1981 Union Pacific U30C Grain Train (Empties)

UP General Electric locomotives have white number boards with black numerals, while EMD locos had black number boards with white numerals.  Such is the case for U30C pictured above.  Every photo I've seen of a GE loco (U50C, U28 and 30C's, and U30C-7's) from this time period features white number boards.

 

SD40-2 unit 3401 features updated paint scheme with the large 3401 under the cab window.  In mid 1980, The UP decided to change the standard on air horns, now having them mounted on the roof of the cab.  This move is reflected on this unit, with the "firecracker" antennae moved to the right and back of those horns.

3379 is another "snoot" SD40-2, so named because of the extended short hood, which were designed to house radio equipment for remote control service.  This planned RCS operations were never put into place.



Micro Trains GAMX 4-bay covered hopper

Atlas NATX 4-bay covered hopper



Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper.  All hopper cars in this train have Micro Trains trucks/couplers.  All are weathered to some degree.  All retain stock walkways.

MT UP 3-bay covered hopper

Red Caboose outside braced 3-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper and a UP
Red Caboose outside braced 3-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper

Red Caboose UP outside braced 3-bay covered hopper

Atlas LUCX 4-bay covered hopper

MT SP 3-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hoppers

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hoppers

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper

Red Caboose WP outside braced 3-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-baycovered hopper

Atlas ACFX 4-bay covered hopper

Atlas UP 4-bay covered hopper and Centralia caboose with early small lettering.

A Video of this train has been posted on YouTube at:

http://youtu.be/7FfV42H00Aw


Thanks for checking out my blog!

1981 Westbound Manifest Freight led by SD45 5512

SD45 5512, straight from the paint shop in San Bernardino.



U30CG was a General Electric custom project for the Santa Fe.  I have a thorough description of the modifications done to a similar Trix unit in my July 21, 2012 blog, the most important being the use of a Kato chassis.  Although these units were retired in September of 1980, I couldn't resist having one these on my roster in June of 1981.

General Electric U36C, created from a U30C Kato frame and a N Scale of Nevada (now OOB) U36C conversion kit.  You can occasionally find these kits on Ebay.  Custom painted with the normal roof additions.

Santa Fe SD39 4015.  Please refer to my April 15, 2013 blog for a thorough review of the SD39's on my roster (three).  This particular unit represents a freshly repainted unit. 

The Milwaukee Road covered hopper started out as a MT silver car.  Heavily weathered with rust tones adds a realistic touch.

In 1981, many ATSF freight cars from the fifties still roamed the rails in their original paint schemes.  This box car still caries the yellow "Damage Free" and "Route of the Texas Chief " logos.  The Texas Chief lasted right up until the end, as it was rolled up into Amtrak in 1971.

Two 50' cars, a MR reefer and a UP Hi Cube box car.  the refrigerated unit is from Micro Trains.  The Hi Cube car featured an extended roof top used mainly for appliance loading.  The reefer had it's roof walk removed.  Both cars are heavily weathered.

MT Cotton Belt 50' plug and sliding door box car.  The gondola is a BN model loaded with crushed scrap metal.

This 61' 4" insulated plug door box is one of 35 in the Bx-171 class.  One of it's prime uses is to carry beer for the Coors Brewery in Golden Colorado.  The car is heavily weathered.   I have several "beer cars" on my layout.



Western Pacific's version of the beer car.  Yellow lettering on brown paint, with a aluminum roof top. These fine models come from Red Caboose.

I have had these cars in my collection for so long that I can't remember who produced them.  All four cars are lightly weathered and feature Gold Medal Models photo etch upgrades.

These cars were used for shipments of fluids within and for the Santa Fe Railroad. 



This 50" MT car received modifications from it's original release.  I modified the  Circle Cross logo with updated white Santa Fe lettering, changed the number to 12943 from 10001, and added a placard to the door and decaled "with".  Finally changed the black smoother roll to smother ride, thus making it a member of the 100 cars in the  Bx-76 class. 

Relatively stock MT car, with roof walk removed, lightly weathered.

Earlier version of a Western pacific beer car.

Custom painted 50' insulated box car.  The aluminum door retains it's natural color.  The decals on the right were custom made.  Atlas later came out with this very car. *(see below)

Custom painted plug and sliding door 50' MT car.

Two very different hoppers on the Santa Fe.  Both models upgraded with Gold Medal Models photo etching.

Custom painted double plug door 50' MT car.

Another Santa Fe beer car

And another as well as a Rio Grande beer car. 

BN beer car and custom painted refrigerator car.  This car has the billboard Santa Fe lettering, as opposed to the "Ship and Travel..." logo on the stock MT car.

Very cool looking UP Damage Free 50' box car from MT, and my upgraded caboose with all the right stuff from Micro Trains..

*  For more information on Great Northern Box Cars, please see my article in the Nov-Dec 2005 issue of N Scale Railroading.

 

 

 

A video of this train can be found on YouTube at:

 

 

http://youtu.be/oh6NREiqWgE

 

Thanks for viewing my blog and the associated video!



1981 Westbound TOFC/COFC led by SD40-2 5022

The SD40-2 5022 was part of a delivery of  38 units, arriving on Santa Fe property in November of 1977. Units 5020-5027 sported the long nose, nicknamed "Snoot" for obvious reasons.  The 123" nose housed Lococontrol equipment as well as a toilet.   Remote control equipment (RCE) antennas were mounted behind the air conditioner.  A larger Sinclair antennae was mounted above the dust bin on the long hood for voice communication. A Leslie 3 chime air horn, rotating beacon, and an air conditioning unit were also mounted on cab roof.  The 5022 was custom painted and weathered.

F45 5924 is a custom model, kit bashed from a Kato SD45 frame and a JnJ body shell.  Construction methods were shown in a previous blogs.  The 5924 has been recently repainted and had air conditioning installed along with a Sinclair antennae.

Weathered SD45 from Kato, custom painted with typical cab roof additions.  5430 had an interesting history, as the original 20 cylinder 3600 hp engine was replaced by a 645F3 16 cylinder engine rated at 3500 hp.  It is essentially a SD40 in a SD45 carbody.  This was done to 12 different units as an experiment to overcome the "quirky" 20 cylinder 645E3 engines.  This experiment proved to be too expensive to repeat on further units.

All flats in this train are Micro Trains, save one.  Custom containers.



Custom 40' containers

Couple of custom 40' trailers

40' C&O trailer from Athearn and a custom NW 48 footer shrunk down to 40".

Athearn Erie Lackawanna trailer and a kit build from years ago. 

Cor Cor Budd trailer with MT wheel sets and another kit build. This flat is an old Rapido model with updated trucks and end platforms, and custom paint and decaled.

Again, an Athearn product and a MT trailer. I believe it is custom.

More Athearn and a custom made MT PFE trailer.

The Co-Op trailer is decades old, with MT wheel set.  The Vermont trailer is stock MT, lightly weathered.

These two MT 40' trailers are custom painted and decaled.

Two stock 40' containers

NOL container is MT, the two 20 footers are custom painted.

Custom WP 40' trailer and Athearn BAR exterior post trailer.

Penn Central exterior post trailer and stock MT trailer

Custom MT Santa Fe 40 footer and RI trailer from Athearn.  Red Caboose offering pulls up the rear.

Thanks for checking out this blog.

A video of this train can be seen on YouTube at:

http://youtu.be/6Zfvb-M7p5k