I guess I will start us off.

Here's a cell phone pic of my new turntable. It looks like I'm going to have a cool new photo spot on my layout.

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I'm curious to find out what magazines people here subscribe to. Not get at the library or flip through in the checkout line, but actually pay for. So, what do you folks still get?

An Athearn RTR BNSF GP35 #2501 in heritage paint scheme with the new motor arrived this week. I was curious how the new motor improves the driving noise. Not much, at least not for my sensitive ears...
The shell got transplanted on a Kato GP35 drive, LED lights added, the cab roof cleaned, the small radiator fan removed, ditch lights added ,new road numbers added and a layer of dull coat. That makes a very smooth running GP39V. The 2962 is the only BNSF GP39V I could find in heritage paint scheme and the front light in the cab. Similar engines (2965 pine green with white front) are used by BNSF at the Cermak Rd in Chicago.

It is a quite simple conversion for the none professionals like me among us

Thought I'd kick this week's thread off with a couple of pics of some scrap metal loads made from painted pencil shavings. I've seen a couple of members use this technique and thought I'd give it a try!

I have received an email from Stein's widow. Was greatly pleased to hear from her. For those of you who don't know, Stein was a highly respected and knowledgeable member from Norway, with N. American connections, whose impact on this forum was considerable. He had an untimely and sad passing that was very sudden for such a young family man in October of 2012. I will let Lora's comments speak for themselves, as follows:

Hi, Crandell --

I'm afraid that the demands of coping with Stein's loss kept me from
replying to your kind e-mail and kind comments on the forum.

In October we passed the one-year mark. It was a year with many firsts -
first Christmas without Stein, first summer vacation without Stein,
etc. The year generally went okay, but it hasn't been easy and I miss him
more each day.

A couple people on the Model Railroader forum commented that they had
gotten private messages from Stein that made them laugh all day. It would
be fun to see an example, although maybe it's railroad humor that I
wouldn't understand. I don't know if you can get a message to them or not
(..names of two forumites...).

People on the forum naturally wondered how he died. It happened suddenly
in the night, and the symptoms point to a blood clot in the lung. There
was no autopsy. He had had a tough time that fall, with problems in both
legs - gout, injury and infection in a series of combinations. He'd get a
little better, than worse again. For a few days, he even needed a
wheelchair, So much inactivity, combined with a knee injury, probably
created the conditions for the blood clot.

That fall he did a lot of working from home, either sitting or lying down
in bed. The weekend he died, he actually seemed better. He had been to
work on Friday for the first time in a couple weeks (though his co-workers
thought he should have stayed home). He was also pottering around outside
on the porch that weekend. So it came as a shock when he called out for me
in the middle of the night. I was able to talk to him for awhile before he
collapsed waiting for the ambulance. The neighbor and I tried CPR but to
no avail.

Feel free to share this on the forum if you'd like, and thank everyone for
their messages of sympathy back in 2012.

Yours
Lora Rypern

[end of text]

-Crandell

I was intrigued by a subject that came up on another thread, the amount of box car traffic on contemporary US railroads. I realized I had a series of shots of every car on a BNSF manifest from 6 weeks or so ago, the MWCLBAR, a transfer from UP at West Colton to BNSF at Barstow, largely empties, but a cross section of what comes in and out of Los Angeles: 87 cars total, box cars 3, covered hoppers 48, tank cars 31, auto racks 4, centerbeam flats 1.

There will naturally be regional differences, and the economy probably explains how few centerbeams are in the train. But it should give an idea to anyone who thinks a generic warehouse with boxcars resembles anything like contemporary railroad traffic sources.

The Rocky Mountain Toy Train Show is coming Saturday and Sunday, March 1st & 2nd, 2014 at the Denver Mart in Denver, Colorado.

You’ll find 2-12 acres of trains ranging from antique American Flyer and Lionel to modern HO and N scale. This event features 30 operating train layouts, manufacturer and hobby store displays, a marketplace of over 600 tables of trains for sale, how-to clinics and appraisal opportunities for your old trains.

The manufacturers showcase has been significantly expanded to include Bachmann Trains, Lionel, MTH Electric Trains, Walthers, Intermountain Railway, ESU, Carstens Publishing, Soundtraxx, Blackstone Models, LGB/Marklin, San Juan Car Company, Ross Custom Switches, Fun & Games, Evan Designs, Stoddarts Ltd, Iwata and Grasstech USA. Come see the newest products from these national manufacturers.


Adult admission is $9; children under 12 and active military personnel with ID are free. Admission is good for both days. Parking is Free. The Denver Mart is located at 451 East 58th Avenue in Denver, Colorado- I-25 at 58th Avenue exit. Show hours are 10 am to 5 pm both days.

Full show details may be found online at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.RockyMountainToyTrainShow.com">www.RockyMountainToyTrainShow.com</a><!-- w -->.