Magical modelrailroad video

What more can I say, magical. The kids loved it. :-)

Update on my layout

Here's a picture of another section of the layout I've recently been working on. It's the east entrance to Cordelia tunnel on my layout. Not much of the scenery is yet 'scenicked' but it has the raw forms in place. Card board strips , polystyrene foam and masking tape make the rough contours of the terain. Once this is completed, I'll paint it with an earth tone latex paint. Over this a layer of a terrain mix paste is applied (the paint serves to make the paste stick to the masking tape better). This mix is made up of portland cement, vermiculite, and crack filling plaster, mixed with water. I got this technique from Joe Fugate's scenery dvd series (10 mile Creek).
On the picture my (new) SP 7305 leads NE 1623 with a short local into the tunnel.  (the absence of a tunnel  portal still very obvious).

EMD SD 40

The SD40 locomotive and derivatives was/is a well known locomotive on the US railroad networks, also the Southern Pacific ordered 79 of these 3000 hp strong locomotives, that were powered by the then new EMD 645 engine, in a turbo charged V16 configuration. The SP received these locos numbered 8400-8478. Later on in life, they underwent the SP rebuild program, basically an effort to extend their life and reliability (upgraded controls etc). They were then renumbered in the 7300 series and went through life with the designation SD 40R .
I've just ordered a model of this locomotive. According to it's number its a rebuild unit, namely 7305. How accurate it is I do not know yet, perhaps there will be some work needed to fully reflect changes that may have occured during the rebuild. One thing I've noted from the pictures below is that the real loco has an additional set of lights on the nose, which the Athearn RTR model lacks, a nice little project to add in due time.

Layout Progress

It's been a bit quiet recently I admit. I guess I suffered from writers block a little, and I hadn't done too much, however I am pleased to report that in the last week or two, I've managed to progress a little further on my own layout. This is what's been happening:
- I've continued installing some scenery 'webbing', cardboard strips that will form the skeleton over which hills etc will be formed.
- I've bought and measured out some 3mm MDF board, which I'll be using to make the fascia, I've also bought a green paint which I'll use to paint it with.
- I've also installed an inspection pit inside the CFNR workshop but need to work a little on a few details and finishing before I'll grace this blog with a picture of it. I've used the commercial available pit from Peco as the basis.
- I've ordered a Golden West Service box car (patched for SP) and a further one I've just won on e-bay. These box cars were / are in regular service in the domain of the SP and CFNR, so I had to have a few.
- Lastly I've also won a Chevrolet Van made by Herpa, suitable for the period I'm modeling, so that the cars on the road add to the correct for the feel of the era and area.  I've not even gotten to the point of detailing roads yet, but when I come accross an item that I feel I can use , I'll buy it, so that I've got it in stock when it's needed. Particularly my era cars are hard to come by. I've mentioned before that I need to rely on second hand models mostly, as the manufacturers seem to only make transition era and modern (current ) cars, nothing much from the '80's early 90's at present.

Steve Jobs

I've always used Macs ever since I used personal computers, since 1991. This blog is written using one, a Mac that has been working for over 8 years, and still is almost as useful today as it was back then. I wouldn't want to use any other computer to write this blog with.(unless it's another Mac)
 On October 5th, it's 'inventor' died, Steve Jobs, due to ill health related to cancer he contracted several years ago. During his life time he told many to live like it's your last day, to do what you enjoy most, be creative, think differently. This is also true for a model railroader, being creative, and think out side the box to come up with a solution to a modeling challenge requires the same creative thinking.
Thank you Steve for your vision, your products, and your lessons. R.I.P.

Update September 2011

Hi all, sorry for the 'silence' on this blog. I've had an incredible busy time at work, and DYI work around the house, so much so that I have had little time for my hobbies, and no time for this blog. I hope to be catching up a bit soon.
My previous post was about the Athearn GP9's. they are indeed shipping, and are showing up in various hobbyshops, and new roadnames etc are regularly being announced. Reviews have been mixed. Some people think they're not as well detailed or have some incorrect details, as they could have been/had. They seem to run nice, but similar quality control issues are again popping up, Athearn really needs to get a fix on this. Other than that, it seems to be nicely dimensioned, and mix well with Proto 2000 units, which for some are still the best looking Geeps ever made. I leave it to you and be your own judge.
My own layout has not progressed much. The limited time I've had to spend on it I used to glue some basic scenery foam materials down, in preparation for scenicking the area that will become inspired on Cordelia tunnel and surroundings.
My woodchip gondola project is at a standstill at present, purely due to time. Also I need to buy a good file to sand off the edges of the car ends, before glueing them together.
Lots to get on with, and with the days slowly getting shorter, and temperatures starting to decline, I should hopefully find more time to work on modelrailroad projects. :-)

Athearn Genesis GP9's shipping early?

There are some reports from US based modelers, that the announced Athearn Genesis GP9 locomotives are starting to ship. Athearn had originally scheduled these to be ready to ship in November or thereabouts. Them shipping now is a bonus for some. There are some reports of quality control issues, as in detail parts that have fallen off, but this could be rough handling in transportation. Also some critical users report the model not to be completely accurate. If that's the case, then that would be a shame, but they look pretty good to me. Here's a production model photo, courtesy of member Chad of TrainOrders.com.  It looks pretty good to me. I can't wait for the bloody nose version to be available.