Vacation Time - October 2011

October is traditionally the time of year we vacation at our time-share condo in Island Park, Idaho. This month is mostly taken up with planning and preparation for the trip, winterizing the yard and a little time left for layout work.

Vacation Photos
Yes I’m going to bore you with the tradition photos from our vacation. Fall came late during our visit this year. Usually the leaves have all fallen and the temperatures are very cool. We have had up to 12” of snow during our visit. This year was spectacular for photos.

Click on the photo for a larger view.

Layout Acquisitions
Part of the the vacation trip is a drive to Billings, Montana to visit a brother. No visit would be complete without a visit to one of the best micro breweries in the west. If you get a chance stop by the Montana Brewing Company for some good food and great beer. While in Billings a stop at Jims Junction Hobby Shop is a must. Visit their website here: Jims Junction. This a great shop, he carries a lot of Milwaukee Road and Great Northern merchandise and is very friendly. This year I acquired a few thing for the layout.

The toolshed will be used as a speeder shed for Denton. The Swift meat packing plant building will be modified to used a freight house for the Great Falls area.

Actual Layout Work
I did manage to get some layout work done during October. I completed the other bridge abutment on the Red Coulee bridge. Also managed to get scenery forms started to use as a guide for the bridge supports.

Rail fanning the Nevada Northern - September 2011

How I spent my summer vacation
With me having a few vacation days to use up before they were lost, we decided to spend some time exploring a tourist railroad in Ely, Nevada. First a little history of the railroad.

The Northern Nevada Railroad
Ely was named in honor of Smith Ely, president of the Selby Copper Mining & Smelting Co.; which was founded on the site of the present Ely's City Hall in 1878. By 1902 extensive copper deposits were found in the area. Mark Requa, son of a wealthy Comstock silver magnate, owned the Eureka & Palisade Railroad, a narrow gauge in Eureka. Requa was interested in bolstering the sagging economy of the E&P and explored the local copper properties at Ely. He organized the White Pine Copper Company - constructing a route that would require 140 miles of track construction. In 1904 White Pine Copper Co. merged into other mining properties and organized as the Nevada Consolidated Copper Co.
In 1983, the White Pine Historical Railroad Foundation was organized to receive, administer, and develop an operating railroad museum. Kennecott made substantial donations consisting of: over 32 miles of track, East Ely Complex of machine shops, roundhouse, yards, and rolling stock as well as the McGill Depot.
In September of 1986, Engine #40 was steamed up for the first time since 1964 and pronounced to be in perfect mechanical condition. A new era thus was born as the newly dubbed "Ghost Train of Old Ely" began chugging along once familiar rails to thrill generations.

The Train Ride
The ride from the station to Keystone and back lasts about 2 hours. You have a choice of riding in the coaches, caboose (extra charge), or the open air car with benches. The day we were there, they used SD-9 #204 to pull the train. A steam engine is used on the weekend runs.

Along the route they give you a narrative on the history of the area and the railroad. A conductor who walks the train also will point out some of the interesting sites along the line. This included pointing out the two active brothels in Ely. The ride is very interesting and fun.

When we returned to Ely, you can leave the train and take a tour thru the locomotive shops where they are restoring and doing maintenance work. Bob (pictured below in the blue vest), was a great tour guide.  He explained in detail the history of the locomotives they are currently working on. He explained a lot of the specialized machinery that they use to make repairs or build parts for the engines. A very interesting tour.

After the tour of the locomotive shops
When the tour had completed, you are encouraged to explore the rest of the museum grounds. They have many interesting examples of the types of equipment used during the railroads working days.

A journey to the model railroaders “mecca”

On a recent trip to travel Colorado, I had the opportunity to visit Caboose Hobbies in Denver. This is an amazing place. Well worth the time if you are in the area. I considered it a “Mecca” for model railroaders. They have numerous long isles with almost anything you would need. You can visit their website at www.caboosehobbies.com .



I not sure who that strange person in this photo is. (Of course, I’m talking about the guy in the yellow shirt)

Just one of the many isles in the store. Here we have an entire isle of books and magazines.

They have numerous small display layouts through out the store. All of the layouts are well detailed and a pleasure to look at. We arrived on Sunday the 4th of July and the store was open for only 5 hours. We could easily have spent more time there.

Along with track and some small parts, that I have not been able to pick-up locally in Utah, I purchased a couple of cars that I have been searching for. First is this unusual paint scheme for a cylindrical covered hopper car. Here is some information I found on the car:
“One of the most unusual and eye-catching cylindrical hoppers ever seen. One side of the car is covered with a large graphic that shows exactly what the car carries: the car is in effect a billboard on wheels! The opposite remains in its standard design and color, in this case a gray potash hopper with red lettering. The car was shopped at Montreal's St Charles shops in January 1971. The special paint scheme was part of CN's visual redesign program to make the public more aware of the ever-expanding role of freight transportation in the life of all Canadians and to emphasize the quality and diversity of CN freight service. The ''rainbow'' or ''LifeSavers'' car has seven rainbow stripes and a printed chemical formula for the bulk commodity chemical it carries.”
"The chemical formulation OCN(CH2)6NCO is Hexamethylene Diisocyanate. The product is used to produce a polymer when combined with Butanediol which is a crystal. The product is used in the production of plastics. Hexamethylene Diisocyanate is also used in the production of enamel paints and gives it that hard shiny surface for a more durable finish and is used in automotive and aircraft paint."

The other car is a special paint scheme the Milwaukee Road used on a few cabooses that were used for the Building and Bridges department. Shown below is an actual photo of the car.

 
Photo by Mike Sosalla 1985

Loot Day – December 25, 2009

Santa Really Does Exist
Actually that should be Christmas Day, but I always look forward to the “loot” I receive for the railroad.

The year was really good! My wonderful family got together and purchased a NCE PowerCab for the layout. They just let me borrow it.

The NCE PowerCab is a digital command control (DCC) station to run trains with. Each locomotive on the layout has a decoder added to the motor to control it. The command station sends a signal to the locomotive to do various things like going forward, backward, speed up, slow down, turn on the head light and other things.

I should have been a hand model.

I also received a new addition to my Lego train collection. Always a fun way to spend Christmas day building a new Lego piece.

Other loot that I received included a scale truck for the upcoming farm scene, track laying tools, weathering powders for structures and rolling stock and gift certificate to a local hobby shop. Thanks family for keeping my addiction going.

Family Fun - August 2009

Again, Why I don’t do construction for a living
The month of August was spent working on kitchen and bath remodel for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. My wife's brothers came in and the majority of the remodel was completed in 8 days. My wife and I then spent additional weekends doing the finish work.