2014 Spring Steam

We ran #103 on Sunday and #205 today (Monday).  Had a few railroad friends come by to see the coal burner run, also had some rain showers move through.  We weren't able to run a long freight with #205 as planned due to weather, but we did get a little video both days.

Here is #205 when we were putting everything up as a thunderstorm was rolling in:

Getting Ready to Run...

My spare time today - and for the next couple of days - will be devoted to Right-of-Way and track maintenance.  Today, I worked on the west leg of the Northview Wye.  I replaced the rail on the inside of the curve in an effort to smooth out some kinks that have developed over the years.  There is a lot of mowing and trimming needed, as the woods out here currently resemble a rain forest.  The reason for all the work?  Monday will be spent running #205, enjoying come coal smoke and riding trains.  It looks like nice weather, so it should be a good day to enjoy the big steamer.

In other news... sometimes old toy trains look... you know... old.  While many collectors search out pristine examples of vintage toy trains, I tend to appreciate some of the well-worn clockwork trains that I find.  I've had this Marx locomotive for some time, and have been searching for a comparable tender.  Now, red Marx tenders aren't what I would call rare, but they are uncommon and tend to command better prices than the typical black versions.  However, I was fortunate to find this poor, rusty tender for a cheap price recently... the damaged lithography compliments the scratched paint on the locomotive nicely; it looks like the two items have spent their entire lives together:

Water Tank Construction...

The supporting framework for the new water tank was finished today and set on the concrete pad.  It still needs to be bolted down, but at least it is on site.  The tank itself needs work before it can be set in place, but hopefully it will be done soon.  For now, here is a picture of the current progress:

Happy National Train Day!

Yes, May 10th isn't just the anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike on the Transcontinental Railroad, it is also National Train Day.  I celebrated by working on a water tank project for the Northview end of the railroad.  I also worked on the new website for the windup trains... it is a work in progress, but you can take a look at it by clicking HERE.  I hope everyone enjoyed National Train Day...

Welcome to The Northview Railroader's Blog!

This is the first entry of The Northview Railroader's blog... a spot to talk about all kinds of things, mainly 12" gauge live steam trains, O gauge clockwork trains, and anything else that crosses my mind.  This is just an introduction, so no major news at this time...