First day of fall

Well fall is here again and the leaves have started to turn color. This is the time of year that things start to slow down for me and I have more time to work on the layout. I have a lot of new ideas and some old on my plate so here we go!

First up is a follow up to a long term project I have been working on. I first mentioned this project in my Amherst train show post. I have been working on a kit bashed GE U-23b locomotive with a modern era twist. Click here to see some pics and a little wright up about the loco.

 Summer Time

Well summer has finally arrived and also the heat stay cool everyone!

During the summer we all know how busy we can get but I will try to make some posts letting you know  how the layout is progressing.

First on to docket is some track work head over to the Work Bench and Update page to check out what I have done.

Second item is a pair of Athern old blue box U-23bs /U-30's not sure. I plan to update these U-boats with more modern power and add in a modern look to them. I plan on making a  blog series and you tube videos on them so keep an eye out for those in the future. I am starting to plan out the lower shelf level of the layout and will post some thoughts on this later on in the next post. This level is still undetermined if it will have scenery or be just for staging. 

Have a great summer everyone and a happy Fourth of July

Spring is here!

Check out the work bench page to see what the crew has been doing, some track work and new locos are on the to do list. 






 



  Also we spotted a new Genset loco in the Grafton Yard and MEC 402 finally leaves the shops with new paint and power

Fall Colors 

Fall is here, what does fall mean to you. For me it brings back memories of sipping hot apple cider and eating warm pumpkin pie it also brings back memories of rail fanning in Rigby yard. So in honor of fall memories I have finished another loco in Maine Central colors. Check out the link here MEC 402 for a full write up and pictures. On a recent trip back to Maine I went down to the old yard for some rail fanning to find the current owners had totally changed the landscape they tore down the roundhouse and engine shops it saddened me to see these once great and beautiful buildings have gone. Ahh yes the wonders of model railroading where days of past can live on forever!

Lazy Hazy days of Summer

With Summer winding down and my work slowing down I have began to pick things up where I left off five or so months ago. I have finished the mill area track plan and have completed all track testing. Follow the links below

I added some small details to the sawmill scene the mill now has inhabitants. I added workers and some more vehicles to add realism.

Another project that I have finished is MEC 450 a hybrid GP7/9 engine. I found an old Athern blue box kit I had bought at a swap meet years back the price tag was still on it apparently I only paid 5.00 dollars for it. The tags on the box list it as DYM for dummy, so with a little ingenuity and a lot of spare parts I rebuilt the model. I started with the original shell of a gp-7 undecorated and modified a gp-9 chassis to fit the gp-7 shell then I searched my bottomless Athern spare parts bin and found the correct trucks that would fit the chassis. After that I made some custom hand rails and sanctions for the loco and finally I shot the whole thing out in MEC Harvest Gold and Pine green paint from Trucolor paints. I also upgraded the motor with a after market one to get real smooth operation out of the loco.

Follow the update  link for more Photos and details.

New for 2013

 New for 2013 I have finalized the upper track plan and have began laying track. Also I have started to layout the town scene. I have a lot of work ahead of me, lots of plastering and foam work ahead. The center piece of the upper route is the new trestle leading into a small industrial district I plan to model. This area will have a creamery and other industry to be determined, in this section, as space is limited. Work has progressed in the yard also I have finished some ballasting and fixed some issues with turnouts. follow this link for more pics and info.

Bangor And Aroostook wood chip cars

check out the latest cars from the shop.