Last Updated on 2023-01-13

My DCC-equiped Pennsy 44-tonner (HO scale) with caboose running on a make-shift layout. Yes, I know that the whole idea of a 44-tonner is to eliminate the need for a second person onboard the locomotive, but it has to move something.
Finally, several of my cars and locomotives are photographed and setup in a gallery for each of the gauges of model railroading. Some of them have been sold on eBay or are currently listed on eBay. You can view the Gallery Here
I have a number of model railroading projects going on at this point. Amongst them are the following:
Current Projects
- Pickle Factory, as described below on this webpage
- Four Oaks Milling Company, on Keen Rd, Four Oaks, North Carolina. Back in 1985, while I was travelling from New England to Florida, I got off of Route I-95S to refuel, at the exit for the town of Micro, NC. At the intersecting roadway after the ramp, I noticed the mill, elevators, etc. and thought that it would be a great scene to scratchbuild for my train layout.
- Stilwell's Oyster Car
Some online resources of books and magazines about Narrow Gauge Model Railroading:
'Narrow Gauge' literature available for viewing online through the Internet Archive. Many of these books can be downloaded as PDF files for free.My current spare time is being spent on developing a 3D model of a pickle plant, to be incorporated into my N-scale model railroad layout. It is little more than a framework at this point. But, I need to develop some industry to justify why there is a railroad on this 24"x42" piece of real estate in the first place.
I will be developing this model in true scale. Once it is completed, I will be able to 3D print it for any desired scale. It will initially be printed in resin for my N-scale layout, then I will print an HO-scale version. You can expect to find these also offered for sale on my Etsy page and my eBay page.
Follow me as I develop this into a 3D model, from the initial 2D plan.
Also on my current list of things to do is preparing a model of a Still Oyster Car.
- The Cannonball, Fall 2014, From research to Model: The Stilwell Oyster Car
- Reinvented American Fare with a KC Flare - The Stilwell, located inside Loews Kansas City Hotel
- Worthpoint, Red Ball Stilwell Oyster Car - a listing entry to tease people.
- Image of the Stilwell Oyster Car, 1897
Useful Model Railroading Links
- Robert's Kusan Trains Layout - including some very interesting information about the Kusan train company. I found this website while researching a Kusan MKT13445 flatcar that is in my collection. (2022-07-31)
- The Train Collectors Association Kusan Model Trains / KMT webpage. Further history about the Kusan Model Trains company. (2022-07-31)
- Allan Gartner's Wiring for DCC. This website has a ton of interesting and useful information on Digital Command Control (DCC). (2022-08-01)
- DCCwiki Digital Command Control Made Easy. This is an Open Source Project. It's goal is to document all aspects of DCC.
Model Railroading Pickle and Vinegar References
- A very interesting article, by the author of Pickle and Vinegar Makers of the Midwest The history and operations of two fascinating industries, for creating a model of a double-tank vinegar car
Leider, David J. (2007, October). Double-tank Vinegar Car. Railroad Model Craftsman, 90-96.