Granite City in the Rain

Saturday was the annual great train event known as the Granite City Train Show. While it's always fun to go and browse around for bargains, the last few times I have gone it seems that seeing what Ian has cooked up has been the highlight of the day. Yesterday was no different.

Before we get to that, though, a few very poorly lit train photos. These are all of the same train, and none would have been shot but for a few oddities that jumped out at me. Mrs. L4T and I passed this train just after it met a westbound at Darling. It was moving slow and something about the lone auto rack caught my eye, so I pulled off at Little Falls. The first oddity I shot was the head end power, complete with an illuminated headlight on the second unit, facing backwards. That seemed strange.

And then a couple of "loaded" centerbeams. Oddly enough Chris had just pointed out a super sale at MB Klein on these cars, and now I have a different load. Might have to pick a couple up.



And then, the sight that first interested me. Another busted up auto rack. I shot one near Staples last fall and just like I described it that time, looks like a car that fell off the layout.

And then the final oddity of this train. It was rainy and cloudy, but the power was wild for a short manifest. Nice pair of ACe's. Finally got them south of Rice, where the track curves away from the highway.

The train show was packed. Parking was the worst it's been since I started attending. But it was worth it, as Ian and Lorrie were working the layout. He always has some neat idea for a small layout. And the thing is, he builds them. I think he gets more done than most people with a basement full of trains.

Here are a couple of poor shots of the front of the display. I think it's two feet wide, and Ian has figured out a way to actually have operational potential. It's wild. Locomotives are shuffling cars back and forth, and best of all he even figured out a scenario where he needs to use a Railbox car as an idler.

The show was the biggest I have ever seen. If the GCTS is any indication, model railroading is not dying-far from it, it's growing. And why not, it's fun.

I picked up a couple of things, including some 28' UPS trailers, and came home excited about modeling again. Back to the basement!

An Artist's Work

Today Mrs. L4T and I made our way to St. Cloud for the spring edition of the Granite City Train Show. (Actually, she went for the shopping.) One of the inspirational highlights of this show is seeing what Ian has dreamed up to display. I do believe his depiction of Wingett's Recycling may be his most impressive work to date at the show, although the T scale layout he had last time was amazing if only for its size. Here are a few shots of Wingett's:




Here's a view from "behind the scenes"-trains enter and exit the layout from this hidden staging area. It really is a complete performance to watch the trackmobile or locomotive at work on this little layout.

Now after looking at those photos, consider the fact that the Wingett's layout was built in seven days.



Simply beautiful. And it's not just the appearance, the thing runs pretty well too, especially when I consider that he hauled it up from his house and set it up in a crowded hall.

And even with all that, Ian hasn't been neglecting the tiny T scale models he had at the last GCTS. If you can believe this, he has been SCRATCHBUILDING cars in T scale. Most of you are familiar with HO, and most probably know N scale model railroad equipment when you see it. I had seen photos of Z scale equipment, and thought there was no way it could be surpassed. I was wrong. Take a look at this undecorated gondola Ian has managed to knock together. Keep in mind the Soo Line boxcar is HO scale:


Here, Ian holds his creation in the palm of his hand. I can barely see this stuff, and he is cutting out and assembling parts to make it. Simply amazing. All I could do in response was ask him how he would make decals, and if the data would be legible under a scanning electron microscope!


Looking at his work, I can't decide whether I should be inspired or humbled. Talent like that is not something all of us were blessed with. But he must have inspired me, because I did add to my collection of BN/BNSF coal tubs at the show. Slowly but surely, I'm becoming my own little Empire Builder.

Thanks, Ian, for sharing your talent at this show. Many people truly enjoy it and I'm sure you are inspiring others in the pursuit of model railroading.

Jim