Bellows Crossing

This might be the last time I take a photo of Bellows Crossing as it has looked since I built the layout. I snapped this view with my cell phone the other morning. Oh that is my new Rapido 44 tonner being tried out also...a really nice unit.

I keep saying I am going to take out the crossing and put in an interlocking with a bit of switching possibilities. Well this is the winter that this will happen. I have begun removing some of the details that will be in the way, with more to be set aside carefully...George Dutka   

Stonetown Model Railroad Association

This scene will be one of the locations in St. Mary's area that CN switches.

A few more views of Don and I visiting the Stonetown group in St. Mary's, Ontario....George Dutka

This sign hangs at the far end of the layout. I don't think it ever was used by the CN. 

This is an interesting faded and graffiti car.

A mock-up of a freighter in Goderich harbor, one of the scenes they plan to model.

B&M Rapido 44 Tonner

These B&M Rapido engines sold fast in my area leaving me with only one number choice...117.

Maybe two weeks ago (I'm loosing track of time these days) I picked up a Rapido B&M 44 tonner. It is a big improvement over my Bachmann model. The sound is great and it runs fine although the momentum is a bit slower than normal for Rapido engines. Now to get a bit of weathering on it...George Dutka 

St. Mary's and Stratford road trip

VIA 84 arriving St. Mary's

Don Janes and I got together on Tuesday for a bit of a road trip to the St. Mary's area. He had two engines to drop off for a weathering job at the St. Mary's railroad club. We planned to arrive just ahead of VIA 84 so we could see and photograph it at the station. This was the second time in a month that I caught a train stopping at the station. There was a nice crowd waiting to board that day.  

Next it was over to the local community center to drop off the engines at the Stonetown Railway Association Club. The HO layout on the left side of the room is all new. It is DCC powered and also signaled and a long way from what once was there. The membership is really small though, only 4 members...but they seem ambitious. It will be interesting to see how the layout turns out.

Next stop was the station in Stratford. We got lucky as the GEXR power was tied up out front of the station. It appears it did not run this day to Goderich. The last few times by here it was quite and empty., so seeing the power was nice. From there we headed over to Paris and the CN main line which did not result in any action. With the afternoon almost gone and a bit of a drive home we called it a day...George Dutka

Don checks out the Stonetown modeling groups layout which is double and triple decked in areas. Their is an old O scale layout seen to the right which is operated and owned by one of the members father. I think the group has been here for over 40 years.

Although the layout is far from complete there is a good amount of detailed and weathered equipment there.

One can see the old sign when the club was open to the public. Today with the rebuild an appointment is required.

GEXR power on layover in Stratford,

Throwback Thursday - Company Service Boxcar

 

ONT 2574 was photographed in the yard at North Bay on August 29, 1990.

By Peter Mumby.

Forty foot steel boxcars built in the late 1940s by National Steel Car were originally placed in revenue service by Ontario Northland bearing numbers in the 90000-90999 series.  Many were later modified and continued in revenue service as 91000 and 92000 series cars.  Once these forty footers fell out of favour with shippers, many were again modified and renumbered, this time as company service rolling stock.  ONT 2574 is one such example.  It still wears its revenue service paint scheme, including the “Newsprint Only” lettering to the left of the door.  The yellow paint on the door is another indication of its previous newsprint assignment as is the notation

“Return To

Iroquois Falls Ont  

When Empty” 

The “Car Dept” stencil on the lower right side of the car body is the only indicator, other than the four-digit car number, of its current assignment.

Wordless Wednesday No. 594

 

      

B&M Blue

My two B&M PS-1 Kadee cars on the WRD. One is faded a bit more than the other. The car to the left was my Christmas present from Peter Mumby last year.

Last week I weathered up a B&M PS-1 which is a Kadee boxcar that Peter Mumby gave me last Christmas. Once I was finished I pulled out of my display case my other B&M car which I weathered back in 2014 with products I used back then. I did a bit more weathering to it also...more on these cars later...George Dutka    

Frank Lane Trestle - The WRD Version

I took this photo a few years back of a CV freight going into the WRJ yard past the A frame bridge.

We saw the prototype photos that Peter Mumby took of the wooden A-frame trestle last week. I built a version of this structure back in the 1990's for my small shelf layout. It became a feature on the WRD hiding the entrance to my staging yard when I built the layout. It is still in the same location but covers the entrance to WRJ yard. There are some similar structures along the CV, not exact. I don't remember the lumber I used or how I built it. Today a similar structure can be purchased from Hunterline. Oh, by the way this is one of my favorite locations to railfan west of London. It is a short drive from my house and at least once a year some of the guys I worked with on the railroad gather here. A great view of the CN and CP can be found from here and almost no traffic...George Dutka  

My friends Terry and Andy met up with me for a morning of railfanning back in 2022. The Frank Lane bridge is a great spot.

The area around my A frame bridge is being installed many years ago.

The next few views I took with my phone the other day to show you the scene.

The prototype bridge is for double track.

A bit of a climb to get up top just like on the prototype.

St Mary's Station

VIA 84 from Sarnia arriving at the St. Mary's station. There is a wonderful old stone water tank across the road.  

I visited the St. Mary's station as VIA 84 was to be in town shortly. I never been inside the station before which is only open when it is train time. There is tourist information and an art gallery inside also. I was surprised how big it was inside and how well kept it had been...even the old wooden benches remained...George Dutka

Note the brick size is much smaller than a normal brick.

The ticket office.

The original station bench.

Don's Green Mountain Division - Layout Lighting

The buildings are lighted up but the room light is still on.

Don Janes has been busy the last few years adding lighting to many of his buildings. We turned the lights off to the layout room and I took a few views with my cell phone...here is what I saw...George Dutka 

Don has done a wonderful job with the lighting.

Mooretown Museum

I was over to visit Don Janes on Tuesday then I followed the river out of Sarnia towards Sombra for a nice scenic drive. Along the way there is a nice little museum that has a few interesting structures to see inside and out. There is the Mooretown train station and a CNR caboose on display. Inside the larger structure there are many modeling displays and an operating G scale layout up high....a nice stop if in the area...George Dutka

Throwback Thursday - Country Overpass

This view looks westward towards the Frank Lane overpass.

By Peter Mumby.

I am presenting today’s photos on the off chance that you might be considering scratch building a timber overpass for a country road.  This particular bridge is for the Frank Lane crossing at mile post 6.7 of the CN Strathroy Subdivision.  The close-up views might aid in estimating timber sizes.  The structure was undergoing reconstruction at the time these photos were taken (July 03/94).

A model of a structure like this would require a lot of nut/bolt/washer castings.

Many of the planks were being replaced in July of 1994.  This allowed for a look at the bridge’s underpinnings.

Wordless Wednesday No. 593

 

   

CN Niagara Falls

Looking at the ex-yard office area July 16, 2024

On July 16, 2024 I was in Niagara Falls with two of my kids and my grandkids. We met up at Great Wolf Lodge and headed over to see the butterflies. Just down the road from Great Wolf is what is left of the CN yard in town. I had not been here in maybe 25-30 years when there was still a yard. Here is what I saw from the road...George Dutka  

Close-up look

Noted an end door was added to a container as probably storage.

Train Show - Elgin County Railway Museum

A Howard Zane weathered model all ready to go on the WRD.

Happy Labor Day!

Yesterday I attended the first train show of the fall season in St. Thomas at the railway museum. I was looking after selling Peter Mumby's trains that he packaged up for me. It was a pretty good show although the crowd was smaller than normal...it is the long weekend. I picked up a Howard Zane weathered boxcar from Peter's stock which really looked good. From the table next door I also got a nicely detailed and weathered N scale GM switcher for my small N scale module. I actually needed something to run on the module as it will be at the WOD-NMRA train show at the end of the month.

Looking through Peters stock I noted some hoppers that might be of interest by Don Janes. So I took some photos of the cars with my phone and texted them to Don...we went back and forth with what I thought he might like to see and I set a small group of cars aside for him that I will deliver when we meet up Tuesday. So one can always shop without attending the shows if you have friends there...George Dutka

A N scale road switcher with many extra details added. It needs a bit of dusting off before heading over to my module.

I really don't need anymore stations but this Sylvan model of the Komoka station done by my friend Gary Shurgold is really nice looking and will work on a module I am building to photograph my models. It was one of a number of building he was selling yesterday. Gary modeled Komoka in original GT colors although it would have only had those colors on it when in use as the Gobel's station. When that station closed it was moved to Komoka for use. It still can be visited in the town park now a museum.

Buses Moving by Rail

A loaded flat is seen over Wharncliffe Rd. in 1959. This bridge is going to be changed out at some point soon. So one might want to get a photo of it if interested.

I thought this view was interesting. At first it looks like the bus is traveling along the tracks above Wharncliffe Rd. here in London on May 19, 1959. But is loaded on a flat...maybe a nice load using a Rapido bus on your layout...George Dutka