Bill Welch

 

It's hard to fathom that it's been five years since Bill departed. While it's a blur in one sense, as always a lot has transpired in that time. I still think about Bill several times each day, either what he would have said or thought about something, how excited this thing or that would have made him, and the things I would love to have shown or shared with him. I am sure Bill is reveling in the success of the Dodgers! Rest in peace, my friend

Model this scene! Cedar Rapids, Iowa

 

"Untitled photo, possibly related to: Grain elevators and flour mill, freight yards. Cedar Rapids, Iowa," September, 1941, Marion Post Wolcott, FSA/OWI Collection, The Library of Congress, negative LC-USF34-090050-D

These images were recorded by Marion Post Wolcott in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in September, 1941. She was one of many professional photographers of the era who were contracted by the government to record facets of industry, culture, daily life, etc., under the auspices of the Farm Security Administration that morphed into the Office of War Information. They were mostly medium format, so the negatives are generally high quality, and the photographers were generally free to choose their subject matter. As they were recorded under government contract, there were (and are) no copyright restrictions on their use [note that people do download these images and sell prints of them; if you buy such an image you are generally paying for that which you could acquire for free with a little sleuthing.]

"Grain elevators and flour mill, freight yards. Cedar Rapids, Iowa," September, 1941, Marion Post Wolcott, FSA/OWI Collection, The Library of Congress, negative LC-USF34-090049-D

Back to these images... these three images illustrate (to me, at least) what would make an exceptional switching layout opportunity. I presume that these images were recorded over a relatively short period of time, yet you can see in the images the activity level. This entire scene could be recreated in a walkaround island four to six feet wide, depending upon your space and eight to twelve feet long, incorporating some or all of the industries and tracks shown or it could be narrowed to include fewer tracks and perhaps flats instead of full structures on one side and run along a wall. 

"Grain elevators and flour mill, freight yards. Cedar Rapids, Iowa," September, 1941, Marion Post Wolcott, FSA/OWI Collection, The Library of Congress, negative LC-USF34-090051-D

In these images you can see four (!) locos switching these tracks. There are plenty of operating opportunities here. There is also an interesting mix of cars, including the usual box cars plus automobile cars, stock car, reefers (including a dry ice refrigerator car,) tank cars, and coal gondolas. The Sanborn maps for this location can likely be located and there are probably resources about Cedar Rapids in historical society publications. If you're an aprtment dweller or have a small to modest-sized room available for your layout, you could do worse than to recreate this scene.

Pennsylvania Railroad X32A model photos

 

This post picks up the finishing of the pilot model for the Speedwitch X32A parts set (or with Shadow Keystone; note: if you want to peruse the instructions for these sets, the linked file can be found via the two previous links.) The model was painted using Polly Scale light freight car red, followed by Polly Scale zinc chromate primer. I lettered the model with National Scale Car's set for the PRR X31/32/33. Weathering included some streaking using artists' oils, dilute washes and more artists' oils (especially on the roof to simulate pooling of sooty/dirty water, etc.,) plus application of PanPastels in select places. The chalk marks are also from National Scale Car. The placards on the doors are images of actual placards that I had printed on decal paper. The route cards are from Owl Mountain.

I found the base color I airbrushed to be a little too dark for the prototype so instead of repainting the entire model, I sprayed the center of the panels on the sides and roof with a lighter color, resulting in a shaded outcome that was appealing (to me, at least)

I added oils to simulate the spray from the wheels of adjacent cars

The underframe was one of the impetuses for this entire project

Photos of the completed ATSF Bx-34

 

Here are some photos of my completed Santa Fe Bx-34 Modified 1937 AAR box car with Duryea Cushion underframe. The model was built using a Sunshine kit combined with Speedwitch parts (1959+ lettering.) I finished the model using Polly Scale mineral red for the majority of the car body plus Tamiya black for the roof.

The intention was to keep the weathering fairly modest. I applied some streaks using artists' oils dabbed on and brushed down the side using mineral spirits. I also added some light washes, again with thinned artists' oils. These were sealed with flat coats. I then added some sparing and selective applications of PanPastels and Bragdon powders, mostly to the roof, underframe, and trucks. The chalkmarks are from National Scale Car and the routing cards are from Owl Mountain. Excessive "unremoved" dust on the photo above courtesy of myself!