WEEKEND PHOTO FUN 9-16-16-??

Look who came to town last evening to talk to the Virginia Train Collectors on their occasion of our 40th anniversary:

Thank you, Mike. Great talk and program! We appreciate all you do for the hobby!

Peter

L&N Pulpwood          Weathered car#1234....................

In keeping with its long established tradition for the weekend following Labor Day, last weekend the New jersey Museum of Transportation held its annual "Railroaders Day" on the organization's narrow gauge Pine Creek Railroad located in Allaire State Park in Wall Township. The event includes shop tours, model train displays and the operation of all equipment which is serviceable. I didn't attend this year's event but I did go digging in my Kodak boxes for slides from the 1980 festivities during which three steam locomotives saw action throughout the day. They were "Lady Edith", an 1887 product of Robert Stephenson and Company which was from the Cavan & Leitrim Railway in Ireland, the number 26, a 1920 graduate of Baldwin which formerly served on the Surrey, Sussex & Southampton Railway and 1927 Lima built former Ely-Thomas Lumber two truck Shay number 6. All photos were taken on Railroaders Day, 1980.

Bob

Here is something pretty unique, and created for me by one of my friends, Mark Vinski.  Mark was good friends with Don Cassler who built one of the greatest layouts I have ever seen in my life, an HO rendition of a portion of the B&O known as the M&K.  Mark worked on it with Don for many years, and it was as much Mark's layout as it was Don's.  Don was a wonderful person, and unfortunately he recently passed away.

Having need for a large radius curved turnout on an industrial spur on my layout, I asked Mark for his help.  He is a superb craftsman and scratchbuilt many of the turnouts on the M&K. This would be his first ever O scale 3 rail turnout, and he did a spectacular job.  Below is an image of the turnout, the prototype spur into the US Silica ('nee Pennsylvania Glass Sand) plant at Mapleton, PA, and Mark himself. Given the constraints of the layout, the direction of curvature of the model is opposite that of the prototype. The mainline tracks can be seen to the left in both the model and prototype photos.

A 2015 Christmas layout memory

A view from the opposite corner shown last week.

- walt

Happy Friday

This Weekend I am redoing this town... it is no more...

Bob & Fred on the tender deck of a Russian Decapod.

As the old saying goes

The Best, or in this case The Very BEST for last.

Last because I see no other Cab to add to the roster.

A "Brother Love" handcrafted masterpiece.

Brother Love bookends.

walt rapp posted:

A 2015 Christmas layout memory

A view from the opposite corner shown last week.

- walt

 

Working on "Walt's Christmas 2016" yet Walt? Love to see all the images!!

Have been enjoying the many photos each week. Weekend photo fun always a treat at the end of the week.

Last week our train club and railway association attended the local CN Railway family days open house. I set up 3 loops of track on the floor using K-Line Super Snap track, great track goes down quick and good connections and stays together well for many show set ups each year. If a connection gets damaged can always use a track pin. With this track I can also run 2 rail Scale equipment with power only to the insulated outside rails or of course 3 rail. I had a Weaver CN 4-6-4 2 rail scale with TMCC on the outside loop (missing in some photos as I was packing at the end), middle loop with Weaver 2-8-0 on DC 2 rail both pulling mostly Atlas and some MTH , Lionel freight cars in 2 rail scale. On the inside loop a couple of MTH diesels front and mid train, and Atlas dummy engine.  On my foam 4x8 boards using MTH realtrax Outside loop a MTH CN switcher 3 rail Thomas and James, the other foam board Old Lionel CN Geeps with snow plows train. Inside were Percy and Diesel (who's motor died near the end of the day after 3 years of show layouts). The Lion Chief controls are mounted on the fence for the kids to control the Thomas trains and Cranky the Crane. I had my power and electronics board from home for the DCS and TMCC operations. As well our O train club was next to me and several other displays and handouts for the kids. A couple of elevated G scale layouts and some ride on trains, the Green BC Rail train from the WCRA and CN's promotional ride on train that the kids love, bouncy castles for the kids and short train rides on the Rocky Mountaineer train. Locomotives were on display inside with the mechanics shown and an engine for the kids to climb through the cab. Fire trucks and police cars to sit in etc. There were candy bags for the kids and a great buffet lunch. Great weekend with lots of trains running lots of happy kids and families and great annual event our clubs enjoy attending each year.

The latest changes to the Temporary Railroad. TRR

Here's one I shot last week. Looks like Big Foot decided to join the moonshiners in the woods. As a special guest, he didn't just get a jug, he got a BARREL!

I also got a couple of 73-foot Center Beam flat cars I was modifying for 2-rail/3RS finished last week. Here they are with the first one I did. The empty UP flat has the same number as the loaded one up front in case I can set up a loads-in/empties-out industry set up down the road. Now that I have the technique down, I'm going to modify some old MTH Autoracks I have in my collection.

Here are my photos for this week. Hope you all have a great weekend.

Putnam Division posted:

Look who came to town last evening to talk to the Virginia Train Collectors on their occasion of our 40th anniversary:

Thank you, Mike. Great talk and program! We appreciate all you do for the hobby!

Peter

I see two things on my preorder list - the 44 tonner (where oh where may those be?) and the House with Christmas lights (can't want for those - that is going to be a great piece!)

Peter - any word on delivery from Mike on the 44 ton switcher and/or house with lights?

A little Rocket action

Yes it is all fun and games till he wants to get romantic!  

Have a great weekend.

One of our forum sponsors River Leaf Models made these kits. I used blue LED lighting and a few other details. Aged the sides to look like a old building that had been upgraded to the "Gentlemans' Club". The door is not the one that came with the kit. I asked Andre if he could make me a glass door and he was kind enough to do it. His kits are super easy and detailed for the most advanced builders.  Just ordered the Deco Radio Station. Don

An "artsy" photo I took at East Broad Top some years ago.

Happy weekend everyone!  Here are a few quick cellphone shots of the latest additions to my roster--a Lionel Legacy Reading & Northern SD38 & matching R&N northeastern-style caboose...

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

Yes it is all fun and games till he wants to get romantic!  

Bigfoot notwithstanding, I've been asked plenty of times why my Blue Ridge Mountain area-themed layout doesn't have a still on it. I'd love to build one as Mom's family had moonshiners in it (her uncles who did this were all WW1 vets who had trenches and barbed wire around the area and were men not to be trifled with, as the 'revenooers' found to their dismay one day in the late 30s; they were never brought to any justice). But my Dad spent much of his youth trapping and hunting all over those hills and never once stumbled across a still. Mom saw the long-busted-up remains of one as a kid, but only the one time.

Moonshiners were very good at hiding these things.

And then, my layout takes place in WW2, when the 'fixings' of 'shine were very tough to find and I strongly think moonshine production was sharply curtailed for the duration.

All that said, I wish they hadn't been difficult to spot and ran during the 40s, as I'd love to add a still to my layout...

SJC posted:

Putnam Division posted:

Look who came to town last evening to talk to the Virginia Train Collectors on their occasion of our 40th anniversary:

Thank you, Mike. Great talk and program! We appreciate all you do for the hobby!

Peter

I see two things on my preorder list - the 44 tonner (where oh where may those be?) and the House with Christmas lights (can't want for those - that is going to be a great piece!)

Peter - any word on delivery from Mike on the 44 ton switcher and/or house with lights?

No SJC....sorry, no word.

Peter

Here's one I call "Mayhem at Clem's" open house.  The kids are having a blast! 

Here is a picture of a MTH Premier Western Maryland GP9 Engine. I hope to buy this in a week or so.   

A little bit of street running on my layout.

Too all you members that follow my O Scale Motor Vehicle Chronicle, I expect to start it in a few weeks.

My computer has become unreliable, and I will replace it soon.

Farmer Bill, by the picture they aren't even there! Don

Glad to see Lil' Obie made it.

Personally I preferred his original paint job but I'm just glad they have kept it going.

I pulled these monsters out and got them Kadee-ized. Still got a little work to do on them. They are running EOB but I might convert them over to ERR.

BobbyD posted:

Working on "Walt's Christmas 2016" yet Walt? Love to see all the images!!

BobbyD: thanks for asking.  Yes, I have the track plan completed along with how I plan on scenicking it.  I do all my work on paper the old way but I suppose I could take a digital shot of the sketch.

thanks again for asking - walt

I finally have a Mountain in the correct colors to put on the head end of my NYO&W Mountaineer. It looks great, and runs well. Included is a shot of the observation. And finally, John, one of our club members, has bee spending time building some rather intricate and details pieces. Here is a stationary steam engine he is working.

Chris

LVHR

Spruced up this Williams F unit with an LED headlight.

 I love this shot - you can see the light beam coming from the LED. I retained the incandescent bulb I order to illuminate the interior and number boards.
Celebrated with a new 50' box car in WM speed lettering.

AGHRMatt posted:

Here's one I shot last week. Looks like Big Foot decided to join the moonshiners in the woods. As a special guest, he didn't just get a jug, he got a BARREL!

"STILL" alive and well! This is the name of a song written for Johnny Winter, and I thought the reference works here. Very cool.

Don

Today I went to a train store in Point Pleasant Beach NJ called The Train Room during the seafood festival before it got evacuated due to the explosion in Seaside Park. 

Lionel Legacy Western Maryland F7 leads this freight past the farm on the National Capital Trackers layout, Kensington, MD last Sunday, 9/11/2016.

This weekend couple box car pics.

My newest arrival came in today, a 3-car set of MTH Premier 64' Wood Side/19th Century passenger cars. These are absolutely STUNNING. Just beautiful. An extra special touch, the observation car is named "Hampton Bays". Southampton may be "home" when not in Washington but I've spent plenty of time in Hampton Bays! I'm a sucker for LIRR stuff. I spend the holidays, summers, etc in Southampton and have for my entire life. Nothing against Dashing Dan and grey and orange but I'd like to see more early/as delivered Long Island equipment. I've ridden the LIRR countless times. Been to the museums in Riverhead and Greenport and am particular interested in early LIRR and the LIRR's impact on East End farming communities, particularly the Hamptons and Southampton even more. 

A few other LIRR pieces I have. Plenty more not photographed. 

CSX Local train D765 heading home to the Montgomery County (MD) Recycling and Trash Center, just a couple of miles down the track. This is an intermodal train that runs the 17 miles between the County Trash Dump in Derwood, MD, out to PEPCO's plant on the Monacacy River in western Montgomery County. Always smells good on a hot day. This being the return trip, it wasn't too bad!