Hiawatha Pete
Hiawatha Pete's JournalA Complete Video Tour of my Model Railroad 'Empire' - compressed into 10 minutes
Good afternoon DU'ers - Hope you are all having a Happy & Safe Holiday/Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/Diwali/Festivus - whichever applies!
Since I have a few new acquisitions to my model train collection, I thought I'd share my most recent video showcasing my 8 x 9 foot Lionel O-gauge three-rail layout and my O-gauge model train collection – featuring engines & rolling stock from Lionel, MTH, Weaver, Williams, Atlas-O, K-Line, RMT & Buffalo Creek Graphics. Steam, diesel & electric power. Passenger & freight. Over 150 pieces of rolling stock, plus structures, scenery & accessories.
This is the most extensive tour of my layout & train collection rooms yet, however I've managed to squeeze it into a short 10 minute video. Lots of train operations, operating accessories and - IMO - plain old sh*ts & giggles!
Here is the vid:
Plus, for the most recent still images of my collection, see my website at https://northamericabyrail.info/model-railroading/
Hope you enjoy!
Best Regards,
Pete
Model Railroading - My O Gauge tribute to Canada's greatest passenger train (a short video)
Happy Sunday DU'ers,
Hope everyone is keeping safe. Thought I'd post something for distraction's sake for viewers here in the DU lounge.
Due to the Covid pandemic, VIA Rail (Canada's version of Amtrak) has temporarily curtailed service on some of their long distance routes but has reported that it will resume service on the Vancouver-Winnipeg portion of the route of its flagship train, "The Canadian", as of Dec. 11.
Since it's not currently possible to watch "The Canadian" pass by from trackside until then, I've been busy instead running my own O-gauge version of the train in Canadian Pacific Railway livery - before the service was taken over by VIA Rail.
For those interested, I thought I'd share a short 6 minute video showcasing my O-gauge tribute to the Canadian Pacific Railway's legendary transcontinental passenger train - "The Canadian":
A pic of the set on my shelves:
And on the layout:
One more:
The engines are a Lionel #8365, 8469 & 8366 Canadian Pacific F3 three-unit diesel, and a Lionel #2380 Canadian Pacific GP9 roadswitcher diesel. The headend power is followed by a Lionel #9228 express boxcar, a K-Line "Empress" dining car, a K-line "Skyline 505" dome car, K-Line "Blair Manor" & "Craig Manor" sleeping cars and Park-series dome-sleeper-lounge-observation car "Tremblant Park" on the tail end.
For more pictures & videos of my train collection and layout, see my website at: https://northamericabyrail.info/model-railroading/
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
Workin' on the Railroad - Attempting to model accurate passenger train consists in O gauge
Good evening DU'ers,
Hope everyone is keeping safe.
With parts of Canada going back into lockdown and with my wife & I trying to stay hunkered down ourselves, as a distraction I've been able to find some more time to enjoy my hobby of model railroading, in particular O-gauge model railroading.
One of my main areas of interest is passenger trains and I've taken on the challenge of attempting to recreate reasonably realistic representations of passenger train consists in O gauge, trying to recreate in miniature some of the great trains of yesteryear based on information & pictures I've found in books and on the internet.
Traditionally, one of the biggest challenges to doing so in O gauge is the availability at any one time of the correct combination of engines & rolling stock, especially in Canada - a situation that has been made somewhat easier in recent years thanks to the internet & mail-ordering, and also helped by no small degree of patience and the fact that for me model railroading has been a lifetime hobby.
Along those lines, I thought I'd post some pics of just a few of my passenger train consists along with some pics I found on the internet of the full-sized prototypes that they represent.
The pics of the models are mine, the full-sized ones are the work of other photographers.
More pics and a video of my layout & collection can be seen on my website at: https://northamericabyrail.info/model-railroading/
Hope you enjoy!
Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Canadian' - Lionel/MPC F3 & GP9 diesel locomotives & express boxcar with K-Line passenger cars
A pic of the prototype's motive power from the Joseph Testagrose collection
VIA Rail's 'Skeena' - Custom-painted MTH F3 diesel locomotives and Ready Made Trains passenger cars
A pic of the prototype 'Super Continental' which used the same equipment as the 'Skeena', by Kevin Dunk
Chicago Burlington & Quincy's 'Denver Zephyr' - Williams E7 diesel locomotives & Lionel passenger cars
The prototype, by Marty Bernard
Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Dominion' - Weaver Class H1B 'Hudson' steam locomotive & passenger cars
The prototype, by Edward J Ozog
Grand Trunk Western's 'Maple Leaf' - Lionel GP7 diesel locomotives & MTH passenger cars
The prototype, by Donald Haskel
Penn Central's 'Broadway Limited' - Williams GG1 electric locomotive, MTH express boxcar, Williams passenger cars
The prototype, by Thomas C Ayers
Southern Pacific's 'Coast Daylight' - Lionel Class GS4 steam locomotive & passenger cars
The prototype, by John West
Erie Lackawanna's 'Phoebe Snow' - Lionel Alco PA1 diesel locomotives & passenger cars
The prototype, photographer unknown
Across Canada by Train on VIA Rail's "Canadian" - Another Look
Good Morning DU'ers,
Hope everyone is keeping safe. Thought it might be time for another weekend distraction.
Back in March I had posted some pics from the route of VIA Rail's legendary transcontinental passenger train, 'The Canadian', which runs from Toronto to Vancouver. In this post, I attempt to take a more detailed look at the Canadian by including some scenes not shown in my prior post and also attempt to include more pics with human interest as well.
The pics are a composite of several trips aboard the Canadian in 2017 & 2019 and are from the following pages from my website at:
https://northamericabyrail.info/a-trip-on-via-rails-canadian-2017-toronto-on-jasper-ab-banff-ab-vancouver-bc/
and:
https://northamericabyrail.info/a-trip-on-via-rails-skeena-jasper-ab-prince-rupert-bc/
So without further ado, for those interested in taking another scenic land cruise across Canada from the comfort of your computer or smartphone let's pack our bags, grab our tickets and hop aboard for a trip into the vast Canadian wilderness, past sprawling prairies, glimmering cities, and through the majestic peaks of the Rockies.
Hope you enjoy!
Toronto Union Station & CN Tower
Toronto Union Station's great hall
By train along Lake Simcoe near Washago, Ontario
In the dome car, passing sunken telegraph poles, west of Parry Sound, Ontario
View from rear of train west of Parry Sound, Ontario
Through the muskeg & lake country of the Canadian Shield near Hornepayne, Ontario
Refueling stop at Sioux Lookout, Ontario
Entering a tunnel near Canyon Lake, Ontario
Boaters waving to the train at Redditt, Ontario
One long train. Redditt, Ontario. The consist, swollen by the "Canada 150" traffic in 2017, was 25 cars. Another 5 cars were added to the train at Edmonton, Alberta for a total of 30 cars, making the train a half-mile long!
A friendly attendant welcomes us to dinner in the Dining Car on VIA's Canadian
Coffee Shop in the Skyline Dome car on VIA's Canadian
Passengers enjoying the view from the Scenic Dome section in the Skyline car on VIA's Canadian
Lounge in the Skyline Dome car on VIA's Canadian. VIA Rail sponsors a residency program for young musicians who perform at certain times in one of the train's dome cars and at the stations.
Sleeping Berth Section on VIA's Canadian - Daytime setup
Sleeping Berth Section on VIA's Canadian - Night time setup
Prairies & Red River floodway east of Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg Union Station. Winnipeg is a long crew change, refueling & resupply stop allowing passengers to detrain & explore.
Winnipeg Union Station's main hall
Folk artists Piper and Carson performing at Winnipeg station, part of VIA's resident program for musicians
Winnipeg nocturne with Train number 1
Downtown Winnipeg as seen from the train
The Canadian rounds a bend east of Manitou Lake, Saskatchewan
The Canadian crossing the high trestle over the Battle River near Wainwright, Alberta
Onboard the Canadian, rolling along the Athabasca River in the foothills of the Rockies at the Entrance to Jasper National Park, Alberta
Along the Athabasca River, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Canadian Rockies near Devona, AB
Passing Roche Miette, Jasper National Park, Alberta
Crossing the Snaring River at Henry House, Alberta
Along the Athabasca River passing Roche à Perdrix, Jasper National Park, Alberta
The Canadian rolls through a cut at English, Alberta
General Motors F40PH-2 diesels on the point of VIA Rail's Canadian during it's station stop at Jasper, Alberta
Dome car window wash. Jasper, Alberta
Jasper Heritage Railway Station
Canadian National Railway steam locomotive on display at Jasper Heritage Railway Station
Back on the train, entering a tunnel near Wynd, Alberta
Onboard the Canadian roaring through Yellowhead Pass and over the Great Divide
The Westbound Canadian east of Fitzwilliam, British Columbia
Passing Mount Fitzwilliam, British Columbia
Along Moose Lake, British Columbia
Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia
Passing Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The summit is only visible on average 16 days per year.
Exiting a tunnel near Tête Jaune Cache, British Columbia.
In the Thompson River valley east of Kamloops, British Columbia
In the Panorama car rolling along the Thompson River Canyon outside Kamloops, British Columbia
The Canadian in the Fraser River Canyon at Cisco, British Columbia, at dusk
Hell’s Gate Canyon, narrowest & fastest flowing part of the Fraser River
Onboard the Canadian, approaching Agassiz, British Columbia
The Canadian crossing the Fraser River into Vancouver, British Columbia
Park-series dome-observation car on the tail end of the Canadian at Pacific Central Station
Pacific Central Station, Vancouver, British Columbia
Lion's Gate Bridge, Vancouver, British Columbia, as seen from Stanley Park after detraining
Trying to channel my inner O. Winston Link
Good Saturday afternoon, DU'ers
Hope everyone is keeping safe.
Thought it might be time again to make a short but sweet submission to the DU photography group.
Having since converted in 2005 to digital from my old 35mm Nikon N2020 SLR, I haven't been taking as much B&W photos as I used to (not that I took very many in the first place).
However thanks to the magic of programs like Photoshop and PIXLR, I have converted a few photos from color to B&W that I think came out not too bad.
Title of my OP notwithstanding, I know they are nowhere near the same calibre as the venerable American photographer who took many photos at night and was a master of painting with flash, but here are a couple of pictures from my collection on Railpictures.net.
Hope you enjoy! Cheers, Pete
For those interested, there are more pics from my collection on Railpictures.net at: https://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?userid=63021
And on my website at:
https://northamericabyrail.info/
Nickel Plate Road #765 on the point of the Erie Limited. Buffalo, NY
Milwaukee Road E70 on display in Deer Lodge, MT
Canada By Train - A Short 7 Minute Video
Good Morning DU'ers
For those interested, I thought it might be time for another weekend distraction. My wife and I often travel by train and over the last few months I've posted some pictures of our trips in the photography and DU lounge sections here on Democratic Underground.
This time instead of showcasing still images shot by myself, I thought I might pay homage to some of my wonderful wife's work with a video shot by her, taking the viewer on a scenic land cruise across Canada aboard VIA Rail's transcontinental passenger train, 'The Canadian', which runs from Toronto to Vancouver.
This video is a composite of several trips aboard the Westbound and Eastbound Canadian taken in the summer of 2017 and the fall of 2011. The locations are shown in geographical order from east to west.
For more videos & pics, see our website at https://northamericabyrail.info/
So a big shout-out to my wonderful darling wife, who had the good sense to film some motion pictures while I was taking still images - Thanks HunnyBunny!
[P.S. I moved this video to the DU Lounge from the Photo group as I thought it might be a better fit here since it is a video rather than a still image]
Video Contents:
0:00 Night departure from Toronto onboard VIA Rail's Westbound Canadian
0:16 Bedroom in Prestige Class sleeping car
0:32 Bullet lounge in Prestige class 'Park' Car
0:42 Dome in Prestige class Park car
0:49 Station stop at Sioux Lookout, Ontario
1:06 Through the lakes and muskeg country West of Canyon, Ontario
2:20 Passing prairie grain elevators West of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
2:41 Passing Wabamun Lake, West of Edmonton, Alberta
2:59 Station stop at Jasper, Alberta - Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies
3:45 Passing Mount Robson, highest peak in the Canadian Rockies
4:58 Yellowhead Pass, Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia
5:34 Redpass Junction,British Columbia
5:44 Tête Jaune Cache, British Columbia
6:05 Passing the town of Valemount, British Columbia
6:32 Albreda, British Columbia
6:50 Passing the BNSF freight station in Vancouver, British Columbia
A trip on the Agawa Canyon Tour Train
Good Morning DU'ers,
Hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe.
I thought it might be time to post some pics from another train route, this time from my home province of Ontario, Canada.
Back in 2015 my wife and I had the pleasure of riding the Agawa Canyon Tour Train, which runs on a day trip from from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (just across the border from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan) to the Agawa Canyon in Ontario's northern hinterland and thought we might share some pics.
The Agawa Canyon Tour Train began operation in 1964, carrying tourists to the scenic & popular Agawa Canyon. The train operates on the tracks of the Algoma Central Railway (ACR), now owned by Canadian National Railways (CN). The Algoma Central was a regional railway operating in Northern Ontario and when CN took over the line, it inherited the ACR's passenger service.
The pics are from our website at https://northamericabyrail.info/
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN AT THE STATION IN SAULT STE MARIE, ON. THE STATION AND PLATFORM ARE LOCATED IN THE PARKING LOT OF A SHOPPING MALL IN DOWNTOWN SAULT STE MARIE
ONBOARD THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN, DEPARTING SAULT STE MARIE, ON
TICKET TO RIDE. IN A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE, CN (WHICH SOLD OFF ITS PASSENGER SERVICES TO VIA RAIL CANADA IN 1976) IS ONCE AGAIN CARRYING FARE-PAYING PASSENGERS.
PASSING THE INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE TO SAULT STE MARIE, MICHIGAN
ALGOMA CENTRAL YARDS & SHOPS, STEELTON, ON
SOMETHING MUCH-NEEDED FOR NORTHERN ONTARIO WINTERS. ALGOMA CENTRAL PLOW #10105 AT STEELTON, ON
SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN (ANYMORE). ALGOMA CENTRAL EXTENDED-VISION CABOOSE #9609 ON THE PLOW TRAIN AT STEELTON, ON
CROSSING THE TRESTLE AT BELLVUE, ON
OLD RAILROAD BUNKHOUSE AT ACHIGAN, ON
ACHIGAN LAKE
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTS ACHIGAN LAKE
VIEW FROM REAR OF TRAIN NEAR SEARCHMONT, ON
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTS TROUT LAKE
CABINS AT TROUT LAKE, ON
SPRUCE LAKE
CN MAINTENANCE-OF-WAY CREW AT SUMMIT, ON
MONGOOSE LAKE
BATCHEWANA RIVER
CABINS ALONG THE BATCHEWANA RIVER
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN SKIRTING RAND LAKE
DINING CAR ON THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN DINING CAR MENU
HOT BEEF SANDWICH WITH GRAVY, MASHED POTATO, & VEGETABLES
CAFE CAR ON THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN CROSSING MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE & DAM
AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN CROSSING MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE & DAM
VIEW OF GENERATING STATION FROM MONTREAL RIVER TRESTLE
LAKE NEAR HUBERT, ON
ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR
HIGHLANDS OUTSIDE AGAWA CANYON PARK
ENTERING THE AGAWA CANYON
TRAVELLING THROUGH THE AGAWA CANYON
BRIDAL VEIL FALLS
TRAVELLING THROUGH THE AGAWA CANYON
ARRIVING AT AGAWA CANYON PARK, PASSING OLD RAILWAY CARRIAGE NOW PART OF A GIFT SHOP
CN F40PH #106 ON THE POINT OF THE AGAWA CANYON TOUR TRAIN, AGAWA CANYON PARK, ON
PLAQUE COMMEMORATING CANADA'S 'GROUP OF SEVEN' ARTISTS WHO FREQUENTED THE PARK
AGAWA CANYON PARK
Los Angeles to Chicago on Amtrak's "Southwest Chief"
Good Morning DU'ers,
For those interested in taking a virtual journey across the Southwestern US, in better times my wife & I often traveled by train (and plan to do so again once the current global health crisis has passed) & thought we might share some pics from the route of Amtrak's Train #4 - The 'Southwest Chief' - which runs on a very picturesque route from Los Angeles, California to Chicago, Illinois.
The pics are a composite of several separate trips that we took on Train #4 and attempt to show some of the regions traversed, in geographical order from west to east.
The pics are from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/
Stay safe & hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
FIRST A PIC OF AMTRAK P42DC #153 ON THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF AT THE ALBUQUERQUE, NM, AMTRAK STATION
NOW FROM WEST TO EAST:
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES A SEEN FROM OUR HOTEL
ON AMTRAK’S EASTBOUND SOUTHWEST CHIEF, NEAR GALLUP, NM
PASSING FREIGHT LED BY SANTA FE GP60 #8729, GALLUP, NM
MESAS EAST OF GALLUP, NM
ADOBE STYLE HOUSES EAST OF GALLUP, NM
MOUNTAINS WEST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM
HAD TO GET A PIC OF AMTRAK HERITAGE UNIT #822 ON THE POINT OF THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF AT ALBUQUERQUE 
RAILRUNNER COMMUTER TRAIN, ALBUQUERQUE, NM
MOUNTAINS EAST OF ALBUQUERQUE, NM
MEET WITH WESTBOUND SOUTHWEST CHIEF LED BY AMTRAK P42DC #162, LAMY, NM
HORSEBACK RIDING NEAR THE TRACKS, LAMY, NM
LAMY, NM, AMTRAK STATION
SOUTHWEST CHIEF CLIMBING GLORIETTA PASS
GLORIETTA PASS
SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST
HARVEY HOUSE HOTEL, LAS VEGAS, NM, WHICH ONCE HOSTED THEODORE ROOSEVELT
ANTELOPE NEAR LAS VEGAS, NM
APPROACHING RATON TUNNEL, NM
RATON PASS, CO
KANSAS CITY, MO
STEAMBOAT ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, FORT MADISON, IA
SOUTHWEST CHIEF CROSSING THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT FORT MADISON, IA
ENTERING CHICAGO UNION STATION
Seattle to L.A. on Amtrak's "Coast Starlight"
Good Morning DU'ers,
Happy 4th of July!
Hope everyone is enjoying themselves and keeping safe.
Once again as a weekend distraction my wife and I thought we might share some pics, this time from our journeys years back on Amtrak's Train #11, the "Coast Starlight", which runs on what we found to be an incredibly scenic route along the Pacific Coast from Seattle, Washington to Los Angeles, California.
The pics are a composite of several separate trips that we took on Train #11 and attempt to show some of the regions traversed, in geographical order from north to south.
The pics are from our website, https://northamericabyrail.info/
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
FIRST, A PIC FROM ONBOARD THE 'COAST STARLIGHT' CROSSING THE TRESTLE AT GAVIOTA, CA
NOW FROM NORTH TO SOUTH:
KING STREET STATION, SEATTLE, WA
ONBOARD THE COAST STARLIGHT PASSING THE 'NEW' TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE [NOT THE OLD INFAMOUS GALLOPING GURDY]
ALONG PUGET SOUND
PACIFIC PARLOR CAR ON THE ‘COAST STARLIGHT’
PORTLAND UNION STATION
WILLAMETTE FALLS, OREGON CITY, OR, AS SEEN FROM THE COAST STARLIGHT
UNION PACIFIC YARD AT EUGENE, OR
WILLAMETTE PASS, SPRINGFIELD, OR
KLAMATH FALLS NOCTURNE WITH TRAIN #11
ONBOARD THE COAST STARTLIGHT, PASSING SUSPENSION BRIDGE OVER THE CARQUINEZ STRAIT
ON THE COAST STARLIGHT, STREET RUNNING THROUGH OAKLAND’S JACK LONDON SQUARE
PASSING THROUGH THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY
ENTERING A TUNNEL ON THE CUESTA GRADE AT PASO ROBLES, CA
CUESTA GRADE, PASO ROBLES, CA
THE COAST STARLIGHT DESCENDING THE CUESTA GRADE
FRONT OF OUR TRAIN, PASO ROBLES, CA
WINDING THROUGH THE HORSESHOE CURVES AT PASO ROBLES, CA
AMTRAK P42DC #189 ON THE POINT OF THE COAST STARLIGHT, SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA
SAN LUIS OBISPO AMTRAK STATION
NEAR PISMO BEACH, CA
PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA
THE COAST STARLIGHT TRAVELLING ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST, SANTA BARBARA, CA
PACIFIC COAST SOUTH OF SANTA BARBARA, CA
LOS ANGELES UNION STATION
A Ride in the Cab of a Steam Locomotive
Several years ago while vacationing on Vancouver Island, I was offered the opportunity to ride in the cab of a steam locomotive. My wonderful & extremely supportive wife agreed to incorporate the opportunity into our travel plans so that I would have the chance to ride and photograph the experience.
The Canadian Pacific Railway's 'Esquimalt & Nanaimo' subsidiary once had an extensive network of lines serving Vancouver Island supporting freight and logging operations and even ran a passenger service of sorts. One section - the Canadian Pacific's Alberni Subdivision which once crossed the island from east to west - has been mostly abandoned except for a stretch running from Port Alberni to McLean Mill which is today operated as a tourist railway known as the Alberni Pacific.
It is this tourist railway that is documented in the pictures below from our website: https://northamericabyrail.info/
Hope you enjoy!
Cheers, Pete
Alberni Pacific #7 simmers at the end of the line at McLean Mill, Vancouver Island:
At the railway station in Port Alberni, British Columbia:
Alberni Pacific #7, an oil-fired 2-8-2 'Mikado' type engine, steamed up and bell ringing. At the engine house in Port Alberni, before being coupled to her train for the journey to McLean Mill:
Engineer working the Johnson Bar in the cab of #7:
View over the fireman's shoulder, departing the station and railroad yards in Port Alberni:
#7 charges past a grade crossing.
View from the cab window, going over a trestle:
#7's stack blasting into the cool morning air, reminding the good people of Port Alberni that the Alberni Pacific is passing through:
Oil in the firebox. No hand-bombing coal on this iron horse:
View past the boiler and on down the line, through the Vancouver Island rainforest.
A young couple pays homage to steam's magic at the end of the line at McLean Mill, British Columbia:
McLean Mill historic site, last operating steam-powered sawmill in North America:
Taking the return trip in one of the coaches:
Our journey comes to an end as we pull into the yards at Port Alberni:
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