Weekend Update 10/6/19

[ncbqguy]

The Weekend Update Iron City photo reminds me that Bachmann did a credible model of that type of Southern Railway depot a long time ago based on the Plains, GA example.  I  don’t believe it is current production but should be able to be found out there..
Charlie Vlk

[spookshow]

Wow, thanks Dave - high praise indeed considering the source!

Thanks, Charlie - how the heck were you able to tell that's an M&StL RDC?? That's some eagle eye vision you have there 

And thanks, Peteski (I think, lol).

-Mark

[OldEastRR]

Some people knit sweaters and some people knit soybeans. It's a crazy mixed up world 



-Mark

Interesting. I thought the only kind of field irrigators were those ones that run in a big circle. Out west that's the only kind I see.

[peteski]

I did a lot of design work this week, but also worked on a couple pieces of my 1:450 rolling stock.  The latter include a 50' Conrail boxcar and WW 2-bay hopper, here in the midst of decal application, and heavily weathered/faded B&LE 60' boxcar.

More superb microscopic modeling Jesse!  I like how you used the hobby knife as a size reference.  Those models are tiny!

[peteski]

And thanks, Peteski (I think, lol).

-Mark

Yes, that comment was firmly tongue in cheek.  It is a great scene.

[ncbqguy]

Mark-
Not only that, it is an ex-CR&P Budd coach behind it.
I don't have a good excuse for knowing this stuff....but it did come in handy for my second career!!
Charlie Vlk

[MichaelWinicki]

[johnb]

I finished the Period Miniatures Berghoff Brewery build, but decided that it needed to be a Crate and Barrel company....



I also decided that I needed to make the freight station be a bit more closer to a 1940's picture...I added a ladder...

[mu26aeh]

These cars have been at Mainline Hobby Supply for a little bit.  Each time I stop by and don't have something waiting for me, I end up grabbing one.  Picked up the 3rd one today.  I have proto photos of these lasting in this paint to late 2000s for 2 of them.  If anyone can point me to 228708, I'd appreciate it.  With the patches, definitely need to be weathered/rusted up.

[SAH]

Good week.  Progress on Spur 4 (AC&Y Road of Service in the Layout Engineering section), two visits to the AC&Y archives at Akron U, caught up with some old friends at the ELHS meet in Marion last weekend and an old friend and his wife from our Toledo days at the Berea OH train show today.

We go to Cleveland's West Market every Friday we're in town.  It's a 100+ year old city market.  Another gem of a place in NE Ohio.  I saw something that immediately made me think of the Railwire crew.  This might be old hat to the Baconistas among us but it is new to me.   

[glakedylan]

Interesting. I thought the only kind of field irrigators were those ones that run in a big circle. Out west that's the only kind I see.

I remember seeing irrigation equipment like this down through the state of Delaware.
And, if I recall it correctly, there was a lot of it in eastern North Carolina in the years I lived there.
Have seen the circular kind as well, just do not remember where.
It--the straight line kind--is quite popular in the east in areas where the fields are more rectangular.


G

[dem34]

Continuing work on the boxcar challenge Diorama. Assembly of the kit is done mostly done, got primers and base layers for weathering in on the boxcar. Then its on to painting up the rest of the castings, nailing down loose scenery, blending the tufts better and adding fancy lights.

[brokemoto]

Thanks, Charlie - how the heck were you able to tell that's an M&StL RDC?? That's some eagle eye vision you have there 

Nice work on the fields, irrigator and Louie RDC-4.  The Louie was the only one that had RDC-4s with passenger accommodations.  The story that I heard on them was that despite Budd's specifically telling Louie management that it would void the warranty if it towed anything with the RDCs, the Louie did it, anyhow and had trouble with them.  Supposedly Budd actually repaired them a couple of times as a courtesy, but, finally said no more.  Louie's mail contracts were expiring, anyhow, so the Louie sold them to the C&O which used them in Kentucky.

CRI&P also towed cars with RDCs, but, as I understand it, the Rock Island waited until the warranty expired before it . did that.

[nkalanaga]

I grew up in eastern Washington (Columbia Basin Project), and saw a few of those irrigation systems.  Most of the framers there used:
hand-lines (sectional pipe, moved by hand, with a main pipe along one side of the field, and taps every so often for the hand-line),
wheel-line (sectional, on wheels, which could be towed by a tractor),
powered wheel-line (basically the same, but with a gasoline engine every few sections, and the pipe was mounted on top of the drives, rather than rotating with the wheels.  Most of them still had to be disconnected from the main pipe, then reconnected at the new location),
and, just becoming really popular, the center-pivots, some with hinged end sections to do the corners.

Spookshow's field could very well have the corner irrigated with hand-lines, which have been moved to the other end of the field, so they don't show in the picture.

We moved to eastern Kentucky in 1978, and back here they don't irrigate anything, except yards, usually in the more expensive neighborhoods, and golf courses.  Farms just pray for rain, then cuss if they get too much.

Trivia:  One of the leading causes of death and injury for Basin farmers was gophers in the handlines.  Any time the field needed to be worked, the pipes had to be removed, a piece at a time, and stacked on the edge of the field.  Gophers considered them ready-made burrows.  Next time the pipes were connected and the water turned on, the gophers drowned, and then got stuck in a sprinkler head.  Farmers didn't mind killing them, but taking the pipe apart to remove the dead gopher was a pain.

So, the rule was, stand the pipe on end to dump the gophers out, before connecting it to the line.  If one wasn't paying attention, and stood the pipe upright under a power line, it could be fatal.  The radio station regularly ran public service announcements warning farmers to look UP before moving pipes.

[BCR 570]

Mark:  Nice to see your work again.

This evening the last southbound freight from Chetwynd for a while departed behind Engs 632-810-804:




Engs 584-607-581 are remaining in town for track testing during upcoming maintenance work.


The arrival of some custom decals has enabled me to move forward with some rolling stock projects, including three grain boxcars, a diesel fuel tank car, and two work cabooses:




Thanks to Philippe for his fabulous custom decal artwork!

Tim