Twenty years ago this month, a group of five people began building a large portable layout to give people a chance to try out timetable-and-train order operation, who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Fifteen years ago, the Operation Road Show's Wabash layout debuted at the 2003 NMRA National Convention in Toronto. Since that time, the layout has traveled to six national Conventions, and been a participant, from its home base, in the nearby 2007 Convention in Detroit.

This is going to be a work-in-progress discussing these locomotives and a blog about EMD diesel engines.

The EMD GP30 (2250hp from a 16-567D2), GP35 (2500hp from a 16-567D3), and GP40 (3000hp from a 16-645E3) represented the late 567 series engine and the transition/early 645 series engine of the 1963 to 1967 period (even tho GP30 production began in 1961 and the pre Dash-2 GP40 production ended in December 1971, I'm only covering those years and only 4-axle types).

The copy of the latest tariffs on Chinese goods  reveals these new items -

8602.90.00 Rail locomotives (o/than diesel-electric), non-electric; locomotive tenders

4406.10.00 Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood, not impregnated

4406.90.00 Railway or tramway sleepers (cross-ties) of wood, impregnated

A word search of the document for - model - injection - mold - train - rail  turned up no hobby matches. 

I'm finally running out of spikes and need to replenish my supplies. But I'm running into a problem. The ones I was using were .300" and .333" long - about 5/16" and 9/32". The only spikes I can find that list the sizes are ME spikes, and they have 3/8" and 1/4" sizes with nothing in between. The 3/8" ones look way too big, and the 1/4" bend if you look at them wrong, and they look a little too small to me.

If anyone knows where I can get the 5/16" or 9/32" spikes, please let me (and others) know. Thanks.