Happy New Years 2025

 

I added a bit of detailing to Peter Mumby's station module to bring it to life.

I wish you all a Happy New Years with a bit of inspirational modeling to come in 2025.

I am away starting today at a cottage at the lake. I am not sure about internet access or time for posts. I might miss a few days, but will be back for the weekend...George Dutka

Marmora Station

The Marmora station is set into a scene.

I built this model of the Marmora for Peter Mumby back in the late 1980's. Peter had measured the station which still stands today. I drew up a set of plans that I used to scratch build this model using limited building materials we had back then. I also only had a few photo Peter took of the station as it looked at that time as reference. Detailed historical railway books were just becoming available then and there was no internet. For a Christmas present to Peter this year I asked for the station back for an update. I added some signs and details we now know were on the station and built a diorama to be displayed on. Peter had planned to use it on his planned Eastern Ontario layout which never got to far, but now Marmora is all set to go as a drop-in when required...George Dutka

I built up a train order signal as was on the station.

The signs on the end I photocopied from book photos and added to the station were they once hung.

Interesting Storefronts - 1948

This is a photo looking at how Richmond St. looked near the corner with Dundas St., the main corner in downtown London, Ontario in 1948. These buildings would be torn down to make room for the expansion of Simpson's department store. 

I like how the whole scene comes together, the bay window, round storefront window, downspouts and fire escape. Something to consider with our modeling...George Dutka 

Christmas Wishes!

Randy Laframboise

A few of the cards sent via e-mail this year. Thanks guys! Since the postal service here in Canada was on strike for a month leading up to Christmas I doubt I will get any cards by mail this year...George Dutka

John Spring who models the TH&B posted this nice card this year that I thought was nice.

This photo was pass along as a Christmas wish to Ken Borg this year. He then passed it along to me, thanks Ken. Never seen a view of a DT&I Christmas caboose before.

We are visiting our daughter’s family in southwestern Quebec and on Monday I happened across a CSX freight trundling through the Quebec countryside near their home.  This is the old New York Central line that runs from Syracuse NY to Montreal QC.  I suspect that the warehouse on the left was once served by rail...Geoff Southwood

Throwback Thursday - Traffic Variety

GN 139604 was occupying the GE Railcar spur at the CP yard in Havelock, Ontario on July 28, 1995.

By Peter Mumby.

The rails of CP’s Havelock and Nephton Subdivisions were largely populated by covered hopper cars.  Incoming grain loads bound for Peterborough’s Quaker Oats plant, as well as outbound product from the mines at Nephton and Blue Mountain, travelled in covered hoppers.  The same was true of the roofing granules shipped from the 3M facility east of Havelock, although the sameness was periodically interrupted by loads of traprock occupying open hoppers.  However, the major reason for any traffic variety during the mid 1990s was the existence of the GE Railcar operation at the Havelock yard.  Minor repairs were made to trucks, couplers, brakes, and safety appliances at this location so a steady assortment of box cars and other car types could be seen entering and leaving this open air facility.

Merry Christmas 2024!

Peter, Don and I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Posts will return after boxing day...George Dutka  

Operating On The ATSF Slaton Sub

 Davin Heinbuck's Texas Based ATSF Layout.....by Don Janes

    Back in Sept. I was invited to an operating session on Davin Heinbuck's ATSF Slaton Sub layout in St.Marys, Ont.  I had never been to one of Davin's operating sessions and was a little anxious that I would do OK but upon arriving I was greeted by Davin and introduced to the rest of the crew and was immediately put at ease by their friendliness and willingness to show me how things worked.  After a short social period I was assigned to a through freight with operating mate Jordan McCallum.  Jordan is a VIA engineer and I worked with him many years ago when he had just hired on as a brakeman.  Now he was showing me the ropes. Jordan really gave me a good feel for the layout and after the first run I felt confident i could handle a train on my own. 

Jordan McCallum and Chris Wright are busy working the temple yard, sorting cars for pickups and local industries

      Davin's layout is an around the wall shelf type layout and there is a section of double deck where the staging yard is below a sceniced section.  Locations are well marked and the track layout and industries are very prototypical.   There are also track schematics at each location to help when doing switching.  The main hub is the large yard and engine facility at Temple, Texas which also has a number of major industries.  The thing that impressed me the most was how well the layout ran and the amount of very nice finished scenery that really represented the Texas landscape.  That made operations even more realistic.

      Davin acted as the dispatcher from his office behind the bar.  Rule "G" does not exist on the Slaton Sub.  All operators had headsets which they used to communicate with the dispatcher. Once I got familiar with the layout I ran a couple of trains on my own and for the most part it went well.  Temple yard marshalling got a little more complicated so I paired up with Tim, a retired CPR engineer who had a lot more experience operating on the layout so I ran the engine and Tim did all the switching on the ground so cars would end up in the right place.

    All in all, it was a great experience and after the session we all sat and watched some railroad videos and enjoyed a drink and nice meal supplied by the host.  I hope to get back to Davin's again and take part in another operating session.

A manifest freight winds through the Texas landscape

Here we see Davin dispatching from The Dispatchers Office, a fully stocked bar.  

Davin takes a break with a drink from the bar between trains, doesn't get any better than that for a dispatcher

     

Chris van der Heide Working the Temple Yard.  All photos above are industries in Temple..

A boxcar has been spotted at a lumber dealer

This stone quarry was located on an isolated peninsula at one end of the layout.  Access is by the drop down bridge across the doorway.

This was the power on the manifest freight that I ran

A local freight has just stopped at Edgeview to do some switching

Christmas at the Elgin County Railway Museum

Yesterday I visited the museum in St. Thomas, Ontario. They had a 300 hundred Christmas trees, plus presents and lights hung all around and between all the equipment. I visited through the day but they told me at night it is the best when everything is lit up in the dark. The display is also open today and Monday. Check their web site...George Dutka

Gondola Interiors, Garbage Bags and staging tracks.

 

The foreground track is not attached to the layout. It is to make the yard look bigger than it is and to hold interesting equipment that one sees first.

I was asked a question recently where their garbage bags way back then. I had a group of them in a gondola. Most of my modeling is of the 1950's and at times I set the era as 1960's and 70's. 

The plastic garbage bag was invented in 1950 by a couple of Canadian boys for industrial use. Winnipeg hospital was one of the first to use these. They did not become household items till the late 1960's. I remember our family using tin garbage cans while I was growing up. I don't recall using garbage bags till I got married in 1975. 

So it is up to you if you include them in your modeling scenes. With a number of these being offered in 3-D printing I like the looks of them in scenes. I have only added them to one gondola which actually is not operating on the layout but in the foreground. I have a track staged in the foreground in WRJ and Bellows Falls which is not actually attached to the layout. These tracks are were I place interesting cars like flats and gondolas which adds to the scene...George Dutka

This is the only car I added garbage bags to as industrial waste. It is surprising how long these type of cars hung around for scrap and clean up service. I remember seeing CN gondola cars that were full of junk into the late 1970's that would have been scrapped much earlier if not in company service.

Overhead look at the staging track in the foreground. It is hidden at this end by the yard office and trees.

This it the interior of a Tichy gondola. I recently adding a bit of gravel, dirt and cinders to the interior. This one had crushed HO ballast added too. I leave it loose. I can always dump the loose stone if being stored...there really is no cost to that so it can be added once again. The skids and scraps are glued down.

Milwaukee Rapido Boxcar - Last Look

A few views of the finished Rapido model...George Dutka  

 

Throwback Thursday - Fresh Out of the Box

CNW 490741 was looking good at CP Quebec St in London on August 20, 1995.

By Peter Mumby.

This car looks like it has just been taken out of the box and set on the layout for the first time.  Your first impression is probably favourable.  Enjoy it while it lasts - the taggers are probably waiting at the next stop! 

Wordless Wednesday No. 608

 

    

NECR 3015 - New Paint

St Albans, Vermont Dec 15, 2024. Leif Tillotson photos.

I did not realize the NECR repainted one of their engines for the Military Veterans till I saw this photo yesterday. Different for sure. Thanks for letting me post your photo Leif...George Dutka  

NECR Veterans unit 3015 is a GP40-CU. It was repainted into the Veterans livery in August 2024. It was originally built for the CN, numbered 9457 a GP40-2LW.

St. Catherines Ontario - Station

Nov. 20, 2024

This year I actually had a chance to visit a lot of stations I have not been to in years and in some cases decades. On a recent trip I visited the CN-VIA station in St. Catherines. Here are a few views of what I saw. It has been maybe 30 years since I last visited this location...George Dutka   

This trip was in November and it was overcast and rainy the whole time away, but well worth the visits.

It appears an addition has been added at some point attaching the frt house to the station.