Tiller Corp.

The new sand loading facility in North Branch appears ready to start loading railcars. The tallest structure on the property is around 7 stories tall. It will take an amazing volume of sand to keep things moving here. I look forward to the action starting. The first cars should have arrived by the time this post airs, wo be loaded out for Oasis Well Service a North Dakota company.

Rush City Memorial Day

 As I drove to spend Memorial Day with a Veteran of the Korean War, I decided to swing through Rush City and check on the current motive power. SCXY 1363 and 1352 were lashed together, enjoying the day off, while the newest arrival to the line sat nearby, waiting to jump into service. ILSX GP10 1345 (ex-BN 1418) has been brought to the line to help with the expected traffic generated by Tiller Corp, a large new sand loadout facility in North Branch.

I can only hope the 1345 stays on the line for a while. If they need help painting it in Skally colors, I'll definitely volunteer to help!

ILSX 904

The weekend before Memorial weekend I had a couple hours to go rail fanning. I took my youngest daughter and we had an amazing 2 hours. Her favorite parts was getting waved to and honked at by the friendly engineer of a candy apple red SOO SD60. I shot close to 200 pictures, seeing more than 20 trains with CP (and subsidiaries SOO and DME), UP and BNSF motive power. Besides catching a half dozen different SD40-2s, my prized catch of the day was a simple SW1. ILSX 904 has been working the Malt One Elevator in Minneapolis for as long I can remember. I do believe it was the first ILS engine I ever saw, and I got my best shots of it on this day. The overcast conditions weren't ideal, but it worked, and I am happy about it.

213 on Deck

I usually wait until I finish a project to post all about it, but I do have an interesting one that I've begun. Most of my ILS units are based on prototype engine, even ILSX 201 and 203 were based on SLRG engines that ILS owned, even if they never put their reporting marks on them before selling them. But one of my upcoming engines will be a little more freelanced. ILSX 213 will be my first SD38-2. I am using a Mark4Design long hood and a Kato Early SD40-2 nose to get the look right on a Kato Mid-Production chassis. I have already attached the Miniatures by Eric bell to the long hood. I'm getting excited already!

The prototype for this engine is an ex-DMIR engine that has been residing at Larry's Truck and Electric in McDonald Ohio for the last few years. When done the engine will be painted in DMIR colors and wear mostly DMIR decalling, patched out for ILSX. The SD38-2 will fit right into the roster that is rapidly filling with SD40-2s. This ex-DMIR unit will be a great puller on the Skally line and will help with the all-rail ore trains we are negotiating to get.

FBOX Weathering

I've been picking up some of Exactrail's new FBOX Hy_Cubes. These are great cars all the way around, the molding, lettering, body mounted coupler, metal wheels... they are some of my favorite rolling stick. But there is always room for improvement. For my newer cars I like to hit them with a dusting of a diluted L&N Grey, 8 parts isopropyl alcohol to 1 part paint. I also take a micro brush and apply roof brown to the sides of the wheels. This tones the car down and gets rid of that "new out of the box" look.

The other area that I've been upgrading on my cars are the crossover platforms. FVM and Athearn have been including these on many of their new cars. I like them for a few reasons: 1) They look more prototypical. 2) They close the visual distance between cars, making our oversized N Scale couplers look a little smaller. and 3) If I take my cars to a FreemoN ops session, I can more easily distinguish my cars from everyone elses.

This upgrade is so easy it is crazy. I use BLMA 403 platforms. You get enough for 10 cars in each pack. I drill a #80 hole directly on top of the center of the molded on platform, put a little CA on top of the molded platform and on the stem of the etched platform and stick the two together. No painting is needed as most platforms are bare metal. Make sure to put the platforms with the notch on the end with the brake wheel.

Between the weathering an the platforms the cars appearance improves and an otherwise great car gets a little better.

MILW 7

Another "restoration" project has been finished up by the Skally Shops. Milwaukee Road SD45 #7 has been completed. This engine is pretty unique in that the dynamic brake fans had been removed by the MILW shops, but the dynamic grills were left in place.

This engine started out as a new Kato unit (another DRGW unit bites the dust).  I removed the dynamic fans, added a T-Vent, added grab irons, lift rings, a MILW side bell, cut levers, wipers, a firecracker antenna, rear mu hoses (I used the Kato molded on on the front) and a non-working strobe light. I also removed the front drop step. I upgraded the couplers to MT-1015's. The paint is MILW Orange and Engine Black. The mu hoses and class lights are dressed up with a little silver. The handrails at the ladders are white. The decals are Micro-Scale and the weathering is chalks.

SOU 2597

The Skally shops have finished another custom job. SOU GP30 has finished its restoration and after it finishes it's final inspection by the CEO of the CRR Blue Ridge Division it will be shipped to that line to be ushered into service.

 

This Southern GP30 was an Atlas GP30 that received extensive work. The short hood was raised, BLMA fans were installed. The raised roof over the cab was cut back to match the prototype. It also recieved custom cab shades as well as a high hood bell, firecracker antenna, airhorns, lift rings, grab irons, mu hoses, air hoses, mirrors, wipers, walkway lights, an Atlas sand hatch on one end and a custom sand hatch (in front of the conductors cab window). Did I miss anything? I also used a pair of MT 905 Z Scale Couplers for the photo shoot.

This engine is off to work the Southern Interchange in Marion, NC on Ken Borowski's Blue Ridge Division Clinchfield Layout. This layout is fantastic and deserves a look if you haven't check his site out before.