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Officially speaking, the first structure built for The Hills Line was the deck of the CRANDIC's lattice truss bridge over the Iowa River. That needed to be completed so I could lay track and get the railroad running. It was a few more months before I finished up the truss itself. As I previously mentioned, … Continue reading A Tale of Two Bridges
A few months back I came across Lance Mindheim's post on freight car coupling on his website. As with all of his writings, I found it informative and motivating. Since reading it, and more specifically watching the video linked within the post, I’ve tried to become more aware of the sudden and complete stop that … Continue reading Crash Into Me
"Every man meets his Waterloo at last" -Wendell Phillips- A quick glance at The Hills Line at the start of 2023 finds it in a mostly completed state, at least on the Iowa City side of things. I consider the Maiden Lane section finished, knowing that there will always be additional details to add. The … Continue reading My Own Personal Waterloo
Real railroads are disgusting. They're covered with dirt and grime and sludge and oil and waste. Modeling them effectively therefore requires an appropriate amount of dirt and grime and sludge and oil and waste. That's easily done with weathering methods on locomotives, rolling stock, and even buildings. But the crud should also extend to other … Continue reading Every Litter Bit Helps
The Hills Line 