Revisiting Koster’s Miniature Railroad Supplies, Inc.

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Back in 1973, when I was 12 years old, I purchased one of Koster’s 4 Wheel Switchers. I sold that engine some years back to a gentleman in Massachusetts. I thought I would one day see him at Waushakum, but never did. Last Saturday, I held a North East Live Steamers Meet at my track. Somehow, I overheard a conversation and the name Koster’s. My ears perked right up and I said that I once had one of his switchers. Little did I know, that my friend Jimi Smith now owns that locomotive. He purchased it from the man to whom I sold it. I’m really happy that I’ll get to see it again some day.

A day or so later, I happened upon Bill Koster on Linked in and connected. I told bill about purchasing one of his engines and that I had pictures from a visit to his track in Homestead, FL, the former home of Koster’s Miniature Railroad Supplies. I was able to find the pictures. Although I have not yet found pics of my little switchers.

That’s me sitting on the flat car behind the F-7 and behind me is my cousin Anthony. I also got to sit in the F-7 (second pic).

NELS Meet at NVRR

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Yesterday, I hosted a North East Live Steamers meet at my track (Nasonville Valley Railroad). We had a great day in all ways. From the live steamers to the weather, everything was picture perfect. Here are a few pics and videos. A few videos didn’t upload. I’ll get them on shortly.

  • Nasonville Valley Railroad logo
    Nasonville Valley Railroad logo
  • Jimi Smith’s 4-6-0 Mogul Mogul
  • Joe Monty’s Pennsylvania E6 4-4-2 Atlantic
  • Working in the steaming bays
  • Joe Monty leaving turntable for loading bay
  • Ryan & Jim Ravetto loading Ryan’s switcher
  • Jimi Smith with his Mogul
  • Steaming the PA E6
  • Blowing down the PA E6
  • Jay Monty aproaching the covered bridge with the PA E6
  • Jimi Smith headed toward the covered bridge
  • Steve Garrepy running my mom’s diesel switcher
  • Steve Garrepy running Mickey through he tunnel
  • Jay Monty exiting the tunnel
  • Cameron Ravetto heading into the tunnel
  • Jay Monty going through the new crossing
  • Joe Monty heading up grade toward the driveway
  • Joe Monty heading up grade toward the driveway
  • Ryan Ravetto heading out onto the main line with Jimi Smith’s Mogul
  • Cameron and Ryan Ravetto fighting for the main line.
  • Ryan Ravetto and Jimi Smith
  • Cameron Ravetto exiting the tunnel
  • Joe Monty
  • Leaving covered bridge and heading to the trestle
  • Joe Monty crossing the 92′ long trestle
  • Joe Monty
  • Joe & Jay Monty
  • Turn table, loading and steaming bays
  • Turn table, loading and steaming bays
  • Joe & Jay Monty
  • Cameron & Jim Ravetto

Crossing upgrades and other things

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I just completed a few major projects that I have been wanting to do on my railroad for quite a while. The first was my crossing going from the driveway to the loading and steaming bays. I also completed the steaming bay locks to join them to the turntable and to the main line.

Turntable upgrade

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When my dad and I built the new turntable on the railroad, I decided to put a rail on ties for the wheels of the table to roll. However, through the years that hasn’t worked out well. The weeds often jump off the rail and it is a major job trying to get it back on. I asked a friend of mine to weld a large plate for the wheels to ride on on but he suggested adding a cement ring. Last week I began pulling up the ties and rail. And yesterday I put in the forms, purchased 31 – 60 Lb bags of Sakrete concrete mix. I was able to mix and lay the whole slab and cover it with a tarp before a major rain storm began.

Weeds and Bugs

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Every railroad has to deal with weeds and bugs along the track. It doesn’t take long for theM to over run your track. Ties, bridges and other railroad structures provide a good meal for all the bugs. I learned that well with my original trestle that we made from local, rough-cut pine. This was one of the biggest mistakes I made in building my railroad. I should have used pressure treated lumber, stained it more frequently and sprayed it with bug repellant. But as they say, you live and you learn.

Years ago, I purchased one of those Roundup 2 gallon hand pump sprayers. It may have been me, but the spray nozzle seemed to clog up every few feet. I could never spray the whole track without the nozzle either partly or fully clogging. That has all changed this week.

After a thorough search online, I settled with the Greenwood 12 volt, 15 gallon Spot sprayer sold at Harbor Freight. The unit comes with a heavy duty spraying wand and hose. With a little bit of work, you’ll have a great battery powered sprayer that can sit on any flat car. With a few pieces of PVC, valves, plugs and clamps, I built my own sprayer wand. After placing the finished unit on one of my flat cars the action began and I very happy with the results.

Materials list:

• Greenwood 12 volt 15 gallon Spot Sprayer
• 1/2″ PVC pipe (5′ length)
• 1/2″ PVC end caps (2)
• 1/2″ PVC valve (2)
• 1/2″ PVC Tee (2)
• 1/2″ PVC Misting System Mounting Clamp (5-Pack)
• PVC glue
• 1/2″ to 5/8″ brass hose barb (2)
• Mister Landscaper 12-Pack 15 GPH Half-circle-Spray Drip Irrigation Micro Spray (1 package)
• 1/2″ adjustable hose clamps (2)

Trestle Rebuild #17 (final)

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I decided to use wire rope instead of wooden hand rails. This was completed on May 26th. And last week, I stained the whole trestle in 4 hours. To do this, a friend suggested an airless sprayer. This was one of the best purchases of my life. Through it all, I never had one clog. Spraying uses a bit more stain due to over spray, but it is well worth it. The whole trestle took 9 gallons of Arborcoat Benjamin Moore latex semi-solid black stain.

Trestle with wire rope rails.
Center of the trestle is 11′ tall. This is the widest section where I added lattice work.
The trestle is 92′ long
Ascending grade toward the tunnel
A view of the whole trestle

First new private passenger line in over 100 years

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Brightline is a new private passenger line being built in Florida. Construction began in 2014 building stations along the current Florida East Coast Railway line. The railroad currently operates from Miami to Palm Beach with aggressive plans to go into Orlando International Airport, continuing on to Walt Disney World and finally ending in Tampa. Several stations have been completed and an additional new mainline is currently under construction to Orlando International. However, the official website reads that service is currently suspended.

The railroad currently has 10 Siemens Charger SCB-40’s and 5 Siemens Venture train sets of 4 cars.

The official website can be found here.