Monday, August 25, 2014

Exhibit B shabby locomotive BNSF Dash8-40CW #874

Hi All

A quick look at Delta Yard yesterday afternoon, resulted in capturing BNSF Dash8-40CW #874
As you can see very shabby condition. May push the CP AC4400CW of the contender list.

I remember getting #812 crashing over the diamonds at Jolliet Ill, brand new running York Canyon coal trains, back in 1992.  Just goes to show what 20 odd years of grime and punishment can do to a locomotive.






Sunday, August 17, 2014

exhibit A the winner of the most shabby locomotive in Washington state Canadian Pacific AC4400CW 9509

Hi All

While checking out the south end of Delta Yard, I found Canadian Pacific AC4400CW number 9509 thus I reckon this exhibit A the winner of the most shabby locomotive in Washington state.

 Looks like burn marks, a great weathering challenge


Here is the other side of 9509 from RRpictures.
I have a KATO CP AC4400CW that will be sacrificed in the name of replicating this locomotive.

enjoy

Scott

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Paine Field shunter, I finally gotya!

Hi All

Finally after 4 years of trying, just before lunch I managed to snaffle the Paine Field shunter working up to Paine Field from Mukilteo.
I went down there on spec and then, there she was.






Enjoy

Scott

Saturday, August 9, 2014

BNSF Everett WA area update.

Hi All

Just a quick update on the goings on around Paine Field, here is the Paine Field shunt locos shut down at Mukilteo, waiting for the crane to finish loading.

View looking south




One more box to go guys!


New mainline roads have been built around Delta yard, looks like its already chockablock block,


 Just north of Everett station a ethanol train seems to have got stuck, looks like a head on but its not.
The casscade is inching up.
A GP30u and GP38 hold the loop, waiting for the ethanol train.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Barcoola on facebook

The barcoola Facebook site is an adjunct to the barcoola blog site, it's a way for me to better interact with the followers of the blog and if possible give real time responses.  This is not to suggest that there will be less on the blog but there will be additional material, there is the possibility of videos, etc.
The blog site is like a magazine and is fairly one way in communication, like media today it all about the interaction.
I would like the Facebook site to be a source of information and reference that will add to the blog, I am not sure about the indexing on Facebook, at the moment it just seems to be random with the most popular appearing first.  However if there is a link on the blog it will ensure that you can click directly on to the link, without have to scroll endlessly through the Facebook group to get what you want.

Other advantages I see is that I can offer exclusive custom models especially for the group.  The aim here is to grow a following, and share the passion of my prototype.

If I had to work out what time I spent on models vs return it going to be very low, so it's not a get rich quick scheme.
But if it means that little Barcoola style layout start springing up at exhibitions, or on blogs, yippy.  It means I have inspired others and that can only be a good thing.

The hobby is changing, magazines like Model Railroad Hobbyist have come leaps and bounds with blogs attached.  The problem is that to find tips and inspiration it's just a lot of time wasting searching.

There is still a big gap between what is available for North American and European modellers, I would like to close that gap.

The availability of detailed models from china have definitely changes the way we model.  What this means is that say 15 to 20 years ago, modelling AN was all about scratch building, and a long term dedication to the cause.  Now you can get a lot of rolling stock RTR.  Thus that need to accomplish scratch building as dramatically reduced.  That is not to say it is totally gone.  It seems to me that traditional kit type manufacture have found a neish in what the big manufactures won't do.  But this also is improving, casting are almost obtaining the quality of very early plastic castings.

The internet has enabled two more types of manufactures to exist.
One
The most obvious is passionate, creative types that have accomplished 3D printing masters that can be available to others simply by doing an order through the applicable website.

Two
The short quantity manufacture, these people do a couple of extras and will sell them on the web, usually you only pick these up by knowing someone who knows someone, these may be casting or even finished 3D printed models.

what this means is that if you are after a model that the big guys are not going to touch, you can finally see the time when you can have more than one of what you are after rather than toiling away on one model, great bang for your modelling time.

Anyway, next steps I have to create a data sources, links etc so that you can get all that you need to build a great Barcoola style model railway. So check out Barcoola Model Railway on facebook, it's just a shell but give me time.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Barcoola happenings

Hi All
Just a quick note to let you all know what's happening.  We had another successful, and impromptu operating session on Saturday just gone.  Jon managed to get a leave bypass from hospital, and ended up having a run.  Was good to see considering his current condition, I made sure it was all EMDs for you mate!
Glen turned up and showed off his latest ultra modern pieces of rolling stock.

A couple of decisions have been in the back of my mind.
So I thought I would lay it out.
Given Glen's nod to an ultra modern layout, I am seriously considering selling Barcoola, so that I can build a standard fiddle - staging yard for the next couple of future layouts.
Any Pilbara layout at this time is probably going to be old school, early 1990's (it's a rooting era thing, I will explain later).
Any other joint project if it arises will be using the same fiddle staging yard.
Other things in the pipeline I will devolge later.