Proud citizens

Yes, the long awaited passenger depot and headquarters are finally operational. The local papers were buzzing with the news. As if on cue, both freight and passenger business increased significantly. It is certainly clear track ahead for the GM&O. In the near future there will be an official dedication of the new structure. The mayor is expected to make some remarks and there is a rumor that the governor will be in attendance as well. The police department has pledged full cooperation for handling the crowd and traffic. Details about this will appear in the papers prior to the ceremony. It seems like the entire town is a beehive of activity. Still buzzing myself, omscaler

The big move!

Yes! The day had finally come! On the night of March 14^th, 2020 at ten P.M., the Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad diverted all traffic through the turnouts located at the north end and south end of the main line onto the main siding. At the same time railway employees began loading an assigned boxcar and likewise an assigned flat car that were both located at the Murphysboro freight house. Also in the line up was a boxcar that had been loaded some weeks before. The purpose of the rolling stock was to transport all administration, passenger operations and express parcel service to the newly completed passenger depot. Previously, all local railroad activity was using the freight house. This arrangement was burdensome to say the least. Now the office and executive activity will be located upstairs. The passenger and baggage activity will be on the first floor. This move as stated will started at ten and go until completion. The railroad has all hands available on the job. This should last no later than first light and perhaps much sooner. The depot itself is complete. The porch, as yet not built, will be done in stages so as to allow foot traffic safe access to the depot. Specifically, if workmen are building over one of the three doors the door will be blocked and the other two doors will be used. After the porch is done, foot traffic will be routed through the appropriate walk in doors. As a further note, one door will be for railroad employee use only. The baggage room doors will have a similar treatment as well. It has been noted that a celebratory atmosphere permeated the workers and public as well due to the opening of the new depot. I am sure a party will follow the move. Looking forward to the party, omscaler

Another day trip

Saturday omscaler went to a Spring Fling in Attalla, Alabama. This trip was not particularly oriented toward trains, but I decided to go anyway. The last time I went to this area, I did see a “caboose” type railcar. As readers may recall, it had a new paint job. Apparently what happens is that a brakeman or conductor can ride in this “shove car” and take car of business but it is not a “caboose”. Oh well, things change. Back to the trip. I did snag a picture of the truss bridge on the main line near highway 77. The bridge looked dark brown. Perhaps not painted in a long time. I parked downtown and saw a lot of people looking at a lot of antiques. I checked some out as well. I did not see any train sets or even model railcars nor did I notice any toy trains. I did see some miniature goats, some wearing bandanas. It seems I arrived too late to see the miniature cow. Oh well, maybe next time. I also got some pics of the old building. I did also swing by downtown Gadsden and took some more pics. I got one of the old Coosa River swing bridge as well. While I was there, I located the venue for next months train show. See you there, omscaler

And a little more about layouts

Welcome back readers. Omscaler is a little pumped. You see, last Saturday I attended a winter train show in Helena Alabama. The show is sponsored by Smokey City Rails model railroad club. Currently they occupy a store front at The Shops of Grand River in Leeds, Alabama. They meet of Thursday evenings for club business and open to the public during normal shop hours on Saturday and Sunday with the exception of being at a train show or a holiday. By the way, their Christmas display was great. Anyway, yours truly won a door prize. Imagine that! The funny thing was the prize was a Ten Dollar Coupon redeemable at the show. Don’t misunderstand me. I definitely appreciated the gift. My quandary was what to do? I chuckled inwardly that my scale was so unique that I had to mentally work to figure out a subject to use the coupon for. The selection of wares at the show was staggering. I began to search the displays for something to aquire. A lot of things in the book category caught my eye. But I did not go that route. Omscaler already has an extensive archive of model railroad material. I thought about my grandson who attended with me last year. At the Gadsden train show we had attended together a couple of years ago, he won a door prize of some model trees. Since that time, he and his family have moved and the model trees may have been lost. So, I thought I would replace the trees. I found some at one of the dealer tables and noted these new trees looked more realistic than the old trees. They were priced about the same as my coupon also. Now, alls well that ends well. Besides this I ran into a number of old friends and met some new people as well. All in all a good day. As a final note, I stopped at the old depot restaurant and got a beverage to go when I left town. And, by the way, about more layouts, There were several interesting ones at the show. It just gets better and better, omscaler

Speaking of Layouts

Just a little more about layouts and some exciting news. Hopefully last post got everybody at least a little curious about model train layouts. I have great news. People the the southeastern corner of the United States will soon have an opportunity to view some layouts if they have not seen one up close and personal. What this blog writer is talking about is the Winter Train Show at the Helena Sports Complex, Helena, Alabama. The last time I went there were indeed layouts to be seen. All good stuff. This is a great mid winter family venue due to the presence of a number of vendors being there as well. These vendors often have things on display for all ages. The dates: Friday, February 28^th, 4 P.M.- 8 P.M. Saturday, 9 A.M. - 3 P.M. There is an admission charge. I hope to see everyone there, omscaler

Layouts? What is a layout?

One of our readers recently contacted me by non blog channels. He remarked about one of the “firsts” I had referred to in the previous blog post. He is busy working on his model railway. It is a set up we commonly call a “layout” . I have seen a number of layouts both in person, in magazines, and online. The work is often spectacular and almost approaches “art”. I was thinking about what makes a really great layout. There are usually a number of salient characteristics. The trains run well. There are usually a number of turnouts. Plenty of railcars. Often, the layout is equipped with sound. Sometimes the sound is in cars but now more commonly in the locomotives themselves. Also, there is ambient sound. Waterfalls, cattle mooing, diner/nightclub music and more. Animation is present as well. Besideds railway equipment there is vehicle movement, boat movement, factory movement and still more. But again I ponder what makes a great layout? What characteristic seems to be the pinnacle characteristic of a layout? If you study any layout that facscinates you, I believe one feature always stands out. That feature is “realism”. The viewer feels like they are gazing upon a miniature world. A world very much like their own or like their grandparents world. A world so realistic they wish they could become small and get in it! What makes this miniature world so realistic? Usually the viewer will see lots of scale people. These people are going about, seemingly, daily activites. Ballgames, street repair crews, travellers, commuters and so on. Also, look at the railcars. Do they look like they sport factory fresh paint? No, they look somewhat grimy. The buildings also look weathered as well. Where do these features live? They live among foliage. Trees, bushes, grass, cattails, rocks, hills and ridges. If you, the reader, attend a train show and see something that grips your attention, please give a nod to those whose work has culminated in the effect you enjoy. Still enjoying the OSR, omscaler

Happy Anniversary!

Yes, Happy Anniversary! To who? To us! This is the third anniversary of The Omega Scale Railway blog. You, the readers, and I the erstwhile blogger have kept at it and here we are. What a great milestone! The actual start date was in fact February 14^th. This post is about three days early. Better early than late, eh? I was thinking how the OSR began as a germ of an idea. Then after a number of years, things began to come together, literally. In a previous post I recounted how the blog got its name. Omega Scale was coined by a Model Railroader editor in the April, 1982 edition as a comment at the end of a contributor’s article about his 1/384 scale model railroad. Since 2015, omscaler has worked seriously to bring the vision to fruition. I also thought about the many ideas, projects and plans that were called for. Omscaler has built his own dual beam trammel compass to aid in large curve radii drawing. One of many “firsts”. As I think back, obstacle after obstacle was over come. Frankly, that has not changed even now. Although, they are not so many as before it seems like. At this point in time, this blogger is not even aware of any other 1/384 scale model railroader any where in the world. If you follow this blog, you and I are truly unique! Here’s to uniqueness! Long may we prevail! Still prevailing, omscaler