The MZNZN Transfer

My layout has two main yards, Zenith and Manhattan Transfer. There are locals that run out of both yards, but up to now, I'd never set up transfers to shuttle cars between the two. This limited variety, because I was getting tired of seeing the same cars in the same places, shuttling back and forth to the same industries. In fact, the project of setting up transfers was simply something I'd procrastinated. But it was actually a quick job to set up a transfer run in JMRI Operations.

MZNZN is the name I gave this job. It's named according to UP standards. "M" is a manifest. "ZN", Zenith, is the origin point, and "ZN" is also the end point. Crews and fans will inevitably call it the zinzin.

This is actually a turn to Manhattan Transfer, the other big yard. The job picks up cars on Track 1 in Zenith, runs to Manhattan Transfer, yards those cars, and picks up others to bring back to Zenith.

Here's the switchlist that resulted (click on the image for a larger view). Among the things JMRI does is give preference to cars that have built up the least number of moves in past sessions.

The cars that ran in this switchlist weren't necessarily my newest, but they were the ones that had been added to the JMRI data base most recently.

Two units are assigned to the job, because it starts in Zenith. Two units are about the minimum that can handle a train out of there, because the line to the west is on a curving 2% grade, and within the yard, there are long cuts that need to be switched.

The power is two Canadian National units on a shakedown after decoder installation. 2900 is CN's only Train Master, an Atlas model. 1701 is a Bachmann GP9 pretending to be a GP7. The discrepancies are invisible at normal viewing distance.

The Buffalo & Susquehanna hopper is an Accurail. It's from a pre-World War I prototype, but I like the era, and I don't let print hobby mag editors tell me what I can and can't do. I got the Borden's milk car recently because I saw it running on a Franklin & South Manchester video, and I liked how George Sellios runs it in ordinary freights.

As I said in my last post, I pulled the Athearn metal DT&I boxcar out of the purgatory box a couple weeks ago, so JMRI grabbed it for this run right away. MTTX 98104 is a swap met find that I added an Adair Shops steel load to.

The Western Pacific box isn't on the switchlist, but I added it because it has a track cleaning slider. The CN transfer caboose is from True Line Trains.

MZNZN climbs out of Zenith and over the yard tracks.

The power passes Rattlesnake Rocks.

This is a first try at a shot across the room of the train climbing to East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. I need to finish up the scenery here.

Here it's crossing the aisle between Bay City and West Egg over a drawbridge.

And entering Manhattan Transfer:

Another shot of the 1953-vintage Athearn metal DT&I box, one of my new favorites:

A single unit is enough to do the switching in Manhattan transfer, which is level with shorter yard tracks. PC 5628 is at work here.

ACFX 60003 is an old model but a recent addition to the JMRI data base. It's an Ambroid kit that I built in my college dorm room about 50 years ago. Over that time, the decals and varnish had yellowed, and the trucks had disintegrated. I spruced it up, added new trucks, and faded the paint with thinned gray from an airbrush to finesse the yellow. Another purgatory box rehab takes to the rails!

NP 20101 was a puzzle. It wasn't on Station Track 5 where JMRI said I would find it. Luckily, I though I'd seen it recently, and it turned out to be on the Jaques Spur, so I was able to fix things. Stuff happens.

I decided to send the WP box with the track cleaner back for another pass.

PC 5628 pulls the fully assembled train for the return run out of the way to release the CN power for the trip back to Zenith.