New BN/Q/Metra Budd gallery cab coach from Rapido.

Photos from the 2024 St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modelers meet in Collinsville, IL.

The Monashee Pacific was a proposed railway in the 1950's that was never built. The Edmonton Model Railway Association, located at Fort Edmonton Park, has created a world where this railway exists. The level of detail is incredible, from the towns, the trains and the people, no minute detail has been omitted. There is even someone taking a crap in the woods with a bear approaching him.

I could have spent days photographing this incredible layout. I have only included the highlights.

As the Chessie Steam Special makes the curve past the printing plant you can see how far the front swings out as it rounds the tight radius.

A Pair of switchers take a turn on the table. They are easier to turn in pairs as they are hard wired together for better electrical pick up. These are reworked Athearn hustler models with Ernst drives.

411 passing SV Tower.

9510, 6812 & 6375 rest at the Diesel Shop. 6812 & 6375 will get the assignment for the long freight when the D&H Challenger quit.

Railroad buffs will enjoy the Philadelphia area - if nothing else, there are tons of shops like this one selling miniature railroad stuff and vintage electric train stuff ... :-)

This is an HO scale Atlas model / Kato drive of a RSD12 lettered for Conrail road #7651. It is a 6 axel diesel. The underframe and trucks are painted and weathered a grimy black and the unit has light weathering. The unit supports a Details West firecracker antenna with Kadee #5 couplers installed front and back.

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SWe found this covered hopper lettered RGCX 1205, very likely a cement mix hauler.

Model Railroad Club at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA.

This is a HO scale model of a Athearn 40 ft. box car that has been cut down and modified into a CN road material tool car. The model has additional details added such as door, tools, ties, crates, jacks, tie splitter, barrels, hand cart etc. Light weathering completes the model. This car has metal wheels and Kadee #5 couplers mounted front and back. This car also doubles as a boom car.

Here is another view of my HO scale distribution substation.

Scale: HO

Category: Diesel

Road: New York Central (NYC)

Description: GE DES-3

Importer: NJ Custom Brass (NJCB)

Catalog: DE-100

Builder: Kumata

Year(s): 1972

Qty Made: 750

NOTES: CUSTOM BRASS FIRST MODEL!

I'm trying out one of the many features on a new camera.

A rail photographer captures an image of GN 430 as it makes its way around the N-Trak Express layout that was on display at the Great Train Expo at the Fairplex in Pomona this past weekend.

©2011, Ken Szok All rights reserved

Cryo-Trans, Inc. offers the largest fleet of privately-owned, mechanically refrigerated and insulated railcars. By the end of 2018, Cryo-Trans, Inc. had more than 2,000 private railcars on the North American railway network.

2303 parked in the Diesel Shop. This trio was originally going to be the setup for train KB-4 but two of the diesels blew the fuse so I setup 1776 and an ALCo.

1911 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402

1603 outside Kingstown Station.

Hidden deep in the Swiss areal of the Miniatur Wunderland lies a WWII area submarine. I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for that.

"I hate to say this, but this place is getting to me. I think I'm getting the Fear."

Photos of the MNFreeMo setup at the Saint Paul RiverCentre for the World's Greatest Hobby Tour.

This model is a HO scale, kitbashed Athearn SW1200RSm lettered for CN road #7103. The cab and grills are by Canon & Co. Horn antenna and bell by MBE.... JuneCo castings for the pilots, drop steps, truck sideframes and fuel tank assy. Details West for the fans, winter hatches, lift rings and grabs. The exhaust stacks are custom built. The underframe has been painted and weathered a grimy black and Kadee #5 couplers installed front and back. This unit is DC operation.

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9510 switching in the Coal Yard.

Cryo-Trans, Inc. offers the largest fleet of privately-owned, mechanically refrigerated and insulated railcars. By the end of 2018, Cryo-Trans, Inc. had more than 2,000 private railcars on the North American railway network.

This is the setup plan for the April operating session.

This model is a modified HO scale Walthers flat cut down to 50' with added bulk heads on either end. The bulk heads are made from Proto drop end mill gondolas ends and scrap plastic parts. The deck is weathered to simulate well worn wood. The pipe load is from LifeLike Scene Master and is held down with wire rope and glued down to the deck. The load is not removable..... easily that is. The car has metal wheels and Kadee #5 couplers. Additional weight was added to the bottom of the car to improve performance.

175 with the single hopper backs into North Yard.

NS ES44DC 8104 & LV C-628 (both sound units 640 and sister the horn, bell and engine sounds NS 8104 only the engine sounds with some crew talk) and GE demo (in the background) rest at the Diesel Shop.

Sunday the 26th was the last day the Gadsden-Pacific Division Toy Train Operating Museum was open before the summer closing. Our grand-nephew and his family came to visit on the three day Memorial Day weekend, so we had an opportunity to take them. I have a feeling we'll be going back once they reopen in the fall.

Processed in phone/camera with Google Photos

PXL_20240526_221034541~2

This model is a HO scale Atlas / Kato RS11 lettered for Central Vermont, road #3603. The model has been lightly weathered to bring out radiator and grill detail. The underframe and trucks are painted and weathered a grimy black . The unit has Kadee #5 couplers front and back. This model is DC and is an excellent runner.

411 about to cross a private crossing at Mink Hollow.

This model is an Athearn ready to roll series dash9-44 lettered for CN road #2672. The unit is DCC operation. The diesel is lightly weathered and the trucks and underframe are painted and weathered a grimy black. Kadee #5 couplers mounted front and back.

Photos of the MNFreeMo setup at the Saint Paul RiverCentre for the World's Greatest Hobby Tour.

A simulated night time in North Yard.

According to XKCD 878 you shouldn't build a layout that includes the location of the model. The Wunderland doesn't care. If you look closely, you can see an actual tiny model-model train inside the building.

1776 passing Lost River Station with train KB-4.

411, a U-Boat & a caboose tackle the steep grade of Mink Hollow.

These are poor quality videos of the test runs that I did at various stages of rebuilding this model.

The pool was scratch-built from a salad dressing bottle cap. The pool water is a thin sheet of clear styrene coated with clear nail polish to form ripples. The pool bottom is a printed image of pool water glued to the base.

The inflatable lounge was scratch-built from styrene milled into shape, painted in fluorescent orange, and coated with clear nail polish.

The beach towels are printed towel designs glued to aluminum foil to form the wrinkles. Note the towel hung on the fence to dry.

This is a new release from Athearn and is the unit that the union Pacific is using behind the 4014 Big Boy as a just in case unit.

See the mail call video here youtu.be/5JL2orMLCcY

411 with train KB-2 parked in South Yard. The tail end of KB-4 can be seen in the background.

125 going about in North Yard.