a picture a day....

K-Line F3's in the beautiful North Coast Ltd scheme

A hot muggy humid day at downtown

@c.sam posted:

K-Line F3's in the beautiful North Coast Ltd scheme

c.sam, I love K-Line models, they did good work. To bad they messed up! Question: The aluminum passenger cars, are they K-Line or Lionel, or a combination of both. I ask because the first baggage car looks like a K-Line, the sliding doors are bigger and more detailed than the second baggage car which I'm sure is a Lionel. No matter, it's a really beautiful  set!

From my 3rd Christmas layout M-A-N-Y years ago.  The layouts have seemed to grow a bit in later years!!!

- walt

overall:

FOR TODAY:  A quartet of photos of today's train happenings in the Burg.

A Reading Company passenger train jets through town in a blur!

Here comes the bus coming from Patsburg Union Station where is picked up passengers who just got off the train.

Butler Junction earlier this morning.

A way freight makes its' way through Butler Junction.

The West End yard at dawn this morning...the Pennsy PA is ready for duty...

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

c.sam, I love K-Line models, they did good work. To bad they messed up! Question: The aluminum passenger cars, are they K-Line or Lionel, or a combination of both. I ask because the first baggage car looks like a K-Line, the sliding doors are bigger and more detailed than the second baggage car which I'm sure is a Lionel. No matter, it's a really beautiful  set!

Yes Scott - the first baggage is K-Line as is the vista dome. Both are 15" and the rest of of the consist is Weaver. They are 20" aluminum with full interiors and passengers. Very nice.  Don't think Lionel ever produced scale sized NP cars...  

The handsome L&N's are also Weaver

@c.sam posted:

Yes Scott - the first baggage is K-Line as is the vista dome. Both are 15" and the rest of of the consist is Weaver. They are 20" aluminum with full interiors and passengers. Very nice.  Don't think Lionel ever produced scale sized NP cars...  

The handsome L&N's are also Weaver

Thanks Sam for getting back to me. I forgot that Weaver also produced the extruded aluminum passenger cars. Both are beautiful trains!

@Sitka posted:

A hot muggy humid day at downtown

Hot , muggy and no rain has kept me busy outside watering and mulching the 50 new shrubs and flowering perennials ..........BUT .......afterwards I'm allowed to slow down and get inside to see what's going on in the TRAIN LAYOUT room . .

Keep hydrated and keep the energy level down.

God speed ,

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Hot , muggy and no rain has kept me busy outside watering and mulching the 50 new shrubs and flowering perennials ..........BUT .......afterwards I'm allowed to slow down and get inside to see what's going on in the TRAIN LAYOUT room . .

Keep hydrated and keep the energy level down.

God speed ,

Dallas, like heat but when it gets humid no wind can't keep the beers cold keep those trains running nice looking layout!

God Speed

FOR TODAY: " Hot fun in the summertime! "

Riding my bike down this old rural road on this fine Saturday morning.  Just made it to the grade crossing to see the caboose of a short freight train.  Later ol' farmer Clancy Bivens told me that yesterday afternoon this old tar and chip road had so much heat rising off it that it looked like a "red hot frying pan gone bad."  Don't know exactly what that would look like but I certainly got the message that the road was scorching hot!  

Comin up Mountain Road from Patsburg I caught this view.   That water looks inviting as I wipe the pouring sweat from my brow.

These rock climbers must really be feeling the heat! Gee, that water still looks good!  Yes sireeee!!!

This looks like a good spot to take a break and watch the boaters as I drink from my water bottle and eat my sandwich.

Oh wow!  A short freight train takes the bridge!

As I circle back, I stop to look back at the Bivens farm and the tar and chip road where I've just been.    There's ol' farmer Clancy Bivens bidding me a farewell with a tip of his hat.  I wave to him and pedal my bike down Mountain Road toward Patsburg.  The good thing is I can now coast most of the way back to Patsburg.  

I'm not a big fan of posts that are for the purpose of showing kids, usually.  My post here isn't so much about showing my son and grandson, it's showing how DCS helps to make the trains more interesting for kids.  For those that don't have DCS, you see my grandson talking into a mic.  his voice comes out of the engine that we select for it.  Kids are highly entertained hearing their voice come thru.

The ability to play music, or in this case talk, using DCS is to me the most entertaining aspect of DCS.

- walt

Man and his loyal companion Fido, trespassing.

Somewhere near Emigrant, Montana in 2019...you don't see too many of the old "warbonnet" engines around these days, except on forum member's train layouts..

Morning guys what great photos and Stories!

@trumpettrain Patrick that had to be one heck of a bike ride in this heat! I hope the ride down hill was worth it!

@Capetrainman Paul, love the BNSF warbonnet! I need one for my layout! I know there are a few real ones rolling around!

Getting out of the heat, fishing for that trophy rainbow trout

@Sitka posted:

Getting out of the heat, fishing for that trophy rainbow trout

Sounds like a good idea, I was going to mow but it is already in the 80"s!

Following up after @Sitka another lake, another group of fishermen, a different species of fish

walt

And in another part of town:

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY: " Hot fun in the summertime! "

Riding my bike down this old rural road on this fine Saturday morning.  Just made it to the grade crossing to see the caboose of a short freight train.  Later ol' farmer Clancy Bivens told me that yesterday afternoon this old tar and chip road had so much heat rising off it that it looked like a "red hot frying pan gone bad."  Don't know exactly what that would look like but I certainly got the message that the road was scorching hot!  

Comin up Mountain Road from Patsburg I caught this view.   That water looks inviting as I wipe the pouring sweat from my brow.

These rock climbers must really be feeling the heat! Gee, that water still looks good!  Yes sireeee!!!

This looks like a good spot to take a break and watch the boaters as I drink from my water bottle and eat my sandwich.

Oh wow!  A short freight train takes the bridge!

As I circle back, I stop to look back at the Bivens farm and the tar and chip road where I've just been.    There's ol' farmer Clancy Bivens bidding me a farewell with a tip of his hat.  I wave to him and pedal my bike down Mountain Road toward Patsburg.  The good thing is I can now coast most of the way back to Patsburg.  

Holy Smokestack Patrick; that was some ride! The pictures were a cooling affect during this heat wave.

@mike g. posted:

Sounds like a good idea, I was going to mow but it is already in the 80"s!

To hot to mow Mike grab a beer and think about that new layout! Mark

FOR TODAY:  Being Sunday and an extremely hot one at that ... here are 7 photos to help bring down the temperature!   Stay cool everyone!

Now arriving  on track one the Capitol Limited!  Now departing on track two, The National Limited!  

Ahhhh ... the thoughts of the holiday season!  

Western Maryland brakeman Little Joe Paladin takes in the cold air as his train is about to disappear into a tunnel.

Last January's memories of plowing snow on the Mountain Division.   I hope that bear is not too hungry!

Hogger C.W. Moss steps down from the cab just to walk through the white stuff.,  

A loan passenger is relieved to see her train running exactly on time!  

Pat, those photographs cooled us down!!

A farm scene on 2022's Christmas Layout

- Walt

A complete view of that corner of the layout

Dusk at the North Main Street station...

From Chris Miller

- walt

Chatter on the radio. Smile when you cross Paterson Plank Rd. FRA is in the weeds taking pictures.

@pennsyfan posted:

Chatter on the radio. Smile when you cross Paterson Plank Rd. FRA is in the weeds taking pictures.

Bob: that's a very creative and nice scene you've got there

- walt

@walt rapp posted:

Bob: that's a very creative and nice scene you've got there

- walt

Thanks Walt!

FOR TODAY:  It's a hot and tuff job unloading these large crates but somebody has to do it ... especially when the trucking company sent a spine trailer instead of a flatbed. Somehow I know these good O'l fellers will get these crates secured to the spine because the railroad needs to have that Reading gondola back in about 2.5 hours.  When life gives you a lemon make lemonade.  These fellers are good at doing just that too!   ... just another day on the railroad."

My first attempt to create what me and my family refer to as "Waltburg'.  My family because those are models of their houses.  2 more models coming in later years to expand the town.

That '17' car was because my nephew, who lived in that house, was working in the pit crew for (heck, I can't remember the driver's name).  Does Matt Kenseth sound right?  '17' was the actual car number of the one that he drove and the paint scheme is spot on too.

- walt

FOR TODAY: Different phases of this morning on the Free State Junction Railway in Patsburg.

As the sun has just fully spread its' light.

About 9 a.m. FSJR grade crossing guard, Shakey Wines, steps  out of the guard shack after downing a cup of coffee.   The crossing gate is actually from my first Lionel trainset that ran around the family Christmas tree when I was 4.

At 9:46 a B&O TOFC train rolls through town.  

The zoo bears are doing well

- walt

The passengers wait for the arrival of the "Chief" at the North Main Street station...

Following @Capetrainman a station scene on one of my Christmas layouts

- walt

A view of South Main Street as the CN C-Liner passes the "Charles Street Yard" tower...

@Capetrainman posted:

A view of South Main Street as the CN C-Liner passes the "Charles Street Yard" tower...

Paul, those C-liners are neat, but way too big for my layout.  Looks great next to the tower.

Coal workers

Mark, I'd forgotten how big they are until I took them our the box recently after a few years rest...could be close to the size of a PA...changed the battery, greased them up, and off they went on the new layout...

FOR TODAY:  MOW heavy equipment repair crew has been called out this morning.  It seems the big hook is having some problems.   I'm sure the team will have it fixed shortly.  

looks like a family July 4 picnic at the township park.  For those familiar with North Park (In Pittsburgh area), I made that model of Grant Grove pavilion.

- walt