Piko in December

The fifth battery powered locomotive to join the Ponderosa Lines is one of the newer Piko moguls, which is starting to grow on me. I suppose I'm leading here to a short review, followed by some photos. This Sunday (yesterday) the decent weather continued in Flagstaff, allowing for an outdoor session with a short freight. Similar to the review in Garden Railways Magazine, this loco is rather noisy, and the motor actually chirps like some of my older HO-scale locos did in the past (it may be lessening as it breaks in). But it runs smoothly back and forward, unless heading down hill with a full load, when it tends to jump and hesitate a bit (also in the written review, if I recall). The tender's wheels are a disappointment, as they are plastic, but that's probably partly why the German Piko company can sell its products at less cost than LGB. It runs fine, metal wheels or not. With all the details applied - easily assembled - it's a cute engine, and it looks fine with larger or smaller cars. Its main strength is, well, its strength. It's a heavy little engine, and it pulls five freight cars easily around the challenging grades of the Ponderosa Lines. If we don't get any snow this year, looks like this scrunched-up Mogul is going to see more light of day in coming months!

Flagstaff G-Scalers Pay a Visit

Here are some photos of "October Trains" visiting the Ponderosa Lines over a month ago. A still un-detailed Piko Mogul owned by the PL made its debut performance, looking a bit drunk with its headlight dangling out front. Meanwhile, Stan provided the first 1:20.3 scale locomotives - a K-something and a Galloping Goose. Their larger size made the track really look like narrow gauge. Darting around the other trains was Ed's retrofitted Annie 4-6-0 with an incredible sound system (first photo below) and a trailing box car, certainly the loudest train to serenade the neighbors and dogs as of this writing. Impressive! Enjoy the photos!

Railfan Day sees New Trestles and....Rabbits!

Photo crews joined railroad crews on Sunday to unveil the newest additions to the Lines: three trestles that improve visual interest and drainage in this monsoon-prone region. Equipment from the nearby Rabbit Valley Railroad joined in the celebration, with free rides offered to anything with long ears. Only a few mishaps were recorded on this day, including a box car rollover and an apparent gondola crime scene, still under investigation by the railroad police. The photos will tell the rest of the story. Enjoy the new Ponderosa Lines, summer 2012 edition - the Old Bridge Route.