Sold my Pere Marquette Locomotive #103

I sold my Pere Marquette EMD E7A locomotive road number 103 so that I could buy some books. I hated to let it go but I needed the books.

My Outdoor Railroad

Upon inspection of the track I find I need to get some vegetation killer to keep the weeds and grass away from the track bed. This year the weeds have grown up quickly and are taking over the track. I need to get that taken care of before I can think about running the train.

My Pere Marquette Passenger Train

The consists of my Pere Marquette Passenger Train produced by Walthers in 2013 as their named train for that year.

EMD E7A I have 2 of These road Numbers 103 and 105

RPO (Railway Post Office) road number 60

Railway Express Mail Car road number 367

2 Baggage Cars road numbers 50 & 51

52 seat Coach Car road number 1614

52 seat Coach Car road number 1618

52 seat Coach Car road number 1621

Standard Diner Coach Car road number 1610

Standard Lunch Counter Buffet Lounge Car road number 1903

10-6 Sleeper car road number 2636 City of Grand Rapids

10-6 Sleeper car road number 2640 City of Saginaw

10-6 Sleeper car road number 2645 City of Midland

Pere Marquette Locomotives

After 2 years of collecting bottles and cans I was finally able to pay off one of the two locomotives I had on hold at Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt Pleasant Michigan. This puts a locomotive with the Walthers Pere Marquette named passenger train They produced for 2013. I had previously collected all of the passenger cars and was just waiting to pay off the locomotives. Only one more locomotive to go and the train will be complete. The locomotive I got was an EMD E7A unit road number 105. The remaining locomotive also an EMD E7A unit road number 103 is waiting for me to collect a lot more pop cans.

Repairs Are Coming Along

I will soon have my Ann Arbor GP38, road number 7802, back from repair at Brasseur's Electric Trains in Saginaw Michigan I had the motor replaced. There are 2 others that I need to pay for and pick up. One is a New York Central F3A unit, and the other is a C&O Pere Marquette E7A unit road number 96. There is another New York Central ALCO PA unit, road number 4202, that I had just picked up that still has the same problem with it as when I brought it in for repair the first time. That will most likely need the motor replaced in it as well.
Once I have the Ann Arbor GP38 back on the tracks my Ann Arbor freight train will be complete. Once the New York Central ALCO PA unit is repaired and back on the tracks my New York Central passenger train will be complete. I am saving money to purchase the two Pere Marquette EMD E7A locomotives, road numbers 103 and 105, I have on hold at Mountain Town Hobbies in Mount Pleasant Michigan. I am hoping that I can get one of them for my birthday next month. That will complete the C&O Pere Marquette passenger train sold by Walthers as the 2013 named train. All in all my indoor HO layout in very near completion. I just have some landscaping to do to finish it off.

Express Mail Cars

Last year I ordered 2 express mail cars from Walthers through Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. I had forgotten about them until they came in a few months ago. One was a New York Central car that I plan to add to my New York Central passenger train. and the other is a C&O car that I will be adding to my Pere Marquette passenger train. I plan to pick up the C&O car today.

The car is on my layout now as part of the Pere Marquette Passenger train and looks great I have placed it just after the RPO and before the baggage cars. My next goal is to pick up the New York Central Express Mail Car and add it to the New York Central Passenger Train. I can't wait to add it to my layout.

Time Is Not On My Side

Since the holiday season I have been hoping for the resources to pick up the two Pere Marquette locomotives I have put aside for me at Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt Pleasant Michigan. So far I have not been able to do it. Doing so would complete the collection of my Pere Marquette passenger train. I keep hoping I will be able to get them soon. Only time will tell.

Wish me luck Valentines day is coming up fast.

Mid May 2013 and Still No Pere Marquette EMD E7A Locomotives

The Pere Marquette named train offered by Walthers has been met with one delay after another. I finally received all the passenger cars, but now the locomotives are not expected until 28-Jun-2013. They were supposed to be here the end of March then later projected for the end of April. It seems to have been one thing after another. I can't wait. That will complete the set when locomotives number #103 and #105 come in.

Pere Marquette Passenger Train Almost Complete

As of today I have all of the cars for the completed passenger train with the exception of a 52 seat Coach Car and a 10-6 Sleeper Car and 2 EMD E7A  Locomotives. I had to loose a lot of weight in order to put this train together. I still need to loose 10 lbs to complete the task.

52 Seat Coach

Standard 10-6 Sleeper Car

EMD E7A Locomotives nos 103 and 105

This will compete the set

The Train will consist of 2 EMD E7A Locomotives followed by an RPO Baggage Car, then 2 Standard Baggage Cars, 3 52 Seat Coach Cars, then a Diner Coach Car, and a Lunch Counter/Lounge Car, then finally 3 10-6 Sleeper cars.

Weight Loss Spurt gives me the Lunch Counter / Lounge

I guess I just lost another 5 lbs so the lunch counter lounge car is now part of my passenger train. Little by little I am getting the train together.

One more and then I start filling in the extra cars. Like the 2 coach cars and the 2 extra sleeper cars.

The Dining Car is Mine Now

Well another 5 lbs down and I was able to add the dining car to my Pere Marquette passenger train. My next goal is the lunch counter lounge car. once I get it there will only be one more car to complete the set and that is the 10-6 sleeper car. After that I will be filling in with 2 more 52 seat coach cars and 2 more 10-6 sleepers.

10-6 sleeper car

Lunch counter / lounge car

All The Passenger Cars Are In

All of the passenger cars are in stock at Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt. Pleasant Michigan for the Pere Marquette Passenger Train. The next car I will be working on is the Dining Car # 1610. Originally, the real train had a few of the Coach cars were converted to Dining cars. I can't wait to add it to my model Passenger train.

5 more pounds

I did it - YEA - I've reached the third milestone in my weight loss effort. This makes 15 lbs so far my ultimate goal is another 35 lbs wish me luck. now I get the 52 seat coach car for the Pere Marquette passenger train.

If I keep this up I will get all the cars before spring. I must admit however, this is not getting any easier.

The New Deal

My wife Sandy and I struck a deal, If I loose 50 lbs, she will buy me the Pere Marquette passenger cars I have been waiting for. Our deal is to divide the 50 lbs by the number of cars I have on order to establish benchmarks for each car. When I reach the weight established for each car she will buy it for me. At first it will be easy but as the weight drops off the bench marks will get harder and harder to reach, but I think I can do it with a lot of hard work. As of today I have reached the first benchmark so I will be getting the RPO today I can't wait.

Pere Marquette Railroad Facts

Pere Marquette Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Pere Marquette Railway (reporting mark PM) operated in
the Great Lakes region of the United States and controlled the 
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate), 
the Erie Railroad and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, 
and planned to merge the four companies. However, the ICC 
did not approve the merger and the Van Sweringens eventually 
sold their interest in the Pere Marquette to the C&O, with which
it formally merged on June 6, 1947.

The C&O has since become part of CSX Transportation.
In 1984, Amtrak named its passenger train between 
Grand Rapids, Michigan and Chicago the Pere Marquette.

The 2004 film "The Polar Express" featured steam locomotive 
Pere Marquette 1225. The train in the movie (not the same train
in the popular children's book) was a model of the 1225 based on 
measurements and recordings of the 1225. It is the locomotive that 
Chris Van Allsberg claimed was the inspiration for the book,
which he visited as a child when it was on the MSU campus. 
The locomotive was scheduled to be at the premiere in 
Grand Rapids, where the writer of the book, Chris Van Allsberg, 
was born, but he canceled.

 It is housed and maintained at the Steam Railroading Institute
 in Owosso, Michigan.

Great News on the Pere Marquette Passenger Cars

At long last the first of the Pere Marquette passenger cars have come into Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. They are the RPO Baggage Car and the Standard Baggage Car. They have been a long time coming. Now I need to find a way to make the money for them.

The rest of the cars are due January 28th. The locomotives are due March 28th.

OH NO Not Again

Standard Baggage car

Well it looks like the delivery dates for the Pere Marquette train must have slipped again. The RPO and the Baggage cars were due to come in on or around December 28th 2012. So far nothing has been delivered to Mountain Town Hobbies in Mt. Pleasant Michigan. I wounder what will happen to the January 28th date that was projected for the rest of the passenger cars?. Oh well I'm getting used to this.

I just checked the Walther's site and I now see that all the passenger cars are projected to arrive on January 28th 2013. we will see.

The RPO car

Attention Back On The Pere Marquette Passenger Train

I hope the dates don't slip again and the world doesn't end today. 85' ACF RPO-Baggage 920-9360 - December 28 2012	85' P-S Diner Coach 920-9364 - January 28 2013	Also Available with Factory-Installed Interior Lighting Factory-Installed LED Lighting for DC & DCC
72' P-S Baggage 920-9361 - December 28 2012	85' P-S Lunch Counter Lounge 920-9365 - January 28 2013
85' P-S 52-Seat Coach 920-9362 Fluted w/Skirts - January  28 2013 920-9363 Fluted No Skirts - January 28 2013	85' P-S 10-6 Sleeper Plan 4167 920-9366 - January 28 2013
PERE MARQUETTE EMD E7A DIESELS See-Through Air Intake Grilles Painted Metal Grab Irons, Handrails & Lift Rings Superb Paint & Lettering Matches these Cars Five-Pole, Skew-Wound, High-Torque, High-Efficiency Can Motor Helical Gears with 12:1 Ratio for Smooth, Ultra-Quiet Running Correct 36" Wheels Easy Multiple-Unit Operation Proto MAX™ Metal Knuckle Couplers
Tsunami® Sound & DCC 920-40997 #107- March 2013 920-40998 #108 - March 2013	Standard DC 199.98 920-47997 #103 - March 2013 920-47998 #105 - March 2013

End of November and still no Pere Marquette Rolling Stock

Well we are still waiting. Here it is the end of November. I should have most of the cars by now and not one single car has arrived at Mountain Town Hobbies. The only car that should be still outstanding is the 3 10-6 sleeper cars they are due the end of December. The Locomotives are due in March. As per a trusted source:

"The ship dates on Pere Marquette-theme C&O passenger cars have slipped again.

The Baggage and RPO-Bagage are now projected for Dec. 28, and the rest of the
cars are projected for Jan. 28. They're having the same problems getting stuff
from their suppliers in China as most other model RR manufacturers.

The samples Walthers showed at TrainFest earlier this month were very nice. The
coaches have the distinctive aluminum window frames painted on, which the
previous C&O coaches they ran didn't."

-Fritz Milhaupt
Modeling Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.
http://www.pmhistsoc.org

If all goes well I may have my Alco PA and PB locomotives by Chanukkah that would help with the pain of waiting for the Pere Marquette train. If I am lucky enough to get the PA-B units that would complete the New York Central passenger train I have been putting together over the past few years.

Happy Chanukkah to all

The Additional car coming in December and The Locomotives in March

December I am scheduled to receive the 10-6 Sleeper Car

I have 3 on order. considering the delays so far I am not sure when they will arrive. The story so far is there is a delay in manufacturing in China.

In March of 2013 the Locomotives are due to arrive.

God only knows when they will get here.

Stay tuned for the latest updates on the Pere Marquette passenger train by Walthers.