LAYOUT UPDATE

A Mountain Dew truck makes a delivery to the Hickory Pit Bar-B-Q, while a FedEx van makes a stop at another business. In the background, the newly added hotel can be seen (read on).

Another view of the relocated townhouses on Main Street. The billboard will eventually be relocated, adding another parking spot and better views for the tennants!

A close-up of the second townhouse. The building next to it was also relocated from downtown; it was displaced by the Delta Building. That looks like a Real Estate Agent standing out front. What business will occupy it next?

Here's a fun rooftop view of downtown Hillsdale, taken from atop the hardware store. The supermarket is across the street, the pawn shop is next door on the right, and the backs of the buildings on Bank Street can be seen. In the distance is the park, with the AP&W's tracks beyond that.

Finally, here is the newly added hotel. While still not complete, it does add to the 'height' of downtown and helps hide the trackage along the back of the layout.

THE TEST AND RESEARCH CAR

I recently completed aTest and Research car for the AP&W. The following are two 'under-construction' photos.

And here is what the completed car looks like.

I converted the car from a Bachmann Spectrum heavyweight combine, with windows cut out of an Eastern Car Works passenger car kit. I removed most of the underframe details and added Hi-Tech Details GE "EUC" boxes for equipment/battery boxes, along with a scratch built fuel tank (to feed the "onboard" generator) to which I added sight glasses made from modified Hi-Tech Details F-unit sight glasses and Details West GE fuel fillers. I also replaced the factory trucks with modified Walthers passenger car trucks, replaced the swinging coupler pockets with Sergent EN87's, and added work tables and computers from a Faller interior detail set. On the roof I added BLMA A/C units along with Details West antennas and GPS unit and a Utah Pacific smoke vent. Reversing the baggage doors provided the modenized look, the original end doors and diaphrams were replaced by Pikestuff doors, and a Details West cab-unit back-up light with a red MV lens helped fill out the detailing. A Rapido Easy-Peasy lighting kit provides interior lighting. Testors Deep Sea Blue is the AP&W's "Engineering" color, while Sewalls Point -the name of the car- was an important location on one of the AP&W's predecessor roads; it was the Eastern terminus -and deep sea port- of the Virginian Railroad. Today, Sewalls Point is Naval Station Norfolk; reportedly the Virginian's roundhouse location is now occupied by the Navy Exchange and it's parking lot!

HAPPY FOURTH!

To celebrate the Fourth of July, here are some photos of UP 'flag'-unit 5714, as it rolled through town on an empty coal train.

Aaron heads down the access road to get in place to perform a run-by inspection of the train. Most trains passing through the yard receive a 'run-by' to make sure there are no problems (over-heated journals, shifted loads, derailed or broken wheels, etc.)

I weathered the Kato unit to match a photo of the real 5714 I saw in an issue of Diesel Era. Apparently, the UP shop crews simply repainted the center portion of the carbody to add the new 'Flag' decal and logo!


The Union Pacific has been using this new scheme since 2002, after the 9-11 attacks. The AP&W unit in the lead is also in a post 9-11 scheme. Pundits refer to the new look as the 'military stealth' scheme!

LAYOUT UPDATES!

Work has slowly, but surely, progressed on the layout the past month.

As promised, Hillsdale now has a new downtown parking garage! It replaced the two townhouses on Commerce Street. Also, as seen in the above photo, the once vacant lot across the street on the corner of Commerce and Market is now occupied by the new public library.

Another shot of the new parking garage. It is a four-level garage. As dramatic a change as this is to the city's downtown skyline, more changes will soon be seen!

A tour bus heads into town past the newly relocated townhouses. Placing them along the Main Street strip leading out of town has proven to be a wise choice, as not only does the new location make better sense reality-wise, but they also help hide the track along the back of the layout and make the town (and the layout) look bigger.

Lastly, even the M.O.W. lot has been updated, with the addition of two portable toilets and several 'K-rail' barriers around the perimeter of the parking lot, one of which is visible here.

There will be more to come and soon. Stay tuned!