DL&W To Auction

For those of us fortunate enough to have in some ways outlived our usefulness, changes are in order.  Model trains have been an important part of my life since childhood and were part of the retirement plan.  A layout larger than I could operate alone or ever finish was planned.  Construction began, track was laid, scenery installed and wiring providing electricity to the tracks was finished where the tracks ran.  The decision to take all of this down has been made.  Rolling stock is being inventoried and boxed in preparation for an auction.

The Lackawanna Railroad once operated in this part of New York State.  Their crack passenger train, the Phoebe Snow, was seen in model form at the Roberson Museum  and I set out to duplicate it in model form.  Near the end of its existence, this train was powered by two diesel engines like those pictured above.  These engines are new never having been removed from their boxes.  A picture of them at the head of my model was desired but the body shell would have needed installation over the power plant.  The fit would have been tight so I was concerned that disassembling it for repackaging might cause breakage.  The still in the box models were placed on the layout for their photo opp.  

Prior to the age of diesel power, a single steam locomotive like the one pictured above pulled the ten car consist.  After diesels pushed it aside, the steam engine was occasionally used as extra power when the diesels needed help.  This engine is not new but the paint job and lettering are.  I have a picture of the full sized engine at work and my lettering and engine number match what is shown in that picture.  The finished engine could pass for new but it was likely manufactured in the 1950s. 

This picture illustrates a basic problem in building a model.  My Phoebe Snow has 10 cars just like the real train did but it stretches across more than half of the width of my basement.  The coal cars on the bridge are awaiting boxes to protect them in preparation for the auction.

The coal mine is in Pennsylvania and the real railroad did cross that state so this picture is not totally out of line.  The method of layout construction can be seen in this picture.  The base consists of L shaped girders.  Plywood was cut and supported providing a solid base for the tracks.  Cork roadbed served as ballast for the rails.  Woven strips of cardboard covered with building paper create land forms.  Ground foam glued to poly fiber balls create the distant appearance of forest with foam glued to Autumn Joy Sedum branches cut from our garden gives us closer trees.  Many happy winter hours have been spent creating this model.

 

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