ILSX 1341

The need for more power on the Skally keeps going up. We brought ILSX 1341 over from its elevator duty in Ulen, MN via the ILS shops in Holt MN, where they added a winter hatch to make this the ultimate snow machine on the Skally. This engine is a showcase of a lot of MbE parts. I used an MbE bell, snow shields, winter hatch, airhorn, front and rear headlights, BLMA lift rings, fans, cab shades, grab irons, cut levers, mu hoses, airhose, a Sandro Sinclair antenna and an Atlas plow.I'll try to get better pics later this week, but the shadows grow long on the frozen tundra...

CP 5485

I love the Skally Line, the motive power that comes through can be awesome some days. Today I happened to catch the run through of CP 5485. This ex-NS high hood SD40-2 is truly one of the best looking engines I have seen in a while. The sun was out today so I took some better shots.
I used a Kato SD40-2, added a M4D tall short hood, GMM lift rings, BLMA horns, wipers, cut levers, plows and mu hoses. This one turned out so nice I'm almost temped to keep it.

Dirty, dirty hoppers

As my roster of hoppers grows I decided I had better get cracking on weathering. I have been experimenting with different techniques. I read a great tutorial by Tom Mann and here is what happened when I mixed some of his ideas with some of mine...Not all my hoppers will end up in this condition, but you need to have some that show the wear and tear of time. This hopper I received from my friend HK, I put MT trucks and BLMA wheels on it. The car and trucks got a diluted spray of Roof Brown and a light application of burnt sienna for the rust. On the wheels I used a micro brush to paint the sides roof brown.

ILSX 1418

ILSX GP10 1418 is out of the shop! After suffering a catastrophic prime mover failure while working on the TCWR, we brought it back to the Bethel shops and got her running again. Today the one of the Skally crews stretched the legs of the 1418 by running a fertilizer load from Hinckley down to the Peterson Mill in North Branch.The 1418 is a chopped nose shell I cast myself in resin. I made my own winter hatch to match the prototype. It has a MbE firecracker antenna and sand hatches, BLMA cut levers, wipers air horn, grab irons, lift rings, mirrors, mu hoses and air lines. The fuel tank will be swapped out for a full tank (per the prototype) when the parts arrive, but that is an easy 'after the fact' fix. 1 engine down, 13 more to go by Feb. 1st.

So many projects...

As I was finishing up ILSX 1374 and as I get ready to finish ILSX 1418 I took inventory of the workbench. Currently there are 14 engines to be completed. I figured if I let everyone know that, I would motivate myself to complete them in a timely manner. ILSX GP10 1418 will debut by the end of this week, so that will take care of one unit. Here are the next 6 (in no particular order)...ILSX SD38AC 1211, NS High hood SD40-2, CN 8-40C, MILW U30C, ex-SLRG ILSX SD40-2 1201 and ex-CN ILSX SD40-3 1341.

As I progress on the pictured 6 I also hope to peg away at a few of my long term projects...

SCXY GP8 1352, SCXY GP9 1363 and ILSX SD9 1384

I also have CN RDC-1 1501 another pair of high nose SD40-2s and an IAIS GP38. Can I get them all done by the end of January and still finish Rush City Redo by January 1? Oh boy...

Rush City Redo part 3

Track work has started. I finished the roadbed work (cork and wood portions) and I got the PCB ties epoxied into place. and got the first section of rail soldered down. Hopefully I can get enough track to get the majority of Rush City laid this week. It's not much, but it is progress.

ILSX 1374

I caught ILSX 1374 taking a cut of empty hoppers up to Hinckley to interchange with the BNSF. We brought this engine in to help out with the expanding traffic at Horizon Milling and Petersons Mill. The venerable SD9 was brought back from the Dakota Quality Grain Co-op in Ross, ND to assist in operations on the Skally Line.This is the first unit on the Skally that wears the "official" ILSX paint scheme. It is a Soo Line inspired scheme. 1374 has been outfitted with an Atlas air horn, strobe, MbE antenna, fans, BLMA grab irons, lift rings, cut levers, air hoses and mu cables as well as GMM All-weather window and rear ladders. The decals were custom made for me by Scott Wright at Solidesign. Hopefully I'll have time to get the matching ILSX 1384 done before the end of the year.