Cale

Steam railroading is my primary area of interest and all my freight is normally hauled by my fleet of steam locomotive MOCs. My two BNSF engines have long since been retired along with their TTX cars. The new Maersk train however will probably see some service on PennLUG train layouts in the future. Though most of our stuff is 8 wide MOCs we do like to have the current stock LEGO train sets on display so we can point them out to the public and say "Yes LEGO does make trains and here is a LEGO train you can buy". I would like to build a proper 8 wide version of the Norfolk Southern Maersk engine and a sister SD40-2 in NS black as well as a set of well cars in Maersk colors for the future though. Cale

They look really awesome when fully ballasted too. Cale

Well then. I guess I'll start building some Hello Kitty Trains then. Cale

I think we will find that this answer is far more relevant and interesting than anything that's ever come out of a politicians mouth. Cale Looking forward to a little revolution.

Very interesting. For myself I can say that half length rails would be very useful for PeNNLUG's trolley line as well as a few other things. And while we're at it wider radius curves would be absolutely sweet. Cale

Cale

Thanks Guys. This locomotive will handle tight LEGO curves just fine though it may look a little silly doing it. It will even traverse switch tracks. The only point where it will run into problems is on a tight S curve. It looks most at home though on the super wide curves like CILTC have done and hopefully my club will be doing in the future. Having the I.R. Receiver hidden like that doesn't cause to much of a problem. It can block the signal occasionally but not enough to worry about. This engine has proved to be one of my most reliable runners and got quite a work out at BrickFair recently. You can see it breifly running at the 45 second mark in this video. CNN BrickFair Cale

After a few WamaLTC members gave me a friendly ribbing for not having a B&O engine to display while doing train shows at the B&O Railroad Museum I decided it was time to build one. What better tribute to B&O steam than one of the greatest engines to grace Baltimore rails. And it's about time I started posting stuff again The EM-1s were the last articulated steam locomotives built for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The EM-1s were delivered from Baldwin Locomotive in 1944 (engines #7620 - 7619) and 1945 (engines #7620 - 7629). The B&O was in the midst of dieselization at the time and would have prefered to order new diesel locomotives but war material restrictions (namely the copper used for the electricals in a diesel) dictated that the B&O had to order new steam instead. For a locomotive of the 2-8-8-4 wheel arrangement (the B&O never refered to them by the common name for this type "Yellowstone"), they were relatively modest in size, but very successful. Originally, they worked on the Cumberland Division, a very physically difficult stretch of the B&O, with numerous heavy coal trains, as well as fast freights. The main district served by the EM-1 was the line from Cumberland towards Grafton, WV. Later, as diesels took over this assignment, the class was shifted to the Pittsburgh Division, where they primarily handled Lake Mineral traffic, plus trains between Wheeling and Pittsburgh. The class was renumbered 650-679. Well liked by the crews that ran them the EM-1s were up for any task from lugging long coal drags to the ocasional passenger duty. The EM-1s couldn't escape being replaced by deisels though. The B&O started to be scrapping them in 1957, and all were off the roster by 1960. Unfrtunately no EM-1s were saved. This engine is powered by LEGO Power Functions and can out pull any 9v locomotive. The full Flickr Gallery can be found here. B&O EM-1 Gallery Cale

After playing with the new passenger train at Brickworld this past weekend I can say that the new Power Functions Train motor is at the very least as good as he old 9v line. The motor had excellent pulling power (as good as the old 9v, maybe even a little better) and has good speed. Cale I would like to welcome our new Power Functions overlords.

My geographic location is a big influence on my building. My top three favorite railroads, the Western Maryland, the Maryland & Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania RR, all ran into my home of York County, Pennsylvania and are the are the ones I model most. I love local history and the local connection these RR's all had ties into that. When I'm not modeling those three I still am influenced by local connections. The Peach Bottom Railway Eastern Division ran in neighboring Lancaster County and it's middle division counter part went on to become part of the Ma & Pa. The Reading also ran locally and interchanged with the Western Maryland. The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie while not quite local was still a Pennsylvania line. The Norfolk & Western was an Eastern US railroad (getting farther away but still on my side of the US) and which the Pennsylvania RR owned a controlling interest of is also a favorite subject. Even when I don't directly model something local I'm still pulling inspiration from local sources. For an upcoming project of mine I've been gathering ideas from Howard Tunnel and industrial areas around Harrisburg PA. Cale

Once again you've built an outstanding MOC. Nice work. Cale

Excellent work. You make some of the nicest most scale looking 6 wide stuff I've seen. Cale

Thanks Brian. I plan to equip the dark room eventually. Need to do a bit more research on it first. I also plan to build the DD1 which pulled the train on it's final leg between Manhattan Transfer and Pennsylvania Station in New York City. Cale

Thanks. I never think of myself as having a particular building style. I just go for as much detail and as much realism as I can stuff in. And the boiler was a real tricky build to do with the tiles. But I'm happy with the results and glad you like it. Cale

The Lindbergh Special “The Train That Raced A Plane” When celebrated pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh returned to the United States on June 11, 1927 following his successful solo transatlantic flight from New York City to Paris, he was greeted by President Calvin Coolidge in Washington, DC and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. There was intense competition between several newsreel companies to be the first to get footage of the ceremony back to New York to show in the Broadway theaters. Several companies chartered aircraft, but the International News Reel Corporation instead chartered a special train from the Pennsylvania Railroad. E6s Atlantic #460 was selected as the locomotive, B60B baggage car #7874 was equipped as a mobile darkroom to process the film on rout, and P70 coach #3301 brought up the train to carry PRR and newsreel company officials. The crew were given permission to run as fast as they considered safe. And run they did. The train made it to the electric changeover at Manhattan Transfer with an average speed of 74 mph (119 km/h), a record never beaten by steam on that journey, and with a reported maximum speed of 115 mph (185 km/h). The newsreels brought by train reached the cinema screens and beat those flown to New York by over an hour, due to the delay the latter experienced to process the film. The Pennsylvania Railroad used this victory extensively in publicity in the following years. The full Lindbergh Special Story. This train has been a work in progress since 2007. The original #460 and the first version of the cars made their public appearance at Brickworld 2007. But I was always changing and improving the design so I’ve never posted the whole train until now. After a complete redesign of the engine this year and some more tweaking to the cars I think I’m finally happy with the results. The full Lindbergh Special The Real #460 The LEGO #460 PRR B60b Baggage Car PRR P70 Coach Cale

OK You guys are becoming far too powerful. If you two keep this up I'm going to have to ban you from PennLUG so you don't make me look bad. Seriously guys this set looks killer. Awesome job. Cale

Well done young Jedi. Cale

This is cool. The little building is simple but has some great colors and nice architectural features. And the surrounding landscape is awesome. Cale

Thanks Guys. I'm not sure if the N&W ever gather the entire set together in one train like this but they do go well together. Cale

ENTERED Norfolk & Western Bicentennial Train In celebration of the United States Bicentennial in 1976 many railroads painted equipment in special Bicentennial colors. The Norfolk & Western Railway wasn�€™t content with painting just a locomotive and maybe a caboose like some railroads. The N&W went the extra mile and painted an EMD SD45, an H-12 class hopper, a 40ft semi trailer, and a C18 class caboose. Since I'm part of the RailBricks staff I'm not eligible as an official entry but I'd like to throw this in for fun as a "staff entry" for category one. The full N&W Bicentennial set can be found on my Flickr Gallery. SD45 #1776 C18 class caboose #1776 40ft Trailers and Bethlehem 89ft� Flush-Deck Flat Car H-12 class hopper #1776 Cale

Thanks Brian. It would be great to see the two side by side (or nose to tail). I'll eventually get to visit the Illinois Railway Museum some day. Maybe they'll have the #1630 running by then. Cale

Thanks. That was the hardest part of this build. On first glance it's such a simple basic structure that it doesn't seem that it would be that interesting. So I had to really concentrate on the details to make it stand out and add interest. Cale

I want this set. Cale Leiphart

I built this model without a base plate so it could be easily integrated into a club train layout. I do have future plans that include a more permanent and sceniced locals for the Ma & Pa's section houses. And I didn't realize this until Anthony Sava pointed it out but I'm ineligible for the contest as I'm helping with the RailBricks blog. I really need to pay attention to this stuff. Cale Thanks for the comments on the roof guys. The Ma & Pa shipped a lot of slate from the quarries in Delta Pennsylvania. So slate shingles were used quite a lot on the railroads structures. Even the humble little tool houses and that was part of the Ma & Pa's charm. So it was one of the element that to me had to look perfect. I owe bricktrix and gambort for the roof inspiration. I tried out several methods to get the slate shingle look but this was the most elegant. And it better look like stone. It is slate after all. Cale

ENTERED My entry for category 3. The Section House or tool house was the headquarters for the Ma & Pa's section gangs. Each section gang, consisting of a foreman and five to seven track workers, was responsible for the maintenance of about ten miles of track on the Ma & Pa. They handled all maintenance from tie replacement to surfacing the track, tamping ballast, and clearing snow in the winter. Only bridge and trestle repairs were handled by a special gang, based in Fallston, Maryland, that operated over the entire railroad. Once a week the foreman walked his section from end to end to inspect it and ensure its safety. The hand car and in latter years a motor car used by the section gang and all of their tools were housed in the Section House. This Section House is based on a standard set of plans developed by the Ma & Pa. Two of these houses are known to still be standing. One is located in Hyde Maryland. Built in 1903 the Hyde Section House served Ma & Pa's section 3. The other is located in Muddy Creek Forks. Built in 1911 this house served section 8. The Muddy Creek Forks house is now preserved as part of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad Preservation Society's Muddy Creek Forks Historic Site. Cale