Feed Mill - Westminster, Vermont

Trackside view of the feed mill.

I mentioned the feed mill found at Westminster, Vermont across the tracks from the ex-station. Here are a few views I took quickly in 2012 when I stopped to get a Dunkin Donuts coffee. It is an excellent feed mill example for a modeler to build.  I had stopped here a few times in the past to catch a train coming by...but that was back in the days I shot slides....guess I best find a decent way to duplicate those to my computer...George Dutka

The rear side.

The roadside view from route 5. The entrance is off route 123.

The siding track is well below the main line grade.

HO Skid on WRD

An Osborn skid in place on the WRD. The fence seen is a Bar Mills product...will cover that later this weekend.

I placed my Osborn skid behind the Westboro section shed. To add some extra interest I also placed a HO scale newspaper crumpled up on top. Since the photo was taken I also added some pieces of scrap wood to the skid...George Dutka

Wordless Wednesday No. 75

Wooden Skids - Osborn Models

The two HO scale models, mine has the loads on top.

On our last work session for this season Peter Mumby and I finished the day by trying our hand at two wooden skids offered by Osborn Models. We each built an O and HO scale model. I was really impressed how realistic they looked. Once we figured out what we where doing the skids went together easy. The instruction sheet was not that easy to digest for two old guys like us. In HO scale one does not have to even paint or weather them although we did. We used some Hunterline stain followed by some PanPals and Bragdon Powders. I liked what the powders did to the skids....Check out my narrow gauge blog for the O scale versions...George Dutka

The O and HO scale wooden skid packages and our finished products.

Westminster, Vt. - Ex-B&M Station

Most patrons that stop by Dunkin Dounuts would not notice that this structure once was a train station. Today it is a fuel stop, variety store and donut shop. Sept. 2012.

If you want a coffee and are leaving Bellows Falls southbound...stop by and visit the old B&M Westminster station. On the other side of the track there is a really nice feed mill that you might want to take a look at also...the mill would make a great model...George Dutka

The trackside view of what once was a station. The slate roofing is still in place.

VTR - PS-1 40' Boxcar

This side of my PS-1 boxcar got the heaviest weathering as the 1980's decal job was not the best. I think the car looks really good now.

I still have a few more contemporary freight cars that could use some weathering. One a PS-1 boxcar that I assembled, painted and decaled back in the 1980's has a few issues with the decal. The decal I used was very thick and one can see some of the edges. Also I was not that good at decaling back then. This car probably was completed in about the first 20 cars I had built. The last time Peter and I used his PanPastels I decided to give it a good weathering...George Dutka

This is how the car looked before weathering. I had done some airbrush weathering back when I built the car but if you look closely you can see the outlines of the decal sheeting.

This side of the car got a lighter coating of weathering.

Building CV Cabooses

If you use the link below or on the side panel one can visit with Pierre Oliver of Elgin Car Shops and watch him build a group of CV caboose kits. He as done a great job. One can take a look back through this project on his blog....George Dutka

Elgin Car Shops - Custom Model Assembly and Finishing: Final details and assembly

Wordless Wednesday No. 74

B&M Westboro Section House - Second Look

The section house is placed across from the sand tower. The switch is the lead to the Westboro shop area on my WRD.

Here are a few photos I took of the section house  now located in Westboro on the White River Division. This area of the layout is now completed...at least for now. I never know when a new idea might pop up. By the way this weeks Wordless Wednesday is the rear wall of this structure....George Dutka

The side door is modeled open. I have yet to add some workers to this scene.

I added a B&M - CV joint airline sign to the rear of the structure recently. It is just leaning there as it may have been removed from a billboard in town.

I like modeling my doors open these days...it give me more area for details.

Wordless Wednesday No. 73

Cornice modeling on the NEB&W

Last week John Nerich posted on the NEB&W facebook page a nice view of a structure he was working on. What got my attention was John's cool cornice trick...saw the ties off of the sides of an Atlas Model code 100 snap track and glue it to the building. Check out their facebook page for the details of modeling the weathered copper seen in this photo above...George Dutka


NEB&W/Rensselaer Model Railroad Society Fanpage | Facebook

Into the next room

The White River Division is coming into a new area. My On30" diorama is stored for now in this area.

This weekend has flew by with little time for any posts...yesterday I can blame my wife and today it was Peter Mumby's turn. I was his helper today at the Woodstock train show. I did have a good time there and Peter and I both picked up some really nice plaster casting...will leave that for another post.

Since I showed you the track curving around and entering the wall this week...I thought I should show you the other side. I took a few photos of that room...the Bellows Falls yard end of my point to point operation....George Dutka

This is the area my new yard and the end of the White River Division will be. Currently my On30" diorama is stored here along with a work area on wheels. The diorama is 6 ft. long...so one can get a feel for the area. The diorama will be stored on a shelf under the layout and my extra work area will roll out from underneath.

Snapshot - April 2014

UP 4797 was the first train we encountered. She is leading a westbound Stack Train waiting for a meet West of Maricopa.

by Don Janes

     On April 1 Jane and I set out to do some railfanning on the Union Pacific line from LA to New Orleans, The former owner, Southern Pacific’s Sunset Route.  Most days had been a little hot to be in the middle of the desert in the afternoon but on the 1st the temperature dropped to about 75 F and sunny (it’s sunny every day here) so it was a great day for the trip.  The spot I like is about 1 ½ hours southwest from our house in Apache Junction just west of the town of Maricopa at a siding called Shawmut.  As we got closer to Shawmut I noticed that several sidings were full of work trains or fleets of track equipment.  I thought this might be trouble because if there was a work block there would be no train watching today.  My mind was eased when I saw that all the equipment was parked and not a sole around.  They must be on their downtime.  Shortly after we saw a westbound stack train waiting for a meet.  There were no less than six work trains parked along the line including entire trains of concrete ties, welded rail and under cutting equipment.  A major maintenance program indeed, and they were on their day off. 

    

 UP 4797  again after the meet after we set up at Shawmut

UP 7391 heads up a Westbound auto train at Shawmut

ex CB&Q Silver Horizon Maricopa, AZ

 Within the next three hours we saw no less than 7 freight trains.  Out in the desert in the middle of nowhere 
 is really a peaceful spot to do some rail fanning.  When there are no trains all you can hear is the wind blowing across the desert and a few birds flipping from cactus to cactus.  A very calming place, especially when the sun starts dipping in the west.

This is the DPU on the rear of 7391 snaking downgrade through

UP 7962 an eastbound auto train with the second unit still in SP colours n S curve

Another shot  of the ex SP unit

UP 8340 slugs uphill through the S curve with an eastbound stack train

The DPU on the rear of 8340 still shoving hard

UP 9495 heads up one of several work trains along the line.  This is a train of concrete ties

Another work train with a welded rail related machine still in SP lettering.

500th Post

If you ever had eaten at the Polka Dot dinner in White River Jct. Vermont and wondered who was doing the cooking...here he is out back having a break.

Well here I am once again...another milestone. This is the 500th post on this blog. Seems I have a lot to say even when you don't want to hear it...just kidding. I added a "Search this Blog" feature in the right hand column of this blog some months ago at the request of Marty...I hope this is helping everyone...it sure has for me when backtracking. I hope you have found enough of interest to keep coming back for more...Oh by the way I have no idea what I will be covering next...George Dutka

Wordless Wednesday No. 72

B&M Section House Model - Westboro

My finished Westboro section house on the White River Division.

Using my photos and measurements I drew up a set of drawing to work from while building my B&M section house. The walls are all wood from my stock (leftovers) plus windows and door I have in my structure parts box. This building was a free-bee to construct. Once the main walls are all glued together and 1X8" trim is added I gave the walls a coat of Hunterline weathering mix, inside and out. This was followed by a wash of Floquil grime and some dry brushed reefer white. On the prototype it appears there has been limited paint applied for many years on the walls...and what appeared as paint was a gray. I went for the almost no paint left approach to the whole structure. For the windows I airbrushed mine Floquil grime. One could do these as green, or maybe just green trim.

The roof was made from leftover Campbell's roof stock painted grimy black. I covered the roofing with MinuteMan Scale Models black tar paper. I added a few patches to the roof. A chimney from my parts box was painted and weathered. Before weathering I added a few signs.  Bragdon powders was added to the roof and walls to finish things off...George Dutka

The walls of the main building are together with some bracing added. The side shed still needs to be attached. The window and door can be seen at the rear.

A view of the front of the structure.

The door still needs to be added. I had a few B&M signs on hand that I applied. The chimney still needs to be added.

Some boards are pulled up on the rear wall. The roof and walls are now weathered.

I added two patches to the add on roofing. The weathering has yet to be added to the roofing.

Era Update

What's this a non 1950's engine on the White River Division. I have been debating what to do with this DCC-sound engine...I think I have figured it out.

This past Monday during our weekly work session I showed Peter my Bachmann DCC-Sound CPR S-2 that I purchased last summer with a thought of repainting it as B&M 1265. I had held off painting it as I kind of liked the looks of it in CPR paint. This particular engine has become part of a display in Toronto next to the old CPR roundhouse downtown. While having still a good 20-25 rail cars for the 1960 through 1980's era Peter suggested running the engine with a few cars and a caboose from time to time. I do have a couple of CV engines and a caboose that would work for that era plus the B&M bluebird geep that hung around in that scheme for a long time. I think it might just work. I do have a good number of rolling stock pieces that I just can not part with even though they do not fit into the 1950's era that I model. Maybe I might just try that...detail the CPR engine as painted and from time to time change the era. Not much would have to be changed on the layout other than some cars and trucks. Peter and I did just that last spring for a photo session...something to think about through the summer I would say....George Dutka

Here one sees a portion of my contemporary fleet of boxcars. These might look good behind my CPR engine. I might have to look for a yellow CPR caboose.

Yesterday - Moving Forward

The hole is cut to the next room and a new yard location. You are looking into the room that the White River Division is located. The area were the scenery ends is the old duck under location. I have put temporary bracing up to get the curve right from the layout to the hole in the wall.

Yesterday I had about a two hour gap between house work at my daughters and when her sister showed up to learn how to do her taxes. I decided to do something with the piece of flex track that was dangling were the duck under once was. I planned to continue into the next room this winter...that did not happen. I had marked the spot for the hole recently...so why not cut it out and curve the track through it. That would give me all summer to think about what will be done in regards to scenery, hiding the wall opening and track planning in the next room.

The hole was an easy cut with no wires or studs to deal with. I used some left over lumber, plywood and cork road bed to place a few temporary supports for the track. All was levelled out and in less than the time allotted....George Dutka.

A different angle looking away from the layout.

Walpole, NH - Station

Here we have a postcard view of the station that once stood in Walpole, NH....George Dutka

Wordless Wednesday No. 71