Weekend Update 9/14/25

[up1950s]

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https://www.timeout.com/usa/travel/beautiful-train-stations

https://www.shutterstock.com/search/train-station-yard?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://www.ajc.com/things-to-do/southeastern-railway-museum-on-2025-place-in-peril-list/4OZMXJQGLBE55GSWWIYOJOK64A/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/thesussman/9389933143

https://railfanninglocations.com/

https://railfanatlas.com/?x=-144.140625&y=67.80924450600011&z=2

[Dave V]

On Sunday, Patricia and I rode the Geology Train on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad hosted by a half dozen geologists. It was a 10 hour ride with 24 stops... 19 stops to discuss the geology adjacent to the tracks (this was really cool since we've both taught basic geology), 2 stops for water (Sublette and Los Pinos), 1 stop for lunch at Osier, 1 stop for a brake and air check atop Cumbres Pass, and one emergency stop on Tanglefoot Curve for a cow on the track. We even got to get out in Toltec Gorge to do a photo runby through Rock Tunnel.

















And I got my new Key brass HOn3 C-18. She still needs DCC and sound, but I've been cleaning and lubricating her to were she runs very nicely on DC.

[chuck geiger]

The new project is a diorama called Wilson Street. It will have a derelict warehouse for sale, a grain elevator, and
a shipping-transfer station with one siding. Abandoned track going into the derelict warehouse. Got the idea
from Smallwood County, which is SG's layout on Facebook. AI actually designed Wilson Street.

Wilson Street Diorama – Project Notes

Size: Compact shelf (approx. 1’ x 2’)

Track Plan:

Single mainline across the front.

One siding serving a transfer station.

Abandoned spur into a derelict warehouse.

Structures:

Grain Elevator – active, located along mainline (right side).

Derelict Warehouse – abandoned, for sale, spur cut off.

Transfer Station – shipping/receiving dock on siding.

Scenery/Details:

Overgrown weeds and brush on the spur.

Junk pile near the warehouse.

Chain-link fence.

Faded billboard/ad.

Telephone poles with wires.

Theme/Feel:

Small-town industrial district.

A mix of active industry and abandoned past.

Storytelling contrast: the town was once busier, now quieter, but still alive.

Ops Potential:

Spot cars at the grain elevator & transfer station.

Light switching for 1–2 cars.

Visual interest with an abandoned track.

[Lemosteam]

Tug boat update. I painted all of the suggested areas black. Just need to add some rope, and frayed rope for the bumper style as @John suggested. I like the muddled contrast now, and it is closer to appearing like the proto photo below.

Color:


Silvertone black and white:


The prototype:

[Tad_T]

The power is all connected. There is still a lot be done and adjustments to be made, but I now have an operational layout.

[muktown128]

Tug boat update. I painted all of the suggested areas black. Just need to add some rope, and frayed rope for the bumper style as @John suggested. I like the muddled contrast now, and it is closer to appearing like the proto photo above.

Color:


Silvertone black and white:


The prototype:

John,
Great job on the tugboat.  I noticed a minor difference when comparing the B/W pic of your model and the prototype.  The funnel on the port side on the prototype is facing towards the bow while on your model it is facing towards the stern.  It also looks like they may also be slightly angled outward on the prototype.

[Lemosteam]

John,
Great job on the tugboat.  I noticed a minor difference when comparing the B/W pic of your model and the prototype.  The funnel on the port side on the prototype is facing towards the bow while on your model it is facing towards the stern.  It also looks like they may also be slightly angled outward on the prototype.

@mucktown128,

Based on the pics I have seen of PRR steam tugs, these air intakes appear to allow rotational adjustment. Maybe for pointing into wind direction?

[Jesse6669]

I got underway with wiring the control panel for East Norwood.  So far so good!  It's a bit more satisfying to do wiring when I can see the lit LEDs.





I have a NYC tri-level autorack that will need Jade Green paint, so I picked up some Liquitex "Soft Body Acrylic" in Cobalt Teal to see how close it was with a NYC Jade Green.  Out of the bottle it's pretty thick, and too blue;  I thinned it a bit to more normal consistency with water, then added some Tamiya Deep Green (XF26) at a ratio of 5 cobalt teal:1 green, and it toned down nicely to fresh Jade Green.   The paint had a tendency to pull together from surface tension when shot from an airbrush, so I'll be mixing some gloss and flow improver to see if I can get it to go down a bit better.   
 


Also did this quick 3D printing project for another modeler--

[Sumner]

Started the Bears Ears Summit backdrop.

Next backdrop to be pained is on the opposite side of the backdrop from the sawmill scene. The upper level scene here is suppose to represent the mainline summit on the way to the sawmill.

I’ve tried to model scenes that are in the surrounding area and this backdrop scene is another example of this. The Bears Ears are two small peaks about 25 miles west of us that we can see out the living room window. They are on the top of a high mesa and you can see them from over 80 miles away in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. There are over 1000 year old Anasazi ruins near them and spectacular views down 2000 feet into canyons by them. The area there and in a large part of our county that is Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and Wilderness was designated as the Bears Ears National Monument in 2016.

I can see the Bears Ears from the house but wanted to get pictures of them from a little further to the north so drove north a few miles by one of our reservoirs and took a series of photos of them and also the South and North Long Point ridges running to the south and north of them along with Milk Ranch Point (ridge) in front of them.

 

I ended up with a number of photos and used paint.net to crop them and position them closer together (above). I also printed the final image to about 6 inches high which was about how high I want them to be above the foam scenery on the layout.

The following images should tell the rest of the story. If you need more just ask.

 

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Hope to finish the above in an hour or two and move onto the clouds. They will be easier to do comfort wise as I’ll be painting further up and more in front of myself vs. painting just above my feet. I never looked forward to painting in this area or doing foam work there but they are both coming to an end. Track should be easier (roadbed is in).

More on Railwire ( HERE ) or the whole build on my site ( HERE )

Sumner

[muktown128]

@mucktown128,

Based on the pics I have seen of PRR steam tugs, these air intakes appear to allow rotational adjustment. Maybe for pointing into wind direction?

Interesting.  I was hesitant to point this out since I respect your work, you seem to research things pretty thoroughly, and your attention to detail is very high.

[davefoxx]

After running the layout set in the mid-1980s for several weeks, I reverted the era back to 1972 again.  It’s weird, but I’m really liking this era.  Almost drawn back to it again.  Amtrak is in its infancy.  The Penn Central and the Seaboard Coast Line mergers were both approximately five years ago.

This means that the owners of the three railroads on the layout are the Seaboard Coast Line, original Norfolk Southern Ry., and the Aberdeen & Rockfish.  The Frisco GP35 represents run-through power from a connection in Birmingham, Alabama.



It’s funny.  I’ve got SCL GP40 No. 1539, SLSF GP35 No. 728, NS GP38 No. 2007, and A&R GP38 No. 400 on the layout.  All straight 30- & 40-series Geeps.  Not a Dash-2 to be found.

DFF

[davefoxx]

@mucktown128,

Based on the pics I have seen of PRR steam tugs, these air intakes appear to allow rotational adjustment. Maybe for pointing into wind direction?

I’d guess away from the wind direction.  Venturi effect to suck the foul air out while pointed away from bad weather.

DFF

[NorthWestGN]

I dusted off my airbrush and weathered a few boxcars and my new to me cabooses.







Then X72 and a pre airbrushed CB&Q box car got a little chalk action…





Still running trains and I think I’m pretty close to a Train Order Dispatch form that will make an easy introduction to realistic operation for my non railroader friends.

Brent

[jpwisc]

I’m making some progress on my Baldylox Designs Relco weed sprayer train. The water tank cars are all wired up. Time to start on the more challenging cars
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[mu26aeh]

Tagged a few cars last night.  These are MicroTrains pre-weathered cars that skipped out on the graffiti.  Ex Chessie car I used photos from prototype to work from, the CSX boxcar I used a picture of other cars in the same # series.