More Holiday Mail and Express Action

Greetings All,

Happy New Year!

Recently fellow modeler and blogger John Bruce recently posted a fine entry on his model railroad's Mail and Express cars. John included some personal observations and some nice photos of some of his rolling stock and motive power. http://modelrrmisc.blogspot.com/2015/12/holiday-mail-and-express.html  . John was kind enough to give me a shout out and this week I'm continuing the running of the Holiday Mail and Express cars on my layout. Here's some recent photos of the action;

B&O H16-44s 926 and 927 lug a train of mail and express cars from Empire City Station. The B&O had 10 such units on their roster.

I believe the B&O H16-44s were later renumbered into the 6700 series

The H16-44s roar out of the tunnel on their way to Terminal Yard / Staging 

which represents my connection to the rest of the world.

These photos were shot in sequence as the train was moving up the grade.

A NH track cleaner, B&O REA car and some REA TOFC cars roll out of the tunnel

This tunnel should be named "Elbow Protector Tunnel" since that is it's purpose. 

Some USPS trailers and ATSF# 4159 bring up the rear just in front of the caboose.

The Impack cars are a bit new for this train but for Holiday display running they were more

reliable for me than the 85' cars I usually use for this.   

The B&O powered M&E train on Track 1 has clearance into Terminal Yard.

A NYC freight waits patiently on track 2.

From last year a pair of FA units haul some Flexi Van cars towards Empire City Station. For me nothing says M&E like the NYC Flexi Vans.

A Flexi Van trailer in US Mail service.

NYC subsidiary P&LE was on the Flexi Van band wagon (probably without much choice) while few other railroads embraced the concept

Billboard lettering advertising the Flexi-Van Service. These trailers are on a Mark III car. The NYC Mark IV car was fitted for passenger service. 

Some M&E Trains on the NYCTL back in 2011

An A-B set of Baldwin Sharks haul a Mail and Express Train towards Empire City 

The Baldwin S12s are protection diesels for the grade from Empire City to Terminal Yard.

ATSF #4159 buffers the NYC baggage cars from the TOFC cars. 

At this time I did not own any 85' TOFC flats. 

The upper level track of the layout has yet to be started 

 A rider coach brings up the rear.

A lot has changed on the layout since these 2011 pictures! One thing that has not changed is my enjoyment of running mail and express trains. As my knowledge and fleet grows the trains resemble their 1 to 1 counter parts a little more each year.  

Santa Delivers! Express Style

Greetings All,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone. Many of us model railroaders can trace their interests in trains and the hobby back to seeing their first train under their childhood Christmas tree. Whether it was running in circles or wrapped up and received as a gift that first encounter with a model train remains vivid in many of our memories. I remember my first trains, a Lionel steamer some freight cars and an O-27 loop of track. I also remember as a kid that many others brought out and set up their trains around the holidays so when visiting friends and family their was always a good chance of seeing some model trains.

There has always been something magic about a toy or model train and this is especially true around Christmas. Holiday train displays are still being presented in some locations and they are a pleasure to visit and watch the young and old light up while watching the trains roll through the villages and holiday scenes. As my boys have grown older I've continued the Christmas train tradition with them even though at this point in their lives they are not into the hobby. But they are into the tradition of getting a train or two from the worlds best known model railroader, Santa Claus. For me I continue the tradition by circling some items in the Walthers flyer and passing it to the Mrs so she can forward the info to Santa.

For the old  man some NYC converted troop sleeper express cars like NYC 9220

in two tone gray

And NYC 9370 in Pullman green

My youngest son, B&O and EL fan, received this C&O style converted troop sleeper express car. 

Four express cars pose for pictures outside of Superior Furniture

An Athearn BB Erie Lackawanna PB gave the youngest a gift for both of his RRs 

For the oldest guy, a PRR man through and through, another

 Athearn RTR 40' Merchandise Service Boxcarso we can continue the L.C.L.

battle between the NYC and PRR. 

 And an Athearn BB 40' crane tender 

The tender with crane

 My two new express cars have been spotted at the New York Central Freight House. 

That's it for today. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to All.

A Trio of Close Enough Projects

Greetings All,

With abundantly warm weather and low to no humidity the New York Central Train Layout outdoor  paint shop was quite busy over the past few weeks. Here is a run down on three of the paint projects that were recently completed.

First up is New York Central  bay window caboose 21505. This Athearn BB caboose was purchased at a recent train show sans numbers and reporting marks. Using a Micro Scale NYC/PC caboose decal set I added the NYC herald, reporting marks, number and "Road to the Future" logo. The roof, frame and weight were painted with rattle can flat black. A coat of Lusterless Flat was applied to protect the decals. Window "glass" and metal wheels were added as well. The car came equipped with knuckle couplers that I adjusted to meet the Kadee Height Gauge.

NYC 21505 sits at North Side Yard

This Athearn BB NYC bay window caboose was renumbered to 21698. I used Bluegrass Green acrylic hobby paint to paint over then previous numbers and them applied Microscale NYC numbers. A brush coat of clear flat was applied over the numbers to protect the decals. 

A four caboose set sits at North Side Yard. Each one is just a bit different but they are all in the family so to speak. I hope to add at least one more of these cabooses in the near future. The prototype New York Central had bay window cabooses but not this type. On the N.Y.C.T.L. they are close enough.

The next paint project was inspired by the "Big E", Emery Gulash and the "Big PC", PC Ralph. PC Ralph showed me a project NYC GP7 with just a NYC logo he was working on. Then watching the Green Frog NYC and PC DVD collections and listening to the narrator note that prior to the merge the NYC and PRR received their new motive power with numbers and logos only. I saw plenty of engines in this paint scheme in the DVDs. Of note were the later versions of the NYC GP40s. I had just the unit to try this on, an old Life Like ATSF GP unit I thought was a GP40. Nope it's a GP38 and more than likely a GP38-2. Oh well close enough for this project. The ATSF paint was stripped off in 91% Alcohol. A light coat of rattle can flat black and then a coat of rattle can gloss black. Decals were cobbled together from some NYC Microscale decals I had on hand.

The newly painted NYC 3067 a GP40 in GP38 clothing. The number is correct for the paint scheme.

The pancake motor has been disconnected and the unit is now non powered and free rolling.

A close up of the 3067

The final project for today's blog entry is a Penn Central 60 foot Auto Parts Boxcar. This project car started out as a TYCO Union Pacific model. I was able to cobble together enough PC decals from the Microscale PC Esoterica set, PC boxcars with PC numbers set and Freight Car Data set to get this car onto the roster. Not an exact PC match but close enough for the N.Y.C.T.L.  

Testing decal selections and placement.

The car has been stripped of of the UP logos and the yellow paint.

Krylon rattle can Sea Glass green has been sprayed onto the car.

The finished car sports Penn Central subsidiary Toledo & Ohio Central (TOC) reporting marks. 

An ACI label puts the car firmly in the PC era. 

The lettering below the ACI label reads

When empty return to D.T.I.R.R. Ford Park Lima, Ohio

This puts the car firmly into my own Ford Plant and in line 

with some of my NYC 60' Auto Parts cars that were also assigned to Ford. 

TOC 350562 sits at North Side Yard as it awaits being witched into train ML-12. 

Train NY-4 is in the background.

A short video of some hot shot train action that includes the above project cars 

Thanks for reading and watching!

The One and Only

Greetings All,

A couple of weeks ago I was at my L.H.S. to take advantage of a big sale they were having. I checked out the used Atlas locomotives hoping to spot an RS3 to assist a fellow modeler in his ALCO Quest. I did not find an RS3 but did stumble onto a Reading ALCO C424 which was an Atlas / Kato model. I seemed to remember that the NYC may have had these units or at least the PC had some. So off to the L.H.S. test track where the engine ran smooth as silk.

Upon returning home I fired up the computer, got out my New York Central and Penn Central books and went to work looking to find some information on NYC - PC C424 ownership. Turns out the NYC did not have any C-424s, they had C-430s. The PC had the ten ALCO C430s from the NYC, forty one ALCO C425s from the PRR and NH and exactly one C424 from the PRR on it's roster. That's right one.

Penn Central #2415 was a one of a kind unit. It was built as PRR 2415 in 1963 utilizing the electrical equipment from ALCO's scrapped DL640 (AKA an RS27) demonstrator 640-1.

So what's an ALCO C424? Good question. Here's a brief summary. The ALCO Century 424 is a four axle 2,400 horsepower diesel electric locomotive built between 1963 and 1967. 98 units were built by ALCO and 92 by Montreal Locomotive Works. Candian Pacific bought the most units, 51 with the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México coming in second with 45 units. Some are still active today with their fourth and fifth owners.

Reading C424 5207 as purchased

Reading C424 5207 being tested on the layout

The RDG paint scheme is quite nice but not long for this world

The engine was disassembled and the paint stripped in 91% Alcohol.
Rattle can black and some Microscale Decals were the used to
paint and letter the engine.

The newly painted Penn Central 2415 sits on track 2 at North Side Yard

Numbers in the number boards, air hoses and an ACI label bring the unit close to the prototype.

PC 2415 chortles away at North Side Yard while a part of ML-12 sits on track 1. The horn placement is not correct on this unit. Next trip to the L.H.S. I may look to correct that. Current horn is not glued on and can be easily removed.

Truck detail on the C424 and C425 appears the same. 

The NYC C430s were equipped with ALCO's new high adhesion trucks.    

A view of the conductor's or fireman's side

As with all of my engines that bear some semblance to a prototype I enjoy exploring their history and disposition. This one of a kind PRR and PC engine had quite a life. Here are some links to the history of this locomotive;

Alco C424 model history

http://www.american-rails.com/alco-c424.html

As Alco Demonstrator 640-1 (with 640-2)

http://www.american-rails.com/alco-rs27.html

As PRR 2415

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8226029@N06/695457301

As PC 2415 in 1968

http://pc.railfan.net/pics/equip/pc2415.jpg

As PC 2415 in 1975

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc2415ags.jpg

As PC 2415 sometime in the 1970s

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2334683

As Conrail 2474

 http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4341297

As Green Bay & Western 319 in 1980

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2912972

As Caddo, Antoine & Little Missouri(CALM) 319 in 1998

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4097826

As Livonia Avon & Lakeville(LAL) 319 in 2009

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1558067

As Livonia Avon & Lakeville(LAL) 319 in 2012

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2921132

And last but not least some Alco C424 action on the Minnesota Commercial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDFXES4k2ck

  

Penn Central Caboose 23045

Greetings All,

A short entry this week on my purchase of used Bowser N5C Penn Central Caboose # 23045 from my local hobby shop. While browsing I was checking a display case and this caboose quickly caught my eye with it's jade green body, large lettering and porthole windows. It was an interesting looking caboose, one I don't have and after noting it was made by Bowser I thought it might actually be prototypical.

Turns out it actually appears to be prototypical. The N5C caboose was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad starting in 1942. With the NYC / PRR merger they served Penn Central and then Conrail.
                                                   Here is an interesting read on the N5C

http://www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net/exhibits/equipment/cabooses/penn-n5c-cabin-car

A PRR N5C on display at Strasburg PA

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=94027

From Essex County Rail History

1979/05     ETR obtains PC caboose 23045 [Now privately owned in West Windsor]

 Here is a prototype picture from 1979. 

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=449894

Here is a prototype picture of  PC 23045 on display in 2012

http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/pc-23045.jpg

Penn Central caboose 23045 with the large lettering and numbering. The bottom indicates the car is assigned to the Northern Region, Canada Division. The caboose is class N5C with a 3-42 build date according to the model. 

Here is my HO scale model on an upper west side curve near Reliable Machine Works. 

The car has received a few coats of Lusterless Flat, window "glass", metal wheels and adjusted couplers.

Yellow stirrups have been added as the original steps were not attached to the used model.

I believe this is my one and only PC prototype caboose.

Note the distinctive PRR smoke jack.

The PC 23045 is on the rear of PC Train ML-9. The SP car was found and purchased during the same LHS sale. I remember seeing this car at the LHS on several occasions but it never caught my interest. Then after watching the Green Frog NYC and PC videos I saw numerous cars in this paint scheme on trains ML-9, ML-12 and other manifest freights. The narrator credited the SP with being a developer of the 86' Auto Parts Boxcars. So of course it immediately caught my interest when I saw it again.   

Upgrading a Bachmann 89' Tri-Level Auto Transporter

Greetings All,

This past week the N.Y.C.T.L. Purchasing Department successfully procured a used good condition Bachmann Penn Central 89' Tri-Level Auto Transporter (Auto Rack) with 14 of the original 15 cars included in the box. The purchase order stemmed from my October entries regarding Automobile Industry Traffic on the New York Central see here:
http://newyorkcentrallayout.blogspot.com/2015/10/automobile-industry-traffic-on-new-york.html

Of particular interest during this research were New York Central Trains ML-12 and ML-9. Thanks to the fine work of Emery Gulash I was able to view these trains on the New York Central Odyssey and Penn Central Green Frog DVDs. Spurred on by the DVDs the N.Y.C.T.L. mechanical and paint  shops went on an improvement program of the Bachmann 89' Tri-Level Auto Racks that I had owned for 15 years and ran maybe a handful of times. See here for that blog entry
http://newyorkcentrallayout.blogspot.com/2015/10/bachmann-89-tri-level-auto-rack.html 

That brings us to our current project, the upgrading of this newest auto rack to join the fleet. Follow along for the step by step process used to get this car mechanically layout ready.

The project car as purchased

The Bachmann car shown above was made in Hong Kong and sported a long X2f coupler which was different from the other Bachmann Auto Racks I have. Those had a long tongue on the truck that used a standard sized coupler which was held in place by a small screw. Some ingenuity was going to be required here. I considered body mounting the couplers but the 89' length and 24" radius curves made me apprehensive to do this. I wanted to talgo mount the couplers similar to the other 89' auto racks in my fleet.

Kadee's longest couplers were too short. Enter the McHenry #MCH53. These long couplers were just a bit longer that the horn hook couplers currently on tje model. It looked like I had enough room to screw the coupler further back on the talgo mount.

A horn hook coupler and truck assembly to the left. A McHenty 53 knuckle coupler mounted on the truck on the right. 

A view from the bottom of the trucks

The coupler box lids were removed. The center pins and coupler box was carefully cut off and the mounting area was sanded smooth. The McHenry couplers have two ridges on the bottom and these were sanded smooth as well.  

The newly installed coupler and truck have been attached with a screw eliminating the press pins

The proof is in the pudding or in this case the Kadee Height Gauge. 

Testing the new auto rack with the original Bachmann PC auto rack.
Note the Hong King car's version of jade green is a shade different.
The GP30 shoved the two auto racks around a 22" radius curve without
incident. 

Now off to the paint shop to paint over the yellow railings and ramps.