Author: Golden1014

I'm an American, living in Germany.
Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 36: Steam Era Freight Cars – B&O M-53

Golden1014

Probably the most easily recognized box car on the US railroads in the 1950s was the B&O “wagon-top” box car.  Here are a few detail photos of the well-preserved B&O M-53 wagon top car at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.  I took these photos on a trip through the northeast US in September 2015.   B&O’s series of wagon top cars was very innovative for their time.  The road first rebuilt almost 1,290 M-15 cars of various types to the wagon-top design beginning in 1936.  Later, beginning in 1937, B&O built 2,000 all new cars, class M-53, from the … Continue reading No. 36: Steam Era Freight Cars – B&O M-53

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & MuseumsLeave a comment

No. 35: Steam Era Freight Cars – B&O M-27

Golden1014

This car is part of the collection at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. It is one of my favorite prototypes and this car has been nicely restored and placed on display outside the museum roundhouse. The M-27 was an interesting car series. B&O built 2,000 cars in 1926 for automobile service in both 1-1/2 and double door configurations. The cars were built with a 9-foot interior height. During this time freight car design was evolving rapidly, and within a few years these cars were already obsolete for carrying automobiles. The introduction of the Evans auto loader, … Continue reading No. 35: Steam Era Freight Cars – B&O M-27

Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 34: The Winter Offensive (on the Ackley Layout)

Golden1014

I was e-mailing with Frank Hodina in early December and I mentioned to him that it was miserably foggy and cold and rainy here in Germany.  I had just been through Bastogne, Belgium a few weeks before and I said it would be a good time for a Winter Offensive on the layout. We both had an “LOL” moment and then I thought, hey, that’s not a bad idea. I talked to my wife about it and she approved my plan to take a few vacation days so I could start a Winter Offensive on the Ackley layout.  The objective was to finish up most of the big work on the … Continue reading No. 34: The Winter Offensive (on the Ackley Layout)

Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 33: Painting Track on the Ackley Layout

Golden1014

The Deutsches Museum While I was in Berlin in November I had a chance to visit the Deutsches Museum downtown along the River Spree. The museum is beautiful, clean, and well-lit and the exhibits are stunning.  There are many models throughout the museum, of ships, trains, vehicles, and other things. There are paper models on display that are over 300 years old.  There is a Dutch model ship on display that is about 250 years old. Whenever I see models in a museum, I always wonder who built them.  I wonder “Of all the models out there, why did the museum select this one for display?” … Continue reading No. 33: Painting Track on the Ackley Layout

RPM and Modeling EventsLeave a comment

No. 32: Marion RPM, Part 2

Golden1014

My last post on the great Marion RPM Meet was all about the location, the railfan action, and the AC Tower exhibit. This time I want to post some random musings on the models, the modelers, and the Marion Union Station Museum itself. Above.  A beautiful display of HO scale Wellsville, Addison and Galeton (WAG) rolling stock was displayed by Ohio modeler Mike Schleigh. As I mentioned in the earlier post, I attended CORPM (Central Ohio RPM) in 2011 and 2013 and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Denis Blake hosts a neat event with slide shows, clinics, as many model tables as … Continue reading No. 32: Marion RPM, Part 2

Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 31: M&StL Single-Sheathed Box Car

Golden1014

Back in November I was in Berlin for a ten day work trip and brought along a car kit to work on while I was there. I was fortunate to stay on the Berlin Hilton, and we had plenty of time after work to relax and do some sightseeing.  I also brought along an old Sunshine Models Kit No. 91.16, M&StL XM-1 Box Car and a tool kit in case I had some spare time in the hotel.  I completed the car easily in a few night’s work. M&StL acquired a substantial fleet of single-sheathed and double-sheathed cars prior to the WWII … Continue reading No. 31: M&StL Single-Sheathed Box Car

RPM and Modeling EventsLeave a comment

No. 30: Marion RPM, Part 1

Golden1014

One of the great things about having a blog is you can recognize people for their good work. I was fortunate to attend the 2011 and 2013 Central Ohio Railroad Prototype Modeler’s (CORPM) Meet at Marion Union Station, Marion, Ohio.  I wrote about it in the SCL Modeler online magazine in 2013.  What follows is an excerpt of that article, plus a lot more photos and info. Known by the modeling community as “Marion RPM”, this event followed the successful RPM format, with clinicians, model displays, layout tours, no contests, door prizes, and plenty of time for fellowship. About 75 modelers … Continue reading No. 30: Marion RPM, Part 1

Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 29: The IC Connection at Ackley, Iowa

Golden1014

My buddy Mike Clements, from Wakefield, Mass., recently sent me a very thoughtful e-mail on my Ackley track plan and how he would change the Illinois Central connection to add more operating potential. Here is his note. Hi John, Nice change-up with the staging. I think you will be happier with that. Good compromise. I agree with the need to keep the IC crossing on the layout. Particularly if you are going to use your layout to model other generic locations, it will come in very handy. In that case it matters less that you won’t have the capacity, I was … Continue reading No. 29: The IC Connection at Ackley, Iowa

Ackley, Iowa Layouts2 Comments

No. 28: Ackley Layout – A Change in Staging

Golden1014

A few weeks before I started laying track, I made a pretty significant change to the track layout. Originally–due to space limitations–I had located the Illinois Central interchange track on the city track on the opposite side of the IC crossing.  I was unhappy with this arrangement because 1) It was not prototypical and 2) Because it limited the number of cars that could be worked to and from the interchange.  You can see the differences in the IC transfer in the drawing below. I track planned a number of alternatives, none of which held much promise. Then I realized that … Continue reading No. 28: Ackley Layout – A Change in Staging

Layout VisitsLeave a comment

No. 27: Modeling the Georgia Northern in Pavo, Georgia

Golden1014

I am pleased to offer my first guest post, this from my longtime friend Tom Holley.  Tom is planning a small, one-town model railroad based on the Georgia Northern at Pavo, Georgia. Tom is a third generation professional railroader—an engineer with Norfolk Southern—and a good man.  His regular assignment these days is running the Coosa Pines switcher near Birmingham, Alabama.  Tom is seen below in the cab of some Norfolk Southern EMD something-or-other still in primer paint.  Tom’s Dad ran the work trains that built Coosa Pines, and his Grandfather retired as the section foreman at Coosa Pines. I hope you … Continue reading No. 27: Modeling the Georgia Northern in Pavo, Georgia