Sunday, October 31, 2010

ILSX 1374

My latest project is an ex-DM&IR #155, ILSX #1374 chopped nose SD9. I've gotten some of the details on and the cab is mostly done. This one has a mix of BLMA, Miniatures by Eric, Atlas and J&J details. I cleared off the pilots after these photos and will get the cut levers mounted this afternoon.Here you can see the prototype in this Robert Garton photo taken in Ross, ND. The paint scheme is Soo Line inspired and I may use the earlier ILS badging on the long hood.

M&D Junction Overview

Pogopod,
per you request and overhead of M&D. I still have a lot of work to do in this section. As you can see I follow the David Barrow "domino" design for layout construction. That way the masses stay out of the house. I'll probably finish the ground cover next weekend and I'm still waiting for the backdrop to be printed.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

202 is Done!

I can move on to my next project. 202 is done. I fixed the front plow details and got the weathering done. Check it out...

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Southern MN / Iowa

If you ever have a chance (or are forced) to drive from Mankato, MN to Omaha, NE bring a camera. The roads are lined with some of my favorite things: trains and grain elevators.
Just south of Worthington, MN I caught Minnesota Southern (ex-ILSX) MSWY GP7 1379 and GP9 1365 waiting to get clearance onto the UP mainline. Just a little further north and you can see two more ex-ILSX units at Huron Bio-Energy.
Along Hwy. 60 you'll see plenty of elevators, quire a few are owned by New Vision, this one is just a little north of Mountain Lake, MN.
One of the highest capacity elevators on the line is the shuttle loader in Alton, Iowa. The steel building with the white roof is covered grain storage.

Monday, October 4, 2010

ILSX 202: Out of the Shop

ILSX SD40-2 has rolled out of the shops in Bethel and is working on the Skally Line.

I started with a Kato SD40-2. I added BLMA lift rings, cab shades, mirrors, cut levers, mu hoses grab irons, fans. Atlas sand hatches and bell, Miniatures by Eric exhaust manifold, brake wheel, firecracker whistle and horn. The engine has an MRC 1806 sound decoder.I want to give special thanks to Frank Nesbit for letting me photograph the prototype up close. The decals came from Solidesign. They matched the photos I took perfectly. I still need to put a different plow on it (something smaller), add the front mu hoses and the air hoses. Here's the top view, weathering is coming, no worries there.