December Update

A B&M milk train along the WRD which includes my just finished Borden's butter dish car done in the red scheme.

The year is coming to an end and I still have a lot to cover so here is a bit of what I have been up to this month and photos that did not fit into other posts...enjoy and see you in 2020...George Dutka

My workbench mid December. A lot of projects are on the go...most will be done by the end of the month.

Another FOS kit of the month a couple of hours into the project. One of the laser cut sheeting was missing so a bit of improvising was required.

I did this car in the older red scheme. So for it to fit into my era it needs a good amount of weathering which is done with PanPastels. I had black or white lettering that was included with this Red Ball kit but it needed a yellow gold scheme which was pieced together from an old Walther set. More of my butter dish cars will be in the NMRA magazine when they find a free spot for the article.

The inside of Robertson Paper Co. when it was coming down.

The final days in Bellow Falls, Vermont.

A quick weathering job on this N scale refer. I was trying out my AK pencils...more on that shortly. This is on my N scale module.

CN #394 Portland bound departing Groveton, NH Aug 1975, Ken Patton.

My FOS kit of the month from last January is now completed...more to come shortly.

One of my Vermont train chase days back in 1998. It is actually Oct. 4 and I started the chase in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It was a railfan trip.

Some awsome N scale weathering by Evandro Luiz.

Another of the structures I detailed for the upcoming Woodstock Train Show. I almost kept it but I have a couple more mills to build. This one is a kind of kit-bash and I call it Greene's Feed and Seed. As it is turning out most of my buildings have been sold already, this one to my friend Brian Smith.

The backside seen placed on a base to set up a different view of the WRD.

B&M 1223 has been added to the overgrown fleet of engines on the WRD. This is a Proto model that has DCC added when I purchased it a year ago. I finally got a couple of coats of Rapido paint fading and a bit of PanPasels and Bragdon Powders applied. I feel Proto B&M colouring is too brown, but the fading does helps a bit. I guess it is running low of fuel...I found it at the Westboro fuel rack.

My St J 70 tonners are out for a run on the WRD.

Snapshot - December 2019

NB Montrealer, Montpelier Jct. May 15, 1994.

This month's snapshot is a stop at Montpelier Jct., Vermont during the spring of 1994. I may have been on my way to a Rutland Ry. Historical Society convention. I had got a number of photos of the Montrealer at the station so I decided to go over the river and shoot it through this bridge...it kind of frames it nicely which includes the station. It is during the early part of the morning when the train stops here. Being over the river actually gave me a few angles as I am using my telephoto lens and am on the road crossing for a second view. You might think you can just simply drive over to the other side, but there is no bridge. One has to drive from the Junction into town and around the other side taking one up to 20 minutes if there is any traffic...George Dutka


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History of a Structure

The sidewall of a renovated structure.

I found this article interesting in the December 2019 NMRA magazine. It appears part of this structures renovation required the siding to be stripped. What was found was the history of the property. Under the siding was three business that once called this location home.  The front views an auto paint shop while the sidewall reveals  a past life of a Harley Davidson service facility. The third wall still had the vestiges of the most recent life as a pizzeria. The fourth wall is reportedly butted up to a structure next door. What an interesting structure to model. I have this page set aside to photocopy on some extra thick paper and maybe a model will come of it...George Dutka

The NMRA article.

A little better look of the three walls.

Twin State Fruit

Here is a scene from WRJ with the old Twin State Fruit sign I took last year.

Here we have a comparison before and after using two photo of the sign on my warehouse. It sure looks a lot better now...George Dutka

The sign as it looks now.

Merry Christmas from the White River Division.

Wolfeboro Falls, NH WRR No. 10 crosses route 28, Feb 8, 1975, Bruce Nelson photo.

Don, Peter and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Years...we will be back to blogging on the weekend...George Dutka

Christmas with Kip Grant

Wishing my Canadian friends all the best of the season!

Don and I received the following e-mail card from Kip Grant...enjoy the view...George Dutka

A NEB&W Christmas

Bill Gill sent me another great looking Christmas photo that was used by the NEB&W on their Facebook header. A great looking station scene similar to an AHM model. I was thinking of selling the AHM model I just updated last week at Woodstock...maybe it might find a home on the layout or maybe I might just do another one up as a Christmas scene...George Dutka

"Nice photo card you posted from Geoff Southwood. I remember that you liked the card I did for the NEB&W starting with a layout photo by club member James Lauser. Well, I borrowed another one of James' photos for this card, a bit simpler than the covered bridge one."

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2020, Bill Gill

The photo before Bill's editing.

Geoff Southwood's Christmas Card

Geoff sent me this photo along with the following note...thanks Geoff and Merry Christmas...George Dutka.

"Once again I have done a Christmas card for my model railroad friends here in Calgary.  I thought you might enjoy it.  It was taken on March 2, 1968 on a CRHA excursion from Montreal QC to Newport VT to Sherbrooke QC and return.  The picture is taken on a runpast travelling northbound on the Beebe Subdivision of the Quebec Central Railway.  CPR Budd RDC-1 #9065 and RDC-2 #9105 are passing an old covered bridge that spanned the Massawippi River at Capelton QC.  Sadly the track was abandoned in 1990 and the bridge burned in 2002.  As always, feel free to share the picture on your great website if you so desire."

Enjoy and Merry Christmas to you and all.

Geoff Southwood

Atlas Water Tank - Update

The finished water tank ready for a new home.

At the NFR workshop last Sunday I also worked on weathering up this Atlas water tank. I added a finial to the rooftop made from a clothing plastic tag. Some wire and chain is also added to the spout. I painted the tank before heading to the NFR workshop a flat black using a spray bomb...George Dutka

Here what you get at a train show for a dollar or two.

The tank was coloured with PanPastel darker brown. I used AK dirty white pencils and PanPastel white to streak the sides. The roof was done with PanPastel grays.

The concrete bases are painted dollar store gray. The spout is acrylic silver with some rust spots applied. Note I added a short piece of chain. The base has some ground foam applied.

Throwback Thursday - CP B

CP SD40-2 5476 waits for a clearance at the east end of London's Quebec St yard on May 08/93.  Ahead of it in the consist is SD40 #5533.

By Peter Mumby.

For many years CP was basically an SD40/SD40-2 railroad.  The first such locomotive purchased new was the 5500, and further acquisitions carried the series right through to the high 6000s.  In the 1980s and 1990s more of these six axle units were procured off the used locomotive market.  These additions to the roster were numbered in the 5400 series.  The subject of today's photo fits into this latter category.

Wearing a solid black paint scheme, this locomotive started working for CP in 1991 as lease unit GATX 3250.  This is the same number it wore as first a Southern and then an NS locomotive.  It was purchased by CP in 1992 and operated for a while as CP 3250 with CP Rail lettering added to the black carbody.  It was renumbered to 5476 in 1993.  Somewhere along the way it was repainted in CP's candy apple red colour scheme and had its cab windows covered, effectively converting it to B unit status.  This is the way it appeared when photographed on May 08, 1993.

Wordless Wednesday No. 356

My NFR Weathering Project

An Atlas shack that belongs to the lumber shed kit.

On Sunday I worked on two detailing and weathering projects. This is one of them. The other an Atlas water tank will be posted shortly. Both will be for sale at next months Woodstock train show...George Dutka

This is how it looked when I purchased the lumber yard set. The shack got pre-painted with a spray bomb coat of Camo Coat Olive from Home Hardware.

The joint areas did not look good so some vines are applied using Woodland Scenics.

I used mainly PanPastel for the weathering with a bit of dollar store paint sponged on the walls and roofing.

Some silver is also sponged on.

Detailing is applied around the edges.

Lee Valley - NFR Christmas Workshop

There was 11 NFR members in attendance. From time to time Lee Valley customers came in to see what was going on.

This past Sunday the COD hosted the NFR-NMRA Christmas Workshop at the Vaughan Lee Valley store. Peter and I decided to attend as it would also give us a chance to check out CN Mac Yard a few blocks away. It also was a good reason to stop in at Credit Valley hobby shop on the way home...it really was a full day...George Dutka

The workshop happened in the seminars room while a banner and a display table was found in the main area of Lee Valley.

That is Richard Hatton the NFR president in the black shirt. Gord McBride and Eric Roth in the background.

Gord manned the display area with some flyers and handouts for anyone interested in model railroading or the NMRA.

One member brought along his T scale layout. It is 1-450 scale or half Z scale. That is Peter's hand for comparison. The trains ran flawlessly and the tracks also has sidings with operational switches. Now to see if one can get DCC sound into that unit.

When is the last time you have seen a complete train set in a box this small...about the size of a 40 foot boxcar kit.

Peter Mumby works away on his decal project. I worked on some PanPastel weathering that will be seen in another post later today.

GMD Recollections - Compare and Contrast

On January 20, 1996, BNSF 8259 and CP 4209 rest on parallel tracks at CP's yard in London, Ontario.

By Peter Mumby.

Having the GMD plant here in London meant that new locomotives could be photographed in a variety of different locations.  When recently-delivered units appeared on the shop track at CP's Quebec St Yard, they were often posed next to much older power still  in use by the host railway.  Such was the case in 1996 when these photos were taken.  In each case an MLW C-424, built in 1965 and belonging to CP class DRS-24b, appears prominently in the picture.  With built dates more than thirty years apart, we can certainly compare and contrast the motive power of two different generations.

UP SD9043AC number 8160 finds itself in the company of CP 4237 on August 30, 1996.

Komoka - Silo

An overall view of two silo's in October 2019.

I was over to Komoka for some fall colour railfan photos. Well all I got was a few structure views with no trains in sight. I am going to build a mill scene at some point and it was nice to get some detailed silo photos without anyone around being a Sunday...George Dutka

Two loading-unloading locations with power venting.

Note the larger size roof vents, something I had not noticed before and something a model should have.

A side door, ladder to the roof. The roof also has ladder rungs leading to the peak cap that can be opened. Another feature I had not focused on and should be added to a mill silo.