I have a brief question about numbering locomotives. I have repainted an old Athearn SD-45 in GTW colors. I know they never had any in service, but I have an affinity for six-axle diesels, and hey, it’s my railroad[:D]. Anyway, since there were never any on the roster, I’m stumped as to how to give the engine a number. Should I just pull one out of my hat (fantasy engine=fantasy number?)? If anyone has any advice as to how to solve this dilemma, pitch in.
Gerry S.
You could give a fantasy number. If you really want to get technical, you could give a number that was never used by GTW. For instance, if 4000 series was actually used and that was the highest number range, then give your loco a 5000 number. This may sound confusing, but I am not really familiar with this railroad.
Good luck.
Since it is a fantasy locomotive for that railroad, you should use a fantasy number. Railroads used rational (not random) numbering schemes. They were sequential, so usually later-acquired locomotives had higher numbers, but they sometimes took on numbers of retired locomotives. Still there were often numbering gaps, and some railroads reserved blocks of numbers for certain types of locomotives. For instance, in the mid-twentieth century on the Southern Pacific, the 1000-series was reserved for switchers and the 4300-series for its Mountain (4-8-2) locomotives.
Thus, I recommend you study the locomotive roster of your chosen railroad and choose a nonexisting number you think fits the scheme.
Mark
Thanks for the input guys. Mark, I did just as you suggested and found that the final number for the GP-40’s that the GTW ran was 5926, so, Their first (and only) SD-45 is now numbered #6500. Thanks again.
Gery S.