Hey guys,
I was eyeing this loco at the LHS last night, and was wondering, Is this scheme correct for this locomotive? I really like this scheme, and would love to have one, I just want to be sure It’s correct before forking out the dosh.[:D]
Thanks In advance!
-James-
It’s correct, however, the D&RGW did not use the scheme for very long.
Something to consider.
How accurate are you trying to model the Rio Grande?
Josh
D&RGW only had a half dozen of these and ran them long hood forward.
Jerry
James,
It’s basically correct. On the cab side, the road numbers were added below the windows very soon after delivery. The cab side windows are a bit too deep on this model, which appears to be the Athearn/MDC version, so there isn’t room above the stripes to put the numbers there. The Atlas RS-3s are somewhat better in this regard.
The Rio Grande had five RS-3s, delivered in summer 1951. They all retained the as-delivered paint scheme, except for 5204 which was repainted in the switcher paint scheme in 1963. They were taken out of service in 1964 and 1965 and eventually sold for scrap.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Cheers for the help guys.
-James-
I’ll Keep my eyes peeled for an Atlas version, if not, The Athearn it is.
Cheers
-James-
Hi James,
My 2 Atlas Rio Grande RS-3s are from the latest run, which was last year. They run great.
I’ve not seen the Athearn ones personally, but people say the detail is much more state of the art on them than on the Atlas version. The drivetrain has the usual mixed bag of reports, but is generally considered improved over previous versions. The improved (over previous MDC versions) Athearn RS-3 came along after the last run of Atlas ones arrived. I’ve since seen both appear on Ebay regularly, so they should not be too scarce.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL