Weekend Photo Fun 11-1-24-??

Thank you, Scott………this is one of the things I look forward to each week!

Last week, we were on the western side of the Catskill’s, deep in O&W country. This week, we’ve traversed the Catskills to the east side, along the Hudson on the O&W’s Kingston Branch. There (in Kingston), we meet up (again) with the West Shore of the New York Central and a branch line mixed freight and passenger train which is on its way…..

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

One extra pic this week…….crossing the James River, west of downtown Richmond, is the CSX line south.  I’m in the passenger seat while my wife drives us north over the I-195 Bridge…….a beautiful fall scene….

Peter

Photos and video show my Boston & Maine 2-8-0 Consolidation #2403 pulling freight cars and a B&M caboose on my 12’-by-8’ layout. The locomotive is a Weaver die-cast model of a Baldwin Consolidation. Atlas O recently announced a production run of these engines using the tooling developed by Weaver. The models will have PS3 electronics and are scheduled for delivery later this year.

B&M #2403 was the last 2-8-0 to be retired by the B&M. It remained in passenger service around Boston until at least September 1954 and was scrapped in June 1955.

MELGAR

Hi, everyone.  Well, it is not quite Friday yet and still Halloween night.  So....

From a National Capital Trackers display at the 2017 KidsFest event in Fairfax.

Running with the SGMA a couple of weeks ago in the Black Hall at York…

Some of you may recall back on the March 29 Weekly Photo Fun I announced I decided to build a model of the F.A. Straus Worsted Yarn Mill in Hamilton Township NJ.  I took about a hundred photos of the complex, and pasted a montage of my planned building

I decided to buy a laser cutter and scratch build the whole thing. Seven months later, I have gotten as far as the lower part of the clock tower:

The basic walls are from Monster Model Works, but the rest is cut or engraved from various thicknesses of thin plywood.  This includes the arched lintels above the windows and main door, the two horizontal rows of multilayer brickwork along the top (including the dentil work), and the windows.   Even though the windows look like simple double sash affairs, they are distinctive because they are quite big: 7 ½ feet high by 2 feet wide.  Each window is made of seven laser cut pieces. The mullions are .020" wide and made from .028" thick plywood.  Making them this way makes it obvious they are made from separate pieces.

The glass block effect is made by scribing 1/8” thick Lucite.

That arched entrance has six layers.   There are seven LEDs in this lower part of the clock tower:

Enclosed aluminum lined light boxes ensure uniform ensure uniform illumination

At this rate, I should be done before the decade is out

@MELGAR posted:

Photos and video show my Boston & Maine 2-8-0 Consolidation #2403 pulling freight cars and a B&M caboose on my 12’-by-8’ layout. The locomotive is a Weaver die-cast model of a Baldwin Consolidation. Atlas O recently announced a production run of these engines using the tooling developed by Weaver. The models will have PS3 electronics and are scheduled for delivery later this year.

B&M #2403 was the last 2-8-0 to be retired by the B&M. It remained in passenger service around Boston until at least September 1954 and was scrapped in June 1955.

MELGAR

MELGAR - Very nice photos of your B&M Consolidation!   Nice video too!   I preordered the Atlas O Consolidation in Western Maryland livery from Mr. Muffin.   While at York I spoke with the Atlas O rep and he said the Consolidations will be in around April/May 2025.  I'm very excited to get this locomotive wih the PS3 electronics!  

Thanks Scott for getting us rolling for this fine weekend!   Here are some random pics from around the layout.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Halloween Action on the G&O.  NH Joe

Orange trains???    Not my favorite color but I just happen to be sitting here putting 2 ORANGE trains on flea-bay so here are a couple of photos!

@trumpettrain posted:

MELGAR - Very nice photos of your B&M Consolidation!   Nice video too!   I preordered the Atlas O Consolidation in Western Maryland livery from Mr. Muffin.   While at York I spoke with the Atlas O rep and he said the Consolidations will be in around April/May 2025.  I'm very excited to get this locomotive wih the PS3 electronics!  

Patrick,

I have two of the Atlas O 2-8-0s on pre-order. The Weaver version runs nicely. It should be great with PS3 electronics.

MELGAR

@corsair29 posted:

It was magnificent, Steve!

At some point, Steve,  would really love to see some pics of your Baldwin Baby Faces again……

Peter

A 2023 Christmas layout memory

Coming to the close of showing the layout, so here's some night images.

@scott.smith posted

Most people leave their barrels unpainted; but what fun is that? If you are looking for barrels Henning's trains is the place to find them.

Scott Smith

@scott.smith - you do such remarkable work.  I enjoy the updates and photos of your work that you bring to the forum

thanks - walt

Stocking up for the coming holidays.  Have a great day, everyone.

@Putnam Division posted:

At some point, Steve,  would really love to see some pics of your Baldwin Baby Faces again……

Peter

Thanks Peter.

@corsair29 posted:

Thank you, Steve! They are gorgeous!

Peter

Even though I'm not an active 3-rail hobbyist, for years I've wanted another postwar Lionel 736 "Berkshire". I just think they are Lionel's quintessential postwar "train set" steam engine.

I had sold mine back in '98 to help finance the down payment needed for our forever house we still live in. (I raised something like $6000 through the sale of trains, primarily my 3-rail collection.)

However, each time I would browse for a 736, I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money 736's were typically commanding.

Well, I now have a 736.

Not just any 736 mind you, but the one that has a story behind it:

Back in the early 1990s I was hot and heavy into 3-rail with a heavy "traditional" slant. Even though my long time friend was (at the time) an On3 enthusiast, he was also a Lionel closet guy that enjoyed picking up the occasional Lioniel/3-rail piece. (I was in my 40s at the time, friend David was in his 60s.)

After David saw my newest purchase (my 736), he got the hots to have a Berk, too. That itch he satisfied at a train meet shortly thereafter. Proud of his purchase, he brought it down to my place the next time I set up a temporary large 3-rail layout. Much to our surprise, not only did his 736 run great, but it was a FANTASTIC smoker. Better than mine! (AND, David had purchased it far less than I had paid for my Berk!)

Of course, I razed him about it, and as he would me.

Fast forward to earlier this year: My friend David passed at 93 years of age.

Here a few weeks ago, I contacted David's grandson that he and his departed wife Shirley had raised. (Christopher, a fellow train lover and railroader, has been a friend of mine ever since he was a child.)

I asked Chris if he'd be interested in selling me his Grandpa's Berkshire. I indicated I would like to have something of David's in his remembrance.

Well, today I stopped by, and I made an offer for David's Berkshire. Young Christopher (late 20s) said "no... but I'll take x amount."  X amount was half of what I had offered.

I thanked Chris for his kind gesture, and now I proudly own the David's Berkshire that both David and I got such a kick out of.

I miss you David.

Andre

Great story Andre, thanks.  The Berkshire is indeed Lionel's quintessential postwar "train set" steam engine.  As much mystique as surrounds the mighty Hudson, the Berk makes so much more sense as the everyday HD steamer!

@c.sam posted:

Great story Andre, thanks.  The Berkshire is indeed Lionel's quintessential postwar "train set" steam engine.  As much mystique as surrounds the mighty Hudson, the Berk makes so much more sense as the everyday HD steamer!

I so agree, Sam.

I never have been enamored with the 773-type Hudson. Too big to look nice with traditional sized equipment and WAY too expensive for my tastes.

Thus, I was/am most happy with traditional sized steam engines. Of those, Lionel made some dandies. (Berk boiler Hudsons, Baldwin boiler Hudsons, etc.)  MTH also had some nice ones in their "Railking" line. Then there's the very nice little Marx 333 series.

Yes, the better quality offerings of traditional sized steam engines is where it's found for me.

Andre