Time For Some "S" Pictures

Yup, the only road that had EP-5s was NH.  All the others are indeed victims of "artistic license".  But they look so darn cool!  The MR Little Joes were an entirely different animal as were the Great Northern GE Class W1 motors.  I think GN only had two of them, but they were MONSTERS!

Monsters indeed - with continuous horsepower near the top of the list.  Curious, I looked up the power ratings of several electric locomotives (by no means a complete list), to wit:

current models (no pun intended)

AEM-7:  7000 hp

ACS-64:  6700 hp (Siemens new Amtrak loco)

Acela: 6000 hp (per power car)

E60: 6000 hp (still in use hauling coal)

Once-upon-a-time:

EF-4/EP-4: 5500 hp (Little Joe)

W-1: 5000 hp

GG-1: 4680 hp

E44: 4400 hp

EP-5: 4000 hp

Three Screen Shots from Rusty Traque, Movie Maker.....

           "S - Pictures              Click photo to enlarge.      

Gotta love thread creep

Then there was the loser of the NH paint contest(black/white/yellow) along with how they were originally going to be delivered before Pat McGinnis took over the NH:

The 372 was painted with yellow replacing the red, but never left the GE plant that way.  It was displayed along with the 370 in the black/white/red.  When it came time for inspection and final approval, Pat McGinnis's wife was wearing a black coat, white gloves and a red-orange scarf.  Sounds like a stacked deck...  The red looks much better anyways...  The 372 was repainted before delivery.

Actually, McGinnis didn't want the EP5's, but was unable to cancel the order.  His decision to have them painted so flamboyantly was to make the best of the situation.

Back to the Flyer versions.  I'm surprised Lionel hadn't offered them in Pennsylvania, PC or South Shore. (Oh, what the heck, let's throw Virginian into the mix, too.)

Cool indeed.

Rusty

Today I bought some rubber roadbed for my Flyer track. So after getting the track installed into it, we ran a train on the carpet in our rec room:

It ran better than I was expecting, but the track and wheels definitely need cleaning.

J White

American Flyer Frontiersman, my first electric train set.  Exactly which Christmas, I can't remember, though.

Richie

Very nice!!  

The rubber roadbed sure makes it easier to set up a temporary railroad on a carpeted floor.

Thanks for sharing!!

Aflyer

Some personal favorites:

American Models GG-1s in Tuscan and Brunswick:

American Hi-Rail E-7 and E-8 Union Pacific:

        *    *    *    *

Each of these locomotives has a set of passenger cars that make a nice train. The Brunswick GG-1 has a beautiful 5-car set of American Models green Pullman heavyweights. (Unfortunately, they are among those of early manufacture that suffer from wheelsets that fall out of the truck sideframes. I gotta fix that someday, but they do look great.)

The tuscan GG-1 matches up nicely with the Lionel Pennsylvania heavyweight 6-car set from 2007.

I almost bought a set of AM Budd cars for the E-8, but decided it looks just fine pulling the streamlined cars from the Pony Express set.

The Pony Express cars look fine with the E-7, but from a historical standpoint the E-7 is probably better suited to a heavweight consist. So, they look great with the Lionel 6-car Union Pacific heavyweight set from 2006.

Some more American Hi-Rail:

Pennsy Doodlebug:

Burlington Zephyr:

Great Northern Y1-a 5011 was similar-looking to the EP5s so I guess the manufacturers said "close enough", maybe? 5011 was a boxcab caught in a wreck, and was rebuilt using EMD F-unit cabs. Here's a pic: http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/gn5011.jpg

Anybody got a Flyer GN repaint to show us?

All due respect Firewood, but the only things similar between the one-off Y-1a that was rebuilt and the EP-5 are the 'cab at either end' and the pantographs.  Other than that, one doesn't have to be even a semi-rivet counter to notice the differences (ok, track gauge).  I'm not arguing against Lionel (and others) for providing non-prototypical road names - there are plenty of examples of that beyond the EP-5 example.  Confusing these two would be similar to not seeing the difference between a PA and an E or F unit

Time for a few pics of layout progress. Yard is wired and ready for testing.

Just finished building the icing platform with added lighting. tedious work.

A few scene pics. Hobos around a working campfire.

Waiting at the station.

Activity at the station loading dock.

Killing time with the cows.

Mocking up the engine house at the end of the yard.

Richbar...  Inspirational, to be sure.

Rusty

richabr,

I have to agree with Rusty this is very inspirational.  I am still finishing sub roadbed and doing track work, can't wait to get to scenic something!!

Thanks for sharing, your great layout,

Aflyer

Richbar, Nice looking layout, is that a Milw. Rd gp  i see parked by the engine shed?

Ray

No, it's an AF #377 GP.

Rich

wowiezowie, that is nice Rich.  Have you ever posted a layout sketch/track plan?  What do you use for command/control?  I see a number of 'traditional' flyer locos along with what look like SHS or AM diesels??

Really like the sprawling look of your yard, Rich.  Very nice!

Always wanted a long straightaway on a layout. Unfortunately, I would have no idea how to display a layout plan on this forum. I use Legacy control with the ability to use conventional also.

Rich

Rich,

Yes, looking closer I see the whiskers on that GP, the color fooled me. I have that set of T&P diesels also along with the Flyonel Milw. Rd. GP, I guess I should have looked closer. I also use the Legacy with Powermasters for both Command and conventional control. I agree about the long straights, I did the same on my set-up having a long but narrow area to utilize, others in our club like the long straights for running long trains. Again your layout looks super.

Ray 

Hi All, here a contribution to the thread a U18b, built from a Gilmaur kit. This the MEC version all be it with AAR B trucks, shortly to be replaced with some nice brass blomberg sideframes.

Colin Stewart

Inverness, Scotland