November 2008
Tomorrow’s gonna find me further down the line….
Loree’ was about five-foot-four, thirty something and in great shape since our high school days back in Edmonton. Bright, warm, sensitive, responsive and funny; she was everything a guy could ask for in a friend – and much more. So when she called one day out of the blue, said she had some time off and wanted to hike the back county above Pearson, I was surprised. When she asked me to ‘go with’ I was really surprised - and very happy. She could have taken off up there with just about anyone but she was asking me. Hey! I had days off coming too. How fast could I be ready? How fast could I say, “I’ll find my boots.”
I arranged for a lift up from Grande Cashe to Southview campground on highway 40 where I finally saw her again after a much too long time away. It was a good feeling. She had found a ride for us across the Smoky River and along a forestry trunk road to the Kakwa River Bridge where we would be dropped off near a narrow, seldom used trail. Alone. Three wonderful, exciting and beautiful days and nights later we were packing our gear back over my familiar main line and down into Pearson.
Our hikers are perched on the very edge of the layout with the center of the tracks eight and a half inches behind them. Both are looking over their shoulders at the grain elevators they passed 13 inches back. Yes, it’s a long way into Pearson and it can look a lot longer with careful blending of foreground and background details. The buildings are cut from a photograph taken of the Internet and the fields are done with craft paints. The foreground is sand, old carpet pieces and Woodland Scenics. Fencing and signs are from the junk box.
There is just something about this railroad business. I’ve given it half my life and now, just when I find someone I’d rather be with than a track foreman I get called away to work. And at a far too early, and far too inconvenient hour. I had to meet a CN rep about an over weight shipment due up here within the week. My week! And it seems I was the only one who could do this. Well, that maybe good for my ego – but it was bad for my personal life.
Bradley, with his wife Joan, would be in on CN 1390 West before breakfast. Joan would stay with her girlfriend, my ex, and then he and I would take a look at some track work being completed south of Colder as well as two bridges west of Winter Valley. Loree’ was going to have to keep herself amused at my place, or down at the local grocery – hardware – fishing supply store, until I got back. Before supper on Friday I hoped. Many heart felt apologies ensued.
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1390 West and sister 1382 are familiar on the layout. The old covered wagons and the new GP38-2W are nice too have as part of my CN ‘fleet’ but these two SW1200rs pile up all the hours. Here and at local train and hobby shows.
The aluminum Government of Canada branchline cylindrical hopper was effectively scratch built using (a) the frame and hoppers from a USA Trains Ultimate Series 55 foot center flow car and (b) S scale plans originally published in February 1994 Model Railroader. There were no longer any decals available in 1/29 th scale so these were ‘home made’ using 1/64 th scale decals from CDS, my own photo copier x220% and clear decal paper.
I knew which box held my best jacket. That was the easy part. I also figured I should shave and look semi-human for this meeting because, four days ago now, I’d decided to give my face a well-deserved holiday too. Leaving a warm bed to face that face was going to be Hell.
Joan and Bradley were on the platform when I arrived. They’d only been waiting a few minutes and two other old friends were idling and spitting next to them on the main line. Following a brief round of pleasantries we decided Joan would take a cab and Bradley and I would change for work and get right to it. The faster the start – the faster the finish.
Most of the regulars here have seen these engines before. They started life as USA Trains NW2’s. One was Santa Fe as I recall and the other was C&O. Both came to me through on line sales because it was going to be my first serious ‘cutting and forming’ project using perfectly serviceable engines. For that I figured paying full MSRP wasn’t an option.
In quick summery: The hood ‘step’ was filled in, new front windows were formed, new headlight and number board assy’s were built and installed. I built new winter windows for the engineer’s side and added new full-length handrails using USAT GP9’s components. The large radiator was installed on the front and top of the hood and brass tubing was used to form the distinctive CN spark arrestors. Accurate paint was from Scalecoat, decals were from CDS and small parts were from Miniatures by Eric. NO attempt was made to rebuild the truck side frames or steps.
By the time the engineer and I had helped them get their luggage down from the cab people were beginning to gather around waiting for the daily mixed into the city. People read the morning paper, delivered fresh daily by CN, and put loonies in the coffee machine made fresh by the morning shift. Cars and busses pulled up, hugs and kisses were exchanged, and the world moved on as it always did.
But nothing would move today though unless we finished our business and let the crew take a couple of empty grain cars, an empty center beam flat, a full tank car and a boxcar of newsprint off the main and over to the warehouse. The place would look and feel like a busy rail yard for the next half-hour or so. Then silence. Until around 1100 when the place would pulse to life once again.
There is an interesting collection of odds and ends here. You can see I finally got around to stringing telephone lines. A clear advantage for us large scalers. The weigh scale and the coke machine are fridge magnets that I ran across at the local Dollar Store. The VW and the Camaro are diecast 1/25 th scale models but so close to the correct 1/29 th scale that no one can tell. I do tell knowledgeable visitors and they still can’t see the error. Good scenery will deflect the calibrated eye every time. All of the figures are from Preiser except the owner of the red sports car. She came from the stars. Star Wars actually.
In this scene you can see the front radiator on 1382. The 1:1 scale version could be opened or closed to some degree depending on the outside temperature. There were many variations on a theme so the exact type on any engine could change from year to year. A photo is your only hope of winning a nitpickers argument in this case.
Our first stop was the warehouse. There were a few things that we had to pick up as soon as they were unloaded from the train. There would be some survey instruments and a number of other boxes and they would have to fit in the back of my car. The ride was better than the company truck and I was on vacation anyway.
Jerry finished using the forklift to load Canadian Tire and then helped get our stuff into the trunk. While they looked after that I used the phone in the office to call Loree’. She wasn’t up yet but she said she could smell the coffee in the kitchen. Darn! What was I doing out here anyway?
The pickup and the forklift are 1/25 th scale. The small warehouse is about 1/24 th scale, as are the figures, and the WV boxcar is 1/29 th scale. Of course that means that the train in the background is about 10% too small. To bad!
Oh, the yellow thing on the boxcar doors? That’s there so a forklift can be used to open and close the sliding door. We see a lot of them around here because the ice can sure freeze these things up during the winter.
They tell me my Chevy was becoming a classic of sorts and that I should look after it better. You know, fix up a few small rust spots around the chrome strips and lights. Maybe even get a new paint job. Robins Egg Blue they tell me. There are still a few around here. Most a lot worse for wear than mine so I wash it well and get out the vacuum from time to time. More important, it runs and runs and runs. Even when the thermometer dips to –40 I’m often the first one in to work.
The train had left the warehouse siding and was back on the main line. That meant that we were going to be held up a few minutes at the 1 st Avenue crossing. Bradley didn’t seem to mind the delay. He wanted to talk shop interspersed with football scores. He must never got a word in edgewise at home because he was sure exercising his opinion today.
The USA Trains extruded aluminum Modern Tank Car is easily one of the finest models on the market today. No. I don’t work for USAT. I just run all their stuff and I’m gradually getting rid of all but a few items from other manufacturers. I keep two of these tankers running. There’s precious little room for more down here anyway. One is a Corn Products car in black because I see them come and go in Kelowna all the time and one is Procor in white just because I like it.
My friend John Green has installed LEDs in just about all my highway vehicles including turn signals and emergency lighting as required. It’s a great realistic feature.
Within a couple of hours we were on site at the Smoky River crossing. I found myself standing in a cold rain on a windy bridge above a raging waterfall while Bradley fumbled around in various toolboxes, kicked stones and swore a lot.
He spent a lot of time looking at the concrete abutments and then phoning into Edmonton for advice. Then he’d climb down for another look-see, swear some more, and clime back up to track level. He seemed a little upset that there were no apparent problems. I couldn’t determine whether that was because he just couldn’t find anything wrong or because he was sent all the way out here for nothing. Either way, I was just sorry I was cold and wet on a mountain and not warm and dry back at the house.
Around 10 years ago now, when I was wandering longingly through my first issues of Garden Railway magazine, one item, a four foot through Howe truss bridge, was both a wonderful thing to see and a much needed feature on my emerging back yard empire. Trouble was, this beauty was listed at just under $500.00. Far too much for someone just building his first small fleet of engines and rolling stock. To say nothing of future track, turnouts and power supplies
So a principle that has guided me from the vary start of this silliness was born. When you really want something – build it yourself. I selected a fine looking cedar fence paling from my local building supply store and ran it through a table saw creating a number of 1/8 inch thick lengths, about 7 inches in G scale. I cut and formed the trusses holding the whole thing together with a few well placed brads and threaded rod from my Canadian Tire store.
It spent three years outside, summer and winter, and it’s served my railway well for seven more inside. Cost to me? Seventeen dollars and eighty cents. There’s a lesson there somewhere.
It seemed to take a lot longer getting back than it did getting up there but the job was done. The track and effected bridges had passed inspection. I’d called down from the mining office in Colder and assured Loree’ I’d be back that evening. Maybe, with a little luck, around eight. She was glad the whole day wouldn’t be “wasted” and I was glad I’d finally be able to pour a hot bath, soak off this icy fog and snuggle a while by the fire.
Telephone communication isn’t as clear and reliable as you might think. We drove into the yard just before nine and Loree’ was waiting. Her in a great, tight, summer going out, ensemble and me in stinky, sweaty work clothes. God I love that woman but my mind really hadn’t focused on dry ribs in sea salt, pale ale and a noisy, smoky cowboy bar. Seems my day was going to be a little longer than I’d thought.
The safety cab on 5604 was scratch built from styrene sheets and bits and pieces saved from the original GP38-2 from USA Trains. The task itself wasn’t as difficult as I made it for myself. The plans were reproduced in 1/29 th scale so cutting and fitting was easy and there were enough after market details (horn, bell, antenna etc) to make it work. I also built a modern CN interior to replace that funny little control stand that came with the model.
My real difficulty was a result of me wanting to simply remove the whole cab by sliding it up and off the frame by guides built into the long hood. That, and the fact that the headlights had to be replaced, with LEDs, and moved from the roof down to the short hood. But it eventually all worked plus I can snap off the roof to get at the wiring should that need ever arise.
Well, at least I had two full days and the morning of a third. And warm, wonderful late summer days they were. The boys at work had heard about the unscheduled inspection trip, laughed a little I expect, and then made a concerted effort to have all my calls redirected. My phone never rang once. Great guys!
The mixed was going to make an unscheduled stop in Grande Prairie that day so we sat and waited in the truck next to the boarded up station. The cow next door didn’t seem to mind the company. The Airchimes sounded in the distance and it was time to say goodbye - for a while anyway. This time I promised to keep in touch - and it was a promise I would keep.
Combine 7210 may not exist any more but it was home for travelers between Hearst, Armstrong, Sioux Lookout and the West during the 70’s. These RCAF long-range Radar Stations, and many others like them, relied heavily CN heavyweights such as this during the long, harsh winters.
The car is a bashed Aristocraft combine. The window and door arrangement has been modified, as has the roofline. Six wheel trucks and proper grab irons have been added as well as a new caboose style smoke stack signaling the use of a small wood and coal stove at the freight end of the passenger section.
A simple scene on your railroad should tell a story too. No need for words. Visitors will fill in the blanks for themselves.
I’ll see you all at www.mylargescale.com
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