Cutting into Woodland Scenics Foam for a Stream

It is fun to experiment with what a model railroad is going to look like by laying out the pieces as parts of the layout come together. I use Tru-Scale roadbed from Trout Creek Engineering on top of the Woodland Scenics foam risers and inclines to create my mountain narrow gauge layout. That is a good combination for hand laid track or flex track.

While constructing the switchbacks for the HOn3 Monarch Branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, I noticed that the switchbacks were parallel and close together. I set up an early-version K-27 to see what things looked like. The lines wouldn't be as exciting as they looked when I drew out the plan on paper. Something needed to be added, but I had already glued down the Woodland Scenics foam for support for the trackage.

The South Branch of the Arkansas River is a significant feature of the Monarch Branch. It could be added, but would require some surgery. I took a marker pen and roughed out where I thought the watercourse should go. I also used a marker to outline the Tru-Scale roadbed around the 20" radius curve. That would make for continuity over the stream after I built the bridge.

Cutting out the Woodland Scenics foam was fast and easy with a Zona Saw. A flat-bladed wall board tool acted as a thin chisel to separate the previously glued-down foam from the plywood table. 

On the two inch foam risers, a little assist was needed from a hammer with gentle taps to separate the foam from the plywood.

After a some clean-up with a sanding block, most traces of the glue were removed and you could hardly tell that the roadbed had been there.

The course of the South Branch of the Arkansas river was starting to appear. Next, there should be some shaping to the stream bottom.

Harrisburg Container Parade

The economy seems to be rebounding and the container traffic is up on the way through Harrisburg on the Norfolk Southern. The timing was good for me to be in a parking garage at N 7th St & Forster St, Harrisburg, PA 17101  and be at just the right height to get some good shots of some of the containers going by.

The SeaLand cars are empty, but they give a good view of how to weather the cars. Most model railroad container trains that I have seen are way too clean. You can really grunge these cars up. I love the track detail in these shots, too. The ties are nearly buried in ballast.

An Amazing Universe

Sometimes I am overwhelmed by the wonderful things that happen to me as a result of music. I've been a train buff as long as I can remember. My Grandfather built an HO layout for me with plaster mountains, a tunnel, two turnouts and a mountain division. I've seen myself in 8mm home movies playing with that layout in my pajamas when I got it for Christmas.  There was a Lionel "Texas Spacial" Alco FA and a Revell F7 in Santa Fe War Bonnet colors.  I remember the Lehigh Valley hopper and a "Radioactive Materials" flat car like they were yesterday. Those two cars are probably in boxes somewhere around the house.

I say all this to put something extraordinary in perspective. Jim Wrinn came to the Steam Into History excursion last Saturday, 27 July 2013. He is the current editor of Trains Magazine - the most important magazine of the railroad industry, as well as a great fan magazine - http://www.trains.com

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Elvis is in the building. He was in disguise with sunglasses and and a jungle hat - admiring Northern Central #17 as she built steam for the day. With some trepidation, I went over and introduced myself. It was easier to meet Vince Gill, but I don't think Jim noticed my "star-struck" glow. Maybe he did, but, Jim was fun to talk with and I soon felt at ease. I needed to prep for the day's performances on the train. Everything has to be portable - meaning strapped to me - so it takes a few minutes. I excused myself and got ready. I was glowing.

As I got to the train, Jim was there taking pictures and he snapped one of me with my concertina, which I use to welcome people aboard and give them that "Happy Feeling". Notice the Trains Magazine lapel pin that Jim gave to me.

After the train got underway, everything became a blur as I hurried about getting acquainted with passengers. I saw Jim at several grade crossings. He must have planned his train chasing. I bet he's a pro - well, actually, he is! After all, Jim is the Editor of Trains Magazine. He was getting photos on a beautiful summer day in York County, Pennsylvania. Visions of international media exposure for the train flashed through my head. People are going to come here in droves. We're already selling out most of the excursions. We'll have to get another locomotive.

As soon as we got to Hanover Junction, PA, I jumped off the passenger coach platform and started playing "Shenandoah" - one of the most well-known songs of the American Civil War. It sets the mood for the passengers to walk around the restored station complex that Abraham Lincoln passed twice - on the way to - and back from - the Gettysburg Address in November 1863. Lincoln also passed there in State on his Funeral Train on his way back to Springfield, Illinois.

Then, in 1876, Terrance Mullins - a character I portrayed on The History Channel - tried to steal Lincoln's Body from his tomb in Springfield. - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1374959/

You see - this all ties together.

It is amazing that this universe has allowed me to do so much - to meet Jim Wrinn - to make music - to play trains - to act on The History Channel - and to work on the railroad that carried Lincoln's Body!

Thank you, Jim Wrinn for visiting our railroad and thank you for forwarding that wonderful picture that you took of me.

Blackstone Models New C-70 D&RG Consolidation

Yesterday, I got the phone call from Tommy Gilbert of Gilbert's Hobbies - http://www.gettysburghobbies.com - that the Blackstone Models D&RG C-70 Consolidation came in. I have been waiting for this model since it was announced.

The version that Blackstone produced is a model of a WWI era narrow gauge locomotive of the type that dominated Colorado narrow gauge from the 1880s until well into the twentieth century. The 2-8-0 locomotive hustled freight and passenger trains out of Salida, Colorado in all directions, including the Monarch Branch, which is the center point of the model railroad that I am building.

When I came in the shop, Tommy had it ready for me. He's changing the configuration of the shop, so his narrow gauge test track is being moved. But, that's okay. Blackstone packs in the locomotive so well that once it is out of the box, it's easier for it to stay out.

I picked out some Polly Scale Paints, a new palette knife, some styrene strips and a Woodland Scenics styrofoam block and I was ready to take a much needed venture into model railroad land at my home - even if only for a little while. 

Unpacking the locomotive carefully, I set it up on some BK Enterprises' ties that I had glued down, but hadn't gotten a chance to ballast and lay rails on. You can see the scratch built trestle to the right of the locomotive starting to come to life. Behind the C-70, the tiny town of Garfield, Colorado is going through an experimental arrangement. On the left is an auxiliary building from the Grandt Line 10 Stamp Mill kit - East Terrible Mill and Mining, customized to be a blacksmith's shop. To the right is the Campbell Scale Models Bunk House "B" which should be on everyone's HO layout.

Here are views of D&RG 401 and D&RGW 347, to give a comparison of the C-70 to the previously released C-19. In the 1920s, there were some phases of reorganization, rebuilding and reclassification. The C-70s became classified C-19 and were renumbered in the process. So, these two photo's represent two sequential eras. It is quite likely that in the mid-1920s, one could see mixed paint schemes as the Denver and Rio Grande was reorganized into the Denver and Rio Grande Western.

I am very pleased with the level of detail on the 401. I have a Westside 1903 K-27 that Tommy will be painting for me. We talked about what scheme that the 1903 K-27 Mikado (2-8-2) should have. Should it match the 401?

There has been a great deal of discussion on the internet about what color that boiler jackets were during this era. There are no color photographs of what the early twentieth century locomotives looked like on the Denver and Rio Grande. So, most discussion centers on a few lines of references in shop instructions and letters from the early twentieth century. Tommy and I think that the boiler jacket would have been a lighter color - maybe green or greenish blue. That assumption comes from the use of Russian Iron.

Russian Iron was imported from Russia and was a high-quality iron that surpassed American technology at the time. American iron before 1900 had varying degrees of quality. But, the Russians had developed a special sheet iron that worked well on boiler jackets. The color was probably lighter than black. Tommy believes that the color was a little lighter than the Pennsylvania Railroad Brunswick Green.

In a posting on UtahRails, the author talks about "Dark Green Locomotive Enamel" that could have been used as late as 1940 to paint D&RGW boilers. This posting is interesting as it gives a lot of detail about the possible green coloring of Rio Grande boiler jackets.

It makes me wonder if the 401 should have a dark green boiler jacket, also. Blackstone Models is located in Durango, Colorado. Since they are at one of the centers of the narrow gauge universe, I have to give them a degree of trust for their color choice for the 401.

But, I think Tommy will be putting a dark green color on the boiler jacket of the 1903 K-27, which will look good - and has a good chance of being very accurate. After the weathering is applied, it should be a star model. Tommy Gilbert is one of the best professional model railroad painters in America.

If you want to read a detailed discussion of sheet iron - and a detailed history of the iron industry in these United States, I highly recommend Robert B. Gordon's book, "American Iron 1607-1900". For anyone interested in the iron side of the railroad industry, this is a fundamental book. It's part of the Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology series.