Neil's Nostalgia
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• Trainworks •
Views of my building progress, and some trackside vistas on my N scale layout. For latest updates, scroll way, way down the track. |
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A couple of updated images showing PRR 2-8-2 Mikado 9630 passing the busy yard. (09 November 2024) Maybe you can spot a few changes? |
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Here old PRR 9630 comes along the back stretch. |
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Layout dimensions 2' 10" x 5' 6" or 90cm x 170cm - yes, that's pretty small! - the black oil tank below is a 35mm film container!
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The Yard view - 19 May 2022- a few more changes - can you spot them.
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The Yard view - 10 December 2021 - a few changes as time goes by - or stands still?
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Update 05 March 2022 - the electrics are ready. It is an electric train layout after all! Pennsy GG1 and P5a Boxcab.
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The Yard view - 18 July 2020 - Landscaping around the workshop completed, plus some weathering on the old building structure.
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The Yard view - 17 July 2020 - General view, looking north.
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Part of the yard view - a few changes over the years - 21 November 2023.
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Just a sound file of PRR 9676 blowing for the level crossing. (Note: might not work on all devices!) |
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20 July 2020 - South edge - Up close trackside.
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The old Santa Fe loco and rolling stock shown above, are some of the original items from my kid's toy train set!
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17 July 2020 - Ballasting is always messy . . .
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Recently completed 13 July 2020, small tunnel in the northeast corner - nice echos when the whistles are blown.
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This page on my website is just a sort of diary for my own interest. Who knows if some of our regular DHC-2.COM visitors have similar interests. This little layout is a tribute to my late father James B. Aird. When I was a youngster, we had a small OO/HO layout in Scotland. The Delaware & Clyde Valley Railroad. As you can imagine, it was difficult to obtain US locomotives. Earlier, my Dad had a O guage clockwork Locos and Rolling Stock, which we ran through the house on the second floor on the odd Saturday and Sunday. It had to come "down" or rather, "up" off the floor at the end of the session, as the track ran from my bedroom, along the hallway into my parent's bedroom!. The small layout I have created is basically set in the 1949 - 1960 era in Pennsylvania. My Dad worked with Baldwin Locomotive Works (1949-1950) and the motive power on this layout was ofen seen as we travelled and went trainspotting down by the Pennsy tracks.
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17-20 July 2020 - The next little secton on the north wall. A hard to reach section - did not know what I was doing earlier on. All these areas are removable!
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19 July 2020 - Latest small section of scenery for the north wall.
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Gradually I am weathering the rolling stock. No graffiti, as this is an earlier period - I know - they did not have trucks like this back then.
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21 July 2020 - Pine trees today, just a few.
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22 July 2020 - Another day dawns.
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17 September 2020 - new arrival PRR GG-1 #4935
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Why a GG-1 ? - well, here's one my Dad shot in 1949 with his Box Brownie - special memories. Wish I could read the number!
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Some views of the Yard. The red light on the water tower will be working soon, little airfield is nearby. Red light working as of 25 September 2020.
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Catenery poles in place now. Happy with that. Still to weather them. Should keep the GG-1 happy too! 13 October 2020.
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The little airfield has a name now, "Buckman Field" which was a real airfield near Chester, Pennsylvania. $350.00 for your private licence training back in 1949.
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"Sun's Up" - early morning light on the layout on 17 June 2021.
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Early morning flight - 08:10 edt 13 December 2023.
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The lineman is busy with telephone poles and also with fence lines - 16 September 2021.
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Sunset at the west end of Fakeville yard. Power poles installed today. 19 September 2021.
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A couple of screen captures to show details of recent utilities work. 19 September 2021.
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A few more close ups for you - 24 September 2021.
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Sunset at Buckman Field. The red Beaver arrived on the river earlier - 03 October 2021.
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Flight of two Beavers arrived today. They will be transformed gradually into a recently demobbed US Army machine and, perhaps, a tundra tired one.
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Welcomed a new 3D printed Beaver "Two" to the field and worked on some antennas for the old hangar - 05 October 2021.
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Hard to visualize the scale, maybe my specs will give you an idea just how wee the Beaver is - 06 October 2021.
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A recent view over towards Buckman Field - 21 November 2023.
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Tried out my new magnifying headset to help make these two "Crossbucks" for my level crossing. They are very small . . 15mm. 19 October 2021.
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Yard scene 10 December 2021.
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A closer peek at PRR 9676.
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Another early morning yard shot showing some added features - needed more power for all these elecrtics! - 09 May 2022 06:40 edt
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New kid on the block, PRR 4738 P5a Boxcab - 03 March 2022.
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Weathered the hand rails, they were just too clean!
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The real Pennsy P5a McCoys (GG-1 sneaking in!) - a great image from the collection by John Dziobko © c1950's |
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Unmarked double header at Glenloch, Pennsylvania, taken by family friend, and later Strasburg RR engineer - John J. Bowman © 1956 |
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The real PRR #4738 taken by family friend, and later Strasburg RR Conductor, Fred W. Schneider III © 1950's
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97 parts put together complete this lovely, heavy little Broadway Limited Imports P5a locomotive. I wonder just how many dexterous fingers have helped assemble this model?
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I am fond of Boeing 757 aircraft, so how could I not resist? - 10 May 2022
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I hope to haul some coal trains with these twins . . once I get them to behave. They don't really like my trackwork . . . busy training them!
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The Yard view - 10 December 2021 - Expecting new couplers from BLI soon.
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Additional catenery towers and some fences 19 May 2022 - little by little.
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A few more feet of barbed wire fence along the old roadbed, and here and there - 26 May 2022.
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Fence around the woodyard almost complete and the one around the Electric Substation is ready to install soon - 01 June 2022.
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Dusk in the woodyard, working late. Car trouble outside the gate one morning as Boxcab P5a 4707 rolls by.
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General train yard view with PRR4757. Must get that fence up around the transformer area. It is hard to find tiny workers these days! 15 March 2024
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Some shots around the layout. 12 April 2024
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| Some more shots around the layout. 24 April 2024 |
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| Finally the crew came in and erected the fence! 16 May 2024 |
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| "Electrifying moment" - my Dad was born 114 years ago - I am still doing this webpage and layout as an ongoing tribute! 22 May 2024 |
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A view of the two yards - 09 November 2024 |
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Latest addition, USRA Light Mikado 2-8-2 PRR 9630. |
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A liitle experiment to see how easy it is to ballast Code 55 track. Making a display shelf as a test sample. 15 November 2024. |
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Looking at the whole section of the display track shelf. Still playing with it - 16 November 2024. |
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22 November 2024 saw a plane wreck, but don't worry, it is back up, and "flying" again. |
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11 January 2025 - Recently built a small section of double code 55 track to display units that are not on the active layout. Hope to build larger area for photographic work. |
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10 May 2025 - Just a few "artsy" shots around the track today. Here's 4757 peeking throgh the trees. |
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10 May 2025 - 4757 P5A PRR Boxcab, pausing for a minute. |
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10 May 2025 - PRR GG1 4935 over by the sub-station in the yard. |
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13 September 2026 - a few random shots around the layout. Will probably take it all apart later this year. |
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15 September 2026 - Sleeping trains. |
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09 October 2026 - Trackside for the Sunset Special. |
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Here are a couple of early video clips for you - YouTube seemed the easiest method. Original videos are much crisper.
I will tackle some new videos in the futre, before I dismanle my layout ;-( Here's the most recent: PRR P5a Boxcab dusk run-by. (youtube.com) Here's the first - turn on your sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLXM1lWpgFw |
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https://youtu.be/3taFgegbKDU
You can see the changes here: 16 September 2021 |
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https://youtu.be/vTr1_PyXYz8
Quite a while ago |
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• My goodness - the very early days •
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• Even earlier days •
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My interest started at an early age it seems. Here is a wooden locomotive my Dad made from a kit for me. The location was the front step of 1 Scarlet Avenue, Greenridge, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1949. Buster, who came with the rented house, looks on.
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