TBT August 11th 2016

 Bet you never thought I had a paper plant on the layout?  Well here's proof.  The industry turned out too large for the layout and eventually was removed.  Klotz and Patriot Industries are now in this spot.  As for the loco, definitely a odd ball with the Horst air filter on a GP38.

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TBT February 11th 2016

Haven't done this in a while so here goes:
One of my favorite spots  to railfan back in the day was down in Richmond, VA at the south end of Acca yard.  It was a great spot and very busy.  I loved the closeness to the action and the rare cars I would see.  These are from July 2007.

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Throwback Thursday November 3rd 2016

It's fall so it's time for a fall-like throwback.  Even though it's 80 degrees today, the leave changing is in full effect around here.  In Mance, PA, home of the Ex- B&O between Cumberland and Pittsburgh, was a place I took a yearly trip in the second week of October.  As most trees weren't even close, up on the summit, the maples were reds/yellows and rest were close.  Never got there during peak colors because the weather is dreary most days and would pick the most appealing days to camp out.  It was quite cold at night with lows in the 30s/40s. But worth it every second when you get pics like this from October 2005:

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2016 Valley Forge RPM Meet summary

Had a great time this past weekend at the 2016 Valley Forge RPM Meet.  I want to thank Norm Wolf for inviting me and driving all the way up and back.  Saw lots of great models and some good friends that share this great hobby!  The presentations were good and I saw the biggest home layout you could image on Sunday.

LV locomotives by Ralph Deblasi

LV locomotives by Ralph Deblasi

Love the C&O cabins

Tony Koester's presentation

Ralph Deblasi's weathering techniques

Butch Eyler's amazing work!

Love this crain by Ramon Rhodes

My models

SNCR loco way out of place in PA but looks sensational.

Ken McCorry's layout visit.  On the way home, we stopped by Ken McCorry's home layout. This was something out of a modelers dream.  Try 2500 Square feet of layout!  Thanks for Norm taking most of the pictures.  I was handed a controller and ran a train through a few miles on the layout!  This is supposed to be the large private home layout.  I believe it.

Here's the garage (upstairs) that the layout is in.

The dispatchers room below the layout.  By the sizeof this, you know your going to get blown away!(Norm Wolf photo)

Try a train simulator from a train on the layout! (Norm Wolf photo)

This Steel Mill is huge!  There's several on the layout. (Norm Wolf photo)

Here's me amazed by the size!  This is only a corner of it. (Norm Wolf photo)

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Throw Back Thursday Dec 1st 2016

SD38-2 #280 was a favorite locomotive of mine and was built in the summer of 2007.  The locomotive was sold at a Timonium show one year and continues to earn it's keep on a model railroad in Rhode Island.  The gentleman's layout was in an issue of Model Railroader too!  I still see the guy at the shows.  He's got a slug painted for VMID also.  Really loved the white face.  Might be the future paint job!

VMID SD38-2 #280

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Throwback Thursday August 4th 2016

Old school meets new school, catfish vs. high hood or GE vs. EMD.  Exactly 10 years ago I find myself in Vardo Yard in Hagerstown, MD.  Then, high hoods were the norm, but are very rare these days.  My main appeal to NS is the high hoods.  Man do they standout versus the widecabs!

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TBT Feb 18th 2016

Here a short flashback to the Winchester and Western short line railroad that's in the northwest part of Virginia.  Good short line power and a slug with a cab!

#709 with a boo-boo.  It will become a chopped hood when it's repaired.

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Awesome pics video from yesterday and TBT August 25th 2016

Yesterday, My two sons and I headed due north up to my favorite hobby shop:
Mainline Hobby

It's a long drive but always worth it.  As usual, we do some railfanning along the way.  The Maryland Midland interchanges in the area of the hobby shop which is located in Blue Ridge Summit, PA.  The name is where I got my name for my HO empire.  I've been coming up here for 15 years and one of the first time I did, I stumbled upon the Maryland Midland.  The paint has changed recently but they represented what I wanted in a railroad.  I railfanned them alot over the years and knew the line like the palm of my hand. We lucked out as we found them in Thurmont, MD as we were heading up.  The chase was on once I saw this lashup!:

FIVE Emds on the head end?  Must have a big train.  Turns out that it had 54 loaded cement cars and 2 boxcars for the run up the Catoctin Mountains.

2006 lashup

2016 lashup

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Throwback Thursday April 7th 2016

NS highhoods always had an appeal to me.  I really fell in love with them while in college and the NS mainline ran by.  they are just about extinct now.  This was from Richmond with the capital city in the background.  2004

Upclose of the high hood or nose.  GP50 #7069 Ex Southern

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2016 Mid Atlantic RPM Meet is in the books!

We just finished up the annual Mid Atlantic RPM Meet this past Friday and Saturday.  It was a great time with great models, vendors, friends, speakers, layouts and food.  I want to thanks our fearless Norm Wolf for put on a top notch meet.  Also thanks to Bob Sprague, Butch Eyler, and Daylene Wolf for their dedicated work.  These guys and gal are wonderful to work with!  Looking forward to the next one on September 22/23 2017.

Here are all my pics:2016 MARPM meet pictures

Butch Eyler's incredible weathering 

Butch Eyler's

Peter Koehler-Pfotenhauer

My RF&P stuff

Some more of my stuff

and more of my stuff

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