Maybe GN.rick can answer this or maybe I’m just out of luck,but does anyone make a good set of decals in h.o for the Oriental Limited heavyweight cars?
Empire Builder cars are available but I have’nt seen anything for the Limited. A number of years ago Bev-Bel produced a few Oriental Limited cars…I believe their Athearn HWs.of which i have a few but I really like to at least add a few cars to the consist.
Which brings up another Question’ With Champion Decals selling down their inventory over the next year or two where are we Great Northern modelers and others going to find the wealth of steam era decals we now enjoy from them?
Ragnar, I can’t really say about specific Oriental Limited markings, though, I believe, if you are perhaps doing the short-lived incarnation between 1947 and 1951, you’d be ok using “Great Northern” lettering on the letterboards. Earlier versions I’m not certain of, but I believe that they, too were lettered “Great Northern”. The Oriental Limited tailsign is, I think, available from Tomar as an illuminated device. I, myself have Tomar tailsigns for the streamlined Builder, the International (which I made from Northstar kits-now gone) and, the Cascadian (someday). As for steam locomotive decals, well, I stocked up on Champ sets a while ago, so I’m good for a while, however, Microscale has released stem locomotive decals as well. Can’t quite recall the number of the set, but it’s up in the 87-1200 range. Freight cars might be somwhat more f a problem. Microscale has some steam era boxcar markings, but not a lot. Here again, I stocked up on Champ sets when I heard they were disappearing. I might suggest that you try to do that as well, if possible. Champ decals have a pretty much unlimited shelf-life, at least in my experience. Hope I’m helping.
OK. After some quick research, the Microscale set you want for GN steam locomotives is number 460-871261, listed as in stock at Walthers. So, that is a good thing. I’ve heard, though I haven’t used them myself yet. that they are a very good set and include a few things that Champ forgot about so, give 'em a try and let me know how they work.
Yep’ after giving it some more thought think that the big G. being the frugal company it was would more than likely have GREAT NORTHERN on the letter boards and just use the Oriental Limited tail sign to designate the train.
What I wish to do is make up a 1910-1925 O.L train using the Roundhouse 80" Pullman Palace cars with the Tomar tail sign with a E15 4-6-0 for motive power. Sooo’ while probably not exactly correct should still be as close as i can afford lol.
Well, in that case you’ll appreciate the photo on page 309 of “The Great Northern Railway–A Pictorial Study” by Charles & Dorothy Wood. There’s a shot of an obs from the woody version of the Oriental Limited that shows “GREAT NORTHERN” on the letterboard. Below that on the side is “Observation Parlor Car” and on the near end, at least, the car number (7577 in this case).
Your project sounds like it will be a very attractive train. Please note that the “Rocky” herald arrived in about 1923–before that there was the rectangular/slanted road name herald. Champ makes both. I’m not sure which I would pick, but that’s kind of a pleasant sort of thing to mull over.
Sounds good. Ought to be a beautiful train. But, an E-15 as head end power? That’ll be a heavy train (both prototype and model) and the E-15 is not much more powerful than the K-class 4-4-2s. They’ll barely pull the hat off your head. In my humble opinion, you’d be better off either finding an E-14 Ten Wheeler (they’re husky) or an early class H Pacific. The Westside H-4 might be a good choice. As for the E-14, I don’t think anybody actually made one in brass, but I’ve contemplated reverse-engineering a PFM-United H-5 into one. That would be a heck of a project, though I really have no need for one. Anyway, good luck. My own E-15 crapped out years ago and needs a new motor and gearbox-which I haven’t really had time to deal with.
I don’t know what frugality had to do with it. The Empire Builder used “EMPIRE BUILDER” on the letterboard because it was a train run by three railroads - the Great Northern, Chicago Burlington and Quincy, and Spokane Portland and Seattle. All three contributed cars to the train, lettering the cars “EMPIRE BUILDER” regardless of which RR owned the car made the train look more uniform and cohesive.
BTW I’m not sure that the Oriental Limited (the pre-EB version) didn’t use the train name on the letterboard too, for the same reason. But I’d have to check my books out at home.
Yes realise the E15 is a bit to light and will probably have to look into the H4, right now my passenger locomotive roster consist of a K1’the E15 and a H7 pacific which is to modern of course, nice thing about the Westside H4 is they are modeled as built i do believe.and not overly expensive…but to my eyes…their butt ugly lol.
Yeah, I have to agree, the Westside H-4 is not very attractive. Another option-if you want to do the later end of the era you mentioned-like around 1923-24, would be the Westside P-2 which is also an as-built version. I had one and it looks really good but it was too early for what I wish to do, so it got replaced by a pair of PFM ones. I have seen reworked H-4s that looked very good though.