Each of us certainly has an engine or a oiece of rolling stoch which is very dear to you for various reasons. Don´t keep them hidden - show us your treasures!
Aside from an old Marklin HO scale electric locomotive my wife gave me for our first anniversary, my hidden treasure is a WMC HOn3 D&RGW T-12 4-6-0, which I bought 45 years ago, and painted, lettered and weathered. She has never seen any service, other than the occasional shuttle run on a 15" long plank.
The purchase of this engine was a milestone in my “career” as a model railroader. It marked the end of my time playing with toy trains and turning into a model railroader.
This engine, D&H #7312, is special because one, I used to see it in Plattsburgh when I was around 7, and buying the loco marked the starting of my first “real” layout, the D&H champlain division north end, as well as the start of my blog.
I’d say if I have any treasures, it’s some signature D&RGW rolling stock that has been only availalbe in brass, yet trains looks so much more “Rio Grande” if they have them, vs a foobie.
So far I have six D&RGW shop built correct brass cabooses; five are painted at present:
Twenty-two were built by Alco-GE in 1929. When their service was done at C.U.T. they moved eastward to finish out their duty hauling the likes of the Century, Commodore Vanderbilt and Empire State Express on the last thirty miles of the NYC mainline, under Park Avenue and into Grand Central Terminal.
Fortunately I was able to ride behind them on several occasions. It is truly an awesome experience to feel the silent, relentless power that many of these types of “big” electrics are capable of providing.
When Overland announced a run of these locomotives in 1997, I was fortunate to have been able to afford one, years later I found a stable mate. Only two hundred models were produced. I would say that if I ever had to liquidate my collection, these would be the very last to leave the clutches of my feeble grasp.
That combine is hard to find! I have been wanting one for a while and have only ever seen two of them, this being the second one.
Speaking of Rio Grande Cabooses, I have been working on four ProtoWest Scale Models Resin kits. I have finished two but haven’t taken the final photos yet. Here is it in construction.
I actually scratchbuilt one before I started on the Protowest Kits. I actually think the scratchbuilt one was easier. I did realize much later that its actually the wrong color. I used DRGW Orange instead of Gold. Oops. Not repainting it.
I treasure every locomotive and piece of rolling stock in my collection but if I have to pick just one it would have to be this yellow box Atlas GP40 from the 1970s. My first two HO scale locomotives were Tyco F7 toys which sadly didn’t last very long before they broke. This was my first real scale model. I was so happy when I got it. The Tycos were still around when I got this but this was the locomotive that I really wanted.
My Katsumi Shay is definitely one of my favorites. Took her apart, and put her back together with a fresh coat of paint, new motor, DCC and LED lighting. Works like a champ… Simon
Can’t show no photos but i have three yellow box locos just like the above Santa Fe one GP40 hand painted SCL and a GP38 Clinchfield hand painted and last a GP40 in ICG orange and gray MR ran back in the 80’s on how to paint that one they all still run great.
Model Railroading is my Treasure! I have two favorites, both kitbashed. The locomotive is my Southern Pacific AC-9 #3807 that started out its life as a Rivarossi Cab Forward and got too close to my workbench and the rest is history.
Before
After
The other goodie is my Southern Pacific ¾ Dome Lounge Car. It originally was an Athearn Blue Box Diner Car. In a few days it was a ready to roll SP lounge car. There were only seven SP ¾ Dome cars, all built in house by the SP, this one is #3601.
That Prospector combine was bought from Caboose Hobbies back in 1989 and was from one of two runs of Palace Car Company brass P-S Prospector runs. I had also ordered a PCC Wilson McCarthy business car and Dome Chair car, but they didn’t arrive until after I had moved away from Texas and my meddling mother returned them. Still makes me mad I missed out on them due to that. The combine pictured was not the one I ordered but Caboose Hobbies had the less often used combine from the late 70s with the blanked out dorm windows so I bought. It was unpainted until a couple years ago when a fellow Rio Grande fan painted it for me.
In the late 1990s a skirted version PCC combine with the dorm windows came up for sale at a hobby shop where I used to live. It’s being painted and decalled also. It would be good up until about 1973 when the skirts were removed.
During the last 6 or 7 years Division Point did decorated P-S Prospector cars as well and we’re gogeous but about $500 each!
BTW, that 4-stripe caboose I pictured is a Div Pt. The rest are Overland.
Your Protowest look very nice. I’ve seen some constructed that looked kind of rough. They must require some skill to have come out looking good like yours. Great job!
It’s very satisfying to have signature equipment for modeling the DRGW!
I cannot post pictures, but my favorite loco out of my entire fleet of HO and O is my Atlas O Conrail C630 #6770. I have never seen another O scale Atlas C630 other than mine.
This train was built by a Japanese model railroader and dear friend of mine. It is OO9 scale, i.e. OO scale running on 9mm gauge track. The engine and cars have no specific prototype, but closely follow British NG specs. The engine is powered by a Kato 2-axle drive and runs great!
It has been educational as well. Though I feel like Brody in the movie Jaws when everyone is showing off their battle scars and all he has to show is his where his appendix incision was.[(-D]
