I have an Atlas RSD 4/5 and an Atlas RS11, I am switching the shells and frames. I will also switch out the weights for the rs11 has an attachment on them. When done I will have an RS3 and an RSD 12.
These are the first generation Alcos that Atlas put out sometime in the 80's. I had a couple of Athearn locomotives that I custom painted, but after seeing how well the Atlas units ran, I couldn't wait to get more. Now, perhaps 30 years later they still run like new. Outstanding units. I have a few more that aren't in the photo. They're probably on the hidden staging tracks. They can really pull too.
I was looking at my Alcos today. I have one from atlas marked RSD 4/5 Utah railway 301. Looking at the engine I see a critical error. Yes it is marked for Utah 301 but it is not an RSD 4/5. More like an RS 3. It is missing two axles. So it looks like I have an interesting situation.
48 cars with the caboose. It was at about the limit for having all of the power at the front. My curves are super elevated and cars at the front qere starting to look questionable. Any more cars and another helper would have to be used mid train somewhere. Normally the limit for train length is 14 cars and a caboose, the length of the passing sidings. The layout was built mainly for switching and long trains aren't at all common. Here's another video. You can count them as they go by.
At last, there is no more plywood showing in the town of Logan. All of the buildings are in place and now it's time to add the smaller details. In this photo, a few trees were added in front of the homes on the left as well as figures and signs. I fianlly ordered stop signs and railroad crossing signs and got them installed. The last building to go into this part of the layout was a small one, Black Stack Truck & Auto Repair. Got a fence put up around it and the oil distributor. I have some small sighs that I have to cut out an put on the fencing. Here's the Sinclair gas station next to the oil distributor, with the potato shipping facility behind it and tha freight station to the right of it. Here is a photo overlooking the town and the yard. As more details are added, updates will be made.
Looking very good! American cars of that era really were fantastic, there is no comparison to the cars over here at the same time. Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
Here is a photo of what is probably my favorite little locomotive. It is a PFM brass from United. Got it unpainted and decorated it for the Logan Valley over 20 years ago. Still runs like a Swiss watch.
Slowly more figures are being added to the layout. Here are some Woodland Scenic gas station attendants servicing a car at the Sinclair station. I keep a parts bin full of undecorated figures on my work bench and whe ever I have to paint anything, I'll use the color I'm using to the figures. Slowly more and more figures get painted and are added to the layout. Next project is to add some to the passenger station in Logan.
Here's a town on the layout that I have neglected to work on for a long time. Ground cover was removed for the ways to the homes and some trees were added. A fence is being built to go behind the homes to separate them from the siding behind them. In the town, gravel has finally been put down in the diner parking lot and on the street behind it. Some gravel has also been put down on the access road to the grain elevator. The freight station which is a kit bash using Woodland Scenics O'Leary's Ice House has had a loading dock added to it. This building has been on my work bench for months. The last photo shows more of the town. The next item to be done is to put in a grade crossing on the road to the right of the last photo and then the last of the tracks can be ballasted and more ground cover and details added.
Here are a couple of photos that I posted elsewhere on the forum, but not here. As you can see from the photos, I have a pretty good collection of vehicles for the transition era. I am modeling 1957 and will pick up anything that is fairly accurate. Here are some of the latest vehicles that Oxford has released. Parked behind the red '57 Chevy is the '55 Buick. They also came out with a 57 Chevy Nomad which works perfectly for my Chevy dealership. The Nomad is expected to come out in additional colors which I will get. Last is their 38 Buick. Not as sharp a model as the others, but a good fit into the era.
