I'm curious what type of covered hoppers were roaming the rails in the mid 50s, specifically for plastic pellet service and who were the major carriers for this commodity in that time frame. Any information would be appreciated.

Today is Pearl Harbor Day.

Remember it.

I've been thinking of putting together some Erie and Erie Lackawanna equipment. So far, all I have is an Erie rs3 but would like to pair that with 3 or 4 stillwell passenger cars. <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tubbs/ErieLackawanna/Passenger65.jpg">http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ances ... nger65.jpg</a><!-- m --> I'm looking to paint my own cars using tru-color paints but I'm not sure if "Erie green" or "Pullman green" is a better match, if anyone has some insight on the correct color.
I'd also like to do an Erie 4-6-0 , a GP7 and a caboose to go with it. As for EL, I want to do an nw2 and gp9 and cabooses for each of those.

I just ran into this video on a different site and thought I would share with you guys. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HVElhNtZOQ

Dave

Now for part 2.

For part two, I will be getting this years Christmas train ready for it's round and round trip under the tree.
This years power will be a BLI New York Central Hudson. I bartered Toptrain out of this one over Thanksgiving, he got it as a parts engine from a hobby shop for next to nothing. The sound unit, DCC equipment, and smoke unit had been removed in order to repair another one by the hobby shop where he got it from. So now she is a silent, straight DC unit with out any of the BLI goodies.    

I gave the J-1 a test run this morning and discovered a few issues with it.
-First off she had a terrible squeak coming from her drivers, some oil took care of that.
-The plastic coal load looks like it was modeled after one found on O-gauge Lionel tender, that will have to go.
-The tenders pick-up for power was removed with the other guts when she was parted out. This leaves only the drivers grabbing power from the rail. This system is lackluster at best. she stalled repeatedly on good clean track, where other engines with dirty wheels ran without problems.
-Both the headlight and backup lighting were also removed, this will have to be replaced.
-And she had a HORN HOOK on the tender! That will have to go.
   
- A crew may be in order as well as some weathering.
Then I will also get the passenger equipment ready.

WPMA-40 runs thru Chestnut Neck while the Mannheim to Camden transfer WPMA-51 passes on the outer track.

Bruce

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Well since I was the who asked about a challenge I probably should participate =)

I had a few structure projects sitting around and I was having a hard time figuring out why I have not finished them. Many of them just need a little work and some final touches, but the main thing was they had no place to actually go. I have also been wanting to take picture of some of my other projects, like freight cars, but have not had a suitable backdrop for pictures. I decided that they best way to get the most projects completed and motivate me to work on other projects was to build a display/photography module. The plan is to have it fully wired and able to allow a locomotive to move over it, this will also allow me to test equipment while I am programming.

So the basic structure will consist of a 48" long by 18" module that will be supported by some wall brackets. The backdrop will then rest along the back edge being held in place by the module, If I decide to change the scene I can pull the back drop and put in a different one later. I have also designed the module to be able to be expanded at a later date by adding additional modules. I also have attempted to design them so that if I wanted to I could salvage the module and incorporate it into a Free-mo module in the future.

I've been throwing around the idea of putting together some EL equipment. I'm looking to do a caboose closest to the prototype in the link <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1005750">http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1005750</a><!-- m --> not necessarily this exact caboose but that type. I'm not familiar with cabooses so if anyone knows what kind it is and can point me in the right direction with a model that if isn't exact it's close enough to get the idea.

I hope this is the correct location for this question. I was looking at a soldering station on eBay and I thought before I purchased this I would see if anyone here has any experience with this station.

The station is made by YiHua and is going for $20. I know this is cheap but for the little I solder I thought it could be a deal. Just like to hear what others may know about it first.

The item is located http://www.ebay.com/itm/YiHua-936-Rework...SwjVVVkOxA.

Thank you.
Dave