The Chesapeake Bay and Western in Grafton, Va will have its semi-annual open house  on 20 and 21 November.  Come see one of the largest layouts on the east coast. 

In 1858 the tunnel used for years by the C&O , bored from both sides of the Blue Ridge at Rockfish Gap met on Christmas Day with an error of six inches.  In 1944 the replacement parallel tunnel met with an error of four feet!
So much for progress.  <g>

Unless something else happens -and it may - I will have a short article published in the C&O Historical Society magazine in June.   That seems awful soon for something submitted yesterday!
Gene

I finally bought the Bachmann C&O H-4 with Sound DCC.  I think this is my first new locomotive in a year and a half.  It runs fine and sounds very good.  However, I could not change the address from 3 to the cab number.  (1343)  I used JMRI's Decoder Pro and got red bars and failure messages.  Since Decoder Pro would not read the decoder type, I told it Tsunami Heavy Steam. 
Thoughts?

Has anybody built the Bachmann Spectrum Sears catalog house?  Is adding the basement worth it, or is it best to build it without the full basement?  (In other words, can it be built so the house can be removed to view the basement? )
Gene

Who has built a concrete highway tunnel portal.  I bought a double track Woodland Scenics, but it is much too tall, or so it seems, for even trucks.  How about cutting it down? 
Thoucghts?
Gene

I've found a place on the outskirts of Hannaville to pu the Great Western (?) 1950s motel.  I've also found a car and figures for Dolores Haze and Humbert Humbert.  I have a metal Cadallac kit for Claire Quilty's car that he can hide behind and spy on them.  Which famous novel?    Do I dare add Mariyon (sp) Crane and Norman Bates?  I already have that wonderful Woodland Scenic station wagon loaded down with luggage on  the roof. 
Gene

I've found great containers to use for things like wet water, dilluted or full strength glue, or paint.  Used, cleaned tomato sauce or mushroom cans hold four ounces of liquid and are great to use for construction.  I've also used the plastic cups that individual fruit comes in like might be packed for a lunch.   When ypu are finished using or one gets too grody for continued use, either throw it away or put it in recycling, depending on wnhat your recycling rules are.
Gene

My layout has two coal tipples for mines.  One headhouse is a bashed co-op grain silo to represent a headhouse going into a vertical shaft.  The other mine will have a horizonal main shaft entering behind the tipple.  I'm thinkin of using the DPM single story garage kit buried into the hill as its headhouse.  Does that sound reasonable?
Gene

In 1856 the almost one mile long Afton Mountain or Blue Ridge Tunnel was completed.   The chief engineer, Crozet, tunneled from both sides of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  When the two tunnels met, they were 6 inches off perfect alignment.  In 1944 the C&O bore a new tunnel parallel to the Blue Ridge Tunnel.  It was a bit longer than its older brother, but it was also four feet off perfect alignment when the two tunnels met!
So much for progress. 
Gene

Anybody have a good suggestion for figures for a slaughter house.  I have the Walther's one right where the eastbound comes out of Sugar grove WV and having a couple of men with bloody aprons would be a great touch!
Also, I found the Walther's ice house to be easy to assemble, but in need of a couple of changes.  It's obvious that the icing platform and the ice house itself need to connect, but can't be touching each other.  The rear rail doesn't have gates to allow ice to go from house to platform, nor are there any bridges between the two.  I also found that while the box art shows X bracing for the legs, the kit only has enough pieces for Z bracing. 
Gene

I'm about to do some weathering of coal tipples and coal field company houses.  I can not find my India ink.  What about a wash using weathered or oily black - say a 1:6 or so ratio? 
Gene

Can't afford a new locomotive?  A sound decoder is too expensive?  No room for anything larger than a 5x10? 
Take a look at these train pictures.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/b?ammem/fsaall:LC-USF34-020312-E:collection=fsa

Gene

 

A lady with whom I go to church told me today that her husband's father's brass collection was recently stolen.   Apparently the thief took individual pieces to local pawn shops in the Tidewater, Virginia area .  If you happen to go to a pawn shop in this area in the near future, please check.   Based on the one I saw, the man was a collector, not a railroader.  It was exactly like the day he bought it: unpainted, weight not added, extra screws still in pack, etc.   According to his daughter-in-law, he had multi-railroad locomotives plus brass rolling stock.   Apparently he preferred Sunset.
Thanks,
Gene

I've gotten rather disgusted with the "concrete" paint available from railroad paint companies.  I've found that I can find large cans in the decorator section of Lowe's and Wal-Mart that do a much better job of representing concrete. Rust-0-leum's "Oregano" and " Fossil" and Krylon's "Sand" and "Rock" look more like the concrete I've seen, at far less the cost! 
Gene

I'm finishing up the scenery for the Mickie's Run section.  It will include two or three fly fishermen from Preiser.  The water is by Woodland Scenics so you can see the "run bed".  You fishermen - should I cut the legs off so they appear to actually be in the water?  Three cut at different heights would suggest differences in depth of the water.  Would the legs be visible under water?
(For those of you not familiar, a run is a Virginia term for a moving body of water smaller than a rvier, as in "Bull Run."  It's a common term in Northern Virginia and in the Shenandoah Valley.
Gene

These are only layout pictures.  Some are from the last two days. 

http://photobucket.com/VTAPRR

Gene

Has anybody else used Water effects?  It seems like the Alexander Falls of Mickie's Run is a bit too much for one bottle.  It has a nice ripple effect, but is too transparent for the most part and the bed can be seen.  Any thoughts on painting it gloss white? 
Gene

If anybody is interested in an Allegheny Midland 70ton offset three bay hopper, let me know.  Do it off the board, of course.  You can find my e-mail on my profile. 
Complete information at:
http://www.cincy-div7.org/projects.html

Gene

What is the best glue for polyurethane resin?
Gene