Excellent observation, Bill, and spot on. Sometime I'm trying to incorporate for my team tracks/sidings. Ken, how did you model yours? Best Regards,
Chris, It's true, I do enjoy weed-grown and dilapidated trackage. It's so representative of my early experiences of walking along tracks looking for spikes and date nails, etc. Much safer than walking along main line trackage also. I use the same technique as for ballasting the ties, except that I do it after the rails are in and weathered. Simply sprinkle in place dirt, ground foam and little twigs, saturate with diluted white glue, let it dry and then clean out the flangeways as necessary. I also have a small length of dyed hemp rope (although Woodland Scenics makes a similar product) that I cut off in short finger clumps and plant into pressed holes in the roadbed or scenery base, to represent stalk weeds. You inspired me to take a few photos of the seedier trackage on the layout and attach them here. Enjoy. Ken McElreath
I agree with you Tom, definitely a whole series of issues should be printed!!! We would say Ken's layout is the best we've ever seen and his attention to details is fantastic. Joe said Cynthia
I have a good friend here that has THE eye for photographing model layouts and you have seen his work in multiple recent issues of Railroad Model Craftsman and he has taken thousands of prototype photos over the years. His name is Dan Munson, and I am sure that given the opportunity, he would love to photograph Ken's excellent work and feature it in an magazine article.
I heard that the Frisco had purchased some Alco F units and went to Quinton to photograph them on a northbound freight. I also caught the tail end of the southbound "City of Miami" on the joint line to Birmingham. Enjoy. Ken McElreath
That picture of 5217 gives me a thrill! One time around 1962 I saw a Frisco freight arrive at Springfield from Memphis about twilight headed by a four unit lashup of FAs. They may or may not have been re-engined by EMD. But the headlight was out, I supposed burned out. It was almost dark and the train was going very slow and ringing its bell and only the marker lights were showing. The train was a hotshot with almost solid refrigerator cars. Anyway that was one of my great memories of AlCo FAs. I know the FAs didn't live up to expectations, but they were always some of my faves! Tom G.
Ken, I have tried to send you a private message a few times but never got a reply. I have been following both your Birmingham layouts over the years on this site and the Birmingham rails page. I live in Huntsville Al which is north of Birmingham about 2 hours. I wanted to catch you at the last convention where you were speaking but work got in the way. The question I had was if you allowed guest to visit your railroad or take part in an operating session. I am working on some HO modules and would love to see how you captured some of the vignettes of the Birmingham area. Feel free to reply here, PM me through the site, or send me an email to matt.h.calahan@gmail.com Thanks Matt Calahan
A "final touch" also for the scene at Quinton adds some canoe float trippers on the Little Warrior River. This recalls our own many float trips down the Current River in Missouri and seeing the old bridge piers for the Frisco's Current River Branch south of Van Buren. Enjoy. Ken McElreath
Looks great Ken!!! Like you, I remember taking canoe trips down the river. Your scene is similar to an area on the Illinois River in Northeastern Oklahoma where a truss bridge for a highway crossed the river. We went there many times when I was younger. Joe
When I was a kid, we vacationed in the Missouri & Arkansas Ozarks often, including Big Spring State Park. We usually stayed in Van Buren, Mo, in the Hawthorne Motel. We often would try our hand at fishing in the Current River, usually upstream from the SLSF bridge. I don't ever remember catching a fish!, though my dad caught a few bluegill. K