A new beginning...JRs UPRR.


beep ba da beeep ba da beep beep.....NEWS coming down the wire!

3 major acquisitions for the JRs UPPR has been made. It's ludicrous! We are on a buying spree! Management has lost their minds. Must be that summer is nearly over and fall is coming. Scheduling will be changing and work is to soon be done on the JRs UPPR. Road power for interchanges are needed.

So what do we have for the southern line exchange? As mentioned in my previous post we were on a look out for a RS-1 or GP38...well due to managements favoritism to the ALCOs. We were able to find a RS-1!

What we have is an Atlas RS-1 that has been customized with a chop nose! This unit appears to be in great shape with some run time, still runs great per last owner. It has been painted in a Freelance rail road called the Mill Brook and Highland. It is based in New Hampshire. We have made arrangements and the purchase has been made. It is currently en route from Lisbon, New Hampshire. The unit should arrive in a few days! She will be picked apart and reviewed by management for a full assessment. Then she will be sent down to NC to the infamous JTEX shops for a repaint and some decal work and detail work. Them boys are good at turning out great refurbished locos down there! The goal is to repaint for (ASAB)
Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay RR "the Bay Line". Management is looking to number this unit to either #911 or #904 or #913. We will be consulting with JTEX advisors ;) .

So with no more delays here are some pictures the Mill Brook and Highland RR provided us of #4401 RS-1 Chopped nose!

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And here are the prototype locomotives of #904, #911 & #913 for ASAB RR livery.

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So if you are wondering ASAB had quite a few RS-1s back in their day....

Here was their roster.... http://www.thedieselshop.us/AStAB.HTML
 
Soooooo what are the other 2 acquisitions? Did you forget that there were 3 in total? Seeing if ya following along folks....;)

JRs UPPR stumbled on some o'l CNW locos that were at a reasonable price and management couldn't pass them up!

1st up an Athearn CNW EMD SD60 #8021 in the Zito yellow scheme and the second unit is an Athearn CNW SD40-2 #6876 “Old Yellow” that included a Digitrax decoder installed with an operating flashing beacon! Each unit is DCC ready. Which is fantastic. Only need to supply one decoder to the SD60.

Both of these units are en route from Columbus, OH. As the purchase was made in the wee hours of Saturday evening eer 🤪super early Sunday morning. lol

Management is still looking for another DCC ready Athearn chassis or locomotive on the real cheap for swapping out the body shell for another UPRR already has.

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I paid way less than what is shown I assure you...😁😉
 
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So what's next? More supplies are on the way for the layout. A few more buildings and accessories have been purchased as well.

JTEX is having a burn sale on switchers OMG........... JRs UPPR mangement may lose their minds!🤪😝😆😅🤣

Stay tuned for more updates........to a computer screen near you! 😁
 
Ah so a little update for JRs UPRR:

Progress has continued on the acquisition side of things that includes rolling stock, parts, decals, paints, locomotives, structures, tracks, switches and even construction materials for the more bench work & shelving and valance work.

The transition of summer to fall has kept me quite busy. I even had time to clean out one bay of my garage and will finish the other bay tomorrow. Winterizing things outdoors around the house is near completion. The "Grizz" (my boat) will still be out on the water until the 1st or 2nd week of December or until first ice. Yup hard core I am. As I mentioned in the coffee shop hunting is in full swing. I will be taking 2 days off mid-week the following week to tag out on bow season. I have my eye on a few meaty deer that will fit nicely in my chest freezer.

So as for the layout I will be spending a lot of time the week of Thanksgiving making huge progress and updates as I will not be traveling to NC like I would normally do due to COVID. I will also squeeze in a few weekends before hand as soon as I tag out on my hunt for them critters for the freezer. Some guys hunt for trophies etc. I hunt for meat plain and simple. I love to eat lol. I do not care about mounting some critter on my wall. I just love organic meat. So back to the layout.

As some of you know already, I have established my southern exchange with ASAB Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay "The Bay Line" Well I have been working on figuring out the RR for the North interchange on my layout. I am torn between the following RRs. :

1st on my list is GBW Green Bay & Western. Why? well of course the logic is they had ALCOs 😁 but also I always loved it up in Greenbay. I have mentioned that I lived in WI from '74 to '85 so I have some very good memories running around the entire state there. I am a Packers fan as well but as of late I am disappointed with the NFL mixing politics in the sports venue. Nonetheless I have not followed the NFL this year or last year but I have kept an extreme low profile on following the Pack. A little tib bit of information...

(info from Wiki)
The Green Bay and Western sold off the Ahnapee and Western Railway to Vernon M. Bushman and a group of private investors on May 31, 1947. The Itel Corporation purchased the Green Bay & Western in 1978. The Green Bay & Western and the Fox River Valley Railroad were merged into a new Wisconsin Central subsidiary, the Fox Valley and Western Railroad August 27, 1993. Wisconsin Central was, in turn, purchased by Canadian National railway in 2001.

Here is their locomotive roster...😍 ALCOs! https://www.greenbayroute.com/roster.htm

So next in line for the my 2nd choice of the RR north interchange is the MT&W Marinette Tomahawk & Western although a very short line. 6 miles to be precise. The appeal is that it's nothing but a switcher roster. Although the history is rich! The appeal to me is the paper mill so having said that woodchip hoppers etc are nice attributes that I like.

(info from Wiki)
The Tomahawk Railway, currently owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has roots dating back to 1891, when the founder, William H. Bradley, organized the Wisconsin & Chippewa Railroad. In 1894, Bradley organized the Marinette, Tomahawk & Western Railway Company, then merged the W&C into the M.T. & W. in 1898. The main purpose of the railroad was to serve the timber and paper mills in the area at that time with its connection to the world via the Milwaukee Road and Soo Line. During the 1960s, the MT&W Railroad made daily runs to Kings Dam, and an occasional run to the boat factory located where the Harley-Davidson Plant is located today. By the late 1970s, the MT&W stopped providing service to Kings Dam and used the tracks there to store boxcars. It continued to provide service to the Owens-Illinois paper mill. In 2005, Genesee & Wyoming Inc., bought the Railway and renamed it the Tomahawk Railway. Currently the Tomahawk Railway operates 6 miles of track, providing daily service to the pulpboard mill at Wisconsin Dam, owned by Packaging Corporation of America, as well as its own 105,000-square-foot warehouse located in Tomahawk. The TR handles over eight thousand carloads annually, consisting of coal, chemicals, scrap paper, woodpulp and pulpwood inbound, as well as pulpboard outbound from Wisconsin Dam to its connection with CN at Tomahawk.

(edit) Info by me....When I was living in WI. Pops worked in West-Allis in MLW. His office faced the HD plant. The RR action was nothing but short of amazing in that area. The hub was insane with heavy equipment coming and going out of the Allis Chalmers plant and later Siemens-Allis plant then Siemens. I wish I had taken photos during that time but sadly I didn't. When your young ya didn't think about it much. I remeber crossing the
Allis Chalmers sky walk bridge many times with pops.

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before they ripped out the tracks...here's a pic of the construction of the bridge.

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This next picture is what is cemented in my memory of the bridge.

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And finally my 3rd choice is the WC Wisconsin Central. The appeal here is the diverse locomotive roster (although small) and the area of service that it provided in Wisconsin as well as the heritage acquiring some of the old RR names. I currently have 2 locomotives of the WC on my roster and well can't seem to not have them. I have a F45 #6650 and SD45 #6655. I may get a GP30 to add to the roster. 🤔

(info from Wiki)
Wisconsin Central Ltd. (WC) started in US in the mid-1980s using most of the original Wisconsin Central Railway's rights of way and some former Milwaukee Road rights of way after the Soo Line Railroad acquired the Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Minnesota holdings of the bankrupt Milwaukee Road and divested its older railway trackage in Wisconsin. In 1993 the Wisconsin Central also acquired the Green Bay and Western Railroad and the Fox River Valley Railroad.

In 1995, Wisconsin Central acquired the 322-mile (518 km) Canadian Algoma Central Railway whose tracks ran north of Sault Saint Marie to Hearst, Ontario. The Algoma Central runs a popular tourist passenger train through the Agawa Canyon and Agawa Canyon Wilderness Park near Lake Superior Provincial Park

SADLY....(info from Wiki)

In 2001, the Wisconsin Central was purchased by the Canadian National Railway. Along with the former Illinois Central Railroad, the former Wisconsin Central became part of Canadian National's United States holdings and its property integrated into the CN system.

At the time of its sale to Canadian National, Wisconsin Central operated over 2,850 miles (4,590 km) of track in the Great Lakes region. The railroad extended from Chicago into and through Wisconsin to Minneapolis/St. Paul and Duluth, Minnesota, to Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, and north (through the Algoma Central Railway) to Hearst, Ontario.

So as you can see I have to figure out which way to go. Funny thing is I have toyed with the idea as keeping all 3 on the north interchange and I think that it can be done. It's is after all my RR. 🤪😁 That way I will have the variety. I will chew on that for a bit. Although I do not have any locos for the MT&W on my roster but I think I know someone that can help me there. ;) As for GBW I am currently reviewing the internet universe for an ALCO or 2 to fill that void. It seems there is a nice selection out there. The WC roster I have is sufficient at this time....well maybe.

SO that's it in a nutshell for the time being. Expect to see some layout progress in the near future. I am still diligently working on my parts list for the RS-1 ASAB loco. JRs UPRR saga continues until the next update thank ya'll for taking this journey with me here. Slow & steady as it goes around here.

Peace.
 
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Decisions decisions!
I've always liked the GB&W... (and Alcos)
The CN is doing up a fleet of heritage locos right now, wonder how many of those you mentioned will be done?

(Oh, I like how they snuck in nine UP shields in the poster)
 
James....It's funny that the Wisconsin Central mainline was roughly 2 miles west from my home and I don't remember even seeing a train on the line during the WC's hey day.

Greg

Ya I know what ya mean. When I lived in Wisconsin I left in '85 so I never saw them either until I lived in Little Rock AR. I saw them behind UP power moves etc. amazing during UP's major acquisition/merger/absorption period. I mostly saw Amtrak, MLW, SOO, GBW and CNW when I was in Wisconsin.
 
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Well JRs UPPR new locomotive power arrived today! Union Pacific NW2 Switcher Phase I_UP #D.S. 1003. What a sweet ultra quiet runner! I have a few Katos and I guess I forgot how quiet they are. I ordered a decoder for it and will have that install when it gets here. I will be using a DZ123 a 2 function decoder. 1 Amp. Perfect for the tight spaces and is listed as one of the recommended decoders for this model. I may swap out the lamps to LED we shall see. So I put the switcher through some small shunting duties on my layout. Ran very well.

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The RS-1 #4401 Mill Brook and Highland is getting ready for a send off. I had da boyz put it through a few load tests and she pulls good and shove just as well. Yup she will be going on a power move behind UP #2538 GE U boat U28C. Along with this consist will be a box car ASAB #7114 full of supplies that include decals and paint and parts. This box car will end up being patched to the new ownership down there. 🤔;) Heading south very soon to JTEX to be serviced for some much desired work. It will be a while before it returns to home rails. Patience for the mastery work from the boys at JTEX is worth all the time and cost 😁 ;) I am waiting on 2 more parts before it heads outta here. In the mean time I will be gathering up more decoders and such.

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What else can I tell ya'll for updates.

I have been prepping my garage for the winter to do some more bench work and shelving in the train room. That work will start real soon. As soon as this weekend coming up I think! ;) I plan on adding another 10 to 12 inches. On the east side of the layout and then I will add another large corner piece to where the leg extension is. This section heads north for the northern interchange which is labeled out bound track. You can see the dashed line on the plan in the area I will make the additional expansion etc. The inbound is actually the south bound interchange which may end up expanding into the 3rd bedroom lol for staging etc. Hopefully that doesn't happen as I still am hopeful to start my garage expansion next spring that got canceled this past spring due to COVID. This is however a temp layout anyhow. I gotta have something to do lol.

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Here's the area that will get the added real estate... currently the leg extension area of the out bound track/northern interchange is being used to put a few car kits together, kadee couplers, metal wheel sets and re-numbering. I have yet to finish my work bench.

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So ya, I need to add my shelving below the work bench area and of course above the layout for the LED lights and valance. Lots of work coming and improvements on the horizon. Painting and Track laying as well. The temp EZ track needs to go! lol.
 
I did a little bit of JMRI programming on a few locomotives so I could do a power move 😁 So these units got programed per their road numbers.

JRs UPRR wanted to pull out a special locomotive in honor of Veterans Day.... a few hours late but nonetheless here we are....

So on the point for a power move....we have the following:
UP #3593 SD40-2 on the point followed by a UP #6366 GE AC4400 with the American Flag logo trailed by UP #1840 GE B40-8 and CNW patched UP #2960 SD40-2.

Happy Veterans Day!

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I in Zombie mode.

I did some minor work today in the train room. I did a lot of measuring and cutting for the extension and shelving and the light valance. I also made 2 trips to Lowes gather more "stuff" going crazier than a squirrel doing last minute nut gathering. Ah yes it started to snow today to top it off. Thankfully no accumulation though. It is coming though. Any ways I got 3 gallons of paint, paint supplies and such. Got more screws than I will need for a while too. :p

So first up I will share my color of "sky blue" for the back drop/horizon. It is called "Misty" I didn't want to go to dark or to light I will be playing with other colors to give the "vantage" point of the sky fading from darker hues to lighter hues later. This color is kinda in the middle.
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So I will be sloshing this on within a few days. I will need to install a few things for test "fit" in small section first. I determined that I will have my lighting valance approximately 30 inches above the layout which in turn is also a going to be used for shelving. All of the shelving will be painted black as well as the valance front façade including all brackets and standards. I am also considering installing shelving up higher at the top of the door height as well to display RR memorabilia, pictures and some other items. That shelving will also be black. The walls at that height will remain white.

So after a long day of running around to Lowes and the grocery store. I did a ton of measuring and cutting etc. So I will start some major advances on installation of the jig saw puzzle pieces tomorrow. I did do a small section and was tempted to go further but Mr. Sandman came a knocking on my door. So a shot of Jack Daniels and here I am giving an update. lol 😂 I will catch you guys on the flip side. I am done in. More to come soon!


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So as you know Rome wasn't built in one day...... slow & steady as I go on my progress.

I added the last extension/expansion and corner piece to the deck work. As mentioned on the last post that was on going.

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Excuse the mess as I was getting ready to paint the skyline.....

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So I did the old school deal where I measured up 24 inches from the deck as I know it is perfectly level from using the laser level when I installed the deck work. I snapped a chalk line all around the room and proceeded to blues tape the first side of the room to make ready for the skyline blue color "Misty". The chalk line is rather vague/faded in the flash in the pictures.

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You will noticed I added my panel board in front of the window. It is a cut of birch paneling. I am a bit undecided to use this. I think I will be switching this out with blue foam board. I want something less cumbersome there. I think the foam board will work better in this situation for 3 reasons. One lighter in weight and less likely to impact the window. Two it will insulate better on keeping the heat from the sun in the summer off the layout. (no melted plastic or faded plastics) Three It will take paint like a champ! (if I use the wood paneling I would have to paint it with primer 2 times then paint the color 2xs so no thanks)

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I have yet to remove the curtain rod brackets on the sides of the window jambs. That will get done when I get back up there to install all of the shelving.
 
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