CraigZ

And it's snowing now...with some vigour I might add....

Snow's coming later this evening there...could be 6-9 inches before it's all done.

Winter has come to northern Illinois...

Here's BNSF 1500 tied down at Rochelle on 17 Nov 2016...

I discovered that there's about a 20-30 second lag between reality and when reality appeared on my cell phone...that allowed me to do this yesterday morning and to wave hello to RM Webbers... I could walk out, wave, walk back and wait for it to stream on my phone and grab the screenshot.

If your model has lenses, you can take a pair of those 3528 LEDs, glue them side by side with the anodes on one side and the cathodes on the other, lay wire along the anodes and cathodes, solder in place, then glue the assembly behind the lenses inside the shell. Works a treat...but only if you have lenses and if the inside of the shell is flat.

I saw these at a friend's house... http://bittercreekmodels.com/page11.html They worked extremely well, looked good, and have a lower profile than the Caboose parts.

Colin, I've a friend who works on the CLNA - if you want some more detail pix of 8311 PM your email address to forward to him.

Did somebody say CLNA 8311 Those filter housings were made by Details West; I have a pair around here someplace. They're two separate boxes that hang off the side of the hood so hood width is not critical.

Not much I'm afraid....I shot the #8 in Statesville about 18 years ago on a cloudy day. I've never made an effort to drive the three hours west and actually railfan the Alexander.

And to make it even better...that's on the shortline Alexander RR...history with 44 tonners, Alco S4, EMD SWs nowadays. Been around a very long time; interchanges with the Norfolk Southern (ex Southern) on the west side of Statesville NC.

Nice to have running on the computer whilst modeling a bit

I drove by there today en route from Madison WI back to Chicago Midway airport. The railroads have the level crossings torn out and under reconstruction in the area; couldn't get to the park at all.... drat.

Should be out shortly according to Matt at Loksound USA...

Better than that - it's a pair of three way stubs facing each other...with that gantlet track. Crazy!

I've been going thru the five New York, Ontario & Western F units to which I fitted Tsunamis and been replacing them with Loksound. I prefer the sound and the motor control. I can sell the Tsunami decoders for $55-60 which offsets a lot of the cost of the Loksounds. The Intermountain NYO&W FTs come with Loksounds; my Kato NW2s have been fitted with Loksounds. Steam, on the other hand.... After having experienced the TCS WOW steam decoder I installed in a Proto 2000 0-8-0 I think that the Broadway Limited Paragon 2 and 3 decoders pale in comparison. I've already replaced two of those (which takes a complete gutting of the locomotive's electronics. The gutting also removes the whoopee smoke generator. The first Paragon3 (a PRR L1s 2-8-2) took about five hours total which included the exploratory surgery and tracing/metering out of the loco and tender wiring. But the net result is a locomotive that runs superbly and sounds much much better. I might start a topic on that showing what I found and the replacement installed.

Some of the Select sound files now have a 'cast P5' horn on them...in other words, a horn that I will always associate with the Southern Rwy here.

Steve, I should mention that the very best N&W decals come from Shell Scale Decals...not much for the 1950s but still, the best. www.shellscale.com

And some N&W/Southern and other audio on the Winston-Salem Southbound...cued up at the N&W whistles at 19:35 time on the video... https://youtu.be/4OzQN9M4pcg?t=19m35s

The Rapido cars are quite nice; take care that the couplers actually move properly. Several of mine had couplers that did not swing freely. Neglected to mention that the N&W diesels I list above started arriving in 1955. Useless N&W trivia - in 1953 the 10 locomotives in the Y4 class were refitted with enormous 8 axle tenders that were taken from 10 Atlantic Coast Line 4-8-4s that were being retired by the ACL. 24,000 gallons, 27 tons of coal capacity...the tenders ran for about 5 more years until the Y4s were retired in 1958.

According to the Wither's 1st Generation N&W Diesel book, the N&W-ordered GP9s were a mix of phases...500-505 and 710-812 were Phase II; 506-699 and 813-913 were Phase III. All had dual control stands with the long hood designated as front; all had dynamic brakes. Phase II has the paired 36" fans; Phase III the single 48" fans. Athearn does the model both ways; Proto 2000 did both variants as well. Aside from the horn changes you'd need the high bell on the short hood end. In the 1950s the N&W bought new 8 RS3 93 RS11 11 GP18 301 GP9s - just a guess but it seems that they liked these engines... Also acquired thru merger was the Virginian's fleet of FMs...but barely in the 1950s as it was 1 Dec 1959...

Darned slippery slope...the availability of quality steam at less than a king's ransom of price makes a nearly irresistible combination. Get thee behind me, Satan...

I did the same with 1218 when it was at Salisbury, NC...and hot. 120 square feet of firebox is pretty impressive when covered by burning coals!

The N&W was iconoclastic...they did things THEIR way despite being heavily owned by the PRR. It can be argued that the N&W steam out of Roanoke Shops was the zenith of US steam locomotive design. As the Lima Locomotives salesman said when asked if he was calling on Roanoke, "What can we tell them about steam engines?" The blue (aka Pevlar Blue named for the company president) was a 1960s livery. In the steam/diesel transition the passenger Geeps were maroon, the freight diesels black with a couple of variations of yellow lettering. GP9s and RS-3s were what the N&W first bought heavily; they never bought an F unit new. RS-11s came later in the 1950s. Cabooses were indeed red...brass or I seem to recall Atlas? When you see the short trains with what looks like a J, be sure to look again; the N&W gave some of their 4-8-2s J-style streamlining...they saw a lot of service on local passenger trains. The model exists in brass. A stand in for an N&W steam shunter is the USRA 0-8-0 from Proto/Walthers. Great running model (look for the second run that had tender pick ups) and the N&W was building 0-8-0s based on the design until the very end of steam. Big huge export coal doc or Roanoke Schaffer's Crossing Yard shunters can be had with the Proto/Walthers USRA 2-8-8-2 Y3 models which, like the 0-8-0, are great runners. Class A, Y6 and J...Broadway Limited. Books - oh boy. The two Withers N&W diesel books are a must have. Jeffries' "N&W: Giant Of Steam" is superb. Richard Prince's N&W book, like all his books, doesn't have the 'diesel' word in it anyplace. Morning Sun's N&W color books are worth having. In West Virginia you're going to need a lot of coal hoppers...a LOT of hoppers N&W K class mountain One of the USRA-based 0-8-0 engines