Hi Eric,
been running trains all day, so been a great day! It's great to have a theme and to stick with it. The OR&L was a mighty interesting operation during the war. Passenger traffic had declined before the war, and many wooden coaches were converted to haul canned pineapple. When the war broke out, and with the influx of military personnel needing transportation, these cars were converted back to coaches! OR&L had some big Alco 2-8-2's that were nearly identical to Rio Grande's 470 class. Fun railwayto model, and for inspiration!
For me, anything Swiss, or Colorado N.G. will fit in....
But may expand to Western Europe to include some other trains I would like to have......French and German.....
Paul
Thanks, Paul. I've marshalled my budget towards box cars this year to better emualte how the OR&L did business. I have a really battered one I am going to give the full treatment in the future (a failied locomotive project put me back 6 months), to include a paint job, but the rest I plan to leave stock. The OR&L had a standardized color scheme and clearly no interchange with any other non-plantation railroads, but I like a little color variation out on the tracks. Also, during WWII, the government sent 3' equipment from across the country to O'ahu to help in the war effort, so, I am still true to my goal to "take the strategic guide" off the OR&L!
Have a great weekend!
Eric
Eric,
great looking cars! Makes for a nice train.
Piko seems intriguing to me: they only made buildings back in the day,always wanted to give them a try....
So far, so good....pretty happy with this little tank engine.
Paul,
Looking good! I am favorable impressed with our PIKO "Clean Machine," and I am considering retiring my B'mann 10-wheeler in favor of a PIKO mini-mogul, funds permitting. The B'mann has been a maintenance hog.
I had a first, too, in the form of a USA Trains woodside box care I picked up used, but new in box.
It is the grey one just behind the Mogul. A used-but-NIB LGB boxcar bought at the same time follows, and they compare quite favorably.
https://lavidaloco.Shutterfly.com/
Bought my first Piko engine! They weren't around back in the day, came on the scene much later. It's a smooth runner, good value for the money. Not as rugged as LGB construction, but I'm quite happy with it!
I can easily see picking up another engine or 2 !
Lovin' it!
Thanks! It's a great hobby,havin' fun. Run it every weekend!
I was at it again last night. Two great running engines, the LGB Forney, and the Spectrum Mogul. The Forney was purchased in '96, it's run great all these years, and never needed anything, except it has already gone through 3 smoke units.
The Mogul ran great for 12 years, then broke it's main gear( it was actually my fault). I sent it in to Bachmann, and there was an issue during surgery. They asked if I wanted a new engine instead! They gave me a new engine for the cost of a repair! That's great service! So that's my Bachmann story !https://nighttrains.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Thanks, guys! Just having fun playing trains... Morning or night, doesn't matter to me.
But yes, the light at certain times of day can add some interesting shadows and light things up from the side. Back in my railfan days we loved the " Golden Hour" right before sunset. Just hope the train shows up....
Thanks for the photos.
Another nice thing about early morning, or late evening, is that the shadows and slanted sunlight add an interesting feel to the photos.
York1 John
Another great time to run in the middle of Summer is early mornings. Run afew, relax, then pack it up by 9:30 before it gets hot. Here's today's morning train. Great way to start the day !
https://topofthemorningtoyou.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Very nice, Paul! It is interesting how all of our "errors" disappear at dusk and all that remains are our railroads. We just had a delightful evenign run ourselves. Sorry..forgot to get out the camera!
It was well over 100 degrees today, so my operating session didn't start until well after 7. But the coolness of the evening is quite welcome, plus, the night trains with all the lighting looks fantastic! Another dimension....https://nightmovesgardenins.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Hi John!
The story about the elephant? It was a train show special, and I just liked the way it looks as a flatcar load. That's about it. Another flatcar has a model car that was my daughter's. When she grew up and no longer wanted it... flatcar load! Sometimes you just use what you have....
Love the pictures.
I haven't read through this whole thread, so if you've answered this, sorry. I wondered about the elephant.
Looks like a lot of fun running this.
A long and heavy narrow gauge train for Memorial Day!These cars are 1:20.3 and have metal trucks. Quite a pull!
https://shaydiesel.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Thanks Eric!
You seem to get my jokes, such as they are.....
I will say I am really enjoying this little railroad. There's a saying, I need to paraphrase:
" Even the worst day fishing beats the best day at work".( something like that, anyway).
And so it is running trains outdoors...Lovin' it!
Postwar Paul Resistance is Futile.....
Resistance is Futile.....
You haven no idea...
Yes,I picture the bier train running behind the Stainz, or the Zillertal.
When my mom passed, we had to clear out her house, many cuckoo clocks were donated. Wish I had held onto a few now. I can picture using the top portion as a " prop" to help create atmosphere. It's just an idea that hit me one day.
As far as this being the last locomotive....
I had to look up "The Crawling Eye." Sounds like a classic!
As for your new motive power...ummm....Wow! What a beauty! I'd save the "Bierzug" for you U-Lok, though! This one looks too good with its contemporary consist!
Cuckoo clocks would be cool. Take a look for used PLAYMOBIL, too, as they have an "Alpine line" of buildings. Any would be a good starting point. Even here, they occassionally come on the market used at a reasonable price.
P.S. I'll bet a beverage this is not your last locomotive!
Resistance is futile.......got a great deal on this Ge4/4 11. With this, I am maxed out on motive power due to storage space.
Ideas in my mind:
1. assembling a train of Eurpean Bier cars
2. Finding Cuckoo clocks at yards sales, and using the buiding portion.
3. Modeling"the CrawlingEye" for the top end.(this movie gave me nightmares when I was a kid.)It IS supposed to be set in Switzerland, after all.
We'll see....
Paulhttps://rhbarosa.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
It's true: any changes in the track effects everything. Always have to go back and test everything, especially the finicky pieces. TheMars Rover is Hilarious!
I thought I was the only one that had to test every last bit of equipment any time a change was made! Oh, and you should add small Mars rover as a small gag... I try to integrate broken fencing swords into things as a running joke.
of course, any time I make any changes, I need to track test every piece of equipment....
it's a hard job, but somebody has to do it....https://chillinyo.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Here's the latest:
it's like a garden railway....on Mars.....https://theredplanet.shutterfly.com/#%3aemid%3dsite_sitecreated%26cid%3dSHARE3SXXXX
Eric, that makes sense. I am " old school", plus, our delivery guys tend to chuck our packages over the fence....
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