The photo isn't the best, but it may be enough to show others that Tom's decals are great for making unique Mopac rolling stock: ~Tim
I hated seeing hoppers when I was growing up. Now I have 40+ MOPAC, C&EI, and TP hoppers in my fleet and I plan to add more. . .
Bryan: I would suggest that when you post your photos, use the URL for the "sized" pictures as opposed to the "thumb" pictures. The larger size makes it easier to see all the work you've done (which looks pretty impressive!) Do you think we could start lobbying for MoPac as the "Standard Railroad of the Trainboard?"
Also have to say, you've got some nice looking pieces, particularly in what I assume to be your MoW train. The weathering on (at least) one of those 2-bay hoppers is also very good.
Michael, The MOW looks great as well as your locos. I really like th truck you have painted as well. As for MOPAC being the official railroad of Trainboard unfortunately charlie is a Frisco fan but us MOPAC modellers have certainly a huge following here
Meanwhile, in the Horribly Oversized world.... At one time or another I had at least two MP diesels on the roster- a GP38-2 (repaited & superdetailed Athearn model) and a GP35M (GP35 shell with dynamic brakes & turbo exhausts removed, and new hood top installed, with paper air filter and exhaust stacks . Thanks to the startup of the Kiamichi Railroad, and my photos of GP35Ms I shot in Van Buren, I got hooked on modeling these rebuilt diesels. None left now, but I'm in the midst of building yet another GP35M using a Rail Power Products shell as a starting point ( you N folk should be able to find a GP35 somewhere- Atlas, perhaps?). I'm primarily a Frisco guy, but the area I model also has MP lines in the area, so I have quite a few pieces of rolling stock in MP markings. [ February 27, 2005, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: friscobob ]
Mitch, Excellent modelling but if I recall MOPAC never owned GP60's did they? Here are my latest additions to the MOPAC roster both of these come from Mitch who swapped me for some superliners. These are excellent models. Mitch maybe you can shed some light on their history, did you paint these yourself? You will also notice Mitch parted with 3092 which is what his username is named after. Once agin Mitch thanks for the swap these and the MKT geeps will be held with pride.
And for the trivia-minded, 3092 is "special" in being one of a relatively low number of units to receive "double eagle" treatment. The MoPac started adding the large eagle to the long hood to show turbocharged locomotives. When their emblem was changed from the plain buzzsaw to the "Screaming Eagle Buzzsaw," some of the units with the large eagle did not have it removed. The addition of the Screaming Eagle Buzzsaw started in 1974.
I have to confess, this is my favorite piece of MP equipment: #2 and #3 choices are the Geep 38's drifting past behind it. The car may not be a great model, but out of the 117 cabooses and the one FRED on my roster, none say "Little Red Caboose" like this one. When I run NTrak (MoPac's and Frisco's yesterday) this caboose gets crowd response, especially from our lady guests. "Aw, why did they have to get rid of the Caboose?" they ask. The first couple of times, I did not realize that was an emotional response, not a request for information, so I cited costs vs risks, revenue-generators vs. revenue consumers, and how railroads make most of their money now running terminal to terminal instead of picking up and delivering individual loose cars, etc. "I never knew that..." would be the typical, polite reply. After a couple of those, I figured out I was answering the wrong question. Now I simply say, "Railroad Management has no soul.....its all lawyers and accountants now," and they nod their heads in agreement. Right answer... In the public view, it is like the train died when the caboose was cut off. [ 24. January 2005, 19:43: Message edited by: LongTrain ]
Well, Colonel, it is a stock Microtrains car. My only contribution to the process was to open the box, and rail it. There have been those helpful souls who have tried to convince me this MT bodystyle is based upon Texas and Pacific's 1949 rebuilds, but I have no confirmation of that. Microtrains issued a pair of these in 1996, about the time I was ready to dump O Scale and come back to N. I bought them even though I did not own a T&P or MP loco yet. MT #100010 is a brown car, T&P #2525, and sold for $16.85 back then. MT #100020 is the red car shown above, and it sold for $15.35 in 1996. Hope this additional info is helpful if you want to hunt one down. I can post a simple image of the T&P 2525 also, if you want.
Other then Tim Mc's excellent scratchbuilt caboose, what other Mopac caboose can be made in n-scale or is readily available ? MOPHEAD
A little more information: Here is a link to information about one of the "Birthday Party" Cabooses at the train park where we have our NTrak layout on semi-permanent display: Link to T&P/MP caboose in Scottsdale AZ This is an example of the class of car my two MT steelies are supposedly based upon. They do look dead-on in the cupola area. I have an old brown KD MP wooden caboose somewhere. I'm pretty sure that model is based upon an SP prototype. Whenever I get around to doing a Bachmann MP 2-8-0, I'll have a caboose to use with it, at least as a fill-in.
MOPHEAD, I've also cheated with some Atlas WV cabooses. Mopac had the cupola further back than the Atlas model, but the stock model works in a pinch...just plate over the windows with styrene, shoot 'em caboose red and apply the MS decals. I've seen a few N-scale models where the cupola was relocated, but that was too much effort for me at the time. ~Tim BTW, thanks for the compliment on the shorty bay caboose. I ordered a bundh of undec Atlas WV as donors for hopefully more of those. Eagle2 made a nice one too.
I do not remember, ever, seeing a MOP train without a caboose. It was about the time of the merger that I got out of the hobby. 60's and 70's are what I plan to model. But a few steam engines might show up on special nights. MOPHEAD
