I am currently looking into buying several undec overton cars (3-4) from this guy off ebay. In each “orders” there are 1combine, 1 business cars, and 2+ coaches. However, I’m going to use the coach cars with either my 4-8-4 Rock Island or CNW 4-6-0 and the remaining loco gets the business cars. I will not rule out diesel or electric locomotives, but my question is what locomotive would work best with the cars?
overview of my freelance n layout
Present day
My "character bought out the CNW, CGW, Southern Pacific, and D&GRW portion from from Union Pacific and bought out Pennsylvania/Penn Central from CSX, Conrail, and Norfolk (because of the locomotives I bought). My railroad is called the Central Illinois Railroad, also known as the Blac Rail (hence B.R in my signature)
Anyways, my railroad haul coal to Coldington Steel, scraps goes to a scrap yard or Coldington, logs from a logging camp to Rousch Lumber mill, woodchips goes to Coldington or local bbq woodchip businesses, and soon sawdust turned into fuel that will “fuel” my locomotives. My two steam locomotives will pull passenger cars.
my locos are a bachmann 0-6-0t, 4-8-4, 4-6-0, 2 SD45s, and 1 NW2
Any advices on what locomotives would work best for the overton business and coach cars?
You’ll probably want the shortest loco you have pulling the overton cars. I have a bunch of them myself and rather like them being pulled behind my 2-6-0s. A larger locomotive just looks like overkill, IMO.
I was thinking for a split second getting two diesels or electric locomotives. Like the E or F series or alco PAs, but I will go ahead and get one more small steam locomotive.
I’m thinking about doing that as well as have commuter trains since i will only have 3-4 cities or towns. One color bunch of cars will be for commuters and the others will be for tourism
Yes, the older and shorter the steam loco pulling them are, the better. That is if you want more prototypucal use of them.They were used late 1800s maybe early 1900s, so they are not newer passenger cars.
The 4-4-0, the 2-6-0,mogul, the 0-6-0 etc, would best pulling the trains. Unless you want a “tourist” line on your layout.
Of course, it’s your railroad run it any way you want.
They are cars that were designed to operate a couple trains on a small branch of a small railroad 120 years ago. They were only built for that branch of that railroad and were never built for any other railroad in any other part of the country. So they are extremely rare and unusual cars that were not typical of any cars used by any of the railroads that comprise the BR.
The most appropriate engine engine would be the 4-6-0. However since you are freelancing, use whatever you want, it doesn’t matter, they will pretty well equally appropriate or inappropriate depending on the observer’s feelings about being prototypical.
I was going to use a few of mine as a scenic excursion, with some open cars as well. I would probably pull mine with a 36T Shay, & or one of the 2-6-2 Prairies I have. Mine would be 5 - 6 cars with a caboose. If I want modern, I have '90’s+ Metra.
Mr. LMD will be “buying” some more locomotives in the future, 2:1 diesel and steam. I plan on having the coaches as the commuters and interturban and the business cars the express since corporate world is fast pace.
Well if you’re running a “present day” layout that’s primarily steam, I guess anything goes. As noted, Overton cars were built for a mountain branch line the 1800’s. They’re all-wood cars which would have been banned from interchange service by about 1939 (if they still existed then). The CNW had some woodsided cars similar to the Overtons (but twice as long, and with steel underframes) that were used in commuter service into the 1940’s. I can’t imagine these cars being used today for anything but a tourist train, for western TV or movies, etc.
BTW business cars were usually used by railroad officers in travelling over the railroad. Today they’re use is pretty limited, some railroads run what are essentially excursion trains for customers or potential shippers…so a business car wouldn’t be on a train all that often.
My railroad terrain is flat in some areas and downgrade in other areas. I’m going to have 3 cities/towns for each main industries: steel, mining, and logging. The railroad and industry workers will have their own set of cars to be pulled so they can get to work and home on time.
