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Post by jojoba on Jan 13, 2020 2:33:21 GMT -5
Hi all,
First off, I am very new here. I don't live in America and my knowledge of (American) trains is somewhat limited. We do have trains here and I travel by train more or less every day, but yeah...
I was just wondering about the accuracy of the markings on the trains made my AZL. I was looking over some of the paint schemes and something on the Southern Pacific engines caught my eye - especially on the GP9 series.
On Wikipedia they are numbered in the 5000's something, ranging from 5600 to 5891. AZL GP9 engines from SP are numbered 3004-3006.
Is this something that is not an important detail for scale modelers?
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Post by ztrack on Jan 13, 2020 7:52:44 GMT -5
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Post by markm on Jan 13, 2020 9:01:20 GMT -5
Jojaba, Welcome to the forum and perhaps Z scale? Prototypical accuracy is rather important to Z scale modelers, thanks in part to AZL's attention to details. The SP GP9 numbering is a somewhat complex issue, which it appears Wikipedia hasn't quite reported. The road numbers depend on whether the unit was built for SP or one of it's subsidiaries, the type of equipment and the era. The equipment at various times and locations were numbered in the 200, 3000, 3100, 3400, 5600 and 5800 series. Here's a couple of references as to their history and numbering: espee.railfan.net/spgp09p.htmlwww.trainweb.org/sp5623/gp9.htmRob is right about passenger service. A number of these units were used in the San Francisco-San Jose commuter service. The units with the torpedo tubes were used on the Del Monte, a San Francisco-Monterrey passenger train than ran as an extension of the commuter service. They were also used for freight along the same route. As for prototype accuracy, these models are quite good. The only exception I've noted is the absence of the roof mounted taillight or Mars light:  Hope this helps, Mark |
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Post by dazed on Jan 13, 2020 11:56:08 GMT -5
Given that most Z-scalers I've ever been around don't care much about these types of things, I think AZL does a pretty good job in this area. Especially on locomotives where most of the attention is paid. (and btw, nice info on the SP units, gents. Thanks for sharing.)
Freight cars can be a different story but, again, likely not something most in Z care or know about. It can get frustrating when most of the information is handed to them on a silver platter, (by mfgs in larger scales, et al) and their decoration is otherwise superb. They seem to be getting better about this though, so that's good.
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Post by jojoba on Jan 13, 2020 15:03:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcome, much appreciated! RR Picture Archives - of course, how could I have skipped checking that website. How silly of me! Thanks for the reminder! I have not yet had the pleasure to delve into model railroading, but I have since the last couple of months started to look into it. I am not an experienced modeler but I still like things to be somewhat accurate. I live in Scandinavia myself, but I prefer the look of the American freight trains compared to the European counterparts. As I am limited on space, Z scale seems to be the perfect size for me. I might start out with a small yard of some sort and if I find it interesting I'll build from there. Thanks for the input!  |
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Post by markm on Jan 13, 2020 16:20:20 GMT -5
We have several active members from Scandinavia. Perhaps they'll introduce themselves.
I'd suggest adding an oval around a small yard. It would give you more of a chance to get operating experience.
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Post by jojoba on Jan 20, 2020 13:51:13 GMT -5
Any tips on "where" to start? What railway company, and why? I am leaning towards Southern Pacific. I like the colors of the engines and they also have a lot of different freight cars (from AZL).
Do the railway companies often run with cars from other companies?
Others I find interesting is the Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. Not sure how interesting it would be to have a freight train of more or less only one type of car/freight though?
Is there a place where I can find more information on typical train compositions?
Thanks again!
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Post by markm on Jan 20, 2020 21:33:30 GMT -5
Such basic questions and so many answers. I model western railroads after 1950, so my responses are somewhat biased along those lines. Here's a few ideas...
Most of the major railroads produced documentary films and many are online. As an example the Southern Pacific "This is my Railroad" should get you started:
There are also a number of train fan videos. These can help you decide the railroad, region and era you want to model.
While obviously railroads preferred to run their own cars, the ownership of cars on any particular train will vary. Generally, there will be cars from various railroads, primarily from the operating region, or cars owned by manufacturers or leasing companies. So even though you might be modeling Southern Pacific, there would be cars from Union Pacific, Western Pacific, Santa Fe or maybe even a car from the state of Maine.
The trains are run in various formats. There are unit trains that run a single item to or from a location. Examples are the tank car trains associated with oil and chemical production; fruit and vegetable express trains, container trains, coal trains, etc. But there are also mix load, merchandise or manifest trains with all variety of cars meant for one or more distribution sites:
You can find videos examples of all these trains and more online.
And of course online is a good place to ask questions. hope this helps,
Mark
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Post by jojoba on Jan 21, 2020 10:42:37 GMT -5
I'll take a look at the videos - thanks a lot Mark! |
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Post by husafreak on Jan 26, 2020 14:30:23 GMT -5
Great video Mark, loved the last auto blasting through the red flashing lights, death race 1000! the variety of cars, a good example. Not a huge fan of all the graffiti though! And why are center beam flat cars always empty? LOL
I did a road trip from the San Francisco Bay Area last summer, all the way up to Banff Canada and back. The trains often ran beside the roads and I loved watching them. Yes I took videos from my car too, or had my wife do them when I was driving. I got home and spent a bunch of dough putting together a CP Rail train like the ones I saw up north. So if you are interested in modeling current hardware I highly recommend doing your own recognizance. I didn’t plan any of that trip to see trains but it is my favorite train on my layout now. A lot of guys here like to pick a train from their past and research that. I tried to find “all encompassing “ train books when I started researching them but most book s are very specialized, which is actually good if you are interested in a particular type. But only in videos or real life do you really get to see all of the variety of cars.
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Post by markm on Jan 26, 2020 17:44:13 GMT -5
Great video Mark, loved the last auto blasting through the red flashing lights, death race 1000! the variety of cars, a good example. Not a huge fan of all the graffiti though! And why are center beam flat cars always empty? LOL Thanks. I tried to pick a modern era trains with good variety that I'd had some familiarity with. These trains run through the California Central Valley and I've watched them several times from the comfort of the Lodi train station about noon time. I'm not a big fan of graffiti either, although this is something of a modeling moment. It seems to be far more common on cars that run in manifest service where cars get dropped off here and there. Unit trains seem to be far more graffiti-free: The video is one of a northbound train so the center beam cars are generally empty on their way to Oregon. The south-bound train is a different story: I agree it's great when you can see the railroad and get a feel for not only the trains but their motions and the countryside they operate in. However, if you're half way around the world, like jojoba, videos are the next best thing. BTW at the Sacramento show show this month, there was a vendor, Central Hobbies, that acquired an extensive collection of Canadian rolling stock from an estate. You might want to watch for them at the San Jose show next month or the Pleasanton show in March. Mark |
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Post by husafreak on Jan 28, 2020 9:16:24 GMT -5
I will! And that is a lot of lumber.
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