THE MERIDIAN SPEEDWAY
  • Home Page
    • What's New
    • Recommended Links
    • About Me
    • Contact
  • NT&0/T&GN Story
    • Story Variables
    • NT&O & T&GN Are Born
    • The Mexico Connection
  • Prototype Inspiration
  • Library
    • Library - Selected Reading
    • Photo Essays by CMP
    • My Models on YouTube Library
    • Prototype Video Library
    • Prototype Equipment Photo Index
    • Operating Sessions
    • Valuation Library
  • Model Railroad
    • Company Officers
    • Franchise Opportunities
    • Railroads in Network
  • Operations
    • Safety ? Logo
    • MAPS
    • Business Units
    • Train Symbols >
      • T&GN/NT&O Train Symbol Methodology >
        • TGN-NTO MBU-Domestic Symbols
        • TGN-NTO MBU-Mexico Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Local Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Yard Job Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Cycle Train Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Intermodal Train Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Rock Train Symbols
      • Y&MV Train Symbols
    • Equipment Rosters
    • Timetables >
      • GM&O Southern Division Time Table No. 11
  • Models
    • Rolling Stock Main Page
    • Horn Study
    • Decals
    • Locomotive Consists
    • Paint Shop >
      • Paint Scheme Art
  • Blog

Meridian Speedway BLOG

New Year - New Cars - New Office - First 2016 Update

1/5/2016

0 Comments

 

Man Cave Progress - MP Hoppers Arrive Today

Welcome to 2016!  Hopefully your holiday season has been a blessed time for you and your families. 2016 should be an exciting year for the Meridian Speedway and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Picture
Picture
The concept of my new home office/model railroad/man cave are coming together.  When I was in my apartment in Lincoln, NE I had purchased some furniture from IKEA for my new second home.  I was particularly fond of the "Expedit" line of bookshelves and desks which occupied my apartment office. Since I moved back to my home in Texas this furniture has been in use for my wife's home office space.

I decided that I wanted more of the same in my new room.  IKEA's Expedit line has been replaced by the Kallax line which is very similar but with a thinner frame.  It was interesting to see on-line that there is quite a passionate following for the Expedit line. There is even a German FaceBook page with over 20,000 followers dedicated to the topic!

Anyway, I have a new Kallax shelf unit with 25 compartments as well as a new desk assembled and now in service in the man cave so I am officially moved in!  This is the first blog posting authored from my new workstation in this room....

Picture
Picture
Also added to the room are two bookshelves that I purchased when I moved to Fresno, CA in 2000 and have lugged across the country as I have moved around over the years.  These were in the loft, but I have reclaimed them and they are positioned at the door creating an artificial "hallway" entrance into the man cave.  Soon there will be another Kallax unit purchased for placement on the opposing wall to the one the current unit is on.

The design of the ceiling shelf railroad is still in the rough-draft concept phase.  More on that to come in future blog posts.

The other news is a new freight car order received today, 1-5-2015.  Nine ExactRail Bethlehem 3737 open hoppers in various Missouri Pacific schemes make up this order.  These cars compliment one sister car, MP 582184, received on 5/4/2015 and will be mixed with the dozen Tangent Scale Models Union Pacific 3600 CuFt Quad Hoppers already in the Meridian Speedway Fleet to make up a unique coal train scripted into the Meridian Speedway Playbook.  I have now added the Tangent Cars to the data base.
Picture
This coal train is an "exploder" which is loaded by the Union Pacific and handed off to my Natchez Trace and Orient at Monroe, LA.  The NT&O operates this train to the joint Yazoo & Mississippi Valley/Mississippi Central yard in Vicksburg, MS.  Here the train is cut up for forwarding to customers on both railroads.  Cycle time is about a week for the empty cars to return to Vicksburg where the empty unit train is reassembled for movement back to the Union Pacific at Monroe.  

Inspiration of the mix of older UP/MP equipment comes from the trains that pass through Fort Worth destined for Box, TX.  Inspiration for the exploder coal train concept comes form the BNSF "Sugar Train" on the Powder River Division.  The C-ATMNPG1-A1 trains are loaded at South Antelope mine with three blocks of coal that serve coal-powered sugar beet facilities at Laurel, Montana; Scottsbluff, Nebraska; and Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Here is a closer look at some of the MP family cars received today:
Picture
1 x Bethlehem 3737 Hopper - CEI 1973 "As Delivered"
CEI 587834
Picture
4 x As Delivered Series 582000-582499 - 5/79 and 6/79
MP 582012, MP 582143, MP 582214, and MP 582252
Picture
1 x C&EI Style Buzzsaw MP Re-Stencil
​MP 588663
Picture
2 x "As Delivered" 588710-589709 Series
MP 588749 and MP 588800
Picture
1 x Bethlehem 3737 Hopper - TP 1974 "As Delivered"
TP 588132 (With "Rambler" Moniker)
Below are some images of the Tangent Scale Models 3600 quad hoppers already on-hand the the new MP cars will be mixed with:
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
I look forward to seeing this unique coal train ply the rails of the Meridian Speedway in the future!

​Chris
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Dinner In The Diner
    Display Shelves
    Gibsland Layout
    Gulf & Ship Island
    Home Shops LLC
    Layout Construction
    MCRR C425 2425
    Meridian Speedway Library
    Mississippi Central
    NT&O Freight Cars
    Operating Sessions
    Paint Booth
    Photo Essays By CMP
    Photo Scans
    Random Roll
    TGN Business Cars
    T&GN Freight Cars
    TGN/NTO Tedder Green Locomotives
    Vicksburg
    Video VHS To YouTube
    What's New
    Y&MV Freight Cars
    Y&MV GP7 201 Project

    Author: 
    C. M. Palmieri

    Please visit the About Me page for an introduction!

    Archives

    July 2021
    December 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    July 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014

    RSS Feed

N.M.R.A.
Contact

"We Have the Time to Identify Risk"


SAFETY FIRST - ALWAYS!

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
My Photos on RRPictureArchives.net
Proudly powered by Weebly
- - - Homepage of the Natchez Trace and Orient Railway and Texas and Great Northern Railway - HO Scale Meridian Speedway - Created by Christopher M. Palmieri - - -
© Christopher M. Palmieri - 1st Publish 12-10-2014
  • Home Page
    • What's New
    • Recommended Links
    • About Me
    • Contact
  • NT&0/T&GN Story
    • Story Variables
    • NT&O & T&GN Are Born
    • The Mexico Connection
  • Prototype Inspiration
  • Library
    • Library - Selected Reading
    • Photo Essays by CMP
    • My Models on YouTube Library
    • Prototype Video Library
    • Prototype Equipment Photo Index
    • Operating Sessions
    • Valuation Library
  • Model Railroad
    • Company Officers
    • Franchise Opportunities
    • Railroads in Network
  • Operations
    • Safety ? Logo
    • MAPS
    • Business Units
    • Train Symbols >
      • T&GN/NT&O Train Symbol Methodology >
        • TGN-NTO MBU-Domestic Symbols
        • TGN-NTO MBU-Mexico Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Local Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Yard Job Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Cycle Train Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Intermodal Train Symbols
        • TGN-NTO Rock Train Symbols
      • Y&MV Train Symbols
    • Equipment Rosters
    • Timetables >
      • GM&O Southern Division Time Table No. 11
  • Models
    • Rolling Stock Main Page
    • Horn Study
    • Decals
    • Locomotive Consists
    • Paint Shop >
      • Paint Scheme Art
  • Blog