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@palallin posted:

A short sequence of a MoPac local under the charge of USRA Mike #1310 rounding the curve at Notch Junction (aka Bethlehem).  In tow are MP boxcar #45112, Frisco boxcars #128528 & #17826, T&P flatcar #9828 & stock car #24042, MoPac stock car #52428, and MoPac caboose #922.

100_1388

Lots of MoP diesels on this thread, few steamers. This is too bad, as there are available some 3RO steamers that could be good stand-ins for MP power, right out of the box - though a paint job and/or a decal job may be called for. The MP liked what the Southern did with its Ps-4 4-6-2's (essentially a USRA Heavy Pacific boiler utilizing a USRA Light Pacific frame and smaller drivers), and they had some built along those lines, and the 2 roads' 4-6-2's favor quite a bit, at least in a certain class. An MTH PS-4 with Elesco, repainted, could make a more-than-decent stand-in for a certain class of MP 4-6-2's.

Also, MP had some USRA Light Mountain based (somewhat larger drivers; a bit longer) 4-8-2's. Lionel's USRA Mountain would make a presentable stand-in.

BTW - I worked for a railroad 15 years (in the home office) and never hear the clerks and others use the term "MoPac" when the road came up, such as in routing and reporting. They always said "Yeah, that car was handed off to the MoP on the 15th....", or some such. These weren't rail fans, of course, and the road was the "mop".

Hi Mopac Gang, GP15-1 #1677 got an upgrade tonight - a Blunami 4408 decoder and Tang Band TI-1925S.  It's a dumb DC unit no more.  Adjusted the volume as they're loud by default.  Set the airhorn to RS3L, prime mover to 645E 12 cylinder non-turbo.  One of the dogs likes the cab chatter.  These things are cool.

I removed the Atlas board completely (tip from Mike DeBerg) and installed new 3mm warm white LEDs from Evan Designs that have the rectifier bridge and resistors already included (7-19 volt AC\DC\DCC).

MP1677 decoder 1 20240712

MP1677 20240712

Hey Ma, look...that Atlas Trainman baby tunnel motor has see through grilles.  Nice.

MP1677 rear 20240712

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Images (3)
  • MP1677 decoder 1 20240712
  • MP1677 20240712
  • MP1677 rear 20240712
Last edited by Tim Mc
@Tim Mc posted:

Hi Mopac Gang, GP15-1 #1677 got an upgrade tonight - a Blunami 4408 decoder and Tang Band TI-1925S.  It's a dumb DC unit no more.  Adjusted the volume as they're loud by default.  Set the airhorn to RS3L, prime mover to 645E 12 cylinder non-turbo.  One of the dogs likes the cab chatter.  These things are cool.

I removed the Atlas board completely (tip from Mike DeBerg) and installed new 3mm warm white LEDs from Evan Designs that have the rectifier bridge and resistors already included (7-19 volt AC\DC\DCC).

MP1677 decoder 1 20240712

MP1677 20240712

Hey Ma, look...that Atlas Trainman baby tunnel motor has see through grilles.  Nice.

MP1677 rear 20240712

I’ve Always thought the Trainman GP15 tooling was Really Quite Nice and Under Appreciated. 😉    
I look forward to the next MP run with proto 3 !!!

Last edited by TrainBub

Here's my recent MP15DC project here to keep the Mopac thread going.    It was a factory Atlas dummy, but now has drive components, a Soundtraxx Blunami 4408 decoder, CurrentKeeper II and a 27mm round mega bass speaker in place of the factory tank speaker.  The 4408 decoder was installed on a piece of .060 (1.5mm) ABS that replaced the Atlas PCB (dogbone) and Quantum decoder.  I reused the Atlas LEDs and added small rectifier bridge/resistor packages from some extra Evan Designs LEDs (the decoder functions are rated at track voltage minus 1.5V).  The spark arrestors were bought off Shapeways before they filed for bankruptcy, which saved fabrication time.  They are held in the exhaust stacks with styrene pins wrapped with electrical tape for a friction fit so they can be removed.  For now there are no screens as the Mopac often removed them and ran them open.  They should be mounted a bit lower on the stacks, so that may be a future update.

MP1537 01 20250101

Here's a link to a prototype photo for anyone interested:  https://www.rr-fallenflags.org/mp/mp1537ags.jpg

A good shot of MP1535 showing the open spark arrestors and faded cab decal:  https://www.rr-fallenflags.org/mp/mp1535ags.jpg

This one is special to me as it was assigned to the St. Louis area and I have one of MP 1537's number boards.  I plan to give it a light weathering and make it more like it's prototype between now and the STL RPM show in July.

Happy Modeling,

Tim

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  • MP1537 01 20250101
Last edited by Tim Mc

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