Simultaneous with the Semiquincentennial

This American semiquincentennial year of 2026 has been the sort of whirlwind year that makes the last few years look quiet - which is saying quite a bit.  Perhaps this is standard fare for the mid-life responsibilities that creep upon families and professionals.  However, when we add in the once-in-a-lifetime sort of activities that surround this particular year, it becomes clear how much of an outlier this one is.  The foundation of all of this is health, and by the grace of God the family is doing wonderfully.

This crowd is having quite a year, and it seems appropriate to list that here for posterity. New Jersey had a great cold winter this year, providing challenges at work.  We had two kids finishing their time at elementary schools headed to the next level while I was elected President of the Board of Education, while serving as Vice Chairman of the Planning Board.  Work at the day job was heating up too: we received permission to work on a semiquincentennial locomotive wrap.  

Meanwhile, for the first time the Onondaga Cutoff was selected to host a pair of full-day operating sessions as part of the annual Prototype Railroad Operations (ProRail) weekend in April.  ProRail is a national invitational event where about 60 of the nation's most avid model railroad operators come to spend a weekend running trains area layouts - the sort of event that takes maximum preparation and planning.  Simultaneously at the day job we were preparing to host the world cup soccer matches in NJ.  In the middle of those preparatory activities was Conrail's 50th anniversary on April 1, to which I was invited as part of the day job.  Of course April 1 is also the day which happened to also be the feast of Passover this year, immediately ahead of Easter weekend, both of which we hosted.  

May included a first overnight trip with the family to Washington, DC during the kids' spring break as well as a family wedding weekend followed nearly immediately with night shift work started surrounding the 8 world cup events hosted in NJ.  June was a blur of competing priorities, graduations and school concerts, and night work.  Those events overlapped with July 4th, the actual 250th anniversary of the nation. A large part of the 250th birthday of America is also the incredible trip of the largest operational steam locomotive in the world, the Union Pacific no. 4014 'Big Boy', making the first trip ever for such an engine to the East Coast of the United States. We were able to get away to see that on July 1, a life-changing and awe inspiring spectacle of 600 tons of locomotive and Union Pacific's business train climbing a 1.1% grade at speed.  The waiting was part of the fun!

Then came July 4 itself, coincidentally this year marking not just 250 years of America but also the 100th anniversary of our town, celebrated as part of its annual Independence Day parade.    

Holy smokes.  Too much, right?  

I don't know.  I used to think so, and it's certainly possible that it may be so still.  And yet I am no longer certain.  Add in some family health issues and it is certainly unsustainable, of course.  We have some of that on the horizon.  And then again, still, how can we discount some of the moments that happen now only because of the time we have invested to date?  Here's a moment nearing 10pm during one of the world cup soccer service events with Semiquincentennial 4526 along with 4210, the Erie heritage unit, both of which we had a hand in creating.

While this level of activity adds stress to the family and is exhausting for me, moments like this give me some pause.  Each of these things are so important to me as part of a larger community that I feel it is worth the invested time and energy.  I don't see these things as optional, per se.  Of course that is a luxury made possible by good health, and the key to all of it is the love and supportive transparency with that family back at the start of this post above.  

All of this....and it's only July 9.  What a year!

What a FUN hobby

It is so easy to get caught up in the frustrations and the trials and tribulations of life.  

How is it already the end of May, in 2026?  2026!!  (Good lord how is it already 2026?)  All of this moves so quickly here at this point in my life that sometimes I am amazed at how fast time passes by.  

Where my time is limited, I find strength in digging into some quick-hitting projects on the Onondaga Cutoff.  While the beautiful Rapido Trains C36-7 has been delivered for months, I only found time this weekend to unpack the last of the ones that came with this order for the OC - the UP 9003.  

I have early memories in the later 1980's of these distinctive locomotives on trains passing Dewitt Yard near Syracuse, and I am really pleased with this model.  Adding the big Dash-8 style radiator fans and dynamic brake is something I wanted to do someday in the future - and here it is, ready to go.  

 Weathering has just started here with some panel liners, but the rest will follow soon.  This was just FUN - fun to open, fun to look forward to running, and fun to add to the roster to recreate some of those early memories.  

We are so fortunate to have a hobby that lives in the historical arc like this one does!  There's always a way to spend a few minutes to appreciate it.

Details that Tell a Story of Decades

Details are part of the richness of modeling, and when we model railroads, there are plenty of details to choose from.

Here's a quick shot on the Onondaga Cutoff that is worth some pondering.  

 

Now and again, I find it is interesting to glance at an image of situations that 'happen' on a modeled railroad.  Recently, Garden State Modelworks did a great job installing a capacitor and proper LED lighting into my model of Conrail welder truck R-5180.  The R-5180 is a Bachmann model from a decade ago, one that ran out of box but was generally a rather poor runner.  It is hard to make models this small work well, but John's hand with a new keep-alive capacitor and LEDs has gone a long way to bringing new life to this little model.  I added details and weathering and we are in business.

Then, we add to the scene a passing ballast train, led by Rapido C30-7 6608. This is a model from their first run, delivered in 2025, with weathering and a crew added by me.  This adds to our collective background along with GP38 7714, an Atlas model custom finished by Southern Tier Modelworks, and some of the usual sundry freight cars - many 30 years old - at Onondaga Yard.  

Three decades of progress are represented here, along with the yard office created by Al Tillotson and my recently-added American flag.  And this is just a random happening as part of operations - in effect, just another day on the OC.  A favorite thing about modeling railroading to me is the ability to come down trackside and just gaze, standing with appreciation on how far this hobby has come and how wonderfully it builds upon itself.  

This month has gone by in a flash, as we had expected it to, with kids busy and family commitments after a series of great operating sessions in April.  There is a lot of good out there, we are fortunate to be busy with good things.  Take some time today to stand and gaze at some of what is going on in your life.  There is always good to come from that.  

The Art of the Grab Shot

 Hobbies need to fit around the rest of life in real time.  In 2026, that is to say that there is very limited time to pursue hobby activities, especially ones that don't directly deal with the operation.  This month of April started off with a day that was so important in several different theatres of my life:  Conrail's 50th birthday, and this year's first full moon after the equinox.  (The latter is also known as the Jewish holiday of Passover, something I host in honor of my dad each year.)  

To top that off, on behalf of my day job, we were invited to attend Conrail's 50th anniversary party in Philadelphia.  Amazing, and part of a post coming soon!

So, April 1 was a busy day, and the rest of the month has followed suit preparing at work and on the OC for major events.  How do we get through months like this, while following our dreams and keeping momentum on projects that will outlast the busy times?   We simply have got to make time as we can.

There is always the ability to take a grab shot - nickname for a photograph that was grabbed with minimal preparation and mostly good luck.  Fortunately, sometimes we can also simply get lucky on our modeled railroads, too.  Joe Relation, a good friend and regular yardmaster on the OC, is a fan of military history and armor.  He's also a great modeler.  When I took delivery of a handful of Spring Mills Depot DODX flatcars, Joe offered to add vehicles to them from kits I had around.  And last week, he showed up with car 1 of 3 - with a pair of Bradley fighting vehicles securely chained to the deck.  Wow!  This brings back immediate memories of the 'baby' military trains I remember from the 90's at both Syracuse and at Manville, NJ, with a Conrail unit or two and a few flats with vehicles enroute to or from major repairs.  Awesome! 

And while admiring this great work, I took a moment to breathe - and just look around.  Each evening, I try to get into the layout space, and simply stop and stare.  There are many ways to enjoy modeling railroading and sometimes, with life so busy that there is not time for a big project, we can pause to appreciate one that catches our eye.  This one is one of Lenny Harlos' amazing patch and weathering jobs on a car that lives on the OC.  This is a Roller Bearing Models resin kit for a 65' Greenville mill gondola, and is kitbashed to match the prototype of Penn Central heritage that lived around Dewitt Yard on the prototype for the 1990s in MOW service.

Having friends that are willing to contribute at this level is an honor, and helps build the camaraderie behind the Onondaga Cutoff.  Leaning into that camaraderie is a way for each of us to bring things together - now, and for the future.  We can all use more of that!

On the Eve of Great Change

 March 31, 1976, was a foggy day full of drizzle.  Spring was slow to come that year and it was a gloomy few days as April approached.  This was to be no normal March-to-April change, though, not for railroading in the northeastern United States of America.  

Fifty years ago, railroaders and their families went to bed knowing that it was hard to tell what was coming in the morning.  Like the foggy sky, the future was unclear and hard to see.  The largest change in the history of railroading in that region was about to become reality for them.  April 1 would be the start of Conrail's operations, bringing federal help and a bold new goal into sharp focus.  

Bob Camp, Detroit, Mort Walton photo

As amateur historians, many of us who love railroading reflect on the past to find some solace in the present.  Change is more constant than may wish it to be, and having an understanding of the past helps us to build a present and future that incorporates the better changes as we can manage it.  But there is no way to tell how it is going to turn out.  There is no crystal ball, really, no guarantee it will work better than it does today.  We have to credit the fallen flags, the companies that tried their best to survive an era that had turned against them.  They were forced to give up.  And when that happens, it feels like maybe we should give up, too.  

But like Conrail, we have to try.  It is an obligation of every person to try.  In order to push our families and our community forward, we must take action.  Gloom and the fog in the future is no reason to sit and wait.  To create a better today and tomorrow, you cannot wait for life to come to you.  Action, accountability, compassion, and perseverance are indispensable for improving our future.

And so, let's be like Conrail was, on Conrail's 50th birthday.  Let's take a chance, even if on a wild idea, to make things better.  Maybe tomorrow we can do it again!  

That grass is always growin'...

 As railroads in our area prepare to host a series of operating sessions this spring, we are all working hard to button up a few projects and smooth out any operational issues.  Hosting sessions is a great way to enjoy the railroad, and we want to ensure the best opportunity for good operations.  

For the Onondaga Cutoff, that includes some long-awaited scenery to be finished at Iroquois Paperboard, along with prepping and checking paperwork and cleaning up the area to eliminate distractions.  

Here we see a variety of scenery projects coming to fruition at Iroquois, with paved track and parking lots along with weed-strewn siding tracks and spurs.  Iroquois Paperboard is a profitable industry at this point, but it's old, and the variety of buildings speak to the on-again, off-again nature of manufacturing in Central New York.  

Of course, adding the glue to all of this is always a harrowing feeling, there is a lot that can get worse with ballast and glue.  But we pulled it off, with some help from the kids and with a good deal of patience.  It is really looking the part now!

This will be the last scenery project I include on the OC before the sessions in April, and I think it will help the visitors be immersed in what we are working to create.  Just gotta make sure those switches aren't glued shut first!  :-)

'Dizzying Times'

 I feel as though the last few weeks have my mind spinning in two directions and four or five directions at all times.  Everything has either gotten more complicated or more difficult, or both; people are struggling in different ways, some unexpected; fear seems to be growing everywhere that ignorance is not.  This is a wild time.  Even big success can pale in comparison to the dizzying array of information and emotion that rolls around it.  

As things twist and turn and veer with little regard to my whims, I am especially grateful to my wife and kids and community and also to the model railroad hobby.  It offers a respite along the journey and this is one of those years that really seems to need more respite!

And so I turned to the job of adding some more scenery around Iroquois Paperboard, which will include paved-in track in the industrial property.  This follows the prototype in Solvay, NY in the 90's, and is a fun thing to re-create, albeit a tedious task.  I used the Walthers grade crossing styrene kits to suggest concrete panels, which were trimmed one by one to ensure clear flangeways.  Once the canopy glue dried, I added yard ballast mix to the tracks around the panels.  

Ballast is carefully tucked into the sides and ends, and then spread around to fill out the tracks.  

This is gentle, careful work, just the sort of thing that requires focus and therefore gives the mind a break from spinning too quickly.  Little by little.  

It is deep in places to reach to the top of rail elevation, so I used some other stone I had purchased for ballast that was the wrong color to fill out a base, enabling more coverage for the yard mix.  I glued it down with my usual 3:1 mixture of water and white glue, with a few ounces of isopropyl alcohol mixed in, and with a generous pre-spray of just isopropyl alcohol to break the tension.  After 8 hours it is solid as a rock.  

When you need a break from chaos or life, the hobby is there to help!