Does anyone know of a database or a simple chart or other media, that shows the first manufacture date and years of operation of various steam and diesel locomotives? It would cross reference locos and help in a more realistic choice of gear, for any particular layout, that is suppose to be representing a certain era or time period.
I don’t know of anything that would give you that info all in one place for diesels, and steam would be almost impossible to so categorise, as most were built to each road’s own specifications.
Here’s some info for Baldwin, ALCO, and MLW.
Remember, Google is your friend. [swg]
Wayne
There are still diesels in operation that is 60-70 years old…I know of 1 brand new steam locomotive that was built in the last 10 years.
Select your time frame and do the required research.
Although the information is a little dated now, the July 1993 issue of Model Railroader had an article by J. Richard Shoemaker called “HO Plastic Diesel Roundup”. The article was actually a tabular chart that showed the locomotive model, the approximate number of units sold, and the years the models were in production. In addition, the chart listed the manufacturers of the various available HO models. Alco, Baldwin, EMD, Fairbanks-Morse, and GE diesels were listed.
And then there is my favorite source for a lot of diesel locomotive information: http://www.thedieselshop.us/
Do you have a specific road in mind? That would greatly simplify the question.
Some roads bought certain models early, while others bought the same model very late, evan after a replacement model was introduced.
Give this site a try http://www.trainweb.org/jaydeet/rosters.htm It does not have a still in use or date of retirement but it does give manu date and which railroad they went too.
Kalmbach’s Diesel Spotter’s Guide wouild be a good place to start, see when diesels were introduced and years manufactured. After that, it gets complicated.
Try these books, all available from Kalmbach publishing:
Guide to North American Steam Locomotives
Diesel Locomotives: The first 50 Years
Field Guide to Modern Diesel Locomotives
Together they cover practically all steam and diesels built and used during the period 1900 - ~2000. Each book contains encyclopedia type entries on each locomotive and a little background information.