I’ve grown curious about this road name and would like to learn more. I kinda doubt it but it doesn’t hurt to ask - is there a complete list of engine model releases of diesels in this road name from the manufacturers such as Lionel et al?
I know Lionel did this in post war era in F3 and Alco. And MTH did this in F3.
Is there a particular Texas Special Alco model over the years that stands out as a good ‘bang for buck’ model to consider?
Also did the real Texas Special run all these various diesels? And was it mostly (in real life) a passenger train? Was it typicalloy A, or ABA, or …?
Original train was headed by a mathced pair of E-7’s in a back to back A-A consist. One set for the Katy and one set for the Frisco as the train was a joint operation. The main diference between the original sets was the order of the heralds near the trains nose. NO ONE has made an off the shelf accurate model of the TS locomoives or it’s paint scheme. Williams does make an E-7 but not in TS markings. MTH released a set of Alco PA’s that were sort of close. Most accurate passenger car set was done by K-Line last year. The only real complaint for purists is that the cars were only 18" long instead of a true scale 21". Train ran from St. Louis to San Antonio
There is an article in the paintshop section of Model Railroader, August 1996 on “Katy’s colorful EMD cab units” This includes a set of detailed drawings of the E-7’s in TS scheme.
I believe the Texas Special originally began with steam. However I have no knowledge of engine types or paint shemes. Maybe someone in these forums knows
The TS was introduced in 1948 as a streamlined train. The initial runs put a strain on the available equipment and some heavyweight cars were rebuilt/redressed to match the new streamlined cars.
If anyone is interested here is a short history of the TEXAS SPECIALS.
TEXAS SPECIAL MKT – SLSF Trains 1-2 May 16, 1948 St. Louis – San Antonio daily service each direction 1,038 miles 18 hours 25 minutes
The TEXAS SPECIAL was a jointly operated St. Louis to San Antonio operation of the MKT and StLSF railroads. Each railroad initially owned one train of the new lightweight streamlined TEXAS SPECIALS. The lightweight streamlined TEXAS SPECIALS began service May 16, 1948 replacing heavyweight trains in this service with a faster schedule. The StLSF better known as the Frisco operated the TEXAS SPECIAL over their rails between St. Louis and Vinita, Oklahoma, from there to Dallas, Fort Worth and on to San Antonio the MKT better known as the Katy operated the TEXAS SPECIALS. The trains were painted with bright red window bands, roofs, and car ends. The letter board and sides of the car were fluted stainless steel. The power was painted in a matching red scheme with only the lower third of the unit’s car sides having a stainless steel fluted panel. The TEXAS SPECIAL would carry through Sleeping Cars to and from New York and Washington operated over the PRR in their PENN TEXAS beyond St. Louis and in the B&O NATIONAL LIMITED to Washington.
FRISCO CONSIST
2000 EMD E7A 2,000 HP Diesel Passenger Cab Unit
2001 EMD E7A 2,000 HP Diesel Passenger Cab Unit
250 ROCK HILL Baggage 30’Railway Post Office Car
1250 OLIVETTE 56-Revenue Seat Coach
1251 PASADENA HILLS 56-Revenue Seat Coach
1252 BADEN 56-revenue Seat Coach
1650 STERLING PRICE 26-Revenue Seat Coach 25-Seat Buffet Lounge Car
650 ALEXANDER DONIPHAN 36-Seat Dining Car (St. Louis – Springfield)
1450 PIERRE LACLEDE 14 Roomette 4-Double Bedroom Sleeping Car (St. Louis – Fort Worth)
1451 THOMAS HART BENTON 14-Roomette 4-Double Bedroom Sleeping Car (St. Louis – Dallas)