New Additions

Christmas 2011 saw some very nice new additions to the New York Central Train Layout

A Bachmann Baldwin RF16 "Shark" completes the A-B-A lash up. The unit was given number 4173.  

 An Athearn RTR 50' exterior post box car. These cars were delivered to the New York Central in 1966

 An Atlas PS-2 Covered Hopper

 Walther's 40' box car / track cleaning car

 Here are the Sharks in action

Steam Surprise for Christmas

Rail fans throughout Empire City were treated to a surprise visit from a Pennsylvania Railroad 4-8-2 Steam Engine on Christmas Eve. The locomotive was placed in freight service to accommodate the busy Christmas rush by a crafty road foreman of engines. The P.R.R. plans to run the train through New Years Day on various freight assignments and possibly a passenger train assignment.
 

Pennsylvania Railroad 4-8-2 Mountain Type Locomotive leads along string of coal cars on Christmas Eve

 The 4-8-2 descends on the Industrial District bypass

 Naughty kids in Empire City were getting nervous seeing this long string of loaded coal hoppers heading for Empire City.

 The train is seen above heading for the Empire City drainage canal bridge

A close of some of the coal cars that had the bad kids on edge

The PRR comes calling

Trains from the Pennsylvania Railroad enjoying track rights into Empire City.

GG-1 # 4910 arrives with the Senator

 H16-44s 8810 & 8815 are on the point of the PRR wreck Train

 The crew of today's protection diesel, an SD9, talk it over between assignments

 Two E8s bring in the the Pennsylvania RR's premier passenger train, the Broadway Limited

 An A-B-A lash up of F7s lead a merchandise train through the station

Observation car "Philadelphia" brings up the rear of the Broadway Limited

Freight on the Move

Six NYC diesels lead a hot shot freight from Terminal Yard 

A Day at the Museum

 

A beautiful December day at the Southeastern Railroad Museum. Museum Power for today is Georgia Railroad GP-7 # 1026 

 

 

 Today's backup power on loan / lease from Norfolk Southern is MP15DC # 2422, formerly Southern Railway # 242

 The newly refurbished Polar Express Car aka New Georgia RR # 1111

 That's our engineer demonstrating how to best use the reclining seats. 

A lot of hours went into the refurbishing of this coach car and it came out beautifully. Thank You to all those who participated in this project. Many of you do not hear the appreciative comments from our riding public but rest assured the comments are many and extremely positive.  

Alternative Power

It is that time of year again. During the Holiday Season every train we own gets it's share of track time. No matter what the road name, diesel or steam, passenger or freight all of our trains will enjoy some fresh air outside of the box on the rails or on the work bench if need be. Minor repairs and maintenance is expedited and any major repairs will have the shop crew on overtime. It is quite a colorful and enjoyable time for the engineers, passengers and rail fans.  

I know the title of this blog is New York Central Train Layout but life here is not all jade green and lightning stripes. While the large bulk of my railroad inventory is New York Central I am also fan of other railroads as well.
For the record I do this to let Santa know that ALL trains are welcome here.

Chessie System SD40-2 and GP-35 travel light from Terminal Yard

 

Amtrak F40PH #209 leading some Amfleet Coaches towards Empire City

 

                               NYSW #4002 passes through Empire City Station 

   B&O H16-44s #927 & 926 head to Terminal Yard with a transfer freight

   Amtrak AMD103s #824 and #802 lead another passenger train towards Empire City  

    NYSW #4002 on point through the industrial District en route to Terminal Yard

Amtrak B40-8CW #506 leads a consist of Superliners through the Terminal Yard access tunnel

                              
                                  Passengers enjoying the view as they head towards Empire City 

An Eclectic Roster at Terminal Yard

New York & Atlantic #271 in 9/11 Memorial Paint Scheme with NY&A #261 at Terminal Yard

                                           NYC H16-44s keep order at Terminal Yard

PRR SD45s

The Pennsylvania Railroad, owned and operated by my son, enjoys track rights on my New York Central layout into and out of Empire City and Terminal Yard. Even with this arrangement the rivalry remains fierce and verbal barbs are often heard being shouted from one engineer to another as the PRR rolls through New York Central territory.
Admittedly the entire PRR fleet is top notch both cosmetically and mechanically. However NYC management insists that ALL locomotives passing through it's tracks be individually numbered which brings is to the subject matter, the PRR SD45s. These are powered Athearn units that were purchased new in the box as a two pack about seven years ago or more. Both were numbered 8962. They are exceptional runners and pullers and can haul our heaviest trains with no problem. About a month ago I purchased Champ Decal set 87-21 which is for lettering and numbering PRR locomotives.
This past weekend the paint shop was hard at work adding the new numbers. Here is how it was done;
First remove the old number with Walthers solvaset and an eraser. Second wash the area off with water and allow to dry. Third, paint over the area where the numbers were removed. Fourth, spray the are with a clear gloss for best decal adhesion. Fifth cut and apply decals according to directions. Sixth, Blot dry and add Solvaset to let decals snuggle down onto model. Allow to Dry. Last apply a clear dull coat to protect decals.
                                                    
                                                         Formerly 8962, now 8853

                                            
                                                 The other 8962, now the only 8962

                                                         The two units paired up

 

44 Ton Overhaul

The shop forces worked diligently on Sunday morning to repair long out of service New Haven Railroad 0815, a General Electric 44 Ton diesel electric locomotive. This unit was purchased new for use on my layout in 1997. The unit saw a fair amount of usage on my first two layouts. The unit started to suffer from cracked axle gears and saw limited service and finally being parked on the RIP Track in 2005. In December 2011 I secured new axle gears and wheels from Bachmann in hopes of being able to repair this unit. On December 11th the unit was completely overhauled with the new axles and wheels being installed. The unit also received a new head lamp and new paint on the handrails that changed their color from white to red. The unit was road tested and assigned to switch hopper cars at Hudson Coal.

Shell and Chassis separated showing old school dual motors. This drive unit is no longer available and replacement parts are limited.

 The broken axle gears and old wheels sets

 #0815 sporting some new paint and after a complete overhaul at Hudson Coal on it's first assignment

 

 #0815 once again working the rails

New Haven #0815 passes some New York Central S-12s as it enters the industrial district 

Empire City

The Fictional Empire City is taking shape. The building arrangement is just temporary until upper level construction begins in 2012. But for now I am enjoying running trains and seeing the buildings on the layout instead of bare open bench work. I am hoping to run my complete collection of motive power and rolling stock over the Holidays for the testing of track and equipment.

                         An Empire City reveler who has a bit too much is being tended to by the Police.

                                       A trio of GP-20s enters Empire City Station.

                                      Empire City Passenger Station, filled with freight cars.

Subway Service

Empire City Subway Service