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.