To All: Years ago the SOO LINE RR painted a caboose for touring business men. It was used to drum up business for the line. I painted, lettered and detailed this caboose from a photo in the SOO LINE Historical Society magazine. Sorry, the pix is a little out of focus.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout (Jacksonville, Florida)

To All: My goal in painting and lettering freight cars is to do some of the small roads. One of these was the Columbia, Newberry & Laurens, a short line in South Carolina. It was one of the "Golden" roads of that state. The decals are by Gerald Glow, a fine maker of decals. I need to add a Tichy roofwalk, #58 Kadee couplers and metal wheels. The CN&L became part of the Atlantic Coast Line RR in 1924 and later part of CSX.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout

 To All: A  freight car project I recently finished is a 50 foot wood automobile boxcar by Ambroid. I picked up this car at the Feb. Jacksonville, Florida train show for $2.50! It had the body assembled but unfinished and unpainted. That was it. I supplied the materials to add grab irons,stirrups, roof walk, underbody details, including brake rigging, coupler cut bars, air hoses, paint, decals trucks and brake wheel. I weighed,painted, lettered, weathered and dullcoated the car. I will use it on the Cotton Belt's Blue Streak Merchandise train.

To All: I painted. lettered, weathered and dullcoated an RS-1 in the Illinois Terminal RR green & yellow scheme and painted and lettered an RS-1 in the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR blue & orange scheme,this week for use on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout. On the C&EI loco I need to find or make the logo that goes on the cab. Check out the attached photos.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group

PS: Excuse the color renditions as I did not correct for color. The C&EI unit looks yellow bit it is orange!

To All: Another of my scratchbuilt towers is Glen. It is responsible for controlling entrance to the east end of Pacific Yard located on the upper level of the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group

To All: The Vandalia RR was a subsidiary of the New York Central RR. The Vandalia RR had this standard plan for some of their towers. I scratchbuilt this one from a photo in a TRRA Historical Society publication. It controls entrance to two passing sidings and two main tracks on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout.

Yours, Elvin Howland/E. St. Louis Rail Group

To All: Another passenger station on the layout is Walled Lake on the upper level. I scratchbuilt the station after the prototype on the GTW RR (now COE Rail) in Walled Lake Michigan. It is not prototype for E. St. Louis, but I could not part with it, as I grew up in that area.

To All: This PRR station is next to the National City Stockyards on the lower level of the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout. I have to put down a road and parking lot for the station. This part of the layout is E. St. Louis Jct. RR territory. The E. St. Louis Jct. RR has no locomotives at present but does have a transfer type caboose. I service their territory with an Alton & Southern RS-3. There are three industries on the E. St.L Jct., National City Stockyards, Anheuser  Busch Brewery, and Granite City Steel. Sorry the photo is out of focus (cheap camera).

To All: The second tower is DeCamp Interlocking Tower on the E. St. Louis Jct. Layout. Also scratchbuilt from a photo in a TRRA Historical Society publication.

To All: Today a couple of interlocking towers. Davis Jct. Tower was near a grain elevator, so I placed it near one on the E. St. Louis Rail Group Layout. It is scratchbuilt from a photo.