On Track, with Deano

One more thing to tick into the pro column for BTTF is that pristine paint or really out of control weathering are both on the table for you too. I mean, a museum would go out of its way to have that HH660 stay looking fresh out of the shop once they worked so hard to restore it. Then again that nasty old project that just came into the collection could look beat to heck and back. I think you really open up your modeling options with the BTTF.

P.S. It always depresses me a bit to see those poor bloody noses with a yellow number....
 

cnw1961

Member
Deano, it would be a crime not to run your beautiful patched engines. But do you really have to decide between 69–79 and 80–90’s when building your layout? Why can’t you have both? If you take care not to have very modern structures on your layout, only the vehicles and maybe some billboards make the difference. So you could easily change that and switch between the 70’s and the 90’s and run your layout in either era until you feel like changing again. You could even replace some structures if they have the same footprint. You are right when you say that the museum makes more sense in the 90’s, but it is your railroad and if your LPBs wanted to have a railroad museum back in the 70’s, so be it :mrgreen:.
 

zachary

Member
deano its good to hear from you if it was me i would go 80s 90s cause i love those awesome patched units and the widecab monsters that are on the rails today till next time zachary
 

CNWman

CNW Fan
I say go for the BTTF idea, you still can run all your engines, regardless of when they ran. Just say your head engine guy has decided that if any engine can still earn its keep, regardless if there are more powerfull engines availiable, it will still run on the RVS. Plus, with all the old engines running on the RVS, it will attract railfans, and railfans will spend tourist dollars in the small towns where the old engines come through, thus helping the economy of all the small towns along the mainlines:thumb:
 

steamhead

Active Member
Hey Deano....I think a certain degree of plausability is a good thing for the whys and wherefores of a layout.....BUT....IT'S YOUR TRAIN....Do what you enjoy the most, and the rest of the world can take a flying leap...!!! :mrgreen: :thumb:
 

zachary

Member
IT'S YOUR TRAIN....Do what you enjoy the most, and the rest of the world can take a flying leap...!!! :mrgreen: :thumb:[/quote] your exatctly right steamhead
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Deano, it would be a crime not to run your beautiful patched engines. But do you really have to decide between 69–79 and 80–90’s when building your layout? Why can’t you have both? If you take care not to have very modern structures on your layout, only the vehicles and maybe some billboards make the difference. So you could easily change that and switch between the 70’s and the 90’s and run your layout in either era until you feel like changing again. You could even replace some structures if they have the same footprint. You are right when you say that the museum makes more sense in the 90’s, but it is your railroad and if your LPBs wanted to have a railroad museum back in the 70’s, so be it :mrgreen:.
Kurt, if i didn't know better, i would swear you were there when Wayne and i was talking(PMing) the other night, what he told me was about identical to what you said:eeki: ...:thumb:

One more thing to tick into the pro column for BTTF is that pristine paint or really out of control weathering are both on the table for you too. I mean, a museum would go out of its way to have that HH660 stay looking fresh out of the shop once they worked so hard to restore it. Then again that nasty old project that just came into the collection could look beat to heck and back. I think you really open up your modeling options with the BTTF....
Jason, you have brought up a GREAT IDEA! i haven't even considered, GOOD THINKING:thumb: , and THANKS!:smilie:

It's nice to see a DL-109... I'm one of the few people who actually likes them.
Triplex, you are NOT alone, i too like the DL-109(obviously:mrgreen: ), and many other engines that others really never cared for...BL2...cough...cough...:mrgreen: .

I say go for the BTTF idea, you still can run all your engines, regardless of when they ran. Just say your head engine guy has decided that if any engine can still earn its keep, regardless if there are more powerfull engines availiable, it will still run on the RVS. Plus, with all the old engines running on the RVS, it will attract railfans, and railfans will spend tourist dollars in the small towns where the old engines come through, thus helping the economy of all the small towns along the mainlines:thumb:
another good idea, THANKS CNWman!:thumb:

Deano, great pics from your Dad’s layout :thumb:. BTW, how big is your Dad’s layout? Could you please tell us a bit more about it? After seeing so many pics of it, I am quite curious now....
Kurt, dads layout is 17'x8'x15' not really that big compared to some of your layouts out there, but plenty big enough to have a good amount of fun on:thumb: . its really a dog bone, one continuous mainline with two good size passing tracks. he has a turn table thats tracks hold all the DC engines he runs(we can run DC or DCC with the flip of a switch), an engine service facility that holds DCC engines, a small steam engine area that i have taken over with some of my steamers, dad only has one steamer in that area:eeki: ...sorry dad:eek:ops::119: . There is one long caboose track. it has two small yards, much like the old Milwaukee Roads "west yard" in South Beloit. it has 8 industries to switch out, and three Passenger stations, one HUGE one that the passengers board from below it, and two small ones.

there is also an engine holding track right off the mainline in one town that holds dads two current favorite engines, an F7 & MP15AC, both are Milwaukee Road. the CNW had a track like this in Beloit. there is one more engine holding track in the same town, its pretty long, and dad refers to this track as...the dead line:eeki: , it actually holds the engines that i bring over and change out from time to time:mrgreen: . currently the "dead line" has my GBW RS15, FM Demonstrator TM-4, Gas Turbine, and AC-12 on it.

SOME MORE PICS FROM DADS LAYOUT

The first two here are "over all" shots of it...
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Heres the NEW station we are putting in, NOT done yet, but its getting there:winki: .
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An EG&E reefer sits beside a large unfinished ice house...
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The ONLY factory that doesn't have rail service, Hmm...looks like its break time:winki: ...
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Dads been MRRing since 1963/64:confused: , see the closest two boxcars, the WP and the DF L&N, they are old Varney cars, just some of the neat old stuff dad still runs:thumb: , weathering was done to them by dad years ago:thumb: .
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Here we see the corner of the Diner, and the start of the "dead line":eeki: ...
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Next two pics show my Gas Turbine & one of my two AC-12's...on the Dead line:roller:
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LAST SHOT, my Y3 runs though the countryside:smilie: ...
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Like i mentioned before NOTHING is close to being done:eek:ops: , our problem is, we start an area, and instead of finishing it, we get to a certain point and move on:eek:ops: , some day we'll get it:119: .

Till Next time...Stay on track!
 

cnw1961

Member
Kurt, if i didn't know better, i would swear you were there when Wayne and i was talking(PMing) the other night, what he told me was about identical to what you said:eeki: ...:thumb:
If Wayne had the same idea, it can’t be too bad :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:.

Your dad’s layout looks great :thumb:, compared to the space I have available, 17'x8'x'15' is an empire :mrgreen:. Thank you for posting the overall shots. It is nice to see how all the scenes you posted pictures of belong together.
 

doctorwayne

Active Member
Like i mentioned before NOTHING is close to being done:eek:ops: , our problem is, we start an area, and instead of finishing it, we get to a certain point and move on:eek:ops: , some day we'll get it:119: .

Thanks for the tour, Dean. It's nice to see the over-all shots, too, but from what I can see, those so-called "unfinished areas" look pretty darn good to me. :thumb::thumb:

Wayne
 

cn nutbar

Member
hello Deano---personally,I've always enjoyed your threads,whether they be from the 50's or the modern era.One of the beauties of model railroading is that it dosen't matter whether it's prototypical or not,it's your choice and whatever you chose is OK---Your enthusiasm,passion and talent are obvious to me---follow your instincts and continue to enjoy this wonderful hobby---Nutbar
 

steamhead

Active Member
WoW...Deano..!!! That's a whopper of a layout....!! It's funny how we picture a layout from the pics that are posted. I figured your Dad's layout was smaller....But it's a biggie...and really nice, to boot..!! Kudos to you both..!! :thumb:
 

UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Kurt, Wayne & Gus, THANK YOU for the complements on Dads layout:mrgreen: , i haven't talked with him since i posted the pics, but i am more then sure he has read, and really appreciated your responses:thumb: .

nutbar, you, my friend, are just to kind, THANK YOU:smilie: .
after much thought, i think i am going with what Wayne and Kurt mentioned, it would be easy to do, i have enough engines, freight, and vehicles to switch eras between the late 60/70's-80/90's:winki: . and i still really want to do the museum idea too, i think it would be real neat to model.

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ON MY SIDE OF THE TRACKS...
I took off work today:mrgreen: , and I got word from "Big Ed" that there is a possible run through from another road going through the RVS today, Ed didn't mention who or what it was, so we'll see what happens:119: .

ON another note, i haven't ran my SN SD40T-2 for a couple months, been running it this morning, man i really like this engine:mrgreen: ...oh, who am i kidding, i like 'em all:toug::119: . i think i have posted these pics before, but here is what i have been running this morning.
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UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Whats this?:confused: a non-UP steamer rolling through the RVS...:eeki: ...

Tune in tomorrow night for a NEW installment of the "Tales & Lore of the RVS":winki: .

That is all...:toug::mrgreen:
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cn nutbar

Member
Hello Deano---Looks real good on the RVS---those EG&E Northerns sure get around---here's sister #506 on my layout---welcome to the EG&E fraternity---Nutbar

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UP SD40-2

Senior Member
Tales & Lore of the Rock Valley Sub

CIRCA 1978

How the Rock Valley RailRoad Museum Started...

In case you missed it, Fred (Big Ed's brother in-law) had retired from the RVS, Fred was the Head Mechanic there for many years.
Fred, being a foamer, really loved all the old engines etc., that he had the pleasure to work on from the years gone by. Big Ed used to kid him that he should start a museum with all the money he had saved and made from other ventures through the years.

Fred already had four old UP engines which he had bought before they were scrapped, and kept them in an old abandoned warehouse that he had also bought, years back, when it still had rail service. It was in Rock Valley, right off UP's mainline, and there was a good amount of property for sale around it, too.

Shortly after his retirement, the remarks which Big Ed had made to him in jest started to become serious thoughts to Fred. His kids had all grown up and moved away, and he had more than enough money for Betty and himself to live on.

Over the years, Fred had made many friends on the RVS: some were real foamers like himself, so he started contacting some of his old buddies, seeking out some more support to actually get a RailRoad Museum going. It didn't take Fred long to find the extra support which he needed: he had two friends that already had a couple of old engines they had saved from the scrapper. They were tired of paying storage on them, though, and joining together would cut down their costs in the long run. It would also give them all something to do with the extra time they now had since they were all retired.

As it ended up Fred, Eric Munson, and Bernie Olson, along with some other backers, decided to buy up the land around Fred's Warehouse, and start a Railroad Museum with the engines and Railroad paraphernalia that the three of them had amassed through the years.

Big Ed was more than happy to help out in any way he could, which really worked out great as far as getting more track for the museum. Ed had tons of track that had been torn up and was to be scrapped: it wasn't in the greatest shape, but it was good enough for moving things around on at a museum, so Ed sold it to the three for scrap value.
Big Ed eventually became a really key person in the start up of the museum: being Crew Chief on the RVS, he had many ties with people that Fred, Eric and Bernie needed to really make something of the museum. In no time, Ed had different roads donating old engines, freight cars, and a multitude of spare parts and other things to the cause.

One example of this involved Big Ed's long time buddy up in Canada, Al Moon. Al's the Superintendent of Motive Power on the EG&E. He talked to the boys in Accounting and they saw a sizable tax write-off if some of the old, unneeded EG&E equipment could be donated to a non-profit organization like a museum.

The EG&E had a freight due out on Friday to the CN interchange at Mount Forest, with many cars destined for UP's Proviso Yard, in Chicago. From there, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump to UP's RVS.

That gave Al four days to get things rolling.
He planned to send out two engines, along with an older EG&E caboose, for donation to the museum. All three items would be ready to leave with the freight due out Friday.

The first engine was an old steamer, #501. It was built, in 1938, by Montreal Locomotive Works, an affiliate of ALCo. Its main purpose was to haul the EG&E's fast and frequent time freights, know locally as the Warriors. The 501 was officially retired in 1961, but saw several years of fan trip service after that.
#501 was in really good shape, thanks to a recent overhaul. This was perfect for the museum, as it was the first operating and certified steamer the museum acquired, and it could be used for excursion runs almost immediately.

The second engine was #53, an NW2 built in 1939, at La Grange, Illinois, and purchased by the Grand River Southern, a terminal and transfer road jointly owned by the EG&E, Grand Valley, and Erie Northshore. It spent its entire career moving interchange traffic between the EG&E's Shuman Yard and the Grand Valley's West Dunn Yard in Dunnville, Ontario. She was retired in 1972, when EG&E and Grand Valley locos became part of a run-through program, which allowed all locos of both roads to roam system-wide. This loco, too, was well-cared for, and would serve the museum well, moving equipment around.

The caboose that Al sent out became surplus at about the same time as the NW2 #53 and for the same reason. The EG&E had purchased a number of wide-vision cabooses in 1971, and in 1972, all cabooses became part of a system-wide pool. This required fewer cabooses, as they weren't assigned to any particular service or terminal.

Al made sure that all donated equipment was inspected and repaired as required before shipment, and that all were suitable for service upon delivery. Early Friday morning, the donated equipment was switched into the outbound freight, and headed off to a new lease on life on the RVS.
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Now folks, Big Ed called and notified me that the engines and caboose that was donated to the Museum would be rolling through the RVS around 9am, fortunatly i made it in time to take some pics of the event:thumb: , as you can tell though, i wasnt alone, other railfans lined the rails to get some good shots too:winki: .

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I hope you folks enjoyed the NEW installment of the "Tales & Lore of the RVS":smilie: .

In my next post, a little later tonight, a BIG THANK YOU! to my VERY GOOD FRIEND Wayne:worship: , and i'll explain what you folks REALLY seen, with a few close up pics too:winki: .

Till next time...Stay on track!:thumb:
 

Sarge_7

Member
Awesome pics and stories as always Dean!!!:thumb::thumb: Can't wait to see some more.

So are these EG&E units permanant additions to the museum or just on tour? Either way it's pretty awesome to see the Doc's work on the RVS:mrgreen:
 
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