Author: Golden1014

I'm an American, living in Germany.
O Scale & Proto 483 Comments

No. 203: Freight Cars for The High Line

Golden1014

At Chicagoland RPM in October, our friend Tony Koester revealed his latest project, an O scale Tribute Layout on the Wabash “High Line” branch from Bluffs, Illinois to Keokuk, Iowa, which he’s building in his four-season porch. The real railroad gained notoriety in the 1950s for its locomotives. Because of a spindly bridge across the Illinois River the ‘Bash used a small fleet of lightweight 2-6-0s exclusively on the line. The little engines got a lot of press as the steam era ended. The right-of-way was interesting too; it was a friendly little railroad, running through Illinois cornfield country on … Continue reading No. 203: Freight Cars for The High Line

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, Layout Visits6 Comments

No. 202: Scenery Work at the Litchfield Train Group…and Stalled Projects

Golden1014

I got sick of work last week so I took Friday off and went up to Litchfield, Illinois to visit my buddy Lonnie Bathurst. Lonnie has a large HO scale layout in the back half of his office building and we spent the whole afternoon cleaning track and upgrading scenery. Above. This is the Litchfield Train Group layout that was featured in RMC a few years ago. The layout needs some scenery work before their big annual open house during Christmas. Lonnie and I applied static grass and 40 to 50 feet of layout. We applied static grass to the … Continue reading No. 202: Scenery Work at the Litchfield Train Group…and Stalled Projects

Layout Visits, O Scale & Proto 48, Prototype Topics, Railfanning & MuseumsLeave a comment

No. 201: Visit to Minneapolis, Part 2

Golden1014

This is Part 2 of my trip to Minneapolis back in August 2024. Part 1 can be found here: https://railroadprototypemodeler.com/2024/09/19/no-200-visit-to-minneapolis/ After spending a fun Thursday with my buddy Clark Propst in Mason City, I drove north on Highway 65, which parallels the old Rock Island, to Northwood, Iowa, to try and find some inspiration on the railroad. I wanted to go to Manly but there was practically nothing left of the big yards, enginehouse and junction there. Then I drove north to Albert Lea, Minnesota to photograph the ruins of the old Milwaukee Road and M&StL there. The Rock Island, … Continue reading No. 201: Visit to Minneapolis, Part 2

Layout Visits, O Scale & Proto 48, Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums3 Comments

No. 200: Visit to Minneapolis, Part 1

Golden1014

What a fitting subject for my 200th post–a visit to Minneapolis, my home away from home during my youth. Above: A westbound Milwaukee Road freight train at Chanhassen, Minnesota in August, 1980. This is the first train picture I ever took. I was 16 years old. My mother was from Chanhassen. Her father–my grandfather–owned a large dairy farm just west of town and we visited the farm every summer. Minnesota is where I started railfanning, and Chanhassen is where I learned to admire The Milwaukee Road. Above. I broke the trip into two days so I could visit Jason Klocke … Continue reading No. 200: Visit to Minneapolis, Part 1

Hermitage Road Layouts2 Comments

No. 199: Layout Details for Hermitage Road

Golden1014

The Hermitage Road layout is about 95% finished so recently I added some details to the track and industrial settings to help make things come alive. Below. This is a switch stand at the Monticello Railroad Musem in Monticello, Illinois. I’m using this photo and others like it as a guide to finish layout details on my turnouts. Below. I took this picture last year on the BNSF at Abilene, Kansas. I’ve seen other places like this where new or used track parts are piled up near in-service tracks, so I added something like that below. I added my own … Continue reading No. 199: Layout Details for Hermitage Road

Hermitage Road Layouts, RPM and Modeling EventsLeave a comment

No. 198: St. Louis RPM 2024 and Layout Visit

Golden1014

On August 19th and 20th I attended the St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modeler’s Meet, now hosted by Lonnie Bathurst and a team from the Gateway NMRA. It was a HUGE event–over 900 attendees, lots of models to see, and lots of great vendors. It is a must-do event for prototype modelers. The event began on Thursday night with some layout tours and a social at the DoubleTree Hotel in Collinsville. I went to the social and it was a lot of fun. It was like a family reunion. I saw a ton of guys I knew and eventually I sat … Continue reading No. 198: St. Louis RPM 2024 and Layout Visit

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 481 Comment

No. 197: Finishing Projects

Golden1014

In June I committed to some significant model-building projects for a friend–a Nickel Plate 1937 box car, one or two Wabash composite gondolas, and maybe a few more freight cars as time permits. To make room for the new work, I’ve been working hard to clear a large lot of almost-completed models off the workbench. Here’s what’s new and finished. CGW Box Car The first car finished was this ancient Red Caboose box car. I built up the model last fall and left it sitting on the shelf, 95% done, for about five months. Below is a photo of the … Continue reading No. 197: Finishing Projects

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 48Leave a comment

No. 196: Proto48 PFE R-40-10 Refrigerator Car

Golden1014

Last weekend was a busy weekend at the Golden household. My youngest daughter graduated from high school on Saturday afternoon and then attended a prom for another high school the same night, and then hosted an after-prom party here at the house. Saturday was crazy. Sunday was Mother’s Day and after church I made sure the wife was happy, well-fed and didn’t have to do any chores. My other almost-adult-age children kept me busy the rest of the weekend, celebrating another year of college complete. Meanwhile I celebrated finishing an O scale Pacific Fruit Express R-40-10 refrigerator car model. Here’s … Continue reading No. 196: Proto48 PFE R-40-10 Refrigerator Car

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, O Scale & Proto 48, Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 195: Atlanta, Illinois Grain Elevator Walk-Around

Golden1014

On the way back from the O Scale National in Lombard, Illinois I stopped in Atlanta, Illinois to visit the J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator museum. The J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator was built in 1904 on the former in Atlanta. The east-west crossed the busy, double-track Chicago & Alton RR a block east from the elevator. According to town’s website, found at https://atlantaillinoistourism.com/grain-elevator-museum/, The historic J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum was in operation for 75 years and is one of the few all-wooden grain elevators in America — and it still runs! A unique piece of American farming history, this museum … Continue reading No. 195: Atlanta, Illinois Grain Elevator Walk-Around

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling4 Comments

No. 194: Frisco Auto Car

Golden1014

I’ve had a busy few months of building. I’ve managed to finish building and painting five HO scale freight cars and completely finish three O scale cars, plus I got some good work done on a new building for the Hermitage Road layout. Here’s the long story of a new Sunshine Models kit that I built in the fall of 2022 and finally completed here in March 2024. This is a Sunshine Models Frisco Auto Car, Kit No. 40.6. I built this model a short while after moving back to the U.S. from Germany in the fall of 2022. The … Continue reading No. 194: Frisco Auto Car