Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads
A hobby adventure
I’m involved with the Dixie Model Railroad Club here in Nashville and have an assignment to build the Tennessee Egg Company structure that sat along the railroad in Chattanooga, TN. Other than a few aerial images, the main document at hand to build this structure is a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map. These are very good resources of structures in communities served by railroads, many of them being commercial industries along the right of way. Click on any image here to review a larger size.
Let’s face it, we are all suckers for older cars and trucks. What reader has not walked through an antique car show? As a modeler with a 1926 focus, my eyes are always keen on finding vintage vehicles whether they are autos, earth movers, commercial vehicles, or farm equipment. We continue down the research path with this post as we never have enough data.
Do you recognize this box car? I know you recognize the railroad name, but do you recognize the car design? I’ll bet most readers are not familiar with this car design. It does look similar to many box cars used in the first four decades of the 20th Century, but this was the most common B&O box car until 1926. There were 9988 listed as in service in an October 1926 Official Railway Equipment Register (ORER). Are you surprised?
December is often a tough month to find hobby time. The holidays, family commitments, job stuff, and more pull away the free time we had in other months. The next few blog posts here will feature some handy resources for you to review. I hope they will inspire new ideas and models in the New Year.
One of a recent batch of photos on the Railfan.net ‘erielack’ E-Mail List Photo Archive caught my eye as it featured a string of Pennsy hoppers. As per a Bob Bahrs comment on the related discussion list, this image was taken at the Jersey City-Lackawanna overhead crossing of PRR, Erie, and NYS&W tracks between Marion and Croxton at West End. Click on the image above to review a larger size.