I was wondering if anyone else has found any HO Scale cars or engines of the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad that currently runs from Dillsboro to Bryson City. I got two of the cars in Dillsboro with Bryson City #322 and Dillsboro #6514 they are all by Con-cor. Does anyone know if they had these custom made or does anyone else sell these with maybe other towns on the cars? I asked around while we were there in North Carolina and they said there isn’t an engine at all made like the engine they use but I thought maybe someone has seen one somewhere. Thanks for any info anyone can provide.
I’ve talked to a couple of the engineers while at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and both told me that the diesel engine they used was a GP-9 that had a nose job… the hood was lowered. I think the only way you’ll get one like it is to paint it yourself. One of the engineers lived in Arkansas and came here in the summer months to work on the line. He told me the companys steam engine had been in the shop for quite a while and he didn’t know when it would be running again. When asked which he preferred, the diesels or the steam, he replied that he liked the steam… hands down. He said driving a diesel kinda reminded him of driving a big truck and he much preferred the steam engine.
The steamers they use is the 1702 which was originally a US Army Transportation Corps S-160 built for use in WWII. The 1702 never made it to Europe but has served well since new for the Army and then the Reader Rail Road in Arkansas and now the GWMRR.
There is a model available produced in the UK by Model Loco. I have several of them and they are really fine models. They are not for the beginner as they are constructed of soft metal (pewter?) and brass etchings. They really aren’t thta difficult to construct though and with basic tools and patience will make a fine running engine.
I enquired at the GSMRR a couple months ago and they said the 1702 was down for major overhaul and would not be ready for quite some time.
If you want to see another S-160 in action go to the Tennessee Valley RR and see and ride the 610. They also have the 611 there which was rebuilt in 1950 with Franklin Rotary Poppet valve gear. Unfortunately the 611 is being used as a parts source for the 610. Wish it were the other way around!
I was down there a couple of weeks ago myself. I took the GSMRR from Bryson City to the Nanthala Gorge. I’m pretty sure the passenger cars you mentioned are customed made for them. They were also the only two cars at either gift shop. Con-Cor doesn’t list them in their product list either.
The one engine looked like a GP-9M to me, so I asked the engineer, who told me it was a GP-9M body on a GP-7. Walthers sells a GP-9M in their Trainline series. You could either paint it or have it custom painted in you wanted an engine bad enough.