Mark's MT Railroads: Lumber Quest

Hello - hey we've made it halfway through January! Last week I completed staining all sides of the shelf pieces. Over the weekend I headed to the lumber store with the Gamsby's cargo van, and acquired wood for train and various other house projects. The lumber associate was kind enough to cut all of my 4x8 boards to the desired sizes while I loaded up 49 2x4s, 5 2x2s, and an assortment of screws and mounting brackets. It took a while to load them, as 1 out of 3 boards didn't meet my quality standards. The 2x2s were all bowed horribly, so I went with the best of what was available (fortunately these will be used in rather short sections.) I was treated to a nice workout, as I had to load or unload all of these items 3 times. Everything (myself included) made it home safely. Thank you to the Gamsbys for the use of the van, and to the Rockford Poynters for the Home Depot gift card! Over the next few days, I got all of the shelves mounted on the walls. Each shelf had different challenges and blessings to deal with, and I found (as expected) that the studs behind the walls are not in standard positions. So the mounts are not evenly spaced, and a lot of them are using dry wall anchors for added stability. I started displaying a few of my railroad artifacts on the shelves, and everything has held together so far! This week's Train Room guest included Michelle, whose real reason for visiting was to hang out with my wife and work on a jigsaw puzzle, but she liked the new shelves nonetheless.

Lumber purchase

Shelves on the east wall

Entryway and western wall shelves

Now for the tenth discussion about future passenger trains: The Empire Builder. The Empire Builder was the flagship of the Great Northern Railroad, and began service between Chicago and Seattle in 1929. It was named after James Hill, who created the Great Northern Railroad from several smaller railroads, thus building himself an "empire." The Great Northern ran the train until 1971, when Amtrak took over. The train still runs today, traversing the "Hi Line" of Montana, including the southern edge of Glacier National Park. Unlike most of the other passenger trains I have discussed, this is one we've actually ridden on. I've taken the Empire Builder from Malta, MT to Columbus, WI (and other points East) on three occasions thus far. The seats are very spacious compared to airplane travel, and it is fun to walk about the train while the scenery zooms by. The train is very smooth running over most of the line, although there is some older track that is a bit rocky. The passenger cars are bi-level, and we've always had a seat upstairs. Downstairs is some additional seating, and a spot for all of the non-checked baggage. You can bring some big bags on-board for no extra charge. Also downstairs are the restrooms and lots of fun lights and buttons on various panels. At night I like to hang out near the doors, which are sometimes open and you can smell and feel the night air zipping by, to the tune of the train's ever-repeating clickity clacks. It is very therapeutic - at least for me! When not in our seats, we like to spend time in the vista dome lounge car, which has a snack bar downstairs. It's a fun spot to play cards! And dining on the train can't be beat - it is an experience like no other. Meeting folks from all across the country or world and sharing a fancy tasty meal with them at 50mph is special in a way I can't fully describe. It is part of the romance of riding the rails. I'm well aware that the Amtrak version of rail travel is very different from what it was in the 1950's, but it is always a lot of fun! This entry is also unique in that it describes a model train that I do not own yet, in any degree. My Empire Builder will sport the Great Northern's Omaha Orange, Pullman Green and gold stripe color scheme, and will be hauled by a set of F3 diesel locomotives. Lionel, K-Line, Weaver, and MTH have all offered this train set at various times. It is very sharp looking, and my railroad's passengers will be thrilled to take it past the fields, lakes, mountains, and towns of the train layout of the future! Keep your rails shiny ~