The Home Machinist!

DT&I orange goes well with Halloween

Page A3 of the Saginaw News today shows a nice shot of miniature railroad caboose 108 and the
“We Have the Connections” compass herald.

The 67-year-old caboose and other pieces of equipment were put in service for a Fall Harvest event this past Tuesday.

Additional pictures of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton miniature train can be viewed at
the on-line mlive photo gallery below. (Scroll to about photo 27 of the 40 picture gallery.)
Several engineers operated the 1955 Lima Switcher during the 5 hour event. The newspaper photo journalist caught
live steam boiler maker Marty Knox at the engine’s throttle in one of the pictures.

It was a fun day!

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index ... t_fes.html

John

Yes, it really was a fun day! I'd like to thank John for sharing the Atkinson Family Railroad with me , his cousins, and hordes of kids! He brought smiles to a lot of faces, especially my grandson Noah!

Nice photos..

Here is a picture of John talking with his sister and some cousins.

And John backing up for another trip.
Hi Grandfather did a great job modeling a Lima switcher.

How cool. Is this 7-1/2" equipment?

Rob

No, it is not really to any particular scale. The track is 12 13/16" gauge, the side scale is roughly 1 1/2", but the front scale is 2" plus. It looks like something from Popular Mechanics in the late Forties/early Fifties.

Buried deep in the Show Us Your Park Guage Train thread is a bit more information on John's Christmas train. Here is his video from 2016.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovd-Ia5kIBY


If I remember correctly, John's father built the loco and the cars, and John has restored it to running operation over the last few years. I think he said the track,gauge is actually 12 15/16". Definitely a unique gauge.

John also built a working replica of a railway crane, may years ago. Apparently the crane still exists, but has been in storage for decades, and now is awaiting its turn at restoration. I've been waiting with anxious anticipation to see some photos, or, perhaps the crane back in service. But,,,, good things take time.

John, any chance of an update on your crane? Hint hint, hint.

Glenn

~smiling~~~ at the misc info bits. "I read it on the Internet, so it must be true!"

Marty was off by an 1/8" on distance between the rails. Glenn corrected the gauge recalling the actual 12-15/16". "but", he was off one generation on the builder who was my grandfather, not my father.

A recent gathering for a 90-year-old relative of mine celebrating a birthday revealed some further details I need to update at the IBLS story.

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?tit ... n_Railroad

Some of the too many irons in the fire, need to be tossed out.

Glenn, thank you for inquiring about the wrecker. As you mention... things take time.
One discovery related to the wrecker over the course of the summer was learning that the American Flyer 644 S-gauge Wrecking Crane
which I worked from in building the crane (in the 1980s), the length of the boom on the toy was quite shorter than on the actual prototype.
Another one of those... "had I known that..." I would have made it the correct size.

John

John, so we missed by 1 gen and a 1/16". Close enuf for old retired guys!

Many thanks for the link to your great grand dad, granddad, dad, and your Railroad history!

I'd still love to see some detailed photos of your crane - even sitting in storage. I've been thinking about building one ever since I first heard about yours.

Glenn