Rutland Ry. 2600 Series Flat Car

Rutland Ry. flat car with the deck stripped and looking it pretty good shape.

While visiting the Danbury Railroad Museum I noticed an old Rutland Ry. 36' flat car in the back area. The deck was stripped and a good look at the piping was seen. I built a model of this car which is still offered by F&C. Back in the 1990's this flat was found in the Bellows Falls yard and I spent sometime looking under it to get my models under-body correct. I did a drawing back then. I will have to look for it to check and see if what I see now matches what I had drawn up back then....George Dutka

Danbury, Conn. May 27, 2015

End view

Central Vermont - Hopper

A very short CV stone train heads back to WRJ.

I finally finished my CV hopper last week...it has been on my workbench for months waiting for a decal to be applied. I began the coverage back last fall and have decided to re-running some of the photos as a reminder...George Dutka

The prototype photo that was my inspiration for my model.

Bob Bowes completed model I purchased from his estate. It is nicely built with may add-on details. The  lettering was  easily removed. These are the  raised panel that I used.

This is an Accurail model that Bob added cut levers, stirrups, grabs and brake line piping. It was missing the brake wheel. I added a resin one from my stock but later changed it with a finer looking Kadee version.

The trip pins to the Kadee couplers are trimmed off. The raised paneling needed some cutting and shaping to follow the prototype photo.

The hopper is painted Floquil boxcar red and the lettering is a mix of CV boxcar lettering I cobbled together.

The second CV hopper is a factory painted Accurail model that I weathered up a number of years ago.

Some switching on the WRD at the coal shed on this trip.

My hopper has been weathered using PanPastels and Bragdon powders.

NEB&W - Update

Here are some comments regarding the NEB&W...George Dutka

Beginning in the fall semester, the Model Railroad Society is expected to be fully relocated to a new home in space leased by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 258 Hoosick Street in Troy.
“This move is uncovering a hidden gem and elevating it to a position of prominence in the community,” said Dalton Slegel, the president of the Model Railroad Society. “We are honoring the historical connections between Rensselaer alumni and railroading heritage, as well as the immense contributions of club members over many decades.”

 Rensselaer developed a plan for its removal and relocation. In addition to being more publicly accessible, the new space on Hoosick Street will provide the club with additional space to expand the exhibit.

Claude Rounds, the vice president for administration at Rensselaer. “I am pleased that we are moving forward to provide the railroad model with a new home where it can grow and be appreciated by more people. I am very grateful to the Model Railroad Society and its leadership, the Rensselaer Student Union, and the other organizations involved in this collaborative group effort.”
Rensselaer has chosen VMJR Companies, which specializes in collaborative construction services, to manage the Davison Hall renovation project, including the relocation of the NEB&W layout. VMJR has retained the services of Adirondack Studios and Clarke Dunham of Dunham Studios, which specializes in model railroads, to develop and execute a plan to safely remove the railroad from the basement of Davison Hall, provide secure temporary storage, and reassemble it at the new location.

Many details relating to how the new venue will function, including when members of the public will be able to visit, are still being worked out and will be announced later in the year.

Wordless Wednesday No. 321

RRHS - Spring Convention

The following information was passed along to me by Jim Dufour...George Dutka

Some of you may be interested in attending the upcoming annual convention of the Rutland Railroad Historical Society. This year's gathering will be held on the weekend of May 4-5 in Middlebury, Vermont, which is located between Burlington and Rutland in the heart of "Rutland Country."  The former Rutland Mainline through Middlebury is now part of the Vermont Rail System.

You don't need to be an RRHS member to attend, but the hope here is that you will join our little group if you do!

A copy of the convention flyer, with compete details on registering, is attached in PDF form. Walk-ups are welcome.

Esso Station - White River Junction

In this view the front of the structure is seen. At a WRJ railfan day a decade ago I took a photo of a brochure on display. It was found in a interior page from the brochure highlighting the town of WRJ in an earlier era.

I recently got asked if I had any photos of the gas station across the tracks from the railway station at WRJ. It took some looking but I found a partial view in the background of both sides of the gas station. If you are planning on building a model these should help. If you have a better view please pass it along...George Dutka

I cropped this photo to better highlight the track side viewing the rear of the service station.

CV Milk Car - F&C Kit

My new addition to the WRD roster.

Here is a recently completed F&C-Steam Shack CV milk car. It was actually built by Bob Bowes but I updated it to my fleets requirements. I picked up two of these from the Bob Bowes estate last summer. Bob an accomplished rolling stock builder did a very fine job completing the model but got the colouring wrong. He used a CN olive green over the entire carbody and underframe. CV 543 Kadee couplers pins were cut off. I don't use magnets for uncoupling and the couplers look more like the prototype with them removed...operations have not suffered also.

Since the ends had lettering applied, I decided to leave this car ends as-is. To correct the colouring, I taped up the sides and ends painting the underbody and roof Floquil grimy black. The car sides and ends are sprayed with Testors dullcoat which makes weathering powders stick better. On the car sides and ends I toned down the colouring using Bragdon soot which is a blackish colour. On the ends I went extra heavy with the soot as many ends are actually black or very dirty. I also applied a light coat of soot on the roof and the underbody. The CV herald lifted under the masking so a new photocopy version was applied. The trucks also got some weathering. I am really happy how the model now looks and a variation in colour is OK as this was the case on the prototype....George Dutka

A week of New England Posts

Rutland Ry. No. 93 at Summit, Vermont on ER-1 May 8, 1952 Bob Bowes collection. Note a couple of State of Maine cars on the head end.

Beginning on Monday I decided to have a full week of posts covering New England prototype and modeling. I guess since my blog is actually suppose to be covering my layout and modeling New England, a closer focus on this topic is well due. This post is a start on the topic.  I am away on Sunday to the Kitchener model railway show, so no post till Monday...cheers...George Dutka

Lake Placid a Pullman on an extra (which might be a boy scout extra which was common in town during the summer months) at Essex Jct. Vermont July 18 1962. Bob Bowes copy, Keith Sirman collection.

A troop sleeper converted to B&M baggage car, Bob Bowes copy, Keith Sirman collection.

Prototype Corner: 2019 Juno Awards in London, Ontario - Via Rail Will Take You There!

Juno signs attached to poles along York St. in front of the Via
    station are fairly subtle in nature.  March 12, 2019.

By Peter Mumby

Photo by Peter Mumby

London, Ontario - home to the White River Division, and now the Juno Awards!  It is a bit unusual for a smaller city like ours to be selected to host this national festival, so George and I decided we should get out and see how the events were being promoted, especially by Via Rail Canada.

A variety of special signage has been prepared, both inside and outside the station.  Photos of Sarah McLachlan, this year's host, greet visitors to the station's interior.  A block east of the station a large banner has been applied to the Wellington St. underpass, a major gateway to the downtown core.  The extreme west end of the CN Dundas Subdivision runs above this underpass, with the station lead occupying the northern edge, and the mainline tracks approximately in the middle.  Until a few years ago, CN's small Charlie Yard took up most of the space towards the southern side.  If you backtrack to the 1950s/1960s, this was part of the London and Port Stanley Railway interchange yard with CN.  The lead to the L&PS passenger station ran along the extreme southern edge of this overpass where a narrow parking lot exists today.

The interior of the London station prominently features this

    Juno signage.  This view looks south towards the station

    platforms.

Passengers in the waiting area might be excused for feeling

    that someone is looking over their shoulder.  Do you suppose

    that Juno host Sarah McLachlan will be arriving in London by

    Via Rail?

Via 6445 guides #72 along the station lead on the north side

of the Wellington St. underpass.  At CN McLeod it will swing

    onto the Dundas Subdivision mainline, March 12 2018.

CN 8841 powers the double stacks of #149 over the

    underpass.  In a few seconds it will be by the Via station and

    enter the Strathroy Subdivision, March 12, 2019.

Included among the domestic containers on CN #148 was
    this pair with colourful new CN markings.  March 11, 2019.

Throwback Thursday - Two Shades of Blue with a Touch of Blond

EMDX 197 is the trailing unit on a westbound CN freight at London Junction on January 10, 1998.

By Peter Mumby.

Like many other pursuits, railfanning interest goes in cycles.  Just when you start to get bored with seeing the same old same old, along comes a period featuring lots of run-through power and leased units.  1997/98 was such a period in our area.

The lead unit in the above consist was one of CN's ubiquitous GP40-2W locomotives, but the trailing GTW and EMDX engines added a splash of colour to an otherwise ordinary lash-up.  Also unusual was the snowless January, although a bitter wind was whipping the young lady's hair around.  The power was returning to its train at London East, and would shortly be headed west towards Sarnia.

Two safety features which we currently take for granted are conspicuous by their absence, and help date the scene.  The crew member is not wearing a reflective vest and the lease unit is not equipped with ditch lights.

Wordless Wednesday No. 320

1945

GMD Recollections - The Class of '52.

Still looking good at almost 48 years of age, AMT 1302 has pride of place in front of the GMD plant on August 12, 2000.

By Peter Mumby.

CP was somewhat unusual in that it owned no F7A locomotives, preferring the flexibility of owning a fleet of steam generator-equipped "dual service" FP7A units.  Built in October of 1952, CP 4072 hauled passenger and freight trains until it was sold in 1982 to the Montreal commuter agency and repainted in shades of blue  and silver.

The display for General Motors Diesel's 50th anniversary featured a variety of its products from years past.  Representing the class of '52 was FP7A 1302, belonging to the Agence Metropolitaine de Tansport (AMT).

WOD Weekend Meet

This portion of the table was models Peter and I brought along to display.  Here we see our finished trailers, Sylvan trucks and a few structures.

The Western Ontario Division of the NFR-NMRA held their first meet of 2019 at Ingersoll on Saturday. I was the speaker of the day with "Things I Use to Make Modelling Easier". The rest of the morning covered WOD updates and the Milwaukee show 2019. Some nice door prizes were drawn...I was lucky this time being the first number drawn. There was a really nice group of models on display that members brought along. It was a nice change of pace this time around with members explaining their models to the group following the WOD update. I hope this becomes a regular part of the meet. Two layouts were opened up for us to visit at this point if we could pull ourselves away from railfanning the area during the afternoon...George Dutka

Wayne Wessner brought along a very nice display of his models which are in HOn3". He is converting to On30" in the near future.

Mike Walker's next project is this CP car. He has the decals, car and photo. I will be interested to see how it turns out.

The group listens to Mike Walker pitch this years Milwaukee Trainfest.

A nicely detailed model by Wayne Wessner.

Peter and I spent our lunch hour chasing trains and checking out rolling stock in the area. We barely had time to get our sandwiches eaten. The OSR had just pulled the transfer and was heading back to the Cami plant. Although it is getting warmer now the snow pile is not going anywhere fast. We caught up with the OSR once again at Cami. It was a nice sunny day...it was hard to drag ourselves back inside.

It has been about 6 months since I last stopped by the CN Ingersoll station. It is now all fenced off and I am thinking it might be down by my next visit.

Peter and I visited the Woodstock Model Railroad Club who opened up for the WOD meet. That is our friend Larry Brinker in the middle. Larry is credited for the nicely painted backdrops throughout the layout.

The Woodstock Model Railroad Club is DCC but one member operates his Presidents Choice train set over the layout using dead rail technology. I am wondering if this will be our future.

Pikestuff - Office

The finished Pikestuff office.

I purchased this small office about a year ago in a small group of structures at our local train show. It looked kind of neat although the roof had a bend in it. It was made out of bits and pieces the modeler probably had leftover from a past project. There was also some really bad and messy glue joints I thought I could clean up. I was able to clean the glue up a bit but I could not pull the roof off to straighten it out without damaging the joints with the walls. Once done I could not justify keeping it on hand for my summer contemporary operations...so it was sold last fall and hopefully found a nice layout to reside on...George Dutka.

This is how the structure looked when I got it home.

The roof and doors are brush painted acrylic sliver after the walls were spray-bombed Camo olive green.

Acrylic paints and Bragdon powders are used to emulate the rust spots on the structure.

Two stacks and a vent was added to the roof for more interest.

I added rust spots to the doors and roofing using acrylic burnt umber and burnt sienna followed by Bragdon bright rust powders.

The doors and windows are coloured with PanPastel Chrome Oxide Green Shade. The walls and roof got a coat of PanPastel Raw Umber Shade.

The windows glazing was frosted with flat finish. I used old dried out masking tape pulled off an old box as the blinds.

Some details and signs are glued to the structure for more interest.