Weekend Update 8/22/21

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed I heard they were all on the Western Shore. In my experience they are everywhere. I'm so far back in the woods in Worton that I'm not going to see many.

Oh no no no, you've definitely gotta be on the lookout for @davefoxx (to the north), @RockGp40 (Centreville, I think) and @wm3798 down in Easton (ok, that's a bit of a hike).

Anyway, welcome to the neighborhood!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Great modeling here, very nice work, especially Tim's MOW train...

On my layout Conrail is back!
I think, now there is less place in my enginehouse - just won them on eBay, one each from Atlas, Kato and Bachmann (hope the C40-8 runs better than the units from the very first run back in the 1990s).
Last month I could catch a Kato GP35 and a SD40...

That's a good fleet you're putting together there!

Those GP30s are an interesting story: Conrail put them in storage in the Reagan Recession, and then pulled them out again in the 90s after EMD took a bunch of their preferred local power (like GP38s and 38-2s) back when their leases expired, so while there were only a few running around in the mid 80s, they had a renaissance in the 90s and, I think, a GP35 even might've gotten a CRQ paint job.

Check out the CRCYC: http://crcyc.railfan.net/locos/emd/gpindex.htm and CRHS pages if you haven't.
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/galleries/emd-gp30
https://conrailphotos.thecrhs.org/galleries/emd-gp35

[dem34]

Is it a legal requirement that people starting to model Conrail start with an Atlas GP30 and Kato C30-7.

Just a bit funny because I also started with those 2 models.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Is it a legal requirement that people starting to model Conrail start with an Atlas GP30 and Kato C30-7.

Just a bit funny because I also started with those 2 models.

It's funny. My first Conrail unit (in my later life) was also a GP30, but one of the older AK ones.

I also forgot to mention: there are some pretty easy upgrades that can be done on that C30-7 to improve its looks considerably. Most of it is just painting and decaling. Then there's adding the "Conrail Standard" details: plow, cab signal box and sinclair antenna. The only "tricky" thing to do is to add an anticlimber. The Kato model lacks one and the CR units had them.

I had done a writeup on what I did to mine here: http://conrail1285.com/n-scale-conrail-c30-7-6602/

Here's mine on the old layout.

[Maletrain]

Oh no no no, you've definitely gotta be on the lookout for @davefoxx (to the north), @RockGp40 (Centreville, I think) and @wm3798 down in Easton (ok, that's a bit of a hike).

Anyway, welcome to the neighborhood!

And I am down almost to Oxford.  And I think WM3798 is actually near St. Michaels, but you need to go to Easton (bypass) to get to either of us.

[OldEastRR]

Put trucks under all the cars for a B&O relief train. The core is a Tichey Train Group wreck train + an extra boom car, plus a 40ft Atlas box, an old Trix tender and two 3D printed flats.  After some tuning to get them running in reasonable fashion, next will be adding loads followed by more weathering.  In my photo research, in real life, it appears B&O tended to use old passenger cars instead of converted boxes, but I like the look of them.

Bob

I like how you painted the cork roadbed gray, laid the track, then just ballasted between the tracks (but not between rails). Nice. Since I always mess up my ballasting I think I'll try your method.

[bbunge]

I like how you painted the cork roadbed gray, laid the track, then just ballasted between the tracks (but not between rails). Nice. Since I always mess up my ballasting I think I'll try your method.

I would say "thanks," but this is a 25+ year old module that I inherited from a club member who could no longer bring it to shows.  From the perspective of someone standing a few feet away, it looks good and has been trouble free.

Bob

[up1950s]

I really have to admit I love a good sound unit in a steam locomotive.

That was Friday afternoon.

What a special sight that was Randy

Somebody could make a profit selling N scale copies of the SRR reddish passenger cars with those truss rods . Circus trains also had that feature in the days of steam .

[learmoia]

I really have to admit I love a good sound unit in a steam locomotive.

That was Friday afternoon.

The vision that came to mind was Gordon being forced to work the branch line, and impatiently wanders down the track at 10MPH backwards grumbling "This is f-ing bullsh*t..." 

[thomasjmdavis]

I really have to admit I love a good sound unit in a steam locomotive.

That was Friday afternoon.

As much as all the DCC manufacturers like to brag about their 16 bit digital sound, to this day, they can't beat the quality of the sound produced by the analog units that the Roanoke shop put in the J class.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

What a special sight that was Randy

Somebody could make a profit selling N scale copies of the SRR reddish passenger cars with those truss rods . Circus trains also had that feature in the days of steam .

There's a reason the Athearn ones go for beaucoup bucks.

[jpf94]

This past weekend Free Mo N scale held a meet in Evanston WY.  293 modules with 1500 mainline feet.   Was a great 4 days. 

[Jbub]

This past weekend Free Mo N scale held a meet in Evanston WY.  293 modules with 1500 mainline feet.   Was a great 4 days. 

Was this a private event?

[randgust]

I really have to admit I love a good sound unit in a steam locomotive.

That was Friday afternoon.

I was lucky to ride behind 611 twice before the Great Dismal Swamp derailment that slapped the speed limit on it.   The performance and accelleration at speed of that locomotive was awesome to behold.   I'll never forget racing and passing Conrail intermodal trains on the parallel CR main near Buffalo, with an 18-car train and no diesel assist, at somewhere north of 70mph on the Nickel Plate line.    On the later trip out to Bellevue, OH, 611 romped with the train again at 70mph and arrived on time.   The return trip behind two brand-new GE C30-7's could not hold the train above 45-50 mph and we got back to Erie about two hours late.   You could hear the relays 'downshifting' as I was in the coach behind the units, and they just couldn't get any more speed out of them.

So since then, this is the first time I've seen it operating.    I've grateful for what we've got, but yes, to me, it's like watching Secretariat pulling a pony cart at the state fair instead of running at the Kentucky Derby.   The good news is that the reception down there was surprisingly solid.

[up1950s]

This past weekend Free Mo N scale held a meet in Evanston WY.  293 modules with 1500 mainline feet.   Was a great 4 days. 

Evanston is such a small town , what a great turnout .