MY TRAIN BUCKET LIST

I have a railroading friend who got diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer out of the blue 4-5 months back. He went home to be with the Lord Thursday. Kinda makes you stop and re-evaluate. I am starting to pile up the years and "expecting" to be able to actively participate with my "N" scale railroad for at least another 10 years. Having said that, I no longer have the capability to do the same modeling projects I could do when I was younger, had better eyesight, dexterity, and more money! So I have decided to document my bucket list - things I would like to get done before I depart the hobby (one way or another).

Some projects on my "Train Bucket List (feel free to volunteer to help):

High Priority:

-   Woodbury Station (Woodbury is the front and center focal point of my layout). Model does not have to be detailed but does have to capture the structural outlines and look. The locals have to be able to say: "O look, there's the Woodbury train station!"

Woodbury 1951 PRSL Vol 2 p104b

Woodbury Station - Back Side

-   St Patrick's R.C. church (I am not R.C. but it is a landmark right across the street from the station (currently occupied on my layout by a very Presbyterian looking church structure). Just needs to give the same impression. Basically the building front.

-   Decal (and paint touch up) 3 RDCs (and the decaling has to be perfectly placed or I will receive massive aggravation from the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines Historical Society. (I have the decals.))

+  Cut my freight car inventory in half (currently 657 646 588cars) by sale or trade for work.

+  Cut my locomotive roster (126 119115) in half (mostly older ("classic") engines; by sale or trade for work.

+  Sell my unused HO BLI PRR 2-10-0 Decapod & HO BLI PRR Centipede.

+  Sell my unused Kato N gauge Broadway Limited Passenger set (since it never ran on the PRSL!).

-  Manayunk bridges (tough assignment here since it has to have the look but span the existing scenery).

+ Westville brick station,

+ 30th street steel trestle

+ 30th street station area

+ Camden downtown (generic)

++ Enjoy the company of like minded hobbyists in local op sessions.

Mid-Level Priority:

-  Remove lettering (does not seem to want to budge) from 4 Model Power/AHM PRR P70 coaches and decal for PRSL (I have the decals).

-  Del Monte Food distributors (2 story with a rounded quanson hut type roof structure)

-  Get at least 3 of my 5 Bachmann Plus PRR F7s fixed (the typical old Bachmann problem: all gears split and no parts available from Bachmann)

Lower Priority:

-  GHQ PRR L1 Mikado brass conversion (and paint) (I have the GHQ kit and (2) Kato Mikados).

-  Get 3 Bachmann Plus ATSF F7s fixed (split gears)

-  Get a Kato Reading Bee-Line SD45 fixed (no idea why it stopped running)

? Add KD couplers to several engines

Key:

+  =   I can still do

-   =   I can no longer do; looking for trade partners