How about a nice, compact uranium refinery on the outskirts of your small, mountain town? This is an aerial view of the Cotter Plant on the outskirts of Canon City, Colorado. It is served by a rail spur out of Canon City.

Infamous fugitive Ronnie Biggs of the Great Train Robbery of 1963 was released from prison today on "compassionate grounds". Biggs' health has been ailing, and he has been freed from prison to face his imminent death from pneumonia.

CNN story

How common was it back in the old days (1900s-1930s) for a railroad company to acquire trackage from another railroad that had become defunct and bank-owned? I'm working on writing the history for my freelanced road, and I want to ensure some degree of accuracy.

Hey Guys,

Im making this post to show off some new straps i5 got in the mail from one of our own members here, Combat. He made these straps on his own and were working together on coming up with some lengths and prices for these straps. Still a work in progress here, but hopefully soon he will be selling these

These straps could be used on trucks, flatcars, gondolas, pretty much all light loads on anything you can put a load in/on. I had a Ford Aeromax and a 48' Spread Axle Aluminum Flatbed Trailer loaded with some construction materials that had been loaded some time ago, i had just glued the loads to the trailer deck, and this was the perfect thing for the test on these straps.

Well i got to gluing them on, and i think personally they look great and look pretty dang realistic. Combat has made some for me in Black and Yellow, the 2 most common colors ive seen used to tie down loads on trucks. Here are some pics of what i did with my trailer/load and the straps












I used CA glue to glue one side down, and then when it dried after a few seconds i stretched it over to the other side of the trailer over the load and glued over on the other side.

I found it was easiest if some excess was left on either side of the gluing point like shown here:



This made it easier to get it tight because you could pull the end, and your fingers wouldnt get stuck and dry to the trailer with the strap LOL. After both sides were dry, i simply took some flush cutters and snipped off the excess on either side of the trailer so the straps were flush with the bottom of the trailer deck.

Anyways, just thought i would share a cool new product thats coming soon from Combat

Some of you may remember this from the "other forum".

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Well, recently I had computer problems and lost some files that I didn't back up. :oops: One of the files was the plans for this building that I had bought at Scalescenes.
I took a chance and e-mailed the company, and they sent me a replacement file . That is what I call customer service, and they will definitely get my business again. It's nice to find a company that treats it's customer's right, instead of constantly trying to milk your wallet.

Loren

Is anyone going to the 2009 Muskoka Rails show this weekend in Bracebridge?

We will be there both days and would love to meet anyone from Big Blue.

This building, now a flower shop, was once a station for the Big Four railroad. Across the street is a freight house, which is now home to a small model railroad club. If my research is correct, this was a passenger depot that was built in 1866. At one time, there were service shops nearby, but they closed in 1930.

The rails in this photo are currently owned by CSX.



And as it once looked. This photo was taken around the time of the infamous 1913 flood, that claimed several lives in Delaware.

BLI HAS ANNOUNCED THE CENTEPEDES
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I pre-ordered my pair. Can you tell I'm happy. I'll be happier when they arrive.
Charlie

As some of you might know, I’m thinking of expanding my small 3x5’ layout by adding a 13” wide by 3’ long section.

Since the layout is made up of insulation foam, I simply need to obtain a small piece of insulation board. I could spend $20 buying a new one of these but thought I would try doing it on the cheap first.

Does anyone have any suggestions where I might find some scrap foam board? I’m checking off and on at my local Home Depot. I guess construction sites, renovated houses, etc., might be good sources?

Thanks,
Rob