Enjoy all that I have done...so far.

• Did you get your M420

• Putting Shingles on my Station

• Scratch building a CNoR Third Class Station

• Scratch Building a CN portable Building

• Christmas Decorations for Lamp Posts

• Glacier Gravel becomes part of a mining industry.

One of the most anticipated release of a locomotive for me was the RAPIDO M420 as delivered to CN. I don’t think I ever saw a 2500 series only 3500s when the got sold of by CN and started showing up on short lines. I don’t model CN and wasn’t going to wait and see if the 3500s get released. So I bought one to run on the layout. I had built a resin kit quite a number of years ago as HBRY 3548 and it still runs well.  Maybe time to put them in a consist. Thumbs up to RAPIDO .

I have been spending a bit of time every few nights putting shingles on my station. I like the wood shingle effect an colours that suggest aged roofing. I am nearly complete this part of my structure, so how did I get to this point.

Even though I don’t run passenger equipment on any regular basis, I wanted to have an old station for my layout, it has seen better days, bit of modernization but retaining the old charm of days gone by. There are many station kits available to suit the design requirements, however a winter project with a little more involvement was what I wanted to get into. For inspiration I chose a CNoR third class station like one sitting in a field just a mile down the road here in Emo, Ontario. This, the old Barwick Station, was a perfect candidate.

Have you ever tried scratch building or kit bashing or a combination of both? If you read through my blog you will see I have done both. Kits are great and I have many on my layout built to the manufacture’s design. Kits don’t always fit the space. Kit bashing allows more freedom to fit a building to your space, time period or need. With scratch building you can design what ever you want or build a structure that you can’t find in kit form.

It is almost December so time to put up some Christmas decorations on my HO layout. This past year I got the last of the lamp posts up. So many towns and communities decorate their posts so why not do it in HO.

The process is simple, just need some time. 
Tools used include a hot wire cutter, knife, cutters. 
You need some extruded foam, couple of washers, craft paints, glue, fine turf, “dots” for decorations, thin wire.

Fall has arrived, snow has arrived so that means the winter modelling season has begun. I wanted a little more “beef” for my mining industry area. I am building the industry to fit the cars I already have. I have collected a number of smaller hoppers similar to ones used in the Fraction sand And potash industry. I also have a number of larger hoppers used on Canadian railways and for Canadian industries. If you have not followed my blog, I collect cars with Canadian railway names, or references to Canada not too many of the major players.

Summer is two thirds done, and traditional summer ends in a week. Through this pandemic I have been working regular hours at the gold mine I work at. Vacation was staycation this year so no new adventures to model railroads, new hobby shops or railway museums. Lots of virtual participation and online hobby shop purchases.

Like many across North America, specifically Canada for me, I am working from home and self isolating for a couple of weeks. That means working on the layout. I have a few projects on the go, with the biggest detailing the engine facility. I can’t display as many engines as I did when I lived in northern Manitoba, but I have room for a few. It has been plane Jane since the track and buildings were in place a year ago. Additions are ground cover, refuelling area and general junk.

I had space in my town for one more business and couldn’t decide what to place there. I asked my wife if she would like to build a Quilt Shop. She thought it would be fun to do with me so the project began. I gave her the Walthers catalog and let her pick a building. The best fit for size on the layout an ability to display items in the shop for people to see, was the cornerstone Hobby Shop model (933-3475). It affords big windows for people to peer in the windows to see what the miniature shoppers are doing in the store.