Dale Junction in HO Scale

[benjy14]

Last week, I had two friends from the railway (including @JackB95 of this parish) over to see the layout and I'm pleased to report that it operated perfectly for over 90 minutes; not a single derailmemt or other incident, so that was extremely pleasing.

 

To complete the motive power update, this first photo below shows FEF-3 #838 leading a lash-up of GP9 #252 and GP7s #103 and #107 heading away from Dale Junction on Track 2:

 

 

This consist is based on a prototype photo from the Union Pacific Historical Society's 2023 calendar, which shows an almost idential motive power lash-up heading west away from Cheyenne.  This was permissable because the FEF is oil-fired, so there was no chance of ash/cinders etc. falling into the fans of the diesel locomotives. The FEF is a Broadway Limited Paragon4 model, whilst the GP units are all Proto 2000 models that have been upgraded to ESU LokSound 5 decoders.

 

Waiting to resume its westbound jouney on Track 1 is GTEL #6, which I currently have paired with Big Boy #4023, as seen below:

 

 

I know that the GTELs did run with the Big Boys but #6 is from the third generation of these locomotives, that had a hostler diesel engine in the lead unit and the turbine in the second unit, and which were delivered at the very end of the 1950s, so this combination is actually unlikely to have happened. I was running this consist as my BLI Challenger #3954 was away for repair but it is now back, so this train will be back to steam super-power in due course and the GTEL pulling trains on its own...

 

Next up is a very special model...

 

 

 

 

This is ex-Norfolk & Western Y3b locomotive, of which the Union Pacific purchased 6 examples in 1945 to help with motive power shortages over Sherman Hill. This model was gifted to me by another friend from the railway and was originally a Santa Fe livery, but with his blessing, it has been converted into UP #3672, which is how we see it above. The model was unboxed but I believe it to be an Athearn model. I would like to find some dummy marker lights for the front of the smokebox but it is otherwise finished, being fitted with an ESU LokSound 5 decoder.

 

As it is on the light-side, I have chosen to pair it with an as-built (1941) condition Big Boy, in this case #4001, which has been decorated for me by yet another friend from the railway. Below, we see the pair approaching Monument Road with a westbound manifest freight:

 

 

I made mention in a previous post about my new Rapido E9 units, and my dissatisfaction with their rendition of UP Armour Yellow. I decided to purchase some of the new Proto 2000 E9s to run with my City trains,  only to discover that actually, the Rapido livery was actually correct...(!)  I found this out from a lovely colour photo on the front of the 2024 UPHS calendar, which clearly shows the locomotives in a lighter shade of yellow compared to the train. However, the photo was from the 1960s, so not right for my trains.

 

I have therefore placed the Rapido E9 units on the front of my 1960s manifest freight and below, we see four of the five units sweeping on to Track 3 at Dale Junction:

 

 

The E9s were seldom used in freight service due to their high gear ratio for fast passenger service, but this train is meant to represent a train in the mid- to late-1960s, so it's quite feasible that by that period, some of the E9 units were found on freight trains as passenger timetables were scaled back in the face of competition of both road and aviation.

 

So, to finish off this post, we see below two of my new Proto 2000 E9 units leading the eastbound City of Los Angeles through Dale Junction:

 

 

As can be seen, the UP Armour Yellow is much better match with the carriages (although perhaps still not 100% perfect), and the locomotives are a much higher specification to their predecessors, featuring ESU LokSound 5 decoders and other refinements (for example, there is no light bleed visible under the front coupler pocket).

 

Following on my the success of the running session, I am now making a list of double-headed combinations that work consistently and reliably, and conversely, a list of locomotives that do not seem happy running in combination others. In terms of scenery, I really want to look at getting the infrastructure around Dale Junction finished, so am looking at options for getting that done over the summer.

[PaulRhB]

21 hours ago, benjy14 said:

The model was unboxed but I believe it to be an Athearn model.

I dunno about Athearn but Proto2000 certainly did it as I had two and it looks identical to their rendition, I think they were later sold under the Roco brand too as I think they made them for P2k. 

[benjy14]

13 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

I dunno about Athearn but Proto2000 certainly did it as I had two and it looks identical to their rendition, I think they were later sold under the Roco brand too as I think they made them for P2k. 

 

Ah, that's interesting, thanks. I was aware of the Roco one but didn't know that Proto 2000 did one. I may have another look to see if I can find anything that would identify it! I do know it's quite an old model though, as the friend who gifted it to me had it for many years before it came into my possession, but it's still incredibly well detailed despite its age and runs beautifully 🙂

[Mol_PMB]

Ben, I still need to come and see your amazing layout! Not sure when I'm next heading that way but let's try and organise something.

And if you're ever in the Manchester area come and give me a shout.

[PaulRhB]

13 minutes ago, benjy14 said:

I do know it's quite an old model though, as the friend who gifted it to me had it for many years before it came into my possession,

Is it quite light on its feet? That was a characteristic of the P2k version, I think Roco added a traction tyre later. Mine maxed out on about 20 wagons and slipped. 

[benjy14]

15 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

Ben, I still need to come and see your amazing layout! Not sure when I'm next heading that way but let's try and organise something.

And if you're ever in the Manchester area come and give me a shout.

 

You would be more than welcome Mol and I'd love to visit your layout, which really seems to be coming on at a rate of knots now 🙂 I'll drop you a PM as I don't think I have your number.

 

4 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

Is it quite light on its feet? That was a characteristic of the P2k version, I think Roco added a traction tyre later. Mine maxed out on about 20 wagons and slipped. 

 

Yes, it is indeed, hence the double-heading and I'm pretty certain it does not have traction tyres, so it would appear to be the P2k version. Thanks for your help!