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Post by ciccino on Sept 14, 2017 8:42:42 GMT -5
Hello.
Is there any place online where I can find out the era of US locos and rolling stock, available in Z scale? European firms like Marklin and Fleischmann always indicate the era of their products. This is very useful to recreate prototypical trains.
For US passenger trains I usually manage to find out this info, but for freight trains this is almost impossible!
For instance, I recently purchased a Wisconsin Central SD45, together with a bunch of CN bethgon coal porters. Does it make sense, from real-life perspective? Which other AZL cars could accompany my WC loco?
And what about the black widow SP F3AB? Did these locos ever pull 51' ACF Cylindrical Hoppers, or rather they were scratched before the introduction of the hoppers?
To make things more difficult for the poor European modeler, I get many locos and cars were introduced and/or dismissed in different eras by the various US railroads, meaning that a given combination of loco + cars would make sense only for specific railroads
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Post by markm on Sept 14, 2017 14:48:09 GMT -5
I'm afraid the short answer to your question, in any scale, is no. Manufacturers frequently will provide builder information on the cars and locos, but because of the intricacies of US railroad ownership as well as rolling stock ownership it is really hard to divide things into eras. For accurate modeling, one really needs to become familiar with the specific railroads.
As an example to answer your SP question. Most of the SP F3A/B 6000/8000 series units were transferred to T&NO subsidiary in 1949, well before the ACL hoppers, where they were renumbered (only) as 600/700 series and run on that road until the mid-1950s when they were rebuilt as similar looking F9s. These units were eventually incorporated back into the SP fleet and retired by the mid-1960s.... Except for number F3As 6172 & 6177 and a number of B units which stayed on the SP at least through 1966. So the cylindrical hoppers, which from my data were built starting in 1961, could have been pulled by certain road numbers.
I could fill the forum which such examples just from SP and WP, but I think I've made my point.
If you aren't into railroad history, just ask on the forum for specifics for a particular road. There are enough of us into the history that I'm certain you'd get a good response.
Hope this helps,
Mark
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Post by ciccino on Sept 14, 2017 16:01:13 GMT -5
Mark,
thank you very much for your thorough reply!
I hope, in time, to learn more and more about the fascinating history of US railroads. Luckily, I am mostly interested in a very limited period: the so called transition era (even though I bought some SD70ACEs, but that is not so much History as Modernity :-P)
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Post by markm on Sept 14, 2017 16:47:11 GMT -5
Happy to oblige. I should point out that even the so called transition era is not well defined. The Great Western Railroad (of Colorado) operated steam locomotives until 1983: www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?id=GWRSo the possibility exists for steam engines to be exchanging cars with the SD45...if you model northern Colorado. Mark |
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Post by dazed on Sept 14, 2017 16:51:39 GMT -5
I love those old WC SD45's...one of the sharper locos on the rails. It would be rare to see an SD45 pulling CN bethgons, but if any were it would be the Wisconsin Central probably. (WC became part of CN in 2002) If it were me, I would run that SD45 with a CN SD75I to pull that train. You could pair it with a CN ES44 or 70ACe too but you're pushing the limits as the overlap of eras was extremely short at that point. (WC SD45's pretty much gone by 2007, and I would be surprised if they commonly--if ever--got lashed up with the brand new power.) If you go with a newer unit, I would pick the ES44 as it could stand in for an older AC4400 which at least had a fighting chance of pulling a coal train alongside an SD45.
Outside of the coal, almost all of the AZL freight cars are good around that 2007 timeframe, and most for several years prior. About the only glaring one would be the JA Autoracks, delivered around 2004. Everything else is late 90's or before. EDIT: Also the TrinCool reefers, they started hitting the rails around 2001 I think, maybe 2000. Mark covered the SP question.
I say all the above simply to answer your question, I'm not implying that you HAVE to do any of that. Personally, researching eras and freight cars is a big part of the fun for me, but I recognize that it's not for everyone. And especially in Z, you just don't have a lot of options...I have a LOT of "stand ins" on my roster. But to me the overall look of the train is ok so I'll get over it eventually. :-)
Anyway, I love this kind of stuff so if you ever want assistance post here or PM me!
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Post by ciccino on Sept 15, 2017 1:10:35 GMT -5
I love those old WC SD45's...one of the sharper locos on the rails. It would be rare to see an SD45 pulling CN bethgons, but if any were it would be the Wisconsin Central probably. (WC became part of CN in 2002) ... I say all the above simply to answer your question, I'm not implying that you HAVE to do any of that. Personally, researching eras and freight cars is a big part of the fun for me, but I recognize that it's not for everyone. I agree! I myself spent several cheerful hours researching online prototypical train consists pulled by the SP AC-12 cab forward! Freight trains are much harder to assess, though. I am happy to know that I can count on the help of knowledgeable and kind users of the forum :-) |
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Post by zdave on Sept 15, 2017 7:43:06 GMT -5
My layout is primarily modelling the first part of this century, although I've tried to make it generic enough that on a rough scale I could run anything from the fifties to now without it looking completely out of place. I enjoy studying prototype photos courtesy of railpictures.net and www.rrpicturearchives.net/. Amazingly, especially for Z scale, I've been able to identify not only the proper era locos and rolling stock for my desired era, but, at least for the locos, I've been able to pin down matching road numbers for locos which ran in my desired time-frame AND geographic location. Here's some examples. UP MoPac Heritage in Ohio   AZL MoPac Heritage 1982  UP 8370 in Ohio  AZL UP 8370  |
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Post by markm on Sept 16, 2017 11:00:36 GMT -5
You mentioned the AC-12. If your interest tends toward the SP may I suggest: espee.railfan.net/espee.htmlMany of the links are outdated, but much has been moved to new locations that you can search for. Particularly useful are the Don Lancaster images. Mark |
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Post by ciccino on Sept 16, 2017 13:12:38 GMT -5
You mentioned the AC-12. If your interest tends toward the SP may I suggest: espee.railfan.net/espee.htmlMany of the links are outdated, but much has been moved to new locations that you can search for. Particularly useful are the Don Lancaster images. Mark Mark! That's precisely where I spent several hours. Fantastic site. Thank you, Marco (aka, Ciccino) |
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