U Boat sightings continue at Empire City Station. One enterprising rail fan caught a consist of U28Cs waiting for clearance when a pair of U30Bs arrived with a string of tanker cars. All engines are Athearn Blue Box. Tank cars and covered hoppers are from various manufacturers.
New York Central Alcos
NYC RS32 #2040 leads a trio of R32s hauling Train NY-4
Friday, June 28, 2013
More U Boat Action
Greetings Blog Followers,
U Boat sightings continue at Empire City Station. One enterprising rail fan caught a consist of U28Cs waiting for clearance when a pair of U30Bs arrived with a string of tanker cars. All engines are Athearn Blue Box. Tank cars and covered hoppers are from various manufacturers.
U Boat sightings continue at Empire City Station. One enterprising rail fan caught a consist of U28Cs waiting for clearance when a pair of U30Bs arrived with a string of tanker cars. All engines are Athearn Blue Box. Tank cars and covered hoppers are from various manufacturers.
Monday, June 24, 2013
F.M. Coal Drag
Greetings Blog Followers,
Train watchers continue to enjoy the parade of freight trains being diverges through Empire City Station. The latest buzz on the platform was created by a pair of Fairbanks Morse H-16-44 diesels assigned to a long coal drag.
The FM units are from the Bachmann Spectrum series and were custom painted and lettered by me. They continue run well, look good and see plenty of assigments.
Train watchers continue to enjoy the parade of freight trains being diverges through Empire City Station. The latest buzz on the platform was created by a pair of Fairbanks Morse H-16-44 diesels assigned to a long coal drag.
The FM units are from the Bachmann Spectrum series and were custom painted and lettered by me. They continue run well, look good and see plenty of assigments.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
U-Boat sighting!!
Greetings Blog Followers,
Passengers at the Empire City Station were ecstatic to see four unit set of GE U-Boats leading a unit grain train through the station. Lead by a U28C 6533 the four unit consist made a great sight and passengers waiting on the platform were treated to a steady ground rumbling as these behemoths rolled through the station.
U28C Background... Built by General Electric in 1965-66. The locomotives were 65'6" in length and weighed in ay 183 tons. They boasted 2,800 HP. Although they weer not big sellers they paved the way for later offerings of six axles high horsepower diesels such as the GE U30Cwhich succeeded the U28C in 1966 and sold over 600 units.
On the layout the U-28Cs see service on high speed long haul freights just as their manufacturer intended them for. They are quite impressive in multiple lash ups and can handle my toughest assignments.
Passengers at the Empire City Station were ecstatic to see four unit set of GE U-Boats leading a unit grain train through the station. Lead by a U28C 6533 the four unit consist made a great sight and passengers waiting on the platform were treated to a steady ground rumbling as these behemoths rolled through the station.
U28C Background... Built by General Electric in 1965-66. The locomotives were 65'6" in length and weighed in ay 183 tons. They boasted 2,800 HP. Although they weer not big sellers they paved the way for later offerings of six axles high horsepower diesels such as the GE U30Cwhich succeeded the U28C in 1966 and sold over 600 units.
On the layout the U-28Cs see service on high speed long haul freights just as their manufacturer intended them for. They are quite impressive in multiple lash ups and can handle my toughest assignments.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
PC SD40 & GP40 haul priority freight train through Empire City
Greetings Blog Followers,
Track work in Empire City has resulted in many freight trains being rerouted through Empire City Station. Local rail fans have been able to catch a lot of the action and I'll be posting a few of their short videos over the next several days.
Track work in Empire City has resulted in many freight trains being rerouted through Empire City Station. Local rail fans have been able to catch a lot of the action and I'll be posting a few of their short videos over the next several days.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Sharks Swim into Empire City
Greetings Blog Followers,
This past week saw one on my Bachmann RF16A units suffer a mechanical failure for the second time in two months. The rear universal coupling has been separating from the metal shaft on top of the truck. This is a "press fit" and the only unit so far that has had this happen. After the first occurrence I press fit the coupling back into place and the engine ran fine for a few days. After the second time I added a little CA and hope this solves the issue. The RF16 diesel engines were made by Baldwin and nicknamed "Sharks" due to their appearance. They were powerful but somewhat unreliable. The New York Central Shark fleet was downgraded from road service to transfer service. On the New York Central Layout the "Sharks" still enjoy being assigned to priority freight trains.
This past week saw one on my Bachmann RF16A units suffer a mechanical failure for the second time in two months. The rear universal coupling has been separating from the metal shaft on top of the truck. This is a "press fit" and the only unit so far that has had this happen. After the first occurrence I press fit the coupling back into place and the engine ran fine for a few days. After the second time I added a little CA and hope this solves the issue. The RF16 diesel engines were made by Baldwin and nicknamed "Sharks" due to their appearance. They were powerful but somewhat unreliable. The New York Central Shark fleet was downgraded from road service to transfer service. On the New York Central Layout the "Sharks" still enjoy being assigned to priority freight trains.
Here is a short video of my NYC Sharks in action
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Penn Central Power Move
Greetings Blog Followers,
A recent Penn Central power move was caught passing through Empire City Station yesterday.
A recent Penn Central power move was caught passing through Empire City Station yesterday.
Enjoy!
Monday, June 17, 2013
New Penn Central Diesels
Greetings Blog Followers,
The New York Central Layout Purchasing Department recently contracted with Neal M Diesel Consultants to independently test one Bachmann DCC GP38-2 and one Bachmann DCC GP40. Upon completion of rigorous testing N.M.D.C. issued a satisfactory report and supplied links to facilitate the purchase of new engines.
The new PC diesels arrived on Father's Day and were put to the test today. Out of the box both the PC GP40 and GP38-2 ran well. The GP38-2 is a little more detailed than the GP40 and a little quieter as noted in the N.M.D.C. review report. Both ran well singly and M.U.ed. The diesels were assigned a 15 car freight train which they handled with ease.
Later in the day the Penn Central Train master authorized a none unit power move with the GP38-2 and GP40 providing the power. Once again the new diesels handled the assignment with ease.
The New York Central Layout Purchasing Department recently contracted with Neal M Diesel Consultants to independently test one Bachmann DCC GP38-2 and one Bachmann DCC GP40. Upon completion of rigorous testing N.M.D.C. issued a satisfactory report and supplied links to facilitate the purchase of new engines.
The new PC diesels arrived on Father's Day and were put to the test today. Out of the box both the PC GP40 and GP38-2 ran well. The GP38-2 is a little more detailed than the GP40 and a little quieter as noted in the N.M.D.C. review report. Both ran well singly and M.U.ed. The diesels were assigned a 15 car freight train which they handled with ease.
Later in the day the Penn Central Train master authorized a none unit power move with the GP38-2 and GP40 providing the power. Once again the new diesels handled the assignment with ease.
Bachmann DCC GP38-2 #8148 and GP40 #3007 lead a freight train on the upper level
Bachmann Plus GP35 #2320 rounds out the power trio
EMD Power on point of freight train Two newest PC diesels facing forward with older GP35
PC GP38-2 #8148
Latest arrivals put right to work
Penn Central Power Move...GP38-2 on point with GP40 right behind
At the crossing just before entering Empire City Station
Two EMD F7s in the middle of the power move
Two GE U-boats bring up the rear of the power move
A special guest tucked in between the EMS and GE units, an Alco RS2
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)