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THIRD GROUP OF CARS ARRIVE
The Museum of the American Railroad made its third move on Oct. 12, 2012. An eight-car consist left BNSF’s Irving yard at 1:45 p.m. and was delivered later that day. The consist moved slowly and presented a few challenges. Despite reconditioned journal surfaces, new brasses and pads, two journals ran hot. Volunteers lubed journals with a mixture of oil and STP, as well as hotbox sticks, to keep the consist rolling.
Film posted courtesy of VisitFriscoTX
MAR’s FIRST CARS MOVE
The Museum of the American Railroad moved the first pieces of its collection Aug. 27, 2012 from a BNSF yard in Irving, TX to the museum’s new site in Frisco. A dedicated six-car consist of the Santa Fe M-160 motorcar, Missouri-Kansas-Texas dining car No. 438, Pullman sleeping car Glen Nevis, a 40-foot steel Texas & Pacific boxcar and two refrigerator cars from the old Armour meat packing plant in Fort Worth was placed on a tail track by the Frisco Discovery Center.
Fort Worth-based Lockheed Martin Recreation Association’s Gulf & Denver Railroad Authority HO-scale layout was the background for a short film which blends live action miniatures and 3D animation that is up for a YouTube- and Ridley Scott-sponsored film award. Towns come to life in “Stop. Watch. Love.”, a five-minute video by Element X Creative of Dallas that tells the story of a young boy who finds a magical device and changes the world around him.
The film was one of 50 semi-finalists in the 2012 Your Film Festival.
Film posted courtesy of Element X Creative
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Calling Card
There’s no shortage of history on the Murphy Branch, one of the most compelling stories of the Southern Railway’s system in the Southeast U.S. Historians speak of the perseverance and dedication of the men who built the 111 miles through the mountains and along rivers in Western Carolina. Passenger business flourished by the turn of the 20th century with four daily trains between Asheville and Murphy, NC. Today the only passengers who ride the former line are on a 63-mile stretch from Dillsboro to the Nantahala Gorge, considered the most scenic on the Murphy Branch. Bryson City lies between them. The whistles, horns and bells echoing through the valley are from the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, operated by American Heritage Railways. The train has become Bryson City’s calling card.
To the Trains
Trainz.com has parlayed new and used model trains into a big business north of Atlanta, GA. In March, Trainz opened a 73,000-square-foot warehouse in Flowery Branch and much of the shelf space is already consumed.
Slowing Pace?
Readers who participated in the Cowcatcher's annual State of Model Railroading survey in November indicate the hobby remains in good shape, but its value appears to be slipping amid a changing landscape that is pushing prices higher.
Plus
InterMountain Railway's latest HO and N grain cars pay tribute to one Iowa grain company and elevator that a played a role in the U.S. agriculture industry's rise. Chicago's elevated railroad, better known as the 'L', spreads in every direction and touches many lives along the Windy City's lakefront. Also, Atlas Model Railroad Co. say its role is clear after buying Micro-Trains Line Co.: Preserve the company's product line. And more!
