USA Steam Transition Era Rolling Stock - make your suggestions.
- Thread starter frogpipe
- Start date
Here is a 70 ton AAR ribside hopper as well. It still needs more work than that tank car, but it is a crucial part of early diesel Appalachian roads that I like to model. These would be state of the art and brand new in the 1950s.
On another note, I sorely wish there was new passenger equipment of the era coming out. Freight is good, but to really complete 1950s scenes you need some passenger activity since it was still pretty common even if it was on the decline. I have turned up a few drawings and plans, but I just don't know enough about passenger rail in the 1950s to know what is what. Smooth-sided vs fluted Budd vs ACF vs Pullman etc. There are so many variations in cars that look similar, but have a lot of key differences upon closer inspection. I would love to have some of the classic named passenger trains zipping down the lines beside all this new freight rolling stock. That seems a long way off, but I can still dream.
On another note, I sorely wish there was new passenger equipment of the era coming out. Freight is good, but to really complete 1950s scenes you need some passenger activity since it was still pretty common even if it was on the decline. I have turned up a few drawings and plans, but I just don't know enough about passenger rail in the 1950s to know what is what. Smooth-sided vs fluted Budd vs ACF vs Pullman etc. There are so many variations in cars that look similar, but have a lot of key differences upon closer inspection. I would love to have some of the classic named passenger trains zipping down the lines beside all this new freight rolling stock. That seems a long way off, but I can still dream.
WOW!! Those are some mighty fine looking cars! Nice work opus! As for passenger cars, I am waiting for a Pullman coach. The route I'm doing would only use one in a mixed train. Perhaps they might have brought in something fancier when the politicians needed to spread the word out in the boonies.
Since frogpipe started this I've picked up some great rolling stock! I got TS12 and went right at building my route. I "finished" it about a week ago and started looking for rolling stock. After getting libl's cars, a couple of others, and seeing these, I now know there is indeed top notch rolling stock available for the late steam era. I kind of fell like I entered the "brass section" in a model railroad hobby shop!
Cheers....Rick
Since frogpipe started this I've picked up some great rolling stock! I got TS12 and went right at building my route. I "finished" it about a week ago and started looking for rolling stock. After getting libl's cars, a couple of others, and seeing these, I now know there is indeed top notch rolling stock available for the late steam era. I kind of fell like I entered the "brass section" in a model railroad hobby shop!
Cheers....Rick
Kennilworth
Active member
Hi
I have followed this thread with great interest. Although I am mainly interested in UK modelling I have really enjoyed using the Sherman Hill route over the past three years but I'm not very clued up on US practice. This thread has inspired me to look again at the route in a more prototypical way. Could someone give me some idea of the length and frequency of freight trains in the transition era for this route and what would be suitable diesel power for this period?
Thank you in advance for any help that may be given.
Regards
Brian
I have followed this thread with great interest. Although I am mainly interested in UK modelling I have really enjoyed using the Sherman Hill route over the past three years but I'm not very clued up on US practice. This thread has inspired me to look again at the route in a more prototypical way. Could someone give me some idea of the length and frequency of freight trains in the transition era for this route and what would be suitable diesel power for this period?
Thank you in advance for any help that may be given.
Regards
Brian
The answer to your question is going to be highly dependent upon the era, and operating philosophy of the railroad company operation. Sherman Hill, though, is a specific location which has been under operation by a carrier who favored both speed and power, the UP, which was responsible for developing many of the large locomotives in the US, the Challenger, the Big Boy, the Centennial diesels, (to note the successful ones), and experiments with Gas Turbines, to name some less successful ones. While I have no personal direct experience with Sherman Hill, I've always known UP to operate long trains (I remember in 1957, counting a 130 car UP freight on the main line across Nebraska, but this was not Sherman Hill) with power needed to operate at significant speeds--50, 60, or more miles per hour. This was in part because UP operated large quantities of time sensitive cargo (like fresh produce). By contrast, the N&W in Virginia also used large locomotives, but they used them on much slower moving "drag freights". Partly this was because their right of way had many move curves than the UP's did, and they couldn't operate very fast, anyway. But it was also a matter that the commodity they were hauling--coal, for the most part--was not particularly time sensitive, and it made less difference in value if it arrived the next day or the next week. But the N&W still ran long trains, with big locomotives, but ones that were not built for a great deal of speed.
ns
Kennilworth
Active member
Hi
Many thanks for your reply. It has given me food for thought and I'll try searching for video and photographs of the route in transition days which, if I can find any, will hopefully give me further information.
Regards
Brian
Many thanks for your reply. It has given me food for thought and I'll try searching for video and photographs of the route in transition days which, if I can find any, will hopefully give me further information.
Regards
Brian
Maybe not only that, but brake shoe smoke as well? Before diesels and dynamic braking, train brakes were all there were, and there was plenty of brake shoe smoke when checking a heavy train's speed going downhill. It is possible to have a script so that when above a certain speed, if the train brakes are applied you get the brake shoe smoke?
That would be cool since I model the 1940's and have lots of vintage pictures with said smoke.
Thank you all for the encouragement and good wishes.
Here's some further info on what I have planned. The images so far are an riveted & uninsulated 10,000 gallon Type 21. These were built from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. The riveted and welded versions are essentially identical other than the lack of rivets on the welded one. They were pretty common with GATX alone operating nearly 40k of themand a dozen other owners with more than 10k a piece. Some were owned by the railroads themselves for transporting fuel. I have only seen photos of SP and ACL, but apparently ATSF and UP owned a big chunk of them too. Hopefully, once I get this one sorted out, I can swap out the main tank for an insulated version or add on the walkway and larger ladder around the dome that later cars had.
The more modern looking welded & frameless cars without pressure domes were introduced in the mid 1950s to replace these, but I haven't turned up any info on how common these would have been. Those are boring anyways.
Something extra though since I was looking through some old slides and saw that stock cars were still in use during the middle part of the 1950s. I previously believed that these were discarded by the end of the 1940s, but further research yielded that there were still over 50k cars in revenue service in 1950. They were certainly on the way out, but there were enough of them trudging along to be useful on a 1950s layout.
Here's some further info on what I have planned. The images so far are an riveted & uninsulated 10,000 gallon Type 21. These were built from the early 1930s to the early 1950s. The riveted and welded versions are essentially identical other than the lack of rivets on the welded one. They were pretty common with GATX alone operating nearly 40k of themand a dozen other owners with more than 10k a piece. Some were owned by the railroads themselves for transporting fuel. I have only seen photos of SP and ACL, but apparently ATSF and UP owned a big chunk of them too. Hopefully, once I get this one sorted out, I can swap out the main tank for an insulated version or add on the walkway and larger ladder around the dome that later cars had.
The more modern looking welded & frameless cars without pressure domes were introduced in the mid 1950s to replace these, but I haven't turned up any info on how common these would have been. Those are boring anyways.
Something extra though since I was looking through some old slides and saw that stock cars were still in use during the middle part of the 1950s. I previously believed that these were discarded by the end of the 1940s, but further research yielded that there were still over 50k cars in revenue service in 1950. They were certainly on the way out, but there were enough of them trudging along to be useful on a 1950s layout.
http://utahrails.net/ Mucho data on UP operations, rosters, etc. takes a little drilling down but pretty amazing stuff.
Kennilworth
Active member
Hi
Thank you normhart. That site is amazing and should keep me occupied for days.
Regards
Brian
Thank you normhart. That site is amazing and should keep me occupied for days.
Regards
Brian
trainbrain_02
SP Nerd
Trainz 12 came with tons of boxcars... Some had regular couplers and looked AMAZING with the JR GN F7
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