The Michigan Interstate Railroad

For those of you who are fans of proto-freelanced model railroads or just fans of really well done layouts, you owe yourself a visit to the Michigan Interstate St. Clair Sub blog. It can be found here: http://michiganinterstatemodelrr.blogspot.com/. You can also find it listed in the Great Railroad Modeling Sites sidebar on the right hand side of this blog.

The Michigan Interstate is the creation of Greg McComas and he has done a remarkable job of just about everything associated with the planning and execution of his concept. You can read the complete history of the railroad on his website, but in summary, it's an amalgamation of a number of ex-NYC/PRR/PC branches in Michigan that were spun off at the formation of Conrail. A map of the railroad can be found here: http://michiganinterstatemodelrr.blogspot.com/search/label/Network%20Map. 

In addition to being a prolific modeler, Greg also posts frequently on his blog on a wide range of topics relating to the railroad. The expansive listing on the right-hand side of the blog shows the breadth of the posts. 

The MCIS is set in the present, but Greg suggested that we come up with a way to have the CWE represented on his railroad and vice versa. You can find how the present day CWE provides coke to Michigan Sugar in Upper Huron on the MCIS here: http://michiganinterstatemodelrr.blogspot.com/search/label/CWE. And there will be some covered hoppers on the CWE in MCIS reporting marks in the near future. As the railroad was formed in 1976, the cars will be a combination of recent repaints along with some NYC/PRR/PC patch jobs.

The opportunity to do a few MCIS cars will add some interesting variety to the fleet. And it's another neat way to enjoy this great hobby of ours.

An Amazing Day

Yesterday, John Miller hosted the first operating session on the new version of the K&LE (4.0) and it truly was an amazing day. It's hard to believe that the last session on the old railroad was held in October of 2014. You can see pictures of it here: http://cwerailroad.blogspot.com/2014/10/last-run-of-k.html. What has been accomplished since the last run is just incredible. Here are some shots from the session.

The photo below shows the view looking down Undercliff Yard toward Oasis Yard and the steel mill in Newport, KY. Terry Luginbuhl is classifying cars for locals in Oasis Yard.

In the next shot, Bill Doll is working the east end switcher in Undercliff. East is to the left of the picture- no one was really sure where Bill was headed with his locomotive.

Next up, Gerry Albers is working one of the many local jobs.

The Eggleston Avenue switching district on the new railroad is longer and much more complete than the previous layout. In the picture below, Keith VandeStadt has just received a cut of cars from Oasis and is preparing to work the many industries in the district as Dan Hadley looks on.

Next up are couple of shots of some of the completed areas of the Eggleston Avenue district.

As can be seen from the photos above, John really has a knack for capturing the colors, look and feel of the old industrial areas of Cincinnati.

In the next photo, Chris Wermuth is taking a train west out of Undercliff while Gerry works another switching district- all under the watchful eye of the superintendent.

Here's another view of Oasis Yard looking in the opposite direction from the view above.

Next up, Randy Seiler looks on as Jim Rollwage works the west end switcher at Undercliff. Oasis Yard is in the foreground.

Some foreign road power appeared during the session as is evidenced in the photo below.

And finally, the chicken car made its official visit. It's what he does... 

And the lunch- oh my goodness! John's wife Page prepared rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes, corn on the cob and a tossed salad. All of which was followed by lemon bars and brownies. I think it's a safe bet that none of us have ever eaten so well at an operating session. Thanks again, Page- it was wonderful.

My apologies for the quality of the photos- they certainly don't do the layout justice. One must really see it in person in order to completely understand the size, scope, and attention to detail. But I think I can speak for all of us who attended in saying that it really was an amazing day. While we all enjoyed the previous railroad immensely, it's clear that version 4.0 will be even more incredible. Congratulations, John, on a job well done. You've achieved more than any of us thought possible in such a short period of time. And thanks again for the invitation- it was wonderful to be able to share in the inaugural session of 4.0.

The Kanawha & Lake Erie 4.0

Many of us were shocked when John Miller announced back in the summer of 2014 that he was dismantling his K&LE layout and moving to a new house. While we were encouraged with his talk of constructing a large, new building for the next version of the railroad, we knew how much work that would entail. And the lack of an operating layout would mean that he would be placed on probation with the GLA. As time went on, it appeared that the probationary period would run its course and John would be cast out of the group he helped found.

Fast forward to the spring of 2016. Not only has the building been finished, but tremendous progress has been made on the new railroad. As with everything John does that's railroad related, the size and scope of the new operation is, well... large. The building measures 60' x 35' and it's clear that every inch it will be filled with railroad. So let's take a tour of what's happening on the new K&LE.

First up are a couple of shots that were taken from the end of the building near the entrance. These will give you an idea of the overall size of the structure.

Now let's take a look at how some of the sections of the old layout have been incorporated into the new one. The shot below shows the east end of Undercliff Yard. Those familiar with the old layout will recognize Herrick Lumber and the tracks that curved east to Fairfax. The new yard extend toward the back of the building in the left center of the picture.

In the shot below, Undercliff Yard is on the right and the Eggleston Avenue switching district is on the near left. On the far left we can see a portion of Newport Steel along the wall and it extends all the way across the wall in the back of the building.

All of these photos were taken during a Monday work session. As is typical for a work session, John is doing anything but working on the layout. In the photo below, he's weathering another freight car. 

The photo above shows  the workshop that's under the SOU and L&N staging yards and a portion of Newport Steel which can be seen just to the right of John's head. The door into the building is at the far left of the picture.

The photo below shows more detail of the service yard for Newport Steel that can be seen in the photo above. The back of the Eggleston Avenue switching district can be seen on the right.

Oasis Yard has survived the move and can be seen in the photo below beneath the steel mill building. The switching district to the left of the main line has been modified from the previous version. And in the middle left of the photo, you can see the engine terminal at Undercliff Yard.

Now we're looking down Undercliff Yard toward the garage door on the far end of the building. The Eggleston Avenue switching district is in the middle right of the photo.

Turning to the left from where the photo above was taken, we can see the new route of the main line and the approach to the Ohio River bridge. Another portion of Newport Steel can be seen against the back wall. The track coming through the approach to the bridge leads to a small support yard and the switching district to the right of the main line. 

The photo below shows the main line heading under the approach to the Ohio River bridge and on to the west of Cincinnati. To the right of the main line is... you guessed it... another switching district. 

And last but not least, a shot of a train that actually ran on the day of the visit. This is the ore train headed to Newport Steel.

It's incredible to see how much has been done over the past year and a half. And it's clear that this railroad is going to be every bit as much fun to operate as the last one, if not more so. The only drawback is that he's had Bill "Smokey" Doll working on the electrical connections. Bill has never met a wire that can't be soldered with a blow torch. That's probably why the underside of the benchwork looks like someone's wood burning project. Here's hoping that electrical current can actually pass through the maze of wires, connectors and smoldering benchwork.

Congratulations on the progress, John- we are all anxiously awaiting the first operating session on the new K&LE!