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Friday, April 7, 2017

Christmas Car - 2015

I did this a few years ago...



Christmas time I wanted to build up a Christmas train to go around the tree. Had this old car and decided to paint it up. Took the trucks off and gave her a gold spray.



Next I took some black and painted some details:

Tried my hand at some other colors.
 


It looks good on the track. I had painted a steam engine the year before. I was going to do a car a year, but I did not do one last year. Maybe I will do another one 2017.


Tell me what you think, what kind of car should I do next to ad to my Christmas train? I got all year to think about it.






Sunday, April 2, 2017

Texas Electric Railway

A number of years ago I was talking to my wife's grandfather. He was in his 90's already. He mentioned that he lived in Waco and rode the trolley into Dallas for work.
Map of the different Rail Companies of the time

I remember thinking it must have been a train or something, That's 100 miles one way or more. I've heard of Trollies in down town Dallas. They actually restored one of the lines. He talked about what he did in Dallas, and if he had to work late and missed the trolly back home, he would spend the night in Dallas.

Years after he passed we found The Interurban Railway Museum in Plano Texas.
There was a trolly that ran not just from Waco to Dallas but all the way upto Denison, Tx. that is close to 200 miles.

Really neat museum, evidentially there were a few railway companies. Check out the map they have hanging in the Interurban Railway Museum.


restored car at the museum


While talking to someone that worked at the museum, he mentioned that parts of the rail were in operation nearly 40 years. As cars became more and more affordable for more people. People stopped riding as much and pretty much ended the Trollies around 1948.







Funny how things come around full circle. With the increase of population in Dallas over the past years they have increases DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit)

We did not plan it, but we were lucky we found the museum during business hours. We were able to walk around the inside the trolly mail car they had.


Trolly drivers controls.
Not much to the controls, I read that it could run up into the 50mph range.








If you have not been to The Interurban Railway Museum you should check it out;
http://www.interurbanrailwaymuseum.org