Cab cars! Cab cars as far as you can (almost) see! After being delayed flying out of Louisville on February 17, I snapped this shot on Tuesday February 18, 2015 at LA’s Union Station after landing at LAX. Five Metrolink cab cars are seen at the end of the platform awaiting their scheduled departure time. -Matt Gentry
By Bill Farrell, Chapter President
Well, it just seemed like last week and we were having our February meeting. We need to thank Ricky for getting the February program together for us. Rich did a good job on the refreshments; Blair Terry gave him a four star rating on the food. In other words, you did good, Rich. Our program this month will be brought to us by Wally Watts. We will have some guests from the former Owensboro Chapter of the NRHS.
We have some exciting news about events and projects coming up in March and April. On March 28th we have a trip planned to the National Transportation Museum in St. Louis, MO. We have two 15 passenger vans lined up for those who would rather ride then drive. I say 15 passengers but the plan is to carry only 10 people per van. I believe the word we are looking for is “comfortable”. We will fill the seats on a first come first serve basis, so if you would like to go, let me know soon. The cost per member and or guest to take the van is $17.00 (per person). We will discuss this in more detail at the March meeting.
We now have some thirty DVDs for the chapter Video Library. Any member that would like to put a DVD in the library on loan please bring them to the next meeting. I noticed several members checking out movies last month. Until we get the number of DVDs up in the library members can only check out one per month.
April 11th is “Archeology Saturday”. The plan is to use metal detectors and go to a former location of a train depot in Hopkins County. We are going to list and catalog all the artifacts our club members unearth. These items can be placed in the case in the Parkway Plaza Mall or stored at the Hopkins County Historical Society. Now keep all that in mind, last Friday I called one of our chapter in house railroad historians, Wally Watts. I said, Wally lets go and find a depot site for “Archeology Saturday”, Wally said sound fine lets meet at Cracker Barrel.
Once we got on the road, Wally dragged your President through the bowels of Hopkins County looking for sites where depots once stood. I don’t know how many times I hear Wally say, “I’ll sit in the car, you wade through that water and see what is over there”. “Wally it’s just more snow and ice”. All kidding aside we did find one very interesting site, I think you will find the pictures we have of the Nebo site very rewarding. Wally and I will have the pictures for the next meeting.
Do you have a digital camera? Well if not, maybe you can borrow one from a good friend. In May, the chapter plans on having a photography contest within the club. Jim Pearson, one of the chapter members will chair this event. It will be open to all our chapter members in good standing. The pictures you submit to Jim (by email) will have to be taken in Western Kentucky on the day of the contest. Jim will have some tips and rules for the contest in the April meeting. Those members who are worried about Jim Pearson winning the photo contest need to know he will not be a contestant. We are still working on the prize to the winner. The most important thing in this event is, you have fun. In the case of Matt Gentry, he will be allowed to submit a picture from the west coast.
Those who missed the last meeting, it was announced that the GarGraves track company has donated between $1,000.00 and $1,100.00 in track for the modular layout. We still have three module’s unspoken for, any member who want to build one, let me know.
We need “Show & Tell” items and things for the raffle for the next meeting. Weather permitting I hope to see you on the 16th of March @ 7:00.
Located somewhere on the Henderson Sub, this NYC Caboose has been sitting for a few years without moving.
Take your best guess! Submitted by Jim Pearson
Just finished an American Standard 6-3 Pullman kit that I did on ACL purple. I’ve never seen one done in O scale as I don’t think anyone has ever made the purple paint. Finally Tru-color came out with the paint. Yea for Tru-color! The yellow striping was painted on then masked for the purple. Then the purple was masked and the silver applied. The lettering is from 3 different Champ sets. The ACL on the letter board is from a Champ ACL passenger car set, the car name is from a Champ Pullman set & the small Pullman on the ends came from a NYC passenger car set. This one was a lot of fun to do and a challenge.
Below is a T-1 that I weathered. Don’t know who painted the model initially. I wanted that “in-service” look as well as some reddish tint (like GA clay) on the trucks and tender frame. Other colors used were two types of grime, sand, grimy black, rust and dirt.
CSX #5439 is tied down just north of the CSX yard in Louisville, KY. just after 8 inches of snow have fallen on the town on February 16, 2015.
I snapped this photo for, among other things, the main reason of the way the wind was blowing the locomotive’s exhaust. As some may know, I’m a bit of a UP Turbine junkie and this shot reminded me of the way Turbine exhaust exited the famous UP locomotives. -Matt Gentry
P&L #3800 and #3805 rest in P&L’s Louisville yard awaiting their next assignment on February 13, 2015. -Matt Gentry
NS #2690 leads an empty bucket train north through Glendale, OH. on a frigid February 12, 2015. -Matt Gentry
KCS Power leads NS #224 through Buechel, KY on Feb. 24, 2015. -Bill Grady
| Title | Kicking Horse Pass Canadian Pacific’s Laggan Sub |
| Producer | 7idea Productions |
| Format | DVD Wide Screen |
| Playing Time | 1 hr 34 min |
| Purchased From | Trainvideodepot.com |
| Date Purchased | 2/19/15 |
| Price Paid | $27.95 |
This one is another excellent video from 7idea. The video quality is great and the Wide Screen format lends itself well to the beautiful panorama of the Canadian Rockies. The scenes were shot in June, September, and October of 2014.
The Laggan Sub runs from Field, British Columbia, on the west to Exshaw, Alberta, on the east, a distance of 136 miles. Some of the most spectacular and beautiful scenery is found on the Laggan Sub.
Trains shown include mixed manifest freight, double stacks that are 10,000 feet long, unit grain trains, potash trains, and we even get to see Canada’s most prestigious passenger train “The Rocky Mountaineer.”
Two unusual and extremely interesting features of the Laggan Sub are the upper and lower spiral tunnels that were completed in 1909. These tunnels lowered the grade from 4.4% to 2.2% and added 8.2 miles to the route. The treacherous 4.4% grade was called “The Big Hill” by railroaders when it was in use from 1884 to 1909.
The tunnels were dug by hand and even though they were built without benefit of all the modern surveying technology, the alignment was off by only two inches when the crews digging from either end met in the middle.
We see trains spiral over themselves as they go through these tunnels, just as they do a Tehachapi Loop in California.
The narrator, Aaron Bentsen, tells the story of how Kicking Horse Pass got its name. James Hector, a member of the survey crew searching for the best route for the right of way, was kicked in the chest by his horse in 1858 while at this pass. His co-workers thought he was dead and dug his grave, but, fortunately, Mr. Hector regained consciousness in time and was not buried alive. So, the pass was named Kicking Horse Pass because of that event.
This video is definitely one you will want and I highly recommend it.
Led by CN #5527, 3 Canadian National covered wagons head north through Morton’s Gap on January 7, 2015. -Rick Bivins
Norfolk and Western Heritage Unit #8103 leads NS #890 along the Flood Wall at New Albany, Indiana on January 30, 2015. -Bill Grady