When are details too much? This is a question that has been bouncing around my head for a while now. I like details. Grab irons, ladders, brake lines, etc. do make cars look great. However, at what point to they become an impediment to operating the car or locomotive.

My models are meant to be run. That is why I have a layout. I want to see trains running. As a result, my equipment will be handled. I will admit at times I can be a member of the Big Clumsy Finger Club. Perhaps that is why most of my fleet of cars are Athearn, Roundhouse, Accurail, and Atlas. There are some others such as Intermountain, Red Caboose, and Proto2000. 

The Athearn, Roundhouse, Accurail, and the majority of the Atlas cars are rock solid. Granted they may lack details but I can usually operate and handle them with little worries of something being damaged or fall. The only exception is some of the Atlas Master Line cars particularly the tank cars. Some of the parts on them are so delicate they break when touched. The couplers on the last batch I got were terrible. They were I think McHenry and the type used on tank cars that prevent uncoupling in the real world (I can’t remember what they are called). Every car had at least one coupler fail/break when the car was being used. I finally had to replace all the couplers with Kadee #5’s which was a chore. Access to the coupler pocket was restricted by delicate details and just figuring out how to hold the car so the work could be done was a challenge. Needless to say many detail parts had to be repaired.

Intermountain and Proto2000 cars are better. They have the details, but I have few problems with them. Granted I only have covered hoppers, boxcars, and gondolas. I have been able to weather them and run them with very few problems. I don’t think I have had to repair any details on the Intermountain and the few I have done on the Proto2000 cars were the results of clumsiness.

This brings me to Red Caboose. Their ready to run cars are beautiful with a plethora of details. However, they are delicate as China dolls in my opinion. Every time I take one out or run it something falls off or breaks it seems. In addition, for all the high-end details they use McHenry couplers! Changing the couplers is an exercise in frustration and patience as you have to navigate several delicate details to access the coupler pockets. While I like the look of the cars I do not think I will buy any more due to the delicate nature of the cars.

Thanks for listening to my rant.

Hello,

it was in January 2021, an age of strictliest and darkest lockdown here.








When i found an unforeseeable offer. I puchased this little loco and it was like just a kind of late x-mas gift for me.


Lutz

A CN consist is climbing ist' way throgh the Rockies.


Lutz

Many of you know I ran a little short line railroad before I retired on 1/1/2010. It was more or less a one employee operation with my wife serving as my brakeman/conductor and a number of excellent volunteers. I remain friends to this day with the ones that are still living.  I met many knowledgeable railroaders in the 14 years I worked there, and they were kind enough to pass along stories and advice that I shall never forget. 
     I also met Dr Wayne, Sgt Carl, and CN Nutbar from this forum. Some of my volunteers are also active here, Railcop and CSI guy are 2 of them.     (CSI guy is on the left, railcop to the right) 

We ran a little tourist operation in addition to switching scrap from Allegheny Ludlum Bagdad plant.  The railroad was bought by Cliff Forest, owner of Rosebud mining in 2005. Just after I retired he finally got all his ducks in a row and built 9 miles of track north along the  Allegheny River to service a coal mine he had opened in 1998. They called me in October 2011 because they were having a party to celebrate the opening of the line and they wanted me to have the honor of running the first "passenger" train over the track.     I was really touched but not surprised because Cliff Forest is the best person I ever worked for, and I did have some fabulous bosses over my lifetime. 

       About 4 years ago the war on coal finally took the need for the mine so it was mothballed after only 130 trains. Natural gas played a big role because the power plants are being converted to natural gas.  Shortly after that the mill closed and ATI would not or could not find a buyer so all that was left was 3 car loads a month of cattle feed which would hardly pay the bills. Car storage was a big help but then the last straw was the bridge was taken out of service due to needing extensive repairs.  I was always hoping it would survive, but it never came about and the end is now publicized. 

Kiski Junction Railroad closes
Corridor explored for recreational trail
BY MARY ANN THOMAS
While the owner of the Kiski Junction Railroad is finalizing its closure, a Gilpin supervisor is proposing converting the railroad corridor into a recreational trail.
Rosebud Mining, which owns the 165-year-old short line, is closing the railroad for good, according to the company’s president, Jim Barker. The railroad has been a popular tourist attraction for years in the fall with its antique locomotive and cherry red riding cars. But its main business — hauling freight — was spotty in recent years.
The short line transported material from the now-shuttered Allegheny Technologies Inc.’s Bagdad plant in Gilpin and coal from Rosebud’s Logansport mine in Bethel Township.
“It’s sad,” Barker said. “We appreciate all of the volunteers and the people who enjoyed riding it.”
In 2018, Rosebud waited to abandon the short line, holding out hope that some business would emerge at ATI’s Bagdad plant in Gilpin.
Then, the company decided to close the railroad because it didn’t need it for hauling coal anymore, Barker said.
The company is reclaiming the mine in Logansport and Kelly Station in Bethel and is in the process of filling it in. Additionally, the railroad bridge that spans the Kiski River from Schenley to Allegheny Township can no longer bear the weight of modern-day trains hauling coal, Barker said.
Some of the rail equipment was sold to the Everett Railroad Co. in Blair County, Barker said.
“If people have interest, I suggest that they look up the Everett Railroad and go for a ride there and help keep them in business,” he said.
The rail line has a history of change from a segment of the Pennsylvania Main Line Canal to a rail line for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Maybe the short line’s next stop will be a recreational trail.
In addition to the estimated 4 miles of track from Schenley to Bagdad, Rosebud extended the line with a 9-mile spur connecting the railroad’s base in Schenley to the mine in Bethel.
Gilpin Supervisors Chairman Charlie Stull, who said he is sad to see the train go, said the rail line corridor could connect to the Armstrong Trail in Manor.
“The railroad has been a huge staple in the township for many years,” Stull said. “I hope we can find another use for it.”
Stull is exploring bringing in a rails-to-trail from Schenley to Manor and possibly re-purposing the railroad bridge over the Kiski to hook up to the Tredway Trail in Allegheny Township. Also, the Gilpin section of the trail could serve as a vital link for the Erie to Pittsburgh trail, he said.
Stull said he is in “very preliminary” discussions with Armstrong Trails on the idea.
Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

So there you have it.  The end of an era for me, but the fond memories and the friendships will last my lifetime.  We had a good run, we did it right, and I learned a lot about the workings of a railroad as well as the politics involved.

Charlie

Just was looking though some of the “new releases” and ads in MRR and the Walther’s flyer. It brought me to thinking, could I afford to get into the hobby if I had to start over from scratch?  I ask you all to think about it, what would you do if you had to start over again, would you and at what level?

20 years ago, I bought some brand new closeout DC diesel engines for less than $20 each, flex track was going for around $1.50, cars could be had for a few dollars each and a decent kit was less than $10. I went all-out one day and spent $80 on an Atlas diesel. Today, N scale DC is now starting at well over $100, and  double that with DCC and sound.  I see HO engines in the $400 range. When I started my new layout two years ago, I could buy a sheet of 1/2” plywood for around $20. Today we’re talking $65, with flex track running $3.50 each in bulk. Even our hobby magazine has more than doubled in price in 20 years, and has half the pages.

So what would I do today, could I start over and stay in the hobby? And how about you? Please, take the poll (check as many as you feel is appropriate), and  feel free to comment. I don’t always know what I’m talking about, maybe things are keeping up with the inflation rate, but I really doubt it.

I got a real surprise the other day, I good friend sent me a GoldRush Bay model of a general store. Impressive details done with a 3D printer, something you can't get any other way. I already have two general stores on my layout (think: early 7-11), but I have been looking for an old store that I can use for an art shop. Every member of my immediate family has a business on my layout except my son's MIL. She is an artist and so a fitting business would be art supplies. I have a bit of work to do in order for that to happen, but I'm about to give it a shot. As you can see, I've already did some experimenting with how this model will take paint, I do intend to work on the interior as well since that was included in the package.

I thank my friend profusely, I will do my best to do it justice. I'm doing this in a separate thread mainly because I haven't a clue where this is going, and I hope to at least take some photos as I think my way through to where I hope to wind up.

This is how it looks as I got it, minus the brown paint that I'll probably prime coat over anyway.

   

   

Her sign:
   

I’m guessing most spammers (especially bots), won’t read this, or even care, but I just want everyone to know what we’re dealing with behind the scenes, plus it relieves my aggressions just a bit.

I feel better already....

A pair of SD40-2's power WPMA-61, the daily transfer run from Camden to Mannheim Yard.

Bruce

   

I guess I start off this week

A pair of SD40T-2's pull a string of hoppers across the Sub...

A big thanks to all of you who entered this challenge. Everyone did a fantastic job on their projects and several of you have done more than one. Although a few said they could not complete their projects, it doesn't matter, everyone that entered did something and that was the idea to start with. So I'm listing everyone who entered here so that you may choose which entries you think deserve your vote. You may vote for as many of them that you wish. Vote for one, vote for a few, or if you can't make up your mind, vote for them all... just vote, please. The polls will close about the time I've finished my second cup of coffee on the morning of July 11th.
 
Note that all names are in alphabetical order, and you can click on them if you wish to review their entry thread.

Please, PM me if I screwed up and misspelled a name, have a wrong link or (heaven forbid), missed anyone that entered. My record along these lines aren't the best, although I do occasionally get it right.