Broadoak

The empty Hubinger tank car is backed into the pulp wood loading siding in the east yard and coupled up to a cut of loaded pulp wood cars. The whole rake is then pulled into the main loop in the west yard and spotted. With the crew of the U boat suitably refreshed they back out of the flour mill headshunt siding. They then make their way to the head end of the pulpwood cars and couple up. Having done a brake test the U boat and its train sets off for the Rock Island interchange and eventually the mill in Louisiana. Peter M

Peter M

The NW2 can now spot the tank car at the loco servicing facility. The ATSF and the Rock Island covered hoppers are pushed into the back siding in the west yard. Here an empty tank car is coupled up to the two hoppers and lifted out. The two hoppers are then coupled to the empty ACR and Railbox box cars and spotted at R E Lee Farm supplies for loading with seed and feed. The Rock and ATSF hoppers are pushed into the Mutual Service track for loading. Peter M

Peter M

The end cab switcher runs out to the back end of the cut of cars and couples up. It then pulls the cars that have been uncoupled at the fuel tank car and pulls the cars into the incoming track in east yard. The U boat pulls out of the house track as this is were the full fuel car will be spotted and parks in the flour mill head shunt out of the way. Peter M

Peter M

It is some time since I posted photographs of an operating session at Benson so I thought it’s about time I did one. This session features the Rock Island and two of their locomotives, a U33B and an NW2 end cab switcher. We start with the U33B arriving at Benson early one morning with a mixed freight, these locos were the largest and most powerful four axle road switchers on the Rock. They were in fact used mainly in the UP pool at north Platte, however some were later re-geared and became control units for slugs. #286 spots her cut of cars in the long loop and uncouples, then runs to the house track where the crew walk down to the yard masters caboose and take a coffee break and get their train orders. The NW2 which some how has managed to miss a trip to the paint shop leaves the flour mill headshunt and heads into the yard to spot the incoming cars. Peter M

Sutton St Anne’s N scale Trodinnick Dries/Wagon Repair Yard 00 Scale Peter M

Lymebrook Yard N scale Hither Green Pad N scale Peter M

Cappenham Yard 00 Scale DCC test track Southgate DMU Depot 00 scale. layout under construction. Peter M

A few rather poor photographs of this years excellent Wrec rail event, they are in no particular order. Botterill Street Yard 0 scale Reading Signal Works 00 scale Peter M

This sort of behaviour quite frankly beggars belief to my mind, it is so sad. I just don’t understand the reasons for performing such acts of mindless destruction. They seem to have no respect for other peoples property at all. I wonder how they would feel if somebody trashed their personal things. I have long thought I am living in a world I no longer understand at all. I can only imagine what the owners and builders of the layouts must be feeling now. I hope the punishment meted out to the idiots who did this, fit’s the crime. Peter M

A few photographs of my Alco locos. An S2 working in the east yard at Benson Arkansas. A Century 420 also shuffling cars at Benson. A TVRR S2 with a mid week switching job at Benson. A TVRR RS1 working in the west yard at Benson. Peter M

#145 pulls the cut of cars into the loop and uncouples so she can run round the cars. She then backs down and couples up to the cut and does a brake test. When the crew are happy that all is well they leave Benson and set off for Hope. Peter M

Thanks for your interest Jacky, I think it adds a certain something when operating and makes it seem more realistic. With the RI hopper left in the loop the switcher returns the CNW covered hopper to the loading point at Trisco Flour. She then backs down the head shunt and goes forward to collect the RI hopper in the loop. Having coupled up she heads for the inbound road to collect the Frisco box and the other RI hopper. Peter M

Having spotted the Frisco box car, the cut from the Medusa Cement Co are returned to the unloading facility there. #145 then rolls down to the head shunt of the Trisco Flour Mill to collect another Rock Island covered hopper, this one having been loaded with flour. She couples to the CNW hopper and the RI hopper in the siding and pulls them out. She then propels the RI hopper to the main loop and leaves it there. Peter M

#145 then heads to the west yard and the Medusa Cement Co’s unloading facility. Here she pulls out a cut of cars including a Frisco box car loaded with cement in bags on pallets. These are easier to handle and more convenient for the customers at Hope the cars destination. The Frisco box is propelled to the inbound track and coupled to the Rock covered hopper to make up part of the out bound train. Peter M

The cars in the Mutual Service siding are pulled out to allow the empty Rio Grande car to be spotted at the Mutual Service elevator so that it can be filled with a load of Soya beans. Having collected the UP covered hopper it is re-spotted in the siding where it is waiting to be loaded with wheat at the Farmers Co-op at the end of the siding. Peter M

The switcher continues into the west yard and stops in the loop before reversing back into the pulpwood loading track in the east yard. Here the cars are uncoupled and left to be loaded by truck loads of pulpwood later. #145 returns to the inbound track and couples up to the empty Rio Grande covered hopper. She then trundles down to east yard and couples up to the cars standing in the Mutual Service siding. Peter M

# 145 stops with its last car opposite the yardmaster’s grounded caboose, the empty Rio Grande covered hopper is uncoupled and left on the inbound track. Peter M

Agriculture and Lumber especially are big business for the I&W railroad. As it is surrounded by large forests of trees suitable for paper pulp making and in the manufacture of particle board. Much of the land that was open caste mined for bauxite in the past has been made into forest by replacing the overburden and planting trees. These various trees reach maturity in three to five years so it is a continuous process. We see #145 a Burlington and Northern end cab switcher arriving at Benson from Hope with a cut of empty pulp wood cars and an empty DRGW covered hopper. Although well into the 1970’s the little switcher has managed to avoid being re-painted in corporate green and black and still sports its GN livery. You will note on the deck of the pulpwood cars debris from previous loads, it is sawdust really on the model but I think looks quite effective. Peter M

Sorry to hear of your medical problems Jordan, hope you are on the road to complete recovery now. I love the video of the swaying boxcars, very realistic. Kind regards Peter M

I bought a few second hand magazines the other week from a charity shop and among them was a copy of the 2018 December issue of Railway Modeller. It had an article about an attractive 00 scale small exhibition layout called “Sixpenny Handley” which featured a selection of modular scenes that could be changed. I remember seeing the layout in the flesh at Rushden earlier in the year’ being operated by a father and his son. In the write up about the layout it says the inspiration for the model was a layout called Two Sister’s Farm which they saw at Kettering. I remember doing the Kettering show on my own and a young lad having a drive for some time while I took a comfort break. He told me he had a layout at home but never had operated it in a realistic fashion. He quickly adjusted to operation and after a short time became completely at ease operating in a realistic way. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and said how quickly the time passed. Two Sister’s Farm won the best layout in show that year and I have often wondered if my young operator and his friends were responsible because it‘s not the sort of layout the public vote for. I am however delighted that my efforts inspired someone else to have a go at building a layout of their own. Regards Peter M

#53 then trundles to the pulp wood loading track and picks up two loaded racks and pulls them into the loop in west yard. She runs round her small train and sets off past the yardmaster’s grounded caboose to the SP interchange. Peter M

#53 runs round the empty Rock Island box car and propels it into the team track in the east yard. Here it will be loaded with palletised drilling mud which is used to seal the drill bit shaft when drilling for oil. Peter M