GEC's Layout Progress

[Green_Elite_Cab]

That is realyl looking good, I have enjoyed watching your progression in modeling skills and see that with each post you keep getting better!! I am impressed at your dedication with the soldering as I still have never been any good at it, I can get things to stick, but to be of any visual value I am seriously lacking.

Keep it up!!

Its all patience! I use the smallest diameter solder and Tix flux, which seems to work. Besides, I don't think the catenary is as hard as it looks, it just looks scary when its all done. The individual components are relatively easy to build.

I enjoy your electrics.

Mostly the pair of E44s.

Pair?

I have THREE! In fact, there were only ever a few of these models (I was told 50) ever made by a company called "Alpha".

I'm actually VERY proud of my fleet of electric units. My roster just about covers everything, and there are very few holes in my roster of Commuter and freight equipment. pretty much all I need are more GG1s, just one GP40P, and the passenger cars to go with them.

My roster of 1979 era electrics include-

Conrail-

E44A- 3
E33- 2
GG1- 1

Amtrak

GG1- 2
E60CP - 1
E60CH - 1 (+1?)
Metroliners (Bachmann)- 8

NJ DOT

GG1- 1
Arrow III- 16 (7 Married pairs, 2 single units)
Arrow II- 8 (4 married pairs)
Arrow I- TBD (single units only, Ideally 8 units, but 2 minimum)

SEPTA

Silverliner II- 2
Silverliner III- 3
Silverliner IV- 1 (1 single unit)


The exciting thing about this is that it means I actually have about enough electric units where if I did have an NEC layout, I would have enough units to operate it with relatively prototypical trains with enough traffic density to give it a really busy feel. As I mentioned, my roster has very few holes.

The way I figure it, I only need a few more units. Top on my list are more GG1s (in particular, 1-2 Conrail GG1s and at least 2 NJ DOT GG1s), a single GP40P (they were only run on 5300 series trains, which were relatively infrequent), and if I feel like being fancy, I might replace my Bachmann Metroliners with the new Walthers ones (after waiting for the price to drop, of course).

Finally, I would need some of the locomotive hauled coaches to match.

The only units I wouldn't have that I truly don't expect to see are the G6C and the G10B, which were EMD experimental freight electrics that as far as I know, weren't even made in brass, and would have to be scratchbuilt.

Thought these items can be rare and expensive, they are not entirely out of reach. I've already got a hold of the major signature rare units like the E44s and Arrows, so its pretty much downhill.


As far as my other electrics go, I have several modern Electrics, like AEM7s, ALP44s, ALP46s, HHP8s, Acela Sets, E60MAs, E60CH (NJ Transit), and an E60C-2 shell on an old P2K Sd7 frame that i'm tinkering with.