This shot seems a bit "Pixelated". Another do-over, naturally.

This is a caboose built from an old AHM/ROCO model, now long discontinued. The model is a dead-ringer for the first 15 Wide Vision Cabooses the Soo Line bought. They need a little work to make them close, but not much.

The only thing I dislike is that the AHM/Roco model sits too low and you have to shim the sh*t out of the trucks to get the couplers to match a height gage. I give up.

Keith

I have a soft spot in my head....er, HEART, for Fairbanks-Morse power. I've built a few C&NW F-M's including Switchers. I happen to have a Joe Stauber photo of the real 1050 idling away in front of the C&NW Marshfield Depot, and I used that to build my model. There are a few things I don't care for on it, like the thickness of the handrails, but it turned out and I guess that's what counts.

Keith

One of the older C&NW models I have is this Alco S2 Switcher. This is an Atlas model, a good little puller! I used to like to use it when the Club layout still included the Yard modules. I could grab 25 cars with it and waltz off down the yard lead with them and start sorting out a train.

I can barely remember the real thing working for the C&NW in Marshfield, and I can't tell you if it was the 1027 for certain. I know the C&NW used Alco S-series switch engines in Marshfield, but they were mostly banished from around here by 1970.

One o' these days, I gotta put the all-weather window back on, and the sunshade on this side.

Keith

Another C&NW F-M Switcher, dressed with Ball n' Bar Herald. I have a Joe Stauber shot of the real 1052 idling away in front of the C&NW Marshfield Depot, and like the 1050, I worked from that.

All of the weathering on the carbody is done with chalks.

These Walthers/Roco F-M's are great pullers. It wasn't much of a chore for them to pull 50 cars! I wouldn't do that very often, but, one in a while, you like to see what the upper limits for your engines are. The drives are about the same as the Alco S2 I sent earlier.

Keith

My model of Soo GP7 # 375, a Proto-2000 model. Not 100% correct at this point, I need to do a little fuel tank work on it. The real 375-378 had small fuel tanks, and now that I'm going to school in Machine Tool, I have access to Milling Machines to do the job.

I rode the real 375 from the Marshfield Depot to MP 3 on the Greenwood Line in the spring of 1975, when the Soo was "Fixing Up" the Greenwood Line. I got talked into this by Dad and Conductor Bill Wade. 18 100-ton cars of Ballast and Caboose, and Dad's idea was to have them drop me off at MP3, which is County Highway ' Y ' west of Marshfield. The Engineer was Bob Cable.

Dropping me at MP3 was not the best thing to do, since it was in the midst of the long grade from MP1 to MP4. Consequently, the train backed alllllll the way back in to Marshfield to the Junction Switch and made a "Run" for it. Dad felt bad about making the train stall; for a couple hours afterwards he kept saying, over and over, "I shoulda had them drop you off at School House Road".

Well, no matter. I got to ride AND then watch the 375 ROAR past again at 10 MPH going upgrade with 1870 tons, ear and eye candy!

And the train crew got an extra day's pay for stalling. Good day all the way around for everyone!

Keith

Another one, and an Alco. THE model everyone needs on their Soo Line layout, RSC2/RS2 # 371. This is a Kato model, and I worked from photographs of the real 371 to build it.

That square radiator housing on top at the front and the duct work along the top are experiences for a Novel, believe me.

The Bare Carbody filters are black decal, cut to fit, cut to size, left-over bits from the word "LINE" on a Microscale Soo Line decal set.

The only thing missing is a casting of the brake cut-off on this side behind (this is front) the cab.

This is another example of allowing my modelling desires to get away from me. I never saw the 371 in real life. They kept her squirreled away at North Fond du Lac and Shoreham Yard where shop forces could keep an eye on it. If 371 ever worked in Marshfield, it was done when she was still a real RSC2 with A1A-A1A trucks, and that was long before I was born.

Soo Line put B-B trucks underneath this unit in the early 1960's.

I have it in mind to build the 4 RSC3's yet, 372, 373 and 374, using Atlas' RS3, all engines I never saw, but I have this Fetish for Alco Power in Red & White.

Heck, I have a Fetish for Alco power no matter what paint scheme!!!!!!

Keith

I had a request for a couple of shots of my Soo GP30's. The unfortunate aspect is I can't remember who the person was that e-mailed me!

So, everyone gets to suffer.

Soo 700 is a Proto 2000 model that I added a few details to, snow plow, winterization hatch, re-railing frogs and towing chain hooks on the opposite side. I still have to add the chain yet, which is like threading a needle.

I renumbered the model, in case that fact escapes you.

I weathered to dickens out of it following photographs, using a combination of Chalks and the air brush.

Keith

Look closely above the rear truck and you'll see I have the hanger hooks in place for towing chain, but no towing chain.

Keith