Is there any Northern Pacific Modelers here on Model Railroader’s Forum? By my Avatar, you can see that I am. I’d be interested in hearing from N.P. modelers, maybe exchange emails and the like.
Are you a member of the N.P.R.H.A. If not, you should consider this, as there is a lot of great information available. They even have some model kits available! Although I have never attended one of their conventions, I will when one is close. I’d love to go this year, as it will be in Butte, MT, a town I’m very much interested in.
What location have you modeled? What era? What N.P. models do you have, have you built? Anything N.P. goes. In fact, lets open it up to the Hill lines, Northern Pacific, Great Northern and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. If you model one of these three lines, this thread is for you! If you don’t model one of these three lines but would still like to post here, by all means do so! However, lets keep the focus on the Hill Lines.
When I started my HO layout, I felt that there was only one type of model railroad I would be interested in and that was mountain railroading. I wanted tunnels, sheer cliffs, high bridges and “spindly” trestles. Having read over “Track Planning for Realistic Operations” by John Armstrong, I understood that I should have places where trains come from and go to. I also wanted a classification yard and engine servicing facility with turn table and roundhouse. With these parameters, I designed my layout. I used 22 inch minimum curves and number 6 turnouts on the main line. I did not want a point to point, unless I could work out a way to also run continuously. So, the design is an 8 foot by 20 foot three times around with duck under (becoming more and more difficult with age).
I did not specifically start with the Northern Pacific. The N.P. sort of fell into place about 5 years; or, so after I started. I have lived my entire life within 35 miles of the Northern Pacific’s Main line between the Twin Cities and Fargo. So, it was sort of natural that I’d be interested in the N.P.
This is how I got started with the layout I have now and how the Northern Pacific became my line of choice! How did you get started?
My husband I model the Pacific Northwest. We model HO with an original loop track which we have converted to operations. Logging is a major industry in our area.
We started after seeing a train under his uncle’s Christmas tree. When we priced locos, we decided that it couldn’t be part time. And here we are train nerds.
Olympia! Wow, you are mountain railroading! maybe not right in them; but, if you ever have clear days, you certainly can see them! Good to hear from you Sue!
Welcome to NP a great modeling experience… did not read anything about era, but some comments from Mark that maybe steam diesel transition ?? not much in the way of hills from Twiin Cities to mid Montana, although mostly flat still a lot of charactor to model. As for me, The Pacific Basin connects to the NP along with the Milw and SP. (thats because I worked for the Milw, SP, and NP as part of my railroad career, now retired. PB is also a mountain property with a sole purpose of getting “Railite” ore from the mines to the class ones in unit trains… the PB is a point to point and the NP, SP, & Milw live on loops that connect at the PB origin … Era is Late 1960’s for the PB… Not a steam fan and love the 2nd gen diesels… especially NP and SP… enjoy the mountains Mark
I’m a member of the NPRHA, have been to a couple of the conventions when they’re here in the Twin Cities. Although my model railroad is free-lance, it’s heavily influenced by the joint NP-Soo Cuyuna Range iron ore operations that existed from the 1920’s into the early BN era. Because of it being such a big railroad, NP was pretty hard to pin down. Someone familiar with the NP in Washington state wouldn’t think of it as an important iron ore railroad, and farmers on it’s granger lines in North Dakota probably didn’t think of it as a mountain railroad.
I will post a few details about my layout soon. I thought I had pics, but I also had the camera set up wrong.
But now I wonder: does any one reading this thread also remember the yard at Bozeman, MT in or about 1966? There was not much trackage - Bozeman was not a railroad town - but I would like to locate these tacks as accurately as possible.
I don’t know too much about the Bozeman yard in 1966, but I could tell you about it today. I live in Bozeman, which is really one of the pretty places in the world. There are about 6 tracks or so today. The depot is on the west end of the tracks. It’s still standing, but boarded up. I’m wondering if the NP Yahoo Group might have something about it.
I also model some NP freight in HO scale, along with a full GN Empire Builder. I’ve been hoping for Walthers to make the North Coast Limited for a long time!
As I said, I didn’t start modeling the N.P., I was freelance and totally into steam. However, when I decided to go N.P., I converted a couple Athearn F-7s with B.N. livery to Northern Pacific, by painting, adding some details and decaling for the N.P. Then bought a Pacific Fast Mail Y-2 2-8-0 consolidation. My next project was to convert a Rivarossi Mikado to a N.P. W-3 Mike and this turned out pretty well. I followed doing this from an article in Model Railroader. I then converted an MDC 10 wheeler into an N.P. S-4, bought a couple of Proto 2000 GP-7s, a Stewart RS-3 and a Stewart Baldwin something switcher. I also bought an 0-8-0 switcher but can’t remember who produced it, pretty sure it’s not P2K.
Buying Diesels forced a move to the transition period.
I suppose Walthers looks at the potential demand for a complete named passenger train before they come out with one. Although (in my opinion) the Northern Pacific North Coast Limited was the most beautiful passenger train ever designed, interest in the Northern Pacific, as a modeled subject may be to low for Walthers to offer it. Sorry to say that the price would be beyond my means, anyway.
My layout was designed and the track laid long before I decided to model the N.P. Therefore, to say that a specific location has been modeled, isn’t possible. However, excepting having maybe more dramatic scenery, I’ve chosen the Butte Short line and Butte as where the railroad is located. The highest point on the layout is Homestake, east end staging is Logan and the west end staging is, Helena. It just so happened that I felt this might work, if I used gobbs of Artistic License!
So, now I have pretty well described my layout in time and location and some of the equipment I have. It’s time for others to do the same. I know that some of you will want photos and I might attempt to figure out how they do that here at the forum, which operates so much differently than any of the other forums I have participated in!
As the GN is close to the Canadian border, If I was to model any U.S. railroad it would certainly be GN, great passenger trains and unbelievable steam locomotives.
I’m surprised that more people do not model this system, I just assumed that it was a very popular road to model, it has me thinking just what railroad does have the most followers? and there does seem to be a large selection of GN products available or am I imagining this.
The climb from Butte up to Homestake is simply awesome to follow along I-90, I wish I could have experienced it from the Limited. The scenery and rock formations on the pass and down in Butte have to be the most unusual around. The rails are still intact over the pass, but are cut as the enter the BNSF(?) yard. (rail banked in other words)
I grew up there, watched trains from the park on the west end of the depot when I was young, hence the layout now.
I was out there last summer to take photos for the layouts backdrop, and completed it’s installation last week, so I am familiar with what’s there now.
Sandborn maps, old aerials, and other internet sources reveal that the tracks through Bozeman have changed many times down through the years. There was a small freight yard in my day, and a larger one and even a small roundhouse in years before that.
Geared Steam, I just finished reading The Butte Short line book and will be taking this with me when I go out to the Butte area some day soon. Although I think the authors were exploring the line in the mid 90s, when they wrote the book, I’m guessing it will be mostly the same by the time I get out there.
I’m finding it fascinating looking at the BSL on Google Earth.
Anyone know if Jack Parker is still around? His layout was wonderful!
The problem with GN is that they used belpaire boilers on most of their steam engines. Because of that, unless you can afford brass or are an adept scratchbuilder / kitbasher, you can’t really do a “steam era” GN. BLI does offer a GN USRA heavy mikado, which is pretty accurate for the engine when GN got it (except having the newer goat herald), but otherwise there’s not much available. However, GN has had a good representation of diesel power, so modelling the railroad from about 1950 onwards wouldn’t be too hard.
p.s. The New York Central owned (IIRC) the Canada Southern, and ran trains from New York to Montreal using New York Central engines and cars, and actually had a reasonably substantial presence in Canada.
I model a small portion of the NP - Laurel MT to Fromberg MT, where the line used to interchange with the CB&Q’s Wyoming mainline. My staging represents both ends of the transcontinental NP line, but only to feed Laurel and the interchange at Fromberg. Era is roughly 1930-1945.
The main focus of my layout is the CB&Q Wyoming line, but the NP presence is very important to the operating scheme, and the big steam on the staging line to Laurel feeds my love of big steam (bigger than what ran on the CB&Q in Wyoming).
I’m currently redesigning my layout, as I moved to South Carolina and had to dismantle my under-construction layout in New Jersey.
Click on the website in my signature to look at my operating scheme.