This is real railroading. There is no circus train passing a marching band on a nearby street. There are no saturated primary colors or eye-catching architectural masterpieces. It’s flat black tankers under dull brown trees, gray gravel, and mud puddles. The shot was taken earlier this year in Old Hickory, TN at what appears to […]
Author: Lmind1
The Plausibility Payoff
A New Boxcar
I needed to get a few “less colorful” cars on the layout. I forgot I had this nice Rapido Columbus & Greenville PC&F B100 in storage. Dug it out and spent the weekend weathering it. Most of the effect was done with a wash of artist oils and mineral spirits. After that dried, I touched […]
Ops 101, Episode 9
Last night I uploaded episode 9 of my Switching Operations 101 YouTube series. In this installment I illustrate how you can get the operational play value of three, reefer served, industries without a single turnout, spur, or structure being needed. I’ve been very appreciative of the clarification and elaboration provided by the professional rails that […]
Big Lost River
I learned an interesting factoid this week, Cryo-Trans reefers all carry individual names much as passenger cars of old did. Pretty cool. Here Cryo-Trans “Big Lost River” sits on The Big Hole Lead on the East Rail 2 layout. The combination of an old iPhone6 and Helicon Focus creates a sense of size and mass. […]
Lessons From A Pro
The following is a guest blog, generously written by Tom Holley, a retired NS conductor. Thanks Tom! I thought I might, if you don’t mind, walk you through a typical pick up of a car. I worked for Norfolk Southern, so the rules I use are the rules in effect when I worked. Other railroads’ […]