Pictures
Yes, we can handle it. Aha, now we know where Mr. Obama got his campaign slogan from!
First container train rolls!
As always, full of good Budweiser. With work you mess up your whole life.
Already quite long! But on 7 meters track length in the stabling yard goes already ne quantity more! Poor Andy...Will be expensive!
Andy`s new one! A bargain from "Life-like" - still undecorated and without "music". Analog it runs already great. Since the lady wears black, it must be a steam locomotive. Because of the 5 little "stampers" on each side: She must have been used to hard work. Rest? Ask Andy, or tell me!
Who is stubbing out their fat cigars on our stacking boards here???
A lot goes into the boxcar.
Bernd`s start of a Rio Grande Passenger Train. Still pulled by the UP F7 from Andy`s big UP fleet. The matching Rio Grande "snout" was just stolen from me (20.6.09) on Ebay. I am too stupid for Ebay. So friends, no bidding on F7 or similar locos from Rio Grande until I have one. Then release Ebay again!
The first Rio Grande Passenger Train in Lotzburgh. Due to the lack of a Rio Grande train horse, once again a locomotive from the BL leasing pool had to help! By the way, this company is doing badly due to the financial crisis. The dreams of a large fleet of vehicles and cars are put on hold for the time being. Cheap offers in Ebay are stolen from the owner of BL-Leasing every time.
BL- Leasing`s New! An exotic of the Monon. Once again no Rio Grande locomotive on Ebay. Ha, but - a Mikado of the Rio-Grande! But we can only show it when Andy has refurbished it. So Christmas!
Also the Monon must be provided by Andy still with a decoder. In addition, he does not like the rolling behavior! The little one needs new feet. Andy is not satisfied with everything I buy. "That's how it looks Sch.... looks"! Andy is a meticulous perfectionist...in contrast to Bernd. Fits therefore super.
Still nothing with departure! The now also has the railcar of the Southern Pacific right of way. Good that the guys on the SD 60 can cook coffee! Budweiser there is later! Nice greeting by the way to the global player Deutsche Bahn AG! Why is there no hot plate and no loo on your long-distance locomotives?
Jimmy the cat is a constant guest when Bernd is building or running trains. He looks on with his ears pricked up or wanders over the layout with somnambulistic certainty. But the most important thing is the cuddling. It's great when Bernd has the soldering iron, glue or the sprinkling can in his hand and Jimmy wants to cuddle loudly purring. If I'm unlucky, my jealous Indi also nudges downstairs!
It christmas very much! Bernd got a Rio-Grande F7 (Proto 2000) as a present from Manuela. The decoders were installed by Andy. Both (motorized) units have one address. Unbelievable! She purrs like Jimmy...only she doesn't want to cuddle!
Rio Grande-F7 5674 leaves Lotzburgh station with a long freight train heading east. Because of the cattle trucks, it has priority over the triple traction of the UP with its freight train also consisting of over 20 cars. Japanese TVs have time! Playing with the model railroad is much more fun!
A picture from our first operation day with the modules we have so far!
Andy's articulated the Santa Fe! The monster makes real noise thanks to sound.
Ecos (ESU), I can not! I want to go to the other side to my Roco mouse! Dakota flees also already with put on ears!
A Rio Grande Switcher with his Local on the way to Lotzburgh. He brings a milk refrigerator truck and the vegetable refrigerator truck.
Bernd's first very cheap steam locomotive bought on ebay! A Rio Grande Mikado from IHC. My Andy taught her a halfway reasonable running behavior. Also thanks to a decoder. This is the sinfully expensive electronic junk, which is already ripe for the garbage can if you look at it the wrong way! I find it beautiful (not the decoder, but the black lady!).
Gotcha!
Such pictures are unfortunately no longer possible. Our Jimmy has started his last journey over the "rainbow" on 3.4.2013.
On 30.07.2010 after a thunderstorm water penetrated through the outer wall into Bernd`s cellar! Great. Now the outer wall in this corner has to be dug out to fix the leak. Probably the pipe lead-through to the garage. In addition to the damage to the building, a module under construction for Bernd`s Seetalbahn and the Märklin digital devices (6021 etc.) on the module were soaked. Thank God Märklin! Wipe off, blow dry, count to 5, plug in - running! Thanks to the solid work of our club carpenter Rico, the module also survived. The Märklin K-tracks (see above!) are also ok.
Busy at the Dakota City Yard. All full. A SD90/43MAC with 6250 hp. (according to Andy!) of the UP is waiting for exit. Dakota is used by many railroads. Burlington and Santa Fe locomotives are ready for new jobs.
On one of the through tracks, a BNSF double traction with an AC4400 and a GE C44-9W called "Dash 9" (of course according to Andy!) and its freight train thunders past. In the queue of cars are new Amtrac commuter cars. Andy has it all! By the way, you can see it better in the picture before. In the background on the wall...CLAMP! Andy is just a staple fetishist!
Veteran diesels from several Dakota railroads. SD7 and GP9 from EMD
Is this locomotive driver grinning with joy or out of despair. Some idiot has his times just 2 days old locomotive "beautified"! Gives a lot of work to remove the crap again! Picture has Andi sent. Of course again without data to the loco! So, from UP it is.
In the evening light, a Monon EMD BL2 pulls a Rio Grande Express train through Lotzburgh. WITHOUT LIGHT!
At the railroad crossing
Supplies for Beans and Bernd. "There's no way I'm buying tens of locos!" OK, EMD SD 45 of the UP, SD 70 M of the NS and 2 GP 40 of the Southern Pacific/Cotton Belt and 2 tank cars. All digitized by Andy! Not the tank cars of course!
Passed by Union-Pacific for a long time, because too big. At Beans in use, when it comes to "coal". EMD SD 90/43 MAC...now in double traction. With a normal home layout, the tracks would be full now! More than 12000 HP.
BL-Leasing has a new one! Bought as a scrap heap, rebuilt in Andy`s workshop. A demonstarator of the EMD SD 40-2 with air conditioning...(there was a hole in the roof). Who wants to drive it, pays a euro in the Beans sow!
An Atlas 3 of the MR, bought used by the MR for the K&AW. The repainting is done in the own workshop.
Now it has caught also the last of us! Dirk's first AMI locomotive (after some wrangling with his wife). A New-York-Central F7 with sound. No idea if they drove in IOWA each time. But, it's all just play. She is beautiful! Now he has to tinker again...a second A-unit is mandatory, of course.
Frank`s new one in the diesel shop of the K&AW. A Rappido Alco PA of the Napa Valley Wine Train with a super sound from ESU. The guys at the store of the K&AW repair and maintain everything that has railroad wheels. So the loco can also run on UP tracks in IOWA.
The vehicle fleet is becoming more and more colorful. Dirk's new one! A GP 40-2 of the Canadian National. A second one is to follow.