July 4 at Night

Happy Independance Day

Smokin' Mikados and Golden Spike Locomotives

2018 Updates

I found some online archive footage that gives a historical overview of the NYC Hudson locomotive. The scene then shifts to the Fairplex Garden Railroad for the first field test of the new USA Trains Heavyweight cars scheduled for release toward the end of the year. For comparison I have included video footage of the Aristocraft Heavyweight cars I recently purchased. The seller was kind enough to take them on a road trip and hand deliver them to my layout after driving from Kansas last night. How's that for curb service!
Special thanks to Jim Kruger, Tom Rady and USA Trains.

A couple of years ago my sister, Klaire and I took Mom back to CA from VA aboard the Amtrak Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was towing a private car to Albuquerque. That same year I took the train to visit Grandkids in Santa Barbara. When Jenny took me to the train station for the return trip I noticed another private car on a northbound Amtrak train. It excited me to see it named the Cyrus K Holliday. CK Holliday was the first president of the Santa Fe Railroad and the Disneyland Railroad named two of their steam locomotives (Anaheim, Paris) after him. A scale model of both engines pulling five passenger cars chugs around my living room ceiling. It includes the Lilly Belle presidential parlor car (http://www.disneylandclub33.com/Lilly%20Belle.htm).

 http://winetrain.com/train/explore-train/. Wouldn't it be fun to hop on the Amtrak Coast Starlight to San Francisco (https://www.amtrak.com/coast-starlight-train), visit the Disney Family Museum (https://waltdisney.org/), take the ferry (http://winetrain.com/getting-here/#Ferry) and ride in the Cabernet Sauvignon Lounge Car on the Napa Valley Wine Train?

Until I can afford to do that I can run the scale model of the Napa Valley Wine Train and the Napa Valley freight train.

Napa Valley Wine Trains running on Del Oro Pacific RR layout.

About this time last year, Jim Kruger got me a great deal on the USA Trains Hudson locomotive.  This time he got me a MTH Big Boy which has been sold out at the factory! It's the only Big Boy on the market that can negotiate the 10' diameter curves on my layout and can pull a hellova lot of beer cars.

Ted Gird has been on vacation for a couple of months and has been having his train purchases sent to my house.  He asked me to open them and ensure that everything works.  My Internet train mate, Paul Carr from Australia, has been having trains shipped here to pick up during his visit in September so between their stuff and the items I've purchased the place is starting to look like a Mini-BridgeMasters warehouse.

BridgeMasters

Orange County Garden Railway Society meeting

On February 11 we hosted the monthly meeting.  A good time was had by all.  Here is an excerpt from the March issue of the Golden Spike Gazette:

Orange County Garden Railroad Society
Monthly Meeting
Sunday February 11, 2018
submitted by Vic & Sue Thies

The monthly meeting of the OCGRS was held at the home of Tom Patterson in
Redlands. Approximately 20 members were in attendance to view Tom’s wonderful
suspended railroad in his living room and also the railroad and associated
outbuildings he has constructed in his backyard.

President Jim Kruger presided and the meeting started at 2:15 pm after members
had enjoyed themselves with the various dishes of the potluck. Jim thanked Tom for
hosting the meeting and asked him to give an overview of his layout.
Tom responded that he continued to talk about his layout in his blog and that
members were encouraged to view the blog and all the information contained within.
Tom then thanked Ted Gird, a good friend, and Jim Kruger for all the extra help they
had given him on various projects with his layout. Tom also thanked his sister, Klaire,
for her help in hosting the meeting and taking pictures of the afternoon.

More from the Golden Spike Gazette,  March 2018:  This was Tom’s first showing and he has put together a very impressive and low maintenance, elevated railroad along the back fence and down one side of the yard. As if that weren’t enough, the entirety of the living room is taken up with overhead trackage and running trains, as well as several other G-scale and even 1:1 displays about the room. Lots of trains provide lots of activity to watch. And how much activity can one cram into a storage shed? A whole lot more than I ever imagined could be. Oh…, and did someone mention beer? Tom’s beer trains are totally unique in featuring a wealth of tappers, transported on flatcars, many of which actually matched the brands on the reefers. Tom’s even has a display of historic beers that is not to be missed. Tom credit’s these, and many other items/ideas on the railroad to Ted Gird. So, how do we get Ted to become a member of OCGRS??? Tom’s sister, Klaire, was also there to help out and if I’m not mistaken even won some raffle prizes…, so let’s also get her to join. Tom has a blog that documents the railroad.

We had a lot of REALLY GOOD beer left over after the meeting.  Ted and The Lambchop remained to ensure it would not go to waste.  We watched Back to the Future III.