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Amazing as always Steve and can you build a Conrail sd45

Howdy fellow Steve! Kinda makes you wonder why they leave those wires so long in the first place... probably easier to wire them up in the factory. Apologies if I mentioned this before, but saw on another YT channel to use an old coffee cup to put your cement bottle in. Because if you are anything like me... sooner or later it is getting knocked over lol. Nicely done sir! I have 3 Athearn Genisis SD75Ms that I want to put Blunami decoders in for running on DC tracks (At least one club in my area is DC only). Can't wait to give the installs a try! Thanks for sharing 🤠

Ima do the same painting on the grill things tonight on my locos does it matter what paint I use or no I have some acrylic paint from rail center idk if that will be fine and how were you able to paint the wheels with the gear shafts in going to the motor cause I’m still trying to paint mine on my locos

Nicely done Steve.

Hi CR Steve & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks CR Steve & Friends Randy

Remarkable!

Are you going to the Berea Train show this weekend ?

Dont know why ST don't have trip pins.But have a 44-9W,that has plenty of weight,and all the lighting features plus stay alive.Prefer the Tsunami2,for adjustability and DDE.All brands are made in China anyway,so products will be similar.

Firstly great update. Second: for the river scene, try expanding the abutments to make a wall with a hill above it so you can still see your wall but also have scenery above it. Maybe have trees or thick bushes above the wall that goes into the water. Thirdly: your curves. I suggest the 30" curves so that you can run 86ft boxcars easier. If you redo your curves, create an easement for a nice angle. You will have to redo parts of the yard but it wouldn't be so bad. This also gives an opportunity to redo some the scenery that you might not be satisfied with. And last BNSF 767 is a motor I used on my RR a couple of times. Pretty cool to see the model!

What is the name of that brown paint

Have you looked to make sure there's nothing hindering the turning of the trucks of the 6-axle locomotives?

My 2 cents…. You do an awesome job on your layout and videos. You’ve inspired me to finally start working on my layout that after 25yrs of buying rolling stock, buildings and locomotives have been collecting dust. Finally bought a computer program and started creating what’s been in my head for all this time. I understand the losing interest after a set back on a hobby. Take some time off, regroup and breach the obstacle in front of you. Keep up the great work.

That's funny as I'm building a welded rail train as well

I know this was June 2024 but I like to see The LMS build up. I to have an LMS 840 wide cab by Bachmann the plastic mechanism broke apart i actually want to upgrade it to another chassis and better quality. Maybe Atlas, Athearn ? Your format is fine. Your bridge doesn't look that bad at all hate to see it go. But the overpass by Walthers looks good reminds me of Pike stuff. Looking forward to continued watching of course. Good channel and a awesome layout CR Steve .🔵⚪👍

Wow what a process in weathering, you weren't kidding how long this is. I must really love Penn Central. Nice job. 🟩⚪

Love all the prototype custom builds for CR. it's always cool to see the amount of research and planning that goes into those and while the differences might be subtle enough that manufacturer's won't make them - it's neat to know you'll own something no one else does. doesn't mean anything to the casual observer but to a railfan and modeler it's awesome. for the bridge/river area - have you considered retaining walls? it's not uncommon to have a series of retaining walls with slopes in between them which can either be stone faced or vegetated depending on the design. about a year ago i was involved in project that had a two-tired gravity wall - each wall was about 20' tall with a 20' sloped stoned area between them. makes for an impressive backdrop. if you really wanted to go wild, you could model the building of the retaining wall - would be a neat place to showcase some excavators, dozers, and some other big toys.

If you raise the creek a little more it will make the slope less noticeable.

Like The CSX trains to Steve.👍

This is an award winner right there. This is realistic sound effects lighting I felt like i was watching Conrail from inside my home like i did in Bronx, New York or the real trains on many, many train videos. This is awesome CR Steve. 🏆 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 🛤️🛤️🛤️🛤️ 🟢🟡🔴

I did this with my layouts all the time when I had night layout trainset runs. Beautiful CR Steve. 🔵⚪

Do a winged bridge abutment going toward the bench work

Suggestion: you don't need to make major changes to the yard. Just have the 3rd track from the south wall go into the 4th track earlier. Then the 4th track would be the end of the yard ladder, with the switch from the 4th to 5th track being the top of the yard ladder, and being a left switch instead of a right swith. The fourth track would then curve up at least 8 inches earlier, making room for your main tracks to have a bigger radius. You could even use that fix with the 5th track as the top of the ladder instead, and that would shorten your yard by about 16". Hope that helps.

Amazing build

Really enjoy these videos Steve

Hi Steve.Sorry your running problems are leading to the need to redesign the layout.I`m sure you will find a practical solution.You have plenty of other projects on the go with your freight stock & locomotives just keep a balance to keep you enjoying yourself....more Slugs please!!

hello steve !!! first, let me say it is rather good to get depressed about our pikes because you can only go upward, which i am sure you will !! go watch some proto trains, visit a hobby shop, have a few cold brewskies ... you still have a top notch pike that most of the world would love to have. as for the bridge, i would suggest the heavy-duty interlocking pilings seen around docks and bridges as this would be relatively easy and quick to do. for the derailments, is it just the lmx engines or all of your 6 axle units ? its a tough and shitty job to tear up track... for the yard, i would keep it and even expand it to the right as your diagram shows us there is viable room to add track going to the right. for the track changes, do your pencil/graph paper "engineering" and take your time... get friends over and pick their brains, then "hire" them if they can do good, quality work. depressing, yes, but think of the fun you will have runnin' those beautiful cr/crq engines when you are done !!!

Sorry to hear about your mojo doing a runner but it does come back. As for your layout curve radius is everything. You can the nicest laid track in the world but if your curves are tight then big cars a nono. I never went below 36" as a minimum. At least you still have a layout. I just had my shed built, 15M x 6.9M ( 50' x 23' ) and I'm stalled waiting on an electrician to wire it up that isn't going to charge the earth for it and I still don't have a plan yet.

If you tear the yard out may I suggest a small industrial park to switch around on?

Athearn's separate radiator piece with its gap bothers me. However on CSX units, Athearn's plow seems more accurate than Scaletrains

Hey Steve! It's normal to go through lulls like that, especially when it stops being fun. Take a little time off to clear the mind and realign. I have 10+ decal projects in various stages of completion that I just haven't had the motivation to work on lately so it's been a push to get some benchwork done in the mean time. Regarding layout changes, maybe you'd want to scale back the yard to only a few tracks to service local industries? Or maybe tie into a branch line? (Think of Lewistown Jct in PA.) That would give you the best of both worlds by keeping a yard to display local power and rolling stock while also creating more scenic spaces for rail fanning. With as many 4-axle locos as you have, rotating them out as local power would be cool to always keep something on the layout. Regardless of whatever you ultimately decide, keep up the great work when you're ready to get back to it.

Howdy CRSteve! Hey brother... no worries! It's OK to step away for a while and take a break. Sometimes you need a little time away from your hobby so it doesn't start to feel like a chore. I've got plenty of your older vids to catch up on lol! Other than the radius of your turns what do you think contributed to the derails? Cars too light? Couplers? I got to run my ScaleTrains UP C45AH on the club layout with 21 double stacks just last weekend. Purred like a kitten! Well done and thanks for sharing 🤠

Hi steave maybe more foam under the bridge mabe bridge 20 ft above the water so its easyer to slope the hill maybe lose the road a tug boat with a trash bardge might be interesting

Hi CR Steve & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks CR Steve & Friends Randy

What are you going to do with the track that runs along the back of the scene below the bridges?

Maybe on your bridge the wood that is behind the abutment you could cut it back flush with the layout and use sheets of paper to kinda of make a hill that slopes down to the foam tape it down then cover it with plaster and work in the bridge to make it look more natural. You could work it down to a river with a small dirt road on the side. I know you don’t like plaster, but plaster of Paris works well and easy to work with.

Love the coal cars

2:30 - 5:23 How about an old dilapidated trestle bridge piles or abutment ?

Those LMS units are sweet Steve!! It's definitely a bummer knowing you have to make a layout change, when my Wife and I bought a different house 9 years ago I had to tear down my HO Conrail layout, I now have a 15x10 Basement space but I'm seriously thinking of going to N- Scale and Building a route where I could have staging on both ends representing Elkhart yards on one end and East St Louis on the other!!! Keep up the great work Steve!!!

Ooooo love the 97 as delivered BNSF warbonnet still waiting for Scaletrains to do Thiers

Hola.. excelente información. Pero sería bueno que se pudiera traducir al español. Saludos desde Argentina

Looks Great - I am hoping to start a similar conrail project soon. I skipped through some of it and may have missed you say it, but im assuming the decoder buddy has resistors pre-wired for LED use? Are you able to selectively dim the LED's if needed so the marker lights aren't as bright as the headlights?

Both dash 9 locomotive models are incredible but Scaletrains from my personal viewpoint has the superior sounding dcc sound decoder with esu loksound and the Scaletrains unit is also somewhat heavier. Scaletrains has the superior quality model from my judgement but Athearn Genesis has also produced an impressive model, Athearn has really made incredible models with the debut of the Genesis 2.0 series and hopefully Athearn Genesis models will maintain this level of high detail quality for the future.

The big problem I see here that you have not picked up on with either of these models is that they are both CSX and not Norfolk Southern (God's Railroad.) Aside from this gigantic mistake on both models this was a fantastic review. Thanks :)

I am a big fan of the latest run of coil steel cars. I recently weathered one and am super impressed with the quality. My first ScaleTrains model. We get a few NS or Conrail cars in Oakland, CA to a steel transload on the ex-Western Pacific trackage left.

They do make a red 0402 led that you can use

Great video, just ordered one today. One thing I noticed was that on the actual 2943, the ditch light housing was actually just plain black and didn’t have the silver trim to it.

Scale Sound Systems speakers are well worth the investment. He has a “UFIT” series with a wide range of dimensions. You can measure the space you have available and order one that fits. I did a pair of Dash 8s recently and modified the rear weight and made a screw mount pad to fit in the larger Athearn universal speaker he offers. I had a couple on hand and they fit the space well.

The detail on your layout is insane, can’t wait to see more

Great Informative Videography and Presentation how to’s why’s and wherefores. Question where did you obtain the mountain Pennsylvania hillside backdrop’s??

Hi Steve, Very Fine job! Looks great! If it helps, the first three of the six pads by the small connector board are for a LokSound PowerPack and the W pad for the control wire is controlled by Aux 7 of the decoder. This helps by not soldering to the decoder. Your soldering is very clean and neat! Thanks for the weathering tips too! I enjoyed!