WOW! Simply wow!

Now home from an overwhelming experience at the La Mesa Model Railroad club, in San Diego.
3 12 hour days of TT&TO operations.
Oh man!

Such an experience. 30 scale miles of mainline trackage, replicating the climb up the hill from Bakersfield to Mojave, through the Tehachapi Loop. This model railroad has to be seen to be fully appreciated.
Add in the challenge of running to the 1953 Timetable and you have the recipe for keeping 36+ grown men entertained.
1st class signature passenger trains
1st class express trains
3rd class freight hauling reefer blocks (40+ cars)
3rd class freight with priority sugar beets (50+ Cars)
extras and multiple sections up and down the hill
Helpers and then getting them back down the hill

Just some of the traffic that gets run.
All run in real time, no fast clocks. It can take upwards of 2 + hours to get a train up the hill.
But I'm going to let the pictures tell the story.

And this Youtube video will take you all around the layout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmzSjdnHTjs&t=5s

My thanks to the club members for the invite and the chance to operate on such a stellar layout.

The threat of the demise of NAFTA

Normally I would not bring international politics into this blog.
But this issue will potentially have huge impact upon me and my businesses.
If the current American Administration decides to pull the plug on NAFTA, and it`s looking more likely now then ever before, the free movement of goods between Canada and the USA  maybe severely restricted.
The short and long term impact upon Yarmouth Model Works and Elgin Car Shops remains a giant question mark. But I am concerned.
Duties maybe imposed on both sides of the border, forcing an increase in pricing.
Additional paperwork may slow the flow of items through the mails.
Now I appreciate that model trains are not a major item in the grand scheme of the global economy, but it is a large part of how I earn a living. And many you have come to enjoy the products and services I offer.

So I ask my American neighbors, friends and customers to send a word to their Congressional and Senatorial representatives and ask them to rethink the notion of throwing back up trade barriers with the country that still remains your largest trading partner.

And I'm also asking on behalf of all of the workers on both sides of the border whose livelihoods rely upon the free movement of goods. There are a lot more of us than you might first think.

It's been quite a year

2017!
Yikes!
Well it's behind us now and today's a new day.
Here at Elgin Car Shops and Yarmouth Model Works  it's been roller coaster ride of a year.
Much of the first part of the year was taken up with my mother-in-law's cancer treatment and finally her passing.
One of the consequences of the "distraction" is that custom model building as fallen further behind.
With a little luck, I hope to be able to catchup some in the next few months. Fortunately, the vast majority of my clientele are very patient and understanding people.
Thank you all for your patience.
Yarmouth Model Works , on the other hand has had a banner year.
4 all new HO scale kits and 2 S scale kits were released with great success.
Regular readers will know that the S scale cars had an unfortunate demise, but the success of the initial sales have encouraged me to consider more S scale cars in the future.
In 2018, HO scale modelers can look forward to 4-6 new kits.
More of the ACF built boxcars, some rather unique North Eastern road cars, and if we can ever get the pattern finished, the Soo line stock car!
And beyond that who knows!
Yarmouth Model Works started out as small idea. It has now blossomed into the 3rd largest model railroad resin kit manufacturer in North America. And that success is in large part due to the support from you the modelers.
So I'd like to thank all of you have supported me in this endeavour with your hard earned cash, and your moral support.
Looks like you're stuck with me for another year!

Finally, finally, finally!

It's only taken me 7 months to get this done! It's been that kind of year folks.
The boxcar parts from CRMPG(Canadian Railway Parts Manufacturers Guild) are now finally on the website.
 http://www.yarmouthmodelworks.com/index.php/ModelDetailParts/FreightCarParts

The HO scale NSC-1 shown here.
This selection of parts was originally created by Stafford Swain and the late Dan Kirlin, to allow modelers to better recreate the unique looks of Canadian built '37 AAR design boxcars.
Extensive articles were published in Railroad Model Craftsman back in the early '90s documenting the CNR and CPR prototypes and how to model them.
The parts will work on IMWX, Red Caboose, Branchline trains and Intermountain Railway Company boxcar bodies.
Some of the parts have application for US road cars as well. The roofs in particular.
I'm thrilled to finally have these up on the website.