Hello,
Does anyone know what type of couplers are found on these cars?
http://athearn.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=ATH93094
I broke a coupler and can't find that Athearn sells couplers.

I'm looking for the type/name of the coupler and the manufacturer.

Thanks,
C. Jackson

Very nice way to incormorate real-world events into your own little world. Now you just need to somehow incorporate the death of bin Laden into your model railroad 

Ps- Glad that you and your home were spared any damage

Cody

Does anyone know when the Pennsy E8's will be making the trip back from Chicago across Ohio and into Pittsburgh after National Train Day in Chicago?
I have heard that it's Sunday May 8 across Ohio and into Pittsburgh and out of Pittsburgh on Monday May 9 but I would like a second reference.

Thanks,
Cody

Wow, that sounds like the place to be

Jward:
I was up in Conway on March 20, I saw NS 6900, 1002 & 1003, a CR SD38-2 along with other stuff in the Yard. At Leetsdale I saw an Ex-CR leaser leading a coal train, an Ex-SOO engine on a train along with some other cool locomotives and near New Brighton I saw a bunch of NS MoW equipment that replaces track and a CSX work train with caboose.
That's the best luck I've ever had at Conway so even with only going that far you can see awesome stuff.

Cody

Okay, thank you for your info, Jeff.

Does anyone know the schedule for this years OCS and Track Geometry Train?

Thanks,
Cody

I would like to thank all of you for your comments/replies and Rogertra was right. The Union Pacific is no longer used on the layout, only sometimes whe I like to mix up the power. The Santa Fe is not owned by CSX, it is the only locomotive owned by the coal mine- the Kanawha Creek Railroad (KCRR) so it wouldn't make sense for it to not be patched, and it's just a switcher engine so they didn't care how the patch looked.
As for the Conrail/CSX debate, I model CSX and the Conrail engine that doesn't need to be patched and hasn't been repainted yet.

-Cody

Thank you for the inspiring information Rogertra. Best of luck with you and your model railroad as well!

-Cody

I decided to patch the Santa Fe B23-7 tonight, here are the results:

The Engineer's side

Nose logo

Conductor's side
I know in some places on the sides it looks a little lacking in the paint but that was touched up after the photos were taken.
This was my first patch job ever and was completed by mixing black and blue acrylic paint.

Rogeta:
I don't plan on using the Union Pacific on the railroad once I get it near completion, I plan on scratching out the Santa Fe marks and making it look like a switcher engine that the coal mine bought from Santa Fe but didn't feel the need to repaint it. I plan on buying a CSX SD40-2 and maybe not using the Conrail too much so all, if not most of the mainline power will be CSX. And I should have mentioned that in the first post.

Cody

I have not posted a layout update for some time now. I am currently working on building my first model railroad, the 4x8 CSX Mount Storm Subdivision. It is a fictional line but Mount Storm is a real place in West Virginia. My model railroad is set in very, very rural West Virginia in 2008. It has a small 6-track yard, a coal mine, a lumber yard, and a small warehouse. Here are some pictures of the layout that were taken over the past few days:

A view of the entire layout. Here you can see KCRR (Kanawha Creek Railroad- the coal mine switcher) #6380 headed to the CSX Kanawha Yard to pick up some coal hoppers.

Here you can see KCRR #6380 trundling down the line near CP CREEK. #6380 is an Ex- Santa Fe B23-7. It is a Bachmann DC locomotive. It was the second locomotive I ever owned and was bought in 2008, it broke in June 2009 and in July 2009 I took the motor and all unnecessary parts out to make it a dummy. Yesterday I took the assembly out of it's sister: UP #124 also a Bachmann B23-7 and put in in ATSF #6380 so it could run again.

A view of the Kanawha Yard area. The area near the tracks where there is no gravel is where the Interlocking Tower will be which has yet to be built. The interlocking tower will serve the purpose of a yard tower.

Two of the three industries on the layout. The spur to the far left is the lumber yard and the one to the right with the flat cars is the small warehouse.

A view of the coal loadout which was completed in July/August of this year and was the first kid I've ever built. The spur towards the bottom right of the frame is the Coal #2 Spur which is just storage for the Kanawha Creek Coal Mine.

My Bachmann Spectrum DC Conrail C40-8W

My Bachmann Spectrum DCC CSX C40-8W- the favorite locomotive in my fleet.

The newest piece of rolling stock in the fleet- an Atlas Trainman 50' 6" CSX boxcar which I acquired at the Greenberg Train Show in Monroeville, PA.

A CSX Bethgon Coalporter- I have 5 of these Athearn cars and am looking to get 5 more.

The nose of KCRR #6380 sitting idle on the Coal #1 Spur with Kanawha Yard in the background.

A look through the Kanawha Creek Coal Mine coal loadout, yesterday a friend suggested I put some gravel in there to support the tracks since there was nothing supporting them and once I add the Scenic Cement they will turn black, like coal which would be realistic, in my opinion.

The roads in the Kanawha Yard area

The road in the Kanawha Creek Coal Mine area, the white paper is the size of the Kanawha Creek Coal Office I will be putting there, in reality, it's a BLMA Yard Office.

The ballast and road near the coal loadout

The gravel around the shed for the coal loadout

The grade crossing area, I rasied up the road to track level using Woodland Scenics Mold-A-Scene plaster.

The rear end of Q358 passes the Lumber Road grade crossing

The Kanawha Yard from above

UP 124 after the change with Santa Fe 6380. I like the shinier trucks on the UP and the duller on the Santa Fe, that's the only noticeable change, and, of course, the fact that it won't move on it's own now.

KCRR #6380, I really like the duller gray trucks on this locomotive, but maybe that's just me.

Any comments/opinions will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Cody

Thanks for your suggestions. I sprayed my entire layout and the dried scenic cement comes up real easy by taking a putty knife and rubbing it along the tops of the rails.

Cody

I got it all figured out, Bob was right, I think. I used a screw driver to hammer in a screw that might have been obstructing and it works fine now but I really don't think that could have been causing it.

Thanks!

I have recently ballasted my track and was running my Bachmann DC B23-7 on the layout just to test everything out since it is my most inexpensive locomotive. I was running with a couple of cars I don't use either. When the locomotive (heading forward) gets to a curve in the traffic the front axle derails but only sometimes and it only derails going one way. If I reverse the locomotive all 3 axles go over the point fine but the last axle (the same as the earlier first axle) derails. The cars do not derail either.

I have looked at everything on and around the track that could be causing the derail but have found nothing that has worked.

Are there any solutions to this problem?

Thanks,
Cody