Back in Kirksville (again, and again...)

Daughter has wanted to go to taekwondo almost every day the past week or so, so I've gotten to hang out trackside in the overcast, gray twilight, gloom watching trains, just 5 minutes away.

Below two clips from yesterday and the day before. Yesterday was great with lots of action, one train following the next. As the dispatcher said, lot's of traffic, and better to be moving more slowly than not at all...

Follow an east-bound intermodal out of East Syracuse CSX yard, and then catch a west-bound manifest freight and finish off the evening with an east-bound Amtrak along Saintsville Rd. In Kirkville, NY. Thought not audible on the video, the first train with 4 engines was only powered by 3 as one was out of service...

As we drive east along the North Runner of the East Syracuse CSX yard we catch a glimpse of a waiting stacktrain, and one heading out of the yard that we chase down, only to see a manifest passing it along the 2 mile or so stretch of Saintsville Rd. Then another manifest soon follows, followed by a nice surprise in the form of a Santa Fe powered ethanol train. We finish with the only west-bound of the day, a fast auto rack.

New (Re)Construction 3

Well, almost a year to the day and I've finally gotten back to working on this corner of the layout. Didn't touch it since last January in terms of building, scenery, ... Below several shots from today with more. As always, still more detailing to do and then off to other areas... Also swapped out my DR stock for DB stock late last summer... Not much else happening here as I seem to have been focusing on my binding/book arts work for the past year and a half or so. Still, use lots of cardboard/paper in both.

Street front view

Detail with view of the Bude (kiosk) where we used to get the beer for my Opa and Haribo for ourselves...

Here the real thing on the Kölnerstr. in Duisburg...

Heading 'round the corner...

Hinterhof. Still some vegetable beds and other details to put in.

And pulling back a bit more to show the speeding BR94 borrrowed back from the G.B.A.G. by the DB...

Back in Kirksville

Wow, almost 3 days in a row. What gives? First train, two Dash-8s heading West that seem to have lost their load. Didn't seem to be in any hurry either.

Next train, this VERY slow intermodal leaving the yard and heading East up the grade...




As this was making its way slowly East it was overtaken by a long Amtrak consist powered by 3(!) Genesis units and ended by a private coach. Camera batteries had died by that point and I all was able to do was watch it disappear into a swirling mist of snow... Dang!

Sitting in the Cold on Saintsville Rd in Kirkville

1 hour along Saintsville Rd in Kirkville, NY. Five trains, including a surprising (because I wasn't paying attention meeting of a a westbound autorack with an eastbound mixed freight.

Click here to watch in (slightly) better quality on YouTube

West End of East Syracuse CSX Yard

Intermodal coming on the North Runner with a Dash-8 (?) still in Conrail colors, an Amtrak heading west, an ethanol train going no where slow, and a surprise UP powered reefer train heading East on this snowy, blustery day... Not my best quality in part because of no tripod, shaking hands, and shooting out of the car window... Been a real long time since I did this. Next time with a tripod and more coffee...

Click here to watch in (slightly) better quality on YouTube

Little Big Berlin: Modeling in H0 at its absolute finest...

Amazing modeling on this layout of Berlin. Faller Car system, the latest in animated figures from Viessman and Preiser with to die for scenery. Nothing comes close, not MiWuLa in Hamburg or even MWO in Oberhausen. Check it out.

SIMPLY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!


Little Big Berlin from pilpop on Vimeo.














Yes, I know it's real and not a model, but the effect is amazing. See more with tilt-shift here.

Norfolk Southern Coal Drag in Ithaca

Watch Norfolk Southerns northbound coal drag to Miliken Station on Cayuga Lake pass by the Ithaca Farmer's Market and waste treatment plant. No connection between the two. Filmed April 3, 2010.

New (Re)Construction 2

Spent more time this weekend working and got the roofs and numerous other details done. Next steps are weathering, then re-doing the sidewalks as well as the hinterhöfe (back yards). The space is tighter than I want it to be so the trick will be not overloading the scene.

That said, I'm really liking the way these are looking and how everything is falling in place.

More when everything is done.

New (Re)Construction

Making good use of time at home over Christmas, I decided to start my own reko program by beginning to reconstruct and update parts of the main layout and the switching puzzle. First area of focus was the harbor area where the Schreiber card models I built almost 10 years ago were slated for demolition to be replaced with more milieu appropriate and to scale scale structures. Below a view of the area as it existed until 1 hour ago...


And here the test placement of the new structures, also build of card. The one on the right is a heavily modified Stipp/Auhagen background model, the one on the left is entirely scratchbuilt using various sources for the facade, windows, kiosk... The kiosk (Bude) exists on the Kölner Strasse in Duisburg and is where we used to go for sweets and my Opa's Bier - König Pilsner of course, never-mind the Diebels sign above.

Here a view of the backside... The structure on the right will receive basic balconies, the one on the left still needs the windows... After that detailing the back yard (Hinterhof) with vegetable garden, rabbit stalls, and detritus... All will be walled/fenced in. After that, everything gets a good coat of grime...



Also built an air raid shelter that has been de-militarized with windows blasted through the walls. This will become a disco or some such thing, one of the current uses for the structures - VERY soundproof. Lots of grime still to be added, as well as roof details...


Concurrently, I am replacing the background models on the switching puzzle. These were damaged over the years as a result of taking to shows and loading in and out of the car. The background will also be replaced. Below a before and in progress shot...

Back to work...