This is the first of 2. Both Housatonic RR that run from Milford CT up the Litchfield Hills to Berkshire Hills in western MA and my home in Pittsfield MA. This is an EMD GP-35 HRR 3604. My current WIP is a GP-35M of Housatonic RR HRR 3600. These are non motorized HO scale BUT I did do a motorized one for my son, GP-35 HRR 3603. He has a small layout he uses with his kids. I am looking at better couplers, I like the looks of the Kadee brand.
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Outstanding paint and decaling for sure. kadee makes couplers in the standard head size as well as couplers with a more prototypical size. I personally use their standard 148 series rather then the 158 series as i just can’t see them well enough to manually pick them to uncouple.
One of the main stays in the hobby was Dick Elwell who recently passed away. Both of his basement size layouts were the Housatonic Valley RR. Another icon who is now running trains with a way better crowd.
joel
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Very nicely done.
Kadee is pretty much the standard. You can snip off the trip pin, and add MU and brake hoses for a more realistic appearance. Since it’s a static model you can also get white metal dummy couplers that look very good and are probably a bit sheaper.
I had an aunt and cousins in Pittsfield. Used to ride my bike from Ft. Devens to visit. I wonder if I saw one of those back then.
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Depends on when “back then” was. What year did you ride to Pittsfield? I use to live in Danvers MA not that far from Devens. My mothers family was from North Adams MA on the Mohawk Trail, Rte 2. I have modeled a few B&M blue engines I saw as a kid in the 60s on the tracks from North Adams to Charlemont MA. Our family use to go to Mohawk Park on the Deerfield River for July 4th picnics. back in the early 60s.
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- Brand new (to me) '76 Honda CB750 Super Sport. I barely even knew how to ride. But when I saw Housatonic Valley in your thread I knew I had heard or seen that before. I’ve been a train buff since the mid '70s.
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I had a brand new off the showroom CB360T in 1974 at 21 years old and barely knew how to ride motorcycles also! Blue and nice for a smaller bike. I was a train buff since early 60s, my grandfather retired from NYC, he worked at the junction on the Boston-Albany line.
By the way, high hood Geeps have always been my favorite.
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I am an F7A fan myself. Here is a Conrail F7A, ex B&M and Conrail did not add much to it , I think later they added the road name to the car body maybe? I don’t really remember.
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Housatonic RR started regular trips to MA about 1990-91 time frame. Were re-created in Ct in 1983ish.
The junction in the city I grew up in , this was 1955 and my grandfather was still working there, Pittsfield MA and most of the trains were NYC.
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My grandparents lived 30 miles farther in Hudson, NY. I rode there as well. Beautifulk area. I do remember the Mohawk and Allegheny.
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My older brother and his wife lived in Hudson, he was a teacher at Icabod Crane High School not too awful far from Catskills.I remember the D&H.Is this the line you remember?
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It’s been so long I don’t remember. But I thought Ichabod Crane HS was in Kinderhook. My mom had a house there right down the street from the Burgoyne Mansion and the Benedict Arnold House. Word was that back in the day Hillary wanted to buy two houses there, one for her and one for the Secret Service. The town of Kinderhook told her she would not be welcome there. 
Beautiful country if you ever wanted to do an actual layout. Lots of history there as well. Kinderhook was on the Knox Trail. Also the village of Valatia is where Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus took place, along with a lot of Ichabod Crane references. Ah, and apparently last of the Mohicans was based on that area.
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It is in Valetie NY actually next to Kinderhook. I lived as a boy not far from the Knox Trail in the Berkshires. I always pronounced it Va Lay Sha though it is not spelled that way. I understand as I am of Dutch origin with one of those 2 part Van Dutch last names. My family is from the Deursen Castle area in Noord Brabant Netherlands.
That area has a neat WWI aerodrome also and a firefighters museum if memory serves me right.
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Rhinebeck Aerodrome - went there as a kid more than once. My grandfather was a firefather, as was my great grandfather in a village next to New Rochelle. Lived not far from Thomas Paine Museum. Entire clan (that side of my family is Scottish) is buried in Hillsdale.
And yes, we pronounced Valetie the same way. About seven minutes away. But imagine a cafe with no chicken fried steak. 
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That’s BARBARIC! No chicken fried steak is like no KFC to a western Ma resident!!! Isn’t New Rochelle where Rob Petrie is from, writer of Allan Brady show?
I have a current train build, static for my 3rd HRCC. Where would I post this build? On the Kit Maker train site? It is an Athearn Blue Box 1/87 GP-35M conversion. Thanks-John
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No idea. But my my mom finally sold the house in Kinderhook and moved there. Just a few blocks from the train station. Lots of good trainspotting there. I do know one of my nephews rows there, and it’s only a few stops from Fordham Prep where both of my sister’s boys go.
Must PM you - sister has a list of people she wants to know if you know from Kinderhook aresa.
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Yes, train site on kitmaker needs more content! I post there when I can but am out of railroad mode the past month or so…
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