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 Posted - September 06 2026 : 9:35:32 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 6 2026
A small freight set seen at Union Furnace Falls Maryland.
Cool comfortable afternoon here in western Maryland today.
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Posted - September 07 2026 : 11:23:46 AM
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The TF Railroader News
September 7 2026
PCC trolley near a stop in downtown Smeltertown Texas.
Very interesting picture taken by Chops124 with many thanks Jeff.
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 Posted - September 07 2026 : 10:24:02 PM
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Thank you WKS for the bump. Smelterown represents El Paso, Texas circa 1960. It was my dabbling
at trying to create something more on the realistic side while I dallied with a bad case of Tyco Fever.
The problem of trying to achieve realism, is that it's a very hard bar to achieve. I had fun with this
portable 2.5 by 6 layout and it went to a lot of shows. To save space, I arranged a pulley system to
hoist it to the ceiling of the garage. That worked until one of my Siamese cats, Chopsticks in fact,
managed to jump up there and capsize the entire layout causing much destruction as large sections
crashed to the floor. It was repaired, did some more shows, but it kept taking hits in one form or
another, so I eventually retired it. Cats and model trains are a bad combination.
For the street effect, I rented a router and carved out a simple oval with a dummy perpendicular
track, nailed down flex track and covered the entire strip with gray bathtub calk with an India Ink
wash.
https://youtu.be/lykWlqnzGzo
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Posted - September 07 2026 : 10:47:05 PM
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BTW, the efforts of your laytour were most impressive. Not seen the
New Jersey Central modeled to any great extent, and the PC, of
course, was the railroad of our youth- doomed from its inception
in no small part a victim of the Interstate Highway System that
made it nearly impossible for regional New England railroads
to compete against. Other factors, such as government interference
were among the last nails in its corporate coffin.
There is a splendid photograph of PRR Vice President Paul Freuckt
with a look of deep gloom as his wife attempts to break a bottle
of champange on the newly minted observation coach out there.
His look says everything about the future of New England railroading.
I tried to find it using AI, but was unable to locate it.
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Posted - September 08 2026 : 12:11:19 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 8 2026
My pleasure Jeff. Your photos always enhance this thread. As well photos from Frank and others.
Another gem from you shows a freight train transporting jugs at Catford Creek England. Photo taken by Chops124.
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Posted - September 09 2026 : 9:02:55 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 9 2026
We see a GG1 using solar powered panels in diesel territory at Derby Falls Massachusetts.
Another nice photo taken by Chops124. Thank you Jeff.
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Posted - September 11 2026 : 11:57:51 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 11 2026
The Princess Royal is a beautiful locomotive assigned to pull a set of pristine Pullmans out of Bergen Point Station.
Another nice gem from Toptrain. Great pictures from Frank.
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Posted - September 12 2026 : 7:50:46 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 12 2026
Union Pacific Mikado seen traveling over McNeal Bridge in El Paso Texas.
Nice photos taken by Chops 124. Thank you Jeff.
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Posted - September 13 2026 : 7:24:07 PM
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quote:BTW, the efforts of your laytour were most impressive. Not seen the
New Jersey Central modeled to any great extent, and the PC, of
course, was the railroad of our youth- doomed from its inception
in no small part a victim of the Interstate Highway System that
made it nearly impossible for regional New England railroads
to compete against. Other factors, such as government interference
were among the last nails in its corporate coffin.
There is a splendid photograph of PRR Vice President Paul Freuckt
with a look of deep gloom as his wife attempts to break a bottle
of champange on the newly minted observation coach out there.
His look says everything about the future of New England railroading.
I tried to find it using AI, but was unable to locate it.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â September 07 2026Â :Â 10:47:05 PM
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I am of the opinion PC should never have happened. NYC had ties with the C&O, and Pennsy with the N&W. Consider thia alternative scenario: NYC becomes part of CHessie System along with the Reading and Central of Jersey. PRR-N&W takes in the Wabash, Nickle Plate, Erie Lackawanna, Lehigh Valley and New Haven. Each of the big railroads gets paired with a healthy coal hauler that keeps the creditors at bay, and the end result is a system remarkably similar to what happened after CSX and NS tore Conrail in two, but without bankruptcy and the ensuing bailout. Another Alternative would make EL, LV, D&H and B&M part of a third rail system in the east.
I wonder how much of heavy industry's decline in the Northeast is directly due to the collapse of rail service there. Some industries cannot be serviced adequately by truck due to the sheer volume of product they consume and produce. A coal train serving a power plant daily, for example, takes at least 500 coal trucks a day off the highways. Unfinished steel slabs cannot be shipped from the furnaces to the rolling mills by truck, They are too heavy and sometimes the two facilities are hundreds of miles apart. Both of these are industries that must be kept supplied with raw materials for continuous production because the cost of idling and restarting them is astronomical. And if the only practical way of supplying them becomes unstable, they have to seriously consider whether they can weather supply chain disruptions on a regular basis, or they are better off moving their facilities elsewhere.
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Posted - September 14 2026 : 11:00:31 AM
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The TF Railroader News
September 14 2026
Interesting possibilities if New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads had consolidated with various competitors and remained separate.
Perhaps the alternative would have been better for them and the country. More train service and less car congestions.
Here we see in another reality a prosperous Penn Central successfully transporting freight cars on time and intact.
Led by Alco built RSD12 engine number 6871 hauling thirty cars to their destinations.
Seen outside Bellefonte Pennsylvania. Beautiful photo taken by Ray Marinaccio. Thank you Ray for showing us a nice scene.
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Posted - September 15 2026 : 11:54:35 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 15 2026
Penn Central GP30 heads to Ruidoso New Mexico. Far from her home rails.
Another nice picture taken by Ray Marinaccio. Thanks Ray for your input here.
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Posted - September 18 2026 : 5:16:49 PM
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quote:
The TF Railroader News
September 14 2026
Here we see in another reality a prosperous Penn Central successfully transporting freight cars on time and intact.
Led by Alco built RSD12 engine number 6871 hauling thirty cars to their destinations.
Seen outside Bellefonte Pennsylvania. Beautiful photo taken by Ray Marinaccio. Thank you Ray for showing us a nice scene.
Originally posted by wks - September 14 2026 : 11:00:31 AM
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Wouldn't that have been something? The promise of Penn Central, that was finally realized after billions invested in Conrail. But in your scenario, PC themselves would have been able to pull it off. The whole system dug out of the mud before it could deteriorate further. I had a ringside seat for Penn Central, then after the steel industry collapsed I got to watch the whole thing all over again when the P&LE lost its traffic base. We have lost so much over the years, and yet the rail system as a whole is in far better shape now than it was back then.
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Posted - September 18 2026 : 10:34:29 PM
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The TF Railroader News
September 18 2026
That is the purpose of this thread. To visualize what could have been. Alternate realities to boggle the mind and have fun with what could have been.
We see a vintage Genoa engine pulling a loan coach car across Reynolds Creek near Decatur Georgia this late afternoon with cool temperatures.
Wonderful view of a short vintage set seen and photographed by shaygetz. Thank you Bob for posting a nice picture here on this forum.
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