Like shooting fish in a barrel!

While waiting for a BNSF coal train I saw being held up by a red signal I worked my way back to a spot where I could look down on the train for a better angle. Behind Sunset Junction hobby shop in downtown Spokane BNSF installed these relatively new signal towers. While I was waiting a Union Pacific empty Canopex unit train passed eastbound.

 

This is Canadian Potash that is sold to China for fertilizer and comes in on the UP/SI line from Canada thru Spokane.

 

Further delay on the famous coal train was maintenance equipment passing me eastbound, then 10 minutes later passing me westbound.

 

Specialized equipment like this tamper keeps the ties and rails at the proper alignment vertically so they wont sag when a train passes over.

 

After about an hour the coal train passes this spot with the new school and business buildings in the background where once was industrial warehouses.

 

Now the normal on many trains is a pusher locomotive that is controlled by the head engineer. No need to signal the pusher in the old days by whistle or telephone.  An engineer and a brakeman in the lead unit moving over 100 cars of 100 tons each. My how efficient. My coal dust meter did not detect any dust from these cars!

 

 

Working over the Port District

After Burt got done with his fashion show he got on top of the layout to do the details on the rails with weathering, add the ballast and smooth out the area where the oil tanks will go inside the red Main tracks. Pipes will tie it all together to the load facility.

 

New member Mike (Spike) Gorley helped Burt out with sealing the gaps between the tracks with spackle. Its good to have guys with young knees!

 

At the end of the night I put in the oil tanks that Burt built in a smaller version so as not to overwhelm the area, I put a little touch to it so they look industrial!

 

Brock showed yup with a brand new set of Union Pacific SD90s with sound and ditch lights! They were impressive.

 

Peter Fassler, new member Mike's son was wondering why this car looks so shiny. I didn't know what to say to him as I never saw one that looked that way?

The Evergreen club just signed up new member Tom Kirk. That makes us 31 members strong!

TV time at the Evergreen!

In preparation for the open house at the club we invited the media and KHQ TV showed up at 7:40 am to shoot live coverage of the upcoming event. Chad and Phil showed up to help me do the segment and I appreciated it very much. I can't get the news Face book video to attach properly to e-mails.

 

We got coverage in the local newspaper as well and the folks started showing up at 3 pm instead of the advertised 5 pm. The little guy was impressed with Jim's UP passenger train.

 

The shutter bugs were out in force as Burt's little teakettle was rounding the bend.

 

It's about 4 pm and the crowd thickens around the layout. Brock Nelson, in the green club shirt, rejoined the club after a few months absence and we are happy that he has returned and participate in the open house. Dorothy Gorley, in her 8th month of pregnant, took the time to make 4 dozen cookies for the troops to enjoy. The members seem to eat them faster than the guests. Look at that great vista with no cabinets in the way.

 

Rough and tumble Gas Turbine passes brand new fancy pants F units on the Union Pacific and shows the newbie how to make smoke and noise.

 

The Alaska Connection is apparent as Jim shows off his adopted state railroad where is spent the last 40 years of his life.

Open House Saturday March 9th

Evergreen RR Modelers will open its doors to visitors on Saturday night, March 9th from 5 pm to 9 pm

30 members of a model railroad club in the Spokane Valley have created a spectacular HO train layout to run trains and have fun.

We would like to share a part of the experience with visitors from far and wide when they show up at the Spokane Model Train Swap Meet the following day at the Fairgrounds. Your imagination will be expanded when you see the mountains, the bridges, the city scapes that make up part of this 25' by 60 ' room filled with many scenes to impress even the most jaded among us.

The date is Saturday, March 9th at 5 pm to 9 pm, the location is 18213 East Appleway in the Spokane Valley and admission is free.

 

For more information please call Jerry Quinn at 509-939-5845

 

More Thursday night action on the Evergreen Railroad

UP Heritage unit in Western Pacific colors shows up on a long freight but a steam train approaches so that could only mean some tourist line has started operating on the Blue Main line. But its a freight train with a steam engine...now I'm confused! The Cub Scouts were impressed!

 

Newly arrived power in the form of Susquehanna colors graces the rails. It does not have any weathering so who could be the owners of such things?

 

Tommy Frank's long string of UP passenger cars goes under the bridge with the trolleys making their way between Old City and Cobbleton.

 

We knew we had the brains at the club, now we have the brawn! The cast of characters are Chad, Jim, Allan and Phil gather back at the future spot for the port district. Behind Jim is our new filing system with 2 dressers on each other.to save space and increase our hidden storage!

 

The edge of the earth has been removed thanks to Photoshop. I keep playing with it to remove any visuals that hurt the fact that it is not a real railroad scene, we'll leave that to the BNSF Railroad. Maybe I should have used Photoshop on the prior photo?

 

 

Evergreen RR hosts Cub Scout Pack last Thursday

Update on our trolley line..... with Allan working on it has gotten it to run flawlessly.The area between the rails needs to be improved but it runs great!

 

Not only does it run great but now it stops to let off and pick up customers at different spots so now we can make a profit with our new trolley line.

That's if we really had riders!

 

Mr. Cunningham had has CP engines out for a spin especially making the grade up to Beaver Canyon.

 

Future member Mike Fassler seems a bit taken aback now that his son Peter has taken up whistle blowing. The Cub

Scouts got the wooden whistles as part of the evenings' entertainment. Will the parents ever forgive us?

 

New member Phil Pesek introduced the club to Midwest railroading in the form of Kansas City Southern's red F units.

They will look a lot better when the shine is taken off.

A chip off the Old Blockhead - Part 2

The train station is a featured building on Jerry's N scale layout. It would be the pride and joy of any American city.

The detail at the entrance is impressive

The Thales train is a French high speed train that we rode on 2 years ago when we traveled from Germany to Paris. Going 120 mph is normal speed

for European trains.

No battle damage is seen on this Europe scene, I looked for it as we traveled for hundreds of miles and I saw only 1 building along a canal that was damaged.

Everything was well done and I can't say enough about how proud we are of our kids.

A chip off the Old Blockhead

We stayed with my oldest son Jerry Jr who lives 5 miles from the trains show location so it worked out very well in seeing the kids again. In part  of his garage is this magnificent N scale layout that he and his son Hudson work on.

The neat part of the layout are the structures that are scratchbuilt with parts and supplies from other kits or stock materials.

Jerry models in N scale and does European modeling that is the best I ever saw.

I really love the way individual floors are lit with furniture and people in attendance

There's Jerry in the background of his masterpiece. Maritime modeling is also included.

Looking down main street gives you the impression that it is a real city.

What's new on the Evergreen Railroad?

Brand spanking new SP FP7s handle a beautiful California Zephyr passenger train owned by member John Smith, not to be confused by new member Scotty Smith.

 

Here is the tail car that shows the quality of the current equipment available to us modelers and collectors of model railroad equipment.

 

Mike Baker had this Great Northern GP9 local delivering the goods to customers along the line.

 

Great Northern was represented with my 2 GE U25Bs pulling 4 World World 2 era troop cars given to me by Tom Jennings!

 

Tommy Frank had his 3 GE locos running most of the day.

 

What's this? Steve Welton has TWO Kansas City Southern SD70s and some of us have none! We need an investigation of this by a law firm or something! Anyone know any volunteers?

 

 

 

And now a glimpse of what's happening on the real railroad.

At risk of paying $200.fine to get this photo of a clone of a Steve Welton model that he runs on the Evergreen layout, this brute of a loco was on the point of a westbound in Yardley in the Spokane Valley last Saturday or Sunday. I hear the BNSF cop is a good friend of engineer Keith Wiles.

The best shot I could find of Steve's engine is this one in trail led by a UP SD70. I'll check to see if it is the same number!

The same fine would have also brought me this photo of an SD40-2 Remote Control 3000 horsepower switch engine attached to a GP 50 B unit. Not every long ago this was the backbone mainline power now relegated to yard service! The little label below the number indicates remote control from a guy on the ground!

Don Brereton brought in his dinner train last week and set it up on the Green Branch that normally restricts the long cars such as these but we are talking photo op!

Uncle Don shows us that they truly model trains, not the real thing! He didn't know I was shooting the picture.

Anyone for dinner? It looks like the dinner train made it up north to Canada as CP and CN locos gather with the lone F unit at Bakerville, BC.