Snapshot Sunday - #32

The first train into Lewistown, Montana on the old “Jawbone” Railroad in 1903. The Montana Railroad (Jawbone) was acquired by the Milwaukee Road in 1908 to help complete it’s transcontinental line.

Snapshot Sunday - #31

Great Northern RDC 2350 at the Great Falls, Montana depot

Snapshot Sunday - #30

Lewistown Flour Mill – 1930’s

Snapshot Sunday - #29

Night shot of the Milwaukee Road Depot in Great Falls, Montana

Snapshot Sunday - # 28

Lewistown yard 1940’s

Snapshot Sunday - #27

Lewistown Oil Refinery at the Brewery Flats area 1940

Snapshot Sunday - #26

Looking west bound on the Milwaukee Road mainline at Martinsdale, Montana in the mid 70’s.

Layout Update - #29

Stock Car Weathering

Photo from http://nickelwiki.pbworks.com/w/page/13276519/Modeling%20NKP%20Stock%20Cars

I have been working on building up the stock car fleet for the layout. There is not much offered in the way of prototypical versions of Milwaukee Road stock cars. The best versions available in kit form are the Westerfield Models 8200 series. These are perfect versions of the 36’ cars the Milwaukee used. In later years a newer 40’ version was constructed. I have one of these kits purchased from somewhere that is waiting for a time I can begin construction. That list never seems to get any shorter!

I have considered scratch building the cars from plans I found in the February 1983 Mainline Modeler article by Al Armitage. The time required to build a decent fleet of these cars would be exhausting. So the alternative is find what else maybe out there to help speed up the process. Walthers Mainline currently offers a nice version of a standard stock in Milwaukee lettering. One of these will be purchased to add to the collection. Even though it is not prototypical.

I was lucky enough to find someone who was selling a set of three Accurail Milwaukee Road stock cars including renumbering decals on the old Yahoo HO yard sale group. I also found a set of three undecorated kits at a train show. These cars are close to the Milwaukee version, but again are based on a standard design. The three Milwaukee decorated kits have been built and decaled with different numbers.

The next challenge is weathering these cars appropriately for the time I’m modeling (1969 -1970). My research shows that the Milwaukee had dropped stock car shipments dramatically between 1966 and 1971. No new cars had been constructed for quite a few years. The cars I do recall seeing in the Harlowton area were very aged and in need of repair. Most of the paint had faded and roof walks were broken and/or missing. With this in mind, I will be giving these cars a very aged, ready for retirement look. Below is an example of my first in the series. Looks like it is ready for the scrap yard, but still able to complete its assignment.

Snapshot Sunday - # 24

Milwaukee Road passenger train at the Great Falls Depot during May 1939

Snapshot Sunday - #22

The Lewistown“Bulldog”
Engine No. 5900 and its twin, No. 5901, are unique among all the diesels operated by the Milwaukee Road. These two engines were the only completely railroad-built diesels to serve on the Milwaukee. Both engines were designed as combination engine-baggage cars. Approximately 85 feet long, the front 35 feet were used for the operators' cab, power equipment, and steam boilers; the rear portion of the engine was for baggage. No. 5900 and No. 5901 were rated at 1,000 horsepower and each was capable of pulling up to five passenger cars at a maximum speed of 75 mph. Both engines were retired in January 1961.

Photo from MILWAUKEE ROAD IN MONTANA Facebook page: Bill Abel

By mid-June 1948, 5901 was out of the shops, and for a while it pulled the Milwaukee – Berlin trains, 30 and 35. 5901 was soon transferred to trains 117 and 118 between Harlowtown and Great Falls, Montana remaining on that job until the trains were discontinued in August 1954. When the northern Montana passenger service ceased, 5901 returned to the Midwest for duty on trains 157 and 158 between La Crosse, WI. and Austin, MN.

Snapshot Sunday - #20 (Actually more than a snapshot)

Could it be? A rusted old hulk of a streamlined Hiawatha steam engine left in some farmers field only to be recently discovered?

Unfortunately the answer is NO.

While searching the internet for images related to the Milwaukee Road, I came across this photo. I had the same thoughts as above. Why hasn’t someone started a preservation project for this? How could such an important engine in Milwaukee Road history be left in a field to rot? After some further investigation, I discovered the following information:

It was built in the Milwaukee Shops as a parade truck in 1941 for the American Legion Convention in Milwaukee, using the styling of the class A Atlantics.

It is still sad that it will probably never be resurrected, but a fascinating find just the same. To learn more about this piece of history you can click on the links below.

http://www.coffeedrome.com/hiawatha2.html

http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MILW/conversations/topics/28357

Sunday Snapshot - #19

A pair of ”Little Joes” in the Harlowton shop tracks.

Snapshot Sunday - #18

Little Joe E75 photographed in Harlowton Yard in the late 70’s

Snapshot Sunday - #17

An unidentified tunnel on the line from Lewistown to Great Falls

This photo and some upcoming photo are from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library posted on Flickr. This collection contains thousands of photos from over 70 railroads from across the United States. It is an amazing collection! Visit the Barriger Collection @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/

Snapshot Sunday - #16

Lewistown Yard looking to the east end and the branch to Heath.

Click on the photo to enlarge.

This photo and some upcoming photo are from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library posted on Flickr. This collection contains thousands of photos from over 70 railroads from across the United States. It is an amazing collection! Visit the Barriger Collection @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/

Layout Update - #23

Geraldine Depot
The next building to complete is the depot at Geraldine, Montana. According to the Geraldine Historical Committee, “The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway completed its line across Montana in 1909 as settlers began to populate rural areas under the Homestead Act. In 1913, a branch line stretching from Harlowton to Great Falls was nearly finished. Midway between Lewistown and Great Falls, the brand-new town of Geraldine, named for the wife of Milwaukee Road financier William G. Rockefeller, anticipated a bright future. The Geraldine Review reported that Milwaukee officials planned to make the town "the show place of the new line." Workers put finishing touches on the only custom built depot on the central branch and a New Year's Eve dance ushered in 1914 christened the building. Its hardwood maple floors were pronounced "splendid." The special design, described as "a rustic bungalow of the California pattern, " featured two waiting rooms, a ticket room, freight room with scales embedded in the floor, nickel trimmed hot blast stoves and a ventilating system that changed the air every five minutes. Geraldine was a busy stopover serving two daily passenger trains and freight crew until passenger service ended in 1955. All the other depots were sold after the Milwaukee's demise in 1980, salvage companies removed the rails from Great Falls-Geraldine section. The non-profit Geraldine Historical Committee acquired the depot from Central Montana Rail in 1995. A model of expert workmanship and quality materials with most original details intact, the depot is still Geraldine's centerpiece and central to the town's history.”

Photo copyright by courthouselover July 2013

Depot Construction
My rendition of the Geraldine depot will not be an exact copy. Depots by John produces a resin kit called the “Country Depot”. This depot is based on Milwaukee Road depots in the mid-west. You can find out about more Milwaukee related building and details by clicking here to visit the Depots By John website. The photo below shows the start of construction with windows and doors already glued in place. These kits are nice to work on. You need to do a lot of sanding and test fitting to make sure everything goes together correctly.


Pay Attention to the Details!
After taking photos of the walls completed so far, I noticed the front wall with bay window had an incorrect window placement. Look at the first photo and see if you can see the problem. Then look at the second photo to see the problem. You can click on the photos to enlarge them.

Several things appeared that I hadn’t really noticed until after the photos.
FIRST: The top of the front wall is not level. It takes a dip down to the bay and then back up again to the end. I took a roof section and placed it in the proper position to see if this would be a problem. After some head scratching, I decided that you would have to plant your face on the layout right next to the depot to see the gap.
SECOND: This is the real reason for the title of this section. PAY ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS! The bay window is on upside down! Not sure where my head was at when I did this, but what is done is done. I considered using a CA debonder to fix the problem. These windows are delicate and would have to order a new set if they become damaged. So I decided that A little cutting and sanding would be a better alternative. The window will not have a sill, but at least it will look correct unless someone notices that the windows are hung upside down. I will have photos of the change in a latter post.

Construction Photos
This is something that I highly recommend to anyone who builds any kind of structure for the layout. A magnetic base to hold all of your pieces in alignment while the glue dries. I purchased a this set at a local train show. The set includes magnets and several 90 degree angles. This tool allows me to quickly assemble two sets of sides and then using the same magnets and angles to make sure the structure is square in the final assembly.

Snapshot Sunday - #14

Stock cars at Martinsdale, Montana. Taken from the top of a line of stocks cars waiting to be loaded.

Snapshot Sunday - #13

The Milwaukee Road’s Great Falls, Montana Depot. Taken from the Central Ave. West bridge.

This photo and some upcoming photo are from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library posted on Flickr. This collection contains thousands of photos from over 70 railroads from across the United States. It is an amazing collection! Visit the Barriger Collection @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/

Snapshot Sunday - #12

A view of the Lewistown depot from the mainline west of the station.

This photo and some upcoming photo are from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library posted on Flickr. This collection contains thousands of photos from over 70 railroads from across the United States. It is an amazing collection! Visit the Barriger Collection @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/

Snapshot Sunday (Tuesday) - #11

Milwaukee Road VO660 at the Harlowton depot with a passenger train bound for the Lewistown and Great Falls. #1635 was the only Baldwin VO660 owned by the Milwaukee Road.

This photo and some upcoming photo are from the John W. Barriger III National Railroad Library posted on Flickr. This collection contains thousands of photos from over 70 railroads from across the United States. It is an amazing collection! Visit the Barriger Collection @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/sets/