Model Railroading on the Cheap

    While attending training for my employer in the early 1980s and riding a commuter train west of Chicago I noticed an old X29 box car overhanging the end of an industrial spur track. That style car, possibly built before 1930 was becoming scarce at the time. It had been shoved so hard into the…

   I wanted a two story building with about the same size footprint as the small Plasticville freight station seen all over the layout. This was “built” with Windows Paint program on card stock paper. I wanted to have the man door in the end of the structure at ground level. This requires the lower…

     The Yard Master at Yardley Classification yard is fit to be tied. His yard is all jammed up with tractor shipments which have been delayed by the hard winter this year and late spring. These car-loads of various kinds of tractors are all headed to export and are awaiting loading to an oceangoing freight…

    Sometimes you can salvage a bad paint job with heavy weathering. Here is a car that I thought was too nice to keep off the layout. It originally was a highly detailed northeastern caboose by LifeLike with improved detail like glazed windows, finer rivets, and end railings, plenty of open grab irons, correct style…

    Hillton has an overhead crane (modified Bachmann Signal Bridge) to handle trans-loading of heavy items. We have seen it from the other side of the tracks before. I needed to get some photos from this side of the action. After removing the tall building flat of the refrigerated warehouse at Holden City (held upright…

    Now days in HO scale one can find very nice models of cars and trucks that were popular over 50 years ago. I keep an eye out at flea markets for scene supporting trinkets, and then write a little story to explain the setting.    It looks like the Sunday Afternoon Antique Car /…

   Right at the edge of my layout where it is easy to see up close is an industrial spur track big enough to hold two cars that I originally called Edgeport Industries. I thought they could make widgets or something. However after finding several light weight plastic John Deere tractors suitable for a few…

The most recent changes at Hillton is at the Western Industrial Salvage Enterprise. The company has acquired a scrapped Conrail caboose (PRR N5) and is using it as larger office space. Timely changes — it is not surprising that this caboose which probably was built in the 1930s has ended up in the scrap yard. …

   I think all model railroaders must have a good imagination. Here is a bit about how I allow imagination to stimulate me and my model railroad. “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon —-“    I have listened to Garrison Keilor’s “Prairie Home Companion” radio show for nearly 30 years. Find it Saturday…

   As I have said before I feel qualified to tell about tractors on flat cars. Finally I set up a scene on my layout that I recall from the early 1950s. I have taken some liberties with details but the concept is accurate. I am using John Deere tractors not Farmalls and I am…