Weekend Photo Fun 7-16-21-??

Thanks Scott for kicking us off today!  Love your tall buildings!!

My fun photos for this fine weekend are all about "The Power of the Pennsy .... in electric, steam, and diesel."  The Pennsy had it all  ... and a lot of it!    Have a wonderful and safe weekend everyone!

The iconic GG-1 double headed.

44 tonner doing what it does best .... switching!   Pennsy had around 50 of these engines.

The P5a modified.

The experiment that failed ... the General Motors Aerotrain ran on the Pennsy for a bit as it did on the NYC, UP, and Rock Island.  It was supposed to do 100 mph and run between NYC and Pittsburgh, on the Pennsy, if it had proved successful.   Great looking design, but at 1,200 horsepower the locomotive was way underpowered, using 300 hp to run the electrical and AC system, thus leaving only 900 horsepower to pull the 10 car  train.  Other design flaws were with the suspension system of its' passenger cars.  The air suspension worked well for buses manufactured by GM but did not at all transfer well to the two axle passenger coaches.  Too bad GM didn't go back to the drawing board and figure out a suspension system that functioned well and dropped a more powerful prime mover in the LT 12 locomotive.   IMHO this 1956 train looked more like the "Train of Tomorrow" than "The Train of Tomorrow."  At least all three  Aerotrain train sets manufactured by GM wound up running commuter service for the Rock Island for 10 years.   The folks along the Rock Island commuter routes at least got to enjoy the Aerotrain's asctetic beauty as it rolled by each day.  

The A5 0-4-0 switcher and the P5a modified.  

A Pennsy PA1 at the point of a passenger train.  

Something different this week...rather than photos of my layout, here are some prototype shots that I took purely by dumb luck about 10 days ago. I was travelling down Route 28 here in Pittsburgh and noticed that I was paralleling an NS coal drag. I was going faster than the train, so I got ahead of the train and I positioned myself on a lightly used ramp at the junction of PA-28 and I-279 and got some cool shots of the train with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background.

I included the last shot just to show a beautiful view of Pittsburgh taken about a mile down the river from the train photos.  I took it a few weeks ago during an evening stroll along the riverfront park after a nice dinner out near PNC Park. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I still wonder if those who have never been here still think of our city as a smoky steel town...it isn't, and hasn't been for many years. I love it here and think the place is just gorgeous. If you've never been here, come see for yourself...and there's lot of trains to see!

Big modular layout expanded and reconfigured.....now the scenery and wiring gets worked on......

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

             Modern 70 - 80 weekend operation....

Almost finished this flat car.

@SIRT posted:

           

Saw an EFC car similar to that rattling by on a Rock Island freight near Abbott, AR (which was near where I lived) sometime in 1969 or 1970?

As soon as I could, I purchased a similar car in HO offered by Quality Craft at the time.

Never finished it. (Though in my defense as a younger man in KC, I DID finish several Quality Craft kits, including several tri-level auto racks.) Still have some parts from that kit (the white metal ends) that I use for weights when needed on things that have the glue drying.

SO, it never fails:

When I see a pic of the real thing, or a model... I have flashbacks of standing on that shallow cut, and mental images and sounds of that Rock Island freight hammering by out in the wilds of Arkansas.

The abandoned line is so grown up now, when I (rarely) visit the area, I can barely spot some of the places where I've watched trains.

Okay, enough of my nostalgic ramblings. Carry on.

EDIT: Don't know why the photo of the EFC "Evergreen" car in Sirt's post didn't reproduce within my quote box. Puzzling.

Andre

A 2020 Christmas Layout memory

Been showing residences that make up Waltburg the last few weeks.  This week I show my daughter's house in Franklin, PA.  Also, to repeat a previous comment, the figures of her family were custom made by Marcie of Trainformations.  BTW: if you look close enough at that truck it is "YOUNG's", which is my daughter's married name!

- walt

For perspective:

Christmas courtesy of the Polar Express in July

This is the 3rd of the temp layouts that I built earlier this year for 2 reasons:

Amtrak Genesis #64 is an MTH Premier model (20-2189-1) with PS1 and a BCR, issued in 1998 – on my 10’-by-5’ layout.

MELGAR

@PRRMiddleDivision posted:

Something different this week...rather than photos of my layout, here are some prototype shots that I took purely by dumb luck about 10 days ago. I was travelling down Route 28 here in Pittsburgh and noticed that I was paralleling an NS coal drag. I was going faster than the train, so I got ahead of the train and I positioned myself on a lightly used ramp at the junction of PA-28 and I-279 and got some cool shots of the train with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background.

I included the last shot just to show a beautiful view of Pittsburgh taken about a mile down the river from the train photos.  I took it a few weeks ago during an evening stroll along the riverfront park after a nice dinner out near PNC Park. I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and I still wonder if those who have never been here still think of our city as a smoky steel town...it isn't, and hasn't been for many years. I love it here and think the place is just gorgeous. If you've never been here, come see for yourself...and there's lot of trains to see!

Neal: Being from the Burgh with a lot of family still living there and visiting several times a year I agree with you. But I do remember when it was the Smoky City as I lived there then and my dad and most of my mothers family worked for J&L Steel at the Southside faculty on Carson Street which is now long gone.

Neal,

Great shots! I grew up about 40 minutes southwest of Pittsburgh, in Ohio. When we would come through that Fort Pitt tunnel to enter the city it was always like Dorothy entering the Land of Oz to me. The city is one of my favorite skylines. Especially the way the UPMC (USX) building sits towering through the other buildings. Back when I was growing up and even now watching the trains snake through the city is definitely part of why I love trains and got into the hobby. It's truly a site to see.

I still say that when I retire I will probably move somewhere close to Pittsburgh if not there. It's truly the place I think of when I think of trains and modeling them.

Dave

Scott you should definitely post those skyscrapers in Tall Buildings Tuesday

Looks like a government job, one guy working and five holding the layout down.

Atlas O scale Chessie System bay-window cabooses and a FORD F-100 pick-up truck. 

Andrew

@John Pignatelli JR. posted:

Looks like a government job, one guy working and five holding the layout down.

Agree.......but when we started reconfiguring all the modules, it was all hands on deck! With so many people, we were able to disconnect groups of modules to move them around......which save a lot of time. it went so smoothly that nary a figure toppled on my modules.....

One thing you don't get from the pictures, is that Tom is actually teaching.  He is describing his technique and the theory behind how he is isolating power so that the west yard can service the outside loop.

3 weeks ago, we had a class on soldering, done by Ken (Kanawha).

I made this board last weekend so that we can have ballasting instruction.....which will also be done by Ken.

So, what I'm trying to say is that the standing around is not necessarily down time.

We try to teach and we expect people to learn....and, help.....

Peter

falconservice I love that Ford Pickup and being a Ford guy from way back what is with your name? I have owned both a 64 and 65 Ford Falcon Futura as a younger man and would like to pick up anther 65.

Last videos from from my son's N-scale club. He's moving from home to his first full-time job after graduating and we said goodbye to his friends there after one last run session.

First and only time running there his new Atlantic Coast Line Pacific steam engine from Bachman. It's a great runner, and loud.

Tom

                                         Modern 70 - 80 weekend operation.... II

Stephen Girard set

Finally picked up the airbrush after 2 years!

The MTH Premier Chicago South Shore and Wheeling & Lake Erie covered steel coil gondola cars.

The real covered coil cars like these used to be in CN trains on the GTW between 2006 and 2016.

Andrew

Falcon Service

https://ogrforum.com/...9#156701991987407709

Who makes  (made) that F 100?

Learned to drive one just like it except the paint on mine was MUCH worse.

Did it come with the Chessie logo?

Would love to score one for my layout.

@corsair29 posted:

Finally picked up the airbrush after 2 years!

Those are really nice.  Hope to see more of your work.

                                Modern 70 - 80 weekend operation.... III

Ah, this little gem(well, not so little) arrived Thursday ahead of schedule. I am so pleased I was able to get this by offer instead of pressing my luck with being outbid on Ebay. I have been after the Lionel 50th Anniversary Hudson for a few years now, and much like the Lionel Dreyfuss, it has been extremely hard to get a hold of until now. I had only ever seen one up close at my local train store before I started buying again(I think was around 2015 or so) and of course, missed out on it there. Now I am very happy to have this engine in my collection. Now, just got to get a Dreyfuss, lol.

@corsair29 posted:

Finally picked up the airbrush after 2 years!

Awesome job! Would you mind telling me about your weathering process? I weather all of my cars and buildings with an air gun, but I am so afraid to do any of my engines.

Regards,

Greg P

@Trainbros89 posted:

Would you mind telling me about your weathering process?

Thanks Greg.  I only use three colors. first I spry the white then rust then black.  The steam engines I put on rollers on a powered track mounted to an old lazy Suzan. That way I don't need to take anything apart.  I usually mask the windows with some scotch tape though.

@Garfield posted:

https://ogrforum.com/...9#156701991987407709

Who makes  (made) that F 100?

Learned to drive one just like it except the paint on mine was MUCH worse.

Did it come with the Chessie logo?

Would love to score one for my layout.

Atlas O recently shipped out the FORD F-100 pick-up trucks.

Some Atlas dealers like Mr. Muffin's Trains might still have some available.

Andrew

An all original 1950 773 owned by a club member that was test run prior to listing for sale -- indescribably smooth runner. 

And the staging tracks:

@Pingman posted:

An all original 1950 773 owned by a club member that was test run prior to listing for sale -- indescribably smooth runner.

And the staging tracks:

Great find! More layout photos please?

Dave