I was looking at the latest GP15-1 schemes, and noticed the Richmond & Pacific model. This was new to me, so I looked it up. I was surprised to find that they operate in the same state as me, and they're a pretty nice looking railroad. In a hobby where we sometimes tend to focus on the negative and nitpick... I thought... Wow, who would have thought there would come a day, where RTR locos would have such unique schemes, that I wouldn't have even heard of some of them before. I think that's pretty cool. Does anybody know what the deal is with the 'tunnel motor' type cooling that was designed with the GP15-1 model? I've never seen any explanation on why they chose to go with that.
DaveD- This release was the tipping point for my switch from HO to N. It is great that manufacturers are doing these small railroads. I live one mile from the Richmond Pacific and I plan on modeling it's interchange with UP. The new black and blue scheme is awesome. Here's 423 I caught in 2011. Also Microscale has just released a decal set (60-1493) for doing the RPRC's caboose and SW1200s. Awesome! Plus check out the 2010 issue of Model Railroad Planning for a great article on the railroad and potential layouts. Paul Z.
That was for improved cooling. The GP15 and the MP15AC used electric fans instead of the belt driven of the MP15DC, so the fans could be pointed upward. This style of cooler is more efficient as the heat dissipates upward and less warm air is drawn back into the fans.
The "Tunnel Motor" reference originated with the SD40T-2 and SD45T-2 which were designed with the lowered air intakes specifically to help in tunnels where the warm air gets trapped at the top.
Thanks guys... Yeah Paul, I was thinking that it would make a good layout. It has the feel of a major terminal RR, like PHL... but scaled down to a reasonable size. I'll be interested to see what you come up with. Hopefully you like making buildings. If the bottom inlet style worked better for cooling, I wonder why this was one of the few other units that they built using that design... besides the obvious ones.
I've been working on some RPRC locomotives for a while now, temporarily stepping up to HO scale to add more Detail but ultimately lagging so behind on finishing them they've become dust collectors. The same thing happened to me as with Paul Z, the release pushed me back into modelling in N scale and once the Microscale decals came out i was able to finish the caboose i had been working on. This was the railroad i grew up seeing out our kitchen window as a kid, and with the new paint scheme came a new fascination with the railroad, so to speak. I've started planning and designing a layout in XtrackCad but since I'm a member at the Golden State Model Railroad Museum i don't really need a home layout. I had to buy both road numbers and i plan on correcting at least some of the detail on 423 as to match the prototype (notched nose that once housed the frisco style red gyra) as well as a K5LA horn. The appropriate unit for the atlas bodyshell would be 424, which was built as Conrail 1607. But enough of my rambling, it's nice to see that other people have taken an interest in this railroad with the release. Danylo H, hailing from the Richmond Annex.
That's very cool Danylo! I only have GMTX 424 and a Walthers SW1200 that I'll paint and decal. I've followed some of your pics posted on RRPictures. We should meet up some time at the GSMRM! Paul Z.
Sounds like you guys are going to have some nice stuff. If I make it up there, I'll have to check them out. I really like the PHL down here, so I'm already into that sort of terminal port line. I think the reason why railroads like this tend to be a bit overlooked, is because a lot of people are a sometimes intimidated by trying to see them. Especially someplace like L.A. Harbor, which is huge... It can be very difficult to know where you can and can't go, and many people might be shy about driving around.
