My son and I are planning a Long Island layout. So far we only have 1 Long Island Loco and that MP15AC, NY&A with DCC and sound. and a bunch of Long Island passenger cars. It seems that LI loco’s are few and far between now so the only alternative is custom painting. But it seems that none of the loco’s that we want no longer come undecorated!
We are looking for C-liners, RS-1’s and 3’s, C-420’s, SD 38’s and Alco PA-1’s (Walthers has a LI engine but it’s not DCC) We preferably want DCC and sound but as far as I can tell from searches some of these never came in DCC. Especially the RS’s.
Are companies not bothering with the undecorated versions anymore? Thanx
Have you checked out Rapido Trains? They don’t have a large collection of engines but I’m pretty sure what they do produce have all been available as undecorated units. I do know that they are producing quite a few Long Island passenger cars.
What’s the difference between undecorated and decorated, if it’s not specific to your railroad? You’ll simply need the locomotive your line used, paint and decal it and there you go!
However, I do feel your pain as far as locomotives coming in your specific livery! I model Northern Pacific, one of what I would figure to be a fairly popular line and there is very little available in N.P.
Manufacturers seem to be very myopic in their marketing stratigies today (in my opinion)! If it’s not Union Pacific, Southern Pacific, Pennsilvania and a couple of others, their not interested, maybe the tooling costs kill the option! This is partly to blame on the model railroaders of today, who demand specific, ready to run equipment! This makes the production of generic equipment, which can be converted to a specific road’s equipment by painting, decaling and detailing; unpopular, as today’s modelers lack the skills to do the conversion! It’s a vicious circle!
I think this is why many people in the hobby today do not model specific railroads; but model multiple roads!
By the way Bachmann does offer undecorated steam locomotives.
“We are looking for C-liners, RS-1’s and 3’s, C-420’s, SD 38’s and Alco PA-1’s (Walthers has a LI engine but it’s not DCC) We preferably want DCC and sound but as far as I can tell from searches some of these never came in DCC. Especially the RS’s.”
Atlas released C-420s painted for the LIRR in numbers 201 and 205 a few years back. You may be abl to find some on ebay . Another possibility is to join one of the HO scale train groups on Yahoo.com such as HO Train Swap and HO Interchange. You can post an want to buy message and maybe find some of the rare LIRR releases.
When narrowing your modeling to a specific regional railroad I would imagine that a lot of custom painting and modifications for DCC and sound would be part of the price. I am a fan of the LIRR and a former LIRR commuter as well. I have two Walthers Alco FAs and two Athearn RTR ex-LIRR NY&A GP38s (all DC) for old times sake.
The LIRR offers some great layout potential from industrial Long Island City to the bucolic eastern Long Island. Here is a link to a great LIRR layout by Nick Kalis
NP2626, I agree about painting your own and the need for more generic equipment. I don’t mind painting or modifying if needed. However, I would love to have either undec or data only options so I don’t first have to strip the model before repainting. If anything my worry isn’t about painting, but damaging the plastic model during the stripping process. Even though I try to be as gentle as possible, I have damaged a couple shells due to the stripper being incompatible with some part.
Never painted a loco before but I am experienced in painting miniature metal/plastic Warhammer 40k models. I’m guessing I would have to learn how to use an airbrush. My question is do you use painters tape to separate the colors? Any painting books you recommend? Thanx
NP2626 raises a good point: if what you want is not readily available then you have to take what is available, undecorate it, redecorate it, and then decal it.
I am an N-Scaler freelancer “now”-era modeler and although N-Scale manufacturers may have a good supply of models available few of these come undecorated and before I can use them for my Seaboard and Western Virginia Railway I have to first render my motive power into the livery of The Great Undec Railroad; like almost anything else one becomes proficient at any task with experience.
I might mention that you are not alone in your frustration with the lack of models liveried for the Long Island Railroad – it is just a little bit on the strange side that more equipment doesn’t come decorated for the LIRR because, I don’t know whether you know it or not, the LIRR is the oldest railroad in the country still operating under the designation of its original charter – anyway, we had a (now deceased) modeler in our area who was from out Long Island way somewhere and therefore a fan and he used to do custom painting for people. If you feel that painting is beyond your skills and you wish to continue modeling the LIRR then you may have to find a custom painter who can handle that chore for you. That service is not cheap but most, I guess, do a pretty good job.
I bought an undecorated PA-1 and dummy PB-1 made by Con-Cor through Walther’s a couple of years ago. They were in N-Scale. I still have the undecorated PA-1 shell because I used an old shell that matched a Big Sky Blue passenger consist on it. I just had to paint the trucks. The dummy PB-1 I painted to match. The dummy unit does not run well and not because there is no motor in it. I think it has more to do with how the trucks are mounted to the frame. The PA unit had a plug for an 8-pin drop in decoder. Drop in decoder installations are fairly easy. At least the 5 I have done.
Undecorated appears to be the most popular paint scheme going. It’s always sold out. [swg]
I was fortunate to get the 4 diesel switchers I need, undecorated with DCC. But that was because I now have a long range plan and buy models I will need as soon as they appear. With so many manufacturers doing batch productions with years between runs (if there is a second run) it’s the only way. Even so I will eventually have to scratchbuild or bash some.
I did not realize you could strip down the paint on these plastic shells. What is the procedure for that? I have quite a few old Tyco loco shells I could practice on. Thanx
Look for a model with the least amount of lettering…PRR is a good choice…remove those few printed bits with a fiberglass eraser, and repaint. (you already have a primer coat). Mask where needed.
I use 91% rubbing alcohol. Pour the alcohol into a container, place shell into alcohol, seal container and let sit for an hour or so depending on the paint. On stubborn paint jobs this could take a whole day. YOu will see the paint lift off the shell. A toothbrush and soft brush work well to get the paint out of the grills and vents. There should be some threads on this topic available for review. Model Railroader covered this topic several times as well. It’s not that hard. If I can do it anyone can do it.
Below is the lead engine a trio of Spectrum New York Central GP-30s that were originally painted in the yellow and green Reading scheme. These units took an overnight soak to get the heavily applied factory paint off. While not the most complicated of paint schemes they came out great as far as I am concerned.
If you are still searching for LIRR locomotives the following was listed today (04-25-2012) on Yahoo group HO Interchange under message # 47662
Atlas: 9547 HO H16-44 diesel locomotive Long Island #1508 with sill mounted handrails, bi-directional class lights Gray & Orange MSRP $149.95 your price $99.00
Just ordered a Long Island Alco FA-1 before they’re phased out. Now I’ll just have to learn how to install a DCC decoder with sound. Should make for a good project. Any recommendations on DCC and sound decoders?
