Cabin Complete

Welcome back to another MarksMTRR blog entry ~

This week my valentine and I went for a brief trip down to Cody and Worland, WY. We enjoyed staying and dining at the historic Irma Hotel, and listened to the country band play late into the night. They finished up with the classic "Ghost Riders in the Sky", ending a uniquely western-themed evening. The following day we viewed the Artrain exhibit "Infinite Mirror" in Worland, WY at the Washakie Museum. The exhibit travels around the country in specially designed train cars, which brings art to the people, rather than people having to come to it. It is a really neat concept, and we enjoyed the exhibit together. After viewing the art at the museum, we tried in vain to find the train cars that transported the art. 

But, that's ok! While having lunch in downtown Billings, I snapped a shot of a train headed (and tailed) by some CitiRail ES44AC's. I've never seen these engines around here, so it was a treat - they are biiiig locomotives.

Also, while out and about for our weekend getaway, we drove past the Montana Limestone Company locomotives, just north of the Wyoming border on route 310. Just some out-of-the-ordinary trains to share with y'all...

On the Train Room quest, great progress was made in the hallway this week, as pictured above. The "cabin" is complete! There are still a few things to work on overtime, but the project is done. It actually turned out pretty neat looking. Stick several pieces of 100-year old boxcar wood on the wall in relatively straight lines, and you'll have a spiffy-looking room :)

The Gray's were in town and got to take a peek at the progress this past week. 

Now that the hall is done, the Train Room can once again be emptied, cleaned, and prepped for the next step, which I'm very happy to say is the train layout framework! 

Until next time, keep your rails shiny ~ 

The Irma's historic cherry-wood bar, dressed up for Valentine's Day

 

CitiRail visitors passing through Billings

MLC locomotives just north of the WY border