GEC's roster thread
#1
If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it?



.....yes.

Anyways, I'll just add photos of equipment on my roster every once in a while, usually in sections (today's roster, Amtrak). This will cover most of my working equipment and projects nearing completion, and interesting history if there is any.

Anyway, today we will feature my roster of Amtrak equipment

First up, the only Amtrak diesel i own, P42DC #111, "Northeast Corridor". All other equipment is Electric. This unit is special, because it can be MUed with electric locomotives (not surprising at all for my roster). This engine has extra controls in it so that an engineer can control the electric locomotive from the cab of the P42DC. As such, these are usually run as rescue engines and occasionally power back up (there is a video on youtube with an E60MA and this locomotive MUed together on a snowy day). It also has a special version of the Phase IV paint that matched the AEM7s with the Phase IV paint on the Northeast Corridor.

The Genesis engines are Amtrak's primary diesel locomotive. these engines have 4,200 HP, with some of it going towards HEP. These locomotives are also interesting for their single piece bodies. Rather than having metal supports behind a cowl, the Genesis engines whole shell is weight bearing. This creates a lighter locomotive that is also very structurally sound.

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The Venerable GG1 made its last stand on local commuter roads and Amtrak. #917 was one of the original GG1s to be sent to Amtrak from Penn Central. The Amtrak GG1s actually created an issue with the numbering. Initially, Amtrak believed it could remove the “4” from the GG1’s road numbers, (the passenger units being in the 4900 series) however this left many gaps, so Amtrak just renumbered all GG1s into the 900 series, regardless of their original numbers. This further created issues with Penn Central, since a black Amtrak GG1 and a Black Penn Central GG1 may look the same, so Penn Central renumbered its GG1s so that the last two digits were different than any Amtrak GG1, to prevent confusion. This resulted in the highest numbered PC GG1 having a higher number than the original PRR number series.

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Here is a representative example of my fleet of Metroliner Electric Multiple Unit cars. these cars were the PRR's response to the Japanese Shinkansen. Though PRR Keystones had been applied to some cars, Most did not arrive on the system until Penn Central came to being. They later went to Amtrak and were rebuilt and repainted several times. Though not always reliable, their brand new interiors made them preferable to older equipment.

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Next are my Amtrak E60 series of locomotives. Intended as replacements for the GG1, They were initially ordered with Steam Heat equipment (E60CP), but after only 7 units, the order was changed to carry Head End Power (E60CH). In the mid 1980s, the Amtrak E60s were either sold to NJ transit or Rebuilt into E60MA units.

E60CH #968 and E60MA #610 are both American GK kits. These featured special frames with Athearn style drive components. Walthers later bought the American GK tooling and continued to use Athearn parts. Sadly, Walthers broke the tooling accidentally, which is why an E60 has not since been released by them.

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The Bachmann E60CP is incorrectly numbered, as #971 is an “E60CH”. I plan to re-number this #951, which is easier than kit bashing into a E60CH variant.

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AEM7 908 and 911 In phase III paint. These represent the AEM7 as delivered in 1979. These little boxcabs are based on the Swedish RC4, and are the primary motive power on the Northeast Corridor. These little units boasted extraordinary horsepower, (7,000 HP continuous), and were the first new successful passenger electric since the GG1. When the AEM7s arrived in 1979, they were numbered in the 900 series. Amtrak shifted its surviving GG1s to its own “4900” series, adding a 4 to the Amtrak 900 numbers (these numbers are not the PRR’s original numbers).

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#921 represents the short lived Phase IV of the late 90s.

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#907 and 914 represent the early 2000a paint scheme of the AEM7 (the “three sheets of the wind” logo is now on the nose and cab sides of these locomotives). The prototype #914 has been rebuilt into an AEM7-AC, and so the model does not really represent it (rebuilding the model to match isn’t hard but would ruin the pain t on the roof). 907 however is still in its original condition.

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The Modern Day successor of the Metroliner MU (that is to say equipment, not the train) is the Acela Express. These six car train sets feature tilting technology (the model also does this), and is amtrak’s latest attempt at a high speed train. While its prototypical success is debatable, the model looks cool on the club layout at speed.

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HHP-8 #664 represents the spiritual successor to the E60MA. These High Horse Power locomotives can carry the long haul trains with only one locomotive that would normally require two un-rebuilt AEM7s. In fact, the HHP-8 is the most powerful locomotive in North America.

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Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#2
It's about time 219 This thread is gonna be a while I can tell Goldth
Tom

Model Conrail

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#3
Great AMTRAK roster! Very nice equipment! Thumbsup Interesting stuff about the PC GG-1 numbering.
Ralph
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#4
Electric equipment rules! I'm a fan of diesels...but those electric engines sure look great. I wish I could get more of them in Nscale. (I've got that Amtrak GG1 on order (Kato) and have an HHP8 (Bachmann), but there's very few Nscale choices for electric power.) Great collection you have! Thumbsup
Mark

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#5
Ralph Wrote:Great AMTRAK roster! Very nice equipment! Thumbsup Interesting stuff about the PC GG-1 numbering.
Ralph

Yeah, there was a lot of madness in the end there. In fact, the GG1s that were leased (and later bought) from Penn Central were the highest numbered Amtrak locomotives ever (until recently, most Amtrak engines have three digit road numbers. the Acela Express has a 4 digit road number, but it is still less than the GG1's 4900 series number).

Herc Driver Wrote:Electric equipment rules! I'm a fan of diesels...but those electric engines sure look great. I wish I could get more of them in Nscale. (I've got that Amtrak GG1 on order (Kato) and have an HHP8 (Bachmann), but there's very few Nscale choices for electric power.) Great collection you have! Thumbsup

Yeah, i saw some of those Kato units, they look pretty good, i had to resist the urge to pick up a "mini" GG1, lol. i know bachmann also had a E60CP, but people seem reluctant to pick them up. I'd like to see an N-scale AEM7. that will be tiny!
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#6
Oh c'mon...you need that Kato GG1 in Nscale...you can't kid us. Think how good it would look sitting on your shelf on some ballasted track. Misngth



Wallbang (I still regret not buying an HO scale Southern High Hood GP30 when they were released...even though I can't run it.)
Mark

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#7
Herc Driver Wrote:Oh c'mon...you need that Kato GG1 in Nscale...you can't kid us. Think how good it would look sitting on your shelf on some ballasted track. Misngth



Wallbang (I still regret not buying an HO scale Southern High Hood GP30 when they were released...even though I can't run it.)

Yeah, you can't let anything pass you by, or its gone. My mother and my girlfriend don't understand that concept in the trains, but a lot of this stuff these days is made in short runs, and you just don't know what will or will not be there.

For example, for all my Amtrak locomotives, i have only enough cars to make one 2000s era Silver Meteor/Star or a Crescent. I also have 6 Bachmann Amfleet Is, but three of them are 30 year old examples. The Walthers Amfleet cars are in my opinion better in every way (paint, detail, running) than the Bachmanns while also much cheaper.

I figure they'll NEVER retire the Amfleet, these cars are everywhere! Wrong. they just did. Sure, they may retool them, but now all the Walthers amfleets that ARE out there will dry up, and i'm willing to bet they will retool these amfleets with "metal plating" and jack up the price to $50-$60 bucks.


I guess you can't snatch up everything you see, but it gets hard to make the choices sometimes.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#8
Today's installment is all Early Conrail. Everything here was either in the Conrail roster or added to it within the first 5 years (with the exception of Conrail 4020, the OCS unit). This is one of the largest segments of my roster, because this is the time period I'm trying to model over all.

Fallen Flags and Patches

Many Conrail units never acquired the blue paint and Wheel-on-rail logo. Some were never renumbered or even patched!

Former Lehigh Valley RS2 #210 would be an example of such a unit. In fact, #210 was retired just before conrail, but four of its sisters, LV 213, 214, 217, and 218 did make it into Conrail (meant to be renumber 5200-5203), but only 214 and 218 got patched renumbered to 5201 and 5203, respectively. LV 213 and 217 would appear much like this unit.

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Some Units, like former Erie Lackawanna 3364 (would become Conrail/NJ DOT 4164), would also go most of its life on Conrail without renumbering. In fact, the U34CHs only lasted until December 2, 1976, a grand total of 8 months and one day before they were transferred to the New Jersey Department of transportation. Only one saw Conrail lettering #4151, having been repainted into a Bicentennial unit while in the shops. On the weekends, Conrail would borrow these commuter engines from the NJ DOT for freight runs, and it was not unusual for one to see two or three U34CHs pulling a freight. The only rule was that the U34CHs had to be back in time for the Monday morning rush hour.

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Conrail 6094 was clearly a former Erie Lackawanna unit. So far as i can tell, it was never repainted all the way to retirement, keeping its "CR" patches to the end. Conrail did not keep its SD45s for very long, being phased out in the mid 80s (all were gone by 1986). The SD45s guzzled fuel, and their 20 cylinder engines created much maintenance grief. In fact, Conrail de-rated many of its SD45s to 3,400 HP (from 3,600 HP) to ease maintenance and reduce the occurrence of break downs.

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E44 4465 is the highest numbered E44, and were one of five to be outfitted with Silicon-diode rectifiers as built (up to that point, rectifier electrics used "Ignitron" rectifiers, which were big tanks full of dangerous chemicals). These lead the way for the Pennsylvania railroad (and later the Penn Central), to upgrade E44s 4438-4459 with the Silicon Rectifiers. These would become the E44As. # 4465 is one of the few E44s is one of the few E44s to maintain its original Pennsy numbers and radio equipped decals (though it lost it's keystones and "Pennsylvania lettering"). In fact, it kept its PRR paint until it was sold to Amtrak, where it promptly was repainted Silver and Black, and renumbered 505. The few surviving E44s had brief careers on Amtrak, as they could not fit in the tunnels under New York. This is the only surviving E44, which can be seen at Strasburg next to it's elder, PRR GG1 4935.

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E44A 4457 was repainted during its time on the Penn Central, and then was given a CR patch over it's PC logo early in it's Conrail career. #4457 was one of the first to be rebuilt with the Silicon Rectifiers. In addition to the new electrical equipment, E44s 4438-4459 were also outfitted with a more powerful motor, giving these units 5,000 horsepower. These units were known as E44As, as opposed to the standard E44s (4400-4437, 4460-4465), which kept their original 4,400 HP rating.

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Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#9
Wow, my Original post was to big, so i'll fit it all in sections.


Into The Blue

While Conrail in its early years was still a mixed bag of colors, it wasted no time painting units in blue (some only months before retirement).

E44A #4456 was the first of its type painted blue (E44 #4414 was the first blue E44), painted sometime in mid 1977. This was another one of the 5,000 Horsepower rebuilds.

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In addition to PRR's fleet of electrics, Conrail also harbored a few electrics from the New Haven. 10 E33 rectifiers made it to Conrail. The E33s started life out as "EL-C"s on the Virginian railway between 1956-57. They ran for a short time on the Norfolk Western (long enough for some to receive an N&W paint job), before being sold as a bargain to the New Haven. Re-Classified EF-4, these were New Haven's attempt to restart its Electric services after the railroad realized it had made a mistake in abandoning electric locomotives. These engines would become the most powerful (and one of the longest/largest) locomotives on New Haven's roster. The New Haven used one of the 12 as a parts supply, and that was scrapped immediately upon the merger with Penn Central. Would-be PC 4600 became the new parts supply, and was re-classed E33. 4601-4910 would all make it to Conrail and serve until a few months before the end of Conrail electrification.

At this point, these locomotives literally had 5 railroads worth in paint schemes. two units survive, one painted back into Virginian, and Conrail 4601, which surprisingly, has its New Haven paint showing through the Conrail blue and PC Black.

As a model, i repainted #4608 to more accurately represent Conrail's paint job and is one of my earliest weathering attempts. An interesting note on the E33s, the "Snail" logo is shorter on the left side than the right side, which is closer to standard length. This is due to an inverted J shaped duct that would otherwise be in the way (which can be seen on the E44 above). This is as opposed to the E44s, in which the logos on both sides are short.

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#4603 is a stock Bachmann E33. they are good runners, but the model is clearly based on the New Haven era for the locomotive (not to mention the paint job is incorrect). Compare it with #4608 above. You can see a boxy apparatus on each end of 4603, as well as wires along the roof. These are Bus connectors that allow the E33s to run from electricity collected by a second locomotive. The New Haven was even known to run some E33s completely missing a pantograph, relying on it's sister for juice (though this was more frequently done to reduce wear on the pantographs). At least one New Haven E33, #301, carried a faively type pantograph (like on the E44s, as opposed to the usual diamond shaped pantograph). That could make an interesting New Haven model. I believe this unit became the new "parts" unit at the time of the Penn Central merger, would-be 4600.

One carry over from the New Haven days was the practice of running the E33s in pairs. While single or triple headed E33 trains did occur, They were more often then not run in pairs (One Penn Central memo i found that summarizes the E33s explicitly recommends running in pairs). This continued into Conrail. Despite their similarities, the E33s could not MU with the E44s (though i have seen photos of at least one train consisting of E44s and E33s with their pantographs raised)

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SD9 #6923 was one of Conrail's former PRR engines. The 25 of these were retired sometime around 1980, though they did have busy careers as yard/hump switchers and local power on their time with Conrail.

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One short lived oddball repainted to Conrail blue was F7A 1648, which would be renumbered to 1792 In anticipation of the GP15-1s. It is the only F-unit to get the Blue paint. Interestingly, it was retired 4 months prior to the first GP15-1 was built. None of Conrail's F7s lasted past the late 70s. This is an MRC model, and it is not perfect. The prototype 1648 featured only a small "CR" patch, with no other lettering or logo. Luckily, this could be an easy fix if i ever choose to rework this model. In truth, it is a good running unit, but i have yet to add DCC so it sits on my shelf. Perhaps if i can find some other PC or EL F-units to MU it with, i may add an F-unit Conrail train to my roster, however short lived they were.

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An Equally short lived oddball was Conrail's 2 U28B locomotives. These were former New York Central units were oddballs from birth until death, being the only units of their type on the NYC/PC/Conrail rosters. 2822 and 2823 were retired together in March of 1983. While it is a beautiful Proto 2000 locomotive, it is actually wrong. While the New York Central and Penn Central versions have the correct nose, for some reason, Lifelike decided to put Nose-mounted headlights on the Conrail version. I asked about a replacement nose, and they told me they had "photographs" of it with a nose light. I call BS, i have photos of them on the day they scrapped them, no nose light. Even the "best" companies make mistakes. to bad no one makes a GE nose. why cannon sticks to just EMD parts is beyond me.

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Another Interesting Unit to get the Blue treatment is the SD45-2. #6660 is one of 13 former Erie Lackawanna units. These SD45-2s were unique amongst their own kind, as well as on the Conrail roster. They had several features that the Erie Lackwanna requested, such as low mounted horns and short roof-top fans. They also featured a larger fuel tank than other SD45-2s. A small group in conrail's starting roster, The were the only Conrail engines to feather EMD's new HT-C trucks. Until the SD60s, Conrail preferred the older flexicoil trucks, and even had flexicoil trucks taken from old SD35 and SD45s installed on new SD40-2s. Unlike standard SD45s, All except 2 of Conrail's SD45-2s made it to the CSX and Norfolk Southern, and many still run today.

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U23B 2735 represents one of Penn Central's contributions to the Conrail roster. While this unit runs "the right way", some Penn Central U23Bs were actually made to run Long hood forward (backwards). these units kept their short noses. Conrail was actually the last buyer of the domestic U-boat locomotive, Conrail U23B 2798 being the last U-boat made for US rails.

As a model, it is one of my favorite units to run, and another early weathering attempt. This poor model actually sat at a local hobby shop forlorn for years before i picked up the hobby (i remember it distinctly), until i bought it at an extreme discount back in the summer of 2006.

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Yet another interesting unit that was initally unique on Conrail's roster was the former Reading Company GP40-2s. These 5 units (3275-3279) were the only GP40-2s on Conrail's starting roster, despite already being available several years in advance of Conrail's start up. It would not be until 1977 that Conrail would buy some new to their specifications. Many modifications such as Cab Signal Boxes were made when they joined Conrail. They are recognizable by their small fuel tanks, later Conrail GP40-2s had larger ones.

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SD40 6345 is a former PRR unit that made it all the way to conrail. It continued all the way into 1994 and was then sold to EMD as a leasing unit (now EMD #6404). As a model, it is one of my earliest attempts at using an Airbrush to weather an engine, and an early detail project (though it is not complete yet). It runs beautifully, and its likely one of the next models to get a decoder.

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This Athearn GP7 is my third HO locomotive, and the oldest i have that still runs and looks good, despite its "fat body" shell. Representing a former New Haven GP9, this model has literally been everywhere. It was accidentally packed on a summer camp to Rhode Island i went on back in 2004, and survived all sorts of horrific rains and storms, and still ran just fine when set on the tracks. My earliest of all attempts at detailing and weathering happened to this engine. from dry brushing grime on the vents and trucks, to creating windows with "Micro Kyrstal Clear", to painting in the fan blades and re-covering the grills to make it look like fans were below, to sunshades, there are a lot of first attempts on this piece. For some reason i haven't painted the pilots black.

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Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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#10
Bought new

My early Conrail roster surprisingly doesn't really include much in the way of "new" Conrail units. While some models i own could technically fit here, they are painted for more modern times, and so i've left them out for now.

The GP15-1s were Conrail's attempt to get a new local road switcher to replace the ancient 1st generation EMDs and Alco switchers. 100 of the engines were bought, the Second largest order of the units. they are mechanically similar to the MP15 switcher, though with a Road switcher body. These engines arrived in 1979, pushing Conrail's F-units into retirement and taking their 1600 series road numbers. There are also one of the few EMD units whose number actually corresponds to their horsepower rating (1,500 horsepower).

EMD intentionally began to number their engines in their own pattern rather than their actual HP in order to pull sales from GE (and to an extent Alco who also named their engines based on Horsepower). Except for early units like the GP7/9 (and equivalents), EMD did number their locomotives by horsepower (a GP18 had 1,800 HP, an SD24 had 2,400 HP). That is, until the GE U25B came along. For example, the GP30 and U25B were direct competitors. While the U25B was actually the most powerful 4-axle unit when it was introduced, at 2,500 HP. the GP30 only had 2,250 HP, but the higher number of "30" was thought to make it seem superior to the U25B. Since then, (except for the GP15), EMD's road switchers have been numbered by "tens", with modifications resulting in different number irrelevant to their horsepower ratings.

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Another interesting Conrail purchase was E8A #4020 in 1983. This is actually not the original conrail 4020, as that unit (and all other conrail E8s except one) had already been sold or retired several years prior. The Office Car Special 4020 (as well as 4021) were both former Amtrak E8s, Originally of the PRR locomotives. Of the three OCS E8s, only one is a Conrail original, 4022, which is a former Erie E8 (as were the original Conrail 4020 and 4021). 4020 and 4021 are now in their original PRR colors, though i'm not sure of the current fate of 4022, though it was still in Conrail OCS paint as of 2006.

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#11
Really nice looking collection! I like those monster E44 units. (Can't imagine how they must have hummed stand next to one.)
Mark

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#12
Great collection of Blue Thumbsup I like how you did the representation and added the story line behind the locomotives, awaiting for more Cheers
Tom

Model Conrail

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#13
Herc Driver Wrote:Really nice looking collection! I like those monster E44 units. (Can't imagine how they must have hummed stand next to one.)

The E33's and E44's were impressive to say the least!

At one time in the early '70's, I lived in the town of Narberth, PA, the only station on the ex-Pennsy mainline from Phiily to Lines West that was on a curve. My neighbor and I used to go across the street to the sattion in the afternoons and watch trains on that four-track mainline. It was quite an experience, one that touched four of the five senses, when a brace of three or sometimes four E33's would come though Narberth station, leaning into the curve, leading a mile long string of TOFC's west at about 75 or 80 miles an hour! They had a real "howl" at speed!
biL

Lehigh Susquehanna & Western 

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
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#14
Green_Elite_Cab Wrote:I asked about a replacement nose, and they told me they had "photographs" of it with a nose light. I call BS, i have photos of them on the day they scrapped them, no nose light.
They probably had pics of the U36Bs. The U36Bs had red/clear nose lights as spec'd out for Auto Train. They were removed later in their service life.

Quote:The GP15-1s were Conrail's attempt to get a new local road switcher to replace the ancient 1st generation EMDs and Alco switchers. 100 of the engines were bought, the Second largest order of the units.
Love that unit. I am working on CR 1621 with the JUST DO IT paint scheme. That unit was painted in that scheme for only around 24-48 hours before being repainted into standard CR paint. I am having custom decals made and will be sure to send you and Tom a couple sets. (the minimum order is 25 sets, so I will have extras LOL)

Quote:Another interesting Conrail purchase was E8A #4020 in 1983.
I always wanted to model one of these units circa 1983, in worn Amtrak paint, with CR 4020 spray painted on the side. there is a photo of one in this condition in one of the CR motive power books, but I can't remember which one.

Quote:4020 and 4021 are now in their original PRR colors, though i'm not sure of the current fate of 4022, though it was still in Conrail OCS paint as of 2006.
4022 is back to being Erie 833 and is being taken care of. don't remember which road has it though.
-Dave
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#15
Herc Driver Wrote:Really nice looking collection! I like those monster E44 units. (Can't imagine how they must have hummed stand next to one.)

Yeah, i wish i had an opportunity to hear one. I have a few DVDs that include run bys of E44s, but you don't really hear much of anything (though this is what engineers i've talked to have told me as far as the E44 is concerned). The one that is supposed to make all the noise are those New Haven EP5 (E40 on PC/conrail) electrics. the NH engineers called them "jets" because their equipment blowers screamed just like a fighter plane. These blowers were right behind each cab, and GE actually had to go back and modify the originals with vents on the side of the car body. This was because if you opened the cab door to the inside of the engine, the blowers pushed so much air through that they'd blow anything that wasn't bolted down out of the cab!

I'd really like to model one of these as Penn Central (conrail) 4977 with the "Harrisburg" lettering on it. that would make my roster.

tomustang Wrote:Great collection of Blue Thumbsup I like how you did the representation and added the story line behind the locomotives, awaiting for more Cheers

Yeah, i like to have some historical knowledge of them. Even a seemingly boring ubiquitous GP40-2 can have some really interesting stories behind it. In the case of the E44 #4465 during its time on Conrail, it actually plowed through washed out tracks in a storm while on the Columbia and Port Deposit branch , and still stayed on the rails. every car except the caboose fell into the Susquehanna river. Stories of luck like this often get forgotten by history, as few people actually record or research such stuff.

P5se Camelback Wrote:
Herc Driver Wrote:Really nice looking collection! I like those monster E44 units. (Can't imagine how they must have hummed stand next to one.)

The E33's and E44's were impressive to say the least!

At one time in the early '70's, I lived in the town of Narberth, PA, the only station on the ex-Pennsy mainline from Phiily to Lines West that was on a curve. My neighbor and I used to go across the street to the sattion in the afternoons and watch trains on that four-track mainline. It was quite an experience, one that touched four of the five senses, when a brace of three or sometimes four E33's would come though Narberth station, leaning into the curve, leading a mile long string of TOFC's west at about 75 or 80 miles an hour! They had a real "howl" at speed!

4 E33s? now thats something i haven't seen, but i don't doubt it. thats nearly half of the existing roster. E44s happened in 4s alot though. Either way, it kicks butt. Its a shame that by the 1970s/80s, people stopped paying attention to operations like these.

Their is such contempt for this time period, to the point that people making legitimate books and documentaries can't even get the names right. One book has a pair of photos of "Arrow II" MU cars, on page after the other. On the first page, it Incorrectly calls them "Arrow IIIs", which is OK, Arrow IIIs look similar to the IIs. However, on the very next page, a photo of the same MU, an Arrow II, incorrectly called an "Arrow I", and the caption even remarks that its odd for only one pantograph to be up. For those who don't know, the Arrow I not only looks very different from the Arrow II, but has different panto graphs and roof arrangements (the arrow IIs are married pairs that share a pantograph, the Arrow Is are all single units with their own equipment), all clearly visible.

in the Herron Video "PRR Race Track: the Northeast Corridor" (which is an AMAZING DVD, even though i complain), they call all the arrows "Silverliners". Other DVDs by greenfrog call them "Silversides". It would take 5 seconds to find out the ACTUAL name of the car in question, and most of them have really simple spotting features (they aren't identical at all). I chalk it up to people just not caring, as everyone would rather focus on the modern day or those golden "transition years". that Penn Central/early conrail era just gets ignored.

Puddlejumper Wrote:They probably had pics of the U36Bs. The U36Bs had red/clear nose lights as spec'd out for Auto Train. They were removed later in their service life.

Yeah, still. They wouldn't even let me order a new nose (its a separate piece on the body shell). Thats one thing i don't like about walthers. Athearn and Atlas will deal with you if you want parts. Walthers does not give ANY spare parts. ever.

Quote:Love that unit. I am working on CR 1621 with the JUST DO IT paint scheme. That unit was painted in that scheme for only around 24-48 hours before being repainted into standard CR paint. I am having custom decals made and will be sure to send you and Tom a couple sets. (the minimum order is 25 sets, so I will have extras LOL)

Well, i know what i'm painting one of my spare smokey valley kits now.

Quote:I always wanted to model one of these units circa 1983, in worn Amtrak paint, with CR 4020 spray painted on the side. there is a photo of one in this condition in one of the CR motive power books, but I can't remember which one.

I'd love to see a photo of that

Quote:4022 is back to being Erie 833 and is being taken care of. don't remember which road has it though.

Cool, thats good to know. Still, it is sad that all the Conrail OCS stuff is gone now. Thats progress for you!
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.  
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