Throwback Thursday: Soo Hoppers - Part Two

Soo 112247 was one of several Soo Line covered hoppers in the yard at St. Thomas on May 06, 1995.

By Peter Mumby. 

Most covered hoppers seem to be owned or leased by a variety of operators over the course of their service lives.  Under most circumstances a change of operator does not lead to a full repaint of the car.  Usually the new reporting marks and number are simply patched onto the sides and ends, and the car is ready to go.  The cars get quite heavily weathered, with replacement roof hatches their cleanest components.  Today’s photos feature two such previously owned cars that were added to the Soo Line roster.  Both cars were present in the CN St.Thomas South yard on May 06, 1995.

The replacement roof hatch covers are visible on Soo 33675.

Wordless Wednesday No. 587

 

  

Family Road Trip!

The fire hall in Orillia, Ontario is now a flower shop. It is a neat looking structure that might work as a model.

I am away from now till next Monday with my daughter's family to watch my grandson play hockey in St Louis. He is the goalie for team Ontario which is a big accomplishment for him. I won't be posting much while I am away but there will be a bit that I have been assembling this past week that I will post when I get a chance...George Dutka

Last week I was up along Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe looking at sailboats for sale when I came across this refurbished fire house. I did see some other structures that I will show you down the road.

Brian Smith sent me this nice view of the station in Quentin New Brunswick 

GIO Railways - Tillsonburg, Ont.

GIO yard on July 20 2024

Once again I have been out and about on the weekend while taking in some of my grandkids soccer games. This time I was in Tillsonburg and decided to stop by and see what was happening with GIO. They have two units that they are using and the yard was full of cars...George Dutka

There is an ex-CN boarding car on the property. I usually see this car in the customers yard which can not be seen on the left side of the photo. There is a lot of cars in the yard.

Looking east into the Tillsonburg yard.

B&M Brass Transfer Van

The buggy still needs the numbers added which were included in the box.

At the Ancaster train show last month I got one of my better deals for this year. There was a booth-table the crowds had gathered at before the show opened (mostly dealers) meaning these has to be some deals there. I wandered over as is was across from my friend Gary's table. Well the deals were really good and they guys had all passed over this B&M buggy which I got for $30...George Dutka

NECR - Atlas GP 38

The model has some nice lightly done weathering. I may add my touch though to it going forward.

I purchased a few more models than expected last month when attending the Ancaster Railroad show. Chris Wright a New England modeler was there with a table full of temptations. I purchased this nicely weathered NECR GP-38 which has DCC but no sound. I also picked up a MEC caboose which I showed you earlier. 

I have had a chance in the past to pick up a NECR unit but always passed on it as I was not sure I would actually use it. But now that I have a bigger display case I have two options. One on the layout when the era changes, the other in my case...George Dutka

BarMills Kits on the WRD

BarMills offers a two pack Twin Utility Sheds which works nicely as workman's shanties or even a small fuel track office. Both have found homes on the layout.

Here are two of BarMills kits I have used in my Westboro scene...George Dutka  

The workman's shanty is across the path from the BarMills storage shed.

The Bull's Salvage kit is used as extra storage at Westboro.

Throwback Thursday: Soo Hoppers - Part One

Soo 75071 was photographed at St. Thomas on May 06, 1995.

By Peter Mumby. 

White-painted rail cars look really sharp……….until they don’t.  Unfortunately, light coloured cars weather badly and quickly and in spite of this tendency some Soo Line Railroad official made the decision back in the 1960s to paint much of the company’s freight car fleet white.  Today we will look at two covered hoppers that started out in bright white paint.  Soo 75071, from the 74834-75133 series, is a PS product of 1978.  Its white finish is reasonably well preserved.  Soo 72439, a “Colormark” car from the 71451-72449 series, was assembled by Magor in 1968.  Very little of its original finish is still apparent.  Both cars were photographed at the CN St. Thomas South yard on May 06, 1995.

Soo 72439 displays a few patches of white paint.

Wordless Wednesday No. 586

   

New Books

Lance Mindheim has about a dozen books offered only through Amazon. I find his work interesting. I purchased two through Amazon.

Here we have some new books out by Lance Mindheim and one coming out soon by Jim Jones. I have been purchasing mine through Amazon prime which has no shipping charges and some are discounted...you have to keep checking for the deals. Lance's books are very good. His new structures book has a lot of useful information if you like building structures...George Dutka  

I have only glanced through this book but if you like building structures you might want to consider this one.

Ian Stronach sent me the link to this book on the CV Richford Sub. It is due out this fall by James Jones, the son of Bob Jones who did the CV book series. You might want to watch for this one.

Snapshot July 2024 - CPR Owen Sound Station

The CPR station as it looks today, July 4, 2024

The Owen Sound current CPR station is a good example of the modernization program that the CPR started after the second world war. The railway built six stations in a similar style between 1945-1948 (this station was opened in 1946-47). The Owen Sound station having been the most advanced of this group of six. Passenger service ending  in 1970 and the city purchased the station in 2010. In 2018 it opened as the Mudtown Station, micro brewery and restaurant.  

The station has stayed pretty much unchanged which is nice to see. Things such as the telephone booth inside remains including the original phone. The laminate panel walls are in excellent shape. I visited the station having supper and of course a beer this summer. A few railway artifacts remain inside also including the ticket window and original bathrooms...George Dutka 

The station still has its original phone booth built into the waiting room.

The ticket counter is still intact. 

The roadside doors. The rail side area has an outdoor patio added.

The laminated wood walls are still in very good shape. The phone booth is at the end of the hall.

July 2024 - This and That

The CNR caboose on display at the Owen Sound, Ontario CN station museum is looking a bit worn but still in good shape.

I have not really been out railfanning at all lately but I have been out and about to a number of beaches for walks and to check out some boats. Along the way I came across some Railroad stuff I found interesting so I have passed some views of them along...George Dutka  

Monster Modelworks has a new kit coming out in August that looks quite nice.

John Burney's Carriage Shop, Built approx. 1845 by Henry Jackson. Used as Burney's Carriage Shop 1880-91.

Location 39° 48.724′ N, 85° 12.134′ W. Marker is in Dublin, Indiana, in Wayne County. Marker is at the intersection of Historic National Road (U.S. 40) and Foundry Street, on the right when traveling east on Historic National Road.

Keep it as a Carriage Shop or modernize it with more modern store fronts in your town.

Paul Hurly's YouTube channel has a weathering clinic I did for the WOD-NMRA a few years ago. You may wish to check it out.

Weathering with PanPastels, Powders, Weathering Pencils and Enamel Paints, WOD-NMRA Clinic, Feb 2021 (youtube.com)

The Owen Sound ex-CNR station which is now a museum is seen across the channel from the parking lot of the CPR station which now is a brewery and restaurant. 

This photo taken Jan 20, 1987 views the two master mechanics, GTW and CN that where piloting the CN crews to Flat Rock, Michigan. The new job was run from London, Ont. to Flat Rock through the Windsor-Detroit tunnel. The GTW master mechanic seen on the left is Ernie Novak while the CN master mechanic is my father-in-law Jake Milette.

The Wiarton Ont. CNR station was saved and moved a few blocks to the bay for use as the camp ground office. It has a bit of a museum in one end of it.

The bayside view of the Wiarton station which is in really good shape.

Peter Mumby recently had some of his models up for sale at a local train show. This one is an old AHM RS-11 engine which he detailed and painted back in the 1980's. That seemed to be the best option back then.

CV Caboose

CV 4003 was taken by C A Butcher of St. Thomas, Ontario. No date or location is given but it appears as the Conductor is looking to grab bills or orders shortly. Brian Smith collection.

My Friend Brian Smith sent me these two photos he had on file for you all to see. Enjoy...George Dutka 

CV 4005 is seen during October 1967 in Willimantic, Ct. The caption on the back says it was taken from a NRHS excursion train headed for Brattleboro, Vt. Brian Smith collection.

Throwback Thursday: Whether to Weather - Part Two

CN 79650 was resting on a shop track at Belleville on July 18, 1995.

By Peter Mumby.

These two photos were both taken in 1995.  By this time cabooses were nearing the end of their life cycle, so the worn appearance of 79650 was not surprising.  The fresh paint on 79813, however, would have been unusual at this time.  The two short white frame stripes would appear to be a slight modification of the original scheme.   

CN 79813 was photographed at London East on February 26, 1995.

Wordless Wednesday No. 585

 

  

Just a few views

I don't have a spot on the layout for this FOS kit but I really like it. So it sits on my workbench most of the time.

I was taking some photos of my structures awhile back with my phone to see how they turn out on my workbench...here are a few I liked. I have shown you these structures n the past, so this is a second look at them...George Dutka 

Another angle.

I purchased the big once a year kit from FOS a few years back and built two of the smaller structures first to get a feel of the kits included in the box. There are a lot of part sheets to figure out. Since building this one a few years back I think I forgot how the sheeting was numbered. Oh well.

Kind of a neat little structure one can use almost anywhere.

I added a patch to the roofing and some junk up there. I made my own tarpaper roofing too.

Signs

Lots of neat signs which can work on a variety of buildings. Check out the Blair Line signages offered for many other structure. I really like their mills sign set.

I recently picked up a Blair Line package of two signages sheets that work for diners and dives. I hope to use these in future builds as I still have a couple more laser kits. These signs can easily dress up your own establishments very easily...George Dutka 

Palmerston, Ont.

The displays at Palmerston, Ontario June 12 2024

I visited Palmerston Ont. once again a few weeks back. I did take a quick look around inside the museum too, not much has changed. I wanted to measure the large section car house. There was a hand car out front if anyone had the urge to give it a try...George Dutka 

An overall view of the station and section car houses. Some of the original trackage is still in place.

An old CNR tool or maybe kitchen car on display. It has twin doors on this side.

You can have a hand car ride at the station museum.

There is an antique store on the main street in Palmerston which has a nice collection of RR items for sale. Note the nice picture on the wall and the bell to the right on the wall with air activation.