@Hot Water posted:Very nice. Must admit that I didn't have any issues running that 3rd Rail NYC J3a "Super Hudson" on our layout. Wonder what happened to it. Glad you got it "fixed" and enjoy it.
The late Gene Kutina (The Burlington Shops, in Chicago) had been doing all my weathering and custom detailing/painting since about 1973 (back when I was modeling in HO scale). He was an absolute expert in steam locomotive weathering, and since he had a massive library of prototype books to work from, plus adding my working knowledge of steam locomotives relative to "what gets dirty where and what color", Gene understood exactly what I wanted, and came through every time. One very special feature he developed for me, was the very unusual "flat black soot" on the top of the smokebox, so typical of virtually all NYC steam power, in the late 1940s thru the mid 1950s. Gene never would reveal/explain how he did that, only smiled when asked.
I have your SP Cab forward and your GN S-3. Gene did an excellent job on both. He also weathered a DM&IR for me a few years back. Sorry to hear he is no longer with us. I spent a half hour on the phone with him talking about the DM&IR. In the end I left it to his discretion and I wasn’t disappointed. Nice guy.
