A friend of my family was off at a wedding a while ago and met someone who worked on a railroad. He was shop worker I beleive. He offered to send something to me, and today I received a switch key for the Indiana Harbor Belt and a caboose whilstle. The whistle isn't too glamorous, but hey! It's cool!

This is my second gift from a railroad worker. My first was a brand new bad order tag for the Norfolk Southern.

Took a few photos of the small Greenfield Ethanol plant in Johnstown, ON on the weekend and noticed an interesting arrangement of ballast and wood crossing at the end of the spur for corn unloading. Is the ballast there to slow down any stray covered hoppers before they hit the bumper? What might the wood crossing be for; the track mobile to get on/off the rails?

Here's a photo showing the end of the spur in relation to the rest of the plant.

I model a lot of cars that are within 5 or 6 years of the new/repaint date. I was wondering how long does it take  before the paint starts to fade?

This is a rialorad that was originally by my house though was turned into a bike path known as the Prarie Path (see image below)

Here is a map of the old railroad