Hi fellow B&O fans.....this list has been deceased for a while. I live in that big land down under and an avid fan and modeller of the B&O and into CS & CSX. Always looking for further info and what other railfans and modellers are doing. Would love to help but I am one BIG ocean and a continent away from the B&O territory. My current projects are reading the new edition of the West End and about to tackle the Impossible Challenge II and am awaiting the release of Pentrex's B&O (CSX) West End on video and DVD next month. I have just about worn out the Into the Alleghenies videos. To all B&O fans I say hi and remember that quote from Barnard, Roberts & Co, "The true railfan has two favourite railroads...the Baltimore and Ohio and another one... Forget the other one and hands up for the B&O.. Some of you reading this might think it strange to be reading these 'older' books by USA standard but they arn't available in Oz and have to surface mail them out from the USA. My two bits worth......
Sand Patch, I'm out here and still around! HA! Anyway I got alot going on.. I have for myself 2 Y6b Mallets to customize onto B&O EL-5's! I also got a bunch of repair jobs in the shop at the moment, and also some Western Maryland diesels to paint for myself. Ummmm A S-1 to paint corectly. A bunch of frieght cars to paint B&O. And a Sand Patch tunnel portal to install on my layout... I'll post a picture of my EL-5's when they are finished and all for you to see... I have an original Rivarossi EL-5 factory that I repainted to be proto-typical. I have done a Western Maryland Challenger "M-2" by Rivarossi so far.. and I had some Rivarossi Big Boys that all of a sudden turned into EM-1's! I'll post a picture of these 3 in one picture....
Sand Patch, Heres that picture of the 3. The EM-1 is the last loco in the photo, The Western Maryland M-2 Challenger is the loco in the middle and the Factory EL-5 is the first one..... I customized them all now.. The EL-5 on this picture is in its factory stage. Its now painted proto-typically. I have to get some newer up dated pictures online.... I have a bunch of the EL class loco's now. And a 0-8-8-0 LL-1. ENJOY!
Hi John, I was in HO in B&O for several years and couldn't get stock in Oz and I didn't have a computer then. But a house move forced me to sell up unfortunately and start in N scale. No steam in N. But have built up a big collection of B&O/CS/CSX and I couldn't change now, too BIG. But its my only vice and I have been a model railroader for going on 30 yrs, best hobby. When I was in HO I did a conversion of a brass Santa Fe into a Big 6, not totally correct but it was a great project. I sold it to a fella in Sydney, NSW and he is happy with it. He also took my Rivarossi EL-5. You have taken on some big projects but obviously enjoy it and they look great. Its a crime that no EM1's were kept for preservation, but the management of the B&O did some funny things. The more I research the more I shake my head in wonder. My layout is L shaped with backboards and overhead lighting and is about 15ft x 16 ft and would love to add to it eventually. Modelled on the WV/PA area, about 80% completed. I have been busy converting 100 freight cars to MT, what a job and hits the budget. After that I want to repaint two Kato U30C's into CS, and two GP40's into the 1977 CS scheme and the other in the gold GM50,a challenge. I still have an athearn GP40 in the Gold scheme in my display case. Always a conversation piece. Happy modelling Malcolm.
Sand Patch, Thats some change I know I couldn't part with any of my collection honestly. I'd rip down the layout and store all the loco's and all my rolling stock. If space became a problem. In the pictures you see of my BIG steamers, these are only a few of what I have. I got 4 EM-1's that are ex Rivarossi Big Boys, numbers 7600, 7604, 7614, and 7615. Plus 2 Santa Fe 2-10-2 S-1's that are of Rivarossi design. 5 EL-5's, one of which is factory repainted Rivarossi EL-5 and the other 4 are ex Rivarossi Y6b N&W that I customized. Matter of fact the EL-5 on the picture I posted is the factory EL-5 that I bought, but now is paited correctly. That specific loco was number 7165, it had graphite on the boiler front and smoke box, the tender did not have any red oxide paint on the walkway, but did have a red oxide cab roof. And the rest was painted black and the decals applied. Sadly Rivarossi didn't put the loco numbers on the sides of the head light like they had in real life so I put those their. Also the emblem "EL-5" Rivarossi didn't have under the cab numbers. I also applied those, and the tender didn't have the exact correct lettering for "Baltimore And Ohio" on its sides. Also didn't have the coal ton capacity, and water gallon capacity on the rear, it had the loco number on the rear of the Vanderbuilt tender, but thats all. I applied all the small detail decals that it called for. I then made a bunch of "EL" class locos from Rivarossi Y6b's all but one. I took one and made it into a LL-1 0-8-8-0. Which was a fun one to do! And being I model the B&O in Pennsylvania, the Western Maryland comes into play as well. So I modeled a WM "M-2" Challenger (4-6-6-4) and a few "H" class WM 2-8-0's... I just finished a B&O "Q-4" #4403, it was the one in the early years that had the "Elephant Ears" applied to it and I modeled them as well being it was simply something different in B&O livery. Also, to haul the "Varnish" I got a Mantua 4-4-2 Atlantic "A-3" #1430, and a Mantua 4-6-2 Pacific "P-7" #5300 "Presendent Washington" in the green livery. I however got a 3 truck Shay to build from a MDC kit that I'm going to represent the Western Maryland #6. Its going to be more of a freelance then anything though. The WM's 3 truck Shay was the biggest and last Shay built in 1945. It was a 162 ton Shay, the MDC Shay is only an 80 ton, 3 truck Shay. So its going to turn out to be a freelanced one and all just to represent the real one... For diesels, I got an ABA set F-7's of Circus scheme (red/ white/ black) Western Marylands to do. An ABA set F-7's of speed lettering Western Marylands to do, an SD-40 in the Circus scheme to finish, A bunch of different types and makes of the "GP" style diesels to paint and letter in B&O/WM/CS/CSX. Not to mention my sets of B&O passenger livery E-8s to complete in painting that are ABA sets that i'm in need of 2 E-8 "B" unit bodies. I got the complete E-8 "A" units but I only have 2 powered "B" unit frames without the bodies that I bought from a guy for $35 for the whole lot so... I think I done well on that deal of Rivarossi E-8's. And being I own and run my own repair shop and do custom work on trains and all I got my hands full with that for now...All my personal stuff is on the back burner till I get the paying jobs complete and mailed out to their owners. Winters comming in the PA mountains so.. If I don't have any work i'm sure to be busy working on my own collection over winter time... Couped up inside! And if nothing else, break out the MRC power pack and run trians till my heart's content! [ 15 November 2001: Message edited by: 7600EM_1 ]</p>
