Wordless Wednesday No. 279

Fast Tracks

Brantford Area Layout Tour

The Bronx Terminal on display at Fast Tracks.

On Saturday Peter Mumby and I attended the Brantford area layout tour. The last time we did the tour it was 2011 and a lot has changed since then. Registering in Paris we checked out the rail yard and photographed one train before heading to Pt. Dover the home of Fast Tracks and Mt. Albert Lumber plus some really nice layouts. We also beat the biker there as this Friday is the 13th and gathering day for thousands of biker in town. We took in six layout in the Pt. Dover and Brantford area...enjoy the views...George Dutka

Located in Paris Ont. with a nice backyard view of the CN main line, The Grand Valley Division is a N scale layout that is basically an oval in the middle of a lower level room. What I found interesting was all the signage around the walls.

A view of Gord King's double deck layout featuring many scenes from Southwestern Ontario operating big steam.

The model of the CNR coaling tower which once stood in London, Ont. Gord is now working on modeling the roundhouse. Gord grew up in London and his father was an engineman who retired a year before I hired on.

Tim Warris filling us in about how the Bronx Terminal operated. We had a nice tour of Fast Tracks and Mt. Albert Lumber.

The Brox Terminal's only transfer was by ferry service.

Peter and I got a tour of the plant. Gerry shows us the machine used to make the copper ties used in the Fast Track jigs.

Roger Chrysler gives his train some extra help. He models a traction line that ran through his hometown of Brantford. The Lake Erie and Northern Rwy. is a very nicely laid out line following the prototype. Roger is an extremely talented modeler.

On Rogers layout there is drawer track which makes handling transfers much easier.

The new home of the New York and Seven layout. This layout is a joint effort by a husband and wife team of Greg and Gail Whayman. Gail is an excellent craftsman kit builder. This layout is still in their early stages of construction but will be a must stop in the future.

Greg has got the stop lights up and working on this module which came from their old layout. The layout will be operated by Railroad Company Software 9 Gold...which means everything will function without any help from an operator if required.

A four deck layout was on the tour built by Ted Black. Peter and I though we better check this one out which modeled the Brantford, Ont. area. I have never seen someone attempt that many levels. The top deck was just above my head and I am 6 foot tall so the duck-under was simple and the lower lever is below knee height maybe a foot and a half off the floor. In reality only the two middle decks Peter and I could view easily. The lower deck holds a number of passenger trains, 16 are reported down there.The passenger station on the second from bottom deck partly hidden by the stopped passenger train is the Brantford station.

South Deerfield, Ma. - Frt. House

The old frt. house still stands in South Deerfield, Jan. 26, 2018. A roadside view looking south.

Back in January I stopped by South Deerfield, actually to check out the brewery in town...the Berkshire Brewing Company's entrance was right by the old frt. house. I took a few photos from around the main line. By the way they have some great beer in town such as Steel Rail Ale...George Dutka

South of the frt. house at the main crossing is a siding switch and a simple station sign designating this location.

Looking North.

Trackside view looking south. Nice weathering for a modeler to follow.

Trackside looking south.

Building Flat - IHC Kit, Novelty Iron Works

I could not resist this building flat at last falls Woodstock train show. It now has a place on Don Janes Green Mountain Route.

Back last fall I picked up this IHC (International Hobby Corp) kit which was nicely constructed as a building flat. This was one of the structures on my wish list that I always wanted to build. I did not really need this structures as a building flat but it looked really good and for $20 not a bad price. Don was over for a visit before heading to Arizona and really liked the building flat explaining how it would fit one of his scenes, so off it went to his place....now I can keep looking for the full kit...George Dutka

The original modeler did a wonderful job cutting this model down for use as a building flat. It is IHC Novelty Iron Works kit.

A well detailed model and the stone finishing is much better than it appears in these photos. I'm sure Don will do a few improvements that will make me wishing I still had it.

N Scale Architect - NH Roundhouse

The finished roundhouse painted in B&M colours.

I finished Gary Pembleton's N Scale Architect roundhouse a few months ago. Early coverage can be found in What's in the Box - No. 29 (Feb. 18 2018). The doors are the first thing assembled which took a bit of work to get them cut out as the wood is very hard. The wall sections are all warped needing bracing. I am not sure if all the roundhouses would be like this or I got the lemon. The floor plans really help layout the walls and inside supports...the photos tell the story...George Dutka

The floor sections are glued together then painted acrylic gray. One can see the wall bracing added.

The wall sections are glued together and supported till they dry.

Hunterline Cordovan Brown was painted onto all the walls inside and out.

Dollar store paints are used on the trim and walls. The walls are warm white and trim cinnamon brown.

Once the walls are dry I added Bragdon dust bowl brown to the cream walls and Bragdon old tuscan with a hint of antique iron to the lower areas, doors and windows.

Two sections of the roof are attached and stacks are in the works. The other two roof sections will be painted and weathered but not attached as Gary will need to be able to run tracks into the roundhouse.

The rear area is finished with some additional weathering applied.

The finished model.

Throwback Thursday: The End of an Era

NS 327 is southbound on CN's Talbot Subdivision at Pond Mills Road in London on Dec. 30, 2006.

By Peter Mumby.

December 30, 2006 was the final day of operation for Norfolk Southern freights 327 and 328.  These trains operated via CN trackage rights between Fort Erie and Talbotville, Ontario.  They carried auto parts destined for the St. Thomas Ford plant.  NS was giving up the contract to CN, effective January 01, 2007.  CN would continue serving the plant for a couple more years until Ford shut down the entire operation.

Although there had been changes in routing over the years, the CN/NS trackage rights agreement had been of long standing, dating back to the late 1800s when the original deal was struck between predecessors Wabash and Grand Trunk.  On the final day of employment for several of Norfolk Southern's Canadian employees, 327 arrived at CN Southwold yard at Talbotville behind NS 9554 and PRR 8373.  The power then returned to the St. Thomas yard where the three-man crew booked off and were replaced by the men who would operate 328 (light engines) back to Ft. Erie/Buffalo.  Family and friends (along with a photographer from the St. Thomas newspaper) were present at the yard to mark the auspicious occasion.  With the cessation of these through NS freights, the Talbot Subdivision was downgraded to the Talbot Spur, and the CN St. Thomas yard became a much quieter place.

The outgoing crew on the final version of NS 328 is smiling for the camera belonging to the St. Thomas newspaper - big news that day for the town that bills itself as Canada's Railway City.

NS 328 waits on the east leg of the wye for incoming CN 584 to clear the Talbot Subdivision mainline.  NS 9554 north will then head to London where it will turn east on the Dundas Subdivision.  Onlookers stand on the Barwick St overpass to give a parting wave.

Wordless Wednesday No. 278

Arizona Railfanning

Taken Shawmut Mar.8, 2018

An eastbound UP ballast train

by Don Janes

While enjoying the winter months at our Arizona home I always try to take at least one trip to some of my favorite railfanning spots in the area.  On Mar.8 I headed out to a spot known as Shawmut, about 1 1/2 hours southwest of where I live in Apache Jct.  There is really nothing there but a little mound of rocks with a flag on top.  The Union Pacific mainline from Los Angeles to El Paso, Texas and points east passes through here. It was the old Southern Pacific's Sunset Route.  We arrived about 3pm and saw five eastbound freights.  While it is actually better to see west bounds here that time of day we were happy to get five trains in a span of 3 hours.  Once the good light was gone we headed home only to see a parade of about 5 west bounds waiting for the eastbound traffic to clear this short stretch of single track.

     On Mar.21 we headed to Tucson to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum. Once we got our fill of this great facility we set out east to a crossing called Mescal Road where the UP double track mainline crests a steep grade the starts a long decent towards Tucson.  Were were lucky enough to catch two westbound frights at the top of the grade and just before the last light we caught an eastbound inter-modal train with the low sun glinting on the side od the double stack container cars.  Mescal is a great spot, especially on a clear sunny evening when the late afternoon sun illuminates the Dragoon Mountains to the east.

      I always look forward to these railfan trips when I am here as they are so different than what I see back in Ontario.

An eastbound Intermodal train with a single DPU on the rear

Mescal Road

First westbound train cresting the grade

Second westbound cresting the grade. Photos really show how steep the grade is.

Eastbound Intermodal train with sun glinting off the side.  Westbound signal is green, lined for another westbound but light disappears before it arrives.

B&M Receipt - 1940

While at Springfield this year I purchased a couple of old B&MRHS publications. Inside one copy was this receipt...George Dutka

Prototype Corner - Two Bridges for the Price of One

 

CP 8732 west is crossing Wharncliffe Rd N in London Ontario on March 25, 2018.  On its way to Windsor, the train is traversing a temporary bridge on shoo fly trackage while a replacement bridge is under construction.

By Peter Mumby

Here is some prototype inspiration for those who just love to build bridges.  In order to widen Wharncliffe Road in the city of London, Ontario, an existing CP bridge had to be demolished and replaced.  The project involved construction of a temporary rail bridge on the south side of the original structure, and incorporating it into a shoo fly bypass.  By the time the accompanying photo was taken, the demolition had occurred and the new bridge structure had been hoisted into position.  The shoo fly trackage remained in operation, pending the completion of the rebuild.  In the photo, the new bridge is out of sight behind the passing train.  Sounds like a good modelling opportunity to me!

North Stratford Ry. - Gord Taylor

June 1987 Gord Taylor photo

Another small group of photos by the late Gord Taylor...enjoy...George Dutka

June 1987 Gord Taylor photo

North Stratford Ry. 40 foot boxcar 461 in June 1987