Benson Arkansas

[Broadoak]

 

This beautiful Green Mountain Alco RS1 is another of Andy’s models this one is not DCC fitted though. He bought it when on a visit to the states. I think the livery suits it very well. She runs as well as she looks.

In the first picture she is seen in the yard at Colonel's Crossing.
In the second shot she is just leaving the flour mill head shunt behind the service station at Benson.

Peter M

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Broadoak
missing pics

[Broadoak]

 

Here we see a few of the details at the loco re-fuelling and sanding facilities at Colonel's Crossing. They are very minimal really, small open engine house, out of shot to the left. A fuel tank and small control hut. A scratch built sand drying house and an inspection pit between the tracks in the foreground. Tools on work benches and an EMD prime mover under the blue tarpaulin. (Kitchen towel soaked in pva then painted when dry, finally a flick over with a dry brush of light grey) The grounded reefer is a tool and spares store.
Outside the engine house is a lifting hoist that straddles the track (Ratio kit no 545)
It is assumed that freight cars are repaired here as well, hence the lift. This gives an excellent excuse for all sorts of cars to turn up on the layout from time to time.

 

Peter M
 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Broadoak
missing pics

[Broadoak]

 

Wearing the famous Pine Tree herald a Maine Central U boat #409 seen at Colonel's Crossing in the yard head shunt.
After the shutdown of the Rock Island in 1980 Maine central acquired fourteen former RI U25B's.
In fact in May 1981 #234 was still painted blue and white and lettered for the Rock Island with Maine Central in black under the number on the cab sides.

 

Peter M
 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Broadoak

[highpeak]

Not sure how Ethan Allen got down to Arkansas! The baby boats were used very intensively, mostly on the Mountain sub-division over to St. Johnsbury or on the Rigby to Bangor run. They did occasionally show up on some of the branch lines, but not very often. They very quickly became railfan favourites.

By the mid to late 70s MEC needed more power, in large part because the Alco switchers were getting very tired, and the GP7s had been around a long time too. The baby boats were part of the solution, but for the rest the MEC went picking through boneyards for bargains.

There was a curious precedent for MEC to end up with former RI power: in 1965 two former RI RS-3s were leased by MEC from GE and saw service for about a year. The Rock had traded them in on...the batch of U25s of which 14 ended up being bought by MEC.

Some of the engines went into service pretty quickly. The 234 seemed to be the best of the bunch and as you note ran around for quite a while in RI blue. She was a celebrity in the railfan world and predictably was nicknamed Rocky, laying over here at Rigby:

Another engine that went into service in RI colors was the 231, seen here in the train that delivered them up to Waterville:

The other celebrity in the bunch, but for more or less the opposite reason to Rocky was the Great Pumpkin. This was a bit of a rush job by Waterville and it looked as though the paint had been applied at night with a yard broom, no stripes either:

The U25s seemed huge, and in fact were somewhat restricted as to where they were used, mostly between Portland and Bangor or up the Rumford branch, often on the very heavy wood job out of Waterville.

The other second hand engines bought during the second hand buying spree were four ex L&N GP7s that were extensively rebuilt with a chop job on the short hood, and a single GP9 from the Algoma Central. None of those went into service until they had been reworked by Waterville.

 

[Broadoak]

highpeak,

 

Many thanks for posting the above, most interesting.

 

Ethan Allen got down to Arkansas because the loco belongs to my old buddy Andy Knott and he is a fan.

The loco was only on the layout for one day, so lucky we got a picture.

 

Regards Peter M

Edited December 6, 2014 by Broadoak

[ceejaydee]

I have enjoyed reading through your thread over the past couple of days and like the little stories behind each photo and the reasoning for the motive power and stock to appear on your little slice of America.

Switches and road switchers are my favourite locos so plenty of interest for me here and I like the variation in roadnames that you use speaking as someone who despite sticking to a rough geographical area likes railroads because of their colours and logos

[Broadoak]

Thank you Christopher I'm pleased you like what you have seen so far.

When I first got interested in American railroads it was the romance of the names and liveries that attracted me.
I'm a firm believer in having a back story for your own layout and with power shortages and horse power hours you can almost justify anything.

I prefer the western roads but my old friend Andy Knott likes the eastern roads best, hence the mix on my layout.

 

Regards Peter M

[Broadoak]

I was having a clear out in the railway room the other week when I came across a file of articles from The Rock Island Technical Society. I was a member of the society in the early 1990’s at the time I was exhibiting Colonel’s Crossing. It was a report of an experiment carried out by the Rock in March 1978 which made interesting reading.
A typical freight car in 1978 averaged 1.134 loads per month, covered hoppers a little more at 1.25. The experiment the Rock carried out gave a figure of 25 loads per month, a significant improvement.

The scheme that the Rock tried out, tested the feasibility of operating a train capable of competing directly with trucks in the short distance grain hauling market.
The train operated for three weeks out of Muscatine Iowa. On each of its daily runs it delivered empty covered hoppers to grain elevators in Keota and Ainsworth. It waited at each elevator until the cars were loaded and then returned the loads to Muscatine for spotting at the Grain Processing Corporation plant (a round trip of 104 miles).

 

Originally it was intended that each train would consist of ten 100 ton covered hoppers but as the Rock wanted to use existing equipment only found that 100 ton covered hoppers weren’t always available, so on occasion used 60 or 80 ton versions instead. Power was a GP7 or GP9 and as part of the route was on a poorly maintained branch line speeds were as low as 5 mph in places. The crew consisted of three men, an engineer, conductor and brakeman and the whole days work had to be completed in 12 hours.
The experiment was not repeated due to various complicated reasons to do with staffing as at that time the Rock Island was facing bankruptcy.

This sort of simple operation could make the basis for a layout as all that is needed is a switcher and two or three of covered hoppers, all named for the same road.
 

I have tested a version of the Rock Mini Train on my layout at home. My version uses a RI SW1500 switcher which runs on flexi coil trucks so is fine for this sort of road job.

 

This sequence of photos shows the RI Sw1500 leaving the Flour mill at Benson with a train of empty covered hoppers. Then making its way to Colonel's Crossing to load up with grain from the Farmer's Co-op elevator.

 

Peter M
 

Edited February 2, 2019 by Broadoak
missing pics

[highpeak]

The scenario you just described is to me what makes railways so interesting, and food for thought when designing a layout.

 

You are spot on with the way you can plausibly account for the appearance of foreign road equipment, and it goes back way before the current era. Back in the late 50s the Bangor and Aroostook needed a few additional engines, mostly to cope with seasonal traffic in potatoes, but could not justify the investment. The problem was neatly solved by working a deal with the Pennsylvania RR whereby the Pennsy would lease engines to cope with a rush in ore traffic off the Great Lakes, that traffic wound down during the BAR's spud season, so the engines could go home and haul potatoes.

 

Nice picture of a BAR engine working on the Pennsy at http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=354678&nseq=0

[Broadoak]

Highpeak, thank you for confirming I am going about things in the right way.

 

 

I won a Santa Fe GP50 in an NMRA raffle, it's not a road I had any interest in to be honest. But the livery grew on me so I ended up detailing the model and if asked I said it was working off horse power hours. I found also that viewers at exhibitions had heard of the Santa Fe and this made them realise they were looking at a model of American operations.

 

 

Here we see SF #3814 arriving at Benson with a train of covered hoppers.

 

 

Having now become something of a fan I bought a second hand GP 38-2 wearing the SF/SP merger that never happened livery. It is an ex Preoria & Western loco actually. It's a bit bright but I rather like it.
It would seem some 300 odd locomotives were re-painted at this time, woops.

 

 

 

Here we see #2375 arriving at Colonel's crossing with a cut of empty ore cars then at rest on the engine house track

 

Peter M

 

Edited May 4, 2018 by Broadoak

[40019]

Highpeak, thank you for confirming I am going about things in the right way.

 

 

I won a Santa Fe GP50 in an NMRA raffle, it's not a road I had any interest in to be honest. But the livery grew on me so I ended up detailing the model and if asked I said it was working off horse power hours. I found also that viewers at exhibitions had heard of the Santa Fe and this made them realise they were looking at a model of American operations.

 

Here we see SF #3814 arriving at Benson with a train of covered hoppers.

 

 

Having now become something of a fan I bought a second hand GP 38-2 wearing the SF/SP merger that never happened livery. It is an ex Preoria & Western loco actually. It's a bit bright but I rather like it.

It would seem some 300 odd locomotives were re-painted at this time, woops.

 

 

Here we see #2375 arriving at Colonel's crossing with a cut of empty ore cars then at rest on the engine house track

 

Peter M

 

 

 

you can never have too much Kodachrome

[Broadoak]

40019

You may be interested to know that in the early 1990's The Port of Tillamook Bay liked the Kodachrome livery enough to paint at least one SD9 #4381 in that colour.
They may have painted others as well but I only have two photographs both showing 4381. The pictures are in American Shortline Guides by Edward A Lewis.

 

 

Regards Peter M

[Broadoak]

An SF GP38-2 #2375 working in the east yard at Benson.

 

Seeing how well the pictures of the Kodachrome geep were received here is a small fix for those addicted.

 

Peter M

Edited February 2, 2019 by Broadoak
missing pics

[DanielB]

We all love a bit of Kodachrome...

 

[highpeak]

I liked the joke that said SPSF stood for Shouldn't Paint So Fast

[long island jack]

Nice looking switching layout,with a variety of railroads  ,

Do you realise you my have a record,nearly 4 pages and no ones said anything about your track  (code 100),obviously there must be enough in your photos to keep us occupied!!,well done  

 

Duck for incoming,where's my coat.........................!!

 

Ray

[Broadoak]

Ray many thanks,

Many years ago when I first exhibited Colonel's Crossing a man watched the layout for some time then said. “I must commend you on your slow running and I'm pleased to see you've used code 75 track.”

I never did have the heart to tell him it's all code 100 as you so rightly say.

 

Peter M

Edited December 8, 2014 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

Highpeak,

 

I have never heard that saying before but it seems very true.

 

I am amazed how many locos got painted in the very bright livery.

 

Peter M

Edited December 8, 2014 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

 

Some pictures of the two Southern Pacific six axle locomotives that regularly handled the ore trains at Colonel's Crossing.
First we see the SP #3897 SD7 Cadillac, an old blue box model that has too wide a hood and is rather crude by today's improved standards. Despite all this it is still one of my favourites.
We see her rolling across the grade crossing at Benson with it's horn blaring a warning. There is something about these locomotives that remind me rather of a steam loco, I think it's the long hood that does it.
A picture taken from the back bedroom in the store showing #3897 easing across the switch that leads into loop that in turn leads to the cement unloading facility at Benson.
Then we see her just about to pick up a couple of empty covered hoppers from the plant.

 

 

The other regular on the ore trains is an SP SD 45 #8803 in fairly dirty condition, which from the photographs I have seen was not unusual. It must be said these locomotives were in mid train helper sets.
Here are a selection of pictures taken on various occasions of her working in the yard at Benson which probably made a pleasant change from working ore trains.

 

Peter M

Edited February 2, 2019 by Broadoak
missing pics

[DanielB]

ESPEE!

 

   

 

I do love me some Espee!

 

The weathering job on the SD45 is superb. Well done.

[Broadoak]

Thanks Dan,

I don't have an airbrush so all my weathering is done using thin washes of acrylics, a little at a time. I try to build it up as it would in the real world, an un-cleaned locomotive getting a little dirtier each day. I never use black except for the inside of an exhaust pipe. I use instead a very dark grey, black with a touch of white in it. It seems to show the details in the trucks better for instance.

 

 

Peter M

[40019]

I couldn't play the Kodachrome game , but I can play the SD-45 & Espee game 

 

Some of my battered fleet - all are requiring a level of rework / repair - but I like them

 

Paul........

 

[Broadoak]

Very nice Paul, I like them all but  the tunnel motor best I think.

 

I find these locomotives much more attractive than the very modern stuff.

 

Peter M

[Broadoak]

I have a copy of Southern Pacific 1987/88 Motive Power Pictorial by Joseph W. Shine.

It lists all the equipment painted in the SPSF Red and Yellow Scheme.

They were: SW99E 1,SW1500 2, MP15 1,SD35E1,SDP453,GP9E 9,GP35E 5,GP35 8,SD40R 6,
SD44R 1,SD45R 17, GP40-2 1,B30-7 2,SD40T-2 8,SD45 2,SD54T-2 14,SD45-2R 4, plus 1 caboose.

One assumes the Santa Fe did something similar.

 

Peter M

[DanielB]

For me it's all about the Cadillac's.

 

I've currently got six SD7/9's, though three of them still need decoders fitting.

 

There's just something about their simplistic, ugly look that just screams power. The default image of US railroading in my mind has always been a lash up of SD9's in bloody nose colours dragging a massive train through the mountains.

 

Kinda like this:

 

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=459413&nseq=11

 

Or these:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=380691&nseq=26

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=280801&nseq=37

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=246190&nseq=46

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=205368&nseq=58

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=140232&nseq=78

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=131476&nseq=81

 

 

Sorry for the thread hijacking, but I just love Cadillacs!