A visiting CF7 is seen tied up for the night in the east yard. She will depart for Hodge LA at first light with a train of pulp wood racks.

Thank you for your kind words Russell, they are much appreciated.

It is nice to think that the layout is acceptable to folks in the States.

Thanks for the kind words Herb.

What I meant was I have never been to the States so my impression of what the railroads are like come from reading books, looking videos and DVD’s and watching television. Most of my research was done 20 years ago before the advent of computers. I must admit I enjoyed finding out all I could as much fun as the actual modelling.

Now old age is creeping up on me and I enjoy operating as much as anything.

I bought a couple of second hand freight cars the other week at a show I was exhibiting at, an SP bulkhead flatcar and an IC box car. They were made up and fitted with KD’s. I thought they looked a bit too new and shiny so I weathered them both using simple acrylic washes. I then took a few photos of an operating session featuring these 2 new additions to my freight car fleet.

The locomotive featured is an old blue box Athearn that I have customised for my fictitious short line the Talbot Valley Railroad.

I have been playing with the layout using a pair of end cab switchers for a change. As usual the locos featured are all Athearn blue box jobs.

The assumption being that the company like to give locomotives that spend much of their working lives at slow speeds in the yard, a chance to stretch their legs on a run now and again.

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They leave the pulp wood car in the loop and run round their train. The orange low nose geep in the background will work an ore train later in the day. The crew are in a local diner having a meal break.

The two switchers spot the pulp wood car at the team track where it will be loaded directly from a truck.