April-May-June Update

Well no doubt I am slightly (3 months) behind on update posts. While life around these parts has been no doubt busy there have been plenty of model railroading, just lacking the time to write about it. This post will however catch you up with all the happenings around the MCIS St. Clair Sub since March. 

MCIS 7052.... Is this a new add to the roster? Read on to find out. 

CASS RIVER SCENE UPDATE
When we left off in March I was chin deep (upper level @ 66" off floor) into creating this scene. This specific setup featured a through truss bridge over the Cass River with deciduous vegetation flanking the banks along the right of way. 

After a few more weeks of work the scene is now 95% complete, the last bit to complete is ballasting the bridge approach. 

On previous layouts I have used Magic Water to create my water features but after seeing alot of good reviews on the Woodland Scenics Deep Pour Water system, I wanted to give it an honest try. Specifically the Cass River from the google street view is pretty murky so the pre-tinted murky water was on point. I ended up using two kits together to get the depth and coverage required. Using the product was as easy as the instructions provide, there are a good videos on the web showing step by step. 

As a base layer I did end up using Quikrete general purpose paver mix screened to get the rock I wanted in the middle of the river with a light blend of Missouri river pebbles provided by a good friend to provide alittle more color along the banks and in shallower water. Of course good scenic cement soaking is key in making this all possible. 

Quick Money Saving Tip: If you have a Hobby Lobby close by, you can get alot of model railroading products there, and even better use their online 40% one item coupon to help bring down the cost of items like the Deep Pour Water, tools, or Just Plug lighting. 

Paver and rock base in place, ready for scenic cement

 Water Pour 24 hours later - great results! 

Google Street View - Cass River 

With the water hard as a rock, it was time to begin adding in foilage on each side of the river. From the photo above, its pretty thick so I really wanted to layer the trees to draw the operator into the scene. 

 West bank of river at UPPE / LACE DTC block boundary

Zooming out a little more from the same shot above

 Canoers gliding town the Cass towards Caro, Michigan

 What is a Michigan river bank without a weeping willow

View west from DTC block boundary looking at the main (left) and east leg of wye (right) 

With Cass River scene just about done, I will be turning my attention towards Upper Huron. This scene encompasses the Michigan Sugar plant, Upper Huron branch wye, and the Town of Upper Huron. From the photos below basic terrain with paint and dirt base layer are in place. The next step before continuing to develop this scene is installation of backdrop. With Sceniking out of business I needed to find another vendor who created scenes to fit Mid-Michigan. After searching I came across Backdrop Junction and in short order working with Dave Burgess a backdrop will be on its way. The mockup looked great, cannot wait to get the finished product installed. 

We will return to Upper Huron later this summer to see how the scene development process is coming along. 

 Bare dirt.... Did I start modeling west Texas?

MAC RAIL UPDATE

If getting work done on Cass River wasn't enough, I decided to jump head first on quite a few backshop projects. Lets take a scroll through each of the projects completed and underway.

Contract Projects

The MAC Rail Sales rep has been busy as April saw the completion of three Soundtraxx Soundcars and a UP EMD SD50 with Tsunami sound and ditchlights under for a contract customer. 

Some say the soundcar is too much, done right it does add another level of immersion.

Paint Shop 

In addition to completing contract work, MAC Rail also opened up a paint shop for Michigan Interstate Railroad. Birthdays are always great when you get a portable spray booth. For the amount and scope of work I do, this is perfect with my Paasche H.

Michigan Interstate recently purchase two SD70ACe's from CSX. As part of opening the new paint booth, one of the units MCIS 7052 received a fresh paint job by the MAC Rail.

Motor was primed with Tamiya Fine White Primer and painted with Scalecoat II Reefer Yellow and Conrail Blue. 

Decals:

• Rail Graphics (MCIS logo, numbers, and lettering)
• Microscale (SD70ACe data)
• Highball Graphics (American Flag, Operation Lifesaver, Smart Start)
• Shellscale (Numberboards and rear numbers)
• Smokebox Graphics (Side Sill yellow reflective tape)

 Reefer yellow ends complete

 Conrail Blue applied

 Conductors side markings done (7051 as reference)

 Motor equipped with Tsunami2, Currentkeeper, and two fuel tank speakers

Completed motor in active service - nice work MAC Rail

EMD SD60M / SD70ACe Overhaul Project

With MCIS 7052 in service complete with new Tsunami2 sound/control system, MCIS management decided it was time to continue with the momentum and update the other EMD SD70ACe's (7050, 7051, 7053) for fleet commonality and efficency. While under way the two unit fleet of SD60M's which had been on MAC Rail property since last year awaiting updated electronics also received Econami sound/control. Project is on track to bring the three ACe's online by July 01 in time for the late summer demand coming into the 2018 sugar beet campaign. 

Lined up in Building 3A.

MICHIGAN INTERSTATE FLEET UPDATE

This year marked our 10 year wedding anniversary.  Building on a tradition that we started the year we got married, the CFO purchased this fantastic undecorated Proto 2000 Heritage 2-10-2 with QSI sound from the consignment cabinet at DMT. What an amazing present to commemorate and whole lot of fun to operate. Using gold dry transfers, I was able to do a convincing job marking it up for Michigan Interstate #2018. Maybe a call to Matt Welke at Circus City Decals is in order to setup a gold letter package for the excursion fleet. Don't think doing a ton of dry transfer work is for me. 

This engine will be kept along side MCIS #2008 at their Mount Pleasant base and used for passenger excursions throughout the year

Lastly MCIS 4051 (EMD SD40-2) has made an appearance on the Bay City Division. Since purchased used from the MR&T, this motor was assigned up on the North Division working between Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, and Detour. Using floquil acrylics and makeup applicators from a Model Railroader Cody Grivno weathering article sometime ago I was able to give it a touch of the elements.

Pretty lengthy post, but there you have it three months like that. The summer looks to be pretty busy with the installs, ops session preparation, and of course a few other cool adds to the mix. I plan to get a monthly post out around mid month and expect to stay that course the rest of the year. Thanks for stopping by. 

GM 

Early July Update

Well June and its significant rainfall is now gone, but the scorching heat and humidity of a Texas July is in full swing. Back earlier this summer I outlined what projects I had planned for June, July, and August in hopes to complete them. I am happy to report that June's sound install project (LHT #02) is complete and both P2K GP38-2s (MCIS 3827 and MCIS 3833) are operating and sounding fantastic. Being able to complete this and have our second child was quite a feat. Thanks to my wife for giving me time in the evenings while the kids were asleep to complete the project. This post we are going to focus on the recent motive power and rolling stock additions, while the Mid-July post will dive into the July project which entails adding scenery to Bay Yard.

MCIS 4052 and CN 6256 lead the M-PHBA-07 through Upper Huron, MI.

Motive Power
Earlier this spring three MCIS motors and one CN motor were sent to VMS in Virginia for sound installation, and other wok. VMS otherwise known as Virginia Midland Shops is work that my friend and fellow modeler Shannon Crabtree completes for me. Just prior to the July 4th holiday VMS completed work on two MCIS EMD SD40-2s and one CN EMD SD40-3 arriving back on property just before the holiday. I happened to be at the right place at the right time to capture two of the motors heading up the M-PHBA-07 through Upper Huron yesterday.

MCIS 4052 (EMD SD40-2) closeup.

CN 6256 (EMD SD40-3) trailing. Last I checked the prototype motor was operating up on CN''s DMIR property.

MCIS 4056 at Bay Yard receiving inspection, ditch light, and air conditioner installation.

Rolling Stock
Trailing behind the power on the M-PHBA-07 were three railcars that are new to the St. Clair Subdivision and also represent new business for the railroad.

Pipe load for Alaska
TR874111 is carrying banded pipe out of Wolverine Steel Products at Marine City heading to the Fairbanks, Alaska via ARR barge at Seattle, WA.

Railcar is Atlas 73' model with custom pipe load created by a local friend and fellow modeler in the Fort Worth area.

A future post will showcase many of the unique and awesome open top loads that his modeler has created.

Closeup of load - meticulous detail with each bundle wrapped individually.

Coke for Sugar Beet Production
CWE 125379 and CWE 125360 from Tom Patterson's Chesapeake, Wheeling & Erie are carrying coke destined to Michigan Sugar at Upper Huron. Once these cars reach Bay Yard at the terminus of the M-PHBA-06 they will then return to Upper Huron on the Port Belle Turn (R-BAPB). This is a great win for the railroad as in the past the coke was being trucked out of Detroit, but with a pooled supply of cars from CWE and MCIS a product pipeline will be in place to deliver anywhere from 2 to 6 cars a week depending on the sugar production needs.

Both railcars are Bowser 100 ton models. 

These modernized 100 ton hoppers were painted, decaled, and weathered by Shannon Crabtree's Virginia Midland Shops before heading to the CWE for loadout. More to follow on these cars in my next foreign railroad equipment post.

Later on this weekend I will be posting my Mid-July update focusing on this months project at Bay Yard.

GM

MCIS Diesel Roster Evolution 1975-2015

In previous posts we have talked about the Michigan Interstate diesel roster that is both modeled and not modeled. What I wanted to share in more detail today is the evolution that has taken place in the past 40 years to get us where we are today with the fleet being 70 active motors strong.

Before we look at the diagram which shows the evolution we first must understand where the MCIS originated from.

Early Years
Prior to 1975 the Michigan Interstate existed in the form of two subsidiaries and this is where our journey begins.

St. Clair & Western (Michigan Central - New York Central - Penn Central)
The 1970s were rough times for railroads and in this version of history the Penn Central decided to divest the SCW trying to streamline less profitable operations. We will dig further in another post about the various subsidiaries and how they came about but what we need to know for this post is when the line was bought by the Lakes Interstate Transportation Group the sale included motive power. During this era of PC just prior to the formation of Conrail, power was an eclectic bunch of 1st gen. EMD, GE, and Alco. So at the beginning of the Michigan Interstate Railway (MCTR) were Alco C424s, RS27s, EMD GP7s, GP30s, and SD35s for a total of 31 units that came with the property sale. Additionally Michigan Interstate's parent company purchased Alco RS3s, RS11s, and EMD SW1200s used to supplement start up for a grand total of 42 units.

The railroad with these 42 units did not make any further acquisitions for the next 10 years as current traffic levels on the line did not warrant additional motive power. However the railroads leadership knew that long term success was going to be in more modern power to leverage fuel efficiency and locomotive utilization.

Electro Motive Growth
1985 saw an opportunity present itself to the Michigan Interstate Railway and Lakes Interstate Transportation Group in the form of additional trackage extending its reach in the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan.

Mackinaw Northern Railroad (Grand Trunk Corporation) 
Continuing the story of Class 1 railroads retrenching to their core products, the Grand Trunk Corporation spun off their Mackinaw Northern Division in 1985 which reached to the Mackinaw Straits and beyond. The price was right and in short order the now Michigan Interstate Railroad Inc. has doubled in size with serious need for more motive power. Part of the Grand Trunk sale also included motive power in the tune of EMD GP9s and GP38s. 1985 was the year that the tables turned on the dominant locomotive manufacturer. For the first 10 years Alco had held the #1 spot, but after the MCNR purchase EMD took the lead and did not look back.

The 1985 MCNR acquisition brought in 14 EMDs along with MCIS acquiring second hand 6 GP38-2s and 2 additional SD35s. A wreck this same year knocked the GP7 fleet down to a total of 3.

Spreadsheet in 5 year increments showing evolution of fleet. The numbers in each square are individual unit counts for that model. 

Dash 2 Era
Prior to 1990 the RS3, RS11, and GP7 fleets were traded off to make way for newer dash 2 equipped power that the railroad had originally sampled in 1985 with the GP38-2. The 1990s saw an explosion of dash 2 motors in the form of EMD GP38-2s, GP40-2s, and SD40-2s. The railroad had struck a deal with EMD to upgrade their original Grand Trunk GP38s through trading in the GP7s and Alco RS fleet. To supplement online traffic growth MCIS picked up three second hand Santa Fe CF7s to utilize on light branch lines replacing the aging Alco RS fleet. These CF7s were eventually sold off in the early 2000s to the Natchez Trace & Orient for use in the southeast U.S. Coming to the end of 1999 the fleet had changed completely with a strong stable of dash 2 motors and the sun had set for the retirement of the entire Alco fleet.

New Millennium
While eleven Alcos had made it into 2000 on the roster, it was not long before their replacements arrived on property and found their tanks drained and stacks capped in storage at the Mt. Pleasant shops awaiting sale. Any railfan could tell that by 2005 it was easy to see EMD and the venerable 645 turbo / non-turbo prime movers were the dominant player in the diesel house and here to stay. But even then there were 567s still holding their own with the original GP30 and SD35s handling local and branch line switching. These brutes were a testament to EMDs solid early design and the fit that they had with this regional. Behind the 645 dominance and 567 survival were two EMD GP60s the railroad had picked up from BNSF. Their 710s had a unique and new sound to them and would find a great niche prompting the railroad to pickup two more in 2010 from the UP. Looking to find a like replacement to the SW1200 for tighter switching areas, MCIS picked up one EMD MP15DC in 2000 on lease from GMTX ultimately returning the leasor and acquiring three of its own in 2005. The roster by 2005 had declined to 60 motors from the peak of 64 in 1995 and this was mostly due to replacing more with less in terms of early generation EMD and Alco with second generation dash 2 power.

Twenty Tens
The year 2010 saw the fleet still at 60 motors which was flat from 2005 but if you look at the diagram detail the CF7 and SW1200 were struck from the roster and the gradual phase out of the GP30 / SD35 had begun with GP40-2, GP40X, and SD40-2 incremental growth. Even SD45-2s which had labored for a long time got a new lease on life after departing Class 1s to find mainline roles on this regional. More stringent environmental laws prompted the railroad's mechanical team to find ways for a better carbon footprint and in the 2015 roster we can see the fruits of this labor.

Continued Modernization
2012 saw big modernization changes starting with an order for four EMD SD70ACe locomotives producing 4,300 hp a piece. These are by far the largest engines on roster and have really helped improve locomotives per train as two can do the work of three SD40-2s or even four GP38-2s. Additionally the EMD 567 prime mover was no longer present on the active roster as the four remaining GP30s were stored in 2013 at Mt. Pleasant awaiting conversion to road slugs which will pair up with EMD GP40-3s. A new entrant to the roster made its debut in 2012 as well from National Railway Equipment in the form of four 3GS21B gensets producing 2,100 hp a piece. These ultra low emission engines are primarily taking over yard switching roles at Grand Rapids and Bay City but occasionally can be found sandwiched between two EMD 645 prime movers on a out and back local turn. Seeing opportunity with stored serviceable SD35s the railroad is currently converting one into a 3GS21C genset through a NRE kit built in-house at Mt. Pleasant. Two other SD35s went to VMS in Virginia back in 2013 and were converted into EMD SD22ECOs which utilize at eight cylinder EMD 710 prime mover. The last SD35 was sold off to VMS which was refurbing and selling to another operator. Future plans could include refurbing the SD45-2 fleet into SD32ECOs or de-rating into SD40-3s but in a SD45-2 carbody. The fleet has leveled out at 70 active units at time of press with no orders or acquisitions in the immediate future. But in our continued effort to have a positive environmental footprint all locomotives are being or have been retrofitted with AESS Smart Start to reduce idling and wasted fuel consumption. When "railfanning" my youtube channel or blog posts, be on the lookout for the small square black logo that denotes these retrofits (Check out Wordless Wednesday #14). Additionally locomotives are receiving GPS domes, RV style air conditioners (Whoever said Michigan wasn't humid....) and updated side sill reflective striping to meet the FRA mandate.

I hope you enjoyed my synopsis of the diesel roster evolution. Normally I had more photos than words in my posts, but my goal was to paint a clear picture of where the fleet was and is going in the future.

Any questions or further detail on a particular model please post in comments.

GM

MCIS 4050 "Old Glory"

We have all seen those engines out there on the rails that look like have been though hell and back but somehow the guys who designed, built, and maintained them to keep them on the main in service.

The Michigan Interstate has one engine in particular that has had this journey. MCIS 4050 (EMD SD40-2 snoot Kato early) came from the former Santa Fe in the nineties when the railroad was shopping for mainline power. 

Since coming on roster the engine had suffered a bent frame which required rebuild on a mid-production Kato frame with truck hardwiring. Most recently the unit received two new trucks from EGS Rail Services out of Kansas that were installed in house at the Mt. Pleasant shop. Finding trucks without parting out another engine is tough. While in the shops the engine also received a new microprocessor (Tsunami KT-1000 EMD645 sound decoder) which I have been very impressed with. This week shop forces will had the air conditioners and snow plow back.

Crews have dubbed this unit "Old Glory" as it looks tired, been through rough times, but continues to be reliable and prevail in mainline service.

GM

MCIS Locomotive Roster

In between my early, mid, and late month posts I wanted to give everyone a little variety and talk about the MCIS locomotive roster.

As of October 2014 the entire roster (modeled and non-modeled) totals 75 units.

The fleet is categorized into three pools: Road Service, General Service, Yard Service

Lets now look deeper into each of the three pools:

Road Service: 3000+ HP
EMD GP40-2 (3000 HP - EMD 645)
#4001-4008 - Modeled 4005, 4008
Note: Lineage of units from many North American roads

EMD GP40X (3500 HP - EMD 645F)
#4031-4035 - Modeled 4035
Lineage of units from many North American roads

EMD GP60 (3800 HP - EMD 16-710)
#6051-6054 - Modeled 6051
Note: Former Santa Fe, EMD Demo

EMD SD40-2 / 40-2M (3000 HP - EMD 16-645)
#4050-4062 - Modeled 4050, 4052, 4056, 4059
Note: Lineage of units from many North American roads

EMD SD45-2 (3600 HP - EMD 645)
#4570-4571 - Modeled 4570, 4571
Note: Former Santa Fe units

EMD SD70ACe (4300 HP - EMD 16-710)
#7050-7053 - Modeled 7050, 7051
Note: Original owners from EMD

General Service: 2000-2500 HP
EMD GP30 (2250 HP - EMD 567)
#3081, 3081, 3083, 3085 - Modeled 3080, 3085
Note: Units stored at MCIS Mount Pleasant Shop for conversion to slug.

EMD GP38-2 (2000 HP - EMD 645 non-turbo)
#3810-3812, 3814-3835 - Modeled 3810, 3816, 3823, 3828, 3829, 3833
Note: 3813 - Wrecked 10/08, lineage of units from many North American roads

EMD SD22ECO (2150 HP - EMD 12-710)
#2290-2291 - Modeled 2290, 2291
Note: Converted by Virginia Midland Shops from EMD SD35 

Yard Service: 1500 HP and 2100 HP Gensets
EMD MP15DC (1500 HP - EMD 12-645)  
#151-153 - Modeled 153
Note: Original owners from EMD

NRE 3GS21B (2100 HP - Cummins Diesel)
#2101-2104 - Modeled 2101
Note: These units replaced aging EMD GP15-1s which were sold off. 

NRE 3GS21C (2100 HP - Cummins Diesel)
#2110 - Modeled 2110
Note: NRE kit being built at MCIS Mount Pleasant shop on frame / trucks of EMD SD35

As my model railroad stays in the modern era the locomotive fleet is constantly being upgraded and changing to the demands of the system. The next few years will see some changes to the roster:

• EMD GP30s rebuilding into slugs to be mated with EMD GP38-3s
• EMD SD45-2s rebuilding into EMD SD32ECOs
• Possible further acquisition of high horsepower locomotives SD70M-2 or ACe???

All information is fictional and is not endorsed by actual locomotive manufacturer.

Thank you to Fred Fogelsinger and Shannon Crabtree for the great job painting, detailing, decaling, and weathering my Michigan Interstate diesel fleet.

GM

Badger State Travels

Currently up in Wisconsin on duty but while traveling had a chance to stop at Madison Hobby Stop in Madison, WI. 

What would a trip be without picking up something and in this case just like last year a great deal on another CN engine. The CN engines remind me of my travels to this great state.

The engine is a KATO mid production SD40-2 with road number CN 6056. The prototype an SD40-3 is sub-lettered for IC and can be found roaming around the DMIR property up in Minnesota. I will be equipping the unit with a Soundtraxx decoder and speaker some time soon. Once in service the unit will look great paired with CN ES44DC handling the Q-CNMC/Q-MCCN on the "Clair".

And of course for my son Grayson - a wooden James the Red engine.

Had a little time to railfan on my off time, but that will be for another post.

Have a great summer

-GM