Prototype – Notes on Designing, Building, and Operating Model Railroads

2024 Mid Atlantic RPM report

I attended the 2024 Mid Atlantic Railroad Prototype Modeler (MARPM) event in metro Baltimore recently. In addition to the model railroad activities, I found the Heavy Seas brewery tap room just a few minutes from the hotel. But I know you are here for the model railroad stuff, so off we go!.

At the B&O Railroad Museum

My Sweetie recently attended a conference in Baltimore, so I tagged along. I spent most of a Monday wandering around the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum.

Cranes

*Eckington Yards, 6/4/23. United States Washington D.C. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016847637/*

I’ve been noticing various types of cranes in prototype photos of team yards and tracks. They do not show up everywhere, but cranes are a detail to consider when modeling a scene in the 1900-1940 years. The 1923 image above documents passenger cars parked at a team yard in Washington DC for a Shriner’s convention. They aren’t easy to spot. but there are several cranes in the background.

Brake rods

I’ve been building several HO scale resin freight car kits over the last several months. I’ve always had a problem determining the length of the center rod on the brake gear. I figured out a simple way to make these the correct length. I know if I’ve had a problem with a modeling detail, others have also experienced a similar issue.

Being picky

*Photo from the Westerfield Models AC&F builder photo collection*

As I started an HO scale resin freight car kit, I noticed something odd about the grab irons. The drop portion of the grab iron wasn’t at a right angle to the legs of the wire detail part. When I look at a prototype photo like the one above. I see drop grab irons at right angles.