What is your opinion on having a Union Pacific Diesel coupled with a Southern Pacific? I know UP bought SP so it should be ok. Has anyone seen this in real life? I am now the proud owner of an Atlas Union Pacific Dash 8 40 C Diesel with sound. It is by far my best loco so far…based on the sound. I love the sound in this one. I have 2 other Atlas SP Diesels with sound. One of the SPs runs virtually identical speed to this UP. So I put the SP, an SP dummy, then the UP behind that fo r3 locos. I noticed the UP and SP horns are different. UP is lower pitched and slightly off key from the SP.
I also bought 2 interMountain SP EMD FP7 Black Widow locomotives (no sound). I have not yet tried them out. I have been a fan of the Grey/Red SP style, but the old dude at the LHS said these go fast. So I had to have them.
One more question…
Do I have Train Disease? My wife and I had said that 2007 was going to be the “YOS” which stands for Year of Savings, and Year of Stopping (stop spending). I had to be somewhere today at 11pm and I got close to the appointment about 1/2 hour early…and near by was my favorite LHS (An Affair With Trains in Phoenix, Arizona). So I thought.ok…ill go in and JUST browse…if I buy anything ill just get some metal wheels for that old box car I bought at a train show…and maybe a pack of fake weeds…that should be $15 tops. So I go in… I get the wheels in my hand…train guy asks if I needed anything…I said no…just browseing…he said ok, sounds fine…
I think to myself…good…no pressure…I walk to the scenery supply section…I see the fake weeds…$3.50 perfect…just browesing…I got my wheels and scenery…then I see the 2007 Walthers catalog…ok, no problem…I need that tooo…Then I see a new UP Box Car…its only $14.95…no problem, whats another $15…so I pay for all of that…and I thi
I see UP trains on the Sunset Route through southern Arizona in practically every road name in the country represented among their locomotives, including SP, Rio Grande, BNSF, Santa Fe, NS, CSX, SSW, CN, CP, Conrail and lease units from GE, GATX, and many others, even though some of these roads no longer exist.
What is your opinion on having a Union Pacific Diesel coupled with a Southern Pacific? I know UP bought SP so it should be ok. Has anyone seen this in real life? I am now the proud owner of an Atlas Union Pacific Dash 8 40 C Diesel with sound. It is by far my best loco so far…based on the sound. I love the sound in this one. I have 2 other Atlas SP Diesels with sound. One of the SPs runs virtually identical speed to this UP. So I put the SP, an SP dummy, then the UP behind that fo r3 locos. I noticed the UP and SP horns are different. UP is lower pitched and slightly off key from the SP.
I also bought 2 interMountain SP EMD FP7 Black Widow locomotives (no sound). I have not yet tried them out. I have been a fan of the Grey/Red SP style, but the old dude at the LHS said these go fast. So I had to have them.
One more question…
Do I have Train Disease? My wife and I had said that 2007 was going to be the “YOS” which stands for Year of Savings, and Year of Stopping (stop spending). I had to be somewhere today at 11pm and I got close to the appointment about 1/2 hour early…and near by was my favorite LHS (An Affair With Trains in Phoenix, Arizona). So I thought.ok…ill go in and JUST browse…if I buy anything ill just get some metal wheels for that old box car I bought at a train show…and maybe a pack of fake weeds…that should be $15 tops. So I go in… I get the wheels in my hand…train guy asks if I needed anything…I said no…just browseing…he said ok, sounds fine…
I think to myself…good…no pressure…I walk to the scenery supply section…I see the fake weeds…$3.50 perfect…just browesing…I got my wheels and scenery…then I see the 2007 Walthers catalog…ok, no problem…I need that tooo…Then I see a new UP Box Car…its only $14.95…no problem, whats another $15…so I pay f
From what I see in Trains & Railroad mags, there are still a few SP units that have not even been patch painted, & a number that are patch painted (paint UP in a box painted over the SP logo). SP & UP actually go back over a hundred years. One of the old “robber barons”, Harriman, actually had majority ownership of both RRs but could not pull off the merger (can’t remember the exact reason) but a lot of old SP & UP steamers have “Harriman” tenders and pulled “Harriman” style passenger cars (Roundhouse used to make some in HO). UP & SP diesels ran in groups for many years in their original paint, also DRG and a couple of others. Go ahead & mix & match - it’s YOUR railroad![:D]
Out here in California, one still runs into plenty of locomotives still painted in Southern Pacific schemes–the purchase took place about a decade ago, so new power is all painted in UP yellow. Generally the numbers are painted over and replaced with a splash of UP yellow and the numbers…however, the UP locomotives have now caught whatever disease the SP locos had, and they are now starting to turn dingy grey from passing through all of those SP tunnels on the Overland Route (guess they used those black/gray schemes for a reason!)
But it is true that railroads often pooled their motive power, so you wouldn’t be too off the mark to run SP and UP locomotives together.
Ok Train Disease is probably not the term, but I am glad you all have it too! I am happy with what I bought! Time to try the Black Widow trains now… How about Mixing Black Widow and the SP Grey or UP Yellow? I know I can do whatever I want but curious if that has ever been viewed? I have never seen a black widow paint job ever…probably because they are very old??
I run modern era UP but I’m a lifelong SP fan. I’m thinking of freelancing a real SP-UP merger, instead of the hostile takeover that took place 11 years ago. I’m thinking of calling it “SUP” (Southern / Union Pacific). The railroad’s slogan would be “SUPer Service”
Black Widow was phased out in the 60s in favor of the Bloody Nose paint scheme. Most of the diesels in Blackwidow (F units, SD7/9s, GP7/9s, and various switchers) were repainted early on. You might find a Blackwidow F unit mu’d with a few then brand new SP SD40s or 45s, but I don’t think it’d be that common. Maybe an Espee modeler can help us out. Joe Fugate?
The “Black Widow” was SP’s original freight diesel color scheme. I remember seeing a mixture of Black Widow and Bloody Nose when SP was re-painting their diesels, so you wouldn’t be far off prototype. SP re-painted their diesels as they came in for shopping, not all at once. I think the reason that the “Black Widow” scheme on model diesels doesn’t stay in the hobby shop very long is because it was always the more attractive (if not cost-efficient) paint scheme, and the one more fondly remembered by we ‘older’ SP fans.
In the Union Pacific Odyssey DVD, UP and SP do mix and also ATSF as well as BN. On the main ATSF main routes, many section they also grant trakage rights to UP and SP (near Cheyenne). Not to mention in the early 70’s and 80’s, the Union Station was owned by ATSF, UP and SP and yes, they definitely have very close relationships in terms of equipment sharing.
I am base on those historical facts to do my lay-out and operate ATSF in conjunction with UP and SP plus I am also throwing in Conrail as well as CQ&B because near Chicago and the routes south of there, they also share equipment.
The Odyssey series of video really open my eyes up in terms of train operation in real life especially in consisting. Before I thought run 2-3 locos in consist may be excessive until I saw ATSF run 12 GP & SD locos in one train.
The Roseville yard is full of mixed sets. The SP units generally do have UP numbers (red numbers on a small rectangular patch of UP yellow under the cab windows and the UP herald on a yellow patch on the nose) to identify them in the correct group of locos(ie SD40’s Dash 9’s etc).
As for your illness. I had it once and then, while talking to someone about going to the Hobby shop because I needed… I actually realized I didn’t “NEED” anything. I have a whole hobby shop under the layout. I WAS CURED!!!
Notice, I said was. Appearently, I’ve had a major relapse. However, paying my Christmas Master Card bill has put things in remission. The prognosis for another cure is good.
Although the tunnel motor isn’t exactly unpatched, it’s still in SP “Speed Lettering” paint. I saw these engines providing power for a welded rail train heading south through Kelly, Kentucky on the Henderson Subdivision.
