Progress On Downtown Deco Background Flats

I posted on a project to replace some of the background flats in Manhattan Transfer with Downtown Deco hydrocal flats. Basic painting and window and door inmstallation is finished with all of them, but only three are shown here. There are five total in the kit.

For now, these are just leaning roughly in place to get an idea of where they'll fit. They'll be removed again for final details, paint touchup, and final installation. They'll be stuck to the wall with silicone caulk.

Belated BNSF Power News

I discovered this informative YouTube video on the design and use of BNSF's ES44C4 locomotives. 1280 of these locos were built for BNSF, followed by 311 ET44C4 locomotives. They were simply the loco you saw if you railfanned BNSF during this period. The script seems well-written, but the video with it was probably put together using AI. The artwork in the video title scene is definitely AI.

But what interests me is the content, which is something I never specifically saw in, say, the product documentation for the ScaleTrains models of these locos. Although I had dropped both MR and RMC by this time, I don't believe they ever carried this material, and their smaller and more detail-oriented competitors were gone by then. A 2025 page at Trains.com is the only mention of what these locos were actually designed to do I can find, other than the video above, which is more complete:

The roots of GE’s ES44C4 and ET44C4 locomotives reach back to the transition period in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when North American railroads were slowly converting from DC traction to AC traction six-axle road units and locomotive builders sought ways to completely eliminate six-axle DC locomotives from their order books.

The answer came in the form of six-axle AC locomotives using only four traction motors. At the time, there was a price premium on AC technology and eliminating two traction motors and related equipment would reduce the cost and in theory, provide the same pulling power as a comparable six-axle DC traction locomotive. Enter General Electric’s A1A trucked ES44C4 model, using idler axles in the middle of each three-axle truck that can be mechanically raised and lowered slightly to adjust the amount of weight applied to the powered axles.

. . . The results were impressive, with BNSF ordering thousands of Tier 3 and Tier 4 models over the next decade and beyond. Software improvements and implementation of a rail cleaning system that blows high-pressure air on the rail head just ahead of the trucks to remove moisture and debris would improve the performance of the C4 locomotives even more.

However, this doesn't go into the problems the C4s caused elsewhere on BNSF. The video points out that on the BNSF Transcon, the former Santa Fe route between Barstow and Chicago, the maximum grades are in the 1.4% range, but west of Barstow, both the Tehachapi and Cajon lines have 2.2% grades. As a railfan, I've noted that BNSF runs C4 units on these lines without distinction, where they are nevertheless less efficient. BNSF main lines in Washington and Montana also feature 2.2% grades.

The video suggests use of C4 units on these lines wasn't aa cost-effective. This thread at Trains.com points out that at the start of the C4 program, trhe cost differential between a 9-44CW and an ES44AC was in the neighborhood of $1 million, but in more recent years it's dropped to more like $250,000, and BNSF has found the latest ET44AH units a better fit on the overall network.

I'm frankly a little nostalgic for the wider range of railfan and hobby magazines that were available in the 1970s-90s. I have a feeling that Extra 2200 South in particular would have been on the case a lot faster on the C4 issue. The SP and BN Motive Power Annuals would also likely have carried this sort of info much more completely in that period. Even the RMC under Tony Koester (but not Bill Schaumberg) could potentially have had it.

Rapido New Haven H16-44

I was able to railfan the New Haven from about 1960 right up through Penn Central, for part of that period riding both the Springfield and the Shore lines to commute to school. Videos show the H16-44s active in consists with other first-generation diesels throughout this period. For whatever reason, although the Rapido Canadian prototypes sold out pretty quickly, many of the US prototypes are still in stores. I recently ordered a New Haven loco.

The big feature I love about the Rapido model is that the LokSound V5 decoder has an option for the Hancock Air Chimes these locos carried, CV 163=3. Although it isn't pre-set on the Rapido New Haven model, it's there, and when I tried it out, it knocked my socks off.

Other good features are a ground light, just visible above the truck under the cab, and a capacitor that keeps the lights on for a second or two after the power is turned off. Once I set CV2=5, the loco begins to crawl very slowly on speed step 1. Below is a photo of New Haven 1603, photographer unknown, with the Hancock Air Chime clearly visible. Toot!

Downtown Deco N Jiggles & Giggles

Here's a Downtown Deco N Jiggles & Giggles in progress to be added to the Kato street trackage T-TRAK module.

You can also see the Fine N Scale Easy Streets sidewalks that will be brought up to the Kato street panels. The sidewalks and structure bases will have to be shimmed up.

Tomytec N Scale Leipzig Trams

I found a pair of Tomytec N scale trams at a very good price on eBay. They'll be used on my developing N scale modular trolley/tram layout built on single-depth T-TRAK modules.

Here's a prototype photo I found on the web:

The cars come as dummies, with a power unit included to be installed by the user. There are also decals and various additional parts.

You can also see I've begun a module that uses Kato street trackage with urban street plates.

Bachmann N Illinois DOT Siemens Venture Cars

I ordered two of Bachmann's Illinois DOT Siemens Venture cars:

These seem to be hard to find. The ones I was able to find are Bachmann 74561 and 74562, IDTX 4002 and 4005. The Train World page on these list several others, 74563, IDTX 4009, and 74564, IDTX 4016, as well as "married pairs B" 74510, IDTX 4125, and 74511, IDTX 4130, and "married pairs A" 74512, IDTX 4203, and 74513, IDTX 4214. I asked Chrome AI mode, "What are Illinois DOT "married pair" Venture cars, and how are they used?" It answeered,

Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) "married pair" Venture cars are passenger train cars that are semi-permanently coupled together in two-car sets. Manufactured by Siemens Mobility, these specialized Siemens Venture cars are part of a regional fleet owned jointly by a consortium of Midwest states (Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin).

Out of the 97 Venture cars ordered for the Amtrak Midwest network, 68 of them are configured into 34 distinct married pairs.

How They Are Configured

Instead of using traditional couplers and separate gangway doors between every car, a married pair functions operationally as a single atomic unit. They feature open, wide, weather-tight gangway connections that make moving between the two cars seamless for passengers. IDOT utilizes two distinct types of married pairs:

Café / Economy Coach Pairs: One car serves as the food/beverage café, while its "spouse" car is a standard economy coach.

Business Class / Economy Coach Pairs:

One car houses premium Business Class seating (along with some economy seats), while the attached car is fully dedicated to regular economy seating.

How They Are Used

The married pairs are managed by Amtrak to serve state-supported corridors originating out of Chicago.Targeted Routes:

You will find them running on regional lines like the Lincoln Service (Chicago to St. Louis), Wolverine (Chicago to Pontiac/Detroit), Hiawatha (Chicago to Milwaukee), and Missouri River Runner.

Flexible Consist Sizing: Unlike other operators (like VIA Rail or Caltrans) that buy fixed 4-to-6-car trainsets, IDOT uniquely uses these 2-car married pairs alongside 29 individual "unmarried" coach cars. This lets Amtrak easily scale the train length up or down. If a weekend rush requires more seats, they can simply drop in a few single coaches or add an extra married pair without disrupting the core amenities.

Enhanced Accessibility:

These pairs are essential for accessibility. IDOT designed the built-in wheelchair lifts directly into the married pair configurations, allowing mobility-impaired passengers to navigate between the service cars (like the café) and seating areas safely while the train is in motion.

Maintenance Efficiency: By utilizing integrated 3-phase auxiliary power inverters and advanced shared braking systems across the pair, the cars experience lower mechanical wear and offer a smoother, quieter ride.

I'm not sure if any of the model mags has published information this complete. As far as spotting features, from the Train World page, "married pair B" cars seem to be indistinguishable from the individual cars, while "married car A" cars have vestibules at each end. My two cars are Bachmann 74561-74562, individual coaches. Now I'm going to have to look more closely at prototype photos and videos to see how the trains are configured.

Using Light Gray Panel Liner For Mortar

I saw some Tamiya Light Gray Panel Liner at my local train store and decided to try using it for mortar on model brick buildings.

Here it is on a couple of walls from a Downtown Deco background flat kit. It takes some time to dry completely, so I'll have to see how things progress. I'll need to continue with the detail painting as well.

I used Robewrs Products mortar on the building on which they're leaning, a Downtown Deco Triangle Fruit Company. This product is still around, and it may still be better.