Here is a overveiw picture of the Portage yard part of my layout. It is a very condensed version but still as proto as I could get it. This is a full shot looking SE towards Madison. I still have to put a background section in the window and place the York coal co. down at the far end. Bare with me on the pic's, they are my first attempt a digital photography! If interested in more detailed and close up shots let me know and I will post them, I kind of went crazy and have about 50 of them!!
You've made all kinds of progress, since we last saw a picture! Have you been doing any operating? Boxcab E50
Ken, I have been moving right along. Since this is the only section I have done so far I have not had any over to operate. I just switch cars back and forth by myself. Cory, Glad to have you here like I said you will find a bunch of people that really know alot about the Milw. Road. They have helped me out many times. Kurt, Let me sift through my pic's and see what rolling stock I have pictures of. Heres another pic standing under the North water tower looking south, Portage at one time had four water towers but by the fifties they were down to two.
Kurt, I have been collecting Milw. cars for a few years now but I am only running cars on the layout up to 1959. I also fell in love with Accurail kits and have sold off almost all my other stuff except the Milw. ones, I have nearly 150 Accurail cars now. I also have been building Milw. cars that you can't buy like my Milw. pipe gondola Here is another shot of some cars in the waiting in the yard.
Andy- How about a closer view of that pipe gon? Tell us about it? What other custom stuff have you created? That pipe gon has me thinking- Marty Coil, where are you? This is just your type of project in N scale! Boxcab E50
Ken, I don't have a closer shot of the gon at this time, have to wait for the camera to come back. Basicly what I did was, Take an IHC gon, just because it had the right amount of panels. I striped it down, all grabs and sturrips. I cut out each panel by drilling 1/32 holes around it then popping it out and filing. I used .080 channel iron from Evergreen for the supports across the open panels and added a 1/16 angle iron on top of each end. I made new grabs and stirrups from .011 brass wire, primed and painted, decaled, then added the wooden bulkheads. KD #5 couplers and Accurail trucks. There it is!! I found the picture of this at Don Rosses site and just had to build it. I also built the silver drovers caboose with large windows in it, a side door caboose,rotary plow,crane tender which is in the background of the pipe gon. I am currently working on the long frame caboose which basicly is an International bay window caboose on a 50' flat car, it was used on coal trains out west. I also want to build the snow plow made out of a steam tender and the flanger we talked about a while ago. Is that enough for now?? I will look to see if I have any pic's of some of this stuff
Ken, Here is a pic of the silver drovers caboose, I seen this in the MRHA caboose book Here is the side door caboose from the wood caboose book and the diesel rotary plow These are all I have pic's of right now! Thanks for asking
I just noticed in the background of the plow picture you can see a 10,000 gal Milw. water tanker hooked on to the scale test car!
Andy, the pic of "some cars waiting in the yard"..that yellow car connected to the crane..is ther a platform hanging off to it's side?..or am I seeing things?
I also do proto scratch built buildings, like the Milw. Road bunkhouse. It housed bunks, showers, lockers Next is an overhead picture of the engine house, I used plans from the engine house in Wabasa Min. The sand tower is from Bensenville Il. yard except they had five of them put together. Also a Fairmont speeder, and the 25 ton crane is unloading ties If I am putting to much on here let me know OK?
Definitely looks like a Milw building. But I wonder how much sleep they'd get in a RR yard? Boxcab E50
Andy- If you have more, by all means, go for it! If you feel another thread is needed, that's fine, too! Boxcab E50
Ken, I wondered the same thing too, but I guess you get used to it. My grandparents used to live under the ell tracks in Chicago,when the train would go by it would shake the plates off the kitchen table, They never even noticed it! Or maybe they were deaf? I will look at my pics again tomorrow, I am running short on time tonight, might have one or two more I would like to show. Thanks for all the nice comments, makes a guy feel good!!
Hey Ken, For some reason I couldn't get on last night. I think I will wait on the other pic's, I am almost done with the backdrop that goes in the window and scenicing the York coal co.. When I get these two things done Portage will be finished and I will add a few more pictures. Then it's on to Tunnel City. I am also starting a cut up MOW gondola I seen Saturday. It was a Milw. gon on a CP work train, pretty neat model if it comes out. I will be getting back to you!!
Andy- Did you get some pictures of that M-O-W gondola? Post 'em when you get 'em. I'm looking forward to seeing the results. We may model different parts of the system, and different scales, but inspiration, is inspiration. Wherever you find it! Boxcab E50
