Baghdad Hobby Club

What do some servicemen stationed in Iraq do to pass the time? Hobbies! Specifically, model trains! Here, Lt. Patrick Anderson works with some of our HO scale hopper cars. Patrick and a few others in the outfit have also built an operating layout using KATO UNITRACK.

And Kato has pictures of it here. (On the lefthand menu of the Web site of the Japanese model railroad manufacturer Kato USA, click on the Customer Photo Gallery and go to the Baghdad Hobby Club at the bottom of Page 2.)


via Allen Johnson

cross posted Bill Baar's West Side

Playing with trains

When I belonged to the Oak Park Society of Model Engineers many years ago, you couldn't say play with trains; it was instead operating the layout.

I'm older now. Playing is just fine with me.

Sam Posey's written a book about it and the Mcwetlog reviews it here.

Broadway Limited CZ Pass Cars

Model Railroader reviews them. They're stunning models.

Model Slums

Somebody models 'em. They look great.

Milwaukee Rd rib-side cabooses

The Milwaukee Railroader's First Quarter 2006 issues carries a story on building Milwaukee Rd rib-side cabooses from Cabooses Northwest.

Pictures of them available here.

Coincidence to see them because a few weeks ago I was talking at the hobby shop about scratch building some but hesitated because I thought putting the work into that would gurantee someone bringing them out (and doing a better job of it).

Looks like just mentioning the thought was enough to do the trick.

Bloomingdale Airline

Tremendous site dedicated to documenting C&NW and Milw Road switching districts in Chicago. This is just fantastic. Especially the part on the Bloomingdale Airline; one of my favorite pieces of railroads in Chicago.