A new appreciation for diesels….and Athearn

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
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Today is my birthday.

And I got a Cornerstone 90’ turntable kit with motor and an HO Athearn GP35 DCC ready Chessie from my partner.(I also have N scale trains which includes a GP40 Chessie and a 2-8-8-2 amonst others.) Just EXACTLY (with enough hints, direct showing and model # listings) what I wanted.

I prefer steam as I like all the ‘movement’ of the the siderods etc, and always thought of diesels as “moving boxes on wheels”. They didn’t have that movement. Steam locos are fantastical machinery. We have been doing the touristy thing and riding the steam trains operated near here, and even rode in the cab of a mike at Steamtown Nat’l Park in Scranton PA. Next we would like to ‘rent’ one!(that will be awhile-$$)

In real railroading now, of course, there are only diesels now. I used to couldn’t tell one diesel from another. But I have been learning as they show up in real life and real pics, and have been admiring them. I’m not so much into the SDs or the macs, but the GP series are my favs.

I have been looking at the GP30-35s for awhile simply because they were start/stop manufacturing dates of Sept-Oct 1963, the time of my arrival on this fair planet. They, then, are ‘as old as I am’. LOL I’m not old enough to have a steam loco built then.

As a teenager in the 70s I loved to see the yellow with blue Chessie cat logo boxcars going by on the Erie Lackawanna railrod near my house. And I liked the occasional Chessie locos go by. I like all things Chessie and its predecessors, B&O and C&O. Not too crazy about CSX, but oh well, that could change. I don’t model any particular system (its my railroad and I’ll run what I like), but I find I tend to collect the aboves, so maybe I should change my mind and model some form of the C/B/chessie/csx system.

Now, for the Athearn loco. I am impressed. I am on disability so I have a tight budget. Ours is a low income household, so cheap locos at least give me s

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Happy Birthday! (Hey, we all get them. For many of us, getting older isn’t much cause for celebration, but when new trains in boxes are involved, well, that’s different.)

I, too, am torn between the diesels I remember growing up with, and the majesty of steam power. Since my limiting factor is mostly space, I’m working to have a dual-era railroad, which I can change from the 1960’s to the 1930’s by swapping out the locomotives, some of the rolling stock and the automobiles.

So, as an unofficial ambassador to the era, welcome to the '60’s.

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Thank you Mr. Beasley.

The Nscale stuff I think I will build/model a nearby sub route. The stations are wood and were built in the 1870-80s. They served pass and farm freight. Many of the farm houses along the route were built before then, to the early 1800s. It is a scrap, light industrial and farming (still)route now.

SO-I can swap out a few things and run steam from then or swap in the scrap yard, some tract houses and run the diesels of today!!!

Isn’t model railroading FUn!?

Enjoy your day…I will!

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[bday][bday][bday]!!!