What Rolling Stock Should I Use?

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Dear Trainz Forum,

I've been trying to go for realism on my steam and freight consists, what rolling stock do you recommend I use?

For Steam, I usually use 40 ft Boxcars, and a few 50 foot boxcars. Which Covered Hoppers or Tankers should I use?

For Diesels, I usually use 50 ft, 60 ft, and 86 ft Boxcars.

 

[soap__]

That's a loaded question. It depends on your railroad, exact era, etc.

Normally what I do for realistic freight consists is look up videos of prototypical trains of the railroad/location/era I'm looking for, and then do my best to replicate them with the rolling stock available in Trainz. Freight cars from Jointed Rail are super high quality if graphical fidelity is something you're interested in. If you're willing to use older content, the absolute variety of cars that majekear and rgcx have uploaded to the DLS is unmatched.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

That's a loaded question. It depends on your railroad, exact era, etc.

Normally what I do for realistic freight consists is look up videos of prototypical trains of the railroad/location/era I'm looking for, and then do my best to replicate them with the rolling stock available in Trainz. Freight cars from Jointed Rail are super high quality if graphical fidelity is something you're interested in. If you're willing to use older content, the absolute variety of cars that majekear and rgcx have uploaded to the DLS is unmatched.

Yeah, I've downloaded a great majority of rolling stock from both aforementioned content creators, along with content from JointedRail and TrainzForge.

A Majority of Steam Locomotives I have are from the following railroads:

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW)
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)
Southern Pacific Railroad (SP)
Union Pacific Railroad (UP)

Those are four railroads which I have an ample amount of Steam Locomotives for, I play Trainz: A New Era.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

For hoppers (I know this is just a model), but... Do you recommend this for my steam freight consists? Majekear makes ones that look close to this one. This Covered Hopper usually came up during searches when I looked up "ACF 70-Ton Covered Hopper" or "70-Ton Covered Hopper".

 

[frogpipe]

For me, freight rollingstock is lil'b or nothing

That means 40ft boxes. Anything they haven't done I do my best to match the style and detail level, preferring JR (which is where lil'b stuff is, under transition era) and their advanced scripted stock.

 

[RHKluckhohn]

For hoppers (I know this is just a model), but... Do you recommend this for my steam freight consists? Majekear makes ones that look close to this one. This Covered Hopper usually came up during searches when I looked up "ACF 70-Ton Covered Hopper" or "70-Ton Covered Hopper".

No, this car is appropriate for the diesel era. Covered hoppers like this did not come in to general use until the 1960s, by which time all the class A roads were dieselized. In the steam era bulk cargoes moved in either open hoppers, gondolas or boxcars. 40-foot to 50-foot boxcars were typical of the later steam era. Grain moved in boxcars fitted with removable "grain doors," which were wooden or steel-braced cardboard panels nailed inside the door opening, closing off the bottom of the door and leaving a space above for loading. Tank cars were 40-ft or shorter with simple cylinder tanks; single expansion domes were typical but there were a lot of 3-dome tankers in use. Both types are on the DLS. Automobiles were carried in specially-fitted boxcars easily identified by extra-wide doors or double doors. Trucks and other equipment moved on 30- to 50-ft flatcars, along with the items we commonly associate with flatcars -- structural metal, lumber, etc.

Hope this helps.
:B~)

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

I have all sorts of rolling stock from many creators, including lil'b.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Very interesting! Thank you for the info!

 

[whitepass]

Covered Hopper go back to at least 1939, also before 1970 a lot of Stock cars used.

 

[shebashetan7]

I tend to use Jointed Rail stock and reskins of it when covering the 60s to the 90s, since my 20s-50s collection is also made up of JR, Trainz Forge and other sources. I would recommend trying out NARM. mbv67 there has made loads of reskinned Jointed Rail freight cars. He has some more on the DLS.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Alright, I'll check it out in my spare time

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Another Question:

I'm planning to create a freight consist consisting of three, Southern Pacific EMD GP9s, which the GP9 is a diesel built from 1954 to 1963. After some very quick research, I found SP GP9s were in service up until the mid-to-late 1990s, until being retired or given to Progress Rail.

When were steam era freight cars retired from mainstream service?

What freight cars should I use for this consist?

 

[JCitron]

I remember seeing steam-era boxcars and flatcars as late as the early 1970s. These were steel cars and had roof racks on them.

 

[soap__]

Another Question:

I'm planning to create a freight consist consisting of three, Southern Pacific EMD GP9s, which the GP9 is a diesel built from 1954 to 1963. After some very quick research, I found SP GP9s were in service up until the mid-to-late 1990s, until being retired or given to Progress Rail.

When were steam era freight cars retired from mainstream service?

What freight cars should I use for this consist?

It seems like you're asking the same question over and over again.

North American freight consists are so varied that nobody will be able to tell you "Ok, here are a number of specific assets that you should use, and their KUIDs."

First, yes, GP9s were used for a long time on many railroads. Decide on an era that you're looking for. A consist behind three GP9s in 1963 will look very different from one in 1993. Then, and I really do believe this is the way, look up photos and videos. Get a feel for what types of freight cars are in consists during that era. Then you can go into your Trainz library and try to find similar ones and build a consist that way.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Alright, thank you for your advice. I will keep that in mind.

 

[AsianTrainMaster_45]

Okay, my last question for rolling stock for now... I really, really hope I don't sound foolish or uneducated (I did watch a few videos of SP freight consists from the 1960s, basically it was legit a video of explaining the use of train transportation and what cars were used).

Is it logical to include the following? (A long time ago, I learned about a term called "Junk Trains" which is basically every single type of freight car conglomerated into one big consist):

-Boxcars
-Coal/Covered Hoppers
-Flatcars
-Reefers
-Tankers

 

[RHKluckhohn]

Okay, my last question for rolling stock for now... I really, really hope I don't sound foolish or uneducated (I did watch a few videos of SP freight consists from the 1960s, basically it was legit a video of explaining the use of train transportation and what cars were used).

Is it logical to include the following? (A long time ago, I learned about a term called "Junk Trains" which is basically every single type of freight car conglomerated into one big consist):

-Boxcars
-Coal/Covered Hoppers
-Flatcars
-Reefers
-Tankers

Those all would be appropriate. Don't leave out gondolas and open auto racks. Reefers: by the 60's, the old ice boxes were still in use but rapidly being replaced by mechanical reefers.

:B~)

 

[whitepass]

Number of cars as of Dec. 1, 1945 US.
Box and automobile 732.331
Stock and poultry 53.169
Refrigerator 20,630
Flat 69,565
Gondola and hopper 872,808
Tank 9,011
Caboose and other 24,944
Other 10.885

 

[JCitron]

Pan Am Railways, now CSX still uses GP9s for switching. These were originally from the Boston and Maine and Maine Central.

 

[DARTrider]

If you’re doing 70’s manifests, here’s a good idea of what to use:

Boxcars
Tank cars
Open and semi-open autoracks
Gondolas
Covered hoppers
Open-top hoppers
Bulkhead flatcars
Flatcars
Spine cars
89 ft. TOFC flatcars
Woodchip gondolas
2-bay cement and sand hoppers

Don’t use:
Wellcars (not invented yet)
Closed autoracks (not invented yet)
Stock cars (animals stopped being shipped in the 70’s)
Old-style reefers (replaced by mechanical reefers)
1800’s and early 1900’s freight cars
High-Cube boxcars (not invented yet)
Mechanical Reefers (usually ran in their own dedicated consists)
GATX ‘Oil Cans’ (SP-Exclusive unit trains from Bakersfield to Los Angeles)
89 ft auto parts boxcars (not invented yet)
Anything excessively large