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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Vernon River / Murray Harbor subdivision freight traffic analysis [PT. 1 Researching Traffic Types]
Newspaper archives identify Vernon River’s inbound and outbound railway traffic, from potatoes and livestock to coal and feed.
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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.
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Vernon River / Murray Harbour Subdivision traffic analysis [PT:2 Researching Traffic Amounts and Crunching the Numbers]
1950s CN carload data reveals typical train length, traffic balance and commodity flows through Vernon River.
Modelling
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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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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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Benchwork!
Building two modular benchwork sections and removable staging cassettes for a nearly uncompressed HO model of Vernon River.