Snapshot - November 2021

A CP EB near London, Ont. on Nov 8, 2021 waiting patiently for a meet with a WB.

For this months snapshot I have a couple of distant views I got of a CP military heritage unit during the week of Remembrance Day. I was on my way back to London when I came across this CP EB train just east of London in the siding waiting for a meet. The sun was disappearing fast and it just was not worth the effort to wait for the meet...George Dutka    

CP 7020 is noted as the "Army Temperate Regions" tribute unit. The CP also has CP 7021 which is the "Army Arid Region"

Wood Distressing

In the lower areas of wooden structures I like to trim off a bit of material which really shows well once stained and weathered.

Working on the FOS interlocking tower a bit of wood distressing is required. Here are a couple of views of what I was doing. More on the tower this week...George Dutka   

I like to lift a few boards up prior to assembly. Basically I make a cut then work from there back lifting.

Hunterline - A Frame Bridge

A Hunterline train bridge is used as a road bridge on Don Janes Green Mountain Division layout.

Don Janes built this HO scale Hunterline bridge at a NMRA-WOD "make and take" clinic a few years back. It is a smaller sized train bridge as one can see. Don turned it into a road bridge for car traffic which I think works really well. I took this photo with my phone during a recent visit...George Dutka 

A New Back Alley in the Works

A BarMills building flat and ITLA kit seem to fit together well when I was moved them around.

I have been planning a second back alley scene which I think might begin with these two structures taking center stage in the scene. Now back to the workbench to construct another add-on...George Dutka

GT Boom Car

The lettering is a mix of decals, many supplied by Peter Mumby. The end windows are Tichy additions to emulate the prototype car.

I finished my GT New England boom car. It a Tichy kit with a National Scale Car kit plus a lot of details on deck. More photos and details to come in the future. This kit took a long time to complete due to not having the end windows. With Covid lock down I was waiting till I got a chance to get to Credit Valley hobby shop who carry the parts I needed. I finally broke down and ordered them from Tichy. I still have yet to make it to Credit Valley...George Dutka 

A look down at the deck of the boom car. Many of the details are from Tichy. I had to scratch-build the door to follow the prototype.

Here is how my work train looks at the moment. A CN tool car, GT boom car and a CV flat and caboose. I also have a few CV hoppers when required.

Throwback Thursday - The Star of the Show?

Hudson 2816 was looking fine as she basked in the late afternoon sun in Smiths Falls on May 28, 2004.

By Peter Mumby.

Today we will take our third and final look at the distinctive equipment of CP's tour train of 2004 as I saw it in the yard at Smiths Falls.  I'm sure that for most observers the standard Hudson number 2816 was the undisputed star of the show.  However, I guess I'm primarily a diesel guy at heart, so my attention kept going back to GP38-2 number 3084.  Today we are all familiar with the SD70ACu rebuild program of 2019 which resulted in the release of units 7010-7019 decorated in two versions of the heritage tuscan and grey paint scheme.  But, in 2004, the 3084, as repainted in 2000, was the only "modern" diesel to appear in these colours.  Eye catching?  Well, I certainly thought so.  Which locomotive would you pick as the "star of the show?"

Here we can take a look at the opposite side of the Hudson on the morning of May 29/04.

CP 3084 was wearing the paint work that had last appeared on newly-delivered GP30 and GP35 units.

 

Wordless Wednesday No. 451

 

 

GMD Recollections - Basic Black

Norfolk Southern SD60 units 6656 and 6655 were being exercised on the GMD test track on December 03/1988.

By Peter Mumby.

Norfolk Southern purchased 151 SD60 locomotives new from the builder, specifically units 6550 through 6700.  Of these, 6651-6700 were assembled in London.  6651 - 6675 were built under order C472 in November and December of 1988.  Today's featured locomotives were a part of that particular subset.  In later years an additional 106 SD60, SD60I, and SD60M diesels of Conrail heritage would be added to the mix. 

Postcards

Not sure of the date but this is an aerial view of White River Jct., Vermont

Bruce Douglas sent me copies of these two New England postcards...George Dutka 

Don't know anything about this location but the Jefferson NH station is kind of an interesting structure.

Summit on the WRD

Two MEC units are seen running along the WRD at Summit a location which looks like Maine narrow gauge territory. The units never received DCC and are now in Peter Mumby's collection.

For a number of years my Maine two-foot structures worked as stand-in's for a location that became Crosby Coal. This photo was taken in early 2009 with my daughters point and shoot early era digital camera as I was still shooting prints and slides at that time. Now she does not own a camera but takes more photos than me with her phone of my grand-kids. How times have changed...George Dutka

F&C Detail Packs

F&C has two style of crates. The fruit and vegetable ones are very nice.

If F&C is at a show in your area maybe look past the large selection of rolling stock and at the shoe box full of small details. These are great to fill in scenes...George Dutka 

I really like using F&C crates in my scenes.

Borden's Butterdish Milk Car

This model is a plastic kit that I am not sure the heritage of.

Here is a view from about 5 years ago of my completed Borden's butterdish milk car. It actually was started by my friend Bruce Douglas decades ago but I got to finish it with a nice Chinese red. It was tricky to get decals for this car. It became a mix of what I had on hand. This tone was used in the 1940's but I am stretching its life into the 1950's.

I prepared an article just over a year ago which was published in the NMRA magazine on the Borden's butterdish fleet...George Dutka  

Note

For some reason when one comments I can not respond. So I have added my comment in the text. The milk car is not F&C. It is a plastic model which has the tank glued together as two half's.  

Throwback Thursday - RCP Diesel Power

Tue., Nov. 9 at 8:25 p.m.

CP 3084 was on display at Smiths Falls on May 28, 2004.

By Peter Mumby.

In the recent post entitled 'RCP "Drumhead"' I made reference to a special CP tour train powered by Hudson 2816 along with the three diesels typically assigned to the Royal Canadian Pacific.  At Smiths Falls the steam locomotive was separated from the diesels since it was scheduled to be powering an abbreviated passenger consist on its own.  That provided an opportunity for interested railfans to inspect the diesels after they had been uncoupled from the rest of the train.  FP9A number 1401 had started life as CN 6541 and subsequently worked for VIA under the same number.  CP repatriated this unit following a short stint on Nebkota Railway.  F9B number 1900 similarly worked as CN/VIA 6612.  It too spent some time with Nebkota prior to being purchased by Canadian Pacific for executive service.  Both of these F units were decorated in the same tuscan and grey colour scheme that the railway's original 1400/1900 series diesels would have worn.  GP38-2 number 3084, originally delivered in action red paint, had been repainted in early 2000 in the tuscan and grey scheme shown in today's photos. 

 

F9B number 1900 was the third unit in this power consist for the Royal Canadian Pacific.

Wordless Wednesday No. 450

 

 

 

CV 505

Here we have CV 0-8-0 #505 switching the New London, Ct. yard in 1933. Note a lot of the lettering has been weathered away on this CV 36' boxcar...George Dutka  

 

Weathering Wheels

Everything needed to color my wheel faces are seen here.

So how do I color my steel wheels. It actually is very easy I use any brush that works for painting the wheel faces. Testors smaller brush works really well for me. I use dollar store cinnamon brown to coat my wheels. On the wheels seen here I only painted the faces but on occasion I also paint the backs and axles. Once dry I use either light rust, dark rust or soot, sometimes a variation of all three Bragdon powders. That's it...George Dutka

The paint goes on really quickly. I do a bunch at one time. These are all for my Brookside milk cars.

Once the paint is dry I use whatever one of these 4 shades of Bragdon powders appeal to me at the moment. I don't want any two cars exactly the same. A really light coat of powders are applied.

CP8757 - Every Child Matters

 

CP Paints Locomotive to Honor Residential School Victims

I came across a freshly painted orange CP locomotive, engine 8757 back in October and was wondering about it. I mentioned the engine to RMC-Railfan associate editor Justin Franz who sent me the following information from the Railfan website. The photo above is courtesy of CP to Railfan. I have posted the link to the full Railfan article...George Dutka 

By Railfan & Railroad Staff

CALGARY — Canadian Pacific Railway has painted an ES44AC locomotive to mark Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to remember the injustices of the country’s residential school system. The locomotive made its debut at CP headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, this week and will soon enter regular freight service. 

The locomotive, CP 8757, is painted orange and has the words “Every Child Matters” written along the side along with the Orange Shirt Society logo and website. The specially painted locomotive was the brainchild of 13-year-old Jacob Hoffer, an Indigenous youth, who wrote the railroad asking that they paint a locomotive to mark the occasion. Hoffer and his mother were on hand this week for the unveiling, along with representatives of the Orange Shirt Society. 

https://railfan.com/canadian-pacific-paints-locomotive-to-honor-residential-school-victims/ 

Since the train was sitting back in the yard the only access was from a parking lot next to a high chain link fence. This shot is taken by holding the camera over my head. It took about three attempts before I was happy. As my wife was with me and we were headed to her parents I could not hang around to see it depart.

Looking east into the CP yard London on Oct 26, 2021 one can see CP 8757 on the lead.

 

Wheel Size - Comparison

A comparison of wheel sizes.

I recently purchase a box of Rapido HO 33" wheelsets that are code 88 fine tread. The wheel in the foreground it Rapido's standard tread which I have been using as replacements for plastic wheels. I will let you know how I like the code 88's shortly which are seen at the rear...what do you use?

We will look at how I paint my wheels...George Dutka  

Walthers Plastic Water Tank

I recently completed this water tank that I thought you might want to take a look at. The base coat was a camo-coat dark brown and the painting was done with PanPastels...George Dutka 

Note the larger size of the Walthers tank compared to the Atlas model on the left.

Throwback Thursday - RCP "Drumhead."

CP's touring Royal Canadian Pacific equipment has just arrived in Smiths Falls, Ontario on May 28, 2004.

By Peter Mumby.

I could describe today's photo as representing the tail end of an early 1950s named passenger train, but the illusion would be quickly shattered by noticing a few anachronisms.  Consider the container car on the track to the left or the ditch lights below the observation platform.  And then there is that end-of-train unit - probably the biggest fly in the ointment.  The car itself, CP business car 74 "Mount Stephen," is of 1926 vintage and still looks good on May 28, 2004 as it brings up the rear of a long train bearing the cars of the combined Royal Canadian Pacific and "Empress" steam trains.  This train has just arrived at Smiths Falls as Extra 2816 east with CP's touring standard Hudson steam locomotive in the lead.  Trailing power includes GP38-2 3084, FP9A 1401, and F9B 1900.  All three of the diesel locomotives are wearing classic Tuscan and grey CP paint.

 

Wordless Wednesday No. 449

 

 

B&M Penacook, NH

 

An early era postcard view of the Penacook, NH station. It appears to be a good size structure. I have not come across any photos of this structure...George Dutka   

CPR Richmond St. Tower - London

CPR crossing tower on the left and the station on the right in London, Ontario during 1940. UWO archives.

I recently came across this photo which  is shot looking directly east. That is the crossing tower for Richmond St. crossing by the CPR station taken on Nov. 15, 1940. From other views I have seen I always though this tower was a lot wider than it actually was. Oh the photo was taken viewing the traction lines rails being removed in the middle of the street. A diamond of sort...George Dutka 

Bracing Blunder

A bracing blunder on this FOS kit.

I am currently working on a FOS kit-of-the-month interlocking tower. When I gave the structure a coating of India ink-alcohol the tower had two warps. I braced the walls as the instructions noted. No problem as it dried the walls went back in place and two more braces are applied to each side that warped and all is well...I will be checking my work better before staining in the future. Hard to believe I missed this as I normally over-brace structures...George Dutka  

Brookside Milk Car

I began an article on the 40' Brookside milk car back in 2007 which I just finished. If you know what CN TGBO's are that was what I began the article on while at work. I just wrote down notes about how I modeled the car while sitting on the engine. At that time I was the regular engineman on 434 London-Toronto. Seems it took me a long time to get back at it...George Dutka

 

McAdam, NB Train Station

A Classic Canadian Pacific Train Station

by Don Janes

     This past Sept. my wife and I made a trip to Mahone Bay, NS to stay with good friends for a week.  On our way home we stopped in at the amazing Hopewell Rocks and the small Bay of Fundy town of St. Andrews by the Sea.  As we were heading north towards Grand Falls, NB, our destination for the night, we saw a sign for McAdam, NB.  I mentioned to my wife that there was a beautiful station there and could she check the GPS to see just how far it would be out of our way. Well, as it turned out we only had to sidetrack about 15 minutes to get there.  I have always wanted to see this iconic station so off we went. 

     McAdam station was built in 1901 from local granite and is on the CPR mainline between St. John,  NB and Montreal with a branchline to St. Stephan and St. Andrews. It was getting late in the day and the afternoon sun was perfect for some photos.  As we drove into town the crossing lights were flashing as a eastbound freight was heading into town.  Once the train cleared we found a road that followed the tracks to try and find the station.  The train had come to a stop and was blocking our view of the station so we kept going to find the head end.  I couldn't find any access roads to the tracks but did see a pair of green New Brunswick Southern SD-40's on the head end through he trees.  Since there was no place to take a photo we headed back to the station and got there just as the tail end cleared.  Up on an embankment sat one of the most beautiful train stations I had ever seen.  Full on photos are not that easy to get as the station sits on the edge of a hill and you can't really get that far back to take in the entire building. We parked the car and strolled around the station looking in the windows.  It has been beautifully restored inside and out but unfortunately, it was not open when we were there.   

The east end of the station. The lunchroom is through the large brown doors.

The beautifully restored lunchroom at the end of the station

      

   Sitting on the tracks behind the station was a CPR inspection train.  As we were looking around a van showed up and two crew members got out and started to board the engine.  Upon talking to the engineer I found out that this line was now owned by New Brunswick Southern between St. John and Brownsville Jct, ME where it connects with the CPR line from Montreal.  He told me they had just brought in the freight train I had just seen from St. John and were now going to head right back home on this train. He told me they normally wait until later at night and take an eastbound freight back to St. John so he was quite happy about getting the inspection train.  He said they were leaving shortly so I waited until they left before wondering too far from the station. After they left I walked over to the small yard and diesel shop to get a few shots of the engines parked there. I have to assume these were used for some local job out of McAdam as there was lots of freight  cars in the yard. 

Note the small lake on the other side of the station

The Inspection Train parked behind the station

        

 Once the crew was ready to go they backed their train up to a switch west of the station then departed on the track at the front of the station which turned out a lot better for photos.  I am so happy I took the extra hour to head over to McAdam to check out this great looking station and got some photos of a train as well.  As much as I would have liked to get some photos of the green New Brunswick Southern  engines, I was more than happy to get the CP train and the station in one shot.

A view of the east end of the station

The CP Inspection train heading to St. John

This passenger car was painted similar to the Milwaukee Road colours. I am not sure of its heritage 

The rear car had a large observation window and was likely full of electronic equipment

These two GATX units were tied down at the diesel shop in the small yard.