A warm weekend

Over the weekend, I was able to get out and get some photos around St.Paul and Minneapolis. A good time was had. BNSF had plenty of extra SD60s sitting around, including CEFX 6001 and INRD 6011. The rotary plaw set can be seen in the background, waiting for a little more snow.

CP has not had a problem with color lately, this train being led by CEFX AC44CW #1002.

CP also has a WB Oil Can being led by CSX power. I got this shot of CSX SD40-2 #8128 crossing the old Soo Line Bridge over East River Road.

The St.Paul side had plenty going on too. This BNSF manifest was led by BNSF ES44AC #6268, BNSF SD70MAC #9496 and CSX C40-8 #7575.

I caught the #8 (EB) Empire Builder at Short Line Hill and chased them back to the better lighting at the bluff. AMTK P42 #174 leads the train.

But tucked into the consist was AMTK F59 #467, not a usual site on the Builder.

All in all, a fun couple hours out and about. I'm glad I chose those days versus, the -15F I woke up to today.

8781 Photo Op.

I'm happy, I need to get some natural light shots of the new SD70ACe, so I went outside today. For those that don't live in MN, it was -5 degree Fahrenheit with a windchill that was even colder. Frostbite was setting in after about 5 minutes. But as it is with railfanning, the best shots are worth the pain...

BNSF 8781

Well, I have finished my first engine of the year. It sounds so much easier than it actually was. I will be doing a full write up on this one very quickly, but for now, here are the teaser pics of my new BNSF SD70ACe. You will notice this is an isolated cab, with the headlight in the nose.

It is not perfect, but it is much closer than the stock Kato. I used parts from Trainworx, BLMA, Atlas, other Kato units. Some parts (like the PTC pods) I made from styrene. I think I used decals from 4 or 5 different sets. There are some minor issues if you know what you are seeing, but all in all, I'm very happy.

I got it weathered up this morning and I couldn't wait to show it off. As soon as I get a sunny day I will give it a proper photo shoot out on the Skally Line.

I'm waiting for some capacitors to show up, when they do, I'll be doing a decoder upgrade per an article in MR last year.

MN FreemoN RiverCentre Track Plan

Happy 2014 everyone! I hope it is off to a great start for you!

Here is the awesome track plan PK put together for the RiverCentre show. It was a blast to run on, good operations, good sidings, the Skally as a branch line, who could ask for anything more?

This also shows off the versatility of FreemoN. There are no limitations to module length (other than what you can haul), angles, junctions... as long as the minimum radii are met (22") you are good to go.