Scouts and Swap

Thomas Moran's Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

This week, the HO train collection was donated to the Boy Scouts. Matt, a fellow train enthusiast and Railroad Merit Badge Counselor for his Scout Troop advertised his interest in Model Railroading back in December on Craigslist. After viewing the ad I had a discussion with him via email, and eventually it led to this week's donation. Cool stuff! The party that is donating the trains will get a tax deduction next year, and a Scout Troop will get the opportunity to work on a real model railroad, and I get some space back! Winners all around :) Matt and his Troop leader Ben came on a snowy night, and while Ben got to deal with lots of tax paperwork, Matt and I loaded up the trains. Thank you to Matt and Ben, and here's wishing you great fun in encouraging the joy of model railroading to a new generation.

Matt is quite the Union Pacific fan - I will forgive him for that though. Actually he has a family history of working with the UP, and many fond memories. For those of you who don't know, my "distaste" for the UP is pretty much limited to the fact that they gobbled up the C&NW in 1995. I'm actually thrilled that they are working to restore Big Boy 4014. It is great to think that future generations, or maybe even myself, will be able to experience a real 4-8-8-4 in action again!

While a great step in the right direction, the donation of the HO trains is the only progress update for the train room this week. Several hours were spent removing snow from our driveway, street, and sidewalks this past week. However, I still managed to make some nice progress in the hallway, cutting and hanging additional boxcar wood boards. One in particular was rather tricky to fit, but I think it came out alright.

This week, the BNSF sent me a snappy-looking 2014 calendar, sporting a picture of Thomas Moran's painting of Yellowstone's Grand Canyon. Moran was on the Yellowstone survey team which was partially funded by the Northern Pacific. Living in south-central Montana, I've seen this painting a lot, but now I have a copy of my own to grace the walls of the train room (and the top of today's blog.)

Also this week, I received Lionel #19067 Pullman "Willow River", to add to the heavyweight train consist. I've also come to my senses and will swallow my pride and correct a mistake I've made. My loyal blog readers will no-doubt remember my discussions about future passenger trains. Well, I talked about an ATSF train called "The Northern Range" which sports a predominantly black paint scheme, with yellow and red accents. I also talked about "The Night Fire" - my scale-length heavyweight consist. Well, here's the problem: after looking at these trains and the names I chose for them, I concluded that the names should be swapped. Egad, the paint scheme of the Santa Fe train actually LOOKS like a "night fire!" So, from this point forward, the black ATSF train is "The Night Fire", and the heavyweight train, of which "Willow River" is now a member, will be called "The Northern Range". I hope y'all can forgive my lack of judgment and we can carry on without too much collateral damage.

There! I admitted I was wrong about something... the planet still seems to be spinning... the Battle of Armageddon didn't immediately start... things seem to be normal. Although, I've noted that today Billings had the special honor of being the coldest place in the continental US, with a wind-chill of -45 for several hours this morning.

Until next time, keep your rails shiny (and warm) ~

Ben, Matt, and the empty shelves! Enjoy the trains Scouts!

 

UP 4-8-8-4 #4014 is coming back!

"Willow River" is joining The Northern Range