I started cobbling together a Sunset Limited train back in 1994. Over the years I have kept replacing bits and pieces until I am finally finished. Two locomotives and 15 cars. Kato PAs. Only modifications were changing engine numbers to represent those in the Texas & New Orleans stable, adding train numbers to the number boards and adding DCC. Head end cars. These, and all of the cars except for the 10-6 sleepers, were created by adding M&R etched sides to Con Cor Budd cars that were used as core kits. The plastic sides were milled down enough to remove details and allow the metal sides to sit flush with the roofs. Openings for the new windows were cut into the plastic car sides. Floquil Bright Silver paint and Microscale decals. The postal-baggage car has six wheel Kato trucks. The baggage-dorm car could accommodate 27 crew members in five rooms. Chair cars. The first car is a 48 passenger divided chair car with the first compartment seating 16 and the second 32. There was also a news stand where drinks and sandwiches could be purchased. As the train was put in to service in the late 40s, “Jim Crow” segregation laws were still enforced in Louisiana and Texas that required these cars. When the Supreme Court overturned these laws in the mid 1950s, the railroads were quick to convert them to standard coaches. The second coach shown is one of three that ran in each of the five consists. These held 44 passengers each. Coffee-Shop-Lounge and dining car. The “Pride of Texas” lounge cars could seat 46, serving light meals and drinks. The “Audubon” dining cars had tables for 48. Lounge car and 10-6 sleeper. The “French Quarter” lounge cars seated 39 people. There were six sleeping cars at the end of the train, each with ten roomettes and six double bedrooms. I did not use etched sides on the first five. These are pretty much stock Con Cor cars. I did blank out 3 of the 6 windows along the corridor beside the bedrooms and add the large train logo number boards on the sides. On these and most of the cars I replaced the Con Cor wheels with Intermountan 36” wheel sets and added Kato couplers. Blunt end 10-6 sleeper. The president of the Southern Pacific when the cars were ordered, judged that people would rather have a mid train lounge car instead of a lounge observation car at the end of the train. So each of the five train sets had a blunt ended sleeper bringing up the markers and the drum head. The standard SP light package for passenger trains had a Mars light. For this car I used a Kato business car for the cor kit and mounted a wrap around etched side to that. The Richmond Control Mars light is powered from the standard Kato passenger car electrical pickup.
Good afternoon from cloudy, cold and rainy Northeast Ohio! I did get a little work done this week! Assembled an Eastern Car Works H2a Hopper Car kit, painted it Scalecoat II Black and lettered it with Mount Vernon Shops decals. The PRR was transitioning from 50 Ton 2bay hoppers to 70 Ton 3 bay hoppers, they built 2000 H35 hoppers to replace worn out H21 hoppers but lacked the cash for any more at the time so they leased 2,000 H2a hoppers from the N&W (48% controlled by the PRR) for 10 years and returned them in 1966. The PRR painted over the N&W and just added the PENNSYLVANIA and car number. I finally finished my second DT&I GP7, with their special curved grab on the short hood, spark arresters and a Nathan M5 horn. Engine was painted with a 50/50 mixture of Scalecoat II ATSF Red and Reefer Yellow paint, Black Paint and lettered with Herald King Decals. This was one of the last two GP7's on the railroad and were many times leased to the PC for use in and around Toledo. Finally, last week I took a pair of Athearn DT&I GP40-2's to the club to replicate the Railblazer an all TOFCEE train that ran Dearborn to Cincinnati. Thanks for looking! Rick Jesionowski
Here are B&O F7A and F7B (Walthers Proto) pulling a mixed freight over the newly installed bridge. I am currently using this as test train for the bridges. If all goes well I will be turning it into a run by.
Want to see the full story: https://www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/the-old-port-shop.125242/ A picture showing the full power of Z-Scale!! Thank you, Dirk!! Have a nice WE! Sven
Would you mind sharing a couple of more photos of this scene (different angles/wide perspective) and the height of the foam on either side of the bridge? I’m still finishing bench work, but eventually plan on doing something similar with an urban scene. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sure, no problem. I have a bunch of in progress photos I can post. I will do so later tonight after the dishwasher repairman leaves. The height of the "pink" foam is 4 inches. I used four 1 inch boards. Why? So I could do projects such as this and also to be able to place scenes I saved from my old layout.
@MetraMan01 I was going to post the photos in another post here but I figured that due to the number of photos that could highjack the thread. Instead I created a photo album. Eventually this will all be part of my Layout Remake post (Which I am way behind in updating.) Layout Remake Bridges If you have any questions please ask or PM me.
By the time the galloping goose reached the station high in the mountains, everything was deserted apart from the truck of a local handyman doing work inside.
