a picture a day....

Randy Harrison:  Thank you for posting the harbor pictures.  I really liked how you included some "toy" boats, to me that is part of the fun.  I also love the buildings on the harbor side.  They look like the buildings bordering the canals in Amsterdam or Copenhagen.  Relatively thin but inevitably 3 stories or more high with lots of "gingerbread"...are those Dept 56 or another maker, of did you model them yourself?

Anyway a great scene.

Regards Don McErlean

Some action around Centralia WA today...

For today: " Passenger trains grace the rails." 

@Don McErlean posted:

Randy Harrison:  Thank you for posting the harbor pictures.  I really liked how you included some "toy" boats, to me that is part of the fun.  I also love the buildings on the harbor side.  They look like the buildings bordering the canals in Amsterdam or Copenhagen.  Relatively thin but inevitably 3 stories or more high with lots of "gingerbread"...are those Dept 56 or another maker, of did you model them yourself?

Anyway a great scene.

Regards Don McErlean

Don:

The buildings in the one photo along the harbor are from an early iteration of the harbor scene and in fact are Department 56 buildings. I like Department 56 buildings for the detail and compatibility with O scale. When the layout expanded and the harbor scene moved away from the wall and rotated 90 degrees clockwise, the lone building on the end of the wharf closest to the main layout named "the Crow's Nest" is a great Lemax building for a waterfront scene decorated with nautical items such as life preservers and fish nets.

Monon passes garage area

Hi here are a few fun pictures for a lazy afternoon (I finished up my students final exams, posted the grades, and am dropping off the grid to avoid complaints - only kidding).

Many of you know my Leonardtown and Savannah (L&S - "long and skinny")  a perpetually broke, small regional, trying to hang on to local business and moving trains for big brother (Southern).  Luckily there is a war on so traffic is heavy and for the last 3 years we have actually made money!...Well today is unusual, you know with war traffic and gas rationing, personal travel is hard to get and trains are crowded.  The local intercity transit company, near bankruptcy in '39, managed to hold on and then the '42 war industry and a Port of Savannah work force nearly 3 x depression levels has swelled demand for their system.  Today, one of their cars is returning from heavy maintenance in Macon and is traversing back to the port area via a temporary track warrant from the L&S.  Nice fee to us and this is the mid-afternoon slow down as the morning commuter run is over and the evening run not yet started.

Here is the car, nice and pretty with its new paint and no broken windows!

I titled the next two pictures..."Sometimes even the mighty must wait"!!

Here is that new snooty fellow and his fancy car...but he waits just like Old Charlie in the '32 Ford pick up behind him.

Here, the mighty GP-7, newest power on the L&S waits as well even with the afternoon express to Macon/Atlanta...Too bad, these guys are paying us and we need the money! 

Anyway, have a few laughs at my imaginary world...

Don McErlean

All three are nice photographs.  The traction car looks great with new paint!

For today:  " The country depot."

            My boy Mike 32yrs. ago before he became an NYPD Officer in mid-town Manhattan.   

Newton is taking Pauline for a ride as they pass the Pacific Fruit reefer being unloaded while the B&A waits for orders

Mark Boyce:  Thank you for the compliment on my trolley.  Bergen County (which is actually in NJ) is where I lived from birth ('44) till about 18 when I left for college.  After college, married and joined the DOD (Dept of AF then Dept of Navy) and they moved us 10 times through 5 states but never back to NJ. I do actually remember riding on the cars as a little boy but by the 50's they were gone replaced by buses. 

thanks again

Don

For today: "Ma & Pa caboose ready for next assignment." 

          Marci's photo...