Today I finished construction of a GLX railcar transfer tower, including some alterations to better fit my prototype.  Below are a couple GLX photos of the stock model, from http://glxscalemodels.com/craftsman-structure-kits/ :

The photos follow ...

I never met a UP SD40-2 I didn't like, but when I learned the condition of UP 3149 - one of the units that ran on the IAIS during the month I model - I just about made an exception.  A brief write-up and a few photos follow in the first post.

I recently was reminded of Bill Brillinger's speaker comparison thread at http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/node/17902 and started investigating iPhone 4s loud speakers (long skinny one at the bottom of the phone, not the cube-shaped earpiece speaker), which are commonly available on Ebay for less than a dollar w/free shipping.

I've been on a UP locomotive building kick lately and thought I'd share the results.  Many of the models in this post had previously been in service on the layout, but in untouched factory paint with no weathering.  A big part of this push was to renumber, redetail, and weather them to match units that operated on the IAIS during May 2005.

Yesterday I finished detailing and modifying a factory painted Atlas Trainman RS36 to represent Iowa Interstate 900.  These RS36s, and sister Atlas Trainman RS32s, are great running, affordable models, making them perfect subjects for upgrades, so I thought I'd document what I did in case it benefits others out there.  Since IAIS 900 is black, I thought it'd be easiest to show the new details now, before they're painted and the model is weathered.  Photos follow in the next post.

Atlas released their HO scale C420 and RS36 in factory Iowa Interstate paint nearly six years ago.  In that time, I've often been tempted to buy them, but resisted, since the prototype units were no longer on the roster in the 2005 era I model.  My willpower finally met its match earlier this month when friend and fellow IAIS modeler Scott Thornton offered to sell me his IAIS C420 850 and RS36 900 models for next to nothing, both with Tsunami sound and working beacons already installed.

Admittedly, I have a really odd way of approaching some layout projects.  The Indian Creek scene at Council Bluffs is a prime example.  I'm on vacation this week, with plans to finally finish the scene, so I thought this would be a good time to take a look back at what I've done as a study in how NOT to model.

The largest bridge on my portion of the IAIS is the ballast deck girder bridge over the West Branch of the East Nishnabotna River, just west of Hancock, Iowa.  I've finally been making some progress on the model in recent days and thought I'd start an entry to chronicle its construction.

Over the years, I've made a number of attempts at modeling Iowa Interstate GP38-2s.  I've never built one I'd consider anywhere close to "perfect", but the just-released Athearn Genesis model, factory-painted for IAIS, is close enough that my search for something better is over.  I thought it might be interesting to show the progression over the years.

Rob Koppert, a railfan in Atlantic, Iowa, posted the drone footage below of some weekend IAIS action at Atlantic.  While it's 10 years past the date I model, I really got a kick out of seeing my prototype from this vantage point, and thought others might enjoy it as well.  Rob wrote, "I was playing with my new toy on Saturday and shot the Atlantic Rover and CBBI-7 from a different vantage point than normal.  I'm using a DJI Phantom 2 Vision Plus quadcopter for some videography and this was the first and second flights."