My primary focus for collecting rolling stock and modeling of the Rio Grande is the 1980’s.
Here are a couple photo’s of a hot shot freight by James Griffin showing PC&F 60 foot beer cars on the head end and TOFC/COFC 89’ flat cars filling out the rest of the train… This is exactly the kind of train I want to model and smack in the middle of my time period:
By the way, in HO those would be Eel River (now Railshop.net) PC&F 60 beer box cars on the head end. I think Red Caboose offers them in N scale.
Here is the HO Eel River/Railshop 60’ box car featured in the Rio Grande train.
I grew up in Davis and Sacramento California so I can definitely say I was originally an SP fan too, but in the early 1980’s descovered the Rio Grande when I made some trips out to Aspen to take my sisters to music camp. Other trips to college in the midwest took me through Rio Grande territory.
With the new SD40T-2’s coming, plus Athearn running the Thrall gons in PCSX, and the 89’ flat cars from Walthers and Atlas, Rio Grande fans will be able to do some nice 1980’s trains up in HO. I’ve prepurchased one of the RGM&HS unnumbered SD40T-2’s and preordered all three Athearn numbers.
There are some excellent pictures of the Rio Grande in the 80’s here BTW:
I have also ordered SD40T-2’s, six of them (3 D&RGW, 3 SP). Can you guys please give me the url to the PCSX and 89’ flat cars. I have two collections on my website that you might find interesting.
Thanks for those links, riogrande5761. I’m a late 70’s/early 80’s Grande fan myself. Have you started building yet? I got that list of cars you directed me too. Again thnxs. When i get the space [sigh]I’m thinking on modeling the Odgen/SLC area. being a solo modeler it’ll let me center on swiching and transfer’s (along with some SP and WP for a little color). If I can find a place with enough room, I’ll throw in the Helper/Giluly area (with some UP and UTAH, for even more color). The SP lumber and WP auto traffic on Rio Grande always interested me.
I know exactly where he was standing when he took those shots. I really kick myself now for not getting up there more often. Of course at the time, who was to know the D&RGW would be gone in just a few years…
I don’t even have a place to build a layout right now. I had a sizable layout 14x25’ with Grande Junction as the centerpoint (Yard) with most of the track laid when my wife asked me to move out. I hope to get a house in the next year or so and then plan another layout.
Thanks for the link. I’ve seen some of those photo’s hosted on other sites but you have gathered most of them up in one place. Nice! BTW, the newest Colorado Railroad Museum Annual #28 features mostly 70’s and 80’s pictures so you might want to get a copy. I’ve ordered mine and it should arrive any day now. I’m going to be getting James Griffins book too.
Here is the link to Athearns website page for the PCSX Thralls:
I miss Southern Pacific; Rio Grande; Cotton Belt; tunnel motors in those paint schemes; and trains with boxcars, reefers, and intermodal. I think I will look at some old issues of Pacific Rail News.
Accurail has 89’ undecorated flatcars available (http://www.accurail.com/accurail/8900.htm). If you don’t mind painting and decalling, these are a cheaper alternative. They will also soon be releasing a 6 pack of RTTX flatcars for $69.98.
I don’t even have a place to build a layout right now. I had a sizable layout 14x25’ with Grande Junction as the centerpoint (Yard) with most of the track laid when my wife asked me to move out. I hope to get a house in the next year or so and then plan another layout.
Thanks for the link. I’ve seen some of those photo’s hosted on other sites but you have gathered most of them up in one place. Nice! BTW, the newest Colorado Railroad Museum Annual #28 features mostly 70’s and 80’s pictures so you might want to get a copy. I’ve ordered mine and it should arrive any day now. I’m going to be getting James Griffins book too.
Here is the link to Athearns website page for the PCSX Thralls:
I had a fairly generic GJ yard and no hump. It was sizable enough and was meant to offer the general layout with a Station and intermodal tracks in about the right location. Its all gone and my wife wonders why I don’t want her back. (well thats not a story to tell here and its of course more than just the loss of the layout).
I have a number of PRN magazines from the mid to lat e1980’s and keep them as good references. You can never have enough photos! I have the latest Colorado RR Museum Annual #28 coming in the mail which reportly is dedicated to 1970’s-1988 pictures. Can’t wait to get it. I too love the SP and grew up watching SD9’s coming through Davis on the double track mainline that paralleled I80. In Jr High School my social studies class got a tour of the Sacramento SP locomotive shops - that was way cool! (circa 1974). I took numerous trips up to the Sierra Nevada mountains for summer camping or winter skiing and the snow sheds and SP trains were awesome - too bad I was just a dumb kid and didn’t take some serious photographs.
This is a good source of 89’ flat cars for people needing a fleet real cheep. But I’m not into paining and decalling and prefer to get them already painted and lettered, and even better yet RTR form. If you check Ebay, you can get Accurail cars since they
I know the Railrunner eventually ran 89’ with two to three TM’s with some merchandise, but didn’t it start with ATSF-style Fuel-Foilers and two GP40’s?
You are thinking of the Rail Blazer I think. That train according to my books, was a dedicated overnight hot shot which was scheduled to leave Denver at 5:00 pm and arrive in SLC the next morning and be ready for unloading by 8:00 am. The name “Rail Blazer” was a result of an employee “Name that train” contest and was initiated around 1985. It was typically pulled by one or more GP40’s depending on loads of TOFC trailers. The freight cars used were normally 89’ TOFC/COFC flat cars and some of the Front Runner single unit “spine” style cars. When those were included, the 89’ flats usually were behind them. I am not aware of any Impack ‘Fuel Foiler’ cars ever being used but its possible that later on 5-unit spine cars were used - but probably rare. I have yet to see a photo of a Rio Grande train with spine cars but you know the old saying… never say never! The RB probably evolved after the SP merger but I don’t have details.
In 1988 RGI purchased the SP and in October tested the first double stack train over Tennesee Pass and that included Sea Land and TT Twin Stack well cars, and Gunderson sets. That would have been a totally different train than the Rail Blazer which was Denver to SLC, not Pueblo.
BTW, here is a quick book review:
My copy of CRRM Annual #28 just arrived at my office from the UPS guy and
I immediately opened it up and peeled off the shrink wrap. I don’t have time for
a detailed review right now but I can say if anyone is interested in the 1973-1988
time frame on the Rio Grande, GET THIS BOOK!
The book is 112 pages long and all color with large format pictures like the Rio
Grande: Scenic Line of the World book.
There’s some really good info on this thread. Thanks. I’m afraid I’m restricted to the early 70’s in my Rio Grande modeling as my layout restricts me to mostly 40’ rolling stock. I can run some 6-axel diesels. I’d like to convert to a little later era. Maybe some day.
If you want to limit yourself to 40’ rolling stock, you may want to back date further to the 1960’s. Even in the 60’s 50’ box cars were very common and of course passenger cars are 85’ long. It’s hard to escape longer equipment no matter what time period - 50s and 60s had passenger cars and SD7’s and SD9’s, and 60s had SD45’s and 89’ flat cars were introduced mid 60’s.
Here’s a shot I thought I’d share. Fresh from the layout room, the thread got me out of the chair and grabbing for the tripod.
This was a custom painted/decaled Atlas by my clubs’ past president, who passed away last year.
He was absolutely meticulous in his finishing techniques. Rio Grande fan by default, I had to have this piece from his collection, and the proceeds from this (and many other top-notch pieces) went to his widow, which paid for his daughters wedding. This gem is special to me in more ways than one. His wife wished that our club had the first look over the collection, and we bought (individualy and as club) well over 3,500. She trusted us to treat her and his collection with respect, and we paid at or above market because it was for a great cause, as she supported his vision for the club. Because of him, we reside in a new, fully paid-for, state of the art building on our own property.
I also remember many trips through Colorado as a kid (early 90’s) and was actually smart enough to snap some pics along I-80 (right interstate?). The SP and Grande to me was rugged western railroading at it’s finest.
