I've tried all the wheel types mentioned - 0.110", 0.088", PROTO:HO and Proto:87, and built limited amounts of track and turnouts on which to run the Proto styles. Actually, correctly gauged track (st

Schuyler privately asked a question about the turnout throw bars in the photos I posted a couple of days ago. I thought the answer would interest others, so I'm posting it here. All the turnouts in th

Some of my 4 Rapido NP 10000-13999 series cars looked like they were riding a bit high, but then I carefully seated the trucks on their body-mounted 'king pins' and they looked a lot better. I checked

I think all those numbers scribbled in chalk are likely car numbers. A few of them at in the same series as the car in the photo. Could be that a yard clerk go caught short in the yard without a clipb

Scott, The reading I have done about fish coming from Seattle on the NP indicates that a lot of it went as fresh fish in express refrigerator cars or baggage cars equipped with fish racks. I assume th

Hi Bob, I have seen several different clean-out tracks on different railroads, and I have never seen one that tilted cars to the side to allow debris to slide out of the car. Most of the stuff that I

Bruce, I like your detective work and I agree in your diagnosis. I think the first photo with the 2 guys working on the track is to unbolt the track and move it over so the locos can pull the car and

Wow! Thanks to Bob, Larry and others for all the interesting information and photos on tilted clean-out tracks. I learned a lot! Todd Sullivan

Hi Bob, I think that card is for classifying the condition of the interior, and therefore the type of lading for which the car is appropriate. It's interesting that several other tags have been staple

Hi Tim, Interesting question about the name on the banner. I sort of translated it as a shortened version of 'stoker coal'. My grandfather used to have an anthracite furnace with an Iron Man stoker, I

The lettering on the model in the photo looks like and older Champ set - especially the numbers. Perhaps it came from a Champ Rock Island road name set. They tended to be pretty generic, but would hav

Bill, I agree. In my way to Prototype Rail 2018 last January, we ran smack-dab into the blizzard that roared up the coast just before the event. We took shelter near Charleston SC, and the next mornin

Bob, It's interesting that, in the photo next to this one, there are two of these L&N gondolas. Apparently the F-M scale works liked the coal from one of the mines served by the L&N. https://www.flick

David Thompson wrote: Not on the Clinchfield, despite the weather: https://www.flickr.com/photos/barrigerlibrary/12226873846/ This photo must be in Buffalo, NY, given the NYC diesels, Buffalo Creek bo

Nelson & Paul, The weathering Paul used on his NP boxcar (beautiful model, BTW) is plausible. My go-to for any weathering is photos of real freight cars, a technique that Tony Koester suggested to me

Wow. Many railroads had them. It might be easier for us to reply if we knew what part of the country you are modeling (New England, Pacific NW, etc.), then we could list the railroads from that area t

Well, I'm not very retired, but I am getting back to building resin kits. The photo below is not a strictly resin kit. It's an AMB LaserKit for a Northern Pacific 1200 series caboose. I still have a f

I believe that the NP Railway Historical Association's stock car decals are for the Central Valley kit. The set is extensive. They still have the resin ends in stock. There was an article on how the n

I looked more closely at that boxcar, and it looks to me like it is off its trucks and on the ground. The car is much lower than the loco, and if you look at the bottom of the siding between the wheel

I have been using Barge cement in the blue tube, available from ACE hardware stores (may have to special order it, but it's in their catalog) using the same technique that you use, applied in sparing