Electric trucks

A tidbit from an interview of Bill, an HBS employee, shared with me by Tim Stuy reveals that there were electric trucks working along the dock. They would gather them and move them to the yard for charging each night and returning them the next morning. I'm trying to track down what models they were.

I found the following ad that confirmed these creatures existed-who knew!

New batteries

I received a handful of new batteries for my CVP Products CNVRTR radio control battery powered system locomotive fleet to try on the PoNY. They are LiPo 500mA Turnigy brand batteries with JST-XH balancing plugs and JST BEC power connectors. I had been searching for 300 or 400mA, but all brands and outlets seemed to be out of stock. 

Up until now, I have been using 3200mA, 1200mA, 1000mA, and 800mA sizes. I have yet to run a battery down during a session, but I haven't had enough sessions to prove out what is necessary for my layout for a 2-3 hour time frame. I believe I am still at overkill, though. 

The May issue of MR includes an introductory  article on using battery powered locomotives. In it they say that a 240mA will run for 2-3hours. I hope to find these available at some point soon to find out for myself. These batteries go for less than $10. 

I am soooooo happy I am using battery power at this point, and I don't see any speed bumps on the horizon. Now I can concentrate on the decoder settings and dialing in the locomotives for the most enjoyable experience possible for my guests. 

Wordless Wednesday HBS non-revenue

Courtesy of Tim Stuy from his collection

HBS Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Publicity shot with Bill Billings in the middle locomotive No.500 (Collection of Tim Stuy)

14th Street Yard in some morning sweet light. (This one is taken by Randy Brown in December 1972)

Another publicity shot of the 44 twins. This one was used in the real estate brochure I have from 1955 when Webb & Knapp were trying to sell the railroad. See the top menu for the entire report. (Collection of Tim Stuy)

More from Tim Stuy! Tim is really generous sharing these photos. 

HBS Photos

14th Street (Coming behind the Stahl Soap Factory, August 1972, from the Jay Held collection)

More from Tim Stuy. The first is a great shot somewhere along 14th street where there are a lot of industries served. The gates are really interesting to me. I'm thinking that operators will need a key to unlock and lock the many industry gates along the line. I'll have to look closely at the maps to see if I can identify from the track and building shapes exactly where it is.

Car float (HBS 701 at the float bridge on October 24, 1964; Rich Taylor photo.)

Next is a signature shot of the care float slip and approach trestle with the Empire State Building in the background. From an excursion trip.

The builder's card for the IR-GE boxcab.

I still need to add some details to my SketchUp model and replace my first 3D print with a completed model. I use Shapeways to print, and the level of detail has gotten fine enough to print rivets. 

Thanks to Tim for letting me post these, and there are more items from him to post later on!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

From the collection of Tim Stuy

From my new best friend Tim Stuy. This was before the name was changed to Hoboken Shore Railroad just because it sounded better.