New Amtrak power on P&LE

Patience pays off. I have been looking for one of these engines for more than seven years, but saw only a very few and all were in the $200 plus range; and I'm not yet ready to pay nearly $300 for Kato's recent release. Tonight ... tonight at the Gateway Division monthly meeting and annual swap meet, this beauty was there. It's an Athearn, complete with decoder, Kadee couplers, slightly weathered, and IT RUNS WELL! And best of all, I paid less than $100 for it. I now have my version of Amtrak's Pennsylvanian running through my southwest Pennsylvania railroad. Yippee!

P&LE Business Car

The P&LE Business Car was a gift from Kenny Heyl and the late Dean Freytag, both of Ashland, Ohio. Freytag, a Master Model Railroader, always said a railroad needed a business car, so the two collaborated to provide the "Sue K. Howard" - my wife's maiden name - for the Paducah and Lake Erie. The car is shown here in front of the Freytag Engine Facility, kit bashed specifically for the P&LE, and thought to be the last structure the internationally-known modeler built before having to go to assisted living. (Photo by Ken Heyl)

Tractors, Tractors, Tractors

Those rail fans who frequent Tom Davis's establishment, The Station Inn, in Cresson, PA will hopefully recognize this scene (minus the benchwork, of course) on the P&LE. A common site on the NS line between Harrisburg, PA, and Pittsburgh are trains with multiple flat  cars of tractors, being passed by the Pennsylvanian, Amtrak's daily Pittsburgh-to-New York City passenger train. The building is an excellent replica of the Station Inn, kit bashed by Kenny Heyl of Ashland. The tractor train is always one that most photographers try to catch as it heads east on almost a daily run. The Station Inn is a B&B that caters to rail fans, and is an outstanding place to stay while checking out the busy railroad between Johnstown and Tyrone, PA. Innkeeper Davis is extremely knowledgable about railroading in general, and railroading in this area in particular; and one will have to travel some distance to find better breakfast fare than that provided by Sandy.

Time for kudos ...

It's been a great weekend. Friends David James of Brecksville, OH, (front) and Ken Heyl of Ashland, OH, have been in town and we've spent a dozen or more hours on the Paducah and Lake Erie, doing all those things one needs to do to make the railroad run as good as it can. Sunday was spent running trains, BUT, making immediate fixes such as getting wheel sets in gauge, couplers changed out from McHenry to Kadee when necessary, tracks cleaned, engine wheels cleaned, appropriately routing of trains - the long juice train, and coal train, have to travel up the helix on the outside track - and just discussing and planning next moves. It's the type of thing railroad friends bring to the hobby, and without which many of us would not have the model railroad we enjoy. I am forever indebted to Ken and Dave for this, and a previous, model railroad.

Power in Attica Yard stands ready for operating session. From the left, UP on the point of a Tropicana juice train belonging to David James and making an appearance on the P≤ CSX in charge of a unit coal train; a James Creek engine at the head of a unit Peabody coal train; and a N&W leading a mixed freight. The James Creek Railway was a branch line on the previous (and larger) P&LE and will work the mine load out facility on this iteration; the N&W came from the late Dean Freytag's South Ridge Lines.

Basic Operating Session

Good friends David James and Ken Heyl, from Brecksville OH, and Ashland OH respectively, arrived Saturday afternoon, and we spent about six hours Saturday evening tuning engines, rolling stock, turnouts, and track in a basic ... very basic ... freelance operating session. As I stated in an earlier post, there is no quicker way to find trouble spots with any part of your railroad than to have a couple of friends over to "run trains". We found a number of issues, primarily in the rolling stock and some older engines, but on balance, the railroad ran pretty well and I was pleased. Tomorrow, we start working in earnest. David and Ken, you may recall from much earlier posts, were absolutely indispensable in building the first P&LE in Ohio seven years ago; they did a lot of the heavy lifting on this iteration with several trips to St. Louis earlier in the project. Above, the Tropicana juice train of David James is on a long siding and being overtaken by a CSX coal train on the lower level of the P&LE.

Time Out for Steam Excursion

Last weekend, I took time off from model railroading to "rail fan" at the Horseshoe Curve area in Pennsylvania and ride the NKP 765 steam excursion. It was a day-long event, going from Lewiston, PA, through Altoona, around the Curve, and through the tunnels at Gallitzin, and back. Great weather, HUGE crowds, loads of fun. The 17-car train had the 765 on the point, with Norfolk Southern Heritage units - Pennsylvania and Conrail - along for an assist. One of the highlights for friends David James and his father Hank, Ken Heyl and me was a stop for water in the middle of Works, the huge engine facility in Juniata Yard in Altoona.

Coal Loading Facility

Ah, finally! The start of the coal-loading facility. As I have stated in previous posts, the P&LE is basically a coal-hauling railroad. This is the start of a four-track storage yard. The flood loader will be located "around the corner" to the right, and have a three-track loading capability as well as a run-around track. The four tracks seen here come off the main line, and combined with the shuffling of cars between here and the loading facility and necessarily using the main line for some of those moves, the process will provide some interesting operational issues. The back of Brian Post is also seen here as he wires some turnouts.