Weekend Photo Fun 12-15-23-??

Here are a few photos of my new Pennsylvania railroad decapods in action on the layout. I have both the short and long tender version:

The first two are the short tender version. Top image is taken at the iron Bridge departing on Enola yard and the second is  passing over Sherman’s Creek at Duncannon.  The second two are the long tender version. The first image shows the train at the signal bridge at milepost 150.7 just east of Port Royal and the second one shows the engine, hauling a freight train over Tuscarora Creek:

Great progress this week on my 2023 Christmas Layout build.  I want to be selective on what I show early on because my Christmas layout pictures have to be spread out over a year's time.  I'm trying to just show in progress ones but sometimes that includes a fully completed area.

- walt

The 6'x11' right side is complete.  I know it looks somewhat crowded but: I tried to tie the scenes together in some logical way (the drive-in is fed from the small town, etc), and when I look at the layout or when guests visit, I encourage them to just take in one scene at a time independent of others (otherwise it is somewhat overwhelming)

Shown here is my start on the front 5'x4' plateau.  It will house the 4 model houses that I made of my families houses.  My house and my sister's house will be between this plateau and the 4'x8' one in the back.

the house on the right is my son's and the other one is my brother's.

A view from the back

the house on the left is my daughter's and the one on the right is my childhood/parent's house.  That Nash parked there is exactly the car my dad owned when they bought this house back when.  Expensive accessory!  $105

Just a simple loop around the Christmas tree this year:

First train into the station.

PD

Been working on some 3D printed Thurmond, WV buildings.. still have work to do. If anyone knows where to find Thurmond decals, lmk!

www.youtube.com/trainbros89

Wow, Walt...is this the first year with the trestle? Don't recall that on prior iterations of the Waltburg layout.

PD

Video from the open house.

Scott Smith

Lots of great stuff this week……1st, Kids Day at the Train Station was a huge event. Over 1000 kids plus their parents, grandparents, etc……..Free popcorn, free hot cider and hot chocolate and free hot dogs!

Plus loads of great train action!

The fellow standing next to me is my friend Bob……we were classmates at Cardinal  Spellman HS in the Bronx from 1967-71. We were re-acquainted on our HS class’ FaceBook page about two years ago. We were all posting about what we did in retirement and we discovered that we were both train guys…..he lives in Northern Virginia and a 6x20 Super O layout.

Have a great and safe weekend, folks. If you are anywhere in the area, come join us…….anther big weekend is in store!

Peter

Next, a few fun videos from the weekend…..

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

Lastly, I am privileged to also be a member of the National Capitol Trackers, a really great group. I had to my a trip to bring stuff up to my daughter in DC. So,I timed it with the NCT set up at the College Park Aviation Museum.
They will be there today, Saturday and Sunday. Consult the College Park Aviation Museum for their hours.

It promises to be a load of fun!

Here are some set up pictures……and, yes, that is an active runway, and you may see a plane take off, and/or land.

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

Switching at the coaling tower.

A few 'oldies' from our club layout. I haven't run these nice B&O Sharks since

That classic 'Tuxedo' Southern scheme is hard to beat

What I probably should’ve posted today were these images of PA Route 45 coming up the side of the mountain from the Juniata river valley near Spruce Creek. My friend George Pandelios  asked me to send him some pictures of it since it is now finished and that's what made me think to post them here. Up on top are farm fields  and barns. I previously posted pictures of the farm field and cornfields I made as well as Route 45 under construction. Now it’s completed. First, here are some images of the layout:

Now here are some of the real route 45 taken from the front seat of the car since there is no where to pull off! Tracks are below the road to the left:

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

What I probably should’ve posted today were these images of PA Route 45 coming up the side of the mountain from the Juniata river valley near Spruce Creek. My friend George Pandelios  asked me to send him some pictures of it since it is now finished and that's what made me think to post them here. Up on top are farm fields  and barns. I previously posted pictures of the farm field and cornfields I made as well as Route 45 under construction. Now it’s completed. First, here are some images of the layout:

Now here are some of the real route 45 taken from the front seat of the car since there is no where to pull off! Tracks are below the road to the left:

Magnificent!

Peter

@Putnam Division posted:

Magnificent!

Peter

Thanks Peter. I should have added that I tried to recreate the red shale rock of that area and was careful to super elevate the road on the curves...kind of tricky along with the 9% grade. My son Steven designed and 3D printed the W-beam guardrail (guiderail if you live in Pennsylvania!)

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

I . . . was careful to super elevate the road on the curves...kind of tricky along with the 9% grade. My son Steven designed and 3D printed the W-beam guardrail (guiderail if you live in Pennsylvania!)

Superb!  One of the best roads ever!

And your son's personal record has been awarded ten merits for accurate 3D printing of scale guide rail components.

Thanks Scott for getting us started for this fine weekend!   Here's my photos of the fun kind.

Plowing snow up on the Mountain Division!  

J.D. Lottford and Les Moore move a crate of food provisions to the caboose which is their home away from home for the next several days.   Engineer, Airbrake Patterson gives the fellas a hardy wave.

That black bear might just get covered up in snow as the Jordan Spreader does its' thing!

The snout of a A5 switcher has just cleared off a siding.

These fellers enjoy watching the black bear run the other way as the Jordan Spreader cuts a swath through the snow.

@PRRMiddleDivision That's a good looking guardrail/guiderail! The whole scene is really gripping to look at well done!

What printer does he have? That's a tricky shape to print.

New addiction to my Work Train.

Worked at Ingersoll Rand for close to thirty years and models with the Ingersoll Rand name are hard to find even though they made locomotives. However I did find this model which I bought. Although I did not work on the drill floor.

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

What I probably should’ve posted today were these images of PA Route 45 coming up the side of the mountain from the Juniata river valley near Spruce Creek. My friend George Pandelios  asked me to send him some pictures of it since it is now finished and that's what made me think to post them here. Up on top are farm fields  and barns. I previously posted pictures of the farm field and cornfields I made as well as Route 45 under construction. Now it’s completed. First, here are some images of the layout:

Now here are some of the real route 45 taken from the front seat of the car since there is no where to pull off! Tracks are below the road to the left:

Wow, it doesn’t get any more realistic than what you’ve accomplished, excellent!

Gene

@walt rapp posted:

Great progress this week on my 2023 Christmas Layout build.  I want to be selective on what I show early on because my Christmas layout pictures have to be spread out over a year's time.  I'm trying to just show in progress ones but sometimes that includes a fully completed area.

- walt

The 6'x11' right side is complete.  I know it looks somewhat crowded but: I tried to tie the scenes together in some logical way (the drive-in is fed from the small town, etc), and when I look at the layout or when guests visit, I encourage them to just take in one scene at a time independent of others (otherwise it is somewhat overwhelming)

Shown here is my start on the front 5'x4' plateau.  It will house the 4 model houses that I made of my families houses.  My house and my sister's house will be between this plateau and the 4'x8' one in the back.

the house on the right is my son's and the other one is my brother's.

A view from the back

the house on the left is my daughter's and the one on the right is my childhood/parent's house.  That Nash parked there is exactly the car my dad owned when they bought this house back when.  Expensive accessory!  $105

I have a feeling it was well worth it maybe even cheap

@trumpettrain posted:

Thanks Scott for getting us started for this fine weekend!   Here's my photos of the fun kind.

Plowing snow up on the Mountain Division!  

J.D. Lottford and Les Moore move a crate of food provisions to the caboose which is their home away from home for the next several days.   Engineer, Airbrake Patterson gives the fellas a hardy wave.

That black bear might just get covered up in snow as the Jordan Spreader does its' thing!

The snout of a A5 switcher has just cleared off a siding.

These fellers enjoy watching the black bear run the other way as the Jordan Spreader cuts a swath through the snow.

Excellent scenes to accompany your imagination as usual Patrick.👍

Gene

Recently finished a Korber background building kit. Scratch-built my own sign identifying that this rail-served industry produces the finest home furnishings under the name "Sitmoore Furniture."

@pd posted:

Wow, Walt...is this the first year with the trestle? Don't recall that on prior iterations of the Waltburg layout.

PD

I made it about 20 years ago but rarely use it.  It often doesn't fit for what I'm doing in the currect year.

thanks for noticing @pd

walt

@trainbob: I agree with you that 'it's worth it'.  Mom and Dad passed away many years ago so the model of the house, with the car, and with the figures that I had custom made of them brings back tons of memories.  I  store the model houses on glass enclosed shelves that I made in my rec room so I get to enjoy looking at them any time that I want!

Here's a picture showing how I store it in the off-season:

Thanks for noticing

walt

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

... Top image is taken at the iron Bridge departing on Enola yard and the second is  passing over Sherman’s Creek at Duncannon....

That bridge with the iron reinforcement bars is excellent! By itself I wouldn't be able to tell it's not the actual prototype.

John

Here is a picture of my Eola yard on a busy day.  The yard master went from worrying about what he was going to get his wife for Christmas to handling two arriving freight trains.  He has just received the westbound Milwaukee Road meat train #63 on track #4.  And now #52 the UP grain train has just arrived on track #1.   He has to get these trains processed and finish getting train #42 the eastbound manifest way freight ready for departure.  Plus the westbound #21 the Santa Fe El Capitan is scheduled by on main #2 soon.  It left Chicago's Union Station on time heading for LA.

Art

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

What I probably should’ve posted today were these images of PA Route 45 coming up the side of the mountain fromthe Juniata river valley...

You've raised the bar for us a couple notches! The road and greenery are amazing. What helps move it into super-realism is that you were so generous in allotting space to non-rail related scenery. It belongs in a catalog page for Woodland Scenics.

John

Walt rapp, I’ve been enjoying your Christmas layouts for many years now and I think this may be the best ever.

A week before Christmas and all through the house.  MTH Tinplate is under the tree not a mouse!

All pictures and videos are mine.

I received my Lionel I1 Decapod this week. I was finally able to run it today. Here it is pulling a coal drag on my layout! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

@John's Trains posted:

You've raised the bar for us a couple notches! The road and greenery are amazing. What helps move it into super-realism is that you were so generous in allotting space to non-rail related scenery. It belongs in a catalog page for Woodland Scenics.

John

John,

Thank you for your comments. and your comment about Woodland Scenics is correct...there is a TON of their ground foam in that scene!

@NSRailfan100 posted:

I received my Lionel I1 Decapod this week. I was finally able to run it today. Here it is pulling a coal drag on my layout! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Beautiful layout! Do you have any more pictures you can share or do you have anything posted online about your layout?

@John's Trains posted:

That bridge with the iron reinforcement bars is excellent! By itself I wouldn't be able to tell it's not the actual prototype.

John

Thank you for your comments. The credit for the reinforcing goes to my son Steven. It was something I just never got around to, so he did it while he was still a teenager. If you look closely, you can see he even included NBW castings.

The Christmas "garden" at Kenilworth in Towson, Maryland:

@BillYo414 posted:

@PRRMiddleDivision That's a good looking guardrail/guiderail! The whole scene is really gripping to look at well done!

What printer does he have? That's a tricky shape to print.

I checked with my son and he tells me it is a Elegoo Saturn II, whatever that is! Posted below is a better photo of the W Beam guiderail. You can't really see it in the photo, but he even includes the bolt heads. It is mounted on 1/8" Evergreen I beam posts. Too bad no one makes it in O scale. Rix makes an HO version.

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

...Too bad no one makes it in O scale..

It looks like someone does make it in O scale! Your son could sell that. I like how you've even got the short section of I-beam that stands the railing out from the main support. You nailed that Pennsylvania mountain look.

John

@John's Trains posted:

It looks like someone does make it in O scale! Your son could sell that. I like how you've even got the short section of I-beam that stands the railing out from the main support. You nailed that Pennsylvania mountain look.

John

John,

They started mounting it that way in the late 1960's. Its called "blocking it out" and is done to keep cars that are sliding along the guardrail from snagging on the posts. They also reduced the post spacing from 12' 6" to 6' 3" to prevent "pocketing"...that's when a car strikes a guard rail panel and instead of deflecting the panel and even puncturing through it or collapsing it and going and over the slope, it is held on the road. The slope below the part of PA 45 that I modeled is really steep, and therefore some of the posts are actually mounted 3' 1 1/2" apart.

And you are right, my son could sell it, though he is so busy as a conductor, he doesn't have time to do so!