611 Rides Again PT3

And now, a (brief) video of 611 pulling last week's train forward for boarding...

Steam rides again!

611 Rides Again, Pt2

More of the 611's cars...

Two cars, lettered for the "Powhatan Arrow", both owned by NS.

The Iowa, one of five cars named for states. Along with the previously mentioned Tennessee, were the Louisiana (behind) and the New Jersey (in front).

And the New York, the fifth car named after a state. Note too, that she is also a Budd-built car. Since the NS business car fleet (of which these cars are part of) is Tuscan Red with a black roof, this car was painted to match; originally, she was shiny, unpainted stainless steel!

Another "Powhatan Arrow" car, but not owned by NS; note the WATX reporting marks. This is a privately owned car, as are the rest of the cars in the train. 

A contrast between two stainless steel cars. Note the cleanliness of the Southern car, as compared to the New York Central car behind it.

Again, the ragged, rusty appearance of the New York Central car. Even in the waning days of the Central, their cars would not have looked this bad! Hopefully, this car will receive some much-needed TLC after the 611's fan trips are over. 

This car is a "Fantasy Scheme". While the Northern Pacific did, indeed have dome cars, this is not the correct paint scheme -the roof should be dark green, and the light green should go from just below the windows (where the white stripe should be) to the bottom of the car. The "CB&Q" marks are also out of place, and none of NP's domes were named, let alone with CB&Q-style lettering! On the other hand, while inaccurate, the colors do look good on what I believe is an ex-Great Northern car. And since all three railroads merged in 1972 to form the Burlington Northern, one could consider this to be a "Heritage Scheme" paint job!

Another dome car is this ex-Great Northern "Great Dome". Distinguished from the Santa Fe's similar "Big Domes" by the lack of fluting along the sides the Great Domes ran on -and were lettered for- the Empire Builder, which ran between Chicago and Seattle/Portland. The Prairie View is now owned by the Iowa Pacific.

The final car in the train may be the most exclusive: an ex-Seaboard Air Line Sun Lounge sleeper! Hollywood Beach is one of only three cars built in 1956 for the Silver Meteor. The lounge area is distinguished by the huge windows and roof top skylights. These cars were the closest thing to a dome to enter the tunnels into New York City!

611 Rides Again Pt.1

The Norfolk and Western J class 611 is in Lynchburg this week for two excursion trips, today and tomorrow.

Here she sits in the shop for some prep work.

Since the are no longer any coaling towers left for her to use, her supply is being carried in gondolas, and loaded with this backhoe.

Her she is, getting a final once-over while steaming up.

The crowd of riders gather by the tracks. I thought the train would load the passengers at Kemper Street Station, but instead they boarded in Montview Yard. I believe that the train length -19 cars- was too great for Kemper Street's platform.

The Queen after pulling the train forward.

The water tender, which is actually owned by the Virginia Museum of Transportation. Behind it is a baggage car, which is being used as a supply/support car for the 611.

Behind the baggage car is the Tennessee, a Head-End-Power (HEP) car. It's interesting to note that when both the cars and engine were new, the train would have been heated by the steam from the 611. Today, however, all of the passenger cars have been converted to HEP; thus the need for this car.

An illustration of just how long the train is. Note the dome car is painted for the Wabash, while several of the cars in front of it are lettered for the Pennsylvania.

And here is one of those "Pennsylvania" cars - a lounge car named Paul Revere. While the end of the car says "Pullman" in the letter band, it was actually built by the Budd Car Co.; note the corrugated roof, a signature element of Budd-built cars.

Intermodal Pics

Here are some photos for you intermodal modelers out there...

An ex-Pacer Stacktrain Thrall 53' three-unit articulated stack car, now owned by TTX. This car can be done with the Atlas model.

Another ex-Pacer Stacktrain car, this time a Gunderson Maxi-IV, also now owned by TTX. This car represents the prototype for the Intermountain release later this year of this paint scheme.

This car is, unfortunately, NOT available in model form; an NSC three-unit articulated 53' car. It can be done, but only with a lot of work in modifying a set of Walthers stand-alone cars,

Lastly, this three-unit Twin-28/Triple-57 spine car is the prototype for the Athearn car produced several years ago. Not only does this photo show how to weather the car (note the clean platform sides!) but note the load; three 40' containers! I normally see these cars with either trailers or 53' containers, so this was a rare treat. Also note that the two UASC containers are two different colors!

Freight car loads pt6, rail ties

Even if you don't hand lay your track, you can still find a use for those ties offered by various manufacturers...

A train with "track supplies" on the head end. Ahead of the gondolas loaded with ties are flatcars loaded with track panels -a prototype for sectional track on our layouts!

A close-up of another load of new ties. Note the blue-grey color; they are not black or brown when delivered!

Here are two gons with replaced ties. Note the ones in the first gon are banded together, while the ones in the other gon are simply piled up inside. Also note the rusty appearance of the ties.

Finally, if you don't want to try and match the colors of the newly treated or old, used ties, then you can always load up a gon with freshly cut, untreated ties! These are local products; these gons were delivered empty the day before. Meaning if you have a sawmill on your layout, then here is another product they can ship by rail!

Car load photos pt5, tank loads!

Here are some photos for all you military guys out there...

Tanks on DOD flatcars! Now you see why these cars have six-wheeled trucks.

A detail shot of the tie-down chains securing the tank to the car. Note also the cable wrapped around the tank's barrel to secure it as well -and what appears to be cardboard covering openings on the front of the tanks! As far as I know, the only model of these DODX cars was a brass import from several years ago, and I'm not sure how easy they are to find now (or who imported them). The M1A1's are available in HO scale from Herpa.

This car appears to be a converted 89' intermodal flatcar. Or it may have been built in this configuration for the DOD. Either way, it can only hold one tank, despite its length, due to its conventional four-wheeled trucks.

Another detail shot of the tie-down chains. Visible under the tank, and at the top of the photo, are intermodal-style container pedestal tracks and stowage; these can also be seen on the end of the other DODX car as well. Apparently these cars also haul military containers as well.

The other side. Notice that these cars are painted red instead of green like the six-wheeled cars. And notice also, that these cars don't seem to get the graffiti that the boxcars in the background have!

More tanks. They were being delivered to the Pennsylvania National Guard, fourteen in all.

Car load photos pt4

More car loads...

A Department of Defense heavy duty flatcar loaded with a M1 Abrams tank and what looks like a tank recovery vehicle. With a load like this, it's a good thing the flatcar has six-wheeled trucks!

Near the tail end of the same train, was this gondola with a steel coil load. If you look closely, you'll see that the car looks to have brackets mounted inside to keep the coils in place. Note also, that the coils are loaded over the trucks at the ends for weight distribution.

Here's what to do with all those "frets" left over from those etched metal kits; cut them up and load up a former coal gon from the seventies with them!

A (partial) shot of the other car. I wonder if someone would be interested in making junk loads for the taller coal gondolas?

Another scrap load I would like to see is shredded scrap, like these car loads. And behind these six cars, are three more loaded with old, broken ties.