Hi Jon - this is Woody -- I've been ill and haven't kept up with this board. Your new layout is super. The trestle is, as my graduate students would say, AMAZING! Looks like you cornered the market of ore cars.

Keep up the great work.

Wahl clipper oil will help keep the track clean. A little bit on a Q tip is really all you need. Also, ditch the plastic wheels.

I rode on the Great Smoky Valley RR in NC years ago. They had a US Army 2-8-0 assisted with a diesel. They had a runaround track so the engines ran backwards - I have no problem with that. More recently I rode behind the Chinese Mikado used on the Connecticut Valley - same situation - no wye or turntable. What irked me was the hordes of tourists, Great for the bottom line but a pain in the derriere!

Out here on Long Island the Oyster Bay RR club is working on getting the old Oyster Bay turntable restored. It had been filled in.

They have an LIRR G-5 sitting on the ground - all in pieces; sort of like a big Bowser kit. To get the boiler retubed involves crazy money so the engine just sits.

I am sorry to hear about Lewis Polk- I hear he was a big influence on the hobby

One of my great treats when I was in high school was to take a bus down Fifth Avenue to 32nd street where the Polk's store was located. It was about four stories tall (if I recall) and each floor was a different hobby. There were boats, flying models and plastic kits to assemble. The third floor was trains. I remember they had HO engines on display that were made by Aristocraft. It was a line they imported and I think they may have been made in Italy.  Those die-cast engines today would be laughable but at the time they were a sign of progress. They also had brass models from International and one offering was nicely done Wabash mogul. I had one years ago but stupidly traded it away.

The City had a library off of Fifth Avenue. I was part of a team researching the stock market crash as a senior project. There was no internet then so research meant digging through books. I have to admit that I let the team down because I spent about five minutes in the library, hopped a bus, and went to Polks.

Jon - perhaps you should alter an HO figure into Johnny Appleseed and have him planting trees.

Really nice work - love the lighting!

I believe Lionel had an exploding box car. It was in a set that also launched a missile. Then there was the AEC (now NRC) flatcar. They were grasping at straws.

The folks who run Grandt Line announced that they are shutting down the company. The website has a lot of information.

No matter what scale Grandt Line  will be missed.

There is no overlap in a frog. Basically, two rails meet at an angle. The frog determines the number of a switch - number 6, 8 , etc. They can be fabricated in a shop or cast. New York's Penn Station is undergoing renovation and the job is taking forever because of all the frogs and points that have to be fabricated.

In addition to frogs, rail joiners are called "fishplates."

Jon - super job on the F unit and the box cars. It must have taken ages to drill all the holes for the grab irons!

Jon - as usual great stuff. I am looking forward to seeing your Acela in Beano blue and gray. (boy - would that rile the purists!)

Jon - In the mid fifties GM was into pastel colors. My godmother had a Bel Air that was turquoise and white. They did have them in lots of colors but not purple. Just kidding about the color - the cars are a addition to the layout.

Purple came in with Chrysler in the late sixties - early seventies. They called it "Plum crazy" and the color is coming back. My favorite Chrysler color was a weird green that they called "Gang Green." After negative comments they changed to "Go Green."

Keep up the great work. By the way, I didn't a lot of those old chimneys have ladders on them? Maybe you could hide the seam that way.

Jon - great work as usual but the purple 55 Chevy needs a trip to the paint shop! It's not a color from the era you are modelling.

As for trailing trucks - I think there was one in the Cal Scale line. Bowser now owns the line - worth a shot.

You obviously have tremendous patience to put that whole powerhouse structure together.

If you don't have a scale ruler, an eighth of an inch works for HO. It is a tad under size. 5/32nds is also workable - it is oversized by a bit.

Maybe Santa can get you one for your Christmas stocking.

Central Valley made some kind of bridge - a buddy bought one but I think he found it too complex. Megow is ancient - where did you find a kit of theirs?

Jonathan - your new Layout is really nice. The roundhouse is definitely an eye catcher.

I hope Santa Claus brings you some nice trinkets for your layout!

Merry Christmas to one and all!

What a great conversion! Kudos on all your work. One question - isn't the race car a little out of scale?