Milwaukee Road - Portage to LaCrosse - early 1950's - N Scale

[altohorn25]

I thought I'd run some of my "modern" stuff on the layout today:  SD40-2's

[Bendtracker1]

Yummy!   

[TravelingCarpenter]

It’s pretty cool,, out of that train the only car I don’t have is SCL gon, everything else I have! Milwaukee deuces are just too cool! A bicentennial unit would have went great in the video also!
Great job!
TC

[altohorn25]

It’s pretty cool,, out of that train the only car I don’t have is SCL gon, everything else I have! Milwaukee deuces are just too cool! A bicentennial unit would have went great in the video also!
Great job!
TC

I have #156 (Kato Kobo special run) - I'll shoot it the next time I video some "modern" stuff. 

[altohorn25]

Another video of some 1970's equipment:  SD40-2's (including Bicentennial unit #156), GP40's, and U30C's.

[altohorn25]

I drove to Eau Claire yesterday morning for a small model railroad show.  One vendor had some Micro Trains cars for very reasonable prices that fit the era of my layout, so I picked up a few.  I changed out the plastic wheels with Eastern Seaboard Models metal wheels (33" on most of them and 36" on the two express box cars - the GN and C&EI cars).  I also put a laser-cut wood deck on the SP flat car to make it look better.  I gave them all a quick shot of weathering with my airbrush this morning and they're good to go for the layout.

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[altohorn25]

A pair of Milwaukee Road U30C's led by unit #5655 scream past the interlocking tower at Camp Douglas, WI with a loaded unit coal train destined for the Coulmbia County electrical generating plant just south of Portage, WI in October of 1976.  The photographer was fortunate enough to catch a Westbound manifest freight led by SD40-2 #149 passing the tower at the same time.

A little earlier that day, the photographer was able to catch the same train just south of LaCrosse on the Mississippi River.

U30C's are custom painted and weathered Kato units (Polyscale paint and Microscale decals).  SD40-2's are factory painted custom weathered Kato units.  90 ton hoppers are by Atlas (custom numbered and weighted, but still need to be weathered).

Photographs taken on the layout as well as one of my sceniced modules.

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[altohorn25]

Took a quick video of the U30C's pulling the BN coal train on the layout.  This is after I weathered the cars.

I have a new Youtube Channel as I had to get rid of my previous email that I was using.

[Cajonpassfan]

Nicely done weathering on the U30C's Nate, I like the subtle blending. Works well with the paint scheme.
Otto

[tdtrains15]

@altohorn25 Weathering adds so much and love those coal cars too!!  Also, I sent you a message regarding one of the Kato Lark cars as a stand in. Not sure if you saw it? let me know

[altohorn25]

Running some NC&StL coal trains on the layout this morning.  I know it's not milwaukee equipment, but it looks good anyways.... 

[altohorn25]

With all the snow that Wisconsin got this week, the Milwaukee Road was forced to get the rotary snow plow out for use on the west end of the system.  The photographer was able to catch a few shots as the extra train moved through Camp Douglas, WI.


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[altohorn25]

Running some tonnage on the LaCrosse Division today:

[altohorn25]

I had a little time this morning to work on some track that has been giving me problems.  This is one of the reasons why I've been letting it sit over the winter so that any problems will present themselves before I start painting track and laying down ballast.

Anyways......I put a curved turnout on the westbound main at the south end of New Lisbon.  It has been giving me problems (just like all the other Atlas code 55 curved turnouts.....) since I installed it in July.  I finally had enough of equipment derailing so I pulled it out and replaced it with a #7 regular turnout.  I had to re-lay some of the main as well as the siding and move the turnout that leads to the Wye, but it operates much better now.  No derailments.  Life is good.

I should have known better than using curved turnouts........Atlas code 55 curved turnouts are the devil......no matter how much you tweak them, they still never work quite right......too much space between the throw rails.........

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[keeper]

This is looking good, a nice 'flow' of the track.