It was a special trip to the train yard today to see what the American Association of Passenger Rail Car Owners train that is staying here for a couple of days for their convention.  They have a webpage if you want to know more about them.  They have ways to charter a car or a seat and tour different parts of the country.  We rubbed shoulders with some very friendly people there today.

Scouting around looking for inspiration for my next layout.  I've found what I like is building/weathering freight cars and switching operations.   Yesterday I was at our local hobby shop and saw a magazine I've never seen before called Cowcatcher Magazine, apparently geared towards mid-western and western railroads.  There was a short article on a switching operation in Houston to the Genesis Worldwide Logistics warehouse off of Commerce Street. The warehouse is really a big one with eleven doors.  You can find it on Google Maps by typing in the name.

New dock / old building.

Nick

Some local derailment news today: a freight train coming through town on the UP main track had a derailment which rerailed itself. There were no major damages but the train was delayed and blocked some grade crossings for a couple hours, making motorists unhappy according to the online newspaper report which showed a photo looking across an empty center-beam flatcar at a grade crossing.

I went sightseeing on my bicycle to look for derailment evidence. The Madison Street crossing shows new flange marks, but the next crossing a couple blocks away does not.