Do trains still have cabooses

Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... I love cabooses, but I want to run modern intermodal container trains ...

Checking Sweetland's two volumes of color guides to NYC equipment, most NYC cabooses were either tuscan or jade green. There were five 20100-series cabooses (the old-timey, wood-sided caboose with a low coupla that I believe MTH still offers) were re-worked with either aluminum sides, or sheathed sides and were painted in the red and gray for Pacemaker service.Learn about the evolution and decline of cabooses on trains, the role of technology and safety regulations, and the cultural significance of preserving the legacy of cabooses. Find out why no longer have cabooses and how this impacts train operations today.The caboose was usually placed so the the conductor sat at his desk and faced toward the rear. The rear brakeman was up in the cupola, facing forward, to watch the train. UP's CA class (built 1905-1913) and CA-1 class (built 1914-1925) wooden cabooses had wooden passenger benches ahead of the cupola, two on each side.Defect observation has been taken over by trackside detectors, the conductor now does his paperwork in the engine cab, and many mainline switches are thrown by remote control (though many others are still manual). The caboose's other functions are now performed by end-of-train telemetry, best represented by the end-of-train device (ETD), the ...Get Updates. Saved by a 10-year-old’s letter longing for a caboose, former Chesapeake & Ohio No. 3674 is at the ice house siding in Sebewaing, Mich., just after delivery on July 1, 1988. CSX Transportation conductor Robert Kozal, stands by while new owner, Mike Burgett, is on the platform. Clara Burgett photo.The caboose is a service car that was ordinarily the last car in a freight train. Most modern trains have no cabooses, also known as "brake vans" (UK "guard's vans"). A Brief History of the Caboose. A strange word for a strange railroad car that somehow survived for more than a hundred years, from the days of oil burning lamps into the computer age. The origins of both the car and the word are surrounded as much by legend as by fact. One popular version dates the word back to a derivation of the Dutch word ...

Cabooses were also designed to provide a comfortable space for the train crew to work and rest. The crew would spend long hours on the train, and the provided a place for them to relax, eat, and sleep. The caboose was equipped with bunks, a kitchen, and a bathroom, making it a home away from home for the crew. The caboose has been an integral part of the railroad industry since the mid-19th century. It serves as a rolling office and living quarters for the train crew. The purpose of the caboose is to provide a vantage point for the brakeman to observe the train’s movement and to ensure that the train is running safely. VIA Rail connects Canada by rail from coast to coast. Finding tickets and schedules is quick and easy through the company’s website. VIA Rail is Canada’s passenger train company. V...How much does a train caboose weigh? Updated: 9/14/2023. Wiki User. ∙ 15y ago. Best Answer. It depends on the size a material that the caboose is made out of. Wiki User. ∙ 15y ago. More answers.Title: Do British Trains Have Cabooses? ContentsDo British Trains Have Cabooses?FAQs about British Trains and Cabooses1) Why don't British trains have cabooses?2) What is the role of the guard's van in a British train?3) Are there any trains in the UK that still use cabooses?4) How do British trains ensure safety without cabooses?5) Are cabooses …The word caboose was originally a nautical term meaning "a house on deck where the cooking is done.". As applied to trains, however, it meant the very last car. The train crew often used the ...I even have a bobber caboose. On my layout the Caboose is still mandatory and always will be. The ETD or FREDs are relegated to sidings seldom if ever seeing my mainlines. I know it's not prototypical to see My AC6000 with an I-12 Caboose at the end of the train and neither is the CSX B&O heritage paint schemes on them either!For cars with metal trucks and frames, this is no problem; simply attach the wire anywhere on the car frame. For trucks that have plastic side frames, you need to find another way to get the power from the wheels to the bulb socket. Lionel often uses copper wipers against the axles to accomplish this.

Today’s freight trains infrequently use them. So, what happened to the caboose? The caboose was largely replaced by technology. Today, railroads utilize End of Train …Help Support Ruger Forum: Jun 19, 2015 #1The transition between cabooses and EOTs was quicker than the transition between steam and diesel, but if you model the mid-1980s, it could be prototypical to have some road trains run with a caboose and some with an EOT. To prototypically model the era, but still display cabooses that you have, you could place them all on one yard track.JFS Railcar, LLC and Cabooses4sale.com have been Purchasing, Selling and Leasing railroad cars, locomotives and/or parts for over 35 years, to a large number of satisfied private, small business, corporate and government clients. Utilizing a large network of railroads, manufacturers and suppliers, we can locate virtually any railcar or parts ...While the term "caboose" has historically been used to refer to the last car on a train, modern trains no longer typically have a designated caboose. Instead, trains today typically use a "rear-end device" or "end of train device" which serves the same purpose as a caboose, but with modern technology and safety features. Contents ...

Compared to uncross linked products cross linked products.

If anything like that was done on any passenger trains, it would have to have been extremely rare as I can't remember coming across any examples. There were a few limited situations where a passenger train (i.e. a train with just passenger cars, not a mixed freight-passenger train) would have a caboose on the end, but it was pretty rare.13-Oct-2018 ... ... Trains Express! I have over 14500 train videos on YouTube. There are Trains Galore here at Wide world of Trains, you can watch some of my ...So generally speaking, cabooses could be eliminated on all railroads at nearly the same time. Also, the removal of the requirement still allows a railroad on it's own to keep a caboose on a job if it determines it's still needed. Cabooses still in service have been repurposed. Most are now technically "shoving platforms."Here in Minnesota logging trains usually had a caboose, but our situation was a little different in that logging trains tended to be longer and go farther than in other parts of the country. That is, you weren't seeing a Shay with 3 cars going a mile or two from a log camp to a mill, it would be a 2-6-0 with 20 cars going 30 miles from the ...So generally speaking, cabooses could be eliminated on all railroads at nearly the same time. Also, the removal of the requirement still allows a railroad on it's own to keep a caboose on a job if it determines it's still needed. Cabooses still in service have been repurposed. Most are now technically "shoving platforms."I'm currently debating whether or not to include cabooses on my narrow gauge logging layout. Train length is usually 6-7 freight cars and one engine. I'd have to shorten this by 1 to accommodate the caboose at the end of the train. My question is, would a narrow gauge railroad with trains this short run without cabooses? The layout …

Caboose no. 1085 is one of three wide vision cabooses on the ARR. Caboose no. 1084 is used as a work train caboose. Caboose no. 1776 in storage for the winter . All three different style cabooses in a row. (3/99) You'll find an incomplete caboose inventory here. Cabooses are being replaced by a wide variety of electronic components.Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... Do you use cabooses on your layout? Posted by joeyegarner on Wednesday ...A few cabooses are still in sporadic use today on some railroads. They are normally utilized when a local—or regional railroad—out of a serving yard has to back down a branch line to serve a customer. In this case, a caboose is attached to the end of the train with the conductor standing on the back platform of the caboose.This is how we use the two in our yard (with RCL's). They are still fully functional but aren't classified as cabooses anymore. Fra requires them to be classified as shoving platforms only. However the DOD train I think is the only one with an active caboose and armed guard escort.An oil-fired Caban caboose stove will eventually run out of fuel - probably before the next locomotive fueling point. That and a limited amount of sink water could make for a pretty spartan conditions. Oh, and one more thing: don't forget your ear plugs. Riding in a caboose at high speed can be mighty noisy!Classic Trains magazine celebrates the 'golden years of railroading' including the North American railroad scene from the late 1920s to the late 1970s. Giant steam locomotives, colorful streamliners, great passenger trains, passenger terminals, timeworn railroad cabooses, recollections of railroaders and train-watchers.So generally speaking, cabooses could be eliminated on all railroads at nearly the same time. Also, the removal of the requirement still allows a railroad on it's own to keep a caboose on a job if it determines it's still needed. Cabooses still in service have been repurposed. Most are now technically "shoving platforms."ATSF 999565 was a Santa Fe model CE-9 caboose built by American Car & Foundry in 1927, then rebuilt by Santa Fe in 1970 and again in 1978. It was intact and on an active rail siding. The caboose had last moved in 1991 and would need some repairs before it could move again.The only inconvenience with this is that it makes local freight types of operations difficult without leaving your caboose behind. My solution is to just not do that if I want to keep my caboose - though having it in the middle of the consist could work, and it would still kina-sorta still do its job of monitoring the end of the train, albeit ...Cabooses also acted as a break van (which British railways, at least, certainly did use!), and as a guard post when the trains were still slow enough that attacking them without sabotaging the track was actually meaningfully possible. There are a couple of break van/caboose mods floating around, I'm pretty sure.

Traveling by train is a great way to explore Canada, and taking the train from Toronto to Vancouver is no exception. The journey is long but it offers a unique experience that you ...

A Brief History of the Caboose. A strange word for a strange railroad car that somehow survived for more than a hundred years, from the days of oil burning lamps into the computer age. The origins of both the car and the word are surrounded as much by legend as by fact. One popular version dates the word back to a derivation of the Dutch word ...First, tin a little solder onto the brass strip about 1/3 down the length. Use resin core solder since you need the resin to etch/clean the metal to get a good solder bond. Next, we soldered some 36 AWG decoder wire on to the brass. Tin the wire before you solder it to the brass. The length of the wire is about 5-6". A Brief History of the Caboose. A strange word for a strange railroad car that somehow survived for more than a hundred years, from the days of oil burning lamps into the computer age. The origins of both the car and the word are surrounded as much by legend as by fact. One popular version dates the word back to a derivation of the Dutch word ... These cabooses were not assigned and could move freely throughout and off the UP system. In addition there were a few cabooses with a green "K" in place of the P. These assigned to Kaiser coal unit trains. For more info, check out the book "Cabooses of the Union Pacific Railroad" by Don Strack and Jim Ehernberger.We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums.Classic Trains magazine celebrates the 'golden years of railroading' including the North American railroad scene from the late 1920s to the late 1970s. Giant steam locomotives, colorful streamliners, great passenger trains, passenger terminals, timeworn railroad cabooses, recollections of railroaders and train-watchers.Cabooses soon begin to fade away there are very few cabooses in operation today. They are still used for some local trains where it is convenient to have a brakeman at the end of the train to ...Kansas City Southern Railway Caboose No. 385 — Decatur. At the intersection of Arkansas Highway 59 and West North Street in Decatur, Arkansas, sits a historic train depot and two historic railcars. The Kentucky-Southern Depot was built in 1920 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Beside the depot, visitors will ...Finally, and really most importantly, is the journey of just going to new places and meeting new people, all in order to find a caboose. Maybe the caboose is an excuse to go places and meet people…. Still, a lot of the fun in doing all of this is to do just that–travel to places we would not ordinarily go, and meet people we never would ...

Famous liquors weekly ad.

Gwinnett tag office phone number.

Trains that perform a lot of switching at industrial parks with multiple rail sidings, make extended back-up moves, or use passing sidings with hand-thrown switches (and there still are a few of those on small, “local” rail lines) still employ cabooses. Some railroads still use cabooses where the train must be backed up, on short local runs ...Off the top of my head, one would see the wooden cabooses phased out in the early 1960s. I still remember the night the Santa Fe burned the entire line of wooden cabooses in Pueblo Colorado (1962 ish). ... There was NO Federal requirement to operate a train with a caboose. There may have been state laws that required or attempted to require ...46. I am working on a resin caboose kit and was wondering what color it should be painted. This thread might also belong in the model railroading section, but the age-old PRR Tuscan 'actual color' debate is history related too. The box art on my kit has a bright red, almost Caboose Red, but most of the restored prototype cars are a darker red.The only other option is brass. OTOH, if I had decided to model the Pennsy? Cabooses would be beating down my door. Tom *A few months ago I found three WM kits for sale on eBay. Jumped all over them for $25 ea. Once I build them up and correct the minor issues with the Trix NYC caboose, I'll have a nice offering of accurate NYC cabooses.Jan 5, 2024 · While the term “caboose” has historically been used to refer to the last car on a train, modern trains no longer typically have a designated caboose. Instead, trains today typically use a “rear-end device” or “end of train device” which serves the same purpose as a caboose, but with modern technology and safety features. Contents ... Trains that perform a lot of switching at industrial parks with multiple rail sidings, make extended back-up moves, or use passing sidings with hand-thrown switches (and there still are a few of those on small, "local" rail lines) still employ cabooses. Some railroads still use cabooses where the train must be backed up, on short local runs ...Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... I love cabooses, but I want to run modern intermodal container trains ...This has changed from when trains had cabooses. During the caboose days, a crew member was on the rear platform located in the caboose. The crew member would then send a signal to the conductor.A penny left on a track does not typically derail a train. A train speeding along its track is a very heavy object with an immense amount of momentum. The penny is simply too light to do much of anything. … Flattening pennies using trains is still dangerous though; to the people placing the pennies.Q. Has anyone ever survived the...19-Nov-2019 ... The caboose is the last car on a freight train. Its name is "probably from Dutch kabuis, kombuis, from Middle Low German kabūse," referring ...Here is the list of the cars I own that do not have magnetic MT couplers: 1. Atlas China - Chessie Systems C&O 601316 2. Atlas China - SCL 746565 42' Gondola - Model 35033 3. Bachmann - Rock Island 6144 4. Bachmann - Union Pacific R.R. #7 and #9 5. Con Cor - Chessie Systems C&O 3291 Caboose 6. Micro Trains - USAX Caboose - Model 83133 7. ….

Technology Overtakes the Caboose. Cabooses became a uniquely American tradition. Overseas, their use had been rare or eliminated many years before. Even in the United States, technological change began eliminating the need for cabooses before the turn of the century. The spread in the 1880s of the automatic air brake system invented by George ... The eighth caboose has been camera shy so far. All the K-1 cars were scrapped in 1952 and replaced with five B&O I-1 class eight-wheel cabooses. Four K-1 cabooses sit in St. George Yard in this mid-1920s image. By 1907, K-1 class cabooses were renumbered C-200 to C-1299. In 34 years of construction there were some variations, as seen here.If anything like that was done on any passenger trains, it would have to have been extremely rare as I can't remember coming across any examples. There were a few limited situations where a passenger train (i.e. a train with just passenger cars, not a mixed freight-passenger train) would have a caboose on the end, but it was pretty rare.A railroading staple: The caboose. By Trains Staff | May 1, 2006. | Last updated on April 18, 2024. The colorful caboose that generations once looked for at the end of every freight train is now a thing of the past, replaced by modern technology. Email Newsletter. Get the newest photos, videos, stories, and more from Trains.com brands.General Model Train Discussion. Caboose Info Required. 3192 Views 24 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Old_Hobo, Sep 1, 2015. Cycleops ...The word caboose was originally a nautical term meaning “a house on deck where the cooking is done.”. As applied to trains, however, it meant the very last car. The train crew often used the ...While cabooses are no longer used in regular freight train operations, some heritage railways and tourist trains still use cabooses for passenger excursions and special events. These cabooses have been restored and maintained for historical and nostalgic purposes, giving visitors a glimpse into the past of rail transportation.Trains magazine offers railroad news, railroad industry insight, commentary on today's freight railroads, passenger service (Amtrak), locomotive technology, railroad preservation and history, railfan opportunities (tourist railroads, fan trips), and great railroad photography.0:04. 1:26. DINGMANS FERRY, Pa. - Questions about cabooses have come to train historian Rudy Garbely from across the Northeast, so he decided to address those questions in a book. That book ...Is caboose still in RVB? Caboose is almost killed after finding a penny but is saved by Carolina. Do train locomotives have bathrooms? Train engineers go to the built-in locomotive bathroom, located in the front hood area of the locomotive. Depending on the year and model of the engine, some bathrooms have better options than others. Do trains still have cabooses, The only other option is brass. OTOH, if I had decided to model the Pennsy? Cabooses would be beating down my door. Tom *A few months ago I found three WM kits for sale on eBay. Jumped all over them for $25 ea. Once I build them up and correct the minor issues with the Trix NYC caboose, I'll have a nice offering of accurate NYC cabooses., A penny left on a track does not typically derail a train. A train speeding along its track is a very heavy object with an immense amount of momentum. The penny is simply too light to do much of anything. … Flattening pennies using trains is still dangerous though; to the people placing the pennies.Q. Has anyone ever survived the... , The cabooses, with CRI&P numbers 17082-17211, were built in 1967, 1968, 1970, and 1971 for Union Pacific and leased to Rock Island. ( Read more about the proposed UP-CRI&P merger) The 130 caboose cars were delivered to Rock Island in Rock Island's red paint scheme. The first 25 cars (CRI&P 17082-17106) were solid red., In all these games a caboose is a good end of train marker. Especially on a pick up/drop off freight where what car is on the end of your train might change. If your train goes past and the last car isn’t the caboose, you know you’ve messed up somewhere. #5. zaroxilphukiir Dec 11, 2023 @ 12:48am., It seems that most of the American public know about the venerable caboose - but when they see a train, they almost never have a caboose! Why is that? Let's ..., 1. When did they stop using cabooses on trains? 2. What was the purpose of cabooses on trains? 3. How did the end of cabooses impact the railroad industry? 4. What replaced cabooses on trains? 5. Did the removal of cabooses lead to any job losses? 6. Were cabooses entirely phased out, or are there still some in use today? 7. What features of ..., La Junta RSD5 2120 and Caboose 1904 with broken wig-wag. Caboose 1904 with broken wig-wag Former radio equipped caboose - has side vent panel but no antenna ground plane. 1566 with large wig-wag on work train in Texas June 1959. Jay Miller sweepings 64., Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... If I had a layout , i would use cabooses on a few of my SOO trains ..., SPENCER, N.C. - Volunteers from the North Carolina Transportation Museum have repainted former Atlantic Coast Line caboose No. 0635 to its original ACL orange scheme with black lettering. It is the second restored Atlantic Coast Line caboose at the museum. According to Larry Goolsby of the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Historical ..., Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:06 am. lvrr325 wrote: Technically they never stopped using cabooses, however their use after the mid-1980s was limited to local trains that may have needed to perform back-up operations; for instance the locals out of Geneva NY, one of which worked the mainline, both had assigned cabooses in 1992-1995., For cars with metal trucks and frames, this is no problem; simply attach the wire anywhere on the car frame. For trucks that have plastic side frames, you need to find another way to get the power from the wheels to the bulb socket. Lionel often uses copper wipers against the axles to accomplish this., So generally speaking, cabooses could be eliminated on all railroads at nearly the same time. Also, the removal of the requirement still allows a railroad on it's own to keep a caboose on a job if it determines it's still needed. Cabooses still in service have been repurposed. Most are now technically "shoving platforms.", A Custom Line turnout will have a short throwbar shaped like a "T," protruding on one side only. To install the Caboose 202 throws on Custom Line turnouts, I first cut the side "ears" off the "T" on the Atlas turnout, leaving only the straight part of the throwbar, and also cut the plastic pin from the bottom of the Caboose throw., Jim Hediger. “Today’s caboose costs about $80,000 — more than the cost of most freight cars — and weighs about 25 tons. It can be replaced with a box that costs about $4,000 and weighs 35 pounds. The end-of-train monitor doesn’t have to be switched through terminals and doesn’t require expensive maintenance …., Here in Columbus, GA, NS had spotted a red bay window caboose that had no markings except for a car number beginning with "X". This car would disappear when the railroad ran a "way freight" up the spur to a plywood/ pressed wood products mill north of town, and reappear when the train reappeared in town., Traveling by train is not only a convenient and comfortable way to reach your destination, but it can also offer some incredible scenic views along the way. However, train tickets ..., But if there are no grounds to have a caboose on a train based on utility or finance, some train workers — and train enthusiasts — argue that there's a sentimental case for them. Kevin Keefe ..., By Cecil Adams. Aug 20, 1992, 11:00pm PDT. Dear Cecil: Why don't freight trains have cabooses anymore? George, Dallas. Cecil replies: Don't need 'em, and besides, it's cheaper this way. There used to be two guys in the caboose: the conductor and a brakeman. The conductor did paperwork, the brakeman threw switches, and they both watched ..., Manufacturing of the Iconic Train Car Stopped in 1981, But They Still Hold a Special Place in American Pop Culture.Americans have many icons. But those dealing with the exploration and expansion of the United States seem especially beloved: stagecoaches, steamboats, trains—and the railroad caboose., The cars had roller-bearing caboose trucks, an X-panel roof, and welded sides and ends. The prototype cabooses didn't have end ladders or running boards. The C-27A class was the last group of cabooses ordered by the C&O. They were also the only bay-window cars owned by that railroad, a longtime user of cupola-style cabooses. A closer look, An ETD on a container train in 2005. The end of train device (ETD), sometimes referred to as an EOT, flashing rear-end device (FRED) or sense and braking unit (SBU) is an electronic device mounted on the end of freight trains in replacement of a caboose.They are divided into three categories: "dumb" units, which only provide a visible indication of the rear of the train with a flashing red ..., But if there are no grounds to have a caboose on a train based on utility or finance, some train workers — and train enthusiasts — argue that there's a sentimental case for them. Kevin Keefe, former editor of Trains magazine, conceded that cabooses weren't needed anymore. But he told the Chicago Tribune in 1995, "The caboose is just …, Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... Do you use cabooses on your layout? Posted by joeyegarner on Wednesday ..., Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums., A Two cabooses, Nos. 101 and 102, carry that reporting mark, and they are currently owned by Houston-based Specialized Rail Transport. The reporting marks, however, refer to PHN LLC, one of several Midwestern companies that make up Lake Superior Services. Lake Superior Warehousing Co. Inc., another of these companies, acquired the cars in ..., Dec 30, 2019 · Dominic Mazoch posted: 1. PRR did have some cabooses for a while on some Mail and Express trains. trumptrain posted: As stated by Dominic M., earlier in this thread, the PRR included a caboose on the end of mail and express trains for a period of time. These cabooses were fitted with high speed passenger trucks. , We have a couple of trains in the Richmond, VA area that still use cabooses. The daily local between Richmond and Crewe uses one because the train has to back up between the former NW yard in Crewe, VA and the connection with the former SOU line., TrueLine Trains' wood caboose represents CP's common design for wood vans. The Rapido Trains steel van is a more modern 1970s welded design. For other steel CP caboose designs you're pretty much stuck with sourcing out brass models that have been produced by Overland and Van Hobbies, or resorting to American stand-in models …, Model Railroader is the world's largest magazine on model trains and model railroad layouts. We feature beginner and advanced help on all model railroading scales, including layout track plans, model railroad product reviews, model train news, and model railroad forums. ... I love cabooses, but I want to run modern intermodal container trains ..., In fact, at one time Federal law mandated that every freight train have a caboose at the rear for safety. The caboose would typically have a red light at it’s rear signifying the end of the train. The early caboose typically carried a conductor, brakeman and flagman. At one time a caboose was, like other rail cars, made of wood., A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, damage to equipment and cargo, and overheating axles . Originally flatcars fitted with cabins or modified box ..., Do Passenger Trains Have A Caboose? Today, cabooses are not used by American railroads, but before the 1980s, every train ended in a caboose, usually painted red, but sometimes painted in colors which matched the engine at the front of the train. The purpose of the caboose was to provide a rolling office for the train’s conductor and the ..., Eilif. 1218 posts · Joined 2017. #25 · Jun 16, 2020. Some good looking cabeese here! Here's one I worked up recently. My attempt at using some minor tweaks to bring an Athearn BB a bit closer to prototype. Still wouldn't call it prototypical, but it's a definite improvement and I like it. More pics and process here: