Sunday, May 24, 2009

New Reichsbahn Motive Power


Added to my "collection" of DR motive power in the form of a 58.3 (the reconstructed versions of the old G12/BR58) and the VT172 Ferkeltaxe, a railbus. The 58.3 is Gützold's newest steamer, the 58130 for AC. Says it can go through radii of 380mm, got it through some of my 360mm with a little complaining. Turnouts are mostly ok, interestingly enough more trouble tender first then forward. Although it comes with LOPI 3, I run it analog and driving properties are quite smooth with good pulling power. So that the distance between axles could be kept prototypical, RP25 wheel profiles are used. Rather than being held in place with a screw, the pilot at the front has a mechanism not unlike that for couplers. Front coupler pocket is the standard NEM, rear has a swallow-tail into which one can slide a Roco Universal or Fleischmann coupler if the standard provide hook and loop is not provided. I believe that this solution was selected due to the lack of space inside the tender.



The other item is Brawa's BR172 Ferkeltaxe, the DR's version of the Railbus. Other nickname was Blutblase (blood blister) for the deep red color and the curved front end. It can be seen in the group shot at top. There is more info in German at <http://www.ferkeltaxe.de/>. The model is by Brawa and "replaces" the Era 5 version with the mint green striping... Mint is something I wouldn't even impose on mutton...



Still waiting for Brawa's DR BR65.10... That one should be out in the next month or so...


Back to the layout for some more running.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Trainspotting off the Willis Ave bridge in Solvay (Syracuse), NY


After a four-week break decided it was time to go trainspotting again and this time headed West to the Willis Ave bridge in Solvay, a part of greater Syracuse. This location in interesting because there are great views of downtown Syracuse through the trees, Onondaga Lake (our local Superfund site and beautiful in spite of it), as well as some larger local industries and a power plant. 5 trains in almost 3 hours isn't bad (The first train arrived as I was parking - a boring westbound stack train) and the Finger Lakes Railway GE B23-7 with a (very) short freight was a treat. Below an overview of the location.



And here some stills...





Here a video of the morning... from my YouTube site
Click here to watch video with better quality