Going through my March issue of MR,I discovered a new model…well,new to me anyway.It is called The Veranda,bears UP colors and is a Lionel offering in HO(p.117).I like big locos,even more when they are unique so that I have added it to the Big Boy,Challenger,SD90 and Dash 9 on my “must eventually have” list.However,I have the feeling that,like the Big Boy and Challenger,it won’t ever be available in “N” scale.Even the SD90 and Dash 9 aren’t easy to get as they seem produced by the spoonful…may be someday.
Nevertheless,I’ve searched the web to try to find some prototypical notes on the Veranda and haven’t been successful in my search.Does anyone know where I could find more on this beauty?Please…Thanks
Use the “Index of Magazines” above. Key words “gas turbine”
And here is the Veranda in N scale: http://www.all-railroads.com/instock/ngasturb.htm They are 1/4 the price of the HO scale Lionel version. Only the UP scheme is correct. The Verandas were not around any longer than the BigBoys, just offset about 5 years, with 12+ year overlap. They were traded to GE for U50B, which reused the running gear. See http://www.all-railroads.com/instock/nu50.htm
Trains Magazine July 1953 has the Wally Abbey story " I rode the Big Blow". Abbey gives an account of riding the Veranda’s predecessor from Ogden, Utah to Evanston, Wyoming. There is a photo of a Veranda model as they were to be delivered the next year. This article is also available in Kalmbach’s I Like Trains book a collection of stories from the magazine.