A little help, but not too much detail required about period locos please...

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

As my name tag suggests I am British, I have been living here (America) for 3 years after marrying my American wife. I re-got the ‘bug’ two years ago when my father in law gave me a spectrum consolodation frieght set.(it sat in the box for 18 mths).

Being from foriegn shores I am not quite sure as to what to run on my upcoming layout. I have decided on the transition period as it seems to cover most bases, I love steam loco’s, the pistons pumping, the look of the loco, the lines and the nostalgia of the era. I do however want to run some diesels on my layout but I am finding it hard to find the right ones. Many of the online stores/catalogues just state what it is and not which period it is from, it seems very little products are advertised with a ‘time stamp’… this does not help me at all.

I am planning my new layout in the late 40’s-late 50’s period, I would like to run some diesels on the track also, not necessarily with steam but the vehicles,people, streets and other aspects would all be around this era so having a 1980 loco runing through would not be good.

I am a long way from a rivet counter but I would like to know WHICH were the early diesels that ran with steam. I have been reading here for a while and I see GP7, sd45, EMD, alot, but which period are these from. All I need to know is which locos I ‘should’ have for the period.

Many thanks for any help and advice as always, take care and be safe
Karl.

2

I can be not much help. [:D]

E7s F’s Alco S1 EMD SWs are a few.

3

Hi Karl;

Let’s say 1950 is your date, here are some that you may find:

Alco: S1, S2, S3, S4, RS1, RS2, RS3, RSD4/5, FA1, FA2, PA1, DL109

EMD SW1, NW2, BL2, GP7, SD7, FT, F3, F7, E3/6, E7

FM H10/12-44, H15-55, H16-44, H20-44, Erie Built, C-liner

Baldwin RS-12, AS16, AS616, …

I would suggest that you go with one of the Atlas models: RS1, RS3, RSD4/5, H1544, GP7 or on of the Stewart Baldwins - all of which are okay for 1950.

4

EMD:
F3, F5, F7, F9 (A and B units)
E6, E7, E8 (A and B units)
GP7, GP9
SD7, SD9
SW7, NW2

ALCO:
PA-1, PB-1
FA-1, FB-1
DL-109
RS-1, RS-2, RS-3
RS-11, RSD-12
S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4

OTHER:
GE 44-TONNER
F-M TRAINMASTER
F-M C-LINER
BALDWIN S-12

That should get you started.

5

Here’s a great website I found when someone posted it the other day. It’s a chronological listing of diseasel production in the U.S.

http://www.urbaneagle.com/data/RRdieselchrono.html

If you have time, you might want to pick up a copy of Kalmbach Publishing’s “Diesel Locomotives: The First 50Years” by Louis A. Marre. seeing as how I can’t distinguish a GP-9 from a RS-1, I don’t leave home without it.

Regards

Ed

6

Another book is “Model Railroader Cyclopedia, Volume 2: Diesel Locomotives”
By Bob Hayden. It was published in 1980 and covers diesels from the 20’s till then.

Enjoy
Paul

7

Between Nigel’s and Ray’s posts you pretty much have complete coverage. The next question would be, what prototype do you intend to follow, if any? Some of those locos were rather rare, didn’t sell very well or to very many railroads. If you freelance of course you can do whatever you want.

–Randy

8

Karl, I am in the same boat as you. I am freelancing a 1950’s era (I was born in '52)small road that will eventually acquire an early EMD or equivalent ‘newbie’. Thanks for the question, and to those who have responded, my thanks as well.

9

Are you modeling a prototype road or are you freelancing? If you are going prototype then there are usually books on those that will spell out what happened and when on that particular railroad. Don’t jump in too heavily on diesels right off the bat. I was going to do the same thing you describe, but the current steam is so good my four VGN FMs don’t see much track time. I still haven’t broken down and bought the four GP9s I was going to run in prototypical fashion on the N&W, even after years of thinking about it and with much better looking models available. I do have a couple of C&O E8s and a matching train that I run every so often just because I liked that particular train, but for me it’s very hard to beat watching steam run; everything from 2-8-2’s to 2-8-8-2s is great.

10

Here is my not-too-detailed answer:

EMD F-units
EMD GP7 and GP9 (high-nose)
Alco FA’s and FB’s
Alco RS units

Locos to avoid:
Any ‘chop-nosed’ or low-nosed EMD hood unit
Any GE diesel

Enjoy![:)]

11

Thanks guys, this has been a great help. I am going to freelance the layout but I will probably keep to 2 or 3 road names using a hub or two along the route. You can read about it in my new thread “Birth of a freelanced layout”. It seems like I have plenty of choices.

Have fun & be safe.
Karl.

12

ukguy,
Welcome!
It so happens that I model the transition period. A little bit of everything, kind of. Check out my website, link is in my signature, for photos of steam and diesel locos from the 1950’s. I model the NYC but the locos, except the ‘Niagara’ were used by nearly everyone.
When you get to the website just pu***he Early Diesels and the Steam Engine Buttons.
It should give you some ideas.
Good luck with your new undertaking.
My website was updated today!

13

The late Gordon Odegard, who was an MR editor, pointed out something pretty simple, but pretty profound, when it comes to accurate period modeling. His observation was that you date your model railroad (or diorama, etc.) by the most modern item on it.

Older rolling stock, automobiles, advertising, etc. can last for months if not years. But your pike can’t be “older” than the most modern invention or prototype on it. So, for example, if you have a 1958 Edsel in the scene, you can’t realistically be depicting anything earlier than the 1958 automobile model year.

Putting it in locomotive terms, if you want to depict 1958, don’t include any GP30s or C425s.

14

Dr Who paid a visit…WAP!! what is that doing there…? get that DD40 off of there…!!!

I will be modeling the transition era, but the modern equipment is too large for my size of layout, 40ft average sized cars the norm.

15

Look for an early edition of the Diesel Spotters Guide. That will cover your period and may be available cheap.