| OLD PINE RAILROAD |
| How it all started |
| Planning |
| Custom storage barn |
| Laying track & switches |
| Landscaping / Grades |
| Locomotive (F.N. 2-6-0) |
| Rolling Stock |
| Scale Buildings |
| Hobby Suppliers |
Send me an email |
|
How it all started...
A GIFT FROM PAUL KEOUGH. My Fitchburg Northern 2-6-0 Locomotive Project:
Ever since I was a child, which I'm sure most of you can say, I loved trains. I had, I believe, 5-6 small model train sets when I was a boy. N scale, Lego, Christmas train, HO scale, electric & battery operated. When I was about 10, my grandfather Paul Keough took my brother Trevor & I to a 1/8" scale club track in MA. My eyes popped out of my head! A small "real" train you could ride on and run yourself! When Paul saw my face he knew I wanted one of my own. So he started building a Fitchburg Northern 1/8" scale. I was so excited. My grandparents (Paul & Audry) would take us to train museums, on train rides and to several club tracks for public rides. It was great, Paul & I truly loved steam trains.
A few years pass, now I'm 13, lots of castings, parts and a partially assembled tender base w/ trucks. But Paul developed cancer and died later that year. I was only 14, and was heart broken. Paul and I LOVED TRAINS. So a part of my hobby spirit with trains also died that day. I took the tender base and trucks home and used it as a small flat. I asked for some track for my birthday and received about 200 feet. Not enough to make the loop around my yard but enough to play with. I'd ride back and forth on my little stretch of track over and over again but it wasn't the same without Paul there. I wanted to build the engine but wasn't old enough to operate the machines at my dads shop yet. My interest in trains slowly started to fade away as I had no one to share them with.
4 years pass and I decide to work for my fathers plastic business to earn some extra cash as a cleaning boy. Not the best job at 18, but it was better than being cart pusher at stop & shop. Anyways, I came across all the castings, and parts that my grandfather had left me. But I was still unable to build. Buy this time, I'm getting older and have developed new interests in video games and girls (typical for most teen boys I guess). So the train was pushed aside again.
Jumping ahead 8 years to 2008, and I've found the engine parts that had been boxed up and forgotten about. I cleaned up the parts and decided to get started. I'm old enough now and I'm making money to buy rail & supplies. I started planning a design for a layout in my back yard.
In 2009, I got married to a beautiful girl (Noel), I'm 27 years old and have a 100% re-start on my old passion for trains. I'm dedicated to completing Paul's & my Fitchburg Northern & to enjoy a ride before I bury myself in a career for the next 30 -40 years. I own 6-7 Live Steam DVD's including 2 from train mountain, Florida live steamers & others. I've watched each about a zillion times! Hahaha
I decided to have the locomotive and tender professionally built, and have shipped the parts out. $14,500 total. $500 down and BAM, a recession hits. Talk about depressed. I could barely afford my weekly bills, never mind my hobby. I took what was left from our wedding fund after the loco deposit & our honeymoon, and purchased a Mountain Car 6' Gondola easy kit & couplers. I was hoping this would take me a few months to build to keep my attention, but it only took me 3 days. : )
With winter setting in, I gathered up all the old track & started laying out a car / loco barn behind my shed. Snow came early and put all my plans on hold. But this was good.
With winter here, I've spent time going over plot layout and designing a layout that will work with my smaller property. I have less than 1 acre so a loop is all I can do. But I'm going to add a side track and 2nd track around a large tree to give the effect of a different route. This summer, I get started and I'll record my activities here for others to use as a helper.
Spring where are you? I can't wait to order a set of trucks and re-live my old childhood with my shinny new gondola. And soon enough, I might even be chugging around on Paul' & my Fitchburg Northern. I just wish we could have taken a ride together. I miss you Paul. Thank you for this opportunity to own my own live steamer.
-Colin 2/9/2010
A GIFT FROM PAUL KEOUGH. My Fitchburg Northern 2-6-0 Locomotive Project:
Ever since I was a child, which I'm sure most of you can say, I loved trains. I had, I believe, 5-6 small model train sets when I was a boy. N scale, Lego, Christmas train, HO scale, electric & battery operated. When I was about 10, my grandfather Paul Keough took my brother Trevor & I to a 1/8" scale club track in MA. My eyes popped out of my head! A small "real" train you could ride on and run yourself! When Paul saw my face he knew I wanted one of my own. So he started building a Fitchburg Northern 1/8" scale. I was so excited. My grandparents (Paul & Audry) would take us to train museums, on train rides and to several club tracks for public rides. It was great, Paul & I truly loved steam trains.
A few years pass, now I'm 13, lots of castings, parts and a partially assembled tender base w/ trucks. But Paul developed cancer and died later that year. I was only 14, and was heart broken. Paul and I LOVED TRAINS. So a part of my hobby spirit with trains also died that day. I took the tender base and trucks home and used it as a small flat. I asked for some track for my birthday and received about 200 feet. Not enough to make the loop around my yard but enough to play with. I'd ride back and forth on my little stretch of track over and over again but it wasn't the same without Paul there. I wanted to build the engine but wasn't old enough to operate the machines at my dads shop yet. My interest in trains slowly started to fade away as I had no one to share them with.
4 years pass and I decide to work for my fathers plastic business to earn some extra cash as a cleaning boy. Not the best job at 18, but it was better than being cart pusher at stop & shop. Anyways, I came across all the castings, and parts that my grandfather had left me. But I was still unable to build. Buy this time, I'm getting older and have developed new interests in video games and girls (typical for most teen boys I guess). So the train was pushed aside again.
Jumping ahead 8 years to 2008, and I've found the engine parts that had been boxed up and forgotten about. I cleaned up the parts and decided to get started. I'm old enough now and I'm making money to buy rail & supplies. I started planning a design for a layout in my back yard.
In 2009, I got married to a beautiful girl (Noel), I'm 27 years old and have a 100% re-start on my old passion for trains. I'm dedicated to completing Paul's & my Fitchburg Northern & to enjoy a ride before I bury myself in a career for the next 30 -40 years. I own 6-7 Live Steam DVD's including 2 from train mountain, Florida live steamers & others. I've watched each about a zillion times! Hahaha
I decided to have the locomotive and tender professionally built, and have shipped the parts out. $14,500 total. $500 down and BAM, a recession hits. Talk about depressed. I could barely afford my weekly bills, never mind my hobby. I took what was left from our wedding fund after the loco deposit & our honeymoon, and purchased a Mountain Car 6' Gondola easy kit & couplers. I was hoping this would take me a few months to build to keep my attention, but it only took me 3 days. : )
With winter setting in, I gathered up all the old track & started laying out a car / loco barn behind my shed. Snow came early and put all my plans on hold. But this was good.
With winter here, I've spent time going over plot layout and designing a layout that will work with my smaller property. I have less than 1 acre so a loop is all I can do. But I'm going to add a side track and 2nd track around a large tree to give the effect of a different route. This summer, I get started and I'll record my activities here for others to use as a helper.
Spring where are you? I can't wait to order a set of trucks and re-live my old childhood with my shinny new gondola. And soon enough, I might even be chugging around on Paul' & my Fitchburg Northern. I just wish we could have taken a ride together. I miss you Paul. Thank you for this opportunity to own my own live steamer.
-Colin 2/9/2010