Have a Blessed 2023!

  We here at the Arizona Southern would like to take a moment and wish all of you and your loved ones a most happy and prosperous new year.  I mean we can still dream right?

Enjoy Your Trains,

John Huey

Spoke Too Soon

   Seems another way to spend money has raised its head.  Wanting a RAILCO engine to switch one of the larger cement plants, we missed the earlier runs of similarly painted units.  Would have missed this too as funding was a tad short, but then the seller sent a 10% off coupon with their email and they still had one DCC/Sound version in stock this morning. Who am I to argue with fate?

   

   Well anyways, the engine is in the shipping box and allegedly in transit to our location. It's a tad bright, but that will be remedied before it is pressed into service.  I figure the cement plant just got tired of paying the fees to Arizona Southern for switching out their location, and this unit offers a cost savings in the long run. It's nice to save when one can.  It is still circa 1976ish on the layout, so a HH660 is still a viable option for day to day operations; not to mention I have yet to have a model of one of these and as an Alco lover, well that needed being remedied. Enjoy Your Trains!

Good night, and God bless,

John Huey

CEO Arizona Southern RR

Last Model Bought in 2022

   Well, thought I did all the damage I could do to my modeling budget for the year. Figured no problem making it to January with a few bucks still in the old bank. Such was not to be the case I guess.  I was minding my own business, looking at a buddies HO Scale Pontiac model and made the mistake of scrolling down a few posts on the HO Vehicle Board we belong to.

  There it was, in all its oil dripping, rusty, squeaking, rattling, glory; the Brekina Needle Nose Peterbilt I've been wanting, done up in an homage to the Pete in Duel.

   I'm actually using an ancient Ulrich Pete to make a similar homage to the movie Duel's tractor, this one will be fixed up as an outlaw running the backroads of Arizona, hauling whatever needs transportation. I have a resin kit for one too, just have not taken that step yet. Brekina did it for me mostly.

   A nose only a mother could love, well and classic truck fans too; quite stylish really. Seems I love classic trucks a bit more than I should; whoops!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Write or just say hello if the mood strikes you.

John Huey

CEO AZSO Railroad

Rapido Offers an Interesting Cylindrical Covered Hopper in HO Scale

   What does one do when they are awaiting the cessation of cold symptoms to provide some much needed comfort?  Well you can either watch TV reruns, model, or do some online shopping; we chose the latter as that did not require being too steady.

   It's been a while since I went train car shopping and looking for possible candidates for my south of the border rail connections is always an interesting endeavor. Seems this time that Rapido got my funds and here is a sample of one of the cars chosen.

   The purchasing department also has their eyes focused on a few other covered hoppers, most anything that would look at home around cement plants of similar industrial settings.  Honestly its hard to imagine how much models have improved over the decades, Rapido being a new comer yet offering things of very good quality at competitive prices.

   Thanks for dropping by. If you are in the mood feel free to leave a comment, or just say howdy.

   Happy Thanksgiving, don't overdo things too far and play it safe.

John Huey

Arizona Southern Railroad

       

Fall of 2022 Roadtrip

Just returned from a week plus on the road, some of that time was spent along the BNSF in Arizona and New Mexico; talk about a beautiful backdrop for watching trains, even the modern stuff looks good there. 

We were on a mission of mercy, taking an aging family member to see her eldest daughter, a visit long overdue.  Rather than intrude on their time together, we headed for Taos Pueblo and had a rental property waiting for us. We were treated to some serious fall color and I for one just needed to see some of that again.

We drove around the area, dined in all sorts of local restaurants, even did a little shopping for some mementos of the trip.

Well suddenly its November and we're still wondering where this year has gotten off to?

If you find out, feel free to clue me in.

John Huey

August 2022

Still collecting models for the "maybe someday" train layout. Trying to keep some tiny bit of sanity as everything cherished continues to vanish.

I did pick up a few of the last MOLOCO Santa Fe release, the cars are superb really, very nice indeed.

Here is an image of one of the (Fe-34) furniture cars. Photos do not do these models justice.

Thanks for looking in,

John Huey

May 2022 Update

The hobby seems to have lost its allure again. I mean for making models and such; that pass time has lost its charm for yours truly.  Well, it's not the first time that passion's fire has been reduced to a smoldering pile of ash. We've been here before and have come through this more than once in all our years.

Of course I've not been this long in the tooth before, or had so many friends hop off the train at one time, or in so short a period. Seems like I just go through the motions lately and that nobody notices the difference.

Ciao,

JohnH.

January 2022 Report.

Hello readers, I hope this blog entry finds you healthy, well, and having a good time in our hobby. 2022 is not getting off to great start on the Arizona Southern. Seems I've buried one of my best and oldest train buddies and my Belgian Shepherd of 15 years, all within the space of a few weeks. The man I lost was a mentor, friend, and the main reason I'm still in this hobby. The layout re-design was about his lack of mobility, and now that need is gone.  Not sure where this leaves me really; I feel a little lost.

I used to be able to go out back and talk to my dog; she always had either an answer or at least a willing ear to bounce things off of. My other pooch, well all he wants to do is talk about his next treat or meal. That just leaves my cat, and well, "The Queen" does not always give us mere peasants an audience. If you are a cat owner, you understand.

Any way, Welcome to 2022. May things start to improve, and do so quickly.  May you get all your tasks completed, and may all your days be enjoyable.

Thanks for reading, write if the urge strikes you; I'd really appreciate the interaction.

John Huey