Wood Pellets by rail: A day on the wood pellet train 

Ok. Go ahead. I haven't seen the inspector in a very long time.

They should also check on the communications issues that resulted into the “tie on the track” derailment. A good thing this was not a loaded car.

Very true.

My engines aren't much different. If they were full size, they'd probably be 50 or 60 tonners.

Thank you! 😊

Things are slowly warming up here, I'm happy to say. I can't wait for all the frost heaves to melt and go away so I can fix the track.

Are you in New York close to the school Millbrook

@@TheSteamTrainMan I'm not in New York at all. I'm in Vermont.

I do have a caboose in storage, but I doubt the cats will ride in it.

No, but my grandpa is he’s 15 minutes away from it and we go there once a year

The 2 axle units are simple and easy to maintain. We'll have 4 axle power at some point, but it's fun proving how much a 2 axle engine can do alone. This was an easy day's work, by the way. We have to reduce axle loadings when the ground is soft at the end of winter and early in the spring for the sake of the track.

That's why you don't run a camera while you're running a full sized train.

I can pull 3 cars loaded with wood pellets. The roadbed gets really soft this time of year, and we've had a lot more rain than normal, so I've reduced the axle loading temporarily to protect the track.

The cats thank you for the extra pets. Especially Mr "zoomie" Tolkien.

@@MillBrookRailroad your video cats seem very friendly, I know cats are hesitant with strangers, Tolken seems like a very nice cat, Mr. Batcat likes to look around his area, to make sure that there is nothing coming into his turf. they both enjoy pets and attention! wonderful companions. thank you for your reply and the pets for your furry friends! have a great day, stay safe!

Sorry Mr Tolkien with the miss spelled name and gender! keep zooming along!

Ol'#70 just digs in & pulls those pellets right along! Looks like your track is performing much better, glad you got that 3D printer putting out those much needed tie plates! I really enjoyed seeing your cats in the video, they make it even more fun! Thanks for another great video, Arron!

@@richardperry5743 yes I agree nothing better then seeing the cats doing what they do. especially Mr. Tolkien such a sweet cat and so inquisitive Mr. Batman doing the track inspection. along with having a perfect run WP all done !

We'll just keep that one under our hats. :-)

@@MillBrookRailroad mum's the word 🤭👍

Cars in service on home rails: 4 Cars in service on foreign rails: 5 Cars out of service: 4 Total: 13 cars

Little zoomie has an intense personality. I think we're going to be seeing a lot of him in the future.

Frost heaves are where water has pooled up and frozen. When water freezes, it expands, pushing (or heaving) up the road or railroad. Throughout the winter, snow melts and refreezes a lot.

Rarely.

I don't get my fingers pinched. I keep them away from the contact surfaces.

I need a slant bed CNC lathe so I can make my own wheels. No two suppliers make the same width tread.

No, you just need a half decent little lathe. You’ll spend more time setting up a CNC than it takes to make a couple of wheels.

It'll go as fast as 8 MPH. I usually run closer to 4 or 5 mph.

@@MillBrookRailroad Oh ok, that's cool, looked a little faster in the video

@@gordonsnell6735 Things look faster the closer you get to the ground. 15 mph feels like 90 when you're only 6 inches off the ground.

The 2 axle locomotives are a lot cheaper to buy and to build. 4 axle power would definitely be useful! I haven't been able to afford one yet. Maybe one day. In the meantime, I'm building these 2 axle critters for anyone who wants to buy one.

@@MillBrookRailroad well if you need an idea on a 4 axle to build I would say to go with the Baldwin AS-16 (the 4 axle version of the Baldwin AS-616 6 axle diesel). Also any updates on the 2-6-0 mogul?

If i had it to do over again and I had the money to do it, I'd go with a heat pump. They're a lot easier to maintain than a wood pellet stove. They're cheaper to run than baseboard electric, and they heat well. My friend Bill has a heat pump to keep his workshop warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and my car has a heat pump instead of a normal heater or air conditioner. It keeps the temperature in a comfortable range. As always, your mileage may vary depending on how well your house is insulated, the condition of your doors and windows, and how hard the wind blows.

Thanks for the reply. We have so many power outages in the winter here that I need something that doesn't require grid power. I did get a heat pump installed last winter, but it won't work when the power goes out, and we had a 44 hour outage when temps were well below freezing. Also, when it gets below the mid teens (F), the heat pump spends a lot of time in defrost when it's not heating and it's using a lot of power to defrost. I find an electric plug-in oil filled heater is better when the temps get that low, until the grid goes down, of course! Thanks.@@MillBrookRailroad

Did it nearly bleve ?

I wish I knew. I've been trying to get the decals made since September and the guy doesn't return my phone calls.

gets some parer then cut out the oart where youll paint it then spray paint it @@MillBrookRailroad

Our loading gauge is more than 48 inches wide. The wider flat car is a 2.5" to the foot scale car. Everything else is built closer to 1-1/2" to the foot scale.

Big load !! How many pounds was that load?