I’ve been collecting the pieces in preparation of building a small shelf layout in HO scale. The wife (gotta love this gal) had dug out the pics of a rambling N-scale pike I’d built a few years back and suggested model railroading might be an interesting diversion and involvement for our neice’s kids (8 & 13), so away we go. [:p] Currently the house looks like a small hobby shop and the benchwork project is scheduled for start at the first of the week.
While I had purchased several GP units and a couple of switching locos she found and grabbed up a U28B loco. Ok, now to the question (finally!): the layout will be double decked with a mainline and helix connecting two fiddle and storage yards with each serving a small collection of interacting rail customers. In prototypical settings is the Uboat employed more as a road loco or has it better found use as a yard and local delivery unit?
When she brought this little puppy home I managed to beam and hug and all that required married guy stuff and told her it was EXACTLY what the Knot Known Where RR (KKW are her initials btw [:I]) desperately needed. I’d obviously rather expose my ignorance to you folks than her. [}:)]
I live in northeast Missouri on the former CB&Q Kansas City - Chicago main (sorry, can’t bring myself to call it BNSF). Before BN purged themselves of the 4 axle Uboats, we would see them consistantly on road freights … can’t recall ever having seen one switch in the yards …
dwRavenstar,
And so where do you model?
The General Electric U28B, is a bonified 2750 horsepower locomotive!
Just apply the proto-type you model, even a neighbor.
Such an application to your locomotive roster, is an accomplishment!
Later, she shall brag, upon the runs, and service, of this motive power to your roster.
Google the model nomanclature, and find out the real heritage to her gift, and son, if the loco is not even in the century, love it, as a baby.
While built and designed for road power, it is certainly not untypically for “road power” to be used for switching, especially when the engine is near the end of its useful life. This keeps the engine closer to a terminal, should the engine fail.
Very few engines can be “pigeon-holed” into a certain type of service, especially 4 axle diesels. Once called upon to haul fast freight and intermodals, are now relegated to yard and local duties. GP 60s of the UP and BNSF come to mind. U-Boats are practically extinct now, but B23-7s (my personal favorite) have been commonly used and designed for local and switching service.
A shortline in the Northeast (can’t remember which one) has actually leased B39-7s(?). These were former LMX units leased to the BN–referred to as “sharks” by many due to their gray, red and white paint scheme.
I’ve been away from the hobby for a bit over 5 years and must have coated the part of my brain I used for RR info with Teflon. [B)]
Allen: The Knot Known Where RR is going to be housed in my basement, here in SE SoDak. Theoretical location isn’t precisely known but the idea is to model a branch line with an interchange connecting four industrial branches to their respective fiddle/sorting yards and the great outside world.
I’m looking at using motive power from the rogue’s gallery of roads that combined to form the BN (don’t know if I’ll advance to the BNSF or not as of yet) with a small stable of our home road locos to come along in the near future.
The color scheme of the KKWRR will roughly mimick the BN but will employ yellow (wife’s fav color) where the BN shows green.
Our corporate logo will be a circle surrounding a reverse image K beside a normal image K with a W beneath, spanning the distance between the lower diagonals of the upper pair.
I have one last night left in this set of four 12-hour shifts and my 4 day break begins in the morning. Hoping this week to have the benchwork assembled and some track laid out. Gotta get with it, my neice’s 8 year old son is chomping at the bit to see his own private business taking some rail borne deliveries. Once I get underway I’ll see if my ego is big enough to force me to post some progress shots.
In the mid to late sixties when then U28B was a hot new high horsepower unit it would be used on fast priority freights. As time went on and they were suplanted by higher horsepower units they’re moved down to less important assignments.
Then they might be sold off to another railroad like the Rock Island’s U-25-Bs were to the MEC for less demanding service.
P&LE used the U28B as a road engine with multiple lashups common. Not used for switching operations that I knew of around Pgh. I recall seeing photos of these engines on a ore dock loader by a road up in the michigan or minnisota ore regions to. So, someone used them for other duties too.
By the way, nice touch on adding the wifes initials to the railroad. Gotta keep the finance minister happy.
Note they also “road-switched” remote large industries on some pretty long distance turns, sometimes out one day and return the next. sleep and beans layover at a fleabag.
Check out this link as it can answer some questions. This company, Finger Lakes Railway has 4 GP9’s, 1 GP10, and 5 B23-7’s and does lots of switching along its line for various customers. It has interchanges with CSX and NS along the main route (Geneva NY - Syracuse NY).
I have been fortunate to have riden in 1701 while the crew was switching out a paper plant in Solvay NY (suburb of Syracuse).
JP
