Conrail DD40AX

Pictures

Misc.

First of all a Thank you to the Guys at RED CABOOSE. They honored a coupon for a free car that was issued 15 years ago by a company that they bought out, and even more than that they sent 2 cars instead of one. Thank you agian.

Also I am in the process of painting and decaling a DD40XA in Conrail, (not mine it is for some one else.)

Also all the track has been torn up and I am researching the cost, value, usablaity, and durability of base and roadbed for the layout..... More to come on final outcome.

New Passenger Station

I was recently in Seattle and found this at a Hobby store from American Model Builders.

It is a U.P. Style one story depot, wood kit. It was lot easier than I thought a wood kit would be. It took alot more time but it wasn't hard. I still need to do a few finishing touches to get the final product. I am now a fan of wood kits.

Cabeese of the WYB of the OSL

I like cabeese (cabeese is the plural of caboose, right, goose-geese anyway.) Most of the cabeese I have are of the shelf models with modifications, or planed modifications. Here are my cabeese.

These cabeese are from Centralia and distributed my Intermountain. From left to right. The first one is stock out of the box from the 2010 release, color is a little yellower and it has plastic wheels, it need it roof walks and ladders removed. The next one is from 2004 release it is heavier and has metal wheel sets, it need the same treatment of removal of roof walks, 3rd same as the first. 4th same at the first, but I have removed the roof walks it still needs to have paint touched up, it took me all of 5 minutes to remove the rook walks and ladders. The one on the end is from the 2004 release. This is the first one I bought and when I started to take the rook walks and ladders off I disassembled a whole lot more than I needed and it sat in a box for 3 years before I got up the nerve to try again to reassemble. The roof looks weathered and faded because my touch up paint doesn't match, I think it looks great and the other 4 will soon match this one.

More Centralia cabeese, the one on the left is the floor model, can you tell. I added some steps where they broke off, renumbered and added the safety slogan, at the time I also removed the roof walks and ladders, and rebuilt a coupler mounting area. Again it looks weathered and worn because my touch up paint doesn't quite match. I am really starting to like the look of paint that doesn't match. The other two are stock and will someday get the roof walk and ladder treatment.

2 WP cabeese, the one the left is from Walthers, and i have added extra decals, the one on the right is the new Micro-Trains release, yeah I know it looks way to tall, even sitting by itself it looks tall, it is the same for all of their bay window cabeese, ( I have the SP and CNW, they all look to tall)

Three identical cabbeese from Walthers, well they were, can you find the original one, I will give you a hint it is broken. I renumbered and added different slogans to the other two.


The finally 2 are Atlas wide vision MP cabeese custom painted and decaled, one still needs a little white paint.


All in all they all look good and to scale with the exception of the MTL caboose. Coming soon to an end of train near Eastern Idaho.

History of the West Yellowstone Branch of the Oregon Shortline

I have been thinking lately about redoing the first level of my layout and creating a second level and in that thinking I have writen a breif Fictional history of my railroad. It will probably change over time but here it is.

Fictional History of the West Yellowstone Branch of the Oregon Shortline. (Union Pacific) 1970-1994

West Yellowstone Lumber was started in 1970

Railroad called West Yellowstone Lumber Railway.

Purchased 2 gp9 from Union Pacific.

Purchased track from Union Pacific from Ashton to West Yellowstone Spring 1971.

Union Pacific maintained trackage rights to West Yellowstone.

Fall 1974 started negotiations with Union Pacific to Build a Passenger station in Idaho Falls north of Hemmet ave.

Spring 1975 Broke ground on Depot south of Hemmet ave.

Summer 1975 Purchased 2 E9A used from Union Pacific.

Summer 1975 Purchased 3 coach cars used from union pacific.

Spring 1976 West Yellowstone Lumber Railway becomes West Yellowstone Scenic Railway.

1980 Small depot built in Island Park.

Dec 1981 West Yellowstone Station burs to the ground do to old wiring.

1982 Temporary Depot used in West Yellowstone

1982 depot built in Rexburg.

1984 depot built in Ashton.

1984 purchased 3 dome cars from Autotrain breakup, repainted in Full Union Pacific Paint.

1986 Station Completed in West Yellowstone complete loading ramp for vehicles.

1986 Depot built in Rigby with loading dock for loading vehicles on to flat cars.

1986 purchased 3 flat cars to be used in service in conjunction with passenger train to haul vehicles and atvs from new station in Rigby to West Yellowstone.

1987 loading ramp added in Island Park for vehicles and Atv due to popular demand.

1990 Passenger division and stations of the West Yellowstone Scenic Railway Sold to Local Investor Lee Calkins for an undisclosed amount. New owner negotiated a lease and trackage rights with Union Pacific and West Yellowstone Lumber Co. for 99 years.

1990 West Yellowstone Lumber Railway is once again created and owned by West Yellowstone Lumber Co.

Union Pacific sold Ashton Branch, East and West Belts to EIRR on November 21, 1993

Spring 1994 West Yellowstone Lumber Railway began lease of 2 gp30 from National Railway Equipment Company (NREX)

Current era summer 1994

Operations today

Union Pacific brings in trains to Idaho Falls.

EIRR switches Ashton branch, East and West Belts. Mon-Friday.

EIRR transfer cars to West Yellowstone, Mon and Thursday.

Passenger train Leaves Idaho Falls Station at 8:00 am daily Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend.
Rigby 8:20-8:40
Rexburg 9:10-9:20
Ashton 10:20-10:30
Island Park 11:20-11:40
West Yellowstone 12:30
Return Trip Departs at 2:00pm with a similar schedule.

WYSRR Leases space from EIRR to store passenger train over night in Idaho Falls Yard.

WYSRR Geeps only leave West Yellowstone with Maintenance Of Way train in spring and fall, to prepare the line for summer and winter. Line is Inactive from the first snow till it melts in the spring. Rotary snow plow and locomotives are leased from Union Pacific for the Last week of April every year to reopen line.

End History

Let me know what you think. I am still working on revamped track plan.

New Railroad Group in North Idaho

We are starting a New Model Railroad Group in North Idaho, Post Falls CDA area. If you are interested We will be having our first meeting/open house on Thursday May 19th at 6:30 pm. If you would like to attend email me and I will tell you were it will be. Thanks.

The City of Portland has arrived

Well Kato's Long awaited release of the City of Portland(COP) got here today. Allright it is the City Of Los Angeles(COLA) but the two trains are vertualy identical. They had the same cars assigned to each train just diffrent numbers. I need to renumber the dome cars and find a way to change the name on the end of the dome lounge observation. I do still need 1 more coach car for the consist, and maybe another E9B down the road. The Total cars will be 3 locos, and 17 cars (2 head end, baggage dorm, dome coach, 4 coach, 2 lounge, 1 dome diner, 6 sleepers, and Dome Lounge.) My Portand Rose/Butte Special is almost complete as well. Both Trains ran almost the same equipment and as far as I know did not have specific cars assigned to them. I need 4 more RPO/Baggage/Mail/or express cars and 1 Coach. The total cars will be 2 locos and 15 cars (9 head end, 3 coaches, 1 buffet lounge, sleeper, and Bussiness car.) The good news is my Amtrak Pioneer Zephyr is complete with 2 P42, 2 baggage cars, 2 material handeling cars, 2 superliner coaches and 3 superliner sleepers. While none of these 3 (or 4 depending on how you count them) passenger trains ran in IF-Rigby in 1993, I still like passengers trains that ran in Idaho on the OSL. They may end up as Operation Life Saver specials every once in a while. They will however run when I attend other layouts that allow them to run or If i ever get a modular layout built. My Maintenace of way train is now pushing 50 cars with 90% of them cutum painted, although most of them need trucks at the current moment. I am still looking for 3 UP kato sd40-2 in n-scale. if you have some for sale please let me know.

Finally Pictures

So it has been a awhile, haven't done much on the railroad but here are some pictures as of this afternoon, included are the 57' mow Bunk cars.

They started out as RoundHouse 57' Refers, I striped them and Added Micro-Engineering doors, with Grant Line widows, 2 sizes, with Micro-Trains caboose smoke stacks. I still need to find small roof top A/C or Swamp cooler units for the top, see pictures posted on rrpicturearchives.net. So if anyone knows of some good n-scale a/c units let me know. I painted them with 9 parts mow green 1 part great northern green. Decals, a majority of Micro-scale with some homemade ones to fill in the gaps.

This is the main yard in Idaho Falls.

The engine facility in Idaho Falls.

Rigby (in the foreground) Pocatello staging (middle sloping down) Rexburg staging (upper level

in the back.) One of the many Potatoe warehouses in the foreground, there are a total of three on the layout 2 just in Rigby. It is southeastern Idaho afterall.

The city of Ucon

What it looks like under the layout.

Hey I had to justify building the Islands.