PROJECT COMPLETED: Amtrak Veterans Unit

Amtrak Veterans Unit 

What a perfect time to get something special in honor of Veterans Day! I got the Amtrak Veterans Unit which is one of my all-time favorite Heritage Unit ever created. In fact, this is my very first Heritage Unit purchase in N Scale! I love the fact that Amtrak created this amazing locomotive to honor the men and women for their service in the armed forces. This is the Heritage Unit that I've seen more than once before. I even recall seeing it for the three times in one day a couple years ago in person when I went railfanning at Lake Forest train station. I can't wait to get this beautiful locomotive going. This will be part of the eight car consist on the Amtrak Empire Builder as the leading unit.

PROJECT COMPLETED: C&BQ Silver Streak

 I'm proud to announce that I completed the CB&Q Silver Streak N Scale project! It runs really great. I even purchased the CB&Q 9911A Silver Pilot which is one of the very last surviving EMD E5 locomotive. I loved running it. It looked like the real CB&Q 9911A at the Illinois Railroad Museum. The cars looked very detailed as well. The CB&Q 9909A Silver Bullet comes with the CB&Q Silver Streak Starter set. So I had to purchase CB&Q Silver Pilot separately. Mostly, I used 9911A on the layout instead of 9909A which I will most likely use as a backup locomotive. The next N Scale train project is being determined. But at this point, it's going to be the Santa Fe Super Chief. It's going to take a while to complete this project so I stay tuned for updates on the Super Chief project.

PROJECT COMPLETED: Kato Sound Box

Sorry I haven't been posting in a while. But two weeks ago, I purchased the Kato Sound Box. It works great with my N scale trains! Setting up the Kato Sound Box to the layout was easy. I loved the sounds which make it very realistic to the actual diesel/steam locomotives. The Sound Box does run it in HO Scale too. Since I don't run that scale, I don't have much feedback on that. In the Kato Sound Box package comes with a 1st Generation Diesel sound card. It would work best on a diesel locomotive such as an F3, E8 or an F7. There are also three different types of horns available on the sound card and I chose different horns that would fit that locomotive. I also purchased another sound card that Kato had available which was the GS-4/FEF-3 sound card. I had to get it because I have BOTH of those steam locomotives. When I listened to the whistles, I was able to switch from the famous GS-4 whistle to the FEF-3 whistle. There is also a air horn that 4449 has. The air horn is included in the sound card as well. I rarely use it but it's nice to have. I still use the Sound Box whenever I run my trains especially with the GS-4 and the FEF-3. It's so worth my money. I can't wait to add more sound cards to the collection.

A-Train4014 Productions

Welcome to A-Train4014 Productions

Want exclusive videos and access to my railfanning adventure videos? Subscribe to my brand NEW YouTube channel: A-Train4014 Productions. Here is a sneak preview on what to expect. You can also find A-Train4014 Productions on Facebook. Also follow me on Instagram and Twitter. 

YouTube: A-Train4014 Productions 

Facebook: A-Train4014 Productions

Instagram: @andrewdriver3

Twitter: @A_Train4014 

Happy National Train Day!

As you can tell, I'm extremely excited about National Train Day this year. Last year, I wasn't able to go due to circumstances but this year, I will be at the Chicago Union Station on Saturday, May 9, 2015 to be part of National Train Day with all the folks at Amtrak for Amtrak Train Days. I know this blog is meant for my N Scale model railroading journey but afterall, this does involve trains. :) Anyway, the photo in this post will be the blog's main photo for now on to show off all of my operating locomotives. Eventually, Santa Fe Super Chief and the Nebraska Zephyr can join my N Scale train family real soon. To update my N Scale model railroading journey, so far I still have a long way to complete the Nebraska Zephyr project but it's going to take a while. Overall, I hope all of you enjoy National Train Day this weekend! 

Model Railroad Lesson

Before I give this one tip to ALL model railroaders no matter what scale they have, let me explain a short story.

My N Scale Metra MP36PH 427 locomotive made an unsual, grinding noise which is unlikely not supposed to happen. When I took it to my local hobby shop, they told me that the inside of the locomotive's trucks are covered in carpet and there was a middle gear that was popped out of place. 

So the most important thing about Model Railroading in general is take care of your locomotives; whether if it's steam and/or diesel (especially steam locomotives). It can save you money and you may never know if there will be left over parts to fix them. Also, I wouldn't recommend a model railroad on carpet which can get inside your locomotive(s). It would be better if the tracks would have a smooth, stable surface. Lastly, if you have nothing else to do with your model railroading, it's not a bad idea to get other locomotives and/or rolling stock so they can be used for backups.

Kato Sound Box

Kato is about to release one of its new products by the end of this month in January (hopefully) so I can added to my N Scale locomotives. Who doesn't love the sounds of a steam/diesel locomotive in miniature version? The purpose of this sound box is to make sounds, that is very similar to DCC but its much easier to do and fun to use as well. When I look at the pictures and the video demonstration, I love the design of it. It works for BOTH HO/N Scale! I heard that you can use your own pair of ear buds, even speakers! When you purchase the sound box, it comes with a sound chip that is an EMD 1st Generation locomotive such as an E unit or F unit locomotive. I think there will be other sound chips that will go along with other types of locomotives such as steam or freight train locomotives. My plan is to purchase the sound box when I get my Silver Streak starter set. I'll keep you all posted along the way. I can't wait to test it out on my locomotives! Check out the brand new Kato Sound Box for more information. There is a video demonstration in this post as well.

Union Pacific FEF-3/Excursion Train Feedback

I apologize for not posting lately. I've been working on the N Scale trains lately. I've done lots of different things such as using different locomotives in doubleheaders in the N Scale steam layout. First thing I tried out was using one of my Amtrak P42DC Genesis locomotive to the Union Pacific FEF-3 844. It looks good. But I plan on get a couple Union Pacific diesel locomotives. Specifically I plan to get a Union Pacific ES44AC locomotive and two Union Pacific SD70ACe locomotives. Why? I saw a YouTube video that looks really cool. I saw UP 844 in a special excursion train: Union Pacific 150th Anniversary Train I have to admit. I wasn't unsure of this until I tested it. I used three of my Amtrak P42DC Genesis locomotives and ran it a few times. It seems to work out great. No derailments or problems with this test. It worked out better than I expected. One last thing. I tried a steam doubleheader with my Southern Pacific GS-4 4450 locomotive. It turned out a little different. Unfortunately, I wanted the GS-4 as the leading locomotive. But SP 4450 needs more power in comparison to UP 844. But this steam doubleheader wasn't a complete failure. I tried having UP 844 lead SP 4450 and it worked fine. On the other hand, I tried a doubleheader with my SP 4450 and an Amtrak P42DC Genesis locomotive. It honestly worked. All I had to do was match up the power. Meaning that I gave power at a specific spot on the power pack for the train to move. It looked exactly like the SP 4449 consist had when it went to TrainFest in 2009. After owning the UP 844 for a while, I'm still proud to own this incredible steam locomotive. I'm just waiting on the money I need to get a UP ES44AC and the two UP SD70ACe locomotives to add to UP 844. UP FEF-3 still runs great and again, I'm glad I got myself this locomotive.