Additions

Yesterday the much anticipated C-57 arrived.

After a quick clean and lube it was running quietly and smoothly about the layout, as expected from a Kato.

Turning it into the Erie K5A should be interesting. The drivers are about right, they mike out to 75.6" at the tread which is only a tad bit short of the prototype's 79" drivers. At the flange they mike out to 84.4" but comparing it to the pictures of the K5A it shouldn't throw things off too much.

I have not yet been able to disconnect the tender but it appears to have the same attaching arrangements as the Kato Mikado. I will have to figure out a way to get this to cross over to the larger 6 axle tender I have to put on it. Also, the shells are going to be difficult. The Arnold shell will require quite a bit of hollowing out, which will take a while since it is a cast metal shell. The Atlas carved out nicely and ended up being a few millimeters short. Since the Arnold shell has piping cast on that is not present on the prototype it might be easier to lengthen the Atlas shell. Either way, the project moves forward.

I had a medical procedure today (I don't want to talk about it, suffice it to say it was age related and requires a day of prep previous; if you don't get it you will when you reach the half century mark) so I was out of the house when the mail came. My wife, being the sweet thing she is, drove me to the procedure and afterwards, since we were near the train shop took me over there to see about getting a couple of decoders. They didn't have the decoders, but they did have this PB1.

Once it is painted in blue and striped in yellow it should match right up to its PA1 mate.

 It was a disappointment not to be able to get the decoders I was after though, because I was anticipating the arrival of this Burlington SD7 (and it is an SD7, marked on the sill plate as such, even though under the shell it is identical to the SD9), and when I got home it had indeed arrived.

Hopefully it won't be as onerous to chip as the SD9 was, and as soon as it does have DCC installed it can take its place in the consist helping the Redbird out.

I think they will make a really nice pair.

K5A Build Update

I just scored a Kato JNR C57 that has the boxpox drivers needed for the Erie K5A project.

When it arrives, probably some time next week, I'll have to figure out how to turn this:

into this.

I have the tender and I have one or two old Atlas Pacific shells. I also have a complete Arnold 4-6-2 that I wouldn't hesitate using the shell off of if it is a better match. I also have a collection of leading and trailing trucks and a few steam cylinder sets that can be donated to the cause as well, but it might be easier to use the Kato steam cylinders and form them with brass and plastic into what I need.

It should be fun!

Grand Reopening

Monday, May 29th marked an auspicious occasion as trains ran for the first time since the suspension of operations on the Path Valley Railroad. To commemorate the event a passenger train carrying VIPs from the railroad and greater Path Valley community ran the route several times to great acclaim.

Later that day the local freight delivered cars to the factory, scrap yard, grain elevator and meat packing plant, with a flatcar carrying containerized LCL loads getting parked at the freight station. The stockyard is gone now, cut to provide room for the railroad's new connecting turnouts and eventually a connection to a bigger modular system as it is built. The stockyard should eventually return on one of those modules, and indeed the stock car was a part of the consist.

All materials of a railroad nature have been put into the new train room, the pictures that had languished in storage have once again been placed in their spots and the trains are out on display. Unfortunately some of the lumber used in the previous standard gauge display was used in other applications, so the standard gauge display yard has shrunk accordingly.

The Unitrack has been removed from the temporary track table in the office, and the office table has also been relocated to the train room. The narrow gauge/Z scale trackage is still on the temporary board and it may actually become permanent at some point with an eye towards making it a show display.

And speaking of Unitrack, since I now have a dedicated place to work (be it ever so cluttered) I have once again started work on the T-TRAK modules. I mocked one up today to see how it was going to look and I think it's going to be good.

A little sanding and fitting and I think the first of my outside corner modules should be ready to assemble. It will be followed by another outside corner module and then either a pair of junctions or a pair of inside corners, I haven't decided which. I have the inside corner foam base pieces already cut but I may go with junctions at first because they do offer a bit more flexibility. After the first four are done I'll make some straight modules to fill them out.

In other news, the GP7 has arrived from Bachmann with the correct chassis but missing a forward hand rail. I haven't decided if I am going to try to get one from Bachmann or find one photo etched, I have another option to pull it off of one of the unused GP7 shells that were removed from the original units and replaced with Pennsy shells, that might be the easiest way to go.

Grandson and I had a good time running trains last Sunday when he was here.