Hey,
I model the BNSF and was wondering what a good road/ yard switcher would be. I have a 4x8 layout with only 1 indrustries(lumber yard) and a engine house(1 stall) and I also have a track next to the engine house. Also need some help trying to add more work for the railroad.
Thanks
For your size layout, a good road switcher would be an SW1000 or a GP38-2. Of course I am assuming your are in HO scale. Both of my suggestions are available from Athearn. Both locos would be good for what you want to do.
You can add more industries for your railroad to switch at. This will give you more flexibility.
Hope this helps.
A pair of GP 38s or 40s would be a very plausible choice for motive power. The standard easy industry to add to your layout is a team track. They are straight forward to build and you can spot just about any type of car there. Beyond that, really the world is your oyster. It’s your layout, what do you want to add?
In Richmond, CA these days, you can see GP60M’s paired in switcher service. And not too long ago, I saw GP30’s in Santa Fe paint.
Just for variety, you understand.
Ed
Virtually any of the relatively modern GP engines (30, 35, 38-2, 15, 40-2, 39), a modern SW (1000, 1500) or even a low hp SD (9, 38-2)
You should put more info down, there’s a lot out there. SW1200’s and MP15’s should have been mentioned, all the geeps were covered though.
But as for added switching, could have a fuel business. Could be fuel oil or coal if an older tiem set, LPG if newer time set. Look at the region you plan to model. Here in WI it’s easy, any layout time period set over the last 50 years could have a potatoe processing plant. Think about maybe a grain elevator. You could even have something modeled with just a track. The business itself could be off layout (use imagination) and just have their spur/siding on the layout. I would say a lumber yard but you already have the logging thing.
I model modern day and yes i model Ho scale. What would be the empties in loads out traffic ratio for a grain elevator or fuel business. Only 15 so not a ton of cash. I would like to add an interchange but what do i need to model it and what roads could it intersect with. Freelance so it could be any road.
Thanks Everyone [8D]
IIRC BNSF has a list of grain elevators through out the country somewheres on their website. The traffic ration might be a tad tricky to get. Modern day most grain is hauled in 100+ car grain trains, not much for a few cars, but modern day could also include a set up from say 80’s where a 10-15 car consist would be more likely. MR did an article on grain handling in spring.
15 cars could take up a bit of room though, probably more than what your 4x8 has to offer. 4750 and 4740 cubic foot hoppers from Pullman Standard, 4750’s from Thrall are around 60 feet long over coupler faces. PS-2CD 4427’s, ACF 4650’s, and ACF 4600’s are about 55 feet over pulling faces. All the cars I mentioned fall in the 199 000 (4427) to 201 000lb (4650) load range. I don’t have my notes with me other wise I could tell you just how many bushels of corn or how many bushels of wheat would fit in those cars. The easiest way to model an elevator is to have it so it can load all cars with out switching, so all cars are held on the same track. If you wanted your elevator to load 2 cars you would have to have a loading track long enough to hold 4 cars. Four PS 4750 HO cars would be 33 inches (8.25" per car) over pulling faces. Now you could double it with two tracks and get enough room for 8 cars. 4 cars on the loading track, another 4 cars on a storage track, but you also have to have a third track for holding the switcher. The beauty of model RR is you can compress and get away with less stuff. Have your local drop off the 8 cars, spot 4 cars on the storage track and the other 4 on the loading track and leave it like that, treating that all cars as empties. Next operating session just remind yourself that all cars have been loaded and switch as so.
A modern day fuel business depends on how you want to model it. This is where you get to use modeling license, of course after you have applied for and recieved said license. But once you have it, you can use your ima
One thing I’d suggest that might go against the grain is if you’re only going to use one or two engines, spend a little more and get top quality ones, preferably with DCC/Sound installed. I don’t know if you intend to do DC or DCC, but DCC sometimes works better on a smaller layout than DC, especially if you are going to have two engines on the layout at the same time.
My personal preference would be the SD9, mostly because my grandfather operated one when he worked as the yard switcher engineer for the BN. He retired in 1981. I wish I could remember the road numbers on the SD9’s that were lashed together I would really like to model them. Maybe someone here could point me to a website that would have them. The location where they were used was the Alliance yards, in Alliance Nebraska. Anyway any one of the switchers suggested here would be a good choice. In my opinion it would be just a matter of what you think looks good for your layout
Cheers
Joel
That’s real easy. The loads to empties ratio is 1:1. Every empty in to a elevator = a load out. Every load into a fuel dealer = an empty out.
If you mean how many cars are spotted, a typical unit grain train is about 100 cars and they ship once or twice a week during the grain season.
A non-unit train elevator could be any number of cars.
A fuel dealer could be any thing from one car a month to two or three cars a day.
All you need is a a switch and a track. The interchange would probably be a shortlline/regional or the UP.
Dave H.
As mentioned, GP38/40s would do a great job or you can try the new Atlas Genset locomotive just advertised for release in January 2010. http://www.atlastrainman.com/HOLoco/tmhogenset.htm
Joel, try this website.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/modelListRR.aspx?id=BN
I use it all of the time. There are 87 pictures of just the BN SD9. Good luck with your search.
Hi there I can tell you that whatever we have available is what we used lol. I switched 31st street yard in Denver with a SD 70 Ace.It wasnt fun and it was not a fun experience lol.We used SD 40’s to do switching of the yard usually or paired GP’s. One of the jobs I worked out of Clinton Iowa ( BNSF on IC&E track) we used a single GP for a while until business got so big we had to get a second unit.
Good interchange ideas depends on where you want to be located.You have a lot of options anywhere you want to place it.Shortlines, class ones and freelance RR’s you can make up.
You can set up your lumber yard,a fuel dealer,chemical dealer,We even set tank cars into National By Products that would haul tallow.All I can say how to model that is lots of flies a greasy look on the ground and a scale person standing there saying “Ick” into a word bubble.Lets see what else. We would also put box cars at a local trucking company. They had rolls of paper for a company ( I used to work for them lol) that made cardboard boxes. They would unload them and store them until they were needed.So have a rail dock with a truck dock on the other side. You could also say “other” items were coming in.
So bring in any power you like. the SD9’s are still running along,heck we have a SD(-3 with a low nose and looks like a GP38 cab!I have run GP 15’s on locals and even GP 60’s. All depends on the power desk and what the shop has ready to roll.But seeings its your railroad you can power it with whatever you like.You can even follow a BNSF practice where your power runs until its close to its fedral inspection time and gets swapped out with another unit.Theres an excuse to have an old beat up Santa Fe unit just showing up or a green BN.All up to you.