Another year

A switcher works a string of cars at the freight house.
A switcher works a string of cars at the freight house.

New Year’s Eve is a time when many people assess the last twelve months and look ahead to the next year. Goals are set and promises are often made. Let’s take a look around the blog and the hobby room to see what has happened in 2014.

I like a year end reviewing as the number of projects and activities often surprises me. While I did not make as many blog posts as in 2013, I kept pretty busy with my layout and Mike’s layout in Las Cruces. I attended at least one operating session a month and I finally hosted a few sessions on the B&O Wheeling Freight Terminal. These become more satisfying each time and are a major reason why other projects keep moving along.

I’ve also been attending the monthly meetings of our local NMRA division, the Roadrunner Division. It’s been fun to interact with the other members and share tips and techniques. I’ve brought back at least one new idea from each of the meetings. I also traveled back to Pennsylvania last spring for the Valley Forge Railroad Prototype Modelers meet. It was great to see a bunch of old friends, take in presentation details, and operate on a couple of the layouts open for the event.

I won’t offer up my plans for 2015, but I do have three major projects and goals that I hope to achieve. Details will be shared here, of course. I also look forward to attending the RPM East event near Pittsburgh in late March, as well as the June NMRA Rocky Mountain Region convention in suburban Denver, CO. I’m most certain there will be more operating session details shared here, as well as freight car kit builds, and weathering factory output.

I hope you have set a few goals for the New Year. Railroad modeling becomes more enjoyable as we meet new challenges.

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2 comments on “Another year

  1. Mike Ninneman on said:

    I found this post very interesting, especially more so when I noticed the color of the X29 in your photo. I came across several sources sometime back indicating that many (but not all) PRR boxcars in the 20’s and 30’s were painted a color similar to “candy corn orange”, and this was how I painted my own model. This is the first X29 model I’ve seen painted in this color; its good to know I’m not the only one who’s done it!

    • Eric Hansmann on said:

      Mike, That model is actually a factory painted Red Caboose X29. But I agree with you wholeheartedly about the earlier PRR Freight Car Color. I recently painted a GS gondola with Vallejo Amaranth Red and it looks more like those Amtrak bright orange work gondolas. I’ve found another formulation that tones down the brightness a bit and will probably make a blog post about it in 2016. Weathering does a lot to cut down a bright color and I suspect my GS gondola will look fine after it rolls through my Weathering Factory. – Eric

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