Trackside Thursday

Wow some guys Pic and videos this week on TST thanks for sharing see you next week.

@Don McErlean posted:

Here is a scene at the short siding of General Door and Sash as late on a Thursday afternoon they are trying to get the new drill press (the foreman JUST ORDERED!!) off the flat car and into the stake truck so it can be driven round the back and unloaded.  Note this is after they spent nearly an hr trying to off load it directly to the fork lift.  Tempers are short, time in shift is very short (and its "loader" Brown's wife bridge night and he has to be home to watch the kids) so you can imaging the dialogue.

"Loader" Brown (on ground) - come on you idiot just put the crane line hook over the head and I'll have Hooker Harry (crane operator) put it in the truck!

Billie Bronkowski (on flat car)-  don't you call me an idiot!  What did you do with the crane hook!

Truck Driver (Dangerous Dan) - Come on you two moron's put the xxxxxx thing in the truck I am going to be late for supper!

Well, I am not nearly as good at this story telling thing as Patrick but I thought I would try.  I will admit its fun

Best Wishes

Don

Don - I love your photos ... and your story!  Keep at it! Yes it is fun!

Well "Trackside Thur" fans, another sunny Thursday in central Texas and nice and cool, just over 70 deg.  So although I seem to be first to post today, I look forward to others later in the day.  So here are some trackside pictures from the Leonardtown and Savannah.

Here is the local Corvette Club, holding its monthly breakfast meeting at the Depot Diner.  Amtrak to Atlanta and then on north to New York waits at the depot in the background.

At the other end of the scale, the local light rail drops off and picks up some local commuters at the container port station.  This system is vital for shift change transportation at the container port, most of the local streets are too tightly packed and too lacking in parking to support much personnel interchange so everyone takes the "Street Rail".

Well hope your day is going well and you have a great rest of the week.

Don

Sometimes you just can't wait

The Great Northeastern Railway is busy delivering supplies to the North Pole to ready them for Santa's Christmas Eve ride.

A photo of the harbor. The Great Northeastern Railway's Terryville Engine service and storage facility is visible from a distance to the left of the photo.

The maintenance of way crew is hard at work.

The engine service crew stands at trackside to admire their work as this B&O 3-unit F-3 Diesel prepares to head out on its next assignment.

Some commuters checking out the News Stand for something to read on the ride home. The New York Times truck just dropped off the evening edition; both Look and The Saturday Evening Post weekly editions come out on Thursday so there's lots to choose from. Shop owner Bob Cady always gets angry when the REA security car takes up the parking space next to his shop for the whole day.

Here are some trackside photos for this fine Thursday!  

The brakeman.

Passengers in waiting and on board.

The switch job.

Happy LATE TST very busy day I had. Thanks for sharing your pics today. Here’s a White 3000 waiting on this old Atlas O Erie car to move out of the way

Watching freight trains from a trackside vantage point.

Here's some late Trackside Thursday.

Working on the Railroad. That Power Wagon sure gets around!

Here's some after work hoops next to the tracks.

Happy Friday!

@bobfett- Say mate, I have the exact news stand, right down to the pictures on the magazines on display.  It came down to me in a box of stuff from my boyhood train set (late 40's through 50's) but no information on who made it.  Do you have any data on who made that item or where you might have acquired it?  Thanks. @Randy Harrison - I really liked the scenes in your pictures but I was especially interested in how you crafted the "water surface" in your lake scene.  What did you use?  Thanks.

Well so much for my questions, I have a few trackside scenes today from the Leonardtown and Savannah to show you.

Here my WbB 45 ton switcher, pulling a few cars through the industrial exhibit and passing the "sash and door" works where some unloading in underway.

Here in the early 50's the residents of "Small Town" are getting a railfan treat.  One of the last operating steam engines on the line is bringing the early morning freight through town on its way to the wharf at Savannah.  The kids love this because Old Bill (steamer) Bixoly always blows the whistle for them and rings the bell and waves.  However them folks in that brand new Jaguar (a fur-en car!!) might not like the cinders and smoke.  Many folks in Small Town would say..."Serves um right for not buying a Ford".

Later that same day, much to the disappointment of the kids standing in the McDonald's parking lot a new engine takes the same route.  This is a new 45 Ton engine, available for lease from UP surplus, that the management is trying out.  When they heard that they could close the coal and water facilities that they now pay outrageous (in their opinion) fees to the management of the commercial wharf for space they were ready to sign.

Best wishes to everyone.  Hope your week is going well

Don

@Randy Harrison posted:

The Great Northeastern Railway is busy delivering supplies to the North Pole to ready them for Santa's Christmas Eve ride.

Boy are you ever scaring me Randy.

Judy lets me know on the 25th of every month just how many months until Chrisrmas.   I love it but it sure takes some effort to get out of my recliner to help her set up.

@Don McErlean posted:

@Randy Harrison - I really liked the scenes in your pictures but I was especially interested in how you made the water.

@Don McErlean

Don:

Thank you for your compliments. The water is not very difficult if you can get the material that I used. This was a technique suggested by a friend of mine who formerly work for an architectual model shop.

The base of the water scene is a 2' x' 4' piece of Luan plywood. I simply painted it the color I wanted for the water. Once it dried, I laid a sheet of randomly rippled sheet acrylic on it. The acrylic is typically used for shower stall sliding doors. It takes some searching to find the acrylic. I am fortunate. There is a plastics store not far from me that will sell you a single 4' x 8' sheet and cut it to size. You can also check home improvement stores and see if they have any acrylic covers for lights under a drop ceiling. My experience here in Maryland is that the light covers that the home improvement stores have do not have the right pattern to look like water.

The photos below show two water scenes that we have done. One is a close-up of the harbor about which you inquired. The others are of a large lake that was in our store layout where I used color gradation using several different shades of paint to indicate shallow water around the lake's perimeter and gradually getting deeper toward the lake's center.

Crossing the harbor in our home layout.

The lake on the layout at our 2012 Christmas pop-up store. Trains for sale are visible behind the layout. We closed the business in 2015. So, this is not a free plug for our business.

Trackside view:

What a great (or dumb) place for a hike:

For "Trackside Thursday" here is a Lionel S-2 lettered for the Central Vermont with a few milk cars in tow.  Jack

Today's trackside shot:  At first light .. A west bound early morning freight train rolls thru Patsburg.   Photo taken in natural light )

@trumptrain posted:

Today's trackside shot:  At first light .. A west bound early morning freight train rolls thru Patsburg.   Photo taken in natural light )

Nicely done Patrick, adding natural realism to the layout. Perfect shot!

Gene

@Genemed posted:

Nicely done Patrick, adding natural realism to the layout. Perfect shot!

Gene

Thank you Gene.  

Almost forgot today’s. Here’s some Weaver coal cars on the trackside at the coal yard

With the exception of the ceramic cooking school (left of center in the first photo), all of the buildings are custom-made by artist friend, Richard Starsonek. They are wood covered by polymer clay that he baked to hardness in his kitchen oven. They are models of buildings in Baltimore City and surrounding areas. These were for sale in our former, Christmas pop-up store back in 2011. All of the photos below comprise the "Historic District" beside the tracks.

Both the railroad and the trolley served the Disney Park.

Great pics guys thanks for sharing today

@Randy Harrison - Randy, thanks so much for your information on how you created the "water".  It really sounds straightforward especially as good as the results are which I gathered from your pictures.  Great modeling!

Thanks again

Don

Well "Trackside" fans, we are certainly behind the power curve today.  Its 1500 here in Central Texas and a beautiful day in the 70's and sunny so I guess everyone is outside.  So just for fun, I grabbed a couple of pictures one new, one ancient.

First...a TERRIBLE SCENE in the yard of the Leonardtown and Savannah...someone, a blackard for sure, has taken a shot at a poor fellow waiting for the noonday train.  Skulking invisibly inside that (beautiful) Raritan River boxcar (thanks Tom Market) someone has ambushed poor Clyde the insurance man as he was standing near the platform.  Officer Sullivan - Small Town's entire police force- is on the way!

Next, as I was cleaning out some old pictures from our closet, I found this one of ME!  in 1946.  Note the "Donald Duck" locomotive and the auto garage made out of the box it came in.  Looks like it was probably Christmas or my birthday.  In 1946 I was two years old.

OK I'll admit not great artistry in these pictures but hey, I was in a hurry! 

Best Wishes

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

Well "Trackside" fans, we are certainly behind the power curve today.  Its 1500 here in Central Texas and a beautiful day in the 70's and sunny so I guess everyone is outside.  So just for fun, I grabbed a couple of pictures one new, one ancient.

First...a TERRIBLE SCENE in the yard of the Leonardtown and Savannah...someone, a blackard for sure, has taken a shot at a poor fellow waiting for the noonday train.  Skulking invisibly inside that (beautiful) Raritan River boxcar (thanks Tom Market) someone has ambushed poor Clyde the insurance man as he was standing near the platform.  Officer Sullivan - Small Town's entire police force- is on the way!

Next, as I was cleaning out some old pictures from our closet, I found this one of ME!  in 1946.  Note the "Donald Duck" locomotive and the auto garage made out of the box it came in.  Looks like it was probably Christmas or my birthday.  In 1946 I was two years old.

OK I'll admit not great artistry in these pictures but hey, I was in a hurry! 

Best Wishes

Don

Wow Don what a pic of you. Those kinda pics are priceless. Nice TST pic too hope when the the cops get there he can be some assistance. Thanks for sharing your pics today.

Well I’m late today here’s my offering. This is a Lionel 40’ Union Pacific Piggyback trailer dropped off trackside.

Trackside night and day.

@lee drennen - thanks for the comments on my pictures...you are right, those old pictures capture moments that can never come again and are fun to see.

Don

Well trackside Thursday folks we seem to be giving up on posting here, so I will try just this once more to see if others are still interested.  Here are some scenes from my Leonardtown and Savannah hope you enjoy them.

Here is a Lionel #241 just getting ready to depart with a morning local freight.

At lunch time its off to McDonald's...good lunches for all (including the raccoons in the garbage)

Here a local freight waits for the departure of the mid day passenger train to Atlanta.  It will follow it up the main line but by going first the passengers won't be held up by the slower freight.

Here the "brand new" EMD F-3 loco's are working the L&S just to demonstrate for EMD how they can handle smaller railroads.  Here they are about the enter the "mountains" inland from the coast.

Best wishes and join in!

Don

H2O

Trackside today:   B&O GP9 torpedo boat on the point of a commuter train ove takes a Washington Terminal RS1.  

Getting the job done.

A little Main Street night action on the layout.

Charlie

The farm.

A lake by the tracks.

The Coca Cola Company's yard switcher is being serviced.

@Don McErlean posted:

Well trackside Thursday folks we seem to be giving up on posting here, so I will try just this once more to see if others are still interested.  Here are some scenes from my Leonardtown and Savannah hope you enjoy them.

Here is a Lionel #241 just getting ready to depart with a morning local freight.

At lunch time its off to McDonald's...good lunches for all (including the raccoons in the garbage)

Here a local freight waits for the departure of the mid day passenger train to Atlanta.  It will follow it up the main line but by going first the passengers won't be held up by the slower freight.

Here the "brand new" EMD F-3 loco's are working the L&S just to demonstrate for EMD how they can handle smaller railroads.  Here they are about the enter the "mountains" inland from the coast.

Best wishes and join in!

Don

Thanks for reviving this thread Don sorry have been here it’s Spring/ Summer one of my busiest times of the year with the garden and cutting lots of grass also I raise baby chicks this time of year that keeps me busy.

@lee drennen- Thanks for responding Lee, maybe we can keep the post alive even for just a few.  I know the spring/summer workload, luckily (?) for me it April / May is the rainy season here in central Texas so a lot of days the weather just does not cooperate with outside work.  I got a real smile out of your comment on ... "raising baby chicks".  I have no idea what that entails (I am a city boy I am afraid) but it just sounds like a real challenge.  Best Wishes

Don

Here's a trackside train meet vid a little late, couldn't get to it yesterday!

I’m afraid I can’t share any scenic trackside photographs, but here are a couple on the “Plywood Central RR”

I'm a day late, but here's trackside on PVRR.

Great looking train crossing some beautiful scenery, Ryan!