DragonfyreGT, the SD-70MACS I have in Rio Grande are acually factory painted from USA trains. Although Rio Grande never really ran SD-70MAC locomotives, USA put Rio Grandes SD-50 unit numbers on them and I think that is close enough for me. I never seem to have enough time in my day for such projects, but seriously considering at least doing one locomotive to fulfill my apects of trying it out. Where do you get custom decals made for G scale? I know of only one vendor who does G scale custom decals, but they can't do copry right names which mine wouldn't be anyway. as far as how many shades off you are on your Burlington Northern, not all of us are rivet counters and really don't care because you did do good for your first one, I thought you have been doing this for a while by the way that model came out. I have a scratch build project that has been on hold for 2 years, I have most of the parts, just no time. I plan on making a scratch built mini working Railroad crossing like you see in the model train magazines for around $200. Right now I just have around $50 invested in parts and the rest will be my time to make it. I plan on a 4ft version tall one. I bought 4inch red round lights and a wig wag light module that runs on 12 volts. I bought both from J C Whitney, then I bought a Railroad crossing sign from Shraders train catalog. Supplying 12 volts to the wig wag module which is made for automotive applications is no problem since I have a 12 DC output jack on my Bridgewerks transformers. Now all I need to get is PVC grey plastic tubing from the plumbing section of Loews and put this thing together without spending $200. I can always add and hide a Dalle rail signal sound unit later in the junction box of the railroad singal I make. Maybe I'll do this for X-mas vacation and take pictures for everyone.
A friend of mine in the UK sent me a set of Diesel Detail graphics, I have yet to apply the small ones as I'm going to have the BN Logo and Name and Numbers applied on the FB-1 when I get the FA-1's Hockey Stripe done. It's a micro scale sheet. I think I've seen it at a couple canadian websites as well. He says these are for O-Scale but given the size should match what Aristocraft uses in the factory. He called it a late birthday gift....from 4 years ago heh. How about building a Water Tower from PVC Pipes? That's a plan I've seen done over and over and it always looks nice. Also I wasn't aware of USA Trains factory painting them, but they still look very nice.
Getting closer to maybe making a custom model I have been pondering the idea of making my own railroad, I have seen very few people do it, but when they do, it's like in a way, you own a real railroad even though it's a model. Well, the first step I guess is to name your railroad. I decided to officially call mine the "SB Rail Lines". I have made a hand drafted official logo. I'm eyeing up a USA GP-9 right now that is used and runs good, if I can get it for $50 to $75, I'll buy it. Whats nice it is in the red and silver Sante Fe paint scheme, this means the fuel tanks and truck frames are already silver which is what I want. I measured out the model I have and ther may not be enough room for my triple color paint scheme idea, but I will tape it out and see if I get the model for the right price. I have included a picture of my official logo of SB Rail Lines
Proposed SB rail lines GP-9 I have again hand drawn out a proposed paint scheme for a SB Rail Lines GP-9 locomotive. If I can get this used model cheap enough, the project is on. I have enclosed a rough sketch picture.
Used USA locomotives still going expensive I can't seem to get a cheap used USA locomotive to play around with, they go well over $100 used which is good to know the USA locomotives keep their value. I deciced once again just to put my customizing a railroad idea back on hold for now. This reminds me of the 2008 East Coast Large Scale train show, there was a lot of poeple buying up USA trains but what was surprising is that no one was buying any of the undecorated locomotives. Well, the undecorated locomotives were at the same price as the decorated ones, so why would you spend money to buy one only to have to paint it up. I didn't see any undecorated USA rolling stock. I also remember in the past seeing quite a few undecorated Aristocraft rolling stock there, but 2008 and didn't hardly see any. Is this a phase in our G scale hobby which started out as a model building hobby to a full comercial made hobby? Well, with the huge amount of choices in the G scale hobby, it sure cuts into the idea of wanting to build your own. It is sure alot harder to custom paint a model that is already decorated, especially the prep part.
Switching out SD40-2 locomotives I took a truck out on a road test Friday and the railroad x-ing lights came on so of course I stopped. What a nice surprise, there was a Conrail Quality and a CSX locomotive, both were EMD SD40-2 locomotives. I'm not good usually at identifiying a specific model locomotive, but have learned to look for model tags and they both still had there red EMD tags under the cab window which said SD40-2. What a show they put on too, switching out cars. Usually you just see the GE dash 8 or dash 9 at this location, but I'm not a GE locomotive fan.
EMD Trainmans G scale section hits 6000 mark I wish to thank everyone who took the time out to read the EMD Trainmans G scale section, I would have never thought my thread would have reached 6,000 views. Don't worry to all, I still plan on keeping this section up to date. My G scale adventures started back actually in 1999 with a Bachman Big Hauler Rio Grande set that ran on a wall mounted track system in what is now my yard room. Then one day in 2000, it derailed off track sending the train into a 7ft fall in which there was hardly anything salvagable. In 2000 the house officially became my own and plans went into affect for a indoor G scale layout on the floor, but the basement was in shambles and not all was good in the beggining. I had to rewire the entire basement, the previous person nailed plywood and paneling direct to the brick walls, which caused a moisture situation and then a termite problem, so all had to be ripped out before even starting any type of layout. Once ripped out, I was impatient and started a layout anyway and just worked around it construction wise. It was hard work and alot of money to build a G scale layout and a basement at the same time. I learned from the last persons mistake, I built 2 X 4 studing and insulated the basement walls with R22 insulation to keep the moisture away from the walls, also a dehumidifier was put down there. It is still a project in the making, trying to finsh a section at a time when the funds are there, but then trains still over ride those funds like this yesar of 2008 where I spent my $800 budget all on trains. Next year of 2009 I plan on building more of the basement instead. Picture #1 & #2 both give you an idea of how ugly the basement was before hand during it's beggining construction phase. Picture #2 You would never think this is the same corner picture as #1 & #2, but it is as progress is made over time.
EMD Trainmans LGB G scale used train sale I have made a major decision for my G scale layout, the SB Rail Lines division of Rio Grande which is what I call my railroad. I will be selling off ALL LGB G scale trains from my collection, which isn't much. Below is a list of LGB G scale items that I will be selling. 1) LGB of America part #40930 Railbox Box Car, "Hard to find" 2) LGB part #43760 Rio Grande 2 bay coal hopper car, long discontinued 3) LGB part #40918 Rio Grande box car 4) LGB "Queen Mary" series part #4091 Rio Grande box car 5) LGB part #43760 Rio Grande stock car All of these LGB rolling stock have ben converted to metal wheels and USA knuckle couplers. The above prices are for "Train Board" "MEMBERS ONLY" If these are not sold by January 30, I will strip the metal wheels off of them and replace them with plastic wheels, then strip all of the USA couplers off of them and put them on ebay to the highest bidder. The horse is NOT included with the stock car. All are in mint shape except for the LGB hopper which has a couple of chips in the top ridge, but they still go for around $100 on ebay. If you have a Aristocraft Rio Grande Stock car and/or a Aristocraft Rio Grande cookie box car, I will trade off some pricing. If your are a "train Board member" and want the entire lot, I will give you a special pricing for all except shipping charges. Everything comes with a box. I didn't realize there was a classified section on train board, look for these items and prices on the classified section of train board
Train layout name, history and purpose I see that people who genrally have a model layout will give that layout a name of it's own or create thier own sub division of a real railroad. One example would be Iron Mountain and Wolfcreek owned by DragonfyreGT which is a fictional sub-division of Burlington Northern railroad. I found his articles and creativeness rather inspiring and decided to do something similiar. After pondering the years of creating my own railroad name and even thinking about custom painting railroad locomotives and rolling stock to match, I decided to change that idea and give up on the customizing idea. You may have noticed that I shared ideas of what my custom locomotives would look like if I did custom paint and decal them in my past threads here. I decided to change that avanue a bit and adopt a sub divsion idea just like dragonfyreGT did with Burlington Northern. I decided to keep the SB Rail Lines name, but it will be a sub division of Rio Grande, here is the story setting >>> The SB Rail Lines is a sub-divsion of Rio Grande Railroad formed in 2000 that linked Main Line railroads with short Line railroads to get products to their proper place. The SB Rail Lines had to provide their own revenue from their own budget with no help from Rio Grande. The SB Rail Lines sub division recieved and restored old Rio Grande locomotives to use on it's rail lines as Rio Grande updated their equipment and got arid of the older units. SB Rail Lines was given permission to keep the Rio Grande name on all of the equipmment handed down to them. SB Rail Lines first started out with a old Rio Grande Alco FA FB FA locomotive set, but the cost of high maintenance was proven too much for the SB Rail Lines new sub division. These locomotives were soon traded off for a wonderful set of EMD F3 ABBA locomotives, this when SB Rail Lines really took off, needing a switcher to get those rail cars into tight spots along the way, SB Rail Lines then bought a NW-2 cow and calf unit. The SB Rail Lines grew rapidly in the next 8 years, adding 2 Rio Grande EMD GP-9 locomotives, 2 Rio Grande EMD GP-30 locomotives, 1 Rio Grande SD-70MAC and 1 Union Pacific heritgae unit to it's roster over the years. Be sure to read my blog on the SB Rail Lines here >>> www.trainboard.com/grapevine/blog.php?u=10664 Thanx DragonfyreGT for getting me inspired to start a train blog I have also included a new designed logo for the new look of SB RAIL LINES
I've seen Freelanced railroads, that operate on their own, as their own company, or lines like the North Table Creek that are local's that do transfer work. In G-Scale I've never seen someone create a subdivision, fictional or real. I decided to expand and do something never done before. I've seen subdivision in smaller scales and that's where I get my inspiration for G. Growing up around HO with a G-Scale set is how I've managed to blend both.
EMD Trainmans Surprise X-mas gift to my G scale I have to go shopping for G scale trains for myself because the rest of my family know nothing about trains, let alone know enough where to find and what brands to get, etc. I very rarely get anything from ebay only because I never usaully find what I'm looking for and most of the stuff is available thru a real hobby store, so why get it from ebay. I found a special edition Charles RO box car on ebay that a collector had listed, but what his price he wanted was up there, although this is a very special limited piece. So I left a best offer bid on it which was half the asking price, figuring I'll never get it. To my surprise, he accepted the offer, but the terms were he wanted instant payment, so I accepted those terms. I just got delivery of it today. It is a greatest piece of Charles RO history I have purchased. For those who haven't kept up on my threads can look back on them, but Charles RO started USA Trains in Mass and then it eventualy turned into USA Trains in 1990 I believe. Some people think this is a USA 1st anniversary car, but the USA Trains anniversary cars are clearly labled "USA Trains Anniversary" and which year it is. This is a special edition Charles RO box car and comes in a Charles RO Box which is stamped for the year 1989. It is great to have such a piece of history in my collection and this one will not be run and will go on my train shelf in a special place. I have included pictures for those who want to look at them.
For anyone who wishes to read about the History of Charles Ro and USA Trains, there is a 2 page article about it in the December 25th Anniversary Issue of Garden Railways Magazine, talking about the very beginnings as a Lionel Repair person to their first Locomotive, the NW-2.
I'am a subscriber to that magazine and I did read that article, it was very interesting. Charles RO sr started out as a hair styling salon actually and sold Lionel trains on the side thru another section of the store, quite interesting. There is also a Charles RO jr according to the article and the son has pretty much take over the buisness
EMD Trainmans roster My roster is about 8 years of collecting and saving and here is the list below Train #1 has 3 USA SD40-2 Rio Grande locomotives running as a triple header pulling 9 USA 50ft mechanical reefer cars, 6 USA box cars and 1 Aristocraft 53ft box car Train #2 has 2 USA SD70-MAC Rio Grande locomotives, 1 is a Rio Grande and the other is a Rio Grande Heritage unit running together as a double header pulling 9 USA 55ft centerflow hopper cars and 9 USA 55ft modern tank cars Train#3 has 2 USA GP-9 Rio Grande locomotives running as a double header pulling 12 USA 70 ton hopper cars and 2 Aristocraft covered hopper cars. Train #4 has 2 USA F3 AB Rio Grande locomotive sets, thats 2 F3A and 2 F3B units running together making a F3 ABBA unit which pulls 6 USA 40ft box cars, 3 USA 40ft reefer cars and 9 USA 10,000 gallon tank cars. Train#5 has 2 USA GP-30 Rio Grande locomotives running as a double header pulling 3 USA center beam cars, 3 USA piggyback cars, 3 USA pipe load cars, 1 USA flat car with pipes, 1 USA log car, 1 USA generator car and 3 USA depressed flat cars Train#6 is the MOW train which has 1 USA Rio Grande NW-2 cow and calf switchers pulling 1 USA box car, 1 Aristocraft gondolla car, 1 Aristocraft flat car, 1 USA 25 ton crane, 1 USA crane tender, 1 USA work flat car, 1 USA wheel car, 1 USA truck car and 1 USA rail and tie car So, basiclly what is the total? 9 USA locomotives 2 USA F3 AB sets 1 USA NW-2 cow and calf set 85 USA rolling stock 5 Aristocraft rolling stock So what are my future plans, to hit 100 pieces of rolling stock and stop, then move on to buildings and finishing construction of my basement.
EMD Trainmans accelerated LGB auction I know I told everyone I would list my LGB trains from my collection here on Trainboard, but plans and fate have another way of taking me in a different direction. I found 2 Aristocraft cars I have been looking for, but funds are too tight due to a job switch and my last job will not release my last check to me as of yet. So I will be selling off my LGB trains on Ebay now instead of waiting til the end of January. For those who may be interested can look up my auctions by my seller id in ebay which is dakamn98rt. There are 5 LGB cars on ebay from my collection which is everything I own in LGB, good luck to those who bid on them, thanx.
Another Rare one to cross off of EMD trainmans list After all year of looking, I found a Aristocraft Rio Grande cookie box car in white on ebay and it was actually listed by mistake. I came across a ebay auction that was listed as a Aristocraft Rio Grande stock car, so I opened the link to look at the picture and to my surprise, it showed a Rio Grande cookie box car in the box. So I contacted the auction person and they confirmed they made a mistake. It seems as though this was packed in the wrong box which is the Rio Grande stock car box and they just happen to be selling off stock cars, but this Rio Grande cookie box car slipped thru the cracks. So they confirmed back to me it was indeed a packing mistake and it was the Aristocraft Rio Grande cookie box car. That is another rare one to cross off of my list. Another train purchase for the year 2008.
Bad Encounter with a "rivet counter" I recently had a very strange bad encounter with a rivet counter on Ebay. I had listed my 5 LGB cars on Ebay for sale which is everything I own in LGB> As I stated here in my last threads I was going all Aristocraft and USA trains due to keeping withing the same scale ratio size. So I listed them hoenstly as I always do which is why I have 100% positive about how I modified them to fit USA knuckle couplers and they were going to have plastic wheels instead of metal ones. No big deal right? I wasn't listing them to make a ton of money, just to recover whatever funds I could to help offset the new budget I need to replace them with USA and Aristocraft rolling stock and the metal wheels I was going to use for Aristocraft since they don't come thru with them. Imagine my surprise when I had multiple e-mails thru Ebay from the same person Here is the first message> Just wanted to say that it is really sad when sellers mess around with a train car they often do minor damage...taking off the original metal wheels and replacing them with plastic wheels so they can sell the metal wheels and make more money. Dedicated train collectors don't like others messing around with their train cars and I'm glad you disclosed what you planned to do, because it is a huge red flag that this is not an LGB car I would bid on. I already have one of these beautiful cars with metal wheels that no one messed around with, thankfully, and didn't even pay much more for it than your starting bid!!! Can you believe this guy? You would think he could let it go that I modified these LGB cars, but no, he sends more. Here is the second mmessage> I'd have to say that with all of that modification it is a wonder you have any bidders!!! I bought this car, never run, like new, WITH metal wheels that it originally came with, in its original box, and with the original LGB couplers--no modifications or cuts and with shipping cost only $58. It is indeed a beautiful Queen Mary Series car! It seems to really bother this person that I have bids on all of my LGB trains in ebay. Remember, you are only suppose to messege some in ebay to ask questions, not harrass them. There were more, but you get the picture. I posted this for a reason, to make suggestions what to do if you get in a similiar situation. First let me state that everyone has a right to make or modify thier trains in any fashion they like, it's thier property. Just because you don't like a certain way someone models does not give you the right to complain to them, have respect in thier choices of how they modeled, even if you don't agree with it. For example I myself don't care for weathering trains, but I'm not going to go up to that person and tell them they ruined a perfectly good model and it should have never been done. I do have respect for their choice and some of those people do a good job in making realistic weathering on a train, so I can look at things in another perspective view while it may not be something I would do. Here is what I would suggest in this situation, DONT argue with anyone like this, they are looking and hoping for such occurence, difuse it, walk away, ignore it. It they keep harrasing you such as in this case, I can take these messages and turn them into ebay for improper use. If they reach your regular e-mail you can block then or turn them into your internet provider. Most important, remember these type of people are far and few in between, don't let the very few ruin your day or your hobby. Hobbies are suppose to be fun and there are many good people that will support and respect your work. Please don't add fire to this situation, this is not intended to become a rivet counter hunt of any type. I do like their work as it does take alot of effort and talent to make those trains as realistic and true to scale as they do and most don't disrespect others like that either.
EMD Trainmans awesome 50 rail car pull Hi, I have made history on my SB Rail Lines layout and performed a 50 rail car plus caboose pull indoors on 8ft diameter curve track. The 50 rail car train is being pulled by my USA F-3 locomotive set and this is a must see video. There were no derailments and everything went well. Here is the link to my video on train board > www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?p=558162#post558162
I would have sent him back a message saying, "Thanks for poking your nose somewhere where it has no business." Charlie
Ditto~ I would hate to see if that seller _EVER_ Crossed paths with E-8. I've helped sell and list stuff for my friend and what he does is make it clear that 'these units are modified, here's what it cost to modify, here's what it's worth. You get what's in the picture. Don't bother contacting unless it's about the auction you plan to bid on and win.'
