I will always love the bicentennial locomotives. They hold a very special place in my heart.
When I first posted on this forum. I told how my grandfather bought me a Bachmann N Gauge starter set. It was the sea board coast Bicentennial locomotive and caboose. That was over forty five years ago when I was very young.
What does a kid do…Well yeah, they see how fast it goes and watch it flip off the curve and fly across the room.
I still have that locomotive. It sits on the fireplace mantel under the big screen TV in my living room. It’s beat to a frazzle and doesn’t run. It’s set facing to the right with the best side out. It’s very special to me. I like keeping it where I can always see it. When I look at it I see my grandfather’s smiling face. He was such a great Scotsman.
Please share pictures of your Bicentennial locomotives and, or anything you have to say about them as it would be greatly appreciated.
I liked the Bicentennial engines too. During their time I was stationed in the Navy in Norfolk. The N&W brought their beautiful SD-45 in a couple times and I also saw the SCL U-boat there, One trip swhen it came in from Roanoke I remember one of the N&W mechanics told me the SD-45 had a blown piston and they were going to take it out of service.
When I got out of the Navy I went back to Texas and really got into the MOP. They had 2 GP-18 Bicentennials and I saw them several times running between Dallas and Ft. Worth.
I got involved with the T&P 610 rebuild in the Ft. Worth Stockyards and when she got running and pulled the AFT through Cleburne I drove down and watched her heading to Ft. Worth with an AT&SF Bicentennial behind the tender.
I think my favorite was that huge N&W high hood SD-45. Something about the simplicity of the paint job on such a bulky engine. As if the high short hood weren’t enough those radiators flared out coming at you were awesome.
Right now I have three, and will add the GT 1776 when I get around to painting and decaling the engine, as Athearn’s was a complete foobie!
One of my favorites of course, also one of the few that was factory painted by the manufacturer rather than a shop repaint as most of them were. Jim Hediger rode this engine from Springfield to Ironton and took many pictures enroute. Stated the engineer had a carpet on the walkway and one had to clean their shoes/boots before entering the cab. Also the only 4 digit numbered loco on the DT&I.
Another of my favorites, nice simple repaint.
Erie-Lackawanna repaint of the SDP45, unit went to Conrail where it kept the paint but had the CR added, was used in Cleveland hauling ore from Whiskey Island to the steel plants.
Unfortunately the ever economical D&RGW never painted a bi-centenal diesel, but many connecting roads did, like WP and SP. But so far I haven’t sprung for any although I’ve been sorely tempted to buy one of the Cotton Belt bicentenial SD45T-2’s.
When I was a kid I got to see the Freedom Train. It toured the country in 1976 and had the Liberty Bell in one of it’s cars. I can’t remember if I saw it in Portland or in California. It was running on Southern Pacific tracks for that part of the tour. The same summer we rode the Coast Starlight from Portland to Los Angeles and spent a week at Disneyland including the fourth of July. Disneyland had the full on bicentennial celebration going on including America on Parade. I have really great memories of the whole bicentennial celebration. Good times.
I noticed on page 11 of the current issue (July 2017) of MR that Athearn made a Spirit of 76 locomotive. The description says its for the bicentennial but the picture shows the locomotive with 1876. What the heck? I’m confused.
The STRATTON & GILLETTE also has a bicentenial locomotive. The powers in charge ordered an E-8 repainted into patriotic colors in 1976 to celebrate the countries big anniversary.
This is a VERY old model. I am sure i painted this one over 20 years ago. This is way back in the N scale days. I painted it to pull my string of Micro-Trains bicentennial cars I picked up at auction in Miami many years ago.
Of course, the SGRR never existed in 1976, so this is kind of a Sci-Fi model in a way. Oooooh… the future!
Tyco made two Bicentennial locos - the big Alco and also the “Spirit of 76” steam loco with was their standard 4-6-0 with the offset rear driver painting in a red white and blue scheme with 1876 on it. I don’t know about Athearn. The one called “Spirit of '76” is definitely a Tyco product, i had one.
The new Athearn release replicates the actual BN loco - road number 1876. There WAS a 1976 as well, but it was an SDP40, not an SD40-2 which the Athearn model is. Image from the Fallen Flags site:
Lionel did make a HO scale Freedom Train train set with some of the cars including the Liberty Bell car which of course was the main attraction. I’m sure the locomotive wasn’t nearly as nice as the Bachmann model. I had a chance to get the Lionel set when I was a kid but decided do get something average instead of something once in a life time because back then I only had a very limited collection.
That’s the one Tyco did in HO as well, that I used to have. Apparantly I had the more rare version that had the Presidential Seal on it like the prototype - there was some sort of kerfluffle and Tyco had to redo it without the seal. Despite being worn and generally a typical piece of Tyco 70’s train set junk, I got a good price for it on ebay.
