I was walking by the UP mainline this evening (double track) and I noticed some new changes to the frog and the points of the cross over turnouts.  The points have two ties bars; one at the begining and one in the middle.  There is also some linkage on the side of the turnout to connect the two tie bars.  The guard rails are metal bars and not made from actual rail anymore.  The frog is the most interesting part; the center of the frog pivots with the wheel flange depending on the direction of the car traveling over the frog.

Since WPM is less then a week away, who here is going, and what (if anything) are they bringing?

Here's my take:
- UP 949, 951, 963B excursion E9's
- DME 5042, project for a customer
- ICE 5040, another project for the same customer
- MET 2000, 2001, RP20BD's, projects for another customer (basic frames only)
- TTEX 353252, triple 53' Long Runner
- BNSF 4723 (was there last year)
- TTX 40' wells, Athearn Maxi-III
- TTX 40' wells, Walthers Thrall
- Copper Range 100, Baldwin DS-4-4-1000
- Copper Range 101, Baldwin DS-4-4-1000
- Copper Range 200, Baldwin S-12

I have to confess, I was on the MR website the other day .  They posted a video of a MTH SD70M (I think) with DCC couplers.  Now that is WAY COOL!!!!!  I think that will be a real aid in operations.  The couplers did not look very prototypical but it was still COOL!

It will be interesting to see what technology brings to the hobby in the next few years.

I worked for Sea Land from @1978 to1981.  I went to work for them before the first double stack cars were built, and left to work for another terminal a couple of years after the double stacks had pretty much replaced 89 foot flats in intermodal service for shippoing containers.  In about 1978 or 1979 I was stopped at a grade crossing at Rosecrans Ave in La Mirada, Ca for a Santa Fe freight train that was carrying the Sea Land land bridge from Hobart to Houston.  The trsain was "flying" through at speed when I suddenly noticed a single depresse3d center flat car wit