Bruce-worthy

I said I would post more often, that was back in May and so much has changed since then, seems a little arbitrary to pick on my lack of new articles. Still, I have been very busy in the train room with all the time on my hands and the fact that for a while, we were all stuck in the house. I completed one project after another and after a while, I had completed so many, I realized that I need to keep a list of the updates so I made sure to show Bruce the next time he stopped over the house. A list of updates that were Bruce-worthy. Well, we were able to get together last weekend and I showed him all the changes, we ran a few trains, and now I can share them with everyone else.

Starting in Irwin, the main changes were replacing the cardboard mockups for US Steel and Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) with some real structures that had "some" depth. Both are still partial buildings to give the illusion of more depth than the layout but help make the scene. Notice the details on both loading docks as well as  the lit interior in the PPG building. Eventually, all of the buildings will have detailed and lit interiors. Two things that you don't see in this photo is the overhead crane in the PPG factory with the 10 Ton marking, a shout out to our local Warped Wing Brewery signature fixture and the new oil crane just left of the picture along the engine track. 

US Steel and PPG Buildings

Next, heading east out of Irwin Yard we see Uniontown and some of the new details there. First, McKinney's Liquors, after our son-in-law, finally has a sign - although he still missing the front of his store, interior and roof! Next to that is the new Moose Lodge 73, which actually exists here in Beavercreek OH but I really wanted to have a Moose Lodge in Uniontown. There are more details along the streets - news stand, fire hydrants, mail box and parking meters, people and a couple new cars. Also new is the city park in the center with the town twins, Dan and Don, playing a game of checkers at the picnic table. 

New buildings and details in Uniontown

Along the other side of the peninsula from Uniontown is Herminie PA, home of the Westmoreland Coal Company Mine No. 4. The building finally has a company sign on the back but also signs above the tracks under the coal tipple. The biggest changes here are along the backdrop with a new machine shop, fence, and most importantly, exposed stone wall that shows how deep this strip mine was carved before they converted it into a shaft mine. 

WCC Mine No. 4 in Herminie

New rock wall backdrop along the mine tracks

Our last stop is the hillside just east of Herminie that is the scenery break before the Youghiogheny River and East McKeesport scenes. Originally, I had envisioned a company store here but as I suggested in my last post, I decided to make this a tree covered hillside, reminiscent of the woods behind my house growing up. If you look closely on the left, you'll see a young boy on the left running to catch up with his friends, a girl leaning against the tree at the top of the rise counting and several kids hiding in the woods. There's even a raven in one of the trees - yeah, it's tiny!

Hillside between Herminie & Youghiogheny River

So that's not all the changes but most of the big ones. Halloween was great this year, with mild weather, that I opened the garage and back door and ran the trains for anyone who wanted to check out the model railroad in the neighborhood. The trains ran, non-stop and no issue, for over 3-1/2 hours! Very happy with that. With the temperature dropping outside, I will begin moving some projects indoors. I have several car kits to building, want to build the interiors and lights for Isley's, McKinney's and Dailey's in Uniontown and then probably the coal mine, Westinghouse and L.A.S. Fabrics. I am working on a special project now ... but more on that later! 

Happy November!

2020 Time to start blogging

So my last post was nearly 1-1/2 years ago and I have not abandoned my model railroad, I have just gone through a few life events - another “thanks but you are not in our long term (next month) staff plan” job change, our daughter getting married, oldest son engaged and youngest two entering college - and I just did not have much time for the trains, even less to write about. A couple train sessions and a show or two with Bruce, an operating session with all 3 sons and my son-in-law (that was a blast) and working on a few small projects. I added a few figures, fixed a turnout, and dreamed.
A few months ago I decided to write down all the projects regardless of scope. Things like build an interior and light the coal mine to add the scout figures in Camp Bruce; fix cars on RIP track and annual rolling stock maintenance; organize workbench to replace card stock buildings. At last count, it was more than 140 different items. List in hand, a notional idea of priority and I had  plan to work away.
That was fall 2019 and the train room cooled, harder to go out to the unheated garage and work so I brought a couple projects into the house - replace PPG and US Steel mockups, build a Moose lodge for Uniontown - and I was making steady, if slow, progress.
Enter COVID-19, stay at home orders and little else to do. I changed focus and pulled every unopened box, started kit, scene details and scenic treatment out and looked at the collection. I had a LOT of stuff! Refocused, I’ve made some 60 trees for the woods between Herminie and East McKeesport, built the lodge and added a sign for McKinney Liquors (shout out to my son-in-law), added numerous figures and scenic details, finished the city park in Uniontown and arguably made more progress in the first 4 months of 2020 than the last 2 years. Part renewed motivation, part opportunity of time management... all good!

Woods between Herminie and East McKeesport in progresss

More to come...!