Locos and Rollingstock

5/8/23

I recall some years ago when I was the Resident Elevator Mechanic for the Police Admin. building AKA Parker Center in Los Angeles, I had a picture of a Southern Pacific U28C in Colton, CA. in 1974 taken by Clyde King (click HERE to see this picture). I was so impressed by this picture and from then on I wanted a consist of Southern Pacific U28C's in my stable of Locomotives. The SP U28C's were delivered in 1966 to the Southern Pacific to transport iron ore from Ferrum, CA. near the Salton Sea to what was then the Kaiser Steel Mill in Fontana, CA. At the time, these U28C's were the most powerful Diesel Locomotives on the ESPEE but wouldn't hold that title for long as the 3600 HP EMD SD45's arrived on SP's property shortly after the U28C's arrived. The U28C's lasted only for a short 13 years as they would be removed from service in 1979. 

Fast forward to today as Atlas Model Railroad Company has come out with a Southern Pacific U28C with operating Headlight, Pyle Light and operating emergency Gyra Light. The DCC/Sound versions come with LokSound which produces that deep throaty 4 cycle sound I remember these locos having. The one thing I don't care about with these is the sound of the horn which is not a Nathan P3 which was what these locos had but I can live with that as this is about the only downfall I have come across with these locos as the detailing is quite good (Typical of ATLAS). These come in 3 different road numbers so since I purchased two of the 7153, I'm in the process of changing out the number of one my U28C's to 7158 as you'll see in the pics below.  

A Before pic of both sides of this loco

I used Micro Sol and an Xacto Knife to SLOWLY
remove the "3" from each number board, then painted
this area Black as the Xacto knife left some white 
scrap marks I didn't want. Just use a very thin
brush when doing this and take your time.

Don't forget the rear number!

WHEW! I removed the cab number without much
difficulty

Southern Pacific had placed a white circular dot just above the cab number on their U28C's so I added this to one to this U28C and will do the same for my other U28C's. To do this, I purchased MicroScale Decal Set 87-447 Southern Pacific and Cotton Belt Diesels (1984-1991) which had the decals needed for this conversion. I know the "8" is much whiter than the Factory decals but I'm not worried about this as I was just grateful to be able to do this still as I haven't done so since 1979! And with a little bit of weathering, it'll look just fine for me.

The new decal applied

I will take some Tamyia X-21 Flat Base paint
to tone down the new look syndrome

 

If you take a look at the Espee.Railfan.net website, they have pictures of all 10 of SP's U28C's. These pictures give a good idea of how I can weather these Locomotives to look pretty close to the real thing.

10/8/22

Here are my Broadway Limited GP20's slugging it out on the grade up to the town of Hearne. 

4/30/22

My newest addition to the Fleet is an Athearn Ready To Roll Southern Pacific SD-40. This is the "As Delivered" version as the 8400 series number is what was delivered to the Southern Pacific in 1965. Starting in 1980-81, SP started rebuilding it's fleet of SD-40's under the M99 program or GRIP II and renumbered them to the 7300-7400 series numbers. Learn more about SP's GRIP Program at UTAHRAILS.NET.

This is how I remember ESPEE's SD-40's growing up in the San Fernando Valley in the 1960' and 70's, this is how I like to remember the SP. Tiger Stripes. Black Widow and Red & Scarlet are how I remember the Southern Pacific. No Speed Lettering or Santa Fe Font Number Boards or Beacons as these just weren't SP.

Builders Photo

Newly arrived on the Property

Waiting for the Fireman to stick
His head out the window

2/2/22

I am teaching myself how to weather all over again. I started doing weathering of my Locomotives and Rollingstock in 1979 but the job and a Girlfriend (later to become my loving Wife) took precedence and the model railroading kind of took a back seat, until now. I found a Gentleman on YouTube, his channel name is Boomer Diorama: The Immersive Railroad,  that has IMHO a very easy and result oriented method for weathering Locos & Rollingstock. He talks on how doing weathering in layers is key. The are no smoke and mirrors, just methods anyone can use to get good results. So I went ahead and tried his approach and am very happy with the results. Click HERE to watch the video Boomer Diorama does on Fading. 

I purchased some Athearn shells off of eBay and started practicing with these to see how it would work. Below are some before and after pics of my first attempt. After applying and then removing the Tamiya X21 Flat Base. I wasn't real happy with being able to see the brush strokes but as he says in his video, don't give up, keep going. So I pressed on and applied some Vallejo Burnt Umber making sure I sprayed the loco with water first so the Burnt Umber would flow more easily. This helped to tone down the flat base but I still was wanting to tone it down even more.

One thing I learned looking at photos of Southern Pacific Locomotives on the internet is that SP's loco's didn't have a lot of rust on them, at least not during the Era I model (1967ish), they were just grimy with some dirt and mud here and there. 

So I kept at it and used Tamiya Weathering Powders to tone things down and this gave me the result I was looking for. 

What I used:

Tamiya X21 Flat Base using a Liquitex #6 Natural Round brush (I think I may try a wider brush next time to see what kind of result I get)

Vallejo Burnt Umber #70.941

AK Interactive #4 brush (I was to use this to remove the dried Tamiya Flat Base but got better results using a regular old toothbrush as it just seemed to get in all the nooks and crannies whereas the AK Interactive didn't)

Tamiya Weathering Powders (these really gave me the results I was looking for BUT only after I used the Tamiya X21 Flat Base) These also come with their own applicator sponge/brush as you see in the picture.

Lessons Learned:

-Always wash the shell with warm soapy water BEFORE you apply any paint or powders

-Wet your brush prior to applying any paint

-If this is a first attempt for you like it was me, use a scrap shell or purchase some off eBay (they are dirt cheap) to get your technique down

What I used

Shell with Tamiya X21 Flat Base applied

An after pic of the Flat Base having been removed 
and the Vallejo Burnt Umber applied

Did 2 coats of the Flat Base on this side but didn't
really provide much better results vs doing just one coat

The finished product with the Tamiya 
weathering powders applied

Looks Classic SP to Me!

Still want to apply some Vallejo Tire Black to the 
Grills and exhaust stack

1/30/22: In 1975 for Christmas I received from my Aunt's Boyfriend a book about unique Steam Locomotives around the World, one of which was Union Pacific's 4-12-2's. From that point forward, I promised myself if I ever had a chance to buy a 4-12-2 in HO scale I would. Fast forward 46 years later to 2021 when I purchased a Broadway Limited Imports Union Pacific 4-12-2 off eBay. This was probably the most expensive locomotive I've ever purchased but it was worth every penny! 

Union Pacific had much success with it's 4-12-2's despite them having a center cylinder which was a maintenance headache. The 4-12-2's had a very distinct sound to them because of this center cylinder. 

Read more about Union Pacific's 4-12-2's Here. And for a recording of an actual 4-12-2 in 1954 by Howard Fogg, the renowned Railroad Artist click HERE.   

2/3/21

I have been working on converting an Athearn BNSF GP38-2 locomotive to my branchline railroad Dakota, Nebraska & Western. I removed the handrails and applied a black stripe through the BNSF lettering on the long hood of this loco as you'll see in the photos. This is what I've seen real Branchline Railroads do is simply paint a black stripe through the previous owners reporting marks as well as any name or letters on the long hood portion of a locomotive.

I also applied my Branchline Railroads reporting marks DNW under the cab window on each side of the loco and removered the BNSF Herald that was on the nose. I did this using a sharp exacto knife blade, making it look like my maintenance personnel used a grinding wheel to remove this. After all of this, I applied a coat of Testors (remember them?) dull coat to the locomotive. 

I've got more to do such as applying some adhesive weathering powerders for some oil and Diesel Fuel stains on the walkways, fuel tanks and trucks. Branchline Railroads are minimalists by nature as they do as little as possible to get it's equipment road worthy and earning it's keep.

A before picture of BNSF 2099 with it's
handrails removed

DNW 2099 with a black stripe through the BNSF
lettering on the long hood 

Look closely under the numbers "2099" and 
you'll see the reporting marks "DNW"

DNW 2099 with the BNSF nose Herald removed

Rear view of DNW 2099 after the dull coat
has been applied

Top view of DNW 2099 with dull coat applied

Rock Island ALCO RS1 #455 working an empty 
coal train at Wendel, CA. 

SP Cab Forward 4021 awaiting
a meet at Hearne siding

SP SD9 3895 & SD45T-2 approaching Hearne with the 
cleaning car detail

SP SD9 3895 working the cleaning car detail
at MINA, CA.

Athearn Blue Box EMD GP35 #6539

I bought this loco new in 1975. It is an Athearn Blue box EMD GP-35. I use to see these all the time working the Auto Loader at the East end of GEMCO Yard in Van Nuys, California back in 1978 taking brand new Pontiac Firebirds to points East as that's pretty much all SP used back then on this train with the exception of an occasional SD45 or U25B. I hadn't run this loco in a very long time as it wasn't equipped for Digital Command Control. When I did run it years ago before DCC, it always ran very well for me so when I gave it to my friend Tim Johnson to install DCC in it, Tim told me it ran very well for him. I was amazed that after years of non use, this little loco, nearly 50 years old still ran like a champ! 

Union Pacific U28C #2802

I purchased UP 2802 new in 1974 and as you guessed it, it too is an Athearn Blue Box but now since October of 2019, has DCC and sound installed in it and it works and sounds awesome! I had put this loco aside many years ago as it developed a bad pick-up on one of it's trucks. Before I sent it to my Friend Tim Johnson for DCC, I installed a new truck on this loco and it ran great so it was off to Tim's for DCC and sound and some weathering. Upon receipt of this loco from Tim, I put it through it's rigors and it runs, looks and sounds awesome sauce! 

January 1st 1980 on a train watching trip to Cajon Pass, a Union Pacific U28C was broke down and sitting on the set out track at summit with a frozen traction motor. It sat there until a mechanic showed up who told me "if I can't fix this piece of junk with the tools I have in my tool pouch, it's going to the shops". He wasn't a happy camper as it was New Years Day and he got the call and was missing the football games. Such is life working for the Railroad!