Jim LaFayette Train Night

 5015 working the mine.

 Jim, Don, Blair and Dick (Kip was under the layout) working on different projects.

 New switching area with Jim looking on.

 Milk train waiting departure at the station.  

Skenesborough yard lead with the locals power ready to get to work.   

Brad Peterson

Battenkil In Winter 2013

John "Cully" Cullinan

Day In The Life...

Worked as engineer on OR-1 in Plattsburgh the other day. Ordered to take a "outlawed" 609, empty oil train to the border. While waiting for a taxi to back to Plattsburgh for 3 hours I snapped a shot of my trainman in fresh snow at Rouses Point getting coffee from a signal maintainer that heard of our plight!!!!

Rob D

Amtrak Port Henry

You know, while recovering horizontally in the hospital, I had lots of time to mentally revisit favorite photo locations and trains from the past. I used these memories as motivation to get a nurse, with a walker at first, to walk several laps with me in the hallway once or twice a night until I could walk on my own. I never thought my first night photo being sent out to the list would be of an Amtrak Genesis II, ha,ha,ha! But..........this is a rare occurrence , as Amtrak’s Adirondack trains only operate in the middle of the day here on the old D&H North End. Learning the train was waiting for a relief crew further north at Plattsburgh, it became apparent problems north of the border caused this photo op. The trains terminal is thirty miles or so away from Plattsburgh in Montreal! For my part, I had a supper date that fell apart at the last minute with friends, and we all know how that works with trains! Make definite plans to be somewhere or do something with friends a certain day or night and that will be the time the unusual move occurs on the railroad! LOL! Tonight was no exception. Back home eating breakfast, my contribution to the supper plans, the chicken pot pie, put away for another night, I get phone calls from Richard Wingler alerting me to Amtrak running very late! Port Henry is forty miles away. While I finish washing the dishes I conclude, I’ve shot everything else at Port Henry, why not a Genesis engine.......grimacing. With lots of time to drive over as Amtrak 68 waits for two northbound freights, comes plenty of time to enjoy setting up the lighting contributing to the attached photo. Amtrak 68, the Adirondack, southbound at Port Henry at night. This never happens! Special thanks to Richard Wingler & Wally Day for their help. Shot at 23:37 on February 22, 2013 in Port Henry, NY. Please enjoy the first of many!

All The Best In 2013;

Gary Knapp

Wayne Sittner Changes To D&H

No great story here; just an update on the layout setting. I tired of the O&W scenario and, with no projects I feel like working on, I spent some time over the past few days moving the clock ahead from 1955 to 1985. Buildings, motive power, rolling stock, vehicles all switched out for another few months...

 

Onward indeed,

Wayne Sittner

 

S&NC First Freight

On February 11th Saratoga & North Creek ran their first freight train from North Creek, Barton Mines, to Saratoga.

 At Stony Creek we stopped to take a few pics...

At Thurman we swapped trains so they could go back to NK and we could go back to Saratoga.

Brad Peterson

Steve LaMora's D&H

I needed to get inspired to work on my own layout so I stopped by to visit with Steve LaMora's layout. A 1950's inspired D&H Penn Divsion layout, enjoy!

Rob D

Toys For Tots 2012

Another successful year for the D&H Toys For Tots train running from Albany to Rouses Pt, NY. This year we used Amtrak equipment, VTR and NS equipment was tied up for Sandy Relief efforts, So Amtrak came through for us! The Train was dedicated to Amy Seyboth killed in action in Iraq 2009, her father is an Amtrak conductor.

 D&H 7312 posing in Saratoga, sunny in the 40's

The conductor and his helper in Saratoga

 North through Greenfield

Hudson-Berkshire Divsion of the NMRA donates train sets every year to this cause. A Marine hands out a set at Port Henry.

 Santa and a happy customer!

Amtrak 69 passes us in Wadham's.


Rob Dennis

Speed Restriction

"Boiler Buster" Keys, the engineer on SV-20, was not very happy when he went by the Twin Junction Station today. When the hind end got up to the station we can see why.
 

The inclusion of the scale test car, ahead of the caboose, restricts the speed to 30 MPH by time table directive.The spaghetti and beer at Armonds, in Rouses Point, will have to be delayed for awhile.

Jim LaFayette

"Inch At A Time" Chap. 13 O&W Inevitable

It had to happen sooner or later: The O&W stuff sees the light after a slumber dating back to 1990. I've had the layout set up for D&H and LV (1960) since last spring and I just needed a change. I haven't been into model building of late and spending a day changing things out helped keep me connected to the hobby. What you're viewing is my 1955 scenario. I'd love to get out all my O&W steam power for a WWII set-up but, I don't have anywhere near enough vehicles for that time period. I need a minimum of sixty and can only count half that number as usable. Sylan has what I need and I have built a few. It takes a real commitment do do them. I think I'm only good for one or 2 a year. I hope Classic Metal Works takes my survey response to heart.

I won't be sending out another "Chapter" before Christmas and New Year's. So, I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for the Holiday's

Regards,

Wayne Sittner

CP Holiday Train 2012

 Whitehall, north of CPC 77

 Ft Ti siding passing Amtrak 68, Santa doing his thing..

Outside Port Henry, we parked the train on the Isthmus for photos to kill time.

Great night shot at Plattsburgh

 

Tina and I at Whitehall, 20 degrees....Thanks to Nick Wilson for the photos!

Skenesborough Update

The Morning Local with Rutland Mongol 53 goes over the newly installed X over while the Morning Milk with Rutland Consolidation 26 waits on the main. More progress yesterday as the SVRR crews put in a long day, pretty much exhausting the SVRR OT budget on the 1st day of the month.

While the signal department and M of W worked up a sweat putting in the X-over, Dr. Mudd (below) got a real feel for Woodland Scenic Mold-A-Scene Plaster, so much so he even filled holes that didn't need to be filled. He is now a certified Mold-A-Scene expert.

 It is a good thing to have such good friends.

Jim LaFayette CEO SVRR