Wordless Wednesday No. 188

Happy July 4th

A past offering by True Line Trains.

Happy July 4th to all our American blog followers...have a great day...George, Don and Peter.

Dick Walker's - HO CPR Melrose Sudivision

D-10 class 4-6-0 locomotives were synonymous with CPR branch line service.  Only on a Sunday would you find all the branchline power congregated at Woodstock.  On the other six days of the week, these locomotives would be switching the coal boats at Port Burwell, interchanging with C&O, Wabash or NYC at St. Thomas, or swinging onto the St. Mary's sub at Zorra.

London and District Layout Tour: Dick Walker's CPR Melrose Subdivision, by Peter Mumby.
Photos by George Dutka and Peter Mumby.

Dick Walker's current layout had its start in 2002, although several sections have survived from three or four earlier versions in London and Woodstock homes.  The layout or subdivision name has changed with each location, but the overall theme has remained constant - a railfan-oriented layout based on the CPR yard at Woodstock, Ontario, and it's contiguous rural area. 

In this scene, Dick is acting as the Woodstock yardmaster.

With its location on the Galt Subdivision near the St. Thomas, Port Burwell, and St. Mary's subs, Woodstock was home to an assortment of 4-6-0 and 4-6-2 steamers, along with the typical first generation GP-9, RS-18, and FA diesels.  Dick operates a fleet of vintage brass locomotives (think Alco Models, Tenshodo, and Van Hobbies).  All units have been re-worked and re-motored to run smoothly on DC power.  Unit numbers have been carefully chosen to reflect those actually seen in Woodstock and environs in the late 1950s.  Similar attention has been paid to his nicely finished rolling stock.  Using kits purchased as early as 1955, Dick commented that his layout features models that in some cases are as as old as the prototypes they represent.

The entire layout features detailed scenery, some of it the work of Dick's wife, Marg.  The springtime greens of the scenery blend well with the subdued boxcar reds and weathered blacks of the equipment to produce a very authentic overall look to the layout.

A typical late 1950s double header waits at the switch near Melrose station.

Here is the namesake station for the Melrose Subdivision.

Lucky number 888 receives some attention at the Woodstock ash pit.

One of Dick's brass-bashing efforts produced this distinctive tender.

Idling at Woodstock is a typical first generation diesel lash-up.

Labatt's streamlined tractor trailer has arrived from London.  This Sylvan Scale Models kit (SE-01) is based on a 1947 prototype.

Things are busy around the Woodstock freight house.

New Law in Effect Today in Vermont

Got the following e-mail from Jim Murphy today regarding railfanning in Vermont...George Dutka

Hi all. Most of you might already know or do not care but the state of Vermont passed a new law which went into effect today July 1st to do with trespassing on railroad property and if you do not have a permit it is a $200 fine and any police office can fine you even AMTRAK so any of you who like to photo the railroads here in Vermont be very careful. You all have a great Independence day weekend.

 

Jim Murphy

 

Rapido's Proto-Paint

As mentioned in a past post Peter and I visited Rapido last week for a dealers open house and BBQ. A new item that caught my eye was their new line of paint, Proto-Paint. As per their web site and what we were told the paint is colour-matched to real paint chips for the most accurate colours possible. All their railroad paints dry to a decal-ready gloss finish and their weathering shades dry to a flat finish. Rapido's paint is manufactured for them here in Canada a short distance from their offices. This way Rapido can keep a close eye on production. We saw some of the paint applied to test strips in both gloss and flat finsih...and it looks great.

Rapido's Dan Darnell is the man behind the Proto-Paint line of water-based acrylics. This is a high-quality railroad paint which one can spray right out of the bottle then cleaned-up with Windex. Sure sounds simple. Their first release will start with a variety of 47 different US and Canadian colours, including such basics as Grimy Black, Slag Brown and Stencil White. They will be adding more colours every month.

Included in this first offering is the CN and CP colours. For CV fans these are the colours  that are wanted for diesel engines. The green and golds, the red-orange and black plus colours for the cabooses. Rapido even has CN boxcar red for our rolling stock. For more contemporary modelers there are Amtrak and VIA colours. In the works are NH and Conrail shades that will be out shortly along with weathering tones...check out their web site for more details...HAPPY CANADA DAY...George Dutka

Canada Day 2016

This years Canada Day parade is in downtown Komoka, Ont. One of the displays if from the Komoka Railway Museum. Peter Mumby photos

Wishing you a memorable July 1st and a Happy Canada Day from the crew, Peter, Don and George

Our friends Ron Davis to the left and Dave Harding in the red shirt lead the way through Komoka...Peter Mumby photos.

New Creamery Opens In North Bennington...by Don Janes

The new creamery at N.Bennington has just opened and the first load of coal and empty milk car have been spotted.  The workers still haven't got the sign up.

Bennington County Co-Operative Creamery Open For Business

     After months of planning and construction the new creamery in N.Bennington Vt. has opened its doors. The plan all started about three years ago when friend and fellow modeller Don Spiro gave me a model he had built based on the Rutland Creamery in Grand Isle, Vermont. This was a great looking model but I felt it needed something more to give it a unique look and add size to the overall complex.  I thought about an ice house but there was already one beside the freight house so I decided to add what might have been the section of an older creamery with a two story office and warehouse building to which the newer block structure had been added.  Since most creameries had a coal fired boiler house I decided to add a coal unloading pit that fed an older brick boiler house at one end of the wood office structure.  The wooded structure was scratchbuilt to fit the space between the block building and the wall and the boiler house was part of a larger kit I had left over from the old layout. The water tank on the roof is a plastic tank covered with stripwood to create a wooden tank. I felt that the various sections of the creamery all made from different material would add character to the entire scene.

This view of the creamery shows the milk loading platform and dump for unloading coal hoppers.

      After some research I found that N.Bennington never had a creamery, at least in the period I model, just the ice house but that Manchester, VT., just up the line was the home of the Bennington County Co-operative Creamery.  George suggested I use that name for the new creamery.  He wasn't sure what the sign looked like but thought the name sounded appropriate for the building.  I decided to take use his suggestion for the name. This creamery he believed shipped Borden's products.  After further inquires to Rutland modeller and Manchester resident Bill Badger I found out (from photos he sent me from a couple of different eras) that there was no sign on the building so I am free to make it look however I think would look right.   

      I still have to add the sign, install power poles and wires feeding the plant and various other details but the creamery is basically done and ready to ship milk products.

    

This end view shows the coal conveyor and boiler house that feeds steam to the creamery

This view shows an overall view of the creamery.  The brick structure to the left is Bennington Potters, part of a South River Model Works kit.  The Rutland mainline is in the foreground.

Here are a couple more views of the conveyor and a hopper that has been spotted for unloading.

Creative Laser Design - Section House

A new section house for the White River Division.

North of White River Jct. along the Connecticut River line one finds a small section house that Creative Laser Design has made a model of. I have seen very similar section houses here in Ontario on the CPR. I purchased this structure at Springfield a couple of years ago as I always thought it was a neat little structure...I actually had taken photos of the prototype a couple of decades ago. After visiting Don Janes last fall and seeing how his model turned out I pulled my kit out and built it in short order last December.

The kit is very basic. All that one needs is seen here partly assembled.

I pulled up some of the siding boards, added bracing and gluing the whole structure together with Canopy glue. Not included but added is trim under the eves. The interior base got a coat of Hunterline weathering mix followed by Floquil Grime. The walls got a wash of Folquil tuscan red with a dab of caboose red. I then rubbed some Bragdon dark rust on the walls. I added the nail holes at this point. I just use a pin and eye ball the rows. I find they stand out better if I do this after the powders are added. The roofing I changed out with Northeastern Scale Lumber Co. gray slate HOSNG1B1. The stack is a CNR Juneco caboose stack similar to what I saw on the prototype many years ago....George Dutka

A square and canopy glue is used to assemble the four walls.

The structure is assembled and ready for paint and stain. As the whole structure is the same colour, painting will be easy.

The platform is ready for installation while the roof edges are painted black along with the underside.

A smoke stack similar to what I saw on a visit decades ago is applied.

The door is modeled partly open.

The pulled up boards are seen on the side wall. The nail holes are added after by eye balling the rows.

Wordless Wednesday No. 187

New Baltimore and Fair Haven RR part 2...by Don Janes

Here is a photo of the group at Greg's layout on June 13.  From left George Dutka, Mark Olstyn, Don Janes, Peter Mumby and Greg Rich. Peter Mumby photo

A Second look at Greg's NB&FH RR

          When I posted the photos of Greg's layout last week I had a hard time choosing which ones to use so I decided to do a part 2 so you can look at some more scenes on this beautiful layout. I will try to include a few wider shots but am going to concentrate more on close-up shots to show the detailed scenes. All of Greg's scenes are fully detailed showing what you would see if you were standing there looking at them in real life.  Where he excels is adding just enough detail to make the scene look real but not so much that it is cluttered.  When you look at the photos notice how he has attained the perfect balance of detail for any given are.  To me this is an art and Greg has obviously taken the time to note what would actually be present in a scene and knows when he has added enough.  

In this mini scene note the details Greg has added but has not overdone it.  He even added small pieces of wood along the edge of the tarp.  Something most of us likely would have missed.

This scene is right beside the one above.  The detail in the scene is just right to tell a story.

The above two scenes were taken at the small engine service facility at Coffee Springs at the end of a branch line. Greg got a deal on the engine house at a flee market and modified it to fit his needs at this location.

This iron road bridge at Ste.Clair started as an Atlas railroad bridge.  Greg re-worked it to its present appearance which really captures the look of old iron road bridges that were very common in the period he models.

These two photos show the tracks running through the heavily wooded area of La Moore.  There are only a handful of well detailed structures in the area giving it an isolated feeling. Greg has really done a great job of representing autumn in this area.

The Union Brass Foundry is another fine example of a small  trackside industry with just the right amount of details added to make it look real.  This structure is cobbled from commercial and scratchbuilt components.

This harbour scene is at Potominac.  It is loaded with period appropriate detail that brings the scene to life. You can almost hear the busy waterfront activity going on here.

This scene really gives a sense of depth and the impression the road continues on beyond the factory in the background. This road separates the cities of New Baltimore and Fair Haven. 

When we returned to Sarnia we headed for the VIA station and got there just in time to catch this eastbound CN freight that had just come out of the St.Clair tunnel winding up a perfect day of railfanning.. 

More Views From Rapido Trains

An upcoming model that will need a bit of work by the purchaser but well worth the effort. Peter Mumby photo.

On Thursday Peter and I took a lot of photos while visiting Rapido. I thought you might enjoy seeing a few more...George Dutka

A view of Rapido's programming station...they can do eight at a time.

Peter Mumby poses with the new release's on Thursday.

The RDC's are all out on display and looking good. Peter Mumby photo.

One of the many display's Peter photographed.

I take a break during our tour of  Rapido while Peter snaps a shot. Our personal tour guide is one of the newer employee's who really knew his stuff.

Erie Harlem Station Blog

Matthieu's Erie layout as it looks a few weeks ago.

If you follow Matthieu Lachance  Hedley Junction blog you may have noted he also has a second blog which covers a very interesting small Erie switching layout along the Harlem River. Check it out at the link below...George Dutka

harlem-station.blogspot.com

Erie Magazine 1952

Track plan 1928.