Prototype Pic of the Day #17

Penn Central Alco C425's #2441 and 2443 | Image courtesy of Robert Farkas via RRPictureArchives.net

Today's picture may seem like it has nothing to do with anything here, but with a little investigation you would find that it has a lot to do with something familiar here. This photo was taken in Altoona, PA back in 1972 and features two former Penn Central Alco C425's. The trailing unit, #2443 is actually Detroit & Mackinac #181 while it was still hauling freight for Penn Central. It's interesting to note that the logo and name are missing from the sides of the long hood.

Office Shelf Layout Update

Its been a while since my last update on this project as I haven't had much modeling time the last few weeks. I did manage to make some good progress in the last two weekends though. I now have the track almost completely painted and I've started building the foundation for the paved ares of the layout. Here is a look at the progress.

A look at the start of my paved areas on the layout.

A closeup look at my freshly painted track.

The front track is completely painted and now I just need to finish the rear track. It may be a lot of extra work, but I really like the look of the separately painted tie plates and rails. I used Rust-Oleum camouflage spray paint for the ties then went over the rails, spike heads and tie plates with Americana acrylic burnt umber. It may not be perfect, but it looks good enough for me. I've still got a lot to do, but things are slowly coming together now.