Videos & Photos Photos Trackside Photos: A B&O local, a VE produce train, a C&O coal train, and more

Trackside Photos: A B&O local, a VE produce train, a C&O coal train, and more

By Nastassia Putz | May 2, 2022

| Last updated on July 25, 2022


A gallery of model railroad images from the June 2022 Model Railroader

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A boy on a bicycle riding down a dirt road waves to the engineer of a passing train

The young railfan on his bicycle will long remember this lucky encounter with the B&O local as it rumbles through Franklin, W.Va., behind Electro-Motive Division GP7 no. 722. The scene takes place on the HO scale B&O Ridgley Division, built by Dale Ridgeway of Bishopville, Md. The locomotive is a Walthers Proto2000 model weathered with chalks; the structures are scratchbuilt. Dale shot the photo.

A boy on a bicycle riding down a dirt road waves to the engineer of a passing train
A rusty green diesel is seen in low angle pulling a graffiti-covered reefer car past fruit groves

It’s harvest time on the Visalia Electric, so aging Electro-Motive Division GP40 no. 175 has been pressed into service to handle the early morning reefer run. Rick Sutton of Atascadero, Calif., grew up near Visalia, Calif., and still railfans the VE’s successor, the San Joaquin Valley RR. Rick weathered the Atlas GP40 with chalks and photographed the scene on his HO scale layout. The reefer is a BLMA model with a decal Rick made from a photograph of graffiti on a prototype car.

A rusty green diesel is seen in low angle pulling a graffiti-covered reefer car past fruit groves
A large black steam locomotive waits while another pulls out of a yard in a mountain town

Brakeman Colpitts waits to align the switch in Callow Yard to clear the way for the departure of Train 154, a loaded coal train headed up by USRA 2-6-6-2 no. 1524, as soon as no. 1305 clears the way with Second 181, which is pulling empties bound for the mines this sunny morning. John Brown of Waubaushene, Ont., photographed the action on his N scale C&O layout. No. 1524 is a Rivarossi model; its fellow Mallet is a United Brass import. The town buildings are from Woodland Scenics.

A large black steam locomotive waits while another pulls out of a yard in a mountain town
A gray and green steam tugboat moves toward a car float on which a small saddle-tank steam switcher smokes

Steam power is rare on the Northern Highland these days, but two – including no. 6, still lettered for a previous owner – handle switching the car floats and rail ferries that bring in much of the line’s revenues. Here, the tug Celtic moves in toward the car float in anticipation of another trip across the harbor. Rene Mack of Wyckoff, N.J., photographed the scene on his HO scale model railroad. The saddle-tank locomotive is a Bachmann model; the tug is from Model Shipways.

A gray and green steam tugboat moves toward a car float on which a small saddle-tank steam switcher smokes
A steam locomotive with a coal train rolls under a signal bridge with a coal tipple in the distance

Kanawha no. 2705, a 2-8-4 Berkshire, clears the signals at Sewell, W.Va., as it slowly builds up speed with a northbound coal drag in March 1952. The action takes place on Thomas Maule’s HO scale New River Subdivision layout. The locomotive is a DCC-sound-equipped Bachmann Spectrum model; the coal hoppers are from Atlas’ Trainman line. Thomas scratchbuilt all the structures, including the Royalty Smokeless Coal Co. tipple in the background. He also shot the photo.

A steam locomotive with a coal train rolls under a signal bridge with a coal tipple in the distance
A bright red boxcar sits in a paved lot next to a blue stakebed truck while a train passes behind

Florida East Coast no. 668, an Electro-Motive Division GP9, leads a northbound mixed freight past Gawthrop Lumber, where an FEC boxcar waits for its cargo of lumber to be unloaded onto the lumber yard’s truck. Larry Burk shot the photo on his HO scale FREMO modules, which were scenicked by Marshall Stull. The Geeps are Walthers models decorated by Kevin Baker. The boxcar is from Athearn.

A bright red boxcar sits in a paved lot next to a blue stakebed truck while a train passes behind

Send us your photos

Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to http://fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact Senior Associate Editor Steven Otte at sotte@kalmbach.com.

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