Walthers announces New Named Train

My September flyer came from Walthers and the cover announced new named trains for 2014. They are the Great Northern Railway's Empire Builder and the Big Sky Blue. There will be 10 different passenger cars for each train. the following is their offering:

Omaha Orange &
Pullman Green Scheme

85' ACF Baggage-Mail—Standard


85' ACF Baggage-Dorm—Standard
85' ACF Baggage-Dorm—Lighted


85' ACF 60-Seat Coach—Standard
85' ACF 60-Seat Coach—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "River" Series 7-4-3-1 Sleeper—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "River" Series 7-4-3-1 Sleeper—Lighted


85' ACF Ranch Series Coffee Shop Lounge—Standard
85' ACF Ranch Series Coffee Shop Lounge—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "Pass" Series 6-5-2 Sleeper—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "Pass" Series 6-5-2 Sleeper—Lighted


85' ACF 36-Seat "Lake" Series Diner—Standard
85' ACF 36-Seat "Lake" Series Diner—Lighted


85' Budd 46-Seat Vista-Dome Coach—Standard
85' Budd 46-Seat Vista-Dome Coach—Lighted


85' Budd "View" Series Great Dome Lounge—Standard
85' Budd "View" Series Great Dome Lounge—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "Coulee" Series 6-4-1 Observation—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "Coulee" Series 6-4-1 Observation—Lighted

 

Big Sky Blue
Scheme

85' ACF Baggage-Mail—Standard


85' ACF Baggage-Dorm—Standard
85' ACF Baggage-Dorm—Lighted


85' ACF 60-Seat Coach—Standard
85' ACF 60-Seat Coach—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "River" Series 7-4-3-1 Sleeper—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "River" Series 7-4-3-1 Sleeper—Lighted


85' ACF Ranch "Lake…" Series Coffee Shop Lounge—Standard
85' ACF Ranch "Lake…" Series Coffee Shop Lounge—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "Pass" Series 6-5-2 Sleeper—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "Pass" Series 6-5-2 Sleeper—Lighted


85' ACF 36-Seat "…Lake" Series Diner—Standard
85' ACF 36-Seat "…Lake" Series Diner—Lighted


85' Budd 46-Seat Vista-Dome Coach—Standard
85' Budd 46-Seat Vista-Dome Coach—Lighted


85' Budd "View" Series Great Dome Lounge—Standard
85' Budd "View" Series Great Dome Lounge—Lighted


85' Pullman-Standard "Coulee" Series 6-4-1 Observation—Standard
85' Pullman-Standard "Coulee" Series 6-4-1 Observation—Lighted

The locomotives offered are:

 

WalthersProto®
EMD F7 Diesels
Power Your Empire Builder Train
with these EMD F7s!
Available in Two Paint Schemes
Equipped with GN-Specific Details:

• GN-Specific Snowplow Pilot
• Carbody Filter Vent
• GN-Specific Style Cut Skirts
• Square-Cornered Winterization Hatch
• Roof-Mounted Cooling Coil
• Scheme-Specific Horn Placement

EMPIRE BUILDER SCHEME

A-B Sets
With Tsunami® Sound for DCC & DC
A-B Set #364A & 364B
A-B Set #368C & 372B

A Units
With Tsunami® Sound for DCC & DC
A Unit #364C
A Unit #367C

A-B Sets
Standard DC
A-B Set #364A & 364B
A-B Set #368C & 372B

A Units
Standard DC
A Unit #364C
A Unit #367C


SIMPLIFIED SCHEME

A-B Sets
With Tsunami® Sound for DCC & DC
A-B Set #363A & 365B
A-B Set #364A & 364B

A Units
With Tsunami® Sound for DCC & DC Layouts
A Unit #363C
A Unit #364C

A-B Sets
Standard DC
A-B Set #368C & 371B
A-B Set #370A & 372B

A Units
Standard DC
A Unit #365C
A Unit #367C

I am excited about the new release but I don't know how I can come up with the money for this one.

The Landscaping on Grand Central Has Begun

I started by putting in a few one way streets to form the entrance to Grand Central Station. I am now in the process of lining the streets with trees. As you can see I still have one side of the street to complete. I added bushes to the front of the terminal. I also added some people at the entrance to Grand Central. Then I added some park benches. I might try adding some flower beds and sidewalks along the boulevard.

 The grand plan is to add houses and a residential street to the left side of the terminal.

The EMD GP38 is back from repair

I must admit Brasseur Electric Trains in Saginaw Michigan did a great job of repairing my Ann Arbor EMD GP38 locomotive road number #7791. I had run it into the ground and the can motor needed to be replaced. It runs great now and my Ann Arbor freight train is back in business.

The model was made by Atlas and was part of a run of three GP38's from the Ann Arbor Railroad roster.

This is a artists drawing used by Atlas when the locomotives were released they were road numbers #7771, #7791, #7802. I just need #7771 to complete the set.

The Pere Marquette Locomotives Are Finally Here

I received a call from Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt. Pleasant Michigan and they informed me that my order of 2 EMD E7A Pere Marquette Locomotives have finally come in. They were originally scheduled to come in in March of 2013. This will complete the Pere Marquette passenger train I have been putting together for over a year. I now have all of the passenger cars and once I pay for the locomotives it will be complete. I will be running an EMD E7A-A configuration.

The cars consist of an RPO (Railway Post Office), baggage car, 3 coach cars, dinning coach car, lunch counter lounge car, 3 10-6 sleeper cars.

Grand Central Station Is Now On My Layout

My birthday is coming up and I got an early gift. Sandy let me order a kit from Walthers and I built Grand Central Station. I can use it for my New York Central passenger train and for my Pere Marquette passenger train. It all depends on the city I am claiming the station is in. New York City for the New York Central train and Chicago for the Pere Marquette train.

As you can see I have a lot of landscaping to do. I need to paint in the streets and put in people and cars but afterall I just built the building.

Chicago's Grand Central Station

Grand Central Station Chicago

A little research and I was able to learn that the Pere Marquette passenger trains used Grand Central Station in Chicago for it's terminal not Chicago's Union Station.  I found the following on the net From Wikipedia:

"Grand Central Station was a passenger railroad terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, from 1890 to 1969. It was located at 201 W. Harrison Street in the south-western part of the Chicago Loop, the block bounded by Harrison Street, Wells Street, Polk Street and the Chicago River. Grand Central Station was designed by architect Solon Spencer Beman for the Wisconsin Central Railroad, and was completed by the Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad.

Grand Central Station was eventually purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which used the station as the Chicago terminus for its passenger rail service, including its glamorous Capitol Limited to Washington, D.C. Major tenant railroads included the Soo Line Railroad, successor to the Wisconsin Central, the Chicago Great Western Railway, and the Pere Marquette Railway. The station opened December 8, 1890, closed on November 8, 1969, and torn down in 1971."