Research

Research of Conrail aka Big Blue

Over the past few months I have been doing a ton of research on Conrail. This has included buying books from the store and one off of Ebay. These books have been really useful and I highly recommend Conrail Motive Power Review 1986-1991. This book is very useful and I can't thank Dave Abeles for recommending the book in one of his video's on his Patreon Channel. I have also purchased Conrail's 50th Anniversary Magazine and both Model Railroader Magazines featuring the Onondaga Cutoff. The resources that are available are remarkable. I have also used the internet and the Conrail Historical Society for information. The options are endless and very useful if you want to model everything correctly to the era you are planning to model.

Book #1 - Conrail Motive Power Review - 1986-1991

Great book of information on the Conrail Roster. 

Classic Trains Magazine - Conrail AT 50

Great book on the history of Conrail.

Model Railroader Magazine July 2025 Issue

What can I say about this? Dave Abeles does a great job with a step by step on weathering.

Model Railroader Magazine April 2026 Issue

Another great issue featuring Dave Abeles and how to build a Conrail Roster for your model railroad.

I plan to get more Conrail books especially of their Caboose Roster as my model railroad will run cabooses at the end of their trains. There is also another Conrail Motive Power Review book from the years 1992 until the end I believe that I plan to acquire. I will make sure I have all the resources I need before I start to build the layout. The possibilities are endless when it comes to model railroading. So I hope you follow me on my journey and can learn as I learn along the way.

Conrail GP40

Conrail GP40 #3091 

Conrail GP40 #3091 was the very first locomotive to be painted in the companies new paint scheme. Below is my Conrail GP40 #3091 that need some heavy repairs after the rear steps had gotten broke. Once I had repaired the steps, the task of bending the rear plow back as best as I could. Once all that was taken care of, it was time to remove the extra headlight and rear light from the locomotive. I got my Dremel out and started the task of removing them. The front light was covered over with a piece of polystyrene, painted then decals were placed. I then removed the rear light and ran into a problem on how to fill the hole in. That's when I came up with the idea to use joint compound and after seeing the results, I had wished I used the same effect on the front. But what can you do? Just move on and that's that. I took extra care of this locomotive for one reason and that reason is because it was my fiances dad's locomotive. I am very happy with the end results of this locomotive. 

Here you can see the damage that was done prior to me acquiring the locomotive 

The old steps cut out and news ones fabricated

The new steps are placed and ready for paint

The new steps painted black and a new plow has been added

New front and rear plows added, painted black and the front headlight removed off the nose

The finished locomotive. All weathered and ready to pull freights, yard jobs, and locals

Conrail Slug

Conrail MT-4 Slug #1003

Conrail had a total of 24 MT-4 slugs across their system along with 29 MT-6 slugs. The MT-4 slugs were in the number series 1000-1023. I chose #1003 for my scratch building project and the project took me roughly 5 months to complete. I used two different locomotives to achieve what I was going for. The frame was a former NYC RS1 while the shell was an ALCO RS11. I began by cutting up the RS11 shell to get the ends and part of the middle section. I then used polystyrene and joint compound to fill in the rest. Now you may ask why I used joint compound? Well its very simple, it fills in the small gaps and helps even out places that aren't even. By looking at the model, you can't tell where it was used after being painted. Everything is hand painted with the correct Conrail blue that I had ordered off of Ebay. I also used decals from K4 Supply Company and this is another set of decals I recommend using. This was the very first scratch build I have ever done and I am very happy with how it came out. I added knuckle couplers and made sure they are the correct height. MT-4 #1003 will be primarily used in the Blairsville yard and will be seen making the trip down to Armagh Yard for switching duties there. So please enjoy my very first scratch building project.

Below is GP40 #3091 & MT-4 #1003 paired together on the workbench.

Progress Photo's

     

Not all progress photo's are uploaded as it would take to long to arrange them. But the above photo's give you all a roundabout look at how I went about scratch building the MT-4.

Tie Shear

Conrail Tie Shear

Here we have the Conrail Tie Shear that I purchased off of Ebay. It is a Durango Press model and the detail on this older model is amazing. This was a awesome model to build and I would definitely get another one when time allows. The Tie Shear was used all along the Conrail system. I do believe this piece of equipment is missing a couple pieces but it will work on the layout and serve the purpose it's supposed to. I just need to add a couple more decals to this and it will be completed. The decals on this tie shear is also from Circus City Decals. I am highly satisfied with the decals from them. 

 

Front Loader

Conrail Front Loader 

The front loader pictured below was found in a box of misc. stuff bought from a hobby shop. It had sat in the box of stuff for a few months before it too became part of the Cambria & Indiana Roster and then was recently changed to Conrail. Most of the MOW equipment that was for the C&I is being transferred over to Conrail. I still need to paint the roof yellow as it still is showing it's C&I heritage at this point. The front loader will be located at the Blairsville yard and shops. The decals on this front loader are also from Circus City Decals.

MOW Speeder, Weed Sprayer, and other MOW Cars

Conrail Speeder, Weed Sprayer, & Other MOW Cars

Here we have the first of about 5 Conrail Speeder cars that will be on the layout. This speeder car is an older on as it looks like it is made from white metal. I had ordered this speeder off of eBay about two years ago and it was originally going to be for the Cambria & Indiana Railroad but has since been changed to Conrail. I need to add a couple more details to this and it will be completed but for now, this is what is done. The decals on the speeder are also from Circus City Decals.

This speeder car will be pulling two additional cars for a weed spraying operation which I am including photo's of those below.

Flatcar and the first weed spraying car

Second weed spraying car along with a flatcar with sides for debris like spikes, tie plates and misc.

MOW Dump Bed Truck

 

Conrail MOW Dump Bed Truck

Here we have one of the many MOW pieces that I have been working on over the past couple of months. The truck started out as a regular flatbed that I turned into a low dump bed truck. Everything is hand painted and the decals are from Circus City Decals. The decals are amazing and slide off real easily. You get three different sizes and two different colors. You get the blue with the white letting and also white with blue lettering. Anyways, the truck is near completion in this photo and was a fun scratch build for me. This truck will be placed at different points on the railroad as there will always be work for the MOW crews.

Welcome To The Blairsville Cutoff

The Blairsville Cutoff in HO Scale is a fictitious model railroad that takes an alternate route over the Allegeheny Mountains from Blairsville, Pa to Cresson, Pa. The era that is being modeled is the Mid to Late 1980's before the Caboose became obsolete. The railroad is in the early planning stages as of right now. I am currently working on the layout drawing and will have it posted when I am happy with the outcome. As of now, the post you will be seeing is of all the equipment that I am working on, have worked on, or that is in the near future for the fleet. Please bare with me as this is blog is all new to me and it may take me a little bit to upload things. 

Matthew Miller