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Hi Everyone!

You all know that my primary interest is in researching and sharing prototype photographs of the railroad scene in and around Duluth-Superior.
But you're probably not aware of my level of involvement in a small part of the much larger model train hobby industry.  I've been designing and painting fine brass model locomotives and railroad cars for 40+ years.

When Dan Glasure at BrassTrains.com invited me to be one of his guests at the 2016 Brass Expo last November it started a grass roots effort to bring back a quality source of professional custom painting for fine brass model trains right here in the USA.  Then in March I was invited to help a new brass model train factory to set up a new paint shop in South Korea.  So the big news this month is that construction of my new custom paint shop here in the USA was completed about two months ahead of schedule.  I'm in a brand new space with all new equipment and can handle steam locomotives ranging in size from an HO scale 0-4-0 to the Big Boy 4-8-8-4 in O Scale.

Production volume is strictly limited and available on a first-come first-served basis. I'm taking orders based on the kinds of projects that fit best into my shop process so that every job comes and goes from the monthly que without delay. Please click either image to learn more now.



My research archive is strongly positioned to support most any kind of project that involves railroads represented in the Twin Ports region, not limited to the Burlington Northern, Chicago & North Western, Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific, Great Northern, Milwaukee Road, Missabe Road, Northern Pacific, and Soo Line.  As you'll see, I am familiar with most other major railroad painting practices too.  So most anything standard guage or narrow gauge fits into my shop processes rather seemlessly.

I think it's important to fully understand all that's involved with this kind of custom work.  There's so much more to it than knowing how to properly clean and paint bare metal.  Steam locomotives require about 8 hours of labor at minimum and can take as many as 20 hours.  When you know the full story and everything that's involved, it becomes easier to understand and justify the level of investment required to paint and weather these limited edition hand-made collectibles.

I put together 20 pages of information to start with and it covers the basics of painting and weathering.  Future updates will include pictures of recently completed models and a colorful story to go with each of them.  I believe that this enhancement to my regular research and image restoration activities will enable me to tell very complete stories about railroad prototypes, their miniature scale-sized model counterparts, and exactly how the proper paint, lettering and weathering effects were applied to make each piece look so realistic.  I'm looking forward to sharing that with you.  

If you have a model or two that you want painted or weathered then please drop me a line for my current shop rate, my ballpark pricing guide, and current turn-around times.  Every client receives weekly updates on project status so that there is visibility into every job currently in que for painting. 
 
My Zenith City and Beyond 2016 digital image disc cont in ues to be available at a reduced price to e-Newsletter subscr ibers. Yo ur small donation enables me to continue this work through 2017, and beyond. The CD contains 500 digital display images from my Flic kr a lbums covering the Twin Ports of Duluth, Superior and surrounding communities---including the Mesabi Range. Donating to this cause REALLY is what keeps my newsletter up and running. Please help me to keep things going by donating today.
To get your own CD today, click the donate button now...    undefined 

On ZCO for April is my story "Blue Collar Blues at Missabe Junction". Please click the ZCO logo to read it now.  
 
As always, thanks very much for your continued interest and kind support.       
 
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Cheers! 
Jeff
Jeff Lemke 
Twin Ports Rail History
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Contents Copyright © 2014-2017 Jeff Lemke Twin Ports Rail History All Rights Reserved. Contact us for permission to re-use or re-publish any content listed here, on our web or Flickr site, or on any of our Twin Ports Rail History Time Machine and Zenith City and Beyond digital image discs. We're happy to work with you on your project but need to hear from you first. Thanks very much for your consideration!