Refinements to "Big Red Barn" and "Sinclair Gas Station" structures

Last summer I submitted my twelve scratchbuilt structures for judging. Three earned enough points (87.5) to receive a merit award, and I was told that another two were "very close". I took this news a bit poor, which wasn't the correct response in the situation. However, at the time I was pretty frustrated so I set the models aside and worked on other things. Recently, though, I decided to see if I could upgrade two of the models to help push them over 87.5 point threshold.

Sinclair Gas Station

The only issue with my Sinclair Gas Station model was the over-size pumps. I had scratchbuilt them for fun and when I did it I used tubing sizes I had on hand during the pandemic without much thought as to whether they were 1:87 scale or not. The result was pumps that were closer to S scale (1:64). And, it turns out one of my judges had a father who previously owned a Sinclair gas station, so he was very familiar with the prototypes! 

I was told the pumps weren't required to be part of my model because they were separate exterior details, so at the time of judging I asked if I could just rip them off the base and then have it pass. Instead, it was suggested that I replace them. There are several HO scale commercial castings for Sinclair gas pumps that would be suitable, but I wanted to build them myself. 

So, after scaling some online pictures I purchased the correct sized styrene shapes and built them again. I also selected a slightly different style of pump. As you can see, the difference in size between the old and new pumps is striking. And the judges were correct... the smaller pumps look much better now. 

Big Red Barn

My Big Red Barn project was a bit more challenging. One judge in particular took specific offense to my oversize white trim on the doors and front. I had based my model on a commercial HO scale kit of a barn and never considered that the kit manufacturer didn't properly scale the white trim. And since I thought it looked good so I built it like that. The judges suggested I remove the white trim and rebuild the front wall and doors using thinner scale lumber but my method of construction wouldn't have made that feasible. So, instead I searched the internet for examples of red barns with oversize white trim. And I found some.

The next issue was the fence. Like the gas pumps, it wasn't needed for my model and its original three-board height was so tall that the HO scale horses couldn't stick their heads over it. I had built it without plans and it looked nice, but they were right. Thankfully, it was easy to remove the top horizontal board with a pair of flush cutting pliers. Surprisingly, the rest of the fence stayed intact without breaking. I then touched up the bare wood with some white paint and weathering.

I had also mounted some of the lower windows onto my barn upside down. I never noticed that the castings had a tiny window ledges molded in, so I wasn't careful when I glued them in to make sure the ledge was at the bottom. So, I carefully took a chisel blade and removed the ledges on all of the windows so that they were consistent in style and orientation.

Finally, to earn extra points I added some new scratchbuilt details. I built a hayloft winch with pulley assembly above the hayloft door under the roof eaves; I added a cow water trough and outside plumbing spigots complete with hose; and I fabricated a hay wagon. Everything came out of my scrapbox.

They are just small minor details, but they did add up.

Thankfully, these two models now had enough points to earn merit awards and now I only have one more structure to build. And I plan to add plenty of details to make sure it passes on the first try!

I was also told that it is very difficult to judge structures based on contemporary prototype buildings, because they just don't have enough details. What I really think is that judges like to see peeling paint, worn shingles, loose boards, lots of cans and barrels, and other such things that are found on depression-era layouts. Think George Sellios and Fine Scale Miniature kits. Fair enough. But for those of us modeling more modern times, it is an uphill battle. 

CP train crossing Mohawk River in Glenville (1991)

Here is a shot of a D&H train led by #7312 with six other engines in various paint schemes crossing the bridge in Glenville, NY on July 28, 1991. Mohawk Yard is just to the right of the train, and Schenectady and the old Alco plant is just on the left.

Compare this shot with the one I posted here. Same bridge... same perspective... same excessive numbers and paint schemes on the locomotives. The only thing that changed was the owner / operator of the line.

D&H special passenger train in Cohoes (1991)

The caption on the slide reads: "Albany County Democratic Party Executives". It was taken in Cohoes (the church in the background is an obvious giveaway) on July 06, 1991. I know nothing else about it, though the GP38-2 #7307 sure looks nice and clean. I can't tell where the coaches came from, but their blue window stripes lead me to think they are Metro North Railroad cars. Whose executive train is that?

For some similar pictures taken about 30 years later, see this previous post.

D&H #451 in Mechanicville (1985)

This shot of Alco C424 #451 sitting in Mechanicville yard was taken in July 1985. There are several interesting things about it. First, it looks like the engine is sitting on a track radiating from an old turntable, which would be just off to the right. If so, I am surprised that the D&H still had a working turntable in 1985. 

Second, note the ties buried in the ground at the end of the track to presumably hold the engines on. I have seen that done before, but never painted orange. Maybe it is so that they can be seen after a snowfall, or by vehicles driving on what looks like a service road at the edge of the tracks. And some ties are broken (or rotted) off.

Third, on the left is a yellow-painted MOW snow melting machine. The funnel pointing down would direct super-hot air onto switch points and other areas that were jammed up with ice. If this is one of the machines that had a jet engine providing the heat source, it would also be extremely loud.

Fourth, in the back right is a solid blue boxcar. At first I thought it was one of the uncommon all-blue D&H MOW boxcars, but now I think it is probably just a faded B&M boxcar. 

#5015 at Cooperstown Junction (1984)

Occasionally I find myself driving through Cooperstown Junction, NY, where the D&H"s Cooperstown branch split off and headed north. The D&H sold the line in 1970 to the Delaware Otsego Corporation, and they operated it until 1996 when it was then sold to the current owner- the Leatherstocking Chapter of the NRHS (Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad). I last rode the line in 2014. 

The photograph above was taken July 17, 1984 and shows a D&H local on the mainline heading railroad north towards Albany from Binghamton. The branch joined along the right in a wye formation. The picture looks like it was taken from the cab of whatever engine the C&CV was using, probably RS2 #100 (formerly D&H #100) which is shown below on September 03, 1979.

D&H #5015 crew performing roll-by inspection (1983)

The crew of engine #5015 are performing a roll-by inspection for the D&H freight train led by #7616 about to pass them on this July 12, 1983 day in Nescopeck, PA. 

Note that the #5015 appears to be leading a M.O.W. train, and I believe that is a ballast cleaning car behind it. I have other images of this train somewhere in my collection but can't locate them.

Alco dead line at Binghamton (1987)

Here is a sad shot. The "deadline" at Binghamton Yard taken exactly thirty-five years ago today on July 07, 1987. 

From front to back, it shows engines #5018, #5017, #5023, #506, #5005, #5016, #5004, #5003, #5002, #5001. Alcos from the RS11, RS36, and RS3m locomotive classes are represented. By this time, Guilford was running almost entirely EMD and GE engines and these were surplus (and likely worn out anyway). 

Thankfully, not all of them were scrapped. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!

In the sprit of the holiday, here are some pictures of Adirondack Scenic Railroad #105, a G.E. 44-tonner. I took them in Utica on March 26, 2005. 

I love 44-tonners in general, and this paint scheme is pretty cool. The engine came to the A.S.R. painted in red, white, and blue and they only patch-applied their emblems on the cab sides. My research didn't reveal who owned the engine when it was painted R/W/B.

Per this website, the engine was later acquired by the Southern Railroad of New Jersey in the spring of 2005 and subsequently repainted into its original NYO&W gray and yellow scheme. I was very lucky to get these pictures. Pictures of the NYO&W repainting process can be seen here.

Sperry hi-rail truck down the street

My wife and I were recently driving to the supermarket and passed a hotel about a quarter-mile down the road from our house. Imagine my surprise when I saw this parked in the lot. I have seen Sperry railcars, which are used for testing track, but I haven't ever seen a hi-rail truck before.

My wife said to go back and take pictures, but I wanted to get to the supermarket first (it was a family trip, after all). On the way back, though, I swung by and took these shots. The sun was setting, but I still got a couple. 

The huge extension from the front of the chassis was really unusual looking, and I don't know what was inside of it. It reminded me of a large beverage cooler.

The rear had a porch area, which I didn't climb on. 

I looked inside the windows but didn't think I could get any suitable pictures so nothing much to report there.

The driver's side had a lot of valve and such, none of which I could figure out.

All in all, though, it was a neat discovery. It's track and tie season, so it could have been working anywhere in the area. There is a budget hotel around the corner from this one and I frequently see CSX vehicles parked there. But this was an upscale hotel, so Sperry must have had money to spend. 

Here is a link to a completely different Herzog track machine I saw in 2012. 

DOT Test train on D&H (1984)

This is a shot of a Department of Transportation (Federal? NYS? Mass?) test train taken in Lawrence, MA, on June 26, 1984. New York State did various inspections of the Colonie Main line before offering Guilford state grant funds, and it is likely that the same situation existed in MA.

For a look at another DOT test train from 1980, see this previous post.

M.C. #286 and D&H #5019 (1984)

Here is a hazy summertime shot showing Maine Central #286 (formerly D&H) and D&H #5019 waiting in an unknown railyard, possibly Oneonta. The D&H train appears to be a local as it has a caboose on it (though it is directly behind the engine).

One hour, two Amtrak trains

I took a weekday off to take care of some personal things, and realized I had a couple of hours in the early afternoon free. There are times when we are sitting in our backyard and can hear Amtrak trains blowing for the Morris Road crossing on the "high-speed" line between the Albany/Rensselaer and Schenectady stations. Despite being about six miles away, it is easy to hear. Originally the line was four tracks, but it was later cut down to one. In 2016, New York State funded adding a second track as part of its "high speed train" initiative.

Since the line is only mostly used for passenger trains, (usually only 4 trains each way per day), railfanning by the crossing would mean mostly just sitting around getting sunburned. But today I realized I could look up the Amtrak schedules online and determine about when they were due to cross the road. I then noticed that two trains, one EB and the other WB, passed the crossing within an hour of each other. That would be worth spending my my lunch time waiting.

My wife offered to come along with Harrison, so away we went. I checked the schedules again right before leaving and noticed that all of the EB trains were marked as "delayed". I didn't know why, but the website had revised train times so I adjusted my schedule.

When we arrived I found out why there were delays. One of the tracks was out-of-service for maintenance work, and we could see in the distance at least a half-dozen various track repair vehicles. There were also several construction trucks parked on the side of the road by the crossing.

Around the time the first train was due, three MOW vehicles rolled down the track to the other side of the crossing and parked. I assume that the workers wanted to be by their trucks for their lunch break instead of way down the track.

The first train was eastbound and its speed surprised me. It was hauling, which I think is around 70mph. It was also very quiet in its approach, and I can understand why people who aren't paying attention can have these trains sneak up on them.

The next train was a westbound train and it wasn't going as fast. I had crossed the tracks for a better picture angle, and as I walked to my car over the crossing a woman driving by yelled out the window "Wow, that was really flying!" Another view of the train is the lead off photo of this blog post.

As before, Harrison really didn't watch the trains but at least he didn't cry. After trainspotting, we drove to a nearby park and walked with our dog and played on a picnic blanket with Harrison. During that time, a third passenger train passed the park on the same track.

All in all, it was a pretty good afternoon.

Steamtown-bound engines (1986)

Steamtown National Historic Site is a national park dedicated to the role that steam locomotives played in the American industrial revolution. It started off as a collection of railroad equipment owned by F. Nelson Blount, who in 1964 established the Steamtown Foundation to operate Steamtown USA in Bellows Falls, Vermont. By 1984, the venture couldn't financially sustain itself and it closed. 

Part of the collection of steam engines stored in Vermont were moved to Scranton in 1986, via the Delaware and Hudson. Here is a shot from June 1986 taken in Oneonta showing a freight train passing by some of the engines destined for Steamtown. The steamers are separated by gondolas, probably to spread out the weight of the train. Also, the first car of the freight train looks like a high-wide load (possibly from Schenectady's General Electric Plant?). 

Who knew that 35+ years later Blount's collection would live on (and sadly, neither the D&H nor Guilford as railroads would)? Here are some pictures from when I visited Steamtown N.H.S. in 2019.

RS11 #5005 switching Binghamton Yard (1986)

This is a poorly exposed shot. I get it. It isn't mine. But it reminds me of the times when I was a young railfan and would sit and watch trains until it got dark. In the last hour the long shadows would lead to lousy pictures that never came out well. They were just like this one. However, they still hold good memories for me.

I love the D&H high-nose Alco RS11s, and each one was painted different. I think this shot dated June 1986 of engine #5005 was taken in Binghamton.

First Class and No Class (1975)

Taken in June 1975 at what I assume is Amtrak's facility in Rensselaer, NY.