Guys , I am trying to decide what era to model on my free lanced GN branch Line. These are engine that I have 2) sd9s, 1)sd7, 1)doodlebug, 1)rs1, 1)sw120,1) GN empire builder setc. Was wondering what time period would be best for this. Thank you in advance for the ideas. So far as I can tell from the engines that I have that I am looking from late 50's to and this is the part I am not sure about, is exactly how far to go. Alan
Excepting the "doodlebug," I believe all those models were in use right up until the merger. So you can do just about any time pre-1970. Boxcab E50
Well, if you are shooting for a prototypical date range the following would encompass the life of the GN SD7, SD9, SW1200, RS1, and Empire Builder: April 1957 (build date of SW1200's) to April 1960. (scrap date of RS1's) Not sure about the Doodlebug, but I suspect the earlier the better, and '57 may even be too late. SO, my suggestion is 1957. :shade:
Alan: You can go as far forward in time as you wish. It's your railroad. Stay cool and run steam.....
'Course he can, but he DID ask the question. Yes, PowerSteamGuy is right. I would try 1992 as my second choice. :zip:
Bob Thats kind of what I have been thinking. I was even thinking of getting a some BN locos so that I could say that we are in the merger era. That way if I find one from NP,Sp&S,GN and CB&Q that I like I can use it. These railroads are what I like. Plus Santa Fe and the Denver and Rio Grand. Alan
Go for it. I have a few diesels that are out of the time frame of the JJJ&E. Stay cool and run steam....
Cool! If you wanted to do BN merger era why didn't you just say so! I can definitely talk you into that one! hehe
Alan: Doug can really help you with merger era. That's his specialty. He can give you some great ideas on what loco's to buy. Stay cool and run steam.....
Thanks, I will probably have to use mostly 4 axle jobs because of some of the tight corners I have to use. That is mostly why I have the engines I do. David i was looking at your blog and noticed that you were doing TRE I have video of a cab ride From Fort Worth to Dallas if you are interested in it. Alan
Alan, that would be cool to see! Do you have it on DVD? When was it taken? I travel the route often (and drive by their yard every day) but I haven't taken video...just stills...and not from the cab! If it's decent quality I'd take a DVD of it in trade for the BN car, or something else I have in my for sale items, whatever you think is a fair deal.
Alan, have you seen the sale Walthers is having on LifeLike GN FA1s. They have a set of GN FA1s for $39.98, along with great prices on other FAs and Alco locos. The LL FA series are great locos. Very heavy (great traction) and very smooth running. If you are interested, go to the Walthers site, select "Advanced Search", enter "Locomotives/Traction", select scale as "N", select manufacturer as "920." In the check boxes select only items in stock and items on sale. The search will give you a two page list of items on sale, the GN FAs will be near the top of the first page. FYI, no relationship with or interest in Walthers. Just a customer who has bought several of these locos.
Doug, Sorry my fingers moved faster then my brain. Also i had just finshed listing to some one named David. It kind if stuck in my mind. Alan
I myself, initially started out doing GN, NP, SP&S, and on into the BN, BNSF. Things started getting expensive with all of the cool releases so I have throttled back and am now modeling mainly the GN pre merger so I still get to pick up some NP, CB&Q, and SP&S stuff. The BN stuff is cool but the pocketbook says no to these new releases in green. If finances are an issue as with me, you might want to really stick to your chosen era because I have found by pinning down a modeling era it sure helps me stick to my modeling budget. Just my 2 cents.
