Weekend Photo Fun 12/04/15 HONGZ

I just received these nice two Micro-Train freight cars.

Hey, Jonny.

Thanks for sharing your new Micro-Trains cars. The Rock Island model is particularly interesting as green Rock Island box cars cause confusion since many folks weren't aware of their existence. It was actually one of a series of former Reading cars which were reconditioned and leased to the Rock Island beginning in the late 60s. I believe most of them lasted on the railroad right up until the end.

Thanks again,

Bob

Wow!  New forum format!  Like the larger type, larger avatar pics... gettin' ready to find out if I can figure out how to post pics/etc with it!

Here's a quickie pic I snapped on my old (to be dismantled) and unfinished layout a few months back. You're looking at two HO scale Stewart F units that I detailed/painted/decaled/weathered back in the late 1990's for my Kansas City & Gulf proto/freelanced theme. My KC&G theme is going to be reused on my upcoming new layout to be housed in my new outbuilding.  Anyway... here's the "caption" for the following picture...

"A pair of Kansas City & Gulf road warriors sit idling between duties at the KC&G's 12th St. Yard in Kansas City, Missouri, circa early 1960's. The duo represent somewhat of an oxymoron in appearance. Old #300 (the first EMD F unit to arrive on KC&G property back in the late 1940's), still wears what's left of its original paint scheme. The oxide red primer on the 300's number board, as well as the rusted scrape marks at the corner near same, indicate that somewhere along the way, it was involved in a minor skirmish while performing its assignment.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is recently shopped F7 #323. This is one of the very few units to be recently shopped by the cash-strapped KC&G. Ironically, the pair of engines also shows the current financial world the KC&G is undergoing during the recently declared bankruptcy, and current attempt to reorganize: A lot of old and weary equipment trying to hang on and move tonnage as the KC&G is in the process of trying to slowly rebuild its fleet."

From the archives.  Seattle Tacoma & Portland big steam:

The locomotives bear a resemblance to another certain well known railroad for some reason...

Rusty

"Thanks for sharing your new Micro-Trains cars. The Rock Island model is particularly interesting as green Rock Island box cars cause confusion since many folks weren't aware of their existence. It was actually one of a series of former Reading cars which were reconditioned and leased to the Rock Island beginning in the late 60s. I believe most of them lasted on the railroad right up until the end."

Thanks so much for that info on the Rock Island car Bob. I am amazed at your knowledge of train information! My original plan for my N layout was to keep the time period in the 1950's, but that rule has been broken very often (just don't tell anyone else).

The Severna Park Maryland Railroading Club has an open house today and tomorrow, here are some pictures we took today during a quick stop there.

http://severnapark.railfan.net/

Best...Rich

I went over to Brookside Gardens at Wheaton Regional Park (Wheaton, MD) this morning for a walk and to also see the 11th annual display by the Washington, Virginia, Maryland Garden Railway Society. This is a complement display to the Christmas color in the conservatories as well as the VERY elaborate Christmas light display (very well done, very popular. Highly recommended). 

The Gardens have long had trains before the Garden Railroad society began their display 11 years ago each Christmas. There used to be a permanent loop of G gauge LGB "running" all year long inside but it was broken more than it was running and in rough shape cosmetically. Eventually, it was ditched and the WVMGRS club took over operations and they do a fantastic job. 

Due to construction on the gardens parking lot, I park at another section of the park and walk down the hill to the gardens. No need to stop, look, and listen today. The Wheaton Regional Park train is not running until spring. 

Engine #357 was entombed in the dark, warm basement of the train station. Trains have been running at Wheaton Regional Park since 1964. 16" gauge trains ran from 1964 - circa 1970 until the current 24" gauge trains took over. #357 has been here since July 2008. In another life, I was a fully qualified engineer here and served as a "back up" engineer, usually early in the season each year. My "primary" railroad was about a half hour aways, also owned by the Parks Department. I've run the #357 many, many times. 

The layout has several nods to Montgomery County history. B&O trains are popular as well as near exact replicas of the Cider Barrel, Kensington B&O station, Maryland Motors, Brookside Gardens, the long-gone Wheaton Regional Park petting zoo and more.

Kensington MD B&O station. 

There are actually two layouts running. The second is a trolley line replicating the now abandoned trolley line from Georgetown to Glen Echo Amusement park and long-gone Cabin John Bridge hotel (one lane Union Arch bridge still stands). Two DC Transit PCC cars were operating. 

Great Picture's Everyone!! Keep them coming. 

Thank you Rich Murname and SJC for your pictures. It's great to see new participants on this thread.

I found the cemetery scene on the layout Rich visited interesting. At one time, funeral traffic represented very lucrative business for railroads and trolley lines. As many present day cemeteries were opened before the development of roads in their areas, they were located in the vicinity of rail lines to facilitate the transportation of mourners and the deceased. Many carriers, trolley lines in particular, had equipment built for this specific purpose. To this day, Amtrak still engages in the transportation of remains through its Amtrak Express operation.

Perhaps the most interesting example of railroading's participation in the funeral business occurred during the mid 1800s when, due to a shortage of burial space within the city limits of London, an act of government authorized the creation of the London Necropolis Company for the purpose of developing an expansive cemetery approximately 25 miles away in Brookwood which would be capable of serving the city's burial needs for many decades to come. The selection of the location was governed largely by its proximity to the mainline of the London & South Western Railway with whom the cemetery company partnered to operate dedicated "Necropolis" trains to the cemetery. A branch was built from Necropolis Junction into the cemetery. The branch featured two station stops within the cemetery with a run around so the locomotive would be positioned at the proper end of the train for the return trip to London. The Necropolis train departed from a purpose built station adjacent to London Waterloo in the morning and returned in the afternoon following the completion of the various graveside services. Passengers paid reduced fares for travel aboard the Necropolis train and multiple classes of passage were available. 

As this is a photo thread, posted below are a few images of Necropolis trains from the book "The Brookwood Necropolis Railway" by John M. Clarke, a copy of which I purchased. The LNWR provided the crew, motive power and passenger cars or carriages. The Necropolis company itself owned the "hearse vans" which were used to carry the deceased. They can be seen in the consist of the train in the first picture as the third and seventh vehicles behind the locomotive, an LSWR M7 class 0-4-4 tank engine. The second image shows a train adjacent to one of the stations on the cemetery branch while the third picture shows the London terminus for the Necropolis train. Over time, the original LNC terminal was replaced by a second facility. The operation of dedicated Necropolis trains ended when the London terminus was destroyed during the blitz. From that time forward, funeral traffic was handled directly from Waterloo station on regularly scheduled trains. Excepting special occasions, British Rail terminated the carriage of remains in 1988. This a rather obscure aspect of railroading but, since Rich posted a picture of a cemetery scene on the layout he visited, I thought it a good opportunity to impart some railroad history. One of the British modeling magazines even published a feature on how model the Necropolis train. 

File this under the heading "There's a prototype for everything"!

Bob