CANADISLE RAIL

CN Extra 1762

2012-02-07T18:12:00.000-08:00

Well it will soon be a year since my last post so I figured it was time to post a picture or two.

Road Trip

2011-03-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Barry Scott and I decided to head over to Halifax last Saturday to operate on a few layouts in the area.
Along the way we stopped to pick up Al from Moncton. He was waiting for us in Aulac.
We met up with some of the local gang there just outside of Halifax and operated on The Fall River Eastern Railroad.
After operating there for a few hours we went to lunch. I parted company with the guys for a few hours as they went onto visit The Nottingham Sub layout and then operate later on The White River Southern. That is where I caught up the gang again and took control of one of the locals that had to be run that day.

The Moncton Invasion

2010-12-05T09:50:00.001-08:00

Here we see two of the Codiac Ops Groups finer operators in action. Ben & Jim in the foreground are having a debate as which cars Jim will be leaving Ben. In the background you see Milne & Murry sorting out what gets picked up in Shellville. Just out of the picture to the right is john who is busy sorting cars for the next outbound trains.

Moncton Invasion Part 2

2010-12-05T09:46:00.000-08:00

Here we have the other part of the Moncton Invasion. In the form of John, Murry and Milne.
John is sorting the yard. Murry is operating a way-freight and Milne is doing the Shellville local.

The Passenger Extra

2010-12-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

Milne decided that since he is a big fan of passenger trains he would take the mostly ignored RDC for a spin around the layout.

What Happened Here?

2010-12-05T09:38:00.001-08:00

I am sure Jim Had something to do with this. But it does not get by Ben's watchful eye! Can we say demerit Jim!!

I Didn't Do It!

2010-12-05T09:26:00.001-08:00

Jim trying to look innocent. Unfortunately Jim, we have you figured out!

The Yard Crew

2010-12-05T09:23:00.001-08:00

John & Scott go over the finer points of sorting out the yard.

Things Don't Always Go As Planned

2010-11-22T19:34:00.000-08:00

As much as I try to maintain my rolling stock and track sometimes we do have little episodes or adventures. Here we see Ewen hoping for some divine assistance in sorting out the mess in Shellville.

The Crew Lounge

2010-11-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

I kind of run a low budget outfit and regrettably don't have a proper crew lounge. We have to settle for a chair in the corner of the room. That is where off duty operators like Greg can sit and read the latest train magazine.

The Main Yard

2010-11-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

All the action on the layout originates and terminates in the yard. This job is mostly done by Scott.
He is also one of my trouble shooters or is that trouble maker!

The Shellville Train

2010-11-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

The Shellville Train leaves the yard with a stop in Ashtown to pickup cars returning to the yard or cars going to Shellville. Once in Shellville the cars are dropped for the local switcher. The train then changes direction and returns to the yard.

The Ashtown Train

2010-11-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Ashtown Train is one of two mainline jobs to be done during a session. The Ashtown train leaves the yard destined for Ashtown with a stop over in Shellville. Barry has the job of running this train. He will pick up cars in Shellville destined for the main yard and possibly a couple of cars destined for Ashtown. Upon arrival in Ashtown he will drop off the cars for the local switcher to put away and then run around his train and return to the yard.

The Other Local Operater

2010-11-22T19:08:00.000-08:00

Chris gets the honor of keeping everything in order over in Shellville on this night.

The Shellville Switcher

2010-11-22T19:04:00.000-08:00

The second major switching area on my layout is called Shellville. There too you will find a locomotive stationed. On this night it is the only non Alco locomotive working the layout.

The Local Operator

2010-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

We usually set up the jobs by order of arrival on train night. Ewen was first in the door on this night so he chose to run the Ashtown local.

The Ashtown Switcher

2010-11-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

There is a local switcher in Ashton which is kept busy getting cars ready for pickup and then later on putting away new arrivals at their proper industries

The Orders

2010-11-22T18:54:00.000-08:00

We use a computer generated set of train orders to keep things straight.

Operating The Canadisle Railway

2010-11-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

Figured it was time to show folks what is involved with operating on the Canadisle railway

My RS-3's In Action

2010-11-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

The Workhorse Of The Yard

2010-10-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

Lastly I figured that the engine that does most of my yard work needed a moment in the limelight.
I just love this unit. Not only does it look good but it also sounds good too!

The Steam Genny

2010-10-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

I thought this was a nice effect to photograph.

1762 At The Station

2010-10-11T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here again I am trying different camera settings.
eventually I will get it right.

My Other Hobby

2010-10-11T16:41:00.001-07:00

I have been trying my hand at photography lately. My wife Shelley and I have been taking lessons on photography and have joined a club as well.
So I figured why not merge the two hobbies by using my model railroad as the subject. I am trying to figure out my depth of field in these pictures. Yes the blury part is intentional!

Sorting Out The Yard

2009-11-02T17:38:00.000-08:00

Well in order to have an efficient railway we need a skilled yard crew.
That is where Scott enters the picture.
We keep him busy sorting out the incoming and outgoing trains and he only screws up occasionally!

Ken's Turn

2009-11-02T17:31:00.000-08:00

Well we had more crew than jobs so Ken sat out the first session but was called upon to operate the Shellville local.
So here we see Ken MacQuarrie hard at work arranging cars for pickup.

The Fine Art Of Uncoupling

2009-11-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Well Tom put Mark right to work sorting out cars destined for the Ashtown freight to pick up. I believe Mark has mastered the high tech uncoupling tool.

Train Night In The Valley

2009-11-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

Well I have posted many pictures of my layout over the past couple of years I figured it was time to post a few pictures of the people who operate the Canadisle Rail.
We usually get together every second Sunday evening to run a couple of sessions.
This past week we had a rather large turnout with most of our regular crew plus a few visitors.
This allowed me to take the night off to shoot some pictures which I will share with you now.
In the right hand side of the picture above we have Scott Jay of Bayside & Tidewater Railway operating the yard.
To Scott's left we have Ewen Moase running the Ashtown Freight.
Next to Ewen we have Mark Wall who is checking out the hobby. He is helping Tom Gaudet work the Shellville Local. One the other side of the room we have Greg MacQuarrie running the Ashtown Local and Ed Cook who is visiting from Ontario running the Shellville Freight.

FOLKS WE'VE GOT PASSENGERS!

2009-10-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well Canadisle rail is mainly a freight railway occasionally we do see the odd passenger special.
As reported in an earlier post I purchased some nice Canadian National F Units for my railway. The have seen lots of action hauling freights around the layout but I figured they would be more at home moving some passengers around my layout.
So I coupled them to my recently purchased CN Rapido passenger cars and a couple of other cars that sat in my display case for several years.
Although the Kensington Train Station never saw any F-Units or Passenger Cars as fancy as these cars they do look quite nice parked in front of my Kensington train Station.

Times They Are A Changin

2009-09-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

Well the railway finally has one of those fancy new steel vans.
I believe the crews are really going to like all the modern conveniences.
No more smelly kerosene lanterns for these guys.

Slab Sides

2009-06-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Something unique to Canadian Railways and something that I saw frequently passing by my home in the Spring of the year were Slab Sided Hopper Cars of both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific.
When I heard Trueline trains were coming out with these cars I had to get a few.
I think they fit right in on my layout.

New Motive Power

2009-06-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have been patiently awaiting the arrival of Intermountain's FP-9's in CN's Stripes Scheme. I have always liked the look of these locomotives in photographes and decided I had to have a few. They run quite nicely and sound good as well.
One other thing I like about this type of locomotive is that a few members of our little group do not like F units so this will drive them around the bend so to speak!

More Changes To My Train room

2009-06-29T15:53:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier I decided to spruce up my layout room for the open house that was held following the annual MFMR convention.
With some help from my fellow Half Nutter Scott Jay we installed new fascia on my layout and also hung some new curtains. I finished off some of the areas that were lacking scenery as well.
Here are the results of my work.

Long Overdue Post

2009-06-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well after many suggestions that I should update my blog site I have finally found the time to sit in front of the computer and do just that.
Well it has been six months since I last updated anything but life keeps interfering with my spare time.
As many of you folks already know our Half Nuts Model Railroaders recently hosted the annual convention of the Maritime Federation Of Model Railroaders. This took up some of my time getting ready for an open house which usually follows one of these shows.
I had to spruce up my train room for my visitors.
One of the changes I made was swapping out the station that sat over on the Ashtown side of my layout.
I replaced the station with a replica of the Kensington Train Station and the Freight Shed that sat beside it for many years.
These replicas used to reside in the Kensington Railway Museum but unfortunately a pub has set up shop in the station and the museum had to go.
So I found these replicas a new home on my layout.
What do you think?

Another Camera Shot

2008-12-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

I figured I would take a couple more pictures with our new digital camera.
This time I decided to go with no flash and the camera in automatic mode.

I Got A Brand New Combine Harvester

2008-12-29T17:10:00.000-08:00

I just could not help myself with the title of this post.
Anyone remember that song?
Anyway Brian, Scott and I ventured over to Moncton a few weeks back and what is a visit to Moncton without stopping at Don's Ho. This is where I picked up the nice Athearn John Deere Combine.

I GOT A NEW CAMERA

2008-12-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

Well after some discussion my wife Shelley and I decided to treat ourselves to a new Camera for Christmas. I am still learning all the ins and outs of it but I am sure through time we'll figure it out.
In the mean time here are a couple of pictures that I recently snapped with the camera.

Some Of my Favorite Cars

2008-10-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

This car is what's called a Slab Sided Hopper. They were unique to Canadian railways only. This one is a model of a TH&B hopper and were a common site in the 1970's.
I believe they were used mostly for transporting powered cement and possibly bulk fertilizers.
I bought this one assembled unlike my other resin cars.

2008-10-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is yet another car that does not see much action on my layout.
This car has the Canadian Centennial logo on the side. As much as I like weathering my rolling stock, I just can't bring myself to doing this car.

2008-10-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

This car was made by Intermountain. There was only a limited number of these models build.
This is a model of an actual car that Canadian National had painted for promotional purposes.
It was the only car painted like this and was only like that on one side. The other side of the car is painted like a normal hopper car.
I have seen these cars on E bay selling for several hundreds of dollars.

2008-10-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

The next car is also a Sylvan Resin Kit. These cars were also a regular visitor to my home town, although they didn't look as new as it does in this picture.

2008-10-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well I figured it was time to show you folks some of the rolling stock that I don't normally have on my layout.
Most of these cars spend there time in a glass display case in my train room.
The first car I am showing you is a CN Slab Sided Hopper that I built from a Sylvan Resin Kit.
Many of these cars used to pass by my house when I was younger.
It was the only the second resin kit that I ever built.

A Little Bit Of Weather

2008-08-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

I attended our regional Train Show a few months ago and while there took part in a couple of workshops.
One of these work shops was about weathering your rolling stock and buildings using Bragdon Powders.
My first attempt at using this process was on an old box car that I brought to the show for this purpose.
My second attempt at using these powders was a few weeks later when I decided it was time to take the shine off one of my new Trueline Trains Caboose's.
You can really see the difference between the caboose on the left which is how it looks right out of the box and the caboose on the right which I weathered using the powders.
I see a lot of potential use for these powders which come in several shades.

2008-08-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well here we are in the dog days of Summer.
I haven't doing a whole lot of constructing or modeling on my layout of late but I figured it was time anyway to post something new.
So I posed a couple of my locomotives and a few of my recently purchased Fresh Cherries Cars in Ashtown and took a picture.

Cars & Trucks

2008-03-02T09:40:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post cars and trucks help dress up the layout.
The past year has seen an abundance of HO scale vehicles available at a decent price.
Like this old Chevy owned by an employee of the local feedmill.

More Work To Be Done

2008-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

Although a good bit of my layout has been scenic ed to some degree, I have not done much with the area in Shellville beside the main yard.
I presently have a feed mill kit that I am working on sitting there but when that is done it will become a vacant lot again.
Any ideas, anyone?

Seen Better Days

2008-03-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

As mentioned in an earlier post I am phasing out my old wooden Juneco Caboose's.
In this picture you one of these so called phased out caboose's.
I am getting a little braver when it comes to scenery as well.
I recently placed a few trees around the caboose to give it that abandoned look.
The trees are Woodland Scenics trees. Not as nice as the trees done by my friend Scott Jay of Bayside & Tidewater fame .

A Little Weathering

2008-03-02T09:04:00.000-08:00

Like my new caboose's several of my locomotives had that shiny or new look.
So one nice warm sunny weekend last summer I took my paints and compressor out side and set up shop on my back deck.
I weathered a few of my locomotives as well as rolling stock.
The RS-18's in the background of this picture are a result of that day.
Some day in the future I hope to build myself a nice paint booth, that way I can weather or paint year round with out getting into trouble with the C.E.O.

New Caboose's At Canadisle Rail

2008-03-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

Another change taking place on my layout involves my older CN caboose's.
I recently bought three new Truline Trains Caboose's.
The detail on these caboose's are just unbelievable. Something that would rival brass.
With the arrival of these caboose's, I will be phasing out my older Juneco wooden caboose's.
They do need a little weathering though.

Well I Got The First One Right

2008-03-02T08:43:00.000-08:00

Some of the small changes that I have been making in the past year has been replacing the lighting in some of my locomotives.
I have been trying out various types of LED's as opposed to bulbs.
The difference is quite noticeable as you can see in the picture of my two RS-18's.
Can you guess which one has the LED's installed?

A Long Past Due Post

2008-03-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

Well hello friends and fellow train modelers.
It has been a long time since I have posted anything here, almost a year so I am told.
What can I say other than life keeps interfering.
But there is nothing like an old fashioned snow storm to create some free time.
So with out further delay here we go with what I have been up to this past year.
Please excuse any error's, its been a year you know.
And yes I'll try to do better with the updates.
Anyway here we go.
The first picture in a year is showing a side street in Ashtown.
I am in the process of adding back drops as opposed to a solid blue wall.
This one is a Scenicking Backdrop.
Also in the picture is my only sound locomotive and some cars and trucks.
All I have to do now is supply some people for the side walks and signs for the stores.
Maybe even a little paint for the roads.
What does everyone think? Am I heading in the right direction with this.

Passenger Service On Canadisle Rail

2007-03-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

Judging by the empty parking lot and the empty RDC business is booming on the Canadisle Railway.
Stay Tuned

Passenger Service On Canadisle Rail 2

2007-03-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

We see here RDC #200 arriving at Ashtown Station.
In order to increase revenue on my Railway I have added over priced passenger service, this combined with the Fly By Night freight service has proven to be beneficial to my railway.

A Speeding Train

2007-03-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

Contrary to popular belief, some of my trains actually move fast.
I believe either Clayton or Scott may have been the engineer on this local.

My Propane Dealer 2

2007-03-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

This is looking at my Propane Dealer from the opposite direction.
Backdrop coming soon!

My Propane Dealer

2007-03-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is my yet to be named Propane Dealer.
Which is still in need of some more detailing.
But it still looks better than the bare white surface it had about a week ago.
Anyone have an idea for a name?

MacQuarrie Feeds

2007-03-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

This picture is a hold over from my last update.
This business is named after two of my regular crew members, Gregg & Ken MacQuarrie.

Chappell Produce 2

2007-03-13T16:04:00.000-07:00

This is just another angled view of Chappell Produce, one of the busiest industries on the layout

Chappell Produce

2007-03-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

I have recently decided to give my industries names.
This particular industry was simply named Produce. Now it is called Chappell Produce after my good friend Brian Chappell who also is a model railroader, he also is part of my regular operating crew.

Main Street Ashtown

2007-03-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

This is the view of Main Street, Ashtown.
This is what you would see as you enter my Train Room.
It is still a work in progress as you can see since I still need some road graphics and weathering.

A Busy Town

2007-03-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for taking so long between updates but finally here we are.
I have been spending my time wisely doing some scenery work.
We now have traffic in Ashtown, the only thing missing are the people and that will happen soon enough.

The Grain Elevator

2006-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

The grain season is just starting to get under way as you can see by the line of hopper cars at the Grain Elevator.
This is the largest building found on my layout, and is first thing you see when you look at the far end of my layout.

2006-12-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

As you can see we have friendly crews here at Canadisle Rail.

2006-12-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here we have a couple of switchers waiting for their daily orders.

2006-12-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Here we see a few reefers awaiting their next assignment.
They will be used to ship locally grown produce, mostly potatoes to market.
As a kid I remember seeing long trains of mostly potato reefers pass by my house in the fall of the year.
These cars are Intermountain Kits that I built and are exactly like the originals.

2006-12-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

There is not much happening around Shellville as a railfan seeks shelter from the hot afternoon sun.
These trees as well as others found on my layout were made by my friend and fellow model railroader Scott Jay.

2006-12-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

Canadisle Rail transports all kinds of freight, including Tractors to be bought by the local farmers in the outskirts of Ashtown.

2006-12-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

The Ashtown bound freight has taken the siding to allow for an Extra train to pass by on the main line.

2006-12-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

Although we haven't had a lot of snow the past few years, the yard crew must always have the plow ready in time for winter just in case it decides to show up.
The SW-1200 located just to the left will be used to push the plow back into the engine shed at the end of the day.

2006-12-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

What we have here is a GE 70 Tonner and a GE 44 Tonner.
Both are modelled after locomotives that once plied the rails here on Prince Edward Island.
These models once belonged to my good friend John MacGregor who passed away in May of 2000.

2006-12-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

This is a track side photo of MacQuarrie's Feed which is located in Ashtown.
This is my latest attempt at scenery.
What does everybody think?

2006-12-06T15:32:00.000-08:00

Storm clouds are brewing as west bound CN Extra 3631 passes by the yard lead.
The Caboose in the background is Sylvan resin kit, that I build some time ago. This was my first attempt at building a resin kit.

2006-12-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

This particular locomotive is my favorite above all other locomotives that I own.
The reason being is that the real engine is on static display near my home.
This picture was taken at the entrance to my yard.

2006-11-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

What we are looking at here is a small portion of the locomotive power that I own.
Pretty much all my locomotives are painted in Canadian National colours.
I prefer mostly Alco or MLW locomotives but I do have Gp-9's and some GE 70 Tonners.

2006-11-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well since most of my layout is pretty much flat the rest of the gang thought it needed something different. So after some brainstorming we came up with the idea of making this creek.
My friend Scott Jay got inspired and put this scene together. The rail bridge is pretty much scratch built from styrene since we could not come up with a kit that would fit on a curve.
The only thing missing is the water and that will come eventually.

2006-11-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is where all action starts at Canadisle Rail.
Here you see a crew member of the inbound Shellville train giving a friendly wave to the engineer of the out bound Ashtown train

2006-11-14T15:09:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog site.
It was suggested by a couple of fellow model railroaders that this is the ideal media to show the world my model railroad empire.
So browse and enjoy my work in progress and feel free to drop by any time.
Also please leave a comment or two if you like.

Thanks

2006-11-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my grain elevator.