mtrpls
Ignorance is Patriotic
The name "Indian Valley Railroad" may sound familiar to many of you who are in my age group (late 20s to early to mid 30s). Beginning in 1989, PBS aired a childrens television show called "Shining Time Station", which was on TV as reruns well into the late 1990s.
Many will remember the pint-sized Mr. Conductor (for a period casted by George Carlin), who would blow his whistle and introduce the Thomas the Tank Engine skits. There were a host of other characters, including Schemer and the puppets inside the juke box. The show took place inside a railway station along the fictional "Indian Valley Railroad". We never got to see any real trains for the Indian Valley Railroad, only a ghostly silhouette of a train passing by through the translucent white windows.
In any event, I decided to decorate an Atlas covered hopper I didn't otherwise know what to do with and paint it up for the Indian Valley Railroad of Shining Time Station fame. I had to conceptualize a logo for the railroad, design the decals, print them out, and decorate and weather the car. I only did one car, and it was a fun project as well as a tribute to my childhood.
First, some pictures to get you re-acquainted with the show, then pics of the freight car:
Memory Lane:
Now for my fantasy car based on the show. This is an Atlas 4650 covered hopper with dual pneumatic/gravity discharge gates. The car will be delivering cornmeal from a processing plant along the Indian Valley Railroad to be unloaded at a bulk food ingredients wholesaler in Queens, New York City, routed over my modern-day New York Central System:
Thanks for looking!
Many will remember the pint-sized Mr. Conductor (for a period casted by George Carlin), who would blow his whistle and introduce the Thomas the Tank Engine skits. There were a host of other characters, including Schemer and the puppets inside the juke box. The show took place inside a railway station along the fictional "Indian Valley Railroad". We never got to see any real trains for the Indian Valley Railroad, only a ghostly silhouette of a train passing by through the translucent white windows.
In any event, I decided to decorate an Atlas covered hopper I didn't otherwise know what to do with and paint it up for the Indian Valley Railroad of Shining Time Station fame. I had to conceptualize a logo for the railroad, design the decals, print them out, and decorate and weather the car. I only did one car, and it was a fun project as well as a tribute to my childhood.
First, some pictures to get you re-acquainted with the show, then pics of the freight car:
Memory Lane:
Now for my fantasy car based on the show. This is an Atlas 4650 covered hopper with dual pneumatic/gravity discharge gates. The car will be delivering cornmeal from a processing plant along the Indian Valley Railroad to be unloaded at a bulk food ingredients wholesaler in Queens, New York City, routed over my modern-day New York Central System:
Thanks for looking!
Great work on the hopper, looks totally plausible.
