Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics
Talky Tuesday #61
A S&NY freight makes up a train at north Towanda in last week’s “WW #102”. The train is made up of a long string of various gondolas with numerous crates. Wonder if they are all headed for the same destination?
In the background are the old Lehigh Valley enginehouse and water tanks, the LV Towanda station, and the LV mainline coaling tower. To the right is the bridge carrying the LV main over the north branch of the Susquehanna River. To the left, a LV derrick is spotted, along with several empty gons. The piles of track components on the ground suggest the LV may have a major track improvement project underway somewhere nearby. The coaling tower was built circa 1940, and the track project may be related to that. Perhaps some LV expert somewhere has the answer…
Wheelerville Store
Slow progress continues on recreating this scene in HO on the model S&NY:
Finally finished weathering the house/store in the background in the above photo:
The structure was kitbashed, starting with a City Classics Company House. A Tichy storefront was cut down and replaced the lower front side of the company house. The addition is scratchbuilt, along with the porches and roofs. Chooch flexible stone material was a close match for the kit foundation, and that was used under the addition. Signs are a mix of homemade and commercial offerings, and the “interior” made up of flats created from downloaded images. Window treatments are manila envelope material and homemade from internet images. Weathering is layers of oil-turpenoid washes, powders, and Pan Pastels.
I left off the porch stairs for now until the model is permanently affixed to the layout. I was afraid I’d break them off during handling otherwise. Also still needs a few details, like a gravity-fed gas pump and perhaps a red Coke cooler on the porch. Oh, and a dog. Gotta have a dog lounging on the porch for passersby to pet…
3/26/17 ETA: Google Maps screenshot of the same area today. County road has been re-aligned; the original road is still in front of the house. The SNY station would have been right about where the bush is at the corner of the two gravel roads on the modern view.
Wordless Wednesday #102
Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics
Talky Tuesday #60
A rare pre-war color image of SNY #116 at the Towanda ashpit is the subject of last week’s “WW #101”. Hopper #1414 is one of 17 pre-USRA cars acquired used from the NYC.
Wordless Wednesday #101
S. Van Gorder photo; Author’s Collection
Talky Tuesday #59
In the days before teletypes and computers, all organizations ran on paper. Lots and lots of paper. The S&NY was no exception. Last week’s “WW #100” is an example.
This specimen is “Daily Check of Cars” at Towanda, specifically what look like Sept. 1st, 1937 at 4 pm. At Towanda we have:
SNY drop-bottom gondolas #1219 and #1201 at the coal dock. They loaded with coal, probably for the S&NY’s locomotives. These cars are 2 of a group of 9 34-foot cars numbered between 1201-1220 left on the roster in 1938, out of 20 in 1905, and were probably pretty decrepit by 1937 . I have yet to see a good photo of these cars.
SNY hopper #1407 on the ash track, and is loading (“ldg”). #1407 is one of a set of 17 cars obtained from the NYC second-hand. Here is a shot of a similar car at Marsh Hill; note the dissimilar trucks! Color view of the Towanda ash pit with car #1414 here.
Next on yard track 2 is SNY tool car #303, a re-purposed ex-RDG XMk boxcar #2784. A view of this car here.
On yard track 3 is SNY caboose #17; color view here.
Back to yard track 2, SNY #1231 is partially loaded (PX) with a lading of railroad ties. #1231 is numbered in a series of 38-foot flat cars; perhaps the “R” means “tie rack”. Here is similar car #1234 loaded with ties and coupled to tool car #303.
On yard track 3 is tank car SDRX #5881. SDRX is the reporting marks for Sinclair Oil., and the car is indeed loaded with oil. I could not find specifically what type of tank car #5881 is.
Last, at the Towanda gas company (“G Hse”), is PRR “gondola” #204582 with a load of coal. This car is either a PRR class GLa or GLc twin hopper. Both classes had numbers in the series that includes #204582.
Amazing what information for both the historian and modeler can be gleaned from an old yellowed piece of paper…
Wordless Wednesday #100
Author’s Collection
Talky Tuesday #58
The past 4 “Wordless Wednesdays” #96, #97, #98, and #99 are views of a wreck near Masten, circa 1941. A C&NW boxcar has rolled down the embankment, destroying a small outbuilding and narrowly missing a dwelling.
From the photos, the boxcar appears to be a C&NW outside-braced single sheathed car, similar to the car in HO from Accurail, albeit with a straight center sill, rather than the deep fishbelly sill on the Accurail model. The photos also gives us an excellent look at the underframe and the arrangement of the brake gear.
Two additional views can be found in Kaseman’s book on page 72. From the series, it appears the cargo is grain, possibly corn; and holes have been cut into the floor of the car and the side near the door in order to both salvage the cargo and lighten the car so it can be dragged back up the embankment and placed back on the rails. The photo in “WW #97” shows what appears to be empty grain sacks and/or tarps covering the car side, possibly to keep rain out of the car and the grain dry until it can be unloaded.
All in all, another interesting shortline vignette.
Wordless Wednesday #99
Bill Caloroso – Cal’s Classics
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