Anybody Model The Atlantic Coast Line?

Don't model it.

 

But it is a passing fancy in S Scale hirail for me:

 

Rusty

Larry, a club member from SC has quite a few ACL items and runs them occasionally on the club layout up here. He models mostly SE regional lines that were a part of his life experiences. He's definitely a happy RRer!

 

 

 

 

 

Bob

I like purple to. I guess you just have to live in the SE to appreciate that odd color

Sam I would like to find one of those purple diesels like that cab 107 you have there.

Larry

Certainly a colorful combination. I do like it.

Anybody Model The Atlantic Coast Line... items are available, even palm trees.

Traveled the ACL several times in the 60's.

 

The S C L era however, is always over looked with next to nothing available.

 

I would like to have these...

 

 

 

 

I'm not an ACL modeler but, living in Atlanta felt an obligation to pay some homage to the late great Coast Line.

Curt

Where did you get the black and yellow strip ACL GP30?

 

I never remember see purple anything in ACL in the late 50's and 60's.

TM Terry - The black/yellow GP30 may be a WBB; I have one - not mine - sitting in my kitchen right now (I have been working on it). Beautiful, for a GM diesel.

====================================

1 - The ACL (and later SCL) black/yellow paint scheme has to be one of the all-time most

attractive diesel paint jobs ever. Simple, striking, straight and crisp. No swoops.

If anyone ever produces an ACL EMD E-unit - preferably the E-6! - in that scheme (even a nice

MTH RK E-3/6), I will be all over it. I have no connection to the ACL, but if C. Sam can

run GM&O, I can run ACL!

 

2 - I dislike the color purple, and its cousins pink, violet, etc, in general. Always have.

So, the ACL also has one of my LEAST favorite paint schemes in that odd look. Also,

from a paint engineering point of view, I have been told by experts that purple, at least

back in the day, was/is one of the least durable colors available. It tends to turn pink,

which just makes things worse.

 

Strange extremes.

 

The ACL royal purple was a favorite color chosen by long-time (and very famous) ACL railroad president Champion McDowell Davis. The famous ACL passenger train "The Champion" was named for him. He retired from the railroad in June of 1957.

 

I read sometime in the past about the Atlantic Coast paint scheme, and that the complicated purple, yellow and silver paint scheme was found to be expensive to apply, and hard to keep up, requiring frequent repaintings, etc. (Of course, the paints of the time weren't like the ones that are available today.) After Champ Davis retired, the new president came in, and after a period of time decided that to cut costs (although the ACL was always a very profitable line), the royal purple scheme had to go. After that, the engines were gradually repainted into the far more drab - but cheap - black with yellow stripe scheme.

 

I decided fairly recently to get a set of the Lionel ACL purple aluminum passenger cars, and then picked up two Lionel ACL purple GP-7s to pull them. Although I'm not a huge fan of purple, the ACL royal purple engines can look sharp, and in the correct darker shade of ACL purple Lionel uses, I think this 2-engine, 4-car consist looks really nice.

 

I didn,t see that much acl locomotives.But I saw alot of boxcars for acl and some puplwood cars.I allways thought purple was kinda odd for a railroad.However I have to admit there passenger locomotives looked pretty slick.
I think kline did some acl steam locomotives.You might want to check into it.

       
       


That is a WBB GP30.  One of their newer engines with the prime mover sounds.

Curt

I do not model the ACL but I do own equipment for other South East Railroads like the Seaboard Airline and FEC.  I have read about their History in books though because I have always been interested in the Railroad History of Florida and the South East in general.  I have noticed it is very tough to find ready to run SAL, SCL, ACL, and FEC equipment in O-Gauge.  A few years ago I almost switched to N Gauge because of that.  

Although I don't model it, that purple paint job is very appealing.

Well, since some do like the odd color I might as well show another picture of my 4 aluminum 60' passenger cars. Purple will grow on ya

Larry

Good stuff guys!  Curt, that's a sweet looking diesel

 

When I was a kid back in the 50s-60s we lived between the SAL and ACL track here in Portsmouth Va, but the ACL main was closest, not more than 1/2 mile away.  All I can recall is the black diesels but I know some of the purple engines must have made their way down here.  We could see the swing bridge on the Elizabeth River from our back yard during the winter when the trees were bare.

 

I'm going to use the Williams/Samhongsa brass 4-6-2 mainly as a passenger train IF I can get some nice cars to go with it.  I just ordered the decals for the engine from Allegheny Scale Models.  If I can't find suitable passenger cars it'll become a freight (or dual class) real quick

TM Terry

If you are interested in the ACL engine you questioned  about. Contact me as I have one that I will be needing to find a good home for.

Thanks

Gene
wheeler359@gmail.com

I have the MTH O Scale VO1000. On the club layout, it is affectionately known as the One eyed, one horn, flying purple people eater. I purchased it specifically for a repaint project. As soon as the decals are available, it's off to the paint booth. 

 

Gilly

Here's one of my ACL boxcars:

 

 

My not so local Hobby Shop  C.T. McCormick has had this set in stock since I got back in the Hobby.
I might add that this thread has been putting pressure on me to buy it…lol

Atlantic Coast Line F-3 ABA Diesel Passenger Set - Includes The Following:

Atlantic Coast Line F-3 ABA Diesel Engine Set

Atlantic Coast Line 4-Car Streamlined Passenger Set

Atlantic Coast Line 2-Car Streamlined Passenger Add-on Set

All Are New In Original Boxes

6-11903 / 6-19154 / 6-21766

K.C.

To my knowledge only the diesel engines got the Purple paint scheme,I have not seen any pics of rolling stock painted in this color,although somebody may have a pic.

Have seen images of both heavyweights and express reefers in purple and silver.

Love the Streamliners with purple letterboards.

Now that you mention it I believe Sunset did their REA reefer in ACL colors.

I'll check my books but I think ACL passenger cars only got purple name boards/number boards, there may have been a few that had the panel above the windows in purple.

 

I believe ACL is even more scarce than SAL

I grew up in Wilmington, NC...the headquarters of the ACL...until they bolted for Jacksonville in, I think, 1959.  Completely devastated the town and the economy.  Was a crying shame to watch them tear down the ACL HQ.  Of course, the only reason it was there was because Champion McDowell Davis lived in Wilmington...which is about 90 miles from the main line.

 

Frankly, I mostly remember the black and yellow ACL and, then, SCL period.  I have a couple of SD70M-2s that were re-painted to SCL by Jeff Sohn.  I also have a couple of Atlas SD35s that have been re-painted to SCL and that have been re-tooled to be PS2 locomotives. These were number for a couple of SD35s that I explored in the deadline at the Hamlet, NC yard.  I just purchased an ACL GP35 from MTH.  I have also purchased every modern car Atlas O has produced in ACL or SCL.  I have some Weaver SAL hoppers as well as the MTH SAL 3-bay hoppers.

 

Do I model ACL...I guess not...but, I surely like and (kind of) collect anything that brings back the memories of what was for me a mighty fine railroad!

Bob here are mine The SCL Alco C628 now that the decals have arrived will be reflagged to ACL 2001. In terms of the waycars MTH uses the same waycar for both ACL and SAL. The MTH is suppose to be a M3 Class waycar. If your up to kit bashing , Lionel is coming out with a UP CA1 Caboose that could be reconfigured to a M5 Way car. Or have Malcolm build one for you. The Box cars the Atlas silver ACL I have had for a couple of yrs. The other two just arrived in the mail from Gene and as you can see are now in service. In terms of modeling ACL its kind of a mix. I run N&W, ACL, and SAL for the SE, The Midwest: Burlington/GN and the west ATSF and SP. I run a N&W coal drag (Alco C630)which can be swap out with either my ACL C628 or my SAL SDP35 as both roads ran coal into Florida. Same for the non coal consists.  

 

Doug 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug, looks great!

 

A M5 caboose would be nice, as well as a M3 (plywood type):

 

 

 

I know there's cabs close to this, just need to get the windows right and add the shades and wind deflectors.

I am sure Brother Love can make you one of these real quick.

The MTH Way Car that I have would be the victim for bashing with little mod.

 

 

 

I think the "Thanks for Using Coast Line" slogan cabooses are pretty slick.

 

While ACL did use stainless steel cars with purple name boards, they painted some of their passenger equipment in the royal purple paint scheme, as well, both heavyweights and streamliners.

 

 

 

Thanks!  I had forgotten I have that book

Glad for the coincidental reminder, Bob.  I'll bet it's interesting - wish I had a copy.

 The Royal Purple scheme is nice,but I like the black and yellow best .

 

Yup, they're really sharp.  

 

(Just kidding.) 

 

Both images are of heavyweight cars, not sure they ever painted a real lightweight streamliner car in the purple and silver paint scheme.

not sure they ever painted a real lightweight streamliner car in the purple and silver paint scheme.

 

From looking at the 3-4 books I have, all I can see was that only the letterboards on lightweight streamliner cars were painted purple.

 

RF&P also painted some of their letterboards purple.  ACL also had cars painted in the PRR Lowey scheme as well as in IC colors (City of Miami letterboard) and with ACL written out on the upper sides.

 

Most/all of the purple painted cars were gone by 1960, a few engines and some of ACL subsidiary RRs kept the purple paint a bit longer.

 

From what I just read (Rails Across Dixie) the purple scheme ran from 1939 to 1957/9, until Tom Rice took the helm at ACL, estimated cost savings were $100,000/yearly.

Here's a photo of some ACL units in purple (Bob Drake/Tom Sink collection):

 

 

FedEx just dropped off my Williams Samhongsa USRA 4-6-2

 

It's in Boston & Maine paint but will soon go under the ??? (not sure, maybe a magic eraser) to get the Atlantic Coast Line treatment   Hopefully all I'll need to do is remove the B&M lettering/striping and add the ACL decals as soon as they arrive.

 

But...I'll probably replace the domes first, they are a bit low (more like heavy pacific domes vice USRA domes).  The engine is 4 scale feet too long (1") (Williams/Samhongsa used the same boiler as on the USRA 2-8-2) but it's spread out so there's no one place that could be modified (even if the chassis could) to make it shorter.

 

Still it's a nice piece of machinery and those HUGE drivers look great

 

Glad I was able to snag one of these brass engines, I'll most likely install PS2 electronics in it (more cutting, may have to repaint anyway ).

 

ACL replace the solid leading truck wheels with spoked wheels, need to look at the PSC catalog to see if they offer spoked wheels.

There was a pic recently in one of the Trains publications showing the Wilmington Depot with 3 Trains ready to depart that day and the Depot looked pretty run down, today that is all gone from the downtown area.