Model Railroading > "Owl" on The Loop...

Money. That's what I was thinking as the shot was unfolding.

With lots of guest trains in motion last Saturday on the Tehachapi layout of the La Mesa Model Railroad Club, and embracing lots of eras and styles, there are inevitable collisions -- infrequently of equipment, thank goodness, but quite commonly of oppposing time signatures and railroad epochs.

This video shows one such leap in the space-time continuum. It's my 1965 "Owl," seen in the stills with my FP7/F7B power, and in the video with Dick Harley's UTI Alco power. Both include my head end and passenger cars -- Union Terminal Imports, Coach Yard, and Athearn -- and augmented with three cars from UTI's Chuck Sted. Weathering on my equipment is primarily with powdered pastels.

The video is a shot you'd have to work at with pre-planning, but was a lucky grab instead. As the "Owl" negotiates the Loop, Rick Selby's cement hoppers and Per Diem boxes fronted by Liz Allen's power just happen to be in the right place at the right time for the money shot.

The quantum time leap between passenger and freight trains spans about a decade and a half, from the '60s to the '80s. But it didn't bother me in the least, and still doesn't. And I remain grateful for the opportunity to run a train. It's been too long, and I'm ready for more...

~ BZ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/18 17:38 by Notch16.

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Great stuff Bob!

Regards, Jim Evans

Wow, that is some top notch train. Thanks for sharing.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Nice camera and post processing work, Bob. (Nice train too!) Timing of that meet was incredible.
Tim

Almost better then the real thing.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

Love the time warp as soon as it passed! All the way to the 80’s

Posted from iPhone

Great show.
Noticed the fade to black at the end of the video clip.
t4p.

Brings back memories...

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

Bill, do you happen to recall PAs on the "Owl" during the Scarlet & Gray era?

~ BZ

Looks like a nice day at La Mesa. 
Another operator sent these shots from his Saturday visit.    


 

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Great stuff BZ. Love'n the last head end car, 80 foot RPO in grey. That layout is so photogenic. Hard to believe it's been over 50 years since those trains were running on the SP. It took that long to get decent models of these cars and power in 1/87 scale. The M5 lead in on the video takes you right back to that era. Your doing well with the modeling "Way back machine". Don't touch that dial, keep it set in SP 60's.

Notch16 Wrote:
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> Bill, do you happen to recall PAs on the "Owl"
> during the Scarlet & Gray era?
>
> ~ BZ

Always Fs

That's what the consensus has been. Thanks, Bill!

~ BZ

> dmaffei Wrote: Don't touch that dial, keep it set in SP 60's.

Not to worry, Mr. Maffei. The only turning of the knob is with the fine-tuning ring, to twist a few degrees between '65 and '67 or so. :-)

~ BZ

 

Beautiful video and what great equipment on such a stunning layout.  I want to go back!

David Lehlbach
Tangent Scale Models

Regarding the first photo, in the '60s, one wouldn't see hillsides in the vicinity of Bealville bereft of native grasses as depicted.  In those days, herbicides weren't used along the ROW thru the Tehachapis; instead, section crews conducted controlled burns of the native grasses each year in the summer..

TangentScaleModels Wrote:
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> Beautiful video and what great equipment on such a
> stunning layout.  I want to go back!
>
> David Lehlbach
> Tangent Scale Models

Ain't it the truth? It's a drug, that layout. When you're there, time stops. And when you have to stop, you immediately want to take the ride again!

Thanks for the nice words, Mr. L -- appreciate them very, very much!

> In those days, herbicides weren't used along the
> ROW thru the Tehachapis; instead, section crews
> conducted controlled burns of the native grasses
> each year in the summer..

Those burns, and the blackened patches along the ROW, are a part of my thoughts about modeling the San Joaquin Valley in the 1960s as well.

~ BZ