A Sturgeon Falls Update

It's been a while since I've posted an update of my model train setup.  But then again, it's also been a while since I've gotten any new cars or engines.

 When I headed up to Clare a couple of weeks ago, I decided to stop at the hobby shop in Flint.  I was just going to look around but then I saw this engine.  Since it was the Ann Arbor Railroad, I decided to pick it up.  As I was poking around the blog, I saw that I have pictures of the real locomotive.

 Although this engine is in much better shape.   It would be tempting to make it look more beat up.

 This is one of the engines that I've had for a while but I like the scheme.

 I ended up picking up this engine because of my cat's name.  Since this is a predecessor to CSX, it fits well on that engine.  Although I should make it look more beat up.

 It is very rare to see cabooses on trains these days.   I think they are cool, so I have it on mine.

 A caboose that portrays the Operation Lifesaver symbol.  They are a group that educates the public about rail safety and they do a pretty good job.

 I've had this one for a while, but I can't resist a picture of a steam engine.

 From an oblique angle.

 Probably my favorite angle for a train but I try to get it from a curve or something so that I'm not in the way of the train.

 A new Great Northern car.

 Three of my engines waiting in the yard.

Another one of my favorite engine schemes.

One of these years I will finish my setup.

The Return of Steam to Sturgeon Falls

After riding on the Nickel Plate twice last year, I wanted to get myself one for my train setup.  One of the model train companies decided to make a series of the Nickel Plate 765 and the Pere Marquette 1225.  I really had a hard time choosing between the two but I decided on the Nickel Plate since I actually rode on that one.

 The last scheduled steam engine in the United States was run by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and went from Detroit, MI to Durand, MI on March 27, 1960.  Now of course, that doesn't the include the excursion railroads that now run.   I think other railroads had phased out their steam runs much earlier than that.  Other railroads had been phasing out their steam engines during the 1950's.  So for the sake of argument, we'll say that the last steam engine went through Sturgeon Falls in 1958.

 It seems like there has been a resurgence in steam engines in the past few years.  I'm not going to list all of them but I know of the Nickel Plate pictured above.   There is also the Pere Marquette 1225.  Last weekend, the Norfolk 611 returned to Roanoke after being restored in Spencer, NC (I almost went down there).  The Union Pacific has been in the process of restoring one of its Big Boy Locomotives.  I'm sure there are a few others.  Many of these steam engines have been making excursion runs.

 So for the sake of argument, we'll say that the Nickel Plate has made a few runs through Sturgeon Falls (although mine is different because it is carrying cargo instead of passengers...but hey my railroad my rules).

 All in all, I will have to say that is a very nice model.  It is amazing the amount of detail they pack into such a little package.  What is even more amazing is that it makes actually steam engine sounds.  I was not expecting that since my railroad is not DCC equipped.  I suspect that if I were to install a DCC system, I might get the whistle and other sounds.  What I have is cool enough for me.

 It seems to be about the right size compared to the other trains in my setup.

 One of the coolest aspects is that the little arms move with the wheels.  It gives a little more something to look at it.

 I will have to say it compares favorably to the real one.

And I leave you with one more shot.

Messing With My Trains Again

So I was messing around with my trains again tonight.  Well, I was using my trains to mess around with different lighting.  I just wanted to try different angles and stuff.

 My main subject was my BNSF engine that is wearing the old Santa Fe livery.  I was using a pen light and it was working fairly well, but I think I may need to mess with the exposure a bit.  I kind of like how you can just see the front train.

 Then I went for a different angle.  I kind of like the way the light looks on it.

 Since this angle is pretty tough for a real train, I figured I would get it here.  Although I may need to try to lower the camera to get a more realistic angle.

 So then I tried an angle where I got two of my trains.  Again in the normal light.

 And then I went with the pen light.

 Just messing with different angles of the light.

 And different f-stops.

 A couple more shots at an even smaller f-stop.  I was trying to get the whole engine in focus.

I think I might have gotten it.

Messing Around With My Trains

Because I'm trying to do a picture a day and it is still winter, I'm going to sometimes use this opportunity to experiment with things.  One of the things I've messed with in the past is taking pictures with a flashlight.  This gives me the opportunity to control the direction of the light and I think this will help with more proper photography.

 First, I just used a straight out picture.  This would probably be the normal angle for me to take a picture of a train.  Since I was just messing with things, I didn't get the full engine in the picture.

 Then I tried the front of the train, I didn't realize that I would get a sinister looking shot out of it.

 Just a different angle.  This would be one that I couldn't get with a real train unless I was on an overpass or something.

One more from the front but a little lower angle on the camera.

I'm going to have to try this again but with the tripod so that I don't have to use higher film speed.

What's in a Name

Chessie is my third cat.  My first cat was named Floyd and I had him for a little over a month, he had an enlarged heart and died.  My second cat was named Zappa and I had him for thirteen years and just lost him.  When I got Chessie, I was trying to think of a name for her.  I didn't want to continue the rocker theme and was thinking of naming her after a ship.  I couldn't think of any feminine ship names so I went with the next best thing....naming her after a railroad.

 She's technically not named after a railroad but a railroad's mascot and advertising icon.  The railroad is the Chesapeake and Ohio which was founded in 1869.  It's main source of revenue when it was founded was coal.  That enabled it to stretch from Chicago and parts of Michigan to the East Coast.  Eventually it would expand into other cargos and passenger service.
During the 1930's, it introduced an air conditioned passenger train with the slogan of "sleep like a kitten".  The literature featured a picture of a sleeping kitten.  That kitten would later be known as Chessie.

 The Baltimore and Ohio was founded in 1828 and is one of the oldest railroads in the United States.  It was the first carrier to offer freight and passenger service to the public.    It was also the first railroad to use a telegraph line.  While it wasn't in direct competition with the C&O, it served many of the same areas.
In 1960, the C&O started to buy B&O stocks and in 1962 the B&O stockholders approved C&O control of the railroad.  In 1972, the Chessie System was formed while it wasn't quite a merger of the two railroads it was pretty close.

 In 1987, the C&O, B&O and Seaboard Atlantic were formally merged to form CSX.

 And with that, I give you more cat pictures.  Here Chessie is watching my railroad.

 She was not an easy subject to take pictures of but then again, I suspect no kitten really is.

 I had to move my hand around to get her to look towards the camera.

And I leave you with one more shot of her.  Isn't she a pretty kitty?

The Morning Freight Run Through Sturgeon Falls

It has been a while since I've made a Sturgeon Falls update.  It's not that I haven't been making any improvements to it.  It's just that I've been waiting for the right light to take pictures.  I wasn't up quite early enough to get the sunrise light though but this will down.

 I've added some people to Sturgeon Falls.  So now we actually have some people waiting patiently at the train station for the Amtrak to stop.

 Senor Pepe's has some customers.  Although the guy on the right is heading towards the train station.  And the woman is heading somewhere.

 A man checking out what's showing at the Wolverine and woman buying a ticket.  The man with the green bag is finding his way to the Railway Arms.

 A general street scene on the other side.

 I decided that my corners needed something, so I built Wentworth Tool and Die.  Wentworth Tool and Die was established in 1911 by Mr. Charles Wentworth of Exeter.  With a growing auto industry and access to the rail line, he established this building in Sturgeon Falls.  It has seen its ebb and flow but still is producing some decent quality tooling.

 In 1982, a train struck one of the walls, so it has different windows than the rest of the building. He was able to repair it.

 On the other side of the yard is a maintenance shack for the Norfolk-Southern Railroad.  This is loosely based on one that I saw in Milan.

 Just in case you forget where we are.

 I need to add more people to make this more of a bustling downtown scene.

 Looking down the street.

 The morning Norfolk-Southern train passes by the yard.

 Unless you are in front of curve, do not try this shot in person.

 An oblique angle of my Norfolk-Southern engine.

And I leave with a shot of the Union Pacific engine.