By this Spring, I had amassed 80 N scale locomotives. Of that number, 54 were modern units that could fit my prototype layout (the remainder were four present day units from the UK and 22 were "heritage" units, that is, older models that would not fit a 2014 prototype).
I decided to cull this fleet a bit for two reasons: I needed the money, and I was not happy with some of the models.
I came into this effort a big fan of KATO for their quality and reliability. Those aspects come at a price, of course. But I have also invested pretty heavily in Fox Valley Models. FVM seems to do a better job of detailing its locomotives than KATO. The ES44s each company offers is a good case in point. The KATO BNSF ES44ACs have a BNSF orange paint job that is too bright and too toy-like. It just looks fake. I had two more realistic looking FVM ES44ACs so the KATO models went on the chopping block.
So did my KATO Canadian Pacific units: an AC4400CW and ES44AC. I had two FVM CP ES44ACs to take over, but I would lose out on the only CP AC4400CW offered in N scale.
Finally, I put up for sale a KATO Norfolk Southern SD70M. It was another model not offered by anyone else. So why deal it?
I do not run DCC and one major con of that decision is not being able to program locomotives to match speeds. If I run multiple units, they have to have the same engine speed. This is not a problem if I run two FVM ES44ACs or two KATO SD70ACes. "Mixing and matching" different manufacturers was a bit easier in HO but not so in N. KATO engine drives, like Athearn in HO, are hot rods. FVM and Atlas tend to run more at prototypical speeds.
While it's fun to take a speedster and run it full blast around your layout, one should know that in model railroading, speed is not a good thing. Speed ends up in derailments. Slowly but surely are the watchwords of this hobby. Sure, you can go to Fullerton and watch BNSF intermodals zoom by at 70+ mph. But most freights you'll ever see are far slower than that.
My early rush to buy anything that caught my fancy has resulted in some orphan locomotives. For example, my KATO KCS SD70ACe looks nice, but I have no other KATO KCS unit. I could run it in a mixed consist. But it won't run with my FVM KCSM ES44AC. Solution? I am putting the KATO unit up for sale and replacing it with a FVM KCS ES44AC!
I'd like to divest my fleet of KATO totally but I cannot. First, they are the only manufacturer to put out P42DCs and MP36s in N Scale. Those units must stay on my layout with its focus on passenger railroading.
KATO also beat FVM with its SD70ACes. I have at least seven: BNSF and UP and NS "heritage" units. If FVM ever do release their planned SD70ACes, I will have to think hard about swapping them out for the KATOs. Then I could run one big happy FVM family, at least for most of my mainline power.
As for my most recent Ebay sale, it didn't recoup quite what I hoped. The KATO units I sold were still widely available so bidders were looking for cut rate deals. I made around 55-60 on each unit, meaning I lost about 30-50 dollars on each. But rationalizing the fleet will allow for more variety in mixed consists and it's another lesson learned on this journey.
Adventures in N Scale Model Railroading Set in 2014 Illinois.
Monday, August 4, 2014
KATO N Scale Superliner II Transition Dorm/Sleepers!
Way back on February 11, 2014, I listed my N scale wish list. Number 1 was Amtrak Superliner II cars, in particular, I wrote:
Well scratch one sub-item off the list! KATO will be releasing a Transition Dorm/Sleeper in the October timeframe.
This car will finally make our KATO Superliner consists somewhat prototypical. In the last ten years, I have seen some Amtrak trains like the California Zephyr with a near Superliner I-only consist. But they always had a Transition Dorm/Sleeper.
The obvious outward difference between the Superliner Is built by Pullman-Standard and the Superliner IIs built by Bombardier are their axles. There may be other outward details I am not aware of. There are of course differences inside: the closets in roomettes, bathroom modules, lighting.
But if KATO has done up the axles for this Transition Dorm/Sleeper, how much harder would it be to do two four-car sets of Superliner IIs?
With some Superliner IIs, then our KATO Superliner trains can really get prototypical because again, even the mostly Superliner I or II consists will almost always have at least one car of the other type, beyond just the Transition Dorm/Sleeper.
KATO?
On a side note, I got to ride in a Transition Dorm/Sleeper in December 2008. I had booked my passage east rather late and was lucky to get a roomette in that car, which sometimes had roomettes open for public sale. The car was very quiet as most of the crew were away from it. It also had two additional showers upstairs (Superliner sleepers normally have but one downstairs). These showers were smaller than the downstairs version and I normally used them as large sinks as I hate the airline style faucets in most Superliner bathrooms.
Transition Dorm/Sleeper. These are all Superliner IIs and every Superliner train I've ever seen from 2004 onwards has had one. Such a model would require a new body mold as one of the vestibules on such cars is at normal height. This is probably an offering better suited as a KOBO custom offering. That said, I guess KATO figures N scale Amtrak car attendants can sleep in the aisles!
Well scratch one sub-item off the list! KATO will be releasing a Transition Dorm/Sleeper in the October timeframe.
This car will finally make our KATO Superliner consists somewhat prototypical. In the last ten years, I have seen some Amtrak trains like the California Zephyr with a near Superliner I-only consist. But they always had a Transition Dorm/Sleeper.
The obvious outward difference between the Superliner Is built by Pullman-Standard and the Superliner IIs built by Bombardier are their axles. There may be other outward details I am not aware of. There are of course differences inside: the closets in roomettes, bathroom modules, lighting.
But if KATO has done up the axles for this Transition Dorm/Sleeper, how much harder would it be to do two four-car sets of Superliner IIs?
With some Superliner IIs, then our KATO Superliner trains can really get prototypical because again, even the mostly Superliner I or II consists will almost always have at least one car of the other type, beyond just the Transition Dorm/Sleeper.
KATO?
On a side note, I got to ride in a Transition Dorm/Sleeper in December 2008. I had booked my passage east rather late and was lucky to get a roomette in that car, which sometimes had roomettes open for public sale. The car was very quiet as most of the crew were away from it. It also had two additional showers upstairs (Superliner sleepers normally have but one downstairs). These showers were smaller than the downstairs version and I normally used them as large sinks as I hate the airline style faucets in most Superliner bathrooms.
The Perils of Apartment Living
Work and the recent FIFA World Cup meant I had put aside work on Dewarville for some weeks. Now I face a decision. I live in an apartment and with ever-increasing rent, I doubt I will renew my lease when it expires next summer. So what of my layout?
Right now it's extruded foam insulation board on five folding tables with some--but not all--of thee KATO Unitrack glued (Elmer's) down. I've not done any landscaping yet.
But I have a choice to make. Do I work on it as if I were going to stay in my current place? If I do, what damage would be done if I have to disassemble it for a move?
If I hold off doing any landscaping, and then I stay in the apartment, a whole year would have been wasted.
In such high rent areas of America or with the uncertain housing market, many of us rent. And it's rare to rent in one place for the long term. Model railroad layouts are obviously meant to have some permanence. They cost a lot of money to develop.
I think there is a market for someone (KATO?) to develop model railroad modules that one could buy and assemble to place on a floor or table. These modules would have Unitrack and placements for structures and landscape elements. They would be rather easily disassembled and put back together again in another location.
I know that Woodland Scenics and some other niche companies offer such modules but they are expensive and not transportable.
My vision would of course be rather Genericville USA but I think a company could get creative. Imagine a set of urban modules, desert modules, mountain modules that could all be mixed and matched.
I know many model railroaders will scream that part of the hobby is slowing building up something from scratch. I get that and I admire those with the talent, patience, and money to do it. But for those of us without the time, patience, money, or permanent living conditions, I think a pre-assembled modular layout would be welcome.
Right now it's extruded foam insulation board on five folding tables with some--but not all--of thee KATO Unitrack glued (Elmer's) down. I've not done any landscaping yet.
But I have a choice to make. Do I work on it as if I were going to stay in my current place? If I do, what damage would be done if I have to disassemble it for a move?
If I hold off doing any landscaping, and then I stay in the apartment, a whole year would have been wasted.
In such high rent areas of America or with the uncertain housing market, many of us rent. And it's rare to rent in one place for the long term. Model railroad layouts are obviously meant to have some permanence. They cost a lot of money to develop.
I think there is a market for someone (KATO?) to develop model railroad modules that one could buy and assemble to place on a floor or table. These modules would have Unitrack and placements for structures and landscape elements. They would be rather easily disassembled and put back together again in another location.
I know that Woodland Scenics and some other niche companies offer such modules but they are expensive and not transportable.
My vision would of course be rather Genericville USA but I think a company could get creative. Imagine a set of urban modules, desert modules, mountain modules that could all be mixed and matched.
I know many model railroaders will scream that part of the hobby is slowing building up something from scratch. I get that and I admire those with the talent, patience, and money to do it. But for those of us without the time, patience, money, or permanent living conditions, I think a pre-assembled modular layout would be welcome.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Victory for Niche N Scale Amtrak Offerings!
KATO has recently given hope to those of us (okay just me?) who hope for modern offerings that admittedly appeal to just a niche of the modeling market.
First up is their Amtrak Pacific Parlour car that is for sale for $30 at Amtrak's online store. This was probably not a hard car for KATO to do as they had the mold from their Santa Fe El Capitan set. All they needed was to apply an Amtrak Phase IVb livery.
For the record, Overland Models offered the Pacific Parlour in HO scale in brass, but only in Phase IV livery.
Before KATO stepped up, N scalers who modeled the Coast Starlight could get away without a Pacific Parlour--I often see the train with a second Lounge substituting for any Pacific Parlour down for maintenance. But it's the Pacific Parlour that makes the Coast Starlight unique amongst all of Amtrak's long-distance trains. The small fleet of Pacific Parlours are also one of last vestiges of the pre-Amtrak era that modern riders can experience outside of Canada. The Starlight would never come near Dewarville but I had to have one for any future layout that I might have that would run the train. And there is always the possibility that the Santa Maria Valley might be tacked onto the Southwest Chief heading for repairs at Beech Grove!
KATO is also soon to release Auto Train aluminium auto racks! Previously, only HO scalers could really put together an Auto Train with the older auto racks and Deluxe Sleepers from Walthers. But none were in Phase IVb. These auto racks look so nice and it's such a niche Amtrak offering I'm tempted to buy some. But I haven't--so far--as I cannot imagine ever having a layout set on the East Coast. N scalers who do model Auto Train still need a Transition Dorm/Sleeper and Deluxe Sleepers to be prototypically correct. But hey, the biggest obstacle to being prototypical--the actual auto racks--is about to be surmounted.
First up is their Amtrak Pacific Parlour car that is for sale for $30 at Amtrak's online store. This was probably not a hard car for KATO to do as they had the mold from their Santa Fe El Capitan set. All they needed was to apply an Amtrak Phase IVb livery.
 |
| Photo from Amtrak Store |
For the record, Overland Models offered the Pacific Parlour in HO scale in brass, but only in Phase IV livery.
Before KATO stepped up, N scalers who modeled the Coast Starlight could get away without a Pacific Parlour--I often see the train with a second Lounge substituting for any Pacific Parlour down for maintenance. But it's the Pacific Parlour that makes the Coast Starlight unique amongst all of Amtrak's long-distance trains. The small fleet of Pacific Parlours are also one of last vestiges of the pre-Amtrak era that modern riders can experience outside of Canada. The Starlight would never come near Dewarville but I had to have one for any future layout that I might have that would run the train. And there is always the possibility that the Santa Maria Valley might be tacked onto the Southwest Chief heading for repairs at Beech Grove!
KATO is also soon to release Auto Train aluminium auto racks! Previously, only HO scalers could really put together an Auto Train with the older auto racks and Deluxe Sleepers from Walthers. But none were in Phase IVb. These auto racks look so nice and it's such a niche Amtrak offering I'm tempted to buy some. But I haven't--so far--as I cannot imagine ever having a layout set on the East Coast. N scalers who do model Auto Train still need a Transition Dorm/Sleeper and Deluxe Sleepers to be prototypically correct. But hey, the biggest obstacle to being prototypical--the actual auto racks--is about to be surmounted.
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| Photo from KATOUSA.com |
N Scale Wish List
In my last post, I talked about my need for modern railroading locomotives and rolling stock to keep up a modern layout. Whereas the offerings from model train manufacturers are so much better than it was when I was a child, there are of course items I'd love to see in N scale. Here's my wish list of five items, none of which I think would be too niche of an offering from Fox Valley Models, KATO, or Atlas and the like.
1. KATO Superliner IIs
In N scale, there is not going to be much visual difference between a Pullman-Standard Superliner I passenger car and a Bombardier Superliner II. The biggest visual difference in 1:1 scale is their trucks. I should think KATO could use their production molds for the body of the Superliner I and just fashion new trucks. Apply Phase IVb livery and voila! Why they've not done this is frustrating. Not having Superliner IIs is not a huge loss--Amtrak long-distance trains sometimes can be made up of mostly Superliner Is (I prefer them as they usually have a rebuilt sleeper with MUCH better and roomier communal bathrooms). But you usually see at least one Superliner II in such consists.
That said, the biggest absence for prototypical operation is the lack of an N scale Transition Dorm/Sleeper. These are all Superliner IIs and every Superliner train I've ever seen from 2004 onwards has had one. Such a model would require a new body mold as one of the vestibules on such cars is at normal height. This is probably an offering better suited as a KOBO custom offering. That said, I guess KATO figures N scale Amtrak car attendants can sleep in the aisles!
2. Gensets
Trains recently ran an article about how some of the hype for Gensets amongst Class Is has died down as they have operational considerations that are drawbacks for big railroads. But the fact remains that no locomotive manufacturer in North America has produced a switcher in decades and even almost all "new" road switchers now are rebuilds. Even if their hype has subsided, Gensets remain a common feature of most Class I railroad yards and yet nobody has offered them in N scale. To be fair, only Atlas Trainman has done so in HO scale and even then, just a limited number of road names.
3. 53' Trailers
I have BLMA spine cars and BLMA keeps putting more spine car sets out. Yet finding 53' trailers from carriers such as JB Hunt, Schneider National, and Swift is about impossible. Deluxe Innovations is supposed to be releasing some but there seems to be no specific delivery date.
4. Montana Rail Link Locomotives in Current Livery--Any!
MRL is one of my favorite railroads and yet there is nothing for N scale in the "Flying W" livery, never mind the current "red dot" one. You'd think KATO would see the money to be made in releasing some MRL SD70ACes. InterMountain Railway Company is set to release some SD45-2s in the "Flying W" but MRL no longer rosters such units.
5. (Tie) Viewliner IIs or Corridor Bilevels
Amtrak will soon introduce the new CAF-built Viewliner IIs and this seems a slam dunk for KATO which can reuse its Viewliner I molds in some cases. For those of us who model Western long distance trains, we may not see much impact from the Viewliner IIs right away but they certainly will show up as new baggage cars and maybe even baggage-dorm cars. At least the first real Viewliner IIs are painted in a Phase III livery which seems a natural fit for KATO to market with the 40th Anniversary P42DCs.
It may be a harder ask for Corridor bilevels like the California Cars and Surfliners of Amtrak California. But with new bilevels on their way for California and Illinois, it may appeal more to KATO or another manufacturer to release such cars as there might be more modelers interested in them.
1. KATO Superliner IIs
In N scale, there is not going to be much visual difference between a Pullman-Standard Superliner I passenger car and a Bombardier Superliner II. The biggest visual difference in 1:1 scale is their trucks. I should think KATO could use their production molds for the body of the Superliner I and just fashion new trucks. Apply Phase IVb livery and voila! Why they've not done this is frustrating. Not having Superliner IIs is not a huge loss--Amtrak long-distance trains sometimes can be made up of mostly Superliner Is (I prefer them as they usually have a rebuilt sleeper with MUCH better and roomier communal bathrooms). But you usually see at least one Superliner II in such consists.
That said, the biggest absence for prototypical operation is the lack of an N scale Transition Dorm/Sleeper. These are all Superliner IIs and every Superliner train I've ever seen from 2004 onwards has had one. Such a model would require a new body mold as one of the vestibules on such cars is at normal height. This is probably an offering better suited as a KOBO custom offering. That said, I guess KATO figures N scale Amtrak car attendants can sleep in the aisles!
2. Gensets
Trains recently ran an article about how some of the hype for Gensets amongst Class Is has died down as they have operational considerations that are drawbacks for big railroads. But the fact remains that no locomotive manufacturer in North America has produced a switcher in decades and even almost all "new" road switchers now are rebuilds. Even if their hype has subsided, Gensets remain a common feature of most Class I railroad yards and yet nobody has offered them in N scale. To be fair, only Atlas Trainman has done so in HO scale and even then, just a limited number of road names.
3. 53' Trailers
I have BLMA spine cars and BLMA keeps putting more spine car sets out. Yet finding 53' trailers from carriers such as JB Hunt, Schneider National, and Swift is about impossible. Deluxe Innovations is supposed to be releasing some but there seems to be no specific delivery date.
4. Montana Rail Link Locomotives in Current Livery--Any!
MRL is one of my favorite railroads and yet there is nothing for N scale in the "Flying W" livery, never mind the current "red dot" one. You'd think KATO would see the money to be made in releasing some MRL SD70ACes. InterMountain Railway Company is set to release some SD45-2s in the "Flying W" but MRL no longer rosters such units.
5. (Tie) Viewliner IIs or Corridor Bilevels
Amtrak will soon introduce the new CAF-built Viewliner IIs and this seems a slam dunk for KATO which can reuse its Viewliner I molds in some cases. For those of us who model Western long distance trains, we may not see much impact from the Viewliner IIs right away but they certainly will show up as new baggage cars and maybe even baggage-dorm cars. At least the first real Viewliner IIs are painted in a Phase III livery which seems a natural fit for KATO to market with the 40th Anniversary P42DCs.
It may be a harder ask for Corridor bilevels like the California Cars and Surfliners of Amtrak California. But with new bilevels on their way for California and Illinois, it may appeal more to KATO or another manufacturer to release such cars as there might be more modelers interested in them.
How Fast is Fast Production for Model Rolling Stock?
The pride of my N scale locomotive fleet are my two Fox Valley Models BNSF GE ES44C4s, #6600 and #6654. Why? Because they are the most current cutting edge locomotives that BNSF rosters. (If I were modeling HO scale, I'd still be waiting on an ES44C4 model, but that's another blog entry).
When you are modeling the present day, even down to the present minute, it's important that the model train manufacturers produce (enough) of the current range of locomotives and rolling stock to fill your layout. Consider that GE built its first ES44C4s in early 2009. FVM announced its ES44C4 model in October 2011 and delivered them to sellers some time thereafter. So from GE building the actual thing to FVM delivering an N scale model took just under three years.
I have no industry insider insight but I am sure that like most businesses, model train manufacturer product managers survey the real railroad scene, take customer feedback, and project interest for any potential offering. I'm sure that takes weeks to months. There may be licensing issues with a host railroad or locomotive/rolling stock manufacturer. The model train manufacturer has to do up its schematics for an N scale version. Then the manufacturer has to spool up production in China. The Chinese factories have to produce and those factories might be backlogged. Then the finish model has to find shipment to North America.
Model train manufacturers also can incur some risk. What if the ES44C4 had flopped? This calls to mind the late 90s fascination with 6000 horsepower locomotives. Broadway Limited Imports released the GE AC6000CW in HO Scale in the mid-2000s and in real-life, those disappointing units were on their way to the scrap heap. BLI was reduced to try and cash in on the model GEVO rush by producing AC6000CW in fantasy liveries similar to the ES44s that other manufacturers were doing up. This risk might make model manufacturers want to wait before committing to producing something brand new in the world of real railroading.
From a modeler's perspective, three years from introduction in real life to model form is outstanding. There were already ES44ACs and ES44DCs in N scale that a modern BNSF N scaler could utilize in the meantime. In addition, BNSF initially only ordered 25 of the model, making them rare system-wide. Now, subsequent orders has pushed the total of ES44C4s to several hundred, meaning they are no longer rare. But now, in 2014, you can get an FVM model of the ES44C4.
Fox Valley Models and KATO's production of the Norfolk Southern heritage units was even more speedy. Consider that most of the NS units were built in 2012 and now in 2014, you can get just about every single ES44AC or SD70ACe in model form. Of course, both FVM and KATO already had the production molds for the locomotives so it was a matter of just producing different paint jobs. Of course, FVM and KATO knew that there would be a huge market for NS' heritage program, which has been a success on all levels.
One of the reasons I lost interest in my teenage 1987 N scale layout was that I could read Trains magazine and see EMD's latest offerings in the GP60 and SD60 but there were no N scale models of them and none on the horizon. By 1987, both locomotives had been on the market for two and three years, respectively.
Let's imagine I had continued on with that layout. How long would I have had to wait to introduce both locomotives onto the layout? Try early 2001 for Atlas' SD60 and early 2004 for Life-Like's GP60! By 1988 or 1989, it would have been near impossible to model a wide range of modern operations in N scale.
Even if I had waited all those years for the GP60s and SD60s, by the early 2000s, SD60s were no longer top road power for high priority trains and GP60s were relegated to yard service or locals. So even their arrival in model form would not help that much to replicate modern operations.
Unique or rare locomotives like those that power East Coast commuter trains will probably never see model form, except maybe in brass. Model train manufacturers could not assure themselves of a big enough market for them. So a modeler is never going to have access to models of everything out there in 2014. I realize that. But 2014 does seem to be a golden era for manufacturers releasing a representative sample of current technology. Hopefully this continues or else my own model train universe won't move forward.
When you are modeling the present day, even down to the present minute, it's important that the model train manufacturers produce (enough) of the current range of locomotives and rolling stock to fill your layout. Consider that GE built its first ES44C4s in early 2009. FVM announced its ES44C4 model in October 2011 and delivered them to sellers some time thereafter. So from GE building the actual thing to FVM delivering an N scale model took just under three years.
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| Fox Valley Models ES44C4 Announcement |
Model train manufacturers also can incur some risk. What if the ES44C4 had flopped? This calls to mind the late 90s fascination with 6000 horsepower locomotives. Broadway Limited Imports released the GE AC6000CW in HO Scale in the mid-2000s and in real-life, those disappointing units were on their way to the scrap heap. BLI was reduced to try and cash in on the model GEVO rush by producing AC6000CW in fantasy liveries similar to the ES44s that other manufacturers were doing up. This risk might make model manufacturers want to wait before committing to producing something brand new in the world of real railroading.
From a modeler's perspective, three years from introduction in real life to model form is outstanding. There were already ES44ACs and ES44DCs in N scale that a modern BNSF N scaler could utilize in the meantime. In addition, BNSF initially only ordered 25 of the model, making them rare system-wide. Now, subsequent orders has pushed the total of ES44C4s to several hundred, meaning they are no longer rare. But now, in 2014, you can get an FVM model of the ES44C4.
Fox Valley Models and KATO's production of the Norfolk Southern heritage units was even more speedy. Consider that most of the NS units were built in 2012 and now in 2014, you can get just about every single ES44AC or SD70ACe in model form. Of course, both FVM and KATO already had the production molds for the locomotives so it was a matter of just producing different paint jobs. Of course, FVM and KATO knew that there would be a huge market for NS' heritage program, which has been a success on all levels.
One of the reasons I lost interest in my teenage 1987 N scale layout was that I could read Trains magazine and see EMD's latest offerings in the GP60 and SD60 but there were no N scale models of them and none on the horizon. By 1987, both locomotives had been on the market for two and three years, respectively.
Let's imagine I had continued on with that layout. How long would I have had to wait to introduce both locomotives onto the layout? Try early 2001 for Atlas' SD60 and early 2004 for Life-Like's GP60! By 1988 or 1989, it would have been near impossible to model a wide range of modern operations in N scale.
Even if I had waited all those years for the GP60s and SD60s, by the early 2000s, SD60s were no longer top road power for high priority trains and GP60s were relegated to yard service or locals. So even their arrival in model form would not help that much to replicate modern operations.
Unique or rare locomotives like those that power East Coast commuter trains will probably never see model form, except maybe in brass. Model train manufacturers could not assure themselves of a big enough market for them. So a modeler is never going to have access to models of everything out there in 2014. I realize that. But 2014 does seem to be a golden era for manufacturers releasing a representative sample of current technology. Hopefully this continues or else my own model train universe won't move forward.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Patched: BN to BNSF to My Layout
BNSF Railway is unquestionably my favorite current railroad but my heart will always belong to its predecessor, Burlington Northern. It's been 19 years since the BN-ATSF merger and while BNSF's fleet contains hundreds of patched units, they are becoming rarer as repainting and newer power sends the older units to the deadline.
As a paean to Burlington Northern, I wanted to add to my N scale fleet a patched Burlington Northern unit. But what kind? Nothing with Cascade Green still prowls the BNSF mainlines so it would have to be a road switcher. I already had two BNSF GP38-2s and an SD40-2R to handle any switching for Dewarville Yard but I figured one more unit couldn't hurt.
I would have liked to have added a GP50 as a tribute to my favorite locomotive from my teenage years. But KATO was the only N scale manufacturer of GP50s and seem to have produced none since the late 1980s. They are found occasionally on Ebay and I already had a "Tiger Stripe" version in my "heritage" locomotive fleet. BN repainted all the Tiger Stripe units into the "White Face" livery that I really don't care for. KATO did release GP50s in that livery but they are even harder to find on Ebay.
To make a long story short, I eventually found a used Atlas GP40 that I knew I could modify into a GP40M, of which BNSF still rosters. A few GP40Ms can be found in the original BN Cascade Green livery but only one or two has not been modified into a remote control unit. An RCU variant would require detailing I did not want to undertake.
This used locomotive was unique in that it was an unnumbered model, meaning Atlas had not painted any road number onto it. Thus I'd only be "patching" the BN logo and title and not any road number. I would still add the road number patches for authenticity. The one GP40M that I could find still in Cascade Green and not made into an RCU was #3006.
GP40Ms were part of a initiative by Burlington Northern in the late 1980s not to buy new four-axle road switchers but to buy rebuilds from EMD and MK. These rebuilds used hulks of GP30s, GP35s, and GP40s. They were essentially GP38-2s when complete, though their bodies could still retain the distinctive features of their donor shells.
Converting this GP40 required using three sets of Microscale Decals: 60-25 Burlington Northern Diesels (1970-1989), 60-176 BN Diesels Data, and N scale safety stripes. I made one physical modification; moving the horn from up front on to of the cab to behind the first radiator fan.
This patch unit required more effort than the IR SD45T-2. I first had to patch over the BN logo and title and apply a hood patch to where I approximated a four-digit road number to be on a GP40 that was numbered.
Next, I applied the BNSF titles. The decal sheets I had, of course, did not have 3006 in a straight line for me to use. I had to apply all four numbers separately and that was a pain in the aspirations. I then applied the safety stripes to the sill.
I then realized that a lot of details were still missing. On the prototype, some of the original white safety stripes remained on the sill. Other BN details like an Interbay (a yard in Seattle) emblem on the nose, and "GP40M" and "Interbay" titles on the sill still survived on #3006. My decal sheets had two of those details; surprisingly, there were no Interbay titles.
The prototype has ditch lights on the anticlimber. I had long made a decision not to try and add detail parts for these. Doing that for HO scale locomotives was hard enough; for N scale locomotives the small size of such parts would be a pain to glue on.
So far, I have this:
As a paean to Burlington Northern, I wanted to add to my N scale fleet a patched Burlington Northern unit. But what kind? Nothing with Cascade Green still prowls the BNSF mainlines so it would have to be a road switcher. I already had two BNSF GP38-2s and an SD40-2R to handle any switching for Dewarville Yard but I figured one more unit couldn't hurt.
I would have liked to have added a GP50 as a tribute to my favorite locomotive from my teenage years. But KATO was the only N scale manufacturer of GP50s and seem to have produced none since the late 1980s. They are found occasionally on Ebay and I already had a "Tiger Stripe" version in my "heritage" locomotive fleet. BN repainted all the Tiger Stripe units into the "White Face" livery that I really don't care for. KATO did release GP50s in that livery but they are even harder to find on Ebay.
To make a long story short, I eventually found a used Atlas GP40 that I knew I could modify into a GP40M, of which BNSF still rosters. A few GP40Ms can be found in the original BN Cascade Green livery but only one or two has not been modified into a remote control unit. An RCU variant would require detailing I did not want to undertake.
This used locomotive was unique in that it was an unnumbered model, meaning Atlas had not painted any road number onto it. Thus I'd only be "patching" the BN logo and title and not any road number. I would still add the road number patches for authenticity. The one GP40M that I could find still in Cascade Green and not made into an RCU was #3006.
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| BNSF 3006 in Seattle in 2007 (Stan Lytle photo from Locophotos.com) |
Converting this GP40 required using three sets of Microscale Decals: 60-25 Burlington Northern Diesels (1970-1989), 60-176 BN Diesels Data, and N scale safety stripes. I made one physical modification; moving the horn from up front on to of the cab to behind the first radiator fan.
This patch unit required more effort than the IR SD45T-2. I first had to patch over the BN logo and title and apply a hood patch to where I approximated a four-digit road number to be on a GP40 that was numbered.
Next, I applied the BNSF titles. The decal sheets I had, of course, did not have 3006 in a straight line for me to use. I had to apply all four numbers separately and that was a pain in the aspirations. I then applied the safety stripes to the sill.
I then realized that a lot of details were still missing. On the prototype, some of the original white safety stripes remained on the sill. Other BN details like an Interbay (a yard in Seattle) emblem on the nose, and "GP40M" and "Interbay" titles on the sill still survived on #3006. My decal sheets had two of those details; surprisingly, there were no Interbay titles.
The prototype has ditch lights on the anticlimber. I had long made a decision not to try and add detail parts for these. Doing that for HO scale locomotives was hard enough; for N scale locomotives the small size of such parts would be a pain to glue on.
So far, I have this:
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