The Red Island Railway Journal
Welcome to The Red Island Railway Journal—researching, documenting, and modelling the Island railway, from its subdivisions, stations, and equipment to the work of recreating it in miniature.
Latest from the Journal
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CNR CLC H12-44 #1639 in 1:87: Part 2 — Those Pesky Handrails
Designing custom handrail stanchions for an HO-scale model of CNR CLC H12-44 No. 1639, based on prototype photographs from Prince Edward Island.
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CNR CLC H12-44 #1639 in 1:87: Part 1 — Reverse Engineering in 2022
Converting a Walthers H10-44 into CNR CLC H12-44 No. 1639 using prototype drawings and Steve Hunter’s documented build.
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A Long-Overdue Update: MLW RSC-14s, MLW RSC-13s, GE 44-Tonners and CLC H12-44s
An update on PEI locomotive projects: Rapido RSC-14s and GE 44-tonners, Kaslo RSC-13 kits, and the CLC H12-44 No. 1639 build.
History & Research
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A sunny winter’s day prototype visit.
A winter field visit to Vernon River, PEI, to study the former railway right-of-way, landscape, buildings and roads for an HO layout.
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Learning the lay of the land:
Aerial photographs and newspaper records establish Vernon River’s potato, livestock and freight traffic—and support adding a stock pen.
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Finding inspiration from a later era
A St. Peters Bay potato-loading photo provides prototype ideas for Vernon River’s team track, vehicles and loading scene.
Modelling
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My first build in 1:64, a CNR Stock Car kit.
Building and finishing Simon Parent’s S-scale CNR stock car kit as No. 170249, including sprung trucks, paint, decals and coupler plans.
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A new tool arrives at the Charlottetown Car deptartment- a brand new Cricut Maker.
Why a Cricut Maker and knife blade promised more accurate, repeatable styrene parts for model railway projects.
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Finding inspiration from a later era
A St. Peters Bay potato-loading photo provides prototype ideas for Vernon River’s team track, vehicles and loading scene.