Santa Fe's Heavy 2-10-2s in Victorville, and Layout Helpers and Control Panels

This time we'll take a look at Santa Fe's heavy 2-10-2 steam locos that worked on Cajon Pass and into Victorville in the postwar decade.  Then we'll look at more layout help I got from friends, as well as some progress in redesigning control panels to use Touch Toggles instead of mechanical toggles and rotary switches.

During 1919-1927 the Santa Fe acquired 140 heavy 2-10-2 steam locos in seven groups from Baldwin.  These were in the 3800-class, and many of them served as the main freight road engines and helpers on Cajon Pass until gradually replaced by freight F-units, so we have many photos of them.  (But #3829 was a 2-10-4.)

I worked with Don Borden to create a detailed clinic on all the differences and changes among these locos for our local Santa Fe Mini-Meets in 2011, but I won't go into those details here.  Let's just enjoy some photos of them in action on Cajon Pass after WW2.

Here's a nice shot by Chard Walker, showing #3911 with an eastbound train of reefers, coming into Victorville after descending Cajon Pass:

 

Here we see #3896 helping road engine #3940 as they pull a westbound freight out of Victorville and up to the Frost flyover circa 1950, thanks to Stan Kistler:

 

Here is #3911 by the water tanks in Victorville, while an eastbound passenger train is stopped by the depot, as shot by Chard Walker:

 

Frank Peterson photographed #3885 helping #3892 with a westbound freight climbing from Victorville to Frost in Dec. 1946:

 

In May of 1950 Chard Walker shot #3879 with an eastbound block of reefers by the Summit depot (perhaps a head-end helper had already been cut off the train):

The 2-10-2s were also used as rear-end helpers (ahead of the caboose if there were two of them).  Here we see #3895 and early 2-10-2 #1621 working hard behind an eastbound train at the Alray tunnels in Sep. 1947, thanks to Donald Duke:

 

Frank Peterson shot #3879 helping #3878 with a westbound freight as it pulled into Summit from Victorville in Oct. 1948:

 

Here we see #3857 helping 3-unit FT set #131 with a westbound freight approaching Summit in Sep. 1947, as shot by Frank Peterson:

 

Chard Walker shot #3895 passing the water tanks in Victorville, where the helpers took on water, turned on the wye, and waited for the next westbound freight to help:

 

Here we see #3858 helping a set of two F-units out of Victorville and west through Frost (photographer and date unknown):

Jack Whitmeyer shot #3841 helping F7 set #222 with a westbound freight entering Summit in June of 1952.  This was the last year that the 2-10-2s were used on Cajon Pass, and in these final years they were only used during the June "spud rush," when many of the freight F-units were sent to the Valley Division to handle the potato crop, and the 2-10-2s returned to work on Cajon Pass for about a month each year:

 

Our final shot shows #3844 and 2-8-2 #4009 pushing ahead of the caboose on a eastbound freight at Sullivan's curve in June of 1949 (the spud rush again), thanks to Jack Whitmeyer:

Let's look at the various HO models that have been made of these locos. Northwest Short Line imported brass models in 1961 that represented #3850-3869 as built:

 

Then came the numerous PFM (United) brass models during the 1960s that represented #3891-3915 as built (with the slanted cab front wall):

Key imported some brass models in 1986 that represented #3800-3890 as modernized (extended cab and drifting valves, etc.):

Broadway Limited delivered styrene models in 2006 that represented #3876-3882 as built:

And then Broadway Limited came through in 2014 with the modernized version that most of us wanted, for locos #3850-3890:

Now it's time to review the progress on my layout during the last two weeks.

All my attention during the first week was focused on learning about the use of Touch Toggles for control panels, as sold by Berrett Hill Shop.  I copied and printed a lot of pages from their website to study all week:

https://www.berretthillshop.com/

I also had two long phone calls with the owner, Kevin Hunter, to get many of my questions answered.  He likes to talk and is very helpful.

My biggest question was about whether he has any product that can replace a rotary switch on a panel, for DC cab control.  I want to have three cabs to select from on the lower deck and four cabs on the upper deck. 

He said that he's been developing a logic board that will handle four cabs, and that item will be available very soon, so that was good news.  A group of Touch Toggles would act like radio pushbuttons, where only one is selected (lit up yellow) at a time.

Before I switched to trying Touch Toggles in my panel designs, I made a final updated version of my pencil drawing showing all three mainline panels, still using mechanical switches:

Then I decided to try drawing each panel full size on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper, but now using only Touch Toggles.  I began with the easiest one, for Turntable Tower, and I began by drawing 3/4" squares to show the space taken by each Touch Toggle. 

A toggle for a turnout has two lights, one above the other, and one light (on the through track) changes between green and dark, while the other (on the diverging track) changes between dark and red, to show which route through the turnout is selected.  In the case of a crossover, they sell a subordinate third light for the parallel track, which also shows green or dark, to match the first parallel track.

Here is my first drawing of Turntable Tower using Touch Toggles.  There is a row of three toggles for each block, where the user touches the cab number he wants to use (cab 1, 2, or 3) in that block, and it lights up yellow while the others turn dark:

Next I made a first drawing for Reversing Tower, but this time I skipped drawing the 3/4" squares for the toggles and just drew the locations of the lights.  Here is that drawing:

Finally, I attempted to draw the most complex panel, the one for ABC Tower, but I found that it really doesn't fit in my 11" sheet of paper.  I plan to split this panel into two adjacent panels.  Here is the overcrowded drawing:

This week I was lucky to have three helpers visit me to work on my layout with me.

Bill Messecar was here on Tuesday morning, and he continued to solder feeder wires to the inner mainline track, while I prepared each feeder by adding two 90-degree bends into the bare end of each wire.  I asked him to pose while holding some Victorville buildings he had scratch-built for me -- the Victorville depot and two pump houses:

George Chambers arrived after lunch on Wednesday and brought some sample models of aluminum panels he had bought for modeling the Victorville Lime Rock plant.  He went to work gluing down sheets of cork to support the staging yards, picking up where Travis Mahan had left off.  He posed with the caulk gun after finishing the first yard of sheet cork:

On the same afternoon, Ray Rydberg arrived an hour later and added a lot more Velcro straps around the bus wires along the edges of the layout.  Here's a photo of Ray at work:

 

Meanwhile, I was clamping down a lot of suitcase connectors to connect the outer mainline feeders to the bus wires.  Then we tested about ten more old Rivarossi steam locos that Ray had collected -- most ran okay, but a few didn't.

Those were two very productive days, and I hope my helpers can return again before long.  New helpers are always needed too, of course.

The rest of my time was spent on revising my control panel drawings, following the daily advice I got from Tim Fisher and Don Borden.  

 

We decided to have four Touch Toggles in a row for selecting one cab number for each block, and only one will light up yellow at a time, and the fourth one will be used as an Off button for the block.  The rows of cab buttons are now drawn above of each track, but Don may want to arrange them differently.

Here is a scan of the latest pencil drawing for the Turntable Tower panel:

I'll work on the other panels this week, including splitting the too-large ABC Tower into two adjacent panels -- one for A-B Tower and one for C Tower.  And I'll stay in touch with Kevin Hunter at Berrett Hill Shop with the questions we still have about his Touch Toggles.

UP's E8/E9 Diesels in Victorville, and Getting Layout Help from More Volunteers

This time we'll cover the Union Pacific's E8 and E9 passenger diesels that ran through Victorville and over Cajon Pass, and then we'll take a look at some layout help I've been getting from my team of volunteers.

The E8 and E9 diesels were externally identical, except for a rubber rim around the headlight of an E8.  On the UP they were normally paired as A and B units, with extra units of various types added as needed.

The UP got E8s #926-930 in May-Aug. 1950, plus #925 in June, 1952.  Then came E8s #931-942 in March-May 1953.

They got E9s #943-947 in May-June 1954, then #948-956 in May-June 1955.   #957-962 arrived in Sep-Oct. 1955, then #900-907 in May-June 1956.  But #908-909 arrived after my time period, in Aug. 1961, followed by #910-911 in Dec. 1962 and #912-914 in Dec. 1963.

I didn't find many photos of E8s or E9s shot on Cajon Pass during my time period -- most of the shots were made in the 1960s.  But here's a postcard view of E8 #942 leading an A-B-A set with the new Challenger train in Cajon Pass in June of 1954:

 

Here we see E8 #932 and two more E units with the eastbound City of St. Louis train nearing Summit, with TR5 set #1872 as a helper.  This was shot by Don Sims c.1953:

 

Alan Styffe shot the westbound City of St. Louis train at Summit in Jan. 1957, behind E9 #905 and trailing units:

Here we see E9 #930 and two trailing units with the eastbound City of St. Louis at Alray in Dec. 1954, thanks to Robert Heuerman:

Here's a mid-to-late 1950s UP publicity photo of E9 #949 and trailing units leading the eastbound City of St. Louis around Sullivan's Curve:

 

I'll add just one 1960s shot by Jack Whitmeyer, showing E9 #910 and three trailing units with an eastbound train at Cajon:

 

These diesels would have also been pulling the City of Los Angeles train, but those crossings were in the dark.

There have been plenty of HO styrene models of UP E8s and E9s.  Here's the Proto 2000 model of an E8:

 Here's the later Walthers Proto model of an E9:

Broadway Limited also made an E9 model:
 

And so did Rapido:

Turning now to my layout progress, I got a new volunteer named George Chambers, who is interested in helping to build structures for my future Victorville scenes.  He stopped by to see the layout and to show me some O-scale models he has built, which he posed with here:

 

I began to discuss the various buildings needed in Victorville, and he chose the very first one I mentioned, which is the Victorville Lime Rock Company plant that was near the Upper Narrows end of town (and still is, now greatly expanded).  Here's a newspaper photo of the plant in 1949, before the 1953 expansion:

Here's where the plant would fit on my layout:

I sent George lots of photos and scale drawings of the plant (thanks to Wayne Lawson), and he is beginning to work on it.  The plant may be a bit wider than my trackplan shows, so it may have to extend into the aisle by an inch or less.

The next big event was a work session a couple of days ago, attended by Ray Rydberg (again), Bill Messecar (again), and Colin Kikawa (his first time here).  Here are the three helpers posing beside the layout (left to right, Ray, Bill, and Colin):

We set up a process for finishing the last few feeders on the outer mainline, then for adding many new feeders to the inner mainline.  I marked the spots for the feeders, Colin came behind me to drill a pair of holes at each spot, then Ray followed by cutting, stripping, and inserting a 22 ga solid feeder wire into each hole, and Bill followed him by soldering each feeder to its rail.  We had used red and black wires on the outer main, but we're using yellow and blue on the inner main.

Two of my helpers left at lunchtime, but Ray stayed and worked until 3 pm.  Ray and I also worked on adding more Velcro straps to hold the bus wires.  The team got a lot accomplished pretty quickly -- thank you!

Turing now to the ongoing control panels project, a new volunteer from my online Cajon Pass Group, Don Borden (back east), has offered to use his CAD experience in drawing control panel artwork to draw my final panel designs for me.  I would then print them here and attach them to the back face of clear Plexiglas panels.  Here is a sample drawing he sent me, showing the design for his own LA & Victorville staging yard controls:

I spent part of my time revising my drawings for the three mainline control panels, following lots of good advice I got from my wiring expert, Tim Fisher.  I'm attaching the latest version of the panel drawings, which are still just preliminary designs.  I've added block names and some track names to the drawings, as well as a couple of Reversing track switches (REV) in the Reversing Tower panel:

In this plan, each powered Atlas turnout will be controlled by a toggle switch that both sets and shows its direction, with a pushbutton beside it to actually throw the turnout momentarily.  You can see these pairs of switches and buttons on the diagrams.

I reviewed the chapters of the wiring books on how to build a control panel, and then I watched lots of online videos about the process.  

I came across one video that shows a new technology I was not familiar with, called Touch Toggles by Berrett Hill Shop.  Basically, this might allow me to create touch-screen control panels instead of using mechanical toggles and buttons and rotaries.  Here is their website:  https://www.berretthillshop.com/

Here's a photo of the sort of control panel that they can create, with lights that change color and cause layout actions when you touch them:

I'm initially excited about this technology, but I have a lot of questions about whether it can apply to my situation, so I will try to contact them this week for some answers.

Meanwhile, I'll try to organize more work sessions to get more of my layout wiring finished.  If you would like to help, just let me know.

Santa Fe's GP7 Diesels in Victorville, and Minimal Layout Progress Due to Holidays

Our locomotives this time are the EMD GP7 diesels of the Santa Fe, which were all in the Zebra Stripe paint scheme during my postwar time period.  I don't have much layout progress to report this time, due to all the holiday preparations and activities, but I'll mention a few things at the end of this post.

From Sep. 1950 through Dec. 1953 the Santa Fe bought 249 GP7 road switchers, numbered 2650-2893 (including five GP7B units).  It appears from photos that those running on Cajon Pass were almost all numbered lower than 2700, which makes them "Phase 1 Late."  But the most visible differences among these were that some had dynamic brakes and some did not.  Also, #2650-2654 had steam generators and air tanks on the roof.

Here we see #2883 and #2693 leading two other units as the four road engines on an eastbound freight at Keenbrook in May, 1955, thanks to C.H. Kerrigan:

 

Here's another set of four GP7s serving as road engines on a westbound freight at Frost, after leaving Victorville, in an undated Santa Fe photo.  The locos are #2677, 2673, 2665, and 2676, none of which have the dynamic brake bulge along the top of the hood:

 

But we usually see the GP7s being used as helpers on Cajon Pass.  Here is #2696 with #2740 pushing behind the caboose of an eastbound freight at the Pine Lodge grade crossing In Jan. 1955, thanks to Stan Kistler:

Here is #2685 helping the eastbound Grand Canyon at Pine Lodge in the early 1950s, as shot by Don Richardson:

Stan Kistler shot #2691 helping 2-10-2 #3889 with an eastbound freight in Cajon Pass in June of 1952:

I was pleased to see this Stan Kistler photo of #2683 and #2651 helping on the rear of an eastbound freight at Cajon in April of 1954, because it shows one of the units (#2651) with the air tanks on the roof in action on Cajon Pass and not limited to service on the San Bernardino Local:

Here we see three helpers (#2695, #2820, and a UP diesel) leaving Summit westbound to return to San Bernardino.  John Shaw shot this photo in Jan. 1955:

Finally, here are #2696 and #2691 as road engines on a westbound freight at Summit, after climbing up from Victorville in the fall of 1951, thanks to Don Sims:

By the way, a GP7 alternated with an H16-44 as the Victorville local switcher after 1951, but I haven't found any photos of a GP7 in this role, nor while pulling the local Oro Grande Turn, which they also did.

There have been many HO models of Santa Fe GP7s, but I'll only cover the most popular and most recent models.  I have some of the Proto 2000 models, as seen here with a dynamic brake:

 Atlas also made a model, as seen here:

The Athearn Genesis models included those with no dynamic brake:

Walthers Proto made a model with a steam generator and the air tanks on the roof (#2650-2654):

 

Athearn Genesis even made a model of a GP7 with a GP7B (#2788-2792), which were not seen on Cajon Pass, but I had to have a set anyway:

 

As I said, I don't have much layout progress to report, due to the busy holiday season.  But one morning Bill Messecar visited me again and soldered more feeder wires to the rails of the outer mainline, as seen here:

 

I had used some 18 gauge wires for the longer feeders, but Bill said those were not needed and were harder to solder, so I replaced those with 22 gauge solid wires while he was doing the soldering work.

I had a major setback when Richard Mukai, who was planning to build my control panels, decided to drop out of the project.  So now I'm reading and watching videos (using links sent to me by Don Hubbard) about how to build them myself, with advice from Tim Repp, Tim Fisher, and Bill Messecar.

I'm in the process of redrawing the designs for the three mainline panels, and I will be shopping online for all the swtiches and toggles and rotaries to use on the panels, thanks again to Tim Fisher's advice.

And there is always more to be done with adding more Velcro straps for the bus wires, connecting more feeders to the bus wires, adding labels to all the wires, and laying more cork sheets to support the staging yard tracks.

The dream is to get the entire lower deck and all of its tracks and wires finished by the end of 2023, but we shall see how it goes.  I'll be contacting my group of volunteers to see who can help in the coming weeks.