2019 Annual Report

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B&O Shepherd Branch (O Scale)

The Anachronistic Region operating crew (a round-robin group) participated in six operating sessions on the Shepherd Branch in 2019. No progress was made on completing the scenery between Twining City and Uniontown.

B&O Locomotive Shops

A gas electric motor car kit was sold. An attempt was made to sell a partially completed Babbitt 4-6-0 brass engine kit, but there were no O Scale Yard Sale takers.

Red Caboose GP-9 B&O 6464 was in and out of the shop while efforts were made to correct erratic behavior. Thoroughly cleaning the wheels, then adding a bit of graphite seem to help. In order to provide a back-up locomotive, Weaver WT RS-3 43 was converted back from 3-rail to 2-rail DCC. By the end of the year, however, 43 was out of service. The locomotive froze during an operating session. The 20-year old decoder was replaced, but the problem persisted. The shops foreman suspects that the motor is over-heating and locking up.

B&O Car Shops

There were no changes to the car roster. Repairs were made to the coupler pocket of a CB&Q gondola.

Potomac & Patuxent Railroad (O Gauge)

No significant improvements or additions were made to the P&P this year.

Ohio River & Western Railroad (On30)

An initial operating session was held in November.

A Campbell Scale Models Freight Storage Shed (Kit #127) was constructed and installed. To conceal a Tortoise switch motor that had to be mounted on top of the train table, a company house was scratch-built. To balance the scene, plans were located and adapted to construct a Western Union building that sits between the tracks and the backdrop.

OR&W Locomotive Shops

There were no changes to the locomotive roster.

OR&W Car Shops

There were no changes to the car roster.

OR&W Maintenance of Way

The original assumption was that the Keep-Alives would power the locomotives over the dead frogs of the Micro-Engineering turn-outs. Performance turned out to be erratic. It worked at track speed, but not at switching speed. So, the MoW Department ordered Frog Juicers to power the frogs in the industrial area of Westfield. Performance did improve after installation.

Outlook for 2020

In 2020, Shepherd Branch management intends to continue adding background scenery to the Twining City area of the railroad. Management also plans to sell unopened or incomplete brass locomotive kits. P&P management will focus on adding more scenery and operating accessories to the three-rail display railroad. Ohio River & Western management hope to activate the hidden staging tracks; refine the operating scenario; and add structures and scenery.