Well... seeing as there was an HO F(7) unit posted and the poster didn't get tarred n' feathered... thought I'd toss my hat into the ring with a pic of an F3A.
AND... I might as well spin a yarn in the process!
The Ozarks, October 1964...
Extra 300 South (a caboose hop) is in the clear and tied-down on the Pass Track at the little sleepy mountain town of Piney, Arkansas.
Here in a bit, Extra 300 South will be fixin' to head down Buck Mountain Grade to Ozarka, Arkansas, where waits a tonnage train of norths that it's gonna' hook onto an' wrestle back up Buck Mountain Grade (as Extra 311 North), an' eventually hustle 'em all the way north to the division point yard at Branson, Missouri.
In the meantime, they's waitin' on a'nuther train: Northbound manifest freight #44. Last they heard, #44's workin' its way to Ozarka... an' then they'll be doin' battle with The Mountain. That is, IF'N they's make it past Tuff Cuss Curve an' several other hard pulls on the way up The Mountain.
That bein' so, the crew had gone into the Piney General Store an' had some of Meemaw B's cookin' an' topped it off with a slice of Meemaw B's renown Coconut Cream Pie.
Comin' out of the General Store, two of 'em, "Hot Dog" Henson an' "Pig Iron" Matthews, got to chewin' the fat with "Ox" Milligin, one of the local loggers that plies them mountains haulin' timber to Possum Creek Lumber Company.
However, way off in the distance, ol' #44's comin' into earshot way down toward Buck Holler as it's workin' its way up to Piney Gap an' the little town of Piney. 'Course, seein' as #44's probably makin' about 8 - 10 MPH... they's still gonna' be a spell before they grind through the cut down by the Piney depot an' make their presence known here at Piney. 'Course, all THAT's supposes that they ain't gonna' lay down on The Mountain an' have to double up to Piney!
Life's slower in the Ozarks, an' so's railroadin' on the Ozark Sub of the Kansas City & Gulf!
About the above picture:
Snapped at the town of Piney on my KC&G Ozark Sub layout, it showcases KC&G F3A #300.
Engine #300 is a Stewart/Kato F3A Phase 1b that I painted, applied decals, then weathered to represent a line that's undergone a bankruptcy and is in the process of reorganization. #300 was built/painted way back in the early 1990s at a previous home and served on the previous KC&G layout!
As for scenery: Pretty much any scenery you see on my layout is simply temporary "place holders" until I get around to putting in the final product. For example, the Piney General Store is a photo structure that I found on the internet that I modified in photo software, printed out, and cut/assembled. The old buildings to the left of the General Store were created from photos I had taken decades ago, manipulated in photo software, then printed, cut out, and assembled. Ditto the tree line: Photo that I manipulated, printed, assembled and tacked into place.
All fer now!
Andre
