Author: Golden1014

I'm an American, living in Germany.
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

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

No. 193: 2024 O Scale National and Proto48 USRA Box Car Model

Golden1014

On Saturday, March 23rd I made the all-day trek from St. Louis to Chicago to attend the O Scale “National” at Lombard, Ill. The venue was the beautiful Westin Lombard, same as last year, and there was a lot going on. I went up for the day and spent a few fun hours talking to friends and also buying some harder-to-get models, then headed back home in the evening. I like starting a trip report with a driving picture. It makes me feel like I went somewhere. This northbound on I-55 in Illinois. This picture makes it look an awful … Continue reading No. 193: 2024 O Scale National and Proto48 USRA Box Car Model

Freight and Passenger Car ModelingLeave a comment

No. 192: Winter Freight Car Work

Golden1014

My winter freight car work actually began last July. I didn’t get any modeling done all summer with the kids home from college. However, in July, I managed to break away from the fam for a few hours and attend the St. Louis RPM in nearby Collinsville, Illinois, where I gave a talk about building small layouts. I spent most of Saturday horsing around with old friends Greg Davis and Tom Christiansen. Greg was in the Army and during Desert Storm so we always have more to talk about than trains. Tom brought a huge display of FGE cars and … Continue reading No. 192: Winter Freight Car Work

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No. 191: Setting up Hermitage Road 2

Golden1014

In the first week of December 2023, I finished construction and scenery for the layout—all the messy work—and transported the layout downstairs to its permanent home. The layout had been in the garage since July where I did all the messy jobs like Styrofoam cutting, wood cutting and dirty scenery work. The layout’s permanent home is on a carpet remnant in the basement of our rented home, so I did all the dirty work outside where I didn’t have to worry about messing up the floor. I use real coal and real dirt for a lot of the scenery and … Continue reading No. 191: Setting up Hermitage Road 2