Atlas U23B Not Union pacific

You might be on the wrong forum.  Two railers usually just repaint and re-decal.  

Half opinion, and half in fun.

Bob2, Yes. I could do that as I still have my compressor and air brush but been there and done that painting stuff years ago. I have painted U50s, Sd40s GP30s, and a set of alco 855s, all alco brass models from the 70s. Today I'd rather build the layout and run the trains. It is bad enough a lot of guage looks out of scale so I do 2 rail as it scale. Another reason is I seem to collect more than I run so  not all models hit my  tracks. If Atlas still had a forum I would have posted there for sure but it closed up due to the economy.

You are right as I think the hobby will return to more people doing it their own way as the prices rise.

Phill

A very quick look at the excellent utahrails website seems to suggest that:

  -  the UP did not buy any U23B's

  -  none of the WP units made it into UP paint

  -  of the 17 or so MP units [ there were no yellow MP units ] that made it into UP paint and three digit numbers I THINK all had the FB2 trucks.

   A very quick review of the Atlas Trainman U23B listing's photos indicates that Atlas has not offered these units with FB2's -- just AAR B and Blombergs. 

But hasn't Atlas offered the FB2's on some Masterline GE's ?  Are the sideframes interchangeable ?

Corrections etc to above welcomed -- I'm not a UP expert, nor did I do an exhaustive photo search of those UP units -- and trucks can usually be swapped.

Best, SZ

My reply was a bit tongue-in-cheek, I guess.  The three rail crowd is demanding absolutely correct models down to the last rivet, so the purchaser has only to place on the track, or at worst use Kadee compatible pads for a quick screwdriver mod.

The 2- rail crowd has historically been a lot more flexible, although drawn to much more accurate wheels and track (in my opinion the essence of the difference between model railroading, and, say, model trucks).

There really is no reason that we, too, should not be demanding more fidelity to prototype, but so far only the very high end models are subjected to the same pressure that the 3-railers are exerting on Lionel and MTH.

I am quite happy with my niche, collecting inaccurate models in cast brass, and repainting whenever I get the whim.  I am amazed at the success of the 3-rail crowd to get more accurate models.

Opinion.

Bob2

Are you not impressed with the success we've had in working with Scott Mann to produce well detailed, smooth operating,  prototype specific 2 rail models at relatively affordable prices?  While 3 rail sales help make the economics work, much of the input related to prototype research/product selection, and pre-production data/pilot model review is done with the participation of 2 railers and railroad historical society members interested in getting it right. 

Ed Rappe

Of course, Ed.  Drift over to the 3-rail scale thread and you will find that they, far more than we, are the ones insisting on prototypically correct models.  If Scott gets the lettering wrong, it is the end of civilization as we know it.  You will not find that kind of worry among the average 2- railer.

Scott will be the first to tell you that his models are built so they work on 3- rail track.  He simply cannot afford to make an exclusively 2- rail product.

opinion.

Here is what I am going to do - go back, and tag each of my posts " opinion".

A very smart friend (UCSD Prof) told me to stop putting " opinion" in my writing.  Probably good advice for attempts at scholarly stuff, but a truly lousy idea on a forum.

if you look at the typical Sunset steamer, you will find at least a highly modified tail beam. Two railers do not complain, even though they could operate with such annoyances.  But just for a minute put the number boards in the wrong spot on a Daylight Northern with tender lettering for a different era, and all **** breaks loose.

Yeah, sure, when they messed up the SP Mike tailbeam I was not happy, but I knew why they messed it up, and knew how easily I could fix it.

All this is about half opinion, and half in fun.

Yes, i too get into trouble posting opinions without saying so at first. Mostly, writing on boards is an attempt at conversation with a cup of coffee in hand. It is not so direct but very direct to the reader and it puts one in line for hard response.

I like my models as close to real as possible.  I am not in any group here in the Phoenix area where I can find guest to run with or have BS conversation so  having a rivet counted model makes little sense. I just like what details one can see be more acceptable than others. Like the stirups, railings, grates, fans, and such.I like the windows that have good painted beading representing the glass being affixed not just a pushed in fixture. I am sure there are a lot more that I can list but you might get the idea. MTH on their newer 2 rail diesels is doing an better job lately. I have bought a few of them just because Atlas hasn't released many later era diesels.

Like HO in the 70's I had to buy an Alco models SD 40-2 to get the models and then paint them myself as then Athern wasn't into producing them. I also did the same thing with the GP30s as for some reason Athearn stopped making them so I turned to brass. $30 was a lot of money back then. I guess that is how we will take care of the US debt, inflation over time. We will need to have a wheel barrel full of cash like the Italian liras.

Here are a few pictures of the UP GEs

https://www.google.com/search?q=union+pacific+u23b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=N7NaUqzIMua_igL8w4GwDg&ved=0CDEQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=655&dpr=1 

   Phill

You may be on to something Bob. I started by checking roster lists, then I started looking at some road-specific items. Now I'm starting to count rivets. It just gets worse and worse. Now I can't even look at hi-rail diesels any more. Now I have 3-rail rolling stock still in boxes because I haven't had the time to take them apart so I can put Kadees on them without having to cut parts off the trucks. It just doesn't stop!