My Frisco Meteor

Very nice train.  Could you add a little more about each car in the train that is shown?  By that I mean who manufactured it and what work you did on it.  Thanks!

Very nice Rob!

Nice work, Rob!

At least a decade ago, Sunset/3rd Rail made an initial offer to produce the home-shop streamlined Frisco 4-6-2 that was used on the Firefly prior to the 1950 arrival of E8 and FP7 units from EMD.  The response was not sufficient to produce the 4-6-2.

A finished RPO, and another one needing all kinds of work.

@Number 90 posted:

Nice work, Rob!

At least a decade ago, Sunset/3rd Rail made an initial offer to produce the home-shop streamlined Frisco 4-6-2 that was used on the Firefly prior to the 1950 arrival of E8 and FP7 units from EMD.  The response was not sufficient to produce the 4-6-2.

Were they also making the cars? If not it may have held sales back.

@BobbyD posted:

Were they also making the cars? If not it may have held sales back.

They are aiming to produce the cars in the upcoming year. Don't recall them ever being made before.

@vash44 posted:

They are aiming to produce the cars in the upcoming year. Don't recall them ever being made before.

Are there engines to run with the cars?

@BobbyD posted:

Are there engines to run with the cars?

See this page:

3rd Rail Division of Sunset Models

However, the Lionel Legacy E8 "Race Horse" units were the most common sight on the Meteor.  The fluted E7's offered by 3rd Rail were classy but short lived, as delivered.

@Rob Leese posted:

See this page:

3rd Rail Division of Sunset Models

However, the Lionel Legacy E8 "Race Horse" units were the most common sight on the Meteor. The fluted E7's offered by 3rd Rail were classy but short lived, as delivered.

They look good I'm sure they will make a nice train. I was hoping to see a steam engine.

@BobbyD posted:

Are there engines to run with the cars?

Yes, they are up currently up for reservations.

http://www.3rdrail.com/reservation.html#E7

@vash44 posted:

Yes, they are up currently up for reservations.

http://www.3rdrail.com/reservation.html#E7

The early E7s for the Meteor were painted the same as the Texas Specials (MKT and Frisco) except the nose and side Had Only Frisco signage. Pictures of the Frisco E7 are a bit difficult to find - especially in color. This paint version lasted only 2 or 3 years and when E8s were delivered in a different paint scheme, the 7s were redone to almost match. There are tell-tale bits that show their “E7ness”.
I believe 3rd Rails offering of a Meteor E7 is a first. If you like the Meteor and E7s, this one’s for you. 3rd Rail will eventually get to another run of E8s and will undoubtedly offer a Frisco E8. 7s before 8s. It can be your choice. Your other choice is to troll the secondary market. I never see 3rd Rail Tx Specials 7s offered. MTH has 2x offered E8s - about 15 years apart. Early was an ABA - not prototypical. Later        just as individual “A”s and with an unpowered option. These rarely show up. Lionel - I don’t know.
Here’s the 3rd Rail Tx Special. Pretend it has only Frisco markings and you have an early Meteor diesel.  I like 3rd Rail as I can easily remove the lobster claw coupler and replace with the enclosed closed fixed pilot.

The below pic shows 3rd Rail Frisco E7 on left before removal of coupler. Notice it has fixed pilot.
The E8s are MTH and shows a 3rd or 4th iteration paint scheme (not final).

The second Paint version has been done by Key Models - very scarce and very expensive (and perhaps only in 2rail ???).  This paint scheme is quite detailed.  Later paint schemes always became more   simple.

The Frisco Meteor ran with 2 “A” units. They had no “B”s.
FYI - I’m in for an 3rd Rail E7 as I don’t have one !!!  
Cheers 😉

@TrainBub

The content above is a thorough and well written explantion of Meteor locomotives to help everyone with purchase decisions.
I bought Legacy E8’s years ago thinking they were far more accurately painted as compared to the MTH offering.  The offering by 3rd Rail have a paint scheme which is entirely different.

Good job, TrainBub.

Does anyone have contact information for Don Wirth who wrote  
“Frisco Steam Salute” ?  If so, please send to me - contact info in my profile.
THANKS !!!

He’s on Facebook

Osage River was purchased as part of a Texas Special add on set from Lionel. It was  easily redone as a Meteor car with the help of K4 Decals. The blinds are from Circus City Decals. The diaphragms on the set resembled the mouth of that fish who cleans the sides of your aquarium, so they were replaced with realistic Lionel parts which I believe are now out of stock.

By the way, here is a HO picture of what is just short of representing a Meteor diesel. All it needs is the Frisco logo for the nose and between the ladder and nose on the silver area. There was no advertising that the train was the Meteor (unlike the Texas Special lettering).
3rd Rail currently has this early paint version Frisco E7 Meteor available for reservation in its E7 offering (along with the Texas Special E7s). I don’t think a Meteor diesel has ever been offered in O Scale before. There were only “A”s. The typical power for the streamline Frisco Meteor was an “AA” pair.


Cheers 😉

A word of caution:

car 1652, Huntleigh, a coach buffet lounge for the Frisco Meteor, is supposed to have dark tan window blinds in the lounge portion. I bought brown window blinds from Circus City Decals, and as you can see they are brown… but not on their opposite side.  I cannot imagine them looking correct applied to the outside of the window.  On the other hand, there are probably as few as ten people who actually know what color the shades should be.

Rob,

I suspect after your post a few more than 10 will know now!  Thanks for the info.

Huntleigh is not finished as it needs a rooftop antenna approx. 3/4 the length of the car…a Westinghouse radio offered music to passengers. This car has already been decaled, weathered, and relighted with JWA kits from Hennings.
The Meteor did not have a full diner in the streamline era.  Huntleigh and its sister car LaDue were coach-buffet-lounge cars serving cooked-to-order light meals while a more extended menu was offered in the Meteor lounge observation car.  I am open to suggestions for finding an antenna kit for Huntleigh. I purchased some antenna stantions from ScaleCraft but they are fragile beyond description.

Rob would a PRR radio-phone antenna work?  I believe Forum Sponsor Trainz may have some K-Line antennae in stock.

@Rob Leese posted:

A word of caution:

car 1652, Huntleigh, a coach buffet lounge for the Frisco Meteor, is supposed to have dark tan window blinds in the lounge portion. I bought brown window blinds from Circus City Decals, and as you can see they are brown… but not on their opposite side.  I cannot image them looking correct applied to the outside of the window.  On the other hand, there are probably as few as ten people who actually know what color the shades should be.

Couldn't you apply them in reverse?

I do not think it would work. There is no adhesive on the front side.

@Rob Leese posted:

I do not think it would work. There is no adhesive on the front side.

I'd give it a try.

If it doesn't work could you mount it on thin clear plastic, reverse that then place it against the window?

Huntleigh coach/lounge all finished with Westinghouse rooftop radio antenna and handrails on corridor windows.  
I’m done with this project unless GGD offers the proposed heavyweight Pullmans in red/silver as part of the Meteor offering.

@Rob Leese- Rob, I have followed your path to create the Frisco Meteor and while it is not my personal part of the hobby, I just want to compliment you on your workmanship and the perseverance you have displayed to get every possible detail correct.  Your attention to detail is inspiring.  Great job !

Best Wishes

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

@Rob Leese- Rob, I have followed your path to create the Frisco Meteor and while it is not my personal part of the hobby, I just want to compliment you on your workmanship and the perseverance you have displayed to get every possible detail correct.  Your attention to detail is inspiring.  Great job !

Best Wishes

Don

Thank you.  And, we missed each other at the previous Grapevine Train-a-Palooza…maybe next year we can shake hands.

Outstanding project Rob. Love the added details and the building of an accurate consist. These types of projects are the type that the research is almost as much fun as the modeling itself. The satisfaction is that you got it as close as you can with what’s available. The manufactures can’t make everything everyone wants. It’s good to see modeling being done.

Good news!  Rob, we have received authorization from the Vice President - Mechanical, to award your personal record ten merits for extensive study of Frisco passenger train consists, as well as faithful super-detailing of O Gauge cars used by the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad.  Congratulations on very fine work.

@Rob Leese - Hey sorry for taking so long to respond, but as far as the Grapevine "Train-a-palooza" goes, you bet planning to meet 1:1 is a GREAT IDEA.  Hey Rob, any chance you will be attending the McKinney TCA Lonestar Divisions train show on 7 Sept?   I will be there and if you are coming we could meet up there.  Note its at Collin County Community College Conference Center, corner of Community Ave and Taylor Buck Dr  9am-4 pm.

Don