Soeobo Pacific Model Railroad

Some of the most recognizable cars in Colorado and Southern freights during the last years of narrow gauge operation are the Conoco tank cars. They carried gasoline and other fuels to the towns along the Clear Creek and South Park lines. There were several variations of tank cars. The earliest ones are simply tanks strapped to wooden flat cars. Later variants had unique steel underframes.   I found an old Taurus Products kit at a train show that models the wooden underframe version. About the same time I began construction of the kit, San Juan Models came out with their excellent ready to run models of the steel underframe cars. I decided to have both versions on my narrow gauge roster. The kit is a true craftsman build. It includes a cast resin tank, cast metal and plastic details, and stripwood for assembling the underframe. There was a nice set of scale drawings that were very helpful in laying out the parts. I started by building the underframe out of the supplied stripwood, us...

This is a train I put together for my Dad’s birthday. He has a small train set to go around the Christmas tree. Really just a circle of track with a power pack. I thought he would enjoy a nicer steam engine with sound to show off. He’s not a “serious” model railroader, does not use DCC, and likes his trains to be as simple as possible. I wanted to get him a train that included some (literal) bells and whistles while also requiring no additional learning curve. The engine is a RTR Roundhouse model with a factory installed MRC sound decoder. It runs surprisingly smooth for a 20-year-old engine, and the colorful paint scheme is great for a holiday display.  The MRC sound system was key in deciding to go with this engine. The engines produced in the mid 2000’s came with a radio remote to control some sounds. Since my Dad doesn’t have a DCC system, the remote allows him to blow the whistle and ring the bell without buying a new controller. There aren’t as many sound options or prototypi...