Weekend Update 4/19/26

[up1950s]

https://weirdnj.com/weird-news/ghost-train-tracks-of-cape-may-beach/

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/1946-railroad-strike

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/johnny-cashs-train-songs-are-the-only-thing-my-toddler-and-i-can-agree-on

https://www.science.org/content/article/snakes-train-deadly-reptiles-may-be-hopping-railcars-india

https://metrovoicenews.com/lost-tales-a-sunken-train-in-idaho-may-solve-a-century-old-mystery/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/320106974244685/posts/689822240606488/

https://nrhs.com/programs/photo-gallery/

[ednadolski]

  some kind of flattened-out TNG Enterprise...?   



Ed

[davefoxx]

some kind of flattened-out TNG Enterprise...?   

Reminds me of a Goldfish cracker. 

DFF

[chessie system fan]

Why build legs when you can build bookshelves?



I made this with scrap lumber found in my HO friend's garage. Now that the bookshelf is in place, I'll build the return loop part on top of it.

[robert3985]

My weekend's off to a good start!  Here's where I spent my late Friday afternoon until the sun set.  Couldn't get any closer.  Tomorrow and Sunday are the two big open-to-the-public days here in Ogden.  This is only about a mile from my new residence!

Photo (1) - UP 4014 at Ogden Union Station Friday the 17th of Apr 2026 on its way back home to Cheyenne:


Lookin' forward to Sunday and chasing her up Weber & Echo Canyons on Monday morning!!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[coosvalley]

This week I mostly completed this N scale MEC buggy. It is a Shapeways body on a MT caboose frame. I tried to simulate the plywood body with Microscale plywood decals, and I think it kinda works..Proto photo is from Bill Rogerson

[nickelplate759]

Been body-mounting Micro-Trains couplers, a lot, and replacing plastic wheels with ESMC metal wheels.

Today I took a page from the Book of @bbussey and made an easy ride-height improvement.
To be honest, it was driven more by the desire to have a more correct truck - these PS2 cars should have 70-ton solid-bearing trucks, but Atlas sold them with roller-bearing trucks.    So I replaced the the trucks with Atlas/BLMA solid-bearing 70-ton trucks, which also dropped the ride height.  That necessitated using MTL 2004 underslung couplers, of which I still have a few left (Atlas, please stop teasing us with upcoming MT decorated & weathered cars and get couplers back in stock!).

So - voila!



Stock Atlas car, BLMA 70-ton trucks, MT 2004 couplers.

[Scottl]

Printed a full-sized draft of the Jasper station.  I removed some of the length on the ends to help it fit better into my space, but I think it captures the lines and presence of the prototype.  I need to sort out the window dimensions,  the placeholders are all oversized  and I will print it as three sections for the final version.

[dandopinski]

Nice! I worked out of Jasper in the summer of 85. The crew office was in the end building on the left. Guys would be in there 24/7 checking when they were going to work. It was also were the on duty crews would get their paperwork and wait for their train. 

[BCR 570]

Several enjoyable model railway activities this past week, including the Nanaimo Train Show, an op session on an N scale logging layout, and a visit to a local HO scale layout depicting CN's operations in Victoria.

This week I focused on fixing a problem area on the Dawson Creek Subdivision.  The track across the Highway 97 overpass and the overpass itself were never glued in place so as to be removeable for road and scenery work below when the time came.  After track painting this section of track was floating in air and there was a nasty kink at the rail joint west of the bridge:




I used a small dab of glue either side of the bridge and some HO track spikes to seat the track back down on the roadbed:




I ran a test train of twelve cars and caboose up to Dawson Creek and back:






The layout is now fully operational again and ready for op sessions next month.


This week I also received a third set of parts for my Ohio crane.  The first set had some print defects on the side of the cab body, the cab roof and the chassis.  The vendor kindly shipped a second set of parts which gave me a good cab roof and chassis, but on the cab body the roof of the operator's cab was crushed during shipping.  This third shipment finally yielded a good cab body, so here is the complete set of parts:




The cab roof fits the body quite well:




Full credit to Baldylox Designs for seeing me through this with product support.  I am now going over the parts for final cleanup, and trying to figure out how it goes together without instructions . . .

And I made more progress on the museum train official car; build thread here:

https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=60937.15


Tim

[mu26aeh]

YorkRail returning an empty coal train from PH Glatfelter

[peteski]

This week I mostly completed this N scale MEC buggy. It is a Shapeways body on a MT caboose frame. I tried to simulate the plywood body with Microscale plywood decals, and I think it kinda works..Proto photo is from Bill Rogerson

The decal works very well, but the body of the model seems to have uniform yellow color (as if the knots were on the painted surface), where on the prototype the raw plywood areas with the knots and blemishes also have distinctly different color.   Maybe that is just not captured well by your model photo?

[bbussey]

… These PS2 cars should have 70-ton solid-bearing trucks, but Atlas sold them with roller-bearing trucks.    So I replaced the the trucks with Atlas/BLMA solid-bearing 70-ton trucks, which also dropped the ride height.  That necessitated using MTL 2004 underslung couplers … So - voila!



Stock Atlas car, BLMA 70-ton trucks, MT 2004 couplers.

Nice. I need to do this to the five NH PS2s that Atlas has released over the years.

[cjm413]

Been body-mounting Micro-Trains couplers, a lot, and replacing plastic wheels with ESMC metal wheels.

Today I took a page from the Book of @bbussey and made an easy ride-height improvement.
To be honest, it was driven more by the desire to have a more correct truck - these PS2 cars should have 70-ton solid-bearing trucks, but Atlas sold them with roller-bearing trucks.    So I replaced the the trucks with Atlas/BLMA solid-bearing 70-ton trucks, which also dropped the ride height.  That necessitated using MTL 2004 underslung couplers, of which I still have a few left (Atlas, please stop teasing us with upcoming MT decorated & weathered cars and get couplers back in stock!).

So - voila!



Stock Atlas car, BLMA 70-ton trucks, MT 2004 couplers.

The ride height on the stock model looks more accurate. If you check prototype photos of any given PS 2003 (I couldnt find a P&WV) you'll see that the bottom of the stirrup should be closer to the top of the journal bearing rather than bottom part of it.

Re: couplers, MTL 903/905 are a perfect fit with both the stock ride height and the "starter holes" on the underframe.

Re: trucks, I admittedly cheat and use Atlas 50T Bettendorf trucks on any of my Atlas PS 2003's that have needed plain bearing trucks since: 1) I have a crapload of them in my parts box; and 2) I still have an even bigger crapload of cars that still need to be lowered and/or lose their truck mounted couplers.  Without a picture, I don't know if P&WV specified ASF A3 to know if it would be more accurate to shim up the BLMA trucks or swap them with something else.

[Dave V]

Saturday morning I went up to the monthly warehouse sale at Mother Lode Model Railroading in Centennial. Pretty good haul I'd say:



And then otherwise still continuing work on my JACKS Interlocking PRR T-TRAK module. The position-light signals are fiber-optic and are triggered by IR sensors hidden in relay cases:



In addition to finishing the background tree line, I've yet to add line poles, tie stacks, and other miscellaneous details.