Weekend Photos - August 2025

[healey36]

Yeah, I agree, terrific backdrop for the layout and photo ops. I've spent a bit of time out in Wyoming and this looks dead-nutz like Wyoming. Having seen the place, it's easy to imagine Jabelman's Challengers ripping up the mainline back in the day, heading west across the prairie.

Interesting Wayne...we have a similar phenomenon where our MTH bantam GS-4 will run right out of its traction tires on a curve. I eventually daubed a bit of rubber cement under the tires which has served to hold them in place. I thought it was the age of the tires, maybe they were a bit stretched, but even after fitting new ones, same result. Since using a small amount of rubber cement, haven't had any problems.

[healey36]

I've been painting the shack's back porch, settling into a routine of painting in the morning while it's still somewhat cool, then knocking off and doing something else in the afternoon. A couple years ago, I had the roof torn off, new sheathing put down before re-shingling. The exposed underside has needed painting since, and I'm just now getting to it. Like so many things here, I've let it slide. Decided this year I need to deal with it, and I'm too cheap (read frugal) to hire someone. The paint job has historically held up for about ten years, so this should be my last rodeo doing this.

The other afternoon I drove up to see what was left of the coal yard at Middleburg, a whistlestop on the Western Maryland's old mainline:



The short answer is not much. I recall as a boy seeing them shove a hopper or two down the spur to dump the contents. My recollection is that it was all soft coal, likely from West Virginia or the Georges Creek Valley (you could buy bagged Reading anthracite that was stored in a pole-barn next to the warehouse). It could be a hopping place for the locals, especially those that still heated with coal (and there were quite a few).

The freight depot is still there, it being a third-party operation that served as a freight drop back in the day. Being privately owned, it didn't suffer the fate of most of the company's "stations". I should have grabbed a shot of that too...maybe next time I'm up there.

[gregj410]

The paint job has historically held up for about ten years, so this should be my last rodeo doing this.

Funny how you get to a place where you ask yourself, “Exactly
how long does this maintenance have to last”?

We had several Bradford pear trees fall after 25 years. As I was miserably cutting them up I said I’ll never plant another Bradford pear tree again. Then I did the math, I’m 56 + 25 years Just maybe I will since I won’t be here to cut up the 2nd batch. It’ll be someone else’s problem!

[webenda]

II drove up to see what was left of the coal yard at Middleburg.

I see two sets of horizontal tank supports. Did they sell heating oil also?

[healey36]

Possibly, but I don’t recall. They sold a lot of stuff at this place, including fertilizer, cattle feed, bulk chemicals, who knows what else. One of the things I remember The Old Man buying there was bagged lime (he would apply that to his lawn twice each year).

Probably the mid-1960’s last time I recall going there.

[healey36]

Funny how you get to a place where you ask yourself, “Exactly
how long does this maintenance have to last”?

We had several Bradford pear trees fall after 25 years. As I was miserably cutting them up I said I’ll never plant another Bradford pear tree again. Then I did the math, I’m 56 + 25 years Just maybe I will since I won’t be here to cut up the 2nd batch. It’ll be someone else’s problem!

I'll admit, I'm slowly transitioning to that way of thinking.

On the Bradford Pear thing, forty of fifty years ago, Maryland State Highway used to plant a lot of them in the right-of-way along the Interstates here. They discovered that after ten years or so, the crotch of the tree grew so weak that a moderate wind storm or the smallest bit of ice/snow accumulation would break them up. Major effort going out to clear them away, so they abandoned them as a preferred tree for planting. They are beautiful in the spring when they bloom, but the life is short.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

On the Bradford Pear thing.....

Makes excellent firewood!

[healey36]

On the Bradford Pear thing.....

Makes excellent firewood!

I guess if you have a few that lasted as long as Greg's, than maybe a few logs from the trunk. Most of the ones I see split and break up before they get a decent sized trunk. The kwanzan cherry was another hybridized tree notorious for the trunk splitting under the weight of its branches. Beautiful trees in bloom, but a mess to clean up after and maintain. I had an uncle that tried running cables between the limbs to try to keep them from breaking up...never worked.

I have a half-dead silver maple in the back garden that's riddled with squirrel nests; I can't wait to watch that get taken down.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

On the Bradford Pear thing.....

Makes excellent firewood!

I guess if you have a few that lasted as long as Greg's, than maybe a few logs from the trunk.

Neighborhood a few blocks over had the entire main drive lined with Bradford Pear. Pretty good sized stuff that kept me busy for a good week or more collecting firewood after an ice storm. Had to split a fair amount of it, too.

[webenda]

Possibly, but I don’t recall. They sold a lot of stuff at this place, including fertilizer, cattle feed, bulk chemicals, who knows what else. One of the things I remember The Old Man buying there was bagged lime (he would apply that to his lawn twice each year).

Lime? I just mowed the lawn again today. I think I need to lime. I noticed some dead spots.
https://www.pennington.com/all-products ... -need-lime

[healey36]

Would make for an interesting weathering job - a covered hopper with lime dust across the top and all down the sides. Probably not too different from one carrying Portland cement.

[webenda]

Mater (Disney/Pixar/Tomy) showed up on my layout.

[healey36]

Looks like he's got a job to do!

What are the black lumps being dumped from the Lionel 3559? They look like bits of coal that have been washed down a stream or gully...

You might remember this effort to craft a Hornby-style level-crossing for the clockwork tinplate from a few months back, using a catalog pic of a 'OO' version found on the net:



I made a bunch of changes, including some basic sloping for terrain purposes on either side. I used your (Wayne's) recommendation for reducing the grade of the approach, requiring the depth to be quite a bit greater. Fortunately, I think I can still use the gates I cut for Rev 2.0. Here's a mock-up for 3.0, one side only:



The 'OO' version being quite a bit smaller in profile, the pic can be deceiving. It would be tough to achieve that flatter appearance in 'O' without significantly expanding the footprint. Here, there's just not enough ROW to accommodate a deeper approach. The approximate dimensions of Rev. 2.0 were 2" x 5-1/2"; the dimensions of Rev. 3.0 are 3-1/2" x 9". Both are 3/4" high.

Anyway, still noodling.

[webenda]

Looks like he's got a job to do!

Mater is the cause of all the chaos on the layout. He likes to tip tractors by sneaking up to them in the middle of the night and honking his horn. They startle and tip over backwards. I didn't know that caused sleeping cars to roll over as well. And I suspect he also caused the derailment in the background.

[webenda]

What are the black lumps being dumped from the Lionel 3559? They look like bits of coal that have been washed down a stream or gully...

That is very astute of you, Healey. Have you seen coal in waterways before? I picked them up at Cumberland Falls State Park.

Cumberland Falls State Resort Park

This is the only rock that we will let you take when visiting Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. It is a great memento to remember your trip by and you will be helping the environment by taking a piece of it home. Learn about why you can find it here and how it is effecting our waterways.
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1EwKBz ... e=youtu.be