I just received an email concerning the Greensburg Train Show coming to the Monroeville Convention Center on february 13 & 14. The email said that the address of the new center was 135 Mall Boulevard, Monroeville, PA and it gave a link to a webiste giving directions to the center. I went to the site and it said 209 Mall Boulevard. Does anyone know which is the correct address? I went to the train show a couple years ago and was very impressed but they have a new convention center. Any help is appreiated.

Thanks,
cody

I was watching the NBC Nightly News during dinner and saw this video:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#34774474

It takes a while to get to the train part but just be patient.

What is the easiest way to unload coal? I will be using small black gravel for my "coal". I have three normal cars where they dump from the bottom doors and 6 Bethgon Coalporters. How can I unload the coal?

Thanks,
cody

I have been calling all the hardware stores in the Ohio Valley for the past half hour or so looking for a 9x5 piece of plywood to go on top of my ping-pong table to start my model train layout, well the biggest they make is 4x8!!!

Sorry, I just had to say that.
Sorry for wasting your time, it's just so frustrating that nobody, even Lowe's carries it. Well, you can special order it but that's 60 bucks down the drain.

I am starting a new CSX layout and I have a Bachmann Union Pacific B23-7 and a B23-7 Santa Fe. I want them in my layout but I don't know how. Well, I got to thinking today and they are going to be leased units. I am going to paint a black stripe down the "Union Pacific" and the "Santa Fe" on the sides of the locos and  also on the nose logo. What kind of paint shour I use? I will have some black latex paint left over, so should I use that?

Thanks

I saw this video on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Y9vzHztDc&NR=1
And I was wondering if anybody made Rotary Dumpers and where they could be found. I need pre-assembled ones because of my lack of arts and my inability to build things. Anyway, if there is anyway to get a dumper please let me know.

Thanks,
cody

Well, normally I wouldn't put my stories of railfanning trips on here but today i will because it was the most interesting trip of my life:
My brother and I went down to the NS Captina Secondary near Powhatan Point, OH. There are 3 trains running in push-pull style, generally SD40-2s. There are two mines which I will refer to as the East Mine and West Mine. The west mine is further west than the east mine. The trains carry coal to the River in Powhatan.
We started inb
Armstrong Mills and went west to the mine. On the way we passed a stopped EMPTY coal train (CO8) and at East Mine there was a train about 70% loaded. We heard on the scanner that the east end engineer of CO8 thought the switch was cracked so the NS MOW crew came out and inspected it and it was just cold. So CO8 headed back to the West Mine and we chased it there. Right before the train got to the last crossing before the mine the MOW truck came and parked by the tracks. The train came and we left with the truck still there. We passed CO6 which was almost done loading and went to Alledonia to start the chase. While we were waiting my brother looked out the mirror and here comes the MOW Hi-Railer racing down the track.
The train finished loading and was almost to Alledonia where it stopped for a crew change. so here comes the Renzenberger van for the crew change. While the van was coming past us after the change a NS Car Department truck came up. Apparently 3332 on the west end lost air pressure. So another 45 minutes to get that working again.
The train wsa finalyy on it's way and we chased it. At one point on it's journey it goes through a rock cut, I had wanted to climb the hill to get a shot from on top, well it's a good thing the ground was frozen because I would have fallen down a lot earlier. I got about 25 feet from the top and quit. I couldn't do anymore. So I retreatesd and got another shot. We then proceeded to the farm where I fell down the ballast waitingfor the train. After that we headed to Powhatan where we wanted a shot of it crossing Captina Creek. While waiting for the train I decided to test the thickness of the ice. Not smart because my foot fell through and now i smell like dirty creek.
Even though I almost fell down a hill and fell in a creek, it was a good day and i got some good shots.

When are the pictures of the new DC SD40-2s going to be put up on the Products page? I was told in September that they would be up in October and it's now January. What's the hold up?

I am starting a new layout with CSX in West virginia. It will be 9x5. I already have the track plan made but I have a few questions:
What is the best way to unload coal in modern times? I want it to be fairly simple for example, all my buildings are pre-built becvause I have no artistic talent. My coal loader is a pile of coal beside the tracks and two wheel loaders to load the cars.

thanks,
cody

My brothers and I are going to be railfanning on this saturday, January 2. I'm out of ideas for railfanning here in the Valley so I suggested to him to go to Pittsburgh but he said it's a little far away so do you have any ideas of spots on the way to Pitt?
We want to take either I-70 to Washington then take I-79 North to Pittsburgh
or
US-22 from Steubenville to Pittsburgh.

Thanks,
cody

Does anybody know of any good places to railfan in the Pittsburgh area/southwestern Pennsylvania?
Thanks,
cody

For Christmas I got a laptop from which I am typing this message and a Kodak Easyshare C190. It's main use is for railfanning. I am very impressed with it's 12.2 MP and 5x Optical Zoom. It even has Burst Mode but Burst Mode can only take 3 pictures and it takes a while to process and it takes a while to process even 1 picture.
Just my input if anybody is considering to buy that camera for railfanning or far any matter.

Cody

I took a short little excursion today with my brothers to chase a W&LE coal train from Nelms Mine #2 in Hopedale, Ohio to the AEP Cardinal Power Plant in Brilliant, Ohio.
Here are some of my favorite pictures:

The cab of W&LE 3067 (SD40-3). The train is in push-pull style


W&LE 3067 leading the train through a rock cut. While the coal cars were passing under us we were throwing snow balls in the cars


W&LE 3073 on the tail end, soon it will be leading the train.


God how I love the scenery here, especially in winter


The train crosses over the Ohio Central Panhandle Line on the Wheeling track. The train just came off of the OC Panhandle. And I did move farther away from the tracks as the train got closer.


My brothers being rather risky. Actually the train is going away.


The last place I saw the train moving.


Unfortunately the train stopped about halfway through the trip and we couldn't pick up anything on the scanner. It was on the main and there was a siding with a crossover right in front of the train so maybe something was coming from the east (the direction it was headed) or something was going to pass it which i doubt they would be in that big of a hurry, the train was moving pretty fast. Anyway, we didn't get to see it at some really tall bridges like I had hoped for. It was a fun trip anyway, I took my first pic of the W&LE today, so it was good.

cody

I doubt any of you know this but why not give it a shot.
I live in St. Clairsville, Ohio and my brothers and I are going railfanning on Wednesday around the Ohio River Valley. Does anyone know the traffic amounts for the NS Panhandle Line, the Ohio Central Panhandle Line, the CSX Ohio River Sub (northern end), the NS and Wheeling & Lake Erie River Lines and the NS Weirtion Secondary?

Thanks,
cody

I am looking to attend the 2010 Rail Camp at Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It's $850 and I'm assuming that it includes meals and lodging. Does the food and lodging come with the $850? If so, how are the lodging accommodations and how is the food?

Thanks,
Cody

I've started planning a new HO layout. It will be 9x5 and I would like it to have two industries with a town to "use" the industries. For example: coal mine and power plant. The coal would go to the power plant then the electrccity would be used by the town.
Any ideas on industries and rail commodities?

Thanks,
Cody

This is just for fun but I thought it would be cool to post your favorite train pictures on here. They can be "real" life size trains or scale model trains, it doesn't matter. I'll start.


CSX freight train through CP Scioto (Scioto Tower) in Columbus, Ohio while some CSX crews get ready to start working. July 8, 2009


Norfolk Southern freight coming out of downtown Columbus, across the Scioto River and across the diamonds at CP Scioto. July 8, 2009.


Fog surrounds the hills around Southern Belmont County, Ohio as NS 3334 shoves an empty coal train back to the mines. Picture taken at Armstrong Mills, Ohio near the Church on June 15, 2009, early morning, around 6:30am.



The eastbound Capital Limited pulls under US 40 and across Franklin Street as it approaches it's station stop in Cumberland as my mom tries to get some well-needed rest in the car. Photo taken on November 1, 2009 at Franklin Street in Cumberland, Maryland.


CSX Cumberland Terminal Hump from Starlite Drive off of Maryland 51. Taken on November 1, 2009 in Cumberland, Maryland.


WMSR 734 on the tuntable after a more-than-desirable ride up the mountain. We stopped 3 times because of BAD COAL!!! November 1, 2009, Frostburg, Maryland.


Capital Limited at Mexico Farms Road. Here it passes old CPL Signals and Mexico Tower at the end of the Cumberland Terminal on it's wy from Chicago to DC.

These are all my pictures, feel free to post any railroad photos or model railroad photos you want.

Cody

I'm not planning on doing this but it has been bugging me for a long time.
Can you SAFELY run HO scale trains outside?

cody

A friend of mine at my school has some HO train stuff that he is giving me. He's more of a computer nerd than a "train geek" as people at my school call me, but whatever, I've learned just not to hear people. I wold be better off living by myself, anyway,.... I've already got some stuff with more on the way. So far I have:
Life-Like ConRail RS-11 #8416
Bachmann Union Pacific B23-7 #124
Cass Scenic Railroad Boxcar with Shay #11 painted on the side (it's so realistic)

I think he said something about a SD70M or something and maybe some track or rolling stock. Early Christmas for me! Actually, Christmas for me is my brothers coming home from Ohio State.

I guess the main point of posting this is that not all people at my school are mean. I live in a very rich community where we have a lot of doctors and lawyers and I'll be the first to say, I'm not rich so it's fun to get some free stuff where all the rich kids make fun of you for liking trains.

Cody

I have recently acquired an old Life-Like ConRail high hood locomotive. It is not with me at the time so I don't know the number but it is a high-hood and has ALCo type trucks. Anyway, this engine has horn hook (I think that's what they are called) couplers that I would like to replace with knuckle couplers but the horn hooks are truck mounted and I want the knuckles to be body mounted. Is there any way to do this without much work (or damage in my case) to the locomotive or is it better to leave them on?

Also, I have recently acquired a Bachmann Union Pacific B23-7 (I think the number is 124) that has body mounted horn hooks. Are the horn hooks attached the same way to the shell as knuckle couplers?

Thanks,
Cody