect they keep the roadbed from washing away and facilitate drainage. There is a picture of this stuff on one of the sites. In extremely cold weather your friend with the ice pick would have to keep the drains clear but the tiles would be warmed by the continuos splashing of warm water. The tiles had the added feature of protecting a passing train from ballast being blown through windows by the force of the water. On non-air conditioned trains passengers were warned to keep the windows closed when passing a track pan. Many a Postal clerk got doused when he forgot! The white and blue signals were on masts located at the beginning and end of the pan They resembled tall switch stands and stood (where there were four tracks and the pans were in the middle) between tracks 1 and 2 and 3 and 4. At some locations, the pans were located on the last two tracks and signals were placed between 3 & 4 and outside track 4. From all appearances in what little I have on them, they had one lamp and a white and blue bezel fore and aft. They looked to be about a foot higher than a locomotive or about 15 feet tall. They would have been used until the end of steam and probably stayed in place until the pans were dismantled so even a dieselized Central scene could have pans, power house and signals for a while. There were 19 pans on the Central and four more in Michigan as wall as a few on the TH&B. When steam was bumped from the main line and MC routes the pans were removed but it took a while. The article on track pans has a list of signal colors and placement. As I see it there are two problems with this type of model project: 1. Not much is recorded on them. Unlike the glamor locos and cars, a track pan was just that and may be included in other studies but few articles exist on them. Nobody seemed to care. 2. Like most railroad facilities, they are BIG! As much as a half mile long on two tracks with steam and water lines, drainage tunnels and a boiler and pumping station building with a 30-50,000 gal. water tank and tall chimney. And don't forget a supply track for incoming coal and outgoing ashes, parking for employees, power, telegraph and telephone lines. It can be limited to a few feet of track but the rest of the facility would be necessary to carry the illusion. Good luck and if you need building material, I can send you the water! Raleigh in chilly Maine At 11:37 PM 6/7/2007, Edward Loizeaux wrote: >----- > > From: Rollain Mercier > > A track pan model is intriguing as it is not just a water trough but a >whole system including the pan and its surrounding details, (piping, >tiles, signals etc.) > > water supply and boiler house. They weren't all the same. Some >locations had four pans, some only two and the pump and heating plant >were proportional > > as to the requirements. > >Thanks, Rollie. I am sure this is true, but I have no photos of the >surrounding stuff. I'll check the web sites you suggested, but any >other photos would be quite helpful. Or book references with page >number, etc. > > > So it would be more than just plunking a pan between the tracks >without the ancillary equipment. > >Yep, I understand better (now). > > > Roofing tiles for the overflow barriers, > >Whatza "overflow barrier" look like? > > > the engineer would signal the fireman as they passed a lunar white >signal > >Any photos of this type of signal anywhere? Gotta go check my books -- >groan -- and I thought I was nearly done. Darn List -- always adding to >my workload. Were lunar signals in use in the '40s? > > >Another signal from the engineer as they passed a blue or purple >signal at the other end of the pan, > >I assume this signal looks just like the white signal except for color. >Right? > > > Raleigh > > Emporium Pictures > >Ed L. >Modeling the mighty NYC complete with the modern "wet look". ><<http://www.emporiumpictures.com/>http://www.emporiumpictures.com/> > >[Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
