Category Archives: Events

#4501 Departing Grand Junction

Posted on by

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum used to offer several steam powered excursions in the fall to enable folks to view the autumn colors. These were labeled as The Autumn Leaf Specials and were day-long trips originating in Chattanooga, and running down into Georgia and return. The turntable in Summerville didn’t exist at that time, so the train only ran as far as LaFayette or possibly Trion. The return trip had the diesel locomotive hauling the train as the steamer had no way to turn around at the end. I understand that these trips are now offered under the label Summerville Steam, with the train running all the way to Summerville.

If I recall correctly, this photograph was taken in November of 1996 just as the train was departing the museum’s Grand Junction depot in Chattanooga early in the morning. The signal bridge in the background is on a mainline of the Norfolk Southern Railway (formerly the Southern Railway).

Southern Rwy #4501 at Grand Junction

The Grand Junction depot is a great place to watch trains. There is a yard adjacent to the depot where locomotives and cars are on display, and NS freight trains frequently pass by over the aforementioned tracks. The depot itself has a snack bar and rest rooms, and of course a gift shop with railroad oriented merchandise. I’ve visited their facility and ridden several of their trains quite a few times over the years and highly recommend them.

Site Improvement

Posted on by

Several things have been going on in the background in recent weeks. You might recall the problem I was having a while back with “Unwelcome Subscribers” to this blog. Happily the fix I implemented seems to have solved that problem, hopefully for good.

Last week I took another step to help provide a bit more security to the site by adding something called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL for short). This is a standard security protocol for establishing encrypted links between a web server and a browser in an online communication. You will likely recognize this by the https prefix on the site web address.

This changes the blog address (as well as the primary Louisiana Central website address) by adding that “s” to the http. If you use your old link to the site, you should be automatically re-directed to the new address. However I’d recommend that you update your link to the new one. I find that the new link will get you there a second or two faster.

In my testing last week I think I got the bugs squashed, but if you happen to encounter something else, please let me know.

In other news, the 7th annual Train Day at the Library event took place yesterday at the Jones Creek Library over in Baton Rouge. I had the privilege of assisting with the organization of the show this year, and we were rewarded with a record attendance. To be sure, nothing that I did caused that . . . I give all that credit to the absolutely gorgeous day we had, plus the reputation that the show has been building on for the six prior years.

Though not aimed at hard-core railfans and model railroaders (the general public is the targeted audience), the show does draw in many of those folks, and that’s good because I think it has helped to entice more actual display participants to the event. The library has also been thrilled with the attendance, and continues to request the show each year. Hopefully, that will continue.

Steam-up In Jackson, Louisiana

Posted on by

Last Saturday my friend Ron Findley and I drove up to Jackson, Louisiana to watch the steam-up scheduled for the day.  This is the home of the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders, and one of the club features is a nice elevated loop for the live steam buffs in the club.  This day was host to a number of folks from out of state, and we delighted in seeing several new faces at the event.

Just heading out on the mainline after our arrival was this beautiful F scale D&RGW K-36 2-8-2, pulling a short passenger train over the line.  An F scale (1:20.3) steamer is quite large, and the sounds are awesome!

D&RGW K-36 #480

Shortly afterwards, a Great Northern class S-2 4-8-4 took to the rails, seen here hauling a freight train with several perishables in tow.  She had to make speed to arrive at her destination in a timely fashion!

GN S-2 4-8-4 #2584

Perhaps the most interesting thing run yesterday was this Schnabel car.  It appears to be a model of the Westinghouse car, WECX 800, which I believe to be the largest Schnabel car in service.  She sports 36 axles!  These cars are used to transport very large and/or heavy loads.  The car splits in the middle and the load is placed between the halves.  In essence, the load virtually becomes a part of the car.  The model was built with the aid of 3D printing, and is almost complete, with only the need for lettering and perhaps a detail or two.

Schnabel Car

And below we have a tidy little passenger train being hauled by what (I believe) to be a British 2-6-2.  She is running on the portable loop seen in the background of a photo above, and was a sweet running little thing . . . a pleasure to see.  Trevor, if you’re watching, this one’s for you  🙂

British 2-6-2 Loco

These are just a few of the locomotives performing during this day; quite a few others ran as well.  I’ve posted photos previously of others that I’ve seen in earlier years, and a search should yield those posts if you would like to see them.

-Jack

WWII Air, Sea & Land Festival

Posted on by

This past weekend Ron Findley and I attended the WWII Air, Sea & Land Festival down in New Orleans.  This is the fourth time this event has been there (it was given a new name this year), and it is an absolutely fabulous show. The primary forces behind the event are the Commemorative Air Force and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

I know this is supposed to be a blog about railroading, but I confess to also being an aviation addict, at least when it pertains to military aircraft.  And WWII vintage aircraft are dear to my heart.  Therefore, I’ve decided to relax the “rules” to accommodate this post, and show a few highlights from this year’s show.  OK, a “few” are actually 28 photos, but that was culled from the 861 images I shot during the course of the day.  I wish I could post them all.

Saturday morning was windy and had a heavy overcast, with a very low ceiling.  Fortunately, by late morning a cold front moved into the area and pushed the clouds away.  The day was chilly and very windy, with a strong north wind for the remainder of the day.  But now with sunshine and an unlimited ceiling, the aircraft took flight.  In years past, the flying aspect of the show was pretty much limited to take-offs and landings, with aircraft mostly used to take (paying) passengers for a short spin around town.  But this year that all changed.  All of the bombers and most of the fighters and trainers took to the air.  And a number of them did splendid aerobatic maneuvers to the delight of the crowds.  This year’s show was hands down the best thus far!  I’m already looking forward to next year.

I’ll start with a few shots taken of the ground parade that was also new this year.  This was basically a “pass in review” of the cars, jeeps, trucks, personnel carriers and even tanks.  That was followed by various groups and organizations (some rather zany), all in good fun.

Let’s start!

Pass_in_Review -1

At right is an M4A3 Sherman tank as it passed a parked B-29 bomber.  At left, a half-track is approaching.

Pass_in_Review-2

And here is that White M-3 half-track approaching my position.  A Dodge WC-54 ambulance is seen in the distance.

Pass_in_Review-3

A 3/4 ton truck and a CCKW deuce-and-a-half follow.

Pass_in_Review-4

And a light M3A1 Stuart tank follows up at the rear.

Pass_in_Review-5

Here’s the Sherman and the deuce-and-a-half parked back in the display area.  There were quite a few other vehicles that I haven’t shown . . . these were just a sampling.

Let’s look at some aircraft highlights.  The good news is that there was a lot of flying, and some pretty slick maneuvers going on.  The bad news is that the sun was on the far side of the field.  So naturally, this made photography quite difficult.  Unfortunately most photos tend to be in shadows or silhouetted.  But even the silhouettes are cool!  So let’s get to it.

USMC_PBJ_Bomber

First we have a USMC PBJ, the Devil Dog, which is really a variant of a B-25 bomber.  This was used for many things, but strafing was it’s specialty.  Note the array of eight guns poking out of this things nose.  And if that isn’t enough, there are also four .50 caliber machine guns mounted on the side of the fuselage (two on each side) just behind the pilot.  Can you imagine the sheer volume of lead being rained down upon the target?!

B-25_Bomber

And here is the classic North American B-25J Mitchell bomber, the Yellow Rose.  Apparently these large aircraft are fairly agile seeing the way these pilots were flying them, and considering how they were used during the war beyond their intended use as bombers.

B-17_Bomber

Here’s a close-up of the nose art on a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress bomber, the Texas Raiders.  She even has a bomb load inside,  complete with anti-Hitler graffiti.

B-17_Bomber_in_Flight

And here she is in flight.  The markings on the plane indicate it’s from the 533rd Squadron, 381st Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force.

B-29_Bomber

The Boeing B-29A Superfortress, Fifi is coming in for a landing.  In the foreground is the former control tower of the art-deco styled terminal building at the New Orleans Lakefront Airport.  Fifi is one of only two B-29 bombers still in flying condition.

P-40_Fighter

Here is a Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk fighter.  This one is in the Army Air Force livery, rather than the commonly seen Flying Tigers motif.

TBM_Avenger

And here’s a beautifully restored TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.  This airplane is surprisingly large!  It has a crew of three.  The TBM is a Grumman TBF produced by General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division under license.

YAK-9_Fighter

Something a little different: a Russian Yakovlev YAK-9 fighter.  This thing is rather small, but appears to be fast and agile.  It was the most produced Soviet fighter of all time.

P-51_Fighter-1

Now what would an air show be without a P-51?  Many consider the North American P-51D Mustang to be the most beautiful aircraft produced during WWII.  Here’s Gunfighter coming in for a strafing run.

P-51_Fighter-2

Gunfighter buzzes by the B-29 Fifi as she taxis out for a takeoff.

P-51_Fighter-3

The Gunfighter put on quite a show, complete with loops, wing-overs, rolls, and more!  This airplane is very fast and agile, and it always impresses the crowd.

FM-1_Fighter-1

Someone has sounded an alert!  Here’s an FM-2 Wildcat springing into action.  No, I didn’t tilt the camera for effect.  With this airplane’s ability to launch from aircraft carriers, coupled with the stiff headwind that day, the thing literally leaped into the air within moments of the pilot opening the throttle.  Grumman Aircraft was focused on the development of the new F6F fighter, so they licensed production of the F4F Wildcat to General Motors’ Eastern Aircraft Division, hence the designation of FM-1, then the FM-2.

Zero_Fighter-1

And here’s what caused the scramble, three Japanese Zeros!  Looks like the one on the left has just been hit.

Zero Fighter-2

And it looks like this Zero has been wounded as it was strafing the field where this B-17 is trying to taxi out to the runway.

FM-2_Fighter-2

Well, the Wildcat is that Zero’s problem.  He’s hot on his tail.  I was surprised by the performance of the Wildcat.  It was one of the hardest aircraft to photograph due to it’s small size, it’s speed and it’s maneuvering.

FM-2_Fighter-3

With the Zero dispatched, the Wildcat can celebrate….

FM-2_Fighter-4

….with a victory roll.

FM-2_Fighter-5

FM-2_Fighter-6

FM-2_Fighter-7

FM-2_Fighter-8

And in the meantime:

Zero_Fighter-3

The third Zero is frantically trying to avoid the hail of lead about to come his way!  These aircraft are Japanese Zero replicas created from AT-6 Texans.  They’ve been featured in several movies and in scores of airshows.

Actually, there were many more aircraft flying than what I’ve shown here.  And there were a couple dozen aircraft on display that didn’t fly at all on Saturday.  I wish I had room to show them all.  There was even a (surprise) low-level flyover by a B-52 bomber!

The title of the post indicates air, sea and land.  You’ve seen the air and the land, but what about the sea?  The WWII museum recently completed restoration of a Navy PT boat, which was on display in the adjacent yacht harbor.  Unfortunately we just didn’t have time to make it over there to check out the boat.  However, since it is local to New Orleans, we can go visit it on another day, and without the pressure of trying to see too much in one day.  Indeed, the biggest problem I’ve had in viewing the displays downtown at the museum has been the overwhelming abundance of displays.  It’s impossible to see everything there in reasonable detail within a single day.

And just to show that I haven’t forgotten all about railroads, here’s a Norfolk Southern freight:

NS_Freight

The NS mainline passes right by the airport, and this was one of 5 or 6 trains that passed during the afternoon.  So there, I’ve managed to bring this post back to where it belongs.

-Jack

Some Area Fall Happenings

Posted on by

Being pre-occupied with finishing up my home restoration (as a result of the great 2016 flood) coupled with a lack of progress on my model railroad, has resulted in very few posts over this past year. I’ve mentioned before that I have decided not to do any reconstruction in the train building until the house proper is complete. If I started the work out back, I would never finish the work still needed in the house (too much of a diversion). Drying out the place and remediation has been long completed . . . I just haven’t started the process of rebuilding. But I do hope to finally get out there sometime this winter to begin the work.

In the meantime there are several activities, some railroad and one aviation oriented, that I hope to attend. I think it’s time for me to get out of the house more in order to keep my sanity!

First up: The Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders up in Jackson, Louisiana will be holding their Trainfest on Saturday, October 14th. Things get rolling around 10 am. If you haven’t been to one of these open houses, you really should give it a shot. The club is home to quite a few operating layouts. They cover all of the popular scales (Z, N, HO, S and O) with their indoor layouts. And there is an outdoor G scale layout, along with a separate live steam loop that sees trains running in various scales (G and Fn3 mostly). There is also an open pavilion that is used to shelter and restore a variety of full size equipment. I recently posted a couple photos from there including a neat little Plymouth critter, and a grape harvesting machine. There are quite a few other interesting pieces of machinery under and near the shelter.

A week later (Saturday, August 21st) the Southeast Louisiana Chapter of the NRHS will be getting together for a day of railfanning over in Hammond, Louisiana. They will be meeting next to the Amtrak depot located downtown on the CN railroad mainline. Folks usually start gathering around 9 am or so, and you’re welcome to stay until you just can’t take it anymore. 🙂 Everyone is invited to join in, you don’t have to be a chapter member.

The following week there will be an aviation event down in New Orleans. The WWII Air, Sea & Land Festival will be held at the Lakefront Airport on October 27-29. This is the fourth time this event has been there (it was given a new name this year), and it is an absolutely fabulous show. The primary forces behind the event are the Commemorative Air Force and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. There will be a significant number of WWII aircraft both on display and flying, along with several ground vehicles ranging from jeeps to tanks. This year will also feature their newly restored PT boat. I don’t have details of exactly where the boat will be displayed, but I assume it will be in the adjacent harbor. Here’s another link if you’d like more information:  The National WWII Museum.

And finally, the Louisiana Chapter of the Train Collectors Association (TCA) will be holding their fall train show on Saturday, November 4th over in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. The event will be at the First Baptist Church gym located on E. Pine Street. Hours will be 9 am until 3 pm. This show coincides with the Ponchatoula Trade Days and Craft Fair which, while not railroad related, can be an interesting adjunct to the day.

Whew, the next month will be busy! Hope to see some of you at one (or more) of these events.

-Jack

The 5th Anniversary

Posted on by

My, how time flies! Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Louisiana Central layout construction. Unfortunately tragedy struck the Louisiana Central less than a month after the fourth anniversary post was made. For those of you who are new to reading this blog, my city suffered a horrific flood last August 13th. My home and the layout building took on about 15″ of flood waters. The good news is that the layout itself suffered only wet feet. However the restoration of the building (flooring, drywall, cabinets, etc.) is on hold until my house restoration is complete (hopefully within these next few weeks).

Since the layout and building have been out of service for the past year (the building is serving as a warehouse for items salvaged from the house), there is little to report with regards to layout construction. A few weeks before the flood I posted my latest (and last) progress report on the layout, the advancement of the mainline west out of Oneida. The only mainline track left to be done is the last stretch into Monterey, and the track in the turnback curve back in the alcove (this is the mainline between Oneida and Whitcomb). I had just finished casting the bridge abutments needed there, and was about to cast the wing walls.  The fourth anniversary installment gives more detail on the remaining work.

I’ve spent time surveying the layout progress these past few months. I’ve laid enough trackage and done enough wiring now to have a good feel for the time required for those tasks. Once layout construction resumes, I should be able to completely finish laying track (including the yards and service areas) within two or three months. Add a month for the wiring, and another month or so to install all the fascia and control panels, and the layout will be ready for shakedown operations. Maybe I’ll have a big announcement on the sixth anniversary!

Fortunately I was able to attend a half dozen railfan and model railroad events last winter and this spring. In just a few weeks (August 5th) the Southeastern Louisiana Chapter of the NRHS will be having their annual slide show at the Denham Springs library. It’s a lightly attended event, but I enjoy the company of those folks, and there are always some interesting slides to view.  You don’t have to be a member to attend, so I encourage those of you local to this area to come join the fun.

I’ll post my progress on the layout building restoration once it gets underway. Hopefully that will be soon.

-Jack

Side Stepping Burn-out, Part Deaux

Posted on by

I have to confess, I really haven’t felt much like working on the layout for a couple of weeks now.  Sure, I’ve been heading out to the layout room most each day, but I really haven’t been very productive . . . mostly looking for “low hanging fruit” to work on.  I reconditioned a bunch of old Tortoise switch motors.  And I transferred a sound decoder and speaker from a “basket case” Bachmann modern 4-4-0 to another similar model I have that is running and intact.  Another small project completed.  And I spent a day checking out my newly repaired digital camera.  But none of this was advancing the state of the layout itself.

The last two weekends have featured back-to-back NRHS* Chapter banquets, one in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and the other in Hammond, Louisiana.  I attended both and thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of each day.  The journeys were good, the meals were good, the presentations at both were excellent, and most importantly, I really enjoyed the company of fellow modelers, railfans and historians.  Today was the Hammond event, and afterward Ron Findley and I headed over to the train depot to hopefully catch a few trains.  Traffic was a bit slow, so we decided to just stroll down Cate Street (along the track) and I started photographing the wonderful old buildings along that street.  I guess Ron and I really got caught up into it, as we ended up strolling to the end of the business district, then started down Thomas Street where we repeated our photographic endeavors.  And then there was Oak Street, and finally, Church Street.  I believe I ended up with several hundred images, and I totally enjoyed our little foray.  We eventually found our way back to the depot, where I noticed that there was quite a bit a material staged along the tracks and maintenance-of-way area.  There was a crane parked on a spur, and one of those neat (Difco?) side dump ballast cars.  Lots of rail, ties, ballast, spikes, tie plates and more.  I suspect that this was material left over from the recent trestle repairs down at the Bonnet Carre Spillway. For those of you who are unaware, the CN experienced a major fire there a couple weeks ago that took out an entire span of trestle between two concrete fire breaks.

But back to my original confession above, I have been going “hot and heavy” on the layout construction for over a year now.  You long time readers may remember I went through an intense period of burn-out during my second year of construction and got very little accomplished, relatively speaking, as a result.  I even wrote a post about it, Side-Stepping Burn Out.  When I returned to serious construction a few months later, I knew I would have to change my work habits to help avoid this problem in the future.  In large part, I’ve done better because I will work on something -say, trackwork- for several weeks, then I’ll switch off to something else; benchwork, electrical work, workshop projects, just about anything to break up the repetition and boredom that sometimes occurs when building a relatively large layout (mostly single handedly).  But the burn-out symptoms have been rearing their ugly head again for some time now.  And I’ve simply backed off from what I’ve been doing.  I’m feeling a bit better about things now, especially after these two great Saturdays, and I suspect in another week or so that I’ll be raring to get after it again.  To be sure, I continually feel some guilt for letting this time pass without “real” production, but I’ve told myself that this is after all, a hobby.  And if I’m not happy doing it, then it ain’t a hobby!

So not to worry, the Louisiana Central will continue to see heavy construction, albeit with just a short delay.

Hmmm, now I’ve got to figure out how I’m going to fit those neat city buildings in over at Willis.

-Jack

*National Railway Historical Society

Train Day at the Library – 2016

Posted on by

The 4th annual Train Day at the Library in Baton Rouge is now in the bag.  Last Saturday was a gorgeous day and folks took advantage of that to attend the event.  The usual fare was presented including operating layouts, slide shows, photo exhibitions, and numerous displays of models.  Several railroad historical societies were represented as well.  This year we had a new addition to the displays: Bill Chidester brought two Fairmont motor cars over and they were displayed at the entrance to the library.  One is in operating condition and the other is his recent acquisition of a derelict which Bill plans to restore.  The speeders drew plenty of attention from both adults and kids.

Bill, Jack & Wayne at TD@L-2016It’s the end of the day and the motor cars have just been loaded up on Bill Chidester’s trailer for the trip back home.  That’s Bill on the left, Wayne Robichaux on the right, and yours truly at center.  Photo by Bob Schilling.

I really have enjoyed this small gathering each year.  I look forward to seeing friends there, especially those that I don’t get to see very often.  And Saturday was no exception in that regard.  Many thanks to Forrest Becht and all the others that made the show possible.

Wayne and I, along with Bill and his wife, made our way over to a local steak house afterward.  A New York strip, along with a loaded baked potato and salad, all washed down with a cold and tasty brewski, was the perfect way to cap off the day.

-Jack

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Posted on by

Well, the automobiles were only used for transportation to see the planes and trains in this case…

The past month has seen somewhat sporadic progress on the layout.  I confess to several distractions during this period.

Three weeks ago Ron Findley and I motored down to New Orleans for the Airpower Expo at the Lakefront Airport.  This year’s show was again quite interesting, with a nice roster of war birds in attendance.  There were three bombers there (all flying): a B-29, a B-17 and a B-25.  A P-51D Mustang was busy all day with flights, along with an SB2C Helldiver and a P-40 Warhawk.  Also on display were an SBD Dauntless dive bomber, a P-51C Mustang in “red tail” livery, a P-39 Airacobra, a C-47, and several training aircraft of various vintages.  The National WWII Museum (co-sponsor of the event) had quite a few pieces of ground equipment ranging from trucks and jeeps, to small field pieces, to a light tank.  A great day with good weather and plenty of flying.

Then last weekend I headed over to Ponchatoula with Ed Dayries to take in the annual train show over there.  The show is primarily aimed at the 3-rail crowd, but there was also a nice S scale layout in operation, as well as a live steam display.  Vendors were offering their goods in just about all of the common scales/gauges.  We capped it off with a short run up to Hammond where we happened to catch Amtrak #58, the northbound train running from New Orleans to Chicago.

Progress on the layout has come in short spurts during this time.  I’ve finished the mainline track through Whitcomb and the switch motors are installed.  I’ve started on the passing siding and industrial spur trackage.  I’ve finished all the joists on the peninsula that I wrote of last month, and I’ve cut out the basic sub-roadbed shapes for Oneida…trimming and adjustments will be made later once it’s time to plot out the track centerlines.

Today saw an uptick in the production, with some excellent progress being made.  Wayne Robichaux and I made a lumber run this morning after enjoying the weekly ROMEO* breakfast.  After unloading the material, we proceeded to lay out and cut the plywood and Homasote sub-roadbed pieces that will be needed for the turn back loops located in the alcove west of Whitcomb.  We completed both the Louisiana Central and the Spencer Lumber Company’s sub-roadbed loops.  I’ll probably start making risers for all of this tomorrow.

I received the 72′ bridge that I needed for the overpass at Whitcomb but it still sits on the workbench awaiting assembly.  I’m going to have to start focusing on specific tasks for the remainder of the year.  There are many events (those distractions) between now and late January that I’ll likely participate in.  But that’s okay, because for me, that’s part of what I enjoy about this hobby.  As I age I’m finding the social aspects are becoming more and more important.  I can hardly wait for each event, whether it be a train show, an open house, or an NRHS banquet…I’m ready for it!  And of course, with the holidays coming up, I’ll also be enjoying good time with family.  It’s a great time of year!

But fear not, the Louisiana Central will continue to progress.  Ultimately, I can hardly wait for the day when trains are operational.

 -Jack

*Retired Old Modelers Eating Out

Whitcomb Anticipating New Railroad Line

Posted on by

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted any updates, so I thought maybe I should peck out a few lines about what’s been going on.

Last Saturday, Ron Findley and I attended the Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders’ annual open house up in Jackson, LA.  It was a beautiful day and there was a record turnout in attendance.  The highlight of my visit was seeing a gorgeous U.P. Challenger running on their live steam loop.  What a sight!

UP Challenger 3987

Progress in Whitcomb has been a bit slow, but still steady.  The sub-roadbed and roadbed work through the town is nearly complete, and reaches out to the edge of the (future) Louisiana Central bridge just beyond the west end.  Only some feathering of the vertical roadbed transitions needs to be done.  The Spencer sub-roadbed has been extended through the S-curve that passes below the bridge and is headed toward the alcove in the corner of the room.  Track on both lines has been extended a bit further and should be completed in this area fairly soon.

The weather outside has been very dry and a bit cooler, so I recently decided to drag the saw outside.  I cut the wooden joists that would be needed for the second peninsula (which is also the fifth and last major area of benchwork).  Last Monday I installed the joists along much of the peninsula, and today I started laying out the joists around the orb at the end.  I should wrap that up tomorrow.  At that point, the peninsula will be ready for the sub-roadbed.

A few weeks ago I completed the vertical roadbed transition at Willis from the mainline down the yard ladder.  It turned out quite nicely and it makes me want to rip out other transitions I’ve done and replace them with these long, very slightly tapered ones.  But I won’t….at least, not for now.  It’s all I can do to get this layout up and running without ripping things out for re-dos, especially when they’re cosmetic in nature.

A month ago I said I’d be posting a few photos shortly.  I have been waiting for the work at Whitcomb to appear a bit more finished.  It’s taking longer than I expected, but I should be there soon.  As I’ve quipped in my last couple posts, “I’m pleased with the progress being made”.

-Jack

I’m Hearing Spike Mauls

Posted on by

First, an announcement:  In less than a month The Greater Baton Rouge Model Railroaders will be hosting their annual open house up in Jackson, Louisiana.  Saturday, October 10th is the date, and the entire facility will be open for display.  They will have layouts in operation ranging from N scale, all the way up to G (and Fn3) scale live steam.  Lunch is provided and it’s always a great way to spend several hours.  Make plans to drive up there.  I’ll follow up with another post in a few weeks with further details and directions.

This past weekend was productive on the Louisiana Central.  I converted and installed another code 70 switch at the bottom of the Spencer logging operation switchback.  That completes both the Camp 6 and double switchback trackage.  I also advanced the trackage of both the Spencer and the Louisiana Central mainlines toward Whitcomb, getting about 25 feet of track down.  By next weekend the track should reach the end of the sub-roadbed presently installed.

I’ve also started a bit of roadbed work over in Willis.  A few weeks ago Wayne and I cut some long tapered pieces of roadbed from some 2×4 lumber for use as transitions from the cork roadbed down to the Homasote table top.  These will be needed in several places around the layout.  I installed the first of those vertical transitions at the beginning of the yard ladder in Willis.  This will enable me to complete the passing siding and to start laying the yard trackage.

In a few weeks I’ll be pushing the sub-roadbed beyond Whitcomb and into the alcove, where the L.C. and Spencer mainlines will be making some hairpin curves and then heading out onto the second peninsula where Oneida is located.  If you study the trackplan, you’ll see that the L.C. mainline crosses over the Spencer mainline just west of Whitcomb.  I had planned to use a Micro Engineering 50′ plate girder bridge there.  I opened the package recently to study and perhaps begin assembly of the bridge when it dawned on me that the bridge would be too short for the planned installation.  The problem is that the angle of the crossing is about 35 degrees and I hadn’t factored in the space that the bridge abutments would occupy.  Uh-oh . . . back to the drawing board.  I discovered that Central Valley makes the same bridge in a 72′ length.  That should work nicely, so I’ve ordered one and it should arrive within a few days.  Whew, dodged another bullet!

As a side note, the Louisiana Central mainline has finally pushed past the halfway point.  It is way behind schedule, however I’m now making significant progress in that area and am optimistic that the pace will continue as it is presently.  More photos will follow in the near future.

-Jack

Rained Out

Posted on by

Yesterday Ron Findley and I joined a couple friends from Covington for a get-together at Tom Davidson’s home over in Hammond.  As many of you already know, Tom is a vast sea of knowledge about things railroad in southeastern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, especially when it comes to the Illinois Central.  Tom did a nice presentation on the railroad history in the greater Hammond area.  Of particular interest was the information presented regarding the strawberry shipments made from what was once known as “The Strawberry Capital of the World”.

Afterwards we had planned to shoot photos of several small industries and businesses around Hammond, but unfortunately the rains commenced.  Ron and I hung around for several hours, but it eventually sank in that this was not just a thundershower.  We relented and headed home.  We’ll simply return on a sunny day in the near future to complete our mission.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had started constructing a few easy car kits.  I’ve continued on that and now have a nice train full of new rolling stock added to the active roster.  I’m really enjoying this and I plan to continue assembling at least a few kits each month now.

A Group of New Cars Another Group of New Cars

As stated earlier, I won’t be detailing or weathering any of these cars initially . . . that can come later once the layout is operational.  However these cars are equipped with Kadee couplers and metal wheelsets.  Everything has been checked, adjusted and lubed so that these cars are ready for service.

I’ve also done a little more work on the assembly of the road bridge that I also mentioned earlier.  I’m assembling it in place so that it hopefully will fit the spot well when scenery work is started.  I’ll post a photo in the future once it’s completed and painted.

-Jack