Conrail GP15-1 build... JUST DO IT.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

And to think some people think Conrail's paint scheme is boring! We could probably write a book on variations alone! My goal is to model each paint variation including special units. NOT including patched former road schemes. Still, I may have my work cut out for me!

Hey, some of the patched units are the most interesting! Conrail GP40 #3151 is a prime example. Instead of patching a CR on the sides, they removed all the letters except for the C and the R in the word "Central" (penn CentRal). The "CR" on the nose is also a weird wacky font that looks almost painted on rather than stenciled.

There is also a photo of an old Lehigh Valley Alco C628 with a "snow white" paint job, but Conrail painters Patched it in "blocks", resulting in a sight to see. That photo i think is also on the Conrail Cyclopedia.

You're right though, it would be to much to try and get every patch right. Even modern units are all different. When i was painting my Ballast Express C32-8, i found that the "Conrail Quality" logo is in a different spot for nearly every unit, and different on each side. they literally just slapped the logos onto the side (then again, when they painted these units like this, Conrail was about a year or two from oblivion).

Oh yeah, I am going to include 1776, the bicentennial GG1, SDP45 and SD45 as well. Too cool not to. I already have the 7776.

Once the build is done I'll put up some pix of some of my other units.

Nice 7776!

A quick note on the bicentennial GG1, be careful, the stars aren't the same on both sides, but as it turns out, most photos are of only one side of the unit. I know a person who built a Bicentennial GG1 in O-scale, and they said after months, they found hundreds of photos, but only a handful showed the other side. If i can dig up the site, i'll give it to you so you can make your GG1 Special in that it will be spot on.

I've considered an SDP45 for a while, and i'm curious how you plan to make one. Not only would it be very cool, but it shares a rear with the CNJ GP40Ps that i'd like to model, and so far it looks tricky.

The U34CH would look nice

The U34CH would be neat to have. I thought about modeling it myself (i have a few U34CHs on my roster). That unit is an interesting one, because after they removed the Bi-centennial paint, they accidentally applied Erie Lackawanna freight masking (which is different from the EL/ NJ DOT paint). For most of it's life, 4151 (the real number behind 1776) was an oddball because its stripes were out of place!

Conrail sent them of to NJ DOT by December 2 in 1976, but i think for a time, Conrail actually leased these units for freight runs on the weekends. The only rule was that they had to be back "home" in time for Monday morning rush hours. It isn't unusual to see a lash up of three U34CHs on a freight run during the early years (at least up to 1979, though the photo i have can be wrong).

If you do a U34CH, Just gotta add the nose light. the best way i've seen to make it is to take a metal casting of a similar shape and size and file it down "square". I've seen some others attempt to use different nose lights (check the 3364 on my roster thread. I bought that unit second hand). I've also seen some people use plastic sheet cut into squares. unfortuneately, no one makes that boxy nose piece.