This car is normally found supporting a camp train.
©2012 Ryan C Kunkle, licensed to About.com, Inc.

This interesting work car is traveling in a regular freight consist - possibly en route to a worksite or to a yard for maintenance. The car normally accompanies a train of "camp cars." These are rolling bunk houses for track workers on long assignments away from home. The camp cars are essentially trailers on flatcars and include sleeping cars, kitchen, dining, office, even recreational cars.

This car is a support car for that train. It carries a large generator to supply electricity and two 1,000 gallon tanks of drinking water. The flatcar itself is a former Pennsylvania Railroad class F-41. It was handed down through Penn Central and Conrail and now works for Norfolk Southern who has recently given it a fresh coat of paint although it retains its Conrail reporting marks and maintenance-of-way number. Norfolk Southern is the last major railroad in the United States that still uses these cars.

A car like this would certainly make an interesting detailing project for a model railroad! Park it on a siding with some bunk cars, or let it roll on its own as seen here.

This time of year, the days are getting longer and warmer, and the urge to get back out and watch trains grows stronger everyday.

Whether it's for a National Train Day event this Saturday, a gathering of friends for a picnic by the track, or just a few peaceful solitary hours in the mountains - here's hoping you get a chance to get out and get inspired!

CSXT 434298 Fairhope, PA 6-21-2008
©2012 Ryan C Kunkle, licensed to About.com, Inc.

CSX 434298 is a large hopper designed for coke service. Compare the height of this car to the typical 100-ton capacity coal hopper behind it. The extra size helps maximize the payload as coke is lighter than the coal from which it is baked.

This particular car also has an interesting family tree. CSX is actually the third owner of this hopper. Originally built for the Illinois Central Gulf, this block of cars was sold to Conrail, who after only a few years passed the cars on to CSX. After more than a decade in service on CSX, most have not been repainted.

There are many web pages and tools out there to help you shop for trains, provide product reviews, inventory your collection, determine value and network and trade with other modelers, but a new website has just came on line which combines all of this online in one platform.

The new page, collector-modeltrains.com, or "DASH" is very easy to use and has many innovative features. A free basic membership on the site gives you everything you need to get going, whether you're looking to grow, manage or even sell off your collection. The premium membership brings with it some really cool additional features. My favorite -  DASH automatcally links items on your "want" list with other peoples' "for sale" lists. How cool is that?

The site is well worth a visit. Whether you're an avid collector and trader or just trying to find that one specific item, this new platform has lots of potential.