In regards to the above copied picture; are those handrails painted prototypically? If so, what paint did you use? I would like to do the same thing on my model. Thanks!
To My recollection of seeing them inperson…some had the hand rails painted as shown, but some did not…only painted yellow where You would grab on to them. I chose to paint them all. The engine comes painted from the box…you have to apply the wire, (which is music wire) to the stanchions and then the pre-drilled holes in the model. They are black wire. I used Floquil ATSF Yellow for that…no longer available. The calf or B was a BN engine that I re-painted, using Model Master Insignia Blue and mixed My own Yellow with Tamiya acrylic Lemon Yellow and Tamiya Brown…took a few tries to get it right…but it turned out to be a perfect match so I made a bunch of it. Decals are dry transfers for the name.
Just about all Floquil colors matched Athearn’s railroad colors and then some.
Floquil cross reference chart:
https://www.microscale.com/Floquil%20Color%20Chart.pdf
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
Thnx. I have the exact roadnumber as the one in the picture.
All the Athearns made at that time as that one had the same road number. If you wanted a different number, You had to change it.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
And I agree with Frank, that’s the way it was done. The road number might not be perfectly protoypical to the model.
Athearn is a good bang for the buck. After you do some serious searching for your prototype, and can’t find that exact loco, as I mentioned earlier, add what details you’d like to add, as to what you find on your search.
Athearn’s are also great candidates for switching to DCC, I’ve done many. Just do the stall current test first, just to be sure. You want under or at 0.70 amps, as most decoders are rated for 1.0 amp, with a peak at 1.5.
And their freight cars, you can detail them as you wish, with grab irons, ladders, etc.
That will get you started, and from there, you can move to what you want.
Mike.
Maybe it’s the nostalgia thing- it was an Athearn SP flat car that I proudly bought in early Jan 1966 to add to my then-first Athearn train set received for Christmas. To me, I still enjoy picking up several BB kits at swap meets every time I go. My diesel engine collection +40 engines is mostly Athearn and as I replace an old grain of wheat bulb with a led and resistor from time to time, or remotor and old Athearn loco, the genius of those old designs is revealed in the ease with which their operation can be improved. Can’t say enough good things about old Irv’s stuff- it’s kept me in the hobby for 5 decades now[:)].
Cedarwoodron
I agree: Athearn, along with Varney, Model Die Casting, and others, offered a reasonably-priced entry into the hobby for the average person, who might not have had much aptitude or appetite for scratchbuilding or even for building some of the more involved wood and metal kits of that time.
That some paint schemes were fanciful or details not true to prototype mattered little, and if you stayed in the hobby, you often learned not only what might be wrong with the cars, but also how to correct those things. For those who cared to try, there’s a great sense of satisfaction to be had, and opportunities to learn new skills, too.
I still have lots of Athearn Blue Box cars on my layout, and they fit in just fine with the “higher end” stuff that’s currently available…
Athearn, unmodified…
Athearn, modified somewhat…
likewise…
…and more…
…a couple from the same kit…
…a few more details…
An Athearn Blue Box c
I’m of both schools of thought when it comes to Athearn BB. (A majority of my engines and quite a few of my freight cars are BB.) They are good runners and were simple to build. The equipment is also easy to work on if there is a problem.
However, as already mentioned there are a few schemes that aren’t prototypical. (The SDP40 being a very good example. Only two railroads actually had them.) I have also heard that the 50’ gondola is not prototypical either. (It was made to fit the box. I don 't know whether to believe that or not.)
BB were also good for kitbashing. I have a nine of my non-Athearn shelled engines that use BB drives in them. (8 Tythearns and a Bachthearn. Underframes have been modified a little but the drive is stock.) I also have a bunch of cars that I have bashed. (Nine modified 34’ hoppers that are my take on woodchip cars. A couple of gondolas that have been bashed to pulpwood cars. I am also bashing a NP prototype caboose from a pair of BB cupola cabooses.)
Where I can, even to this day, I still try to find BBs where possible. (One of my newest additions to my fleet is an SD40-2. It is a BB that I had to scrounge the parts for but I knew I wanted a BB for their running capabilities.)
I had that same concern with a couple of my old Blue Box models, so I did two things. One, I had picked up a copy of Model Railroader Cyclopedia Vol 2 Diesel Locomotives. It’s out of print but I think you can find it at swap meets and probably on eBay. It has great drawings and photos of most locos. Two, there are a bunch of websites that have great pictures of locomotives. Fallen Flags is one, and is great for older equipment. There are others, just Google it. Good luck!