ILSX 1343

ILSX SD40T-2 1343 made a solo run down the Skally today. The engine has been working on the MNN out of Holt MN, but it has moved over to the Skally to get partnered up with ILSX SD40T-2. The duo will be working grain and flour service to the Horizon Mill in Rush City.
After turning at M&D Jct. the 1343 ran back to Rush City light.The engine started life as an Intermountain Tunnel Motor. I stripped it down, changed the lights to match the prototype, added BLMA grab irons, cab shades, AC unit, antenna stand, fans, cut levers, mu and air hoses, mirrors and wipers. I used a MbE Air Horn and a Sunrise rear light.A nice shot by Brian Kays for reference. I really appreciate him posting some nice shots of the 1343.

CRR Icebreaker Car

I normally don't post many pictures of projects that are "on the workbench". I usually forget to take pictures until they make their layout debut. But I thought I would let you know what I'm working on right now. This car is being built for a friends line. Ken Borowski's Clinchfield Railroad Blue Ridge Division is one of my favorite lines and I wanted to contribute to the great work Ken has already done. I'm embarking on a mission to complete an CRR Icebreaker car. I have about half of the metal super-structure done and then I need to build a weight box for the other end. When it's done the car will make a one way run down the Skally Line on it's way to Erwin, TN.

BNSF 3964

Yesterday I happened to be rolling my the Minnesota Commercial shops and I noticed they had a new slug back on a track used for long term storage. BNSF B23-7 4208 has been hiding here for a while, but it looks like the MNNR has acquired BNSF slug 3964. It would be fun to see this ex-ATSF F7A in service.

NS 5169

For some reason the Skally has been seeing some NS power lately. These engines will not on the line for very long, they just happen to be running through on their way to other parts of the country. This week NS 5169 was leading a very short NTWSUP north.You might be wondering why there are running long hood forward, well that is forward for this engine. I don't think we'll be setting any of the ILSX or SCXY engines up that way, I doubt it would make the crews very happy.
On a scenic note, you can see some of the static grass I have begun experimenting with. I'm not sold on Woodland Scenics grass and will be trying others to find the right look coming up.

QTTX 130702

I got a report there was a special move headed from Rush City up to CP's Rice's Point Yard in Duluth, do I decided to intercept it at Sandstone. I wasn't disappointed. ILSX 1344 was leading the Northbound Extra, pulling only three cars. Sandwiched between a pair of gondolas was QTTX 130702. Word on the Skally is that the Horizon Mill is getting a new transformer and the depressed center flat car was brought in to haul the high and wide load.ILSX 3109 was idling on the rear, I'm taking a wild guess that this SD40-2 will be on point for the return trip.QTTX 130702 is an N Scale Kits model I recently put together. The kit is nicely cast all in metal. I had to add some BLMA grab irons above the supplied stirrups. I also MT-1023 body mounted couplers and BLMA 100 Ton trucks. The decals are Micro Scale from various sets (making the Q was the biggest challenge). Weathering was a mix of spray paint and chalks.

Switching out M&D Jct.

On an otherwise quiet July 4th in White Bear Lake I heard the faint rumble of and SD40-2 in notch 1. I waited around a few minutes and ILSX 1344 (you may remember this unit at ISLX 202) came rolling through M&D Jct. with just 2 loads to switch out.
1344 used the East leg of the wye to run around and get facing north to make all the switches training point. As it does it passes the front entrance of one customer: Universal Forest Products. It looks like they will have one load in and 1 empty out today.I ran to the North end of the wye to get a view back south as the train rolled around. The crew has already dropped the lumber load at Universal and is getting ready to spot a boxcar at St.Croix Valley Hardwoods.It doesn't take long and they have the empty car out, the load spotted and they are headed North, back to the Rush City Yard.A special thanks to my friend HK for helping me plant 50 trees on Friday. I hope to get the backdrop in place this week and maybe get some more trees planted. Maybe I will also get the awnings added to St.Croix Valley Hardwood to keep the loading dock guys from complaining about all the rain we've been getting.

CP 8270

Layout updates are coming, I promise...
but I've been doing more work in the chop nose section of the world. I've started resin casting chop nosed GP9 shells for various projects (GP8s, 9, and 10s). Here is a unit I just finished up. CP 8270 started life as a high nose Soo Line GP9. After being involved in a wreck, the Soo Line shops converted it to a GP20 style short nose. The CP has kept many of these Soo Line conversions on the roster across the US and Canada.I used BLMA grab irons, cut levers, lift rings, mu hoses, a J&J winter hatch, a Gold Medal cab shade and all-weather window. The Sinclair is a Sandro 24" piece. The paint was Badger CP Action Red and the decals were Micro scale. The engine is a new Atlas unit that I installed a Digitrax decoder into. The front light had to be removed to fit inside the cab. The nose on this unit was actually off a Life Like GP-20 (why reinvent the wheel when you have the parts just sitting there?). I finished it off with some MT-1015 couplers. The weathering was done with Tamiya chalks.