4x CSX Heritage Units in HO!- CR, Chessie, B&O, SBD System SCL3618 2023-10-16 | A few shots of some recent builds by @devinstrains23 making some laps on the layout. All are MTH cores, fully gutted and swapped over to fresh LED's, Decoder Buddy ,and Loksound 5.
N&W 611 on Virginia Scenic RR 10-8-23 SCL3618 2023-10-13 | Once more we're back around the J cutting loose on the main, this time in a setting with a bit more variety. Based out of Goshen, VA 611 takes a spin on the Buckingham Branch RR to Staunton. It was great to get back out and run into some friends trackside, of course enjoying the show 611 and crew put on. The engine actually gets a chance to work, with some of the best smoke shows I've seen since a few select moments during the modern NS trips.TIMESTAMPS-Intro. 0:00-0:46Goshen-Shoving Back. 0:47-1:48Outside Craigsville. 1:49-3:10Craigsville Crossing. 3:11-3:55Uphill Slips + Climb. 3:56-5:23North Mountain. 5:24-6:34Swoope (Swope) Overpass. 6:35-7:34Arrive Staunton. 7:35-9:20Staunton. 9:21-9:44Goshen Arrival. 9:45-11:26Little River Rd. Crossing. 11:27-13:06Lehigh Rd Bridge. 13:07-13:31Meeting Amtrak. 13:32-15:34Staunton Pacers In Way. 15:35-15:54Towing Back West. 15:55-17:28
Shenandoah Valley GP9 #6512 Quick Chase SCL3618 2023-10-10 | Was able to stick around town Monday morning and catch a few shots of SVRR 6512 out and about. Chase landed a few intercepts, but I definitely got dusted in a couple spots. No complaints about hearing a nice Leslie and some EMD 567 sounds on a cool morning!
Athearn SP Black Widow SD40T-2 W/ Loksound SCL3618 2023-10-07 | Taking one from the latest run of 40T's out for some break in mileage. Naturally having the Widow ES44 on hand, I couldn't skip pairing these two up for a video. Biggest gripe with these- box is marked as DCC/Sound ready, yet doesn't come with a speaker like other offerings. Add on a minimum of 20 to your final purchase price! Otherwise it runs alright, finish is standard Athearn and weight isn't there after you swap in a speaker.
Kato N Shinano Railway SR1-100 10995 SCL3618 2023-10-05 | Taking one of my latest N pickups for some break in laps, the Kato Shinano Railway two car EMU set. Naturally the track is questionable, but the cars are beautiful!
HO Derailments and Fails 18! SCL3618 2023-09-30 | With Fall approaching, both leaves and freight cars are falling! Back once again for more..The layout was a bit tame for the past few months, at least whenever I was able to get down and run. Naturally there were going to be a few things that popped up, so here we go!
American Flyer 356 Silver Bullet Quick Run SCL3618 2023-09-28 | Some laps with a refreshed Silver Bullet engine + custom passenger cars.
Athearn Shamu SD90MAC-H 8204 W/ Loksound SCL3618 2023-09-26 | Taking the new Genesis 2.0 SD90 out for some laps. Honestly the biggest letdown on these is the pitiful lighting, which wasn't adjusted in the slightest from the last run. A few cosmetic flaws out of the box put a damper on the excitement of a fun paint job that's been overdue in plastic. Otherwise the drivetrain is standard Athearn, ran fine during filming. Weight is pretty standard, definently falls behind offerings from Scaletrains for fit and finish quality. TIMESTAMPS-Intro- 0:00-0:22Bad Lighting + Startup 0:23-1:05Horn Flavors- 1:06-1:45Hot Laps- 1:46-8:03
American Flyer UP Big Boy 4014 On Tank Train SCL3618 2023-09-23 | Taking the Flyer-Legacy release of 4014 out for some mileage. This one isn't quite as scale as the Challenger, essentially having S gauge wheels tossed under a smaller Big Boy tooling. Doesn't stop the engine from cutting loose though!
CSX OCS F40s Across Selma Diamond SCL3618 2023-09-22 | P001 with CSX 1,3,2 in the lead take the OCS back south. Nice to get the consist hustling across for once!
Weathered Athearn CP 7021 Arid Region Veterans Unit w/ Loksound SCL3618 2023-09-19 | Swapped out the Tsunami for Lok in a friend's ACU, gave it a quick test run to make sure everything was dialed in! Sounds were written before the newer K3's came out, so it's eventually due a fresh file.
Tomix N DF200-201 Ai-me Livery 2253 SCL3618 2023-09-12 | Finally got around to trying out a DF200, naturally had to go with something a bit different and picked up the new "Ai-Me" livery. This one is cool, with a silhouetted freight train and landscape printed alongside the carbody!
Walthers Proto SP SW1200 w/ Loksound 920-41513 SCL3618 2023-09-09 | For details on issues with this engine batch, skip to 2:00! To see running outright, skip to 4:58!Minus some teething issues on my first engine, Walthers did a nice job on these! Drivetrain is smooth per usual, full SP light pack works great, and the details look awesome. Biggest glass cannon on these is coming down to a bad batch of decoders or the motherboard- but Walthers is aware and working on a fix. TIMESTAMPS-Intro 0:00-0:12Default Horn/Bell-0:13-0:25Lighting + Startup 0:26-1:07Prime Mover- 1:08-1:59Problems Across Entire Run- 2:00-4:55Hot Laps/Switching- 4:57-10:54
Atlas SCL Bicentennial 1776 W/ Loksound! SCL3618 2023-09-06 | Had the chance to upgrade a DCC ready 1776 with Loksound 5 and a Scalesounds speaker! Taking it out for some break in and tuning laps before it hits the road.
American Flyer Legacy Clinchfield Challenger #675 SCL3618 2023-09-02 | Taking one of the cooler S Scale Legacy pieces out for some laps, Clinchfield Challenger 675 was on deck this week. Like usual, we'll go through a quick detail/sound overview, then cut it loose for mileage. Timestamps-Intro- 0:00-0:16Engine Overview- 0:17-0:38Bell + Whistle- 0:39-1:14Hot Laps- 1:14-5:26Extra Hot Laps- 5:27-6:17
Chargers Cometh- First Day Testing on Amtrak 89 + 90 SCL3618 2023-08-29 | The Palmetto service finally got a taste of something different, with a pair of Chargers working their way around the system today (8-28). Shots are in Selma + Four Oaks.
Custom HO CSX Heritage Units- Seaboard System 1982 + Chessie 1973 SCL3618 2023-08-26 | Check out @devinstrains23 for more on the build! Had the chance to take a friend's latest project out for a spin, completing both the Seaboard System and Chessie ES44's in HO. MTH HO units were used as the core, lights and motherboard were fully gutted in favor of an LED upgrade, NixTrains Decoder Buddy, and Loksound 5 21 pin. Timestamps included to check the engine of preference out! Timestamps- Intro (Real Sound from 1982) 0:00-0:34SBD System 1982 Overview 0:35-1:32Chessie 1973 Overview 1:33-2:30SBD Hot Rail- 2:32-6:21Chessie Hot Rail- 6:22-8:08
Cab Ride on Room Sized DRGW Layout SCL3618 2023-08-25 | Taking a track level view at a friend's Rio Grande/Colorado inspired layout! Two mains run in parallel, with a few industrial tracks mixed in, along with a good sized diesel shop.
Scaletrains SP AC4400 w/ Loksound! SCL3618 2023-08-21 | Taking the latest ST power drop out for some break in mileage! Since the engine shipped with an old soundfile, a file rewrite was imminent to give it a better kick. Timestamps are included so you can hear both before and after!Intro- 0:00- 0:12Default Horn + Prime Mover Sample 0:13-1:15Upgrades! 1:16-1:48New Horns- 1:49- 2:18Fresh Prime Mover- 2:19-2:48Hot Laps- 2:50-9:46
Spare Room Layout Overview and Sendoff! SCL3618 2023-08-18 | Threw all the footage from the WA trip into a send off video for the layout! You'll see a mix of normal running, some switching and a final run before teardown. I've had the chance to move this layout a few times, so it was good to get one last round with it before changing things up! Dug back into the MV making style with these segments, if you want to see more running skip to 3:33! Timestamps:Intro- 0:00-0:26Layout Room- 0:27-3:32Running- 3:33-6:47Final Run- 6:48-8:12
Running a Room Sized HO Layout! SCL3618 2023-08-13 | Taking a peek at some of the shots I was able to grab while running on a friend's room sized modular layout. Got a segment for mainline running, some switching and work extras included! The layout wasn't quite wrapped before moving prep, so some areas you'll see a few times over. Timestamps!Mainline- 0:00-3:51Local Switching- 3:52-7:01Work Extras-7:02-10:40
Athearn SP Black Widow ES44 w/ Loksound SCL3618 2023-08-11 | One of the latest projects got a little track time, naturally swapping a Lok 5 under the hood. I used an Athearn OEM dual cube speaker for the sake of what I had on hand, otherwise it'll get a Scalesounds in the near future. Was great to get a chance to change up the scenery for a video as well!
Chessie Cat and Vacuum Cleaner By Night SCL3618 2023-08-09 | Been a while since I've brought out the cheesy titles, but here we are! Two neat trains made their appearance last week under darkness, I032 with the Chessie unit up front, and a phosphate train with a UP Tier 4 "Vacuum Cleaner" on point. The latter named to how the prime mover sounds under load compared to traditional power.
