I've had an old tyco operating hopper kit for several years with the intentions of fitting it into a more modern and detailed hopper car. It's a very simple mechanical mechanism located in a piece of track that spreads the hopper doors open when the car passes over it and unloads the product. So far I've cut the inside of the Tyco hopper out and fit it into a Walthers 2 bay hopper. I also modified the metal Tyco frame and will need to do the same for the Walthers frame so that the Tyco frame can be joined to it with epoxy or something. I actually think this might work.

Caught SJEX 1546 idling at one of the food warehouses along Dock Street.

Bruce

   

Just checking to see how everybody is doing.

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Mannheim Yard Job YPMA-02 works the Flying Fish Brewery.

Bruce

   

Just saw an article in this morning's paper that "Amtrak and regional partner trains around the country... will give two blasts of their horns to honor transportation workers, as well as healthcare workers, first responders, child care workers, grocery store workers, and other workers providing essential services."  (source - AP News)

Tom

When I came back to model railroading, the only ways to have a prototypical HO CNR Wood Caboose was either buying a brass model or build a resin kit from Sylvan Scale. The first solution was too expensive for my budget and I was nervous at building a resin kit.  When I got the nerves to give a try at resin kits, True Line trains was making good replicas of the CNR cabooses and kits had vanished from LHS shelves.
 
At the beginning of 2017, I was lucky to find one in a distant Hobby Store and a journey began.  I saw a nicely finished car on a Forum and, as I was still nervous about the task, I decided to contact the modeler, Doctorwayne.  He accepted to help me and gave advices through numerous emails.  He even helped in finding a second model for me from one of his friend.  Searching the Internet, I luckily found a third kit on eBay.  I posted photos of those finished models on this forum before.
 
But I wanted more of those kits to replace True Line trains cabooses I had bought before deciding to build kits.  Unfortunately, Sylvan Scale kits were hard to find even on different forums.  One day, I decided to offer a TLT caboose to swap for a Sylvan Scale kit.  A modeler from B.C. Canada contacted me and offered to swap for a Norwest kit.  He sent me photos of the kit and I decided I should give it a try.
 
Few months later, Clare Gilbert from Sylvan Scale announced a rerun of the CNR Wood Caboose.  I was a happy modeler and asked for two.  For the last few months, I worked on those kits and I finished them this morning.  Here are some photos.
 
Sylvan Scale regular kit
 
   
 
Sylvan Scale kit modified to represent the type displayed at Exporail, Qc, Canada
 
   
 
Norwest kit
 
     
 
This is the end of the journey as I now have enough cabooses to fill the need of my small switching layout.  I can now get rid of those TLT cabooses.
 
I want to thank doctorwayne for leading me in this enjoyable journey.

This was posted on another forum but pretty well explains how the stimulus package works so I thought I would repost it here:



STIMULUS .................

It is a slow day in the town of Bakersfield, in the middle of California, and streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.

As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op. The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit. The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel owner.

The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything... However, the whole town is now out of debt and now looks to the future with a lot more optimism.And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a Stimulus package works.

Happy Easter to everyone here, your families and friends as well:

   

Back when Conrail still did the switching along Dock Street.

Bruce

   

Since I'm a little limited in terms of my usual activities, I was thinking of doing more rail-fanning.  Just wondering if freight/rail traffic is higher than usual at the moment, especially on CP?  You'd think it would be with trucking traffic being busy right now as well as so many emergency supplies being shipped around.

It would be fun to safely position myself on a bridge, socially distanced, etc. and enjoy the trains. 

 Thx in advance.  Rob