New to the Roster

There's a lot happening on the Frazier Borate this week.

Last week, I ordered a Bachmann 2-6-0 in the Bumblebee paint scheme (unlettered) to replace the defective one, in D&RGW green, that I got a couple weeks before.

Waiting for it to arrive, I was second and third guessing myself about the color scheme, thinking I was going to regret my choice and that this would end up as a display engine, or worst case, a repaint job.

Well, I don't regret it. The yellow is darker and much closer to D&RGW/D&S Aspen Yellow than it appeared in online photos -- though I think still not as orange as the actual D&S cars we rode this summer. It actually looks pretty great with the color palette of the Frazier Borate. Might give it just a touch of weathering.

And unlike the last one, it arrived in good shape. It runs on DC and makes it around the curves on the Frazier. Haven't tried it with DCC yet. I'm also considering adding sound, though the Bachmann sound module is so expensive (and not currently in production) that it might make more sense just to buy a Soundtraxx or TCS sound decoder and replace the factory DCC.

I have a Bachmann combine left over from a lot of Hawthorne Village stuff I bought a few years ago, and I just picked up a coach on eBay. When I get a couple of other projects out of the way, I'll strip them and repaint them in Aspen Yellow to match the loco. I also plan to add an open excursion car, probably one from Mount Blue Models. I haven't decided yet whether to letter everything for Durango & Silverton, D&RGW, or Lockwood & San Emigdio.

I'm thinking maybe by the late 30s, Hollywood discovered the L&SE as a film location, and as its mining and logging days passed, it found new life as a movie and tourist line.

Since the loco cost $30 less than the green boiler one, I spent the balance on a Durango & Silverton caboose. This is supposed to be a souvenir of our trip, after all. It's not a particularly accurate model of any actual D&S car that I'm aware of, but it looks nice and it's small enough for the Frazier.

I also ordered a couple of 3D printed 14 foot freight cars from a seller on eBay. I haven't done anything with them yet, but they're high on my priority list.

Finally, work continues on the Brewery building.