Happy New Year to all, with all the newcomers, some might not remember the annual clearing of the cache! With all the server lag, once it gets close to 100 pages, all heck breaks loose, lag-style.
So here’s the new topic, and I’m suprised nobody beat me to it! (Seeing as I woke up just about noon with a very dry mouth)
Well some new modeling news I suppose. A couple days ago James had to go to the LHS to grab some things for his MILW Depot, so I tagged along and picked up an Atlas Trainman GP38-2 SOO, its an amazing unit. Also picked up (and finally learned how to decal and did so to) Empire Builder Coulee Series Observation car to go with my super dome and diner.
now you need f units
They have some IM mountains still at my LHS…I’m having trouble controlling myself.
I’ve put out a message on the old teen railfan place forum to post here instead now. Hope that helps!
2008 promises to be a year of change, with the DM&E, IC&E and of course the EJ&E joining the long list of fallen flags (boo!). 2007 was a very fun year and for me included spending a week in Pennslyvania for RailCamp, seeing my first Amtrak Acela train, riding behind the CP 2816, and three vacations to the Dells plus two to Galesburg. Of course the down side of 2007 came in late September when the CN announced its purchase of the EJ&E. 2008 promises to be a good year with WC 7525 and possibly a freshly repainted CB&Q SD24 running at IRM and perhaps my first trip to Minneapolis, plus I’m trying to get down to Indianapolis also.
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-Jake
Happy late new year. lol.
As for modeling I’m planning a new layout. The room is a 9x6 and it looks like it will be a triple Decker with 2 branch lines. A large Helix will dominate most of the space in the lower right hand corner and a Branch line on each deck will some what kind of come off of it. The main line will be over on the upper hand of the room with Random lake yard at the bottom, and the Village of Blue River on top. The branch lines towns will be Clear water for the bottom level and Eagle Wood, and Hawk for the top. Industries for Blue River will be the local Co-op, and North land power. Hawk will have no industries but it will be the end of the runaround for Graphic Packaging. On the bottom level Random Lake will have an interchange with the SOO, a very small locomotive facility, a 4 track yard, and a small lumber yard, Rhine Lumber. Last Clear water will have an interchange and crossing with the CNW and a Pulp Wood spur. The plans aren’t final, as I still don’t know the exact size of the room. But this sure looks like it might be the one.
2007 was a pretty fun year. I Joined the Forums in Early March. Before that I didn’t do much RFing but I did go to Point and saw, and have a crappy picture of 2500. This was the closest to getting a SD45. 7531, but she wasn’t there. Anyway at the Begging of June I went to my first trip to Stevens Point for a long time. Over the summer I took at least a dozen or more trips, and alot of trips to the yard. I did get to see alot of WC. Over the year I saw, WC 3012, 6006, 1558, 1562, 3027, 3026, 3014, 1560, 1552, 3009, 3006, 3000, 3025, 3021, 6004, 6005, 1566, 1570, and 2500. From only starting with 3002, and 3005 it’s not half bad. But again I would like to thank Alec as he did say that I should go Rail Fanning as the classic EMDs might be going really quick. After getting more WC I wanted to go more and more and more. Now I got alot and have seen some pretty cool locomotives.
This year I hope to get EJ
Happy Late New Year to yall too. I hope '08 is a better year for y’all than '07 was. May you be blessed with the passage of more trains.
If I manage to get a 40D (Or even 450D!*) I’m sure it will be! 2007 for me was the year of the photograph. Or…there was a year in there where I had a camera good enough that I could take good photographs.
Bah.
I ordered a new lens for $40, the Pentax 35-80. Then it turned out I should have ordered the 28-80, it’s better quality and the same price on adorama.
Feh.
Anyone want to donate $1700?
ah 7525…the only good news i can see for 2008. (2009 EDIT. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA BOY WAS I WRONG ABOUT THAT!!!)
unless, of course, '08 sees to the long-needed patching of that accursed duo. UP 9750 could go at any minute
December will be nice. the C41-8s are going back to the leaser. meaning no more 9087 plaguing the rails. now i can fan without fear of running into that thing, for i cannot confront it!
Sorry I don’t have the pics from New Years Eve and day on yet, but it was with good reason! I went to Galesburg and Davenport, Iowa (Nahant Yard). Lots of neat thigs including a renumbered BN SD60M, a Ferromex, a CN ex-KCS engine (one of the SD40-3s sublettered GTW), a KCS AC44, a IC SD40-2 and a lot of IC&E and DM&E power at Nahant. These pics are coming soon also!
Here is one I got from New Year’s eve of EJ&E 663 heading out of Joliet Yard in the fog.
I know this conversational topic ended a while ago but I wanted to put my two cents into it. It was about seeing a recently repainted CN loco in the deadline. My thought for why it might be there is that CN is thinning its SD40 fleet with the new SD70M-2 and ES44DC orders arriving. CN probably repainted the loco when it was down for some kind of repair. But they have started to retire the older units once they suffer a “major failure” (i.e. anything that costs money). That’s what I bet happened with this particular unit and someone said give her to the torches instead of fixing her. The railway museum faces the same problem with its two $oo Line locos. The FP-7 has wonderful exterior looks with a spotless paint job, but its radiators hold water about as good as a bucket shot full of holes. The GP-30 has 2 year old paint, but its engine block needs new seals everywhere and an overhaul, the thing leaks oil a little less than our SD18 though. What I’m trying to say is the parts that make the money (i.e. the operational qualities of a loco.) matter more than a coat of paint.
Speaking of a coat of paint…
I just saw an SP tunnel motor.
I was very shocked.
At first I thought it was the usual trio of GP38-2s, then as I got closer I noticed a grey one in the middle…still being half a mile off, I figured it was 3084, and got excited. As I got closer, I realised it HAD to be SP.
The closer I got, the more excited I was. It was CP 6024/ex-SP 9294/CP 5902! I hadn’t seen a consist like that on this sub since 2003! I watched as they went up slowly through the notches until they hit N8, and I paced them for the full mile and a half that there was track. Then they stopped, backed up, went forward, backed up again, went forward again, repeat, repeat, and then I raced her back to a grade crossing where I got onto the sunny side. Not the best shot, but I don’t care, it was a tunnel motor!!
Sweet! I’ve had some what of a spilare experience. While heading back to WI. Along I80 the track run right along side. Well while I was looking out there I saw a UP tunnel motor. Closer look reevieled it was an Ex SP SD45T-2. I could tell by some of the details on the locomotive.
well i’m starting a project soon once i get paint and the appropriate decals.
i have 2 old bluebox shells of CNW crash 9s. and 1 chassis that the shells will share. i plan to patch them into UP 9750 and UP 9805 (numbers some of you should know the signifficance of). it SHOULD be simple enough, except for the number boards. but maybe i’ll just leave those blank. i’ll have pics soon enough
well after almost 2 months of missing the trai in NL i finnaly got it today. come to my suprise it was a GTW GP9. i havent seen a GTW GP9 since summer & first i ever seen a GTW on this line. had 6 cars for curwood, 3 empty log cars, & their were 2 boxcars on the running track but they were left sitting their so if their gonna sit their til tuesday if their loads or if their emptys get them later. also had some fun taking pics of the graffitti on the cars. i had my flash off & had the quality set at 4MN
Here are some more from the last week.
Amtrak 161 hauls through the fog on New Year’s Eve.
A Conrail painted C40-8W heads east through Lockport in the fog.
Amtrak P42 173 kicks up some snow on New Years Day at Brookfield.
IC&E and DM&E power sits in the engine terminal at Nahant Yard in Davenport, Iowa.
A pair of South Shore Line GP38-2s run down the middle of 11th Street in Michigan City, IN.
The light engine move heads away down the street running. Not too many places where you can see something like this anymore!
I still haven’t gotten to posting the Galesburg shots and a couple more from New Year’s Day but those are coming soon!
Ok, I’ve got just about everything else on.
BNSF 5181 kicks up some snow in Brookfield.
Metra MP36 403 flies through LaVergne station in Berwyn.
From the other side of the tracks at LaVergne, BNSF 7619 approaches Clyde Yard.
Amtrak 182 highballs through LaVergne with the eastbound Chief. More snow being kicked up here!
The same power that went through Brookfield on the Z train crosses over at LaVergne heading for the Cicero engine facility.
Now onto Galesburg!
Lots of nice power in the yard! CN/GTW SD40-3 5955 sits in the engine terminal.
Even nicer foreign power, IC 6203, sits in the yard. Not the place you’d expect to see IC, but I will take it!
Ferromex GEVO 4625 sits in the yard. Another neat sight!
BNSF 5264 is forced to a crawl through downtown Galesburg due to crossing work, coming off the Barstow Sub with a manifest.
Very Nice Pictures… So what has everyone been up to latley?