Hi Everybody,
Well it's time to get back to work on the railroad. Today I will be starting the laying of the roadbed for the mill sidings. And tomorrow if everything goes as planed, I should be gluing down ties.
There are some changes in the railroad coming up. No the design won't change, just time. When I started designing an O scale railroad, I had planned on using a pair of GE 70 tonners as my motive power. But some where as I designed, the bigger railroad intervened and changed everything. Bigger railroad meant bigger locomotives. I already had one of Rich Yoders 70 tonners and was looking for a second one when this change happened. As the new plan didn't involve the 70 tonner, it was sold.
Well that railroad didn't even get off the ground when I realized that it was not what I wanted for a railroad. So I decided to go back to my previous plan and go from there. As I had already started the RS-2, I change the why there for's and decided to go with the RS-2 and an S-4.
I set the time period as 1970. I spent the 60's in school and a tour in the Navy, so there wasn't much train chasing, but the 70's was different. I remember more of the 70's than I did the 60's. But I was collecting equipment that was more suited for the late 50's and early 60's. This kept bothering me. Just about all the textile industries were gone from the Northeast by the 70's yet a textile mill was one of the biggest customer on the railroad. I was having a hard time in excepting this qua-drum.
Last week end my friend Leo Landry and I went to the Hudson, MA O scale show. During the drive out and back we discussed some of these problems. My concept for the railroad was that the state had purchased the railroad, up graded it and found an operator. For the late 70's, this was easily believable but not for the 60's.
Rich Yoder was at the show and I picked up four sets of P48 Bettendorf trucks. While I was talking with Rich I noticed a flyer on his table for O scale GE 70 tonners. I asked him if he was gone to re-issue them and he said "Yes" and all the mistakes in the first run will be corrected. This was way to cool. I should have signed up there for a pair but didn't, but by the time I got home the decision had been made. I sent an email off to Rich reserving two. And why this news is so great you ask?
I have a CD for the Jan 1962 Equipment Register. All my equipment is for the late 50's and early 60's. The feel of the railroad now made sense. By using the 70 tonners for motive power, the feel of a small railroad is quit evident . The feel of the Barre & Chelsea, the St.J & LC, the Montpelier & Wells River, Belfast & Moosehead Lake is all there. And with all these changes, it will mean that a name change will be required too. The railroad from now on will be the Hopedale & Barre RR. And the time period will be the fall of 1960.
So what about the RS-2 you ask? It will be finished and used on the railroad.
So what about the RS-2 you ask? It will be finished and used on the railroad.
And with You Tube, I know what a 70 tonner sounds like too.
See ya next time.
Chester,
ReplyDeleteAs we move farther from the steam-era, and as people with first-hand experience of it move on, I think the 1960s will become the "sleeper" decade for modeling. The '60s and '70s were my decades too.
Mike Cougill
Mike,
ReplyDeleteWell then, looks like I'll be a trend setter. I do remember the summer of 63 very well. A friend of the family was an engineer on the Boston & Albaney/New York Central and that summer he was the engineer on the station switcher. Every week day morning, the station switcher would take a string of baggage cars up to the bulk mail postal facility and spend an 1 1/2 to 2 hours switchingthe facility. Rode the cab of NYC #8602, an Alco S-4 a lot that summer.
Hi Chester;
ReplyDeleteI like the sounds of your plans. And the smaller locomotives will not only make the railroad look bigger, but you'll have a realistic opportunity to double-head the power too. Quite common.
Another consideration - those small 70 tonners are ideal for former traction lines, where curves may be tight and clearances limited. Does your plan call for any "down the street running", like the Claremont Electric (later, Claremont & Concord)?
- Trevor
Hi Trevor,
ReplyDeleteYeah I can't wait until they are out. And I plan on running them in pairs most of the time anyway. They look really good cab to cab. They will also look better on the curves than the RS-2.
The layout plan won't change, just the time period. I feel better with this change. Now my problem is in what paint scheme should they be painted in. I really like the orange and cream scheme that the StJ engines were painted in their later years. The orange and black scheme looks good too. And there are more different schemes used by other railroads as well.
As you can see in my last posting that I'm not far from spiking down rail. This week end I'm going to start filling in the space between the backdrop and roadbed. It will be easier now than later.
More coming.