Your Model and Railroad blog by the folk at SMARTT
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Modeling Passenger TrainsNovember 14, 2012 Over the last two years we have talked a lot about model trains/railroading and prototype railroads and trains. In some of our articles, both in our blog and on our newsletter, we touched on the subject of types of trains, i.e. mail trains, milk trains… |
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Norfolk Southern and The Clator Brothers – part 2: Claytor’s DreamAugust 28, 2012 It was a cold evening in early December of 1994. A light rain was falling as I waited at a grade crossing on the south side of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Earlier that day, I arose before dawn to make a fast trek down to Birmingham, Alabama. It was to be… |
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The Norfolk Southern Steam Program And The Clator Brothers – part 1August 28, 2012 Just after midnight 30 July, 1945, Japanese submarine I-58 sighted a United States Navy Portland-class heavy cruiser in its periscope. The ship, the USS Indianapolis, was torpedoed and sank within 12 minutes. 300 of her crew went down with the ship; an… |
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Passenger Service & Fan Trips on the D&HAugust 17, 2012 Unlike most Northeast railroads in the 1960’s, the D&H tried to improve its passenger service. Its flagship train, the “Laurentian” (running between New York City and Montreal) was upgraded with the purchase of four Alco PA locomotives from the San… |
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The Delaware and Hudson Railway – “The Bridge Line”August 14, 2012 The railroad map of the Northeast has changed drastically over the past 50 years, with not one of the original railroads surviving today. Of all those railroads, it was the D&H that would become the last holdout of both the Northeast and the Anthra… |
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Steam Locomotives – The Next GenerationJuly 5, 2012 Once again there is talk of a modern steam locomotive program, this time the locomotive will run on a new hybrid fuel, “Biocoal.” Back in the early 1980’s Ross Rowland, the owner of former C&O J-3 4-8-4 number 614, announced the ACE 3000 project (A… |
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Collecting Fine Art: Model Railroading – Part 2: The Trains and InvestmentJune 26, 2012 Let’s now take a look at the trains, locomotives, and rolling stock themselves, and see what level of fine art they have attained. The models are a little different, because in most cases they are mass produced, however, this facet of the hobby has alw… |
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Collecting Fine Art: Model Railroading – Part 1: The LayoutJune 20, 2012 “. . . Model railroading as a fine art? This subject is rarely ever suggested, but it should be. Non-peers think of model railroaders as “the nut in the basement,“ or “the guy who doesn’t have the good sense to pick up the trains after Christmas” or“ov… |
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Lighting Structures on Your Model Railroad Layout – Part 3: To Outside and BeyondJune 7, 2012 Now that you’ve successfully lit up your building, there are still more things you can do with light to make your structure special. Not every light has to be within the structure. Roof signage can be lit by mini-spotlights like those from Miniatronics… |
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Lighting Structures on Your Model Railroad Layout – Part 2: What Lights to UseMay 30, 2012 In the old days, the choice was pretty clear – incandescent light bulbs. This is not because they were so wonderful but because they were the ONLY choice. Today’s lighting picture is a little (please forgive the pun) brighter.Lighting Types AvailableIn… |