Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 177: The Latvia Railway History Museum

Golden1014

About a month before leaving Germany I took the family on a week-long vacation to Oslo, Norway. On the way we stopped for a few days in Riga, the capital of Latvia, and we absolutely loved it. Imagine my surprise when–riding a trolley from the airport to our center-city Airbnb–we passed right by something that looked a whole lot like a railroad museum. Sure enough, it was the Latvia Railway History Museum and it was about a mile from our apartment. I went to the museum the next day. The museum is small, with collection with small locomotives, a model … Continue reading No. 177: The Latvia Railway History Museum

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling1 Comment

No. 176: Move-In and New Freight Car Work

Golden1014

Our major shipment of “household goods” arrived from Germany last Friday. My wife and I have spent most of our waking hours putting the house together. It has been A LOT of work. Included in our household goods was my Hermitage Road layout, the traversing table, five metal cabinets and bookcases, and about 25 plastic tote boxes with model kits and supplies of all kinds. Almost everything arrived unscathed, thankfully. The Hermitage Road layout took a beating so I’ll have to assess whether to try and repair or start over. More to follow on that later. Here is a photo … Continue reading No. 176: Move-In and New Freight Car Work

Uncategorized5 Comments

No. 175: Back to My Future

Golden1014

My work in Europe has come to an end and I’m now back in the U.S.—back to my future—where I will be working in the airlift headquarters at Scott AFB, Illinois. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Germany and given the opportunity I’d spend the rest of my life there. I enjoyed the people, the culture and the work. I was a member of a great church. I enjoyed a thriving hobby and railfanning life there. I raised my children there. It was the best thing I ever did for myself and my family. My outlook on everything has changed … Continue reading No. 175: Back to My Future

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 173: The Rapido Pennsylvania Railroad X31 Model

Golden1014

It has been a very busy year at home and at work, and I’ve only been able to post three times on the blog. since January 1st. My last post was last week after a good railfan trip; the last modeling post was more than 60 days ago. Here’s a catch up. Despite the lack of modeling and railfanning I was able to take the family on a few trips. Covid restrictions here are 99.9% history and everybody’s traveling again. I took the family to Eindhoven, Netherlands in late February for a long weekend–that was beautiful–and in March I took … Continue reading No. 173: The Rapido Pennsylvania Railroad X31 Model

Prototype Topics, Railfanning & Museums1 Comment

No. 172: Roundhouse Day

Golden1014

Even though I model American railroads, I find railfanning in Europe very exciting. There are lots of trains to admire and photograph, and lots of older facilities still standing for modeling inspiration. Here are some words on a railfanning trip to Frankfurt yesterday. I took the day off of work on May 6th and drove to Frankfurt to railfan and also visit four roundhouses still standing in the area. I didn’t expect to get to them all. Last weekend I went to Darmstadt to photograph two roundhouses extant there. I was unable to photograph either of them. One is deep … Continue reading No. 172: Roundhouse Day

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling5 Comments

No. 171: Freight Car Modeling: Rath Meat Reefers and Rock Island Single Sheathed Box Car

Golden1014

It has rained almost every day in southern Germany since about October 15th. Over 130 days of cold, wind, rain and darkness. It has made for good modeling weather, and a good ski trip in December and a good hiking trip in January, but not much else. In the few month I finished two models–one an old classic, and another a “bespoke” single-sheathed car that I’ve been wanting to build for a long time. The Mather Meat “Reefer” Here’s a prototype view of the classic car, below, courtesy Bob’s Photo. This is a Mather company meat refrigerator car The Mather … Continue reading No. 171: Freight Car Modeling: Rath Meat Reefers and Rock Island Single Sheathed Box Car

Hermitage Road Layouts3 Comments

No. 170: Modeling The Sitterding, Carneal & Davis Construction Co.

Golden1014

Above: Here’s the Hermitage Road layout as of today. Most of my little Hermitage Road layout was planned around a single industrial track behind the Seaboard’s Hermitage Yard locomotive shops in Richmond, Virginia. Here’s a Sanborn view, below. That one track had the Alcatraz Co. (paint, varnish and asphalt–what a combination) and the Richmond Cinder Block Co. of Richmond. I felt those two companies would provide opportunities to use box and tank cars (Alcatraz) and cement, gondola, hopper and box cars (Cinder Block Co.). I felt that if I was building a small layout I needed to incorporate as much … Continue reading No. 170: Modeling The Sitterding, Carneal & Davis Construction Co.

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, Hermitage Road Layouts1 Comment

No. 169: Best Train Wrecks of 2021

Golden1014

Reflecting on 2021 Post-Christmas is a great time for reflection and planning for the new year. I always like to make plans for the next year after Christmas. I think it’s a good way to set goals and “refresh” myself for the year ahead. In my hobby life, it’s a good time to reflect on my wins and losses for the year, and make renewed plans for the new year. I think I had some good hobby wins—I finished a lot of projects and the Hermitage Road layout is now about 90% complete. But I had a whole lot of … Continue reading No. 169: Best Train Wrecks of 2021

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No. 168: Hermitage Road Layout – Modeling the Grocery Warehouse

Golden1014

On my little Hermitage Road switching layout, I wanted to include a grocery warehouse to generate refrigerator car traffic on the small layout. There were a few grocery warehouses in the Hermitage Yard area that were rail-served through the 1950s so I felt it would be okay to include one on the layout. While studying Sanborn maps, I didn’t find any in the immediate area on the Seaboard, but I found several in the Richmond area on the ACL and C&O lines. This photo, below, provided some inspiration for my model. I understand this one was in Dallas, Texas. When … Continue reading No. 168: Hermitage Road Layout – Modeling the Grocery Warehouse

Freight and Passenger Car Modeling, Hermitage Road Layouts5 Comments

No. 167: Completing the Traverse Table, and Milwaukee Road Single-Sheathed Box Car Re-Do

Golden1014

I had minor arthroscopic knee surgery last Wednesday and took a few days off from work to recover. I was able to make some good progress on the layout during those days. Here’s an update. Traverse Table Here’s what the small, 7 x 18-inch Hermitage Road layout looks like today. At the far end, the dark square box is the entrance to the staging area. In this photo, the traverse table tracks are mocked-up to see what’ll fit. The drawer slides are underneath the table, and extend out behind the table to allow the table to slide across all five … Continue reading No. 167: Completing the Traverse Table, and Milwaukee Road Single-Sheathed Box Car Re-Do