As I've indicated in prior posts, I belong to an online community called Big Blue Trains. I enjoy sharing my work with them, but the major reason that I stay connected is seeing the awesome work of others. You also get information and knowledge that you could never get on your own.
One of my fellow members wanted to send me a package about a month ago - he had some coal hoppers he didn't think he could use and would rather see them running on my layout. All I had to do was furnish the shipping cost to send them from Egg Harbor, New Jersey. I was floored and offered trade or money in return, but he said that wasn't necessary. See? There are still gracious and beneficent people.
Anyway, amongst our conversations, he indicated that one of the attractions to my "Rainbows in the Gorge" layout was that his dad grew up in Hazleton, PA. In fact, he uncle and his grandfather were coal miners in several of the mines in the Hazleton area. Sadly, his grandfather (Mr. Welsh) died (like many other miners) of black lung.
To my great surprise, not only were there 3 100-ton coal hoppers in the box, but a forklift kit and two Magnuson truck kits (one a Ford, the other a Mack). All of the kits would be perfect for modeling in the 1970's, so I thanked my benefactor profusely, and indicated that I thought that I should establish a Welsh Trucking Company on my layout. I got to work on the Mack first....
Here it is in a rough draft stage. The trailer was a "Delta Motor Lines" 45-ft unit that was collecting dust. I painted out the Delta logos and created some Welsh logos using Microsoft Paint and printed them out on blank stickers. I was going to cut out the individual letters, but I liked the look as is.
And here it is (finished) in place on the layout:
The other kit was a Ford stake body, and I liked the red so much I thought all of the company trucks should be the same color. Also stuck a sign on the side of the stakes. Here it is rolling down I-80:
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