After reading the latest issue of my, i have decided that my second layout will be a heavy rail electirc operation. Want i want to know is, where can i get prototype images of urban Heavy rail electric operations, and prototype information on the same.
Also, what heavy rail electrics have been made as plastic models (NOT the GG1 because that screams PRR too much) as i dont want to spend hundreds per locomotive on brass models.
If only small locomotives would be needed for the operations, what sort of heavy rail electric switchers could i scratchbuild?
How difficult would it be to custom make some overhead towers for this line?
Sorry for the amount of questions, but i am trying to get as much information as possible before i start building the layout.
For all things electric (but with an Interurban/Radial Railway feel) check out the work of Interurban (Chris) at www.the-gauge.com . His latest project was scratch-bashing a boxcab electric out of a powered B-unit to haul freight on his radial line.
Only two heavy electrics have been made in HO plastic, the GG-1 and the E33. There are a few modern electric passenger engines as well, like the HHP-8 and the Acela. Check engine listings for BLI, IHC, Bachmann and Atlas.
If you’re looking to freelance, why not take the guts from a GG-1 and freelance your own heavy electric engines? It wouldn’t be too hard to splice two F-unit shells together to create a baby Uncle Joe, and scratchbuilding an older engine with a boxy body wouldn’t be that hard either.
As for caternary towers, check the Trains.com magazine index. Some time in the 1980s, Craftsman ran an article by someone who was modeling the North Shore, and scratchbuilt towers out of clear lexan rod. He painted the lattice framework onto the clear rod, and the only way you could tell they were solid was when light reflected off the unpainted portions. It was very effective modeling, and worth a look.
If you’re looking for a small steeplecab electric, check Cannonball Car Shops. They’ve got a resin shell that’s specifically designed to be added to a Bachmann 44-tonner. AMB makes a laser cut detail set for this shell.
There’s some info on interurban freight operations in the July 2004 MR - Tony Koester’s article on page 110-111. Freight motors look like they’d be fairly easy to scratchbuild using a SPUD as the power source and a plastic or brass bodyshell. The major problem would be the trolley poles and wiring - it’s apparently quite tricky to make it work reliably.
As far as heavy rail electrics are concerned, the only models I can think of (apart from a GG1) are the Bachmann E33 and the Atlas Amtrak AEM7. I know Bachmann offered an older 6-axle Amtrak electric loco in N, not sure of the type or if it was available in HO though. I considered buying one a while ago, but was put off by the bright “chrome” paint finish - I would have had to repaint it and would have no idea where to find decals!
I was going for more “boxcab” type electrics, could i bash one from an MDC boxcab diesel-electric.
As for getting power from the overhead, i am not that fussed, if i have to use track power rather than attempting to build a working overhead power source.
Don’t see why not. The Illinois Terminal had a series of small boxcab-like freight motors that were similar in dimension to the Roundhouse boxcab (but didn’t look like them!)
Oh thats good then, already have a powered boxcab sitting unsed and unloved on my line. Did heavy electrics run on city streets or would they use reserved trackage in the centre of the street?
South Shore heavy electrics moved down the center of many streets in Indiana. IT track was mostly rural ROW, so there was only limited street running, and (mostly) only on “trolley loops” through the centers of big towns. Most of their electric freight motors stayed away from the restrictive trackage and tight curves of the IT’s urban areas. What little freight moved on the North Shore moved along both street trackage and dedicated ROW.
Ross - in case you haven’t found a definition, a “radial” railway is the Canadian (but apparently not British - or you would’ve known) term for what is commonly referred to as Interurban railways. The term “radial” refers to them radiating out of a roughly central point. There used to be radial railways for instance that went west, north, and east out of Toronto, Ontario (Canada) into the surrounding towns. (South is the lake… [;)])
As far as I know, they weren’t necessarily electric, although many were. They sometimes used oil-electric “doodlebug” type cars.
If you are thinking of heavy electrics … do not overlook some of the locomotives of European or Japanese prototypes, particularly the older boxcab types. If you can overlook some obviously different trucks, boxcabs of the 1920s to 1950s vintage had a rather generic look so that a Japanese boxcab looks rather like what the Virginian or Milwaukee Road or PRR used. A bit of redetailing and painting and a very close approximation can result
Dave Nelson
Dave Nelson
yes i had looked at them but i dont really want to pay fourty odd pounds (normally a fair bit more too) for a locomotive that i will be redetaling and repainting, so most of the fleet will probably end up being based around MDC boxcabs and Intermountain F7 shells on Athearn switcher chassis.
The BC Rail (ex-British Columbia Railway) operates heavy electrics. They had GM Diesel (Canada) build them seven GF6C locomotives. These 6,000 hp units haul coal on BC Rail’s Tumbler Ridge Subdivision.
There’s an article about GF6Cs in the April 1995 MR.
Your best bet is to keep an eye on eBay for freight motors–brass electrics can vary widely in price, but I have purchased Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecabs for around $130 and saw one for sale in Chicago for $100 or so this month.
I’m a fan of the Sacramento Northern, which ran the lighter end of heavy electric freight (GE and Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecabs) as well as some homebrewed box motors, after giving up the passenger business in 1941. They included private trackage, in-street tracks for industrial belt lines, third-rail, trolley wire and catenary power, and, after 1946, slowly converted over to diesel power but ran some electric until as late as 1964.
I am told that pantographs are more reliable and simpler to deal with than trolley poles, but you still have to hang that darn trolley wire to make it look right–and if you’re going to hang it, you might as well power it!
Sad to say, the Tumbler Ridge sub shut down last September due to closure of the coal mine. The electric locomotives were replaced by diesels in 2000. You can find their history and a photo at www.trainscan.com/hist/tmbl/
yes wil be hanging it and evenutally using it as a power source (DCC). Ive started work on the fleet at the moment for the interurban operations but so far i am having trouble locating any decent boxmotors (dont like steeplecabs, too modern for my purposes!) so the freight fleet has stalled and i dont want to pay over the odds for brass engine becuase then i would be frightened to customise them!
MRR warehouse wasnt that helpful! they had sold out of most of the stock (although the very complicated hopper kits looked very appealing!)
There is always the option of scratchbuilding some boxcabs for your lines. The trucks used on Alco RS diesels are not too uncommon for an electric built in the 1930s on. You could start with an ATLAS RS3 chassis and just build a new body for the unit. The hard part would be embossing all of the rivets common to boxcab units and making the radius where the roof meet the side. There have been articles in MR over time about scratchbuilding steam engine tenders in brass and styrene that would show you how it is done. If you plan on enough of them brass etching would be the best choice. There are places that do these things commercially or you can do it at home. A master for resin casting could work as well. The Butte Anaconda & Pacific had two electrics built with roadswitcher bodies in the late 1950s. They ran alongside the boxcabs until diesels took over. The Fallen Flags site has photos of the BA&P electrics.