1981 Santa Fe Eastbound Manifest led by SD45-2 5656

Unit 5656 was built in May 1972 and delivered in the Yellow Stripe paint scheme.  All 90 purchased were eventually repainted into the Yellow Warbonnet scheme, and equipped with air conditioning, high mounted air horns, window shades, and radio antennae.  5656 was mildly weathered, with rust showing around the air filter.  You can faintly see where the yellow paint in that air filter has just about weathered away.



SD40 5012, part of initial order of 20 locomotives in 1966 (5000-5019).  Santa Fe then targeted the SD45 for future deliveries, until 1977 with the initial purchases of the SD40-2.  Delivered in the Yellow Stripe paint scheme and numbered 1700-1719, they were part of a remanufacturing program during 1980 and 1981.  Unit 5012 appears as if it has just been released from it's rebuilding!

In 1976,  GE C30-7 was introduced as the successor to the U30C locomotive and contained several internal and external design changes resulting in 16 cylinders and 3000 h.p.  Early C30's featured a blanked nose headlight receptacle, with the headlight relocated above the window area.  The last order of 14 units of the 157 ordered between 1977 and 1982 had white number boards and a smooth nose.  8077 is mildly weathered with all the appropriate roof add-ons.




Custom painted 50' MT box car.  The white door on a mineral brown box car generally indicated a food loading only car, as does the XF logo on the upper left of the car.  Mildly weathered.





Two mildly weathered MT 53' covered hoppers

Two mildly weathered MT Santa Fe covered hoppers



Stock MT 50' cars.  The Shock Control car has been sprayed with dullcote and represents a recent rebuild, while the CNW car as mildly weathered.

The stars of the next few photos are the various "Cats" on MT 50' flats.  These models are made by Norscot Construction Minis.

Two Cat 272E Excavators

ICG 50' flat with Caterpillar 906 Compact Wheel Loader

Cat 420E Backhoe Loader

Excavators on a BN flat and a UP flat

Two weathered 50' MT gondolas, B&O and WP

These five gondolas are all loaded with aluminum, crushed into rectangular or square shapes.

Frisco gondola and Ce-8 Wide Vision caboose


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

http://youtu.be/4bXqDvCgiOU

Thanks for checking in on the Needles Division!

1981 Union Pacific GP40 Manifest Freight

In mid 1980, Union Pacific changed the standard on horn placement, moving them to the front of the loco on the cab roof.  The antennae was moved to right of center.  Heavily weathered GP40, an Atlas 8 wheel drive unit with a solid metal chassis.

I am pretty sure that this unit is a GP40-2.  Most of the GP40 genre locos on the UP came through the acquisition of other railroads.  I am not sure where these two Geeps came from, but I have seen a picture of a prototype UP GP40-2 numbered 672, so these numbers seem correct.



Last of the series of 60 GP38-2's, engine number 2059 was delivered in April of 1975.

UP 2031, delivered in May of 1974, follows the new standard of horns mounted on the cab roof.  It has an updated paint job.

These GP38-2 are early Kato models.  While the initial models were very heavy and can pull a ton (frame similar to their GP50's), they are noisier than later Kato offerings.  However, they do run smooth with proper lubrication.

Roundhouse class Bx-182 ATSF Shock Control car, with MT wheel sets and body mounted couplers.  There are a dozen of these cars roaming my Needles Division.

Outside braced 36' covered hopper of unknown origin.

Two MT hoppers,, both weathered down to wheel sets.

Custom painted and decaled Model Rectifier 50' plug door box car.  PRR reporting numbers painted over and Conrail numbers added.  No effort was taken to remove the PRR logo.  Roof walk removed.

Three MT covered hoppers

Another Bx-182

This Bachmann car goes back to the 70's, and was one of the first seven box cars that I purchased. This Central of Georgia car has the roof walk removed, and was my first attempt at weathering.  Although poorly done, it has sentimental value.

This ADMX car has rust weathering across the body top, with GMM railings and steps



Three ADM cars, GMM equipped and weathered.

NP 50' DD box sans roof walk.  MT car.





MT B&O 50' DD box, and, of course, roof walk removed.

Airslide hopper, weathered. One of few instances where the Santa Fe used grey cars with black lettering.



WP 60' Beer car from Red Caboose.  One of three different paint schemes applied by WP to this car class.  All three are present on the Needles Division.

SP 60' Beer car from Red Caboose. I always like the Hydra Cushion logo on SP freight cars. 

Stock Reading 40' box car sans roof walk

Conrail car from MT, a 50' DD box.

Seaboard Coast Line 50' plug door box car.  I removed the roof walk.  Black can be tough to weather

A couple of DuPont tankers, weathered, but it hardly shows.   I worked for DuPont for some 20 years.

Another short line box car from MT,  The red is a very attractive color on this car.  Slightly weathered.

A Mopac 50' outside braced plug door box, weathered.

NW 40' box car, slightly weathered.  Stock from MT.

A Central Vermont 50' outside braced plug door box, weathered, with the "Noodle" CV logo.  (The CV and GT fall under the domain of the Canadian National.)

A Bachmann car from the 70's, stripped, roof walk removed, custom painted and decaled, MT trucks, body mounted couplers, brakewheel and steps. Then weathered. All this for a box car I originally bought for $2.49

Again, a beautiful Centralia caboose.

You can see a video of this train on YouTube at:


http://youtu.be/2LAsSDXZXzk

Thanks for your interest.
 

1981 Santa Fe Westbound TOFC led by SD45-2 5640



SD45-2 5640 is an Intermountain model of the 20 cylinder 3600 horsepower behemoth.  It is mildly weathered with a normal amount of fading.  I add raised air horns 1981 style, on the roof of the cab.  Santa Fe purchased 90 of these units from 1972 to 1974.

SD40-2 5033 is a Kato model of this 16 cylinder 3000 horsepower unit.  Originally produced by Kato as a "Snoot" version, I replaced the long nose with that of an SD45, thus making it a standard version of the SD40-2.  The "Porches" on either end of the SD40-2 are due to making the longer SD45 frames standard on mid and later production units.  I custom painted the model, adding the air conditioner, raised air horns, antennae, and rotating beacon. The model represented freshly painted unit out of the San Bernardino, CA paint shop.

GP38 3520  is one of 61 purchased by the Santa Fe in 1970.  The unit is equipped with a 3000 gallon fuel tank, dynamic brakes, and a factory installed rotary beacon.  My model is mildly weathered.

All but one of the 89' trailers in this train are Micro Trains models.  All are weathered to some degree.  Here pictured are a couple of MT trailers, with the highlight  being the Bicentennial white Santa Fe 40' trailer.

All the bracing for the trailers has been masked and sprayed silver, with many weathered to a gray color.  Both of these trailers are custom painted and decaled.



Stock MT 45' Family Lines trailer and custom painted and decaled Santa Fe trailer.  Both the SFTT and fully lettered Santa Fe 40' trailers were beautiful examples of Santa Fe's emphasis on modular traffic.

Gelco custom trailer with refrigeration unit and stock MT BN trailer.

Custom Preferred 102 trailer and NW unit shortened from 48 to 40'.



Since these photos were taken, all of my TOFC/COFC flat cars have the U-1 Stencil added.  That is the black logo with a yellow circle stamped on, representing inspected for defective 33" wheels

Two custom trailers.  The Santa Fe trailer represents one where the rear panels have been replaced.

Stock MT trailers, both mildly weathered

Stock Rio Grande trailer and custom Santa Fe trailer

Both trailers custom painted and decaled

Preferred 45 trailer custom painted/decaled.  Stock MT Conrail trailer with replacement panel

Both the Nevada Northern and the Rio Grande trailers are custom.



The Southern 45'trailer is a Con Cor trailer with Micro Trains wheel sets, while the UP trailer is stock, but weathered. Hmm, in looking at this photo, I believe I will redo the wheel sets on the Southern trailer.



Here is the exception to the MT flats.  This flat is a solid metal Rapido flat, custom painted, updated with Micro Trains wheel sets and end ramps. The Santa Fe trailer represents a 40 ft. trailer stretched out to 45'.  I saw many of these "stretch jobs" in Cajon Pass in the early eighties.  The Con Cor Rio Grande trailer has MT wheel sets.

Both the Western Express trailer and the American Presidents Line Container on flat trailer are custom painted and decaled.  The beautiful Red Caboose Waycar brings up the end of the train.

Thanks for logging onto the Needles Division!

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

                                   http://youtu.be/GF4O7jqKUak