April 1st Report

I guess this is what house arrest must feel like, well except I can leave to go to the market and such. I don't go all that often though as we live in earthquake country and routinely have a few extra cans around the house along with other supplies. 

This situation has given me the impetus to start building some more models, model trucks to be more precise. The latest "rig" is a cut down White Freightliner. It began life as an Athearn model that was found on FeeBay and then it was heavily modified after it arrived here in pieces. I only wish I could have just started from scratch with it as a few things were not done as well as they might have been and the photos were strategically missing the bad news. Then again, I like a challenge and now I know that I'll need to address the problem areas in the near future. Still though, its not too bad, just not as good as it could have been, you be the judge.

For a bigger image, just click on the photos...

....and another view...

...and one final photograph.

This has parts on it from Alloy Forms, A-Line, Athearn, and Plano. It was a fun repair job, but the photos tell me what else I have to do. This truck is the lone WFL in a sea of Peterbilt cab overs owned by Thunderbird, the only other odd duck is a lone Kenworth W900.

Well, that's all for now, thanks for dropping by. Leave a note or drop us a line if the mood strikes you.

Enjoy Your Trains,

John Huey

What happened to January and February?

It's been a little bit busy here these past few months. A good friend has been ill and I've been helping him with his business to keep things afloat. Things are looking up now and the crisis is past, all that remains is the healing, which seems to be going well.

Most of the hobby projects are scattered to the winds right now, mostly in boxes awaiting their eventual call to action. It seems that my interest has turned to truck models lately and those have been a fun break from boxcars and such. 

Whilst digging for some parts I came across a relic from my days as a transition era through 1965 SP modeler.  It's a PIE rig powered by an International R-190 tractor made by Classic Metal Works. The rig features a bunch of add on parts from makers like Alloy Forms and such, plus some paint and a decal or two. I'll post a few images to show some earlier work. I really like trucks of all era's, they are a weakness of mine to be sure. Pretty sure I need a display case just for them now.

A little thing like a license plate helps out more than one might think.

A Mini Metals 32' trailer and International tractor.

A little nostalgia never hurt anybody that I know of, and seeing this rig reminded me of some good times now in the rear view mirror.

I felt the need to check in here just to say we're still alive and well, and needed a subject to fill in for the lack of useful information these posts are famous for; it's all just fun and games really.

Thanks for reading this far, drop us a line if the mood strikes and let us know whats going on with you. 

Enjoy Your Trains,

John Huey

The End of 2019 is Upon Us!

Well 2019 is almost over and it's damn cold outside, the ding-dang wind is howling and somebody shared their blasted head-cold with yours truly. Thanks for that kindness!

Only reason I'm even writing this is that the USPS person brought a box from New York City for the Arizona Southern to fondle. In it were 2 InterMountain peaked roof high cube boxcars, one SP and one SSW. They were ordered many months ago and slated for year end delivery, so at least the manufacturing sectors deliveries are mostly back on track it seems after the big snafu of months past.

Click on image for larger version.

Click on image for larger version.

The only other new freight car to come our way came from a friend's private collection, something he was thinning out and I figured it would be a good fit on the AZSO. This one is an Athearn Genesis car.

None of the 3 new cars have been to our shops yet, I can see some tweaks are in order.

Thanks for reading this far, have a safe and happy 2020! 

Enjoy Your Trains!

John Huey

70 Ton 2 Bay Covered Hoppers

One thing I've been accused of many times is not knowing when to stop. Such is the case with arguably my favorite freight car, the 70 ton capacity 2 bay covered hopper commonly found in cement service all over the USA. SP ran unit trains of these cars, or at least sizable blocks of them in and amongst other manifest train consists. Having one customer who'd regularly receive a dozen or more of these little cars just a few blocks from home helped pique my interest in these, and the place being closed on weekends allowed my curios self unobstructed access to check these cars out and take notes.

All the cars were lettered either Southern Pacific or Cotton Belt and this made my decision to model this service an easy one. That and the fact that the SP could never decide on a single lettering scheme until late in the life of this equipment, made for an even more interesting situation to model. As the fleet of these cars aged more and more, variations due to abuse, neglect, and their ever present contact with cement powder caused a situation where barely any two cars ever looked the same, perfect for my needs; like the train was tailor made for my eclectic tastes.

An example of one style of this lettering, the billboard style, is presented here. Definitely the giant bold letters caught my eye from first sight. It seemed that even when the cars lettered thusly were quite dirty, reading the name and data was still reasonably easy to accomplish compared to some of the other lettering schemes.

The weathering of these cars was quite enjoyable, most offering a unique challenge.

Both sides have been treated similarly, but the differences are obvious, just as on the prototype.

A slightly elevated view gives one a better shot of the roof treatment, no two ever being the same.

Probably one of the most interesting services on the Southern Pacific so it naturally came over with me when my modeling prototype switched to the all Alco, Arizona Southern. AZSO even mimicked SP's lettering on their own 70 ton cars for the most part, sure a few got unique treatments but most were fairly plain black lettering on a mundane gray car. 

The car variety here on the AZSO is even more varied than on the SP. We not only get cars from SP/SSW as always, but Santa Fe, NdeM, FCP, not to mention a few private owner cement companies which are also regular visitors as well.

That's all for now, thanks for dropping by. Leave a comment or just say hi if the mood strikes.

Enjoy Your Trains,

John Huey

Arizona Southern RR