Howdy all. I had the rare opportunity to visit our northernmost state this week for a short notice business trip. Since I had quite a bit of spare time to goof around and go sightseeing, I managed to chase a few trains!

Cut to the chase...
As with any dedicated foamer, my first stop was the railyard in downtown Anchorage...
A true workin' engine, #2004, sitting outside the shop...


That same night, since it doesn't get dark up there right now till about 10pm, I ended up driving south down the Seward Hwy a bit and came across a small rail museum right off the Turnagain Arm. Unfortunately, they were closed but still had some goodies outside!
An ol' rotary used to clear the line in the old days...


Just around the corner from the rotary was a little speeder. The sign in front of it said the guys used to use this regularly in -10F and 50mph winds. Brrrrrrr...


Looking left, or south, it started to rain just a bit and with the sun low on the horizon, a brilliant, complete, double rainbow appeared...


Of course, the only way to take a beautiful picture like that and make it better is to put a scantily clad, sexy woman in the shot. Since I did not have one of those on hand, I had to settle for the evening commuter from Whittier that just happened along at that exact moment!...


And, a look back towards the north after the train has passed...


The next day, I again headed south from Anchorage to Whittier. Along the way, I came across some neat stuffs. At the junction, just north of Portage Lake, a shot down the tracks. This line actually heads off to Seward...


Continuing on to Whittier, I came to the entrance of the Anton Anderson Memorial tunnel. It's 2.2 miles long and one lane. It alternates direction every half hour for traffic and shares the tunnel with the trains. Obviously, the trains get priority.




As I entered Whittier, I passed by this caboose...
I know nothing about it and saw no signs so if anyone knows anything, please, chime in!


The day after that, I again headed south, but this time headed towards Seward instead. Along the way, I happened to spot a very immaculate looking engine, #4324 working it's way towards Seward as well. The chase was on!




Once in Seward, I got some still shots...




Even the trucks on the generator unit were sparkling clean!


I thought the stars of the dipper were a nice touch...


On the way back to Anchorage, I caught up to another commuter train pushin' its way along... again from Whittier. This train was nearly empty except for a handful of people in the lead observation car.






My final day was spent in the mountains east of ex governor Sara Palins hometown of Vasilla. I came across the old gold mine of Independence and also discovered some trains of a different sort!
An electric locomotive...


And another...


...and the tracks they used to travel on...

    This is where I last left this project. The only photo I've ever seen of this loco, is of Warrenton RR #4, in the February 1975 issue of Railroad Modeler. One of the reasons I've put it off for so long is that I was hoping to find other photos.    
This is where I am right now. Some changes have been made. The original MDC frame developed a crack in a "bad place", and I had to build a new one using mostly ABS plastic. this next shot is a LH 3/4 front.    
This shows the underside of the loco,     , and this is the tender, an old Rivarossi that will get some serious "upgrades".     This will be a slow build, as I am also working on the three new modules. Once I have all the required parts made and assembled for the Warrenton loco, I intend to add the "standard shipyard house parts". It will get a generator, not on the prototype, an angled bell mount, top/center on the smokebox front, and the new headlight mounted on the pilot deck.
I'm still working on how to gear and power it.

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The double headers went well. I wasn't there. I do not know any details about the 1225's patch up job. Considering the nature of what happened to them at Train Festival, it was surprising that they were under steam. Regardless, they have a very tired locomotive that needs a Class I overhaul after this year.

Lest you think I'm weird, (that's a given,) did you know that make-up brushes have a legit use on models?? No, I don't mean those models, I'm talking about the model trains! Last year, my wife bought me a cheap make up kit from Wally-World for Christmas. The various sizes, shapes, and bristles are great for applying weathering powders. And the "sponges" that are in make up kits, are excellent for rubbing on, or blending in, various powders, too. The kits are ususally pretty cheap!! They will be having them out pretty soon for Christmas, and if you don't get one then, they'll be available for Valentine's day, and quite likely Mother's day, also. So guys, when the better half asks you what you want for Christmas, tell her a cheap makeup kit will do!!! She'll look at you kinda weirdly, but....

A few years ago, I got bitten by the eBay bug and enjoyed buying a few MRR items there. I found it a little "stressful" at first as I wasn't used to it and didn't have a Paypal account.

Then I started to avoid eBay because I'm a firm believer in supporting your LHS. I have two really good LHS's, one near my work & one near my home. I still try to support them but, just recently, I've got bitten by the eBay bug again because there are some real deals out there.

The other thing about eBay is that it is SO easy to use. Just simply make a bid and (if you win) just click "pay" and it's so easy to pay via Paypal. Since all of your data (mailing address & contact info) is already entered it's extremely easy -- I think even easier than ordering online from other websites where you have to re-enter your data and paying method. (It seems that Vectis is the other major model railway internet auction site, especially for British models. Has anyone used them as well?)

So now I'm kind of addicted and want to keep searching for new deals. I've recently ordered a few items from the UK and (so far) haven't been hit with any duty or tax charges.

Can anyone else relate? I still want to (and do) support my LHS's. But why pay $45 (plus tax) at an LHS for a used tank engine, when you can get the same thing from eBay for $18 (which even included shipping)?

Cheers,
Rob

Does anyone have any information that might lead you to believe that cabooses were ever powered for locomotion?

Looking for a good deal on a good condition:

N-scale Bachmann Heavy Mountain DCC 4-8-2 loco. must not be unti with flying-pumps. Perfer center mounted headlight. Tender style and roadname does not matter.

Unitrack peices

universal fit DCC n scale sized decoders. please let me know what you got.

I saw a link to Miniatures by Eric today, which after reading Tetter's 2-8-0 thread in the HO forum, inspired me to visit.

This kit looks interesting to me:
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The Hawaiian Railway started out with a British locomotive and six of these passenger cars. They ended up switching over to US equipment rather quickly. B-man's large scale 2-4-2 is almost perfect for their lone surviving 2-4-2 (it is in New England). The railroad was 3' gauge, but the price is right on these cars that I wouldn't mind buying them (I've flirted with adding them to my construction list, but not done so due to its length). I would, of course, convert it to On3. He offers the same car on HOn30.

Here she is from Best's book:

here are the photo's of the two transport trailers .
jim

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Hey guys!

Let me start off that I'm just looking for opinions. I know its my model, and i can do with it whatever i want, but i am curious to see what you guys think would be the most ideal-

I just recently got a hold of three Brass E44A locomotive models. I can pretty much guarantee I'll never find or afford these again, so i wanted to make sure i choose wisely.

basically, i was already into electric railroads, but there was a photo that i really liked of three black E44s pulling a train in New Jersey that REALLY got me to go down the road of electric railroad.

on the other hand, the dark paint really obscures alot of the details. Its not that it covers them, but they were shallow to begin with, and flat black paint really makes them blend in with their surroundings. I figured one blue engine would be a nice change of pace and a realistic one. however, it ruins my 5 year dream of a three black unit match up.

A pair of black ones or a black and blue pair looks fine, but my mind seem unwilling to accept a three locomotive set with one blue loco mixed in.


given the limited choices, what would you do?

here are pictures for reference-

this is the original photo that got me hooked-



this is the unit i'd do if i painted one blue. its the earliest blue E44A i could find.