This new addition is now finished and in service on the layout.  This is an Accurail kit of a 50′ plug door boxcar, lightly weathered using pigments and washes. ACI plates and lube stencils were added along with new wheels and couplers: Continue reading

With just some detail parts and one billboard sign to be added, the layout I believe is pretty well finished! I hope to eventually add one more caboose, either an N8 or a transfer caboose plus one or two beat up dented gondolas that two manufacturers are coming out with next year I believe. Here… Continue reading

Well, I finally got around to installing the rest of the power lines to poles on the layout as shown below, using the great product by EZ-Line. Now I just have to be careful uncoupling cars….!! Continue reading

New signs by Scale Signs have arrived and are now installed: Continue reading

Well, we’re back to work the next day, another fortune first trick shift. Today it’s the crew of myself, Jimmy, Dan, and Charlie as engineer. We’ve got our work cut out for us today, as we’re finishing up yesterday’s work plus switching Monsanto. First, after breakfast at the diner across the tracks, we fire up… Continue reading

Next up and on order for the layout, this 50′ plug door boxcar kit by Accurail: Continue reading

Well, we’re back at work this time on first trick again working a few cars out of Riverside yard. Our crew today is Fred as engineer, myself as brakeman, Jimmy the conductor, and Dan as flagman. After firing up 8806 we’re going to pull off the tank car of fuel oil and spot it in… Continue reading

Another day at work on the Penn Central as dawn breaks over Cincinnati….. Continue reading

Added to the layout the past several days are these detail items: multiple pipes added to the set of tanks shown below at Monsanto Chemical, another derail and derail sign added on the siding to Sullivan scrap, and coming soon from Scale Signs, the signs shown below, which one will go by the siding into… Continue reading

The local out of Riverside yard has shown up with our next inbound cars, which looks like a gondola for Sullivan scrap, tank cars for Monsanto, and a wood chip boxcar for Armitage Furniture. Stay tuned as we work these soon. In the meantime, we’re working on spotting tank cars at Monsanto from the holding… Continue reading

I’ve added a new video, my first actually of action on the layout! You’ll find it here on the home page under my podcast video. Hope you enjoy it but excuse the big arm in the video….:) Continue reading

More details added to the layout yesterday, including this set of poles with transformers inside McGraw fuel and oil, a section of fence at the edge of McGraw, and an extra billboard over at Sullivan scrap which I’m going to use the sign below to advertise the scrapyard. Still on the list of details coming,… Continue reading

Here I am back to work on the railroad after my test was up, this time on first trick. With thermos in hand our crew heads over to 8806 to start our day. Today’s crew is Charlie, myself, and Jimmy, plus Dan as we fire up 8806. Today we’re pulling empties from Armitage Furniture, Stephen’s… Continue reading

One final detail I added to the layout this evening was the addition to the guy wire for the pole line. You see these everywhere where there are what I call guy wires or support wires for a pole line of wires, I assume as a warning to pedestrians or whoever might get tangled up… Continue reading

Added to the layout today were quite a few details, plus I extended the “mainline” to the edge of the end module so as to clear one more car with a bit of added track shown below. Other details were weeds added to the fence line along the scrapyard, plus a pipe coming out of… Continue reading