Category Archives: History

Famous Designers and Railroads

Another post about designers and railroads. A few posts back, talking about Raymond Loewy’s design for the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Famous GG1. Here we have the iconic Logo for the New Haven Railway.

New Haven Railroad Logo

Herbert Matter’s NH Logo. This a page from my Type book studying Graphic Design in college.

In 1954 Patrick McGinnis took over the financially strapped New Haven Railroad. His wife Lucille convinced him to come up with a new visual look, to compete with Car and Air travel. Herbert Matter’s fresh clean and modern designs are still seen in some stations and occasionally on a metro-north locomotive as a tribute to the great design. It still lives on even as the New Haven was absorbed into Penn Central about 50 years ago.

The Mammoth Amherst Railroad Society’s Railroad Show

Just returned from W. Springfield MA from the biggest model train show in the nation. Quite an experience. Over 400,000 square ft of dealers, manufacturers, modular layouts, etc.

Car in the parking lot right where I pulled in. No doubt I was in train land!

The show is in 4 buildings. this is the entrance to one of the four (Mallary Complex)

Mallary Complex

They have some canvas covered walkways between buildings

covered walkway

This is inside showing less than half of the largest building (Better Living Center)

Partial BLC Hall photo

Some of the manufacturers show a model in progress-undecorated.This is a Rapido Pre-production model at their booth

Pre-Production Alco RS11

They also have some special things like this Real 1895 Baldwin steam engine, built for SD Warren Paper Co, that has been restored to full steam operation.

SD Warren-No-2-2Ft gauge

All in all , a very enjoyable weekend

The inspiration for my concrete arch bridge

Walnut Lane bridge over the Wissahickon creek

The Walnut lane bridge was certainly most of my wanting to reproduce something similar in HO scale. Although the Walnut lane bridge is a roadway bridge with cantilevered sidewalks, the main structural elements for a railroad bridge would be similar, and I did not try to reproduce an exact copy this bridge, which is right in my neighborhood.

Walnut Lane bridge from creek walking path

The bridge was built in 1908 and at that time was the longest masonry arch span in the world, just now finishing a restoration.

Continue working on the Yard & Engine Servicing area

Some Photos showing progress, and also trying arrangements of structures for the engine servicing facility, and how these would photograph in different light (time of day-or weather)

Working with laying track and stone wall at one yard lead

Track down and stone wall further along with concrete cap.

Trying position of servicing structures

Working it out.

Trying angles

Camera and lighting set up after placing structures and ballast, greenery etc.

Final early morning light Photo.

Early morning happening-Click to enlarge

 

Steamtown National Historic Site

In an ongoing summer of visiting railroad related sites, we visited Steamtown national Historic site in Scranton PA. run by the national park service. A lot of very interesting trains and exhibits. I’ll post more in a future post, but thought this cool cutaway of a steam engine showing the firebox, Boiler, smokebox and cylinder, was a good introduction.

Steam Engine cutaway