Lee University

MARCH, 2007 "A BREAK IN THE ACTION" (Cont.)

Some "bits n'pieces" - So what's with the Airborne medicine container and the Seal-a-meal tube? For some reason, "tank kits" seem to be the most overpriced kit you usually find in the railroad hobby marketplace, so here's a couple of cheap substitutes . . .

I glued strips of thin card stock around the Airborne container, spray painted it black to fill in the "cracks" and then brushed it with Testors "steel" flat enamel. The Tubes were cut and wrapped in aluminum foil and underwent the same process. All were finished with a dusting of "rust" weathering, and embellished with that extra "pipe-stuff" we all seem to collect over the years of modeling. In the foreground are some tanks by Faller that I decided to incorporate into one row. The walkway is actually leftover plastic "picket fence" - with the picket edges cut off. The railing is ladder salvaged from an old coal tower I built years ago when I thought I would do steam railroading.

New additions to my Missouri Pacific roster are these two BL-2"s from new friend, Dave Fess, from the far northwest part of the country. These models are about 17 years old and haven't been made for a  number of years. I was really happy to obtain them. Often considered the "Ugly Duckling" of diesel offerings from EMD, the four-axle road switcher, BL2 set the stage for the company's widely successful GP series of locomotives. EMD's diesel program was well underway in the late 1940s and early 1950s, thanks to the success of the company's F-units. While the F-units in production were great for moving trains over the railroad,  their full-width carbody made it difficult for locomotive crews to see to the rear of the locomotive. The F-units also lacked anywhere for a brakeman or switchman to stand and ride short distances while  performing switching duties. The F-units did have grab irons and stirrup steps, but these features didn't do any good in tight clearances. EMD's designers and engineers set to work and came up with the carbody that contained the technical knowledge they had learned with the company's F-unit series. Starting from an F3, the product of  their efforts became the BL1 demonstrator. The BL1 and BL2 differed only in mechanical details, and only one BL1 was built. 58 more BL2s were built and sold to a few railroads, primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States. Missouri Pacific purchased 8 of the units. Limiting the locomotives success were several mechanical and ergonomic features. The mechanical components within the engine compartment were difficult to access and maintain, reducing its appeal among railroad shop crews. The locomotive's carbody lacked the full-length walkways of subsequent GP diesels, making it difficult for the brakeman or switchman to move from one point on the locomotive to another during switching operations. Finally, although the industrial designers at EMD tried to build a carbody that evoked  high-class passenger trains while retaining the utilitarianism of railroad work, the visual design never quite caught on. However, even though the BL2 didn't succeed very well, EMD's engineers learned quite a bit from the endeavor and incorporated all of the good ideas from it into the company's widely successful GP series of locomotives.

I was stunned lately when a grateful parent sent me this railcar as a gift. It is a 1960-vintage Radioactive Waste Car built by Lionel. Obviously, it's a "pretend-design" from the few years that Lionel attempted to join the HO marketplace. If you're a Lionel fan, I probably don't have to tell you how much this particular car is  worth. I just wanted to show it off and add a public THANK YOU for a wonderful addition to the Any-Time-Any-Spring layout. It rides the rails with pride and appreciation!

OK, I'm pitiful. It's bad enough I own ONE faux-Missouri Pacific engine - but now I have THREE of them! I'm a incorrigible certifiable Mantua Junkie. Just get over it. AND IN THE END . . . Over the past several years, I have had several requests for a panoramic shot of the layout. Regrettably, the layout wraps around a furnace and since the back side is two feet from a wall, there just isn't any vantage point to shoot such a picture. So hopefully, this slide show will suffice. There are two versions, small (640X480)  and large (1280 X 960), so open the one your computer will handle the best. (Incidental "Appalachian Railroad Music" by Yo-Yo-Ma and Wayne O'Connor.) Unfortunately, "Any-Time-Any-Spring" is located in an unfinished basement, so in addition to railroad, you'll get a glimpse of gray cinderblock walls, my workbench, my "Goo-Gone" track table for cleaning engine wheels, various stair steps, cluttered shelves, and the stack of milk cartons where I do most of my spray painting. Like I said, no mention of "professional modeler" was ever intimated in these past pages - just a guy who loves to "play with trains".  Thanks for looking in. I've appreciated all the comments and emails over the years and will continue to do so. Best wishes.

Trains:  Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53

Page 1 - Box Canyon Layout
Page 2 - Anytime, Any Spring Disclaimer
Page 3 - Starting Over, December 2003
Page 4 - March, 2004
Page 5 - June, 2004
Page 8 - Layout Design
Page 9 - August, 2004
Page 11 - January, 2005
Page 16 - January, 2005 Redux
Page 17 - First Day of Summer, 2005
Page 20 - August, 2005
Page 21 - In the Farmland, February 2006
Page 23 - Layout Potpourri, February 2006
Page 25 - In the Cornfields, 2006
Page 27 - July, 2006
Page 30 - November, 2006
Page 33 - MARCH, 2007 - A Break in the Action
Page 35 - November, 2008 - The ATAS Returns!
Page 39 - January, 2009
Page 42 - March, 2009 - Burlington Station
Page 44 - April, 2009
Page 45 - May, 2009 - The Cliffside Nursery
Page 51 - August, 2009 – The Last Neighborhood
Page 52 - November, 2009