Please post your G's, your E60'c, Metroliners, etc. etc. Regrettably, I am reduced to imaginary catenary. Here are two vids of some of my electric overhead ambitions: and
I have a few of the Bachmann E33s in N&W and VGN livery, would love to have some catenary to run them under. no vids but here is an old picture
I’ve always avoided catenary equipment. But I had to have a Glass Train. (Used for sightseeing excursions.) I might put up masts, without the wire.
In the mid-1970s I handmade some wooden poles with soldered metal crossarms and strung thin rubberized thread between them. The wire was phony and the pantographs never actually touched the wire, but the effect was good enough. The late Hal Riegger, a pioneer in working N Scale catenary, mailed me one of his all metal catenary poles at the time which I still have after 40+ years. I photographed it as you see below. It's super strong to resist damage by an errant hand and with some paint, it'd be a fine choice. He urged me to try real wire on my branchline overhead, but I soon went off to college and there was no time for model trains. Hal had some good articles about N Scale catenary in the NMRA Bulletin in the mid-to-late '70s. The pole is 4 Inches tall so as to be fed with current below the layout.
Very much! Now that I live in Holland, where 99% of trains are electric, I've grown rather fond of running under wire. A lot of freights from nearby Germany are still diesels, but most passenger service across this part of Europe is electric.
Yes. I did the NCat stuff, long, long ago. Many years later I built a couple of jigs for assembling MILW style stubbed bottom poles, and much more delicate arms.
Fascinating replies. Rip Track, what an exquisite beauty you have there. I became indelibly hooked on electric when I witnessed the silent thunder of one of the last extant GG1's highballing a battered assemblage of freight southward of NYC in 1976. As to electric trains everywhere, they can run on steam, nuclear power, coal, or even garbage- whatever can burned or split.
You're right Chops - electrics have a majesty all their own. When I was a young teen, my mother and I rode the Broadway from Trenton to Chicago. I remember being awestruck as the two G's arrived with our train, passing with a deep, thundering bass that could be felt under my feet. Very cool. This was the first time I'd ever seen real GG-1s and I remember thinking, "Hey. they sure look a lot longer than my stubby Lionel model!" About five years later, I took this quick snapshot from a platform at Newark.
At one point, I'd planned on a coal branch under wire AND a NE corridor! BIG DREAMS! Anywho, I did have an affinity for heavy electrics (both freight and passenger) and acquired a few random pieces just in case I won the lottery. At another point, model railroading was placed on the back burner for over 20 years. My modeling was eclectic but mostly contemporary. I amassed a lot of rolling stock and locos. Here, then, is some that was purchased for that dream layout of the future! These were Walthers E60-CFs, originally decorated for a "what if" Virginian. I'd always imagined these two lugging a unit coal train through serpentine mountainous terrain until handed off at an interchange. I'm currently in the process of seeing what future the hobby may hold and perhaps, at least, I'll actually finish these... someday. On the plus side, DCC should simplify wire if I ever go full on. On the negative, since these units have been shuffled around for over 20 years, there's been a tad of damage, lost parts and prolly the need for rebuilt pants (at least). Also, I've got a ton of half finished projects!!! I'll have to prioritize! Now, where did I put my GG1s?
I primarily model Japanese railways, so quite a few of my models should be running under the wire! Sadly the best I can do in N is the poles, but for the most part I omit the catenary as it would make track cleaning a nightmare even on temporary setups.
Two GG1s Pennsylvania is an AHM/Italy while PC is Yugoslavia. Both were purchased at train shows decades ago and never used (though I suspect that I did run them on a test track for a minute). Anyone have any info on these? And, this is what happens when you grow old. I forgot that I did indeed have another E60-CF shell in the previously mentioned "Virginian" scheme. Maybe I'll decorate the last one in the Virginian Heritage scheme? Could there be anything else??
From what I know, both of those GG1's are using the same tooling. The AHM one was produced by Rivarossi in Italy, and the one marked 'Yugoslavia' was made by Mehano and imported by IHC. I don't know if that tooling is still around, whether it ended with Mehano or Rivarossi. I have the Mehano one in Tuscan, and it has the same road number as your black version. I am doing some detailing on it, but I am missing the pantograph insulators. I might check on ebay or see if Bachmann has parts for their GG1.
pics or it didn't happen. Walthers used to carry a variety of pants and I'm considering a scratch build for the GEs. With a bit of searching there are quite a few detail photos available. I've never had the units apart. Do you think they would benefit from upgraded innards? How well does yours run in contrast to contemporary DC? Mine will prolly be a back burner project unless you shame me in to action.
The problem with the GG1 is that the gear towers are close together because there is no fuel tank to separate the trucks. The stock motor (or at least mine) is a 3 pole. You could get a decent 5 pole motor, but there is not a lot of room for flywheels. I glued a thick metal washer to one end of the armature as an experimental flywheel, but it didn't really do anything. It runs loud and doesn't really have good slow speed control. I'll try to get some pictures of it soon, but mine is a bit of a back-burner project as well.
Some very interesting posts, and I've hardly ever seen Japanese modeling before. Very nice, thanks for posting!
Here is my pantograph fleet. The SNCF z2 (the two car set between the Acela and the GG1) still needs some lighting installed, and the GG1 is a work in progress. The locomotive on the right is a Siemens class 1216 of the ÖBB, the Austrian Railways, in the Railjet scheme. I have the rest of the train to go with it too. The Acela is a full consist as well.
Here are some more photos of what I have been doing to the GG1. Most of the work on the shell consists taking off molded grab irons and drilling holes for replacements. However, my favorite parts are on the trucks. I added sand lines, a speed recorder, grab irons above the corner steps, and cables behind the MU plugs. I took off the bars across the cab side windows too. You can see the grey plastic where there were removed from. That took forever because there are molded gaskets around the windows you can’t cut off. The entry ladders need some work, so I sanded them off too. I still need to repaint it. You can see the stripes are starting to chip off, and the toy store I bought it from years ago put a price sticker DIRECTLY ON THE MODEL, so there is a sticky square on the back.
