Western Roads Wednesday

Lee:  cool effect with use of B&W.

Don

Santa Fe off the rails.

This Wednesday Santa Fe Hudson #3464 leads The Grand Canyon west.

Well fans of W.R.W. how about a "western road" that starts in Canada.  The Canadian Pacific Railway starts in Vancouver, Canada  and goes pretty much across the western part of Canada and then turns south to reach the US in such places as Chicago, Milwaukee, and even Buffalo.  So here are two cars representing the Canadian Pacific or CP railway.

Here is one of the newer members of Lionel's CP boxcar offerings, this is one of their "6565" series cars, intended to be an improvement on the classic 6464 postwar series.  It has a diecast frame and diecast fully sprung trucks and a robust body casting.  The Lionel (LTI)  # 39308 "CP 58700" box from 2008-2010.

Here is a much earlier version of the same box from a prior licensee.  The Lionel (MPC) # 9748 boxcar from 1975-76.  Really quite early in the MPC era and of considerably lighter construction than the car above.

Well that's it for me today.  Best wishes and hope you are having a happy and healthy week

Don

There haven't been many posts here in Western Roads Wednesday in the last couple of weeks, so I'll start it off this fine spring day.

Here's another video of my new California Zephyr and WP F7's.

Happy Hump Day!

Well Scott I agree, we have been a little "thin" so I will follow up with another post to "thicken the stew" .  I have two Union Pacific entries this morning.

The first is Marx's attempt at realism and he didn't do too bad a job with his plastic E-7 series.  This one is the Marx # 52 Union Pacific E-7 AB locomotive from 1960 . Here is the A unit alone.

Then the A and B unit along with a #3900 Marx UP caboose from 1974-75.

Next up is the Marx # 791 M10005 stream-liner.  This loco and matching train started in the pre war era about 1940 and then came back after the war beginning in 1948 and continuing to 1952.  The one below because of its small die cast wheels dates from 1951-52.

Well best wishes everyone on this somewhat drab Wednesday here in central Texas.

Don

Well, I was just trying out the camera features on my new iPhone 13 pro max. These photos were taken with the 3x telephoto feature. But I think these box cars have been posted before on other threads. So thanks for understanding. 😉

@Yellowstone Special posted:

Well, I was just trying out the camera features on my new iPhone 13 pro max. These photos were taken with the 3x telephoto feature. But I think these box cars have been posted before on other threads. So thanks for understanding. 😉

Vern, you're new iPhone 13 Pro sure takes great photos! That's one poppin' ATSF freight car!

Well thank you, Scott.

This post is either late or really early!!

Comparing Western Road Southern Pacific paint color and scheme. I had forgotten I took the the photo of a SP 1195 SW switcher tail end, and thought I'd compare a real SW900R to a recent Lionel SP SW8. The bodies are almost virtually the same, but the main thing is the real SW900 is freshly painted and refurbished by Niles Canyon Railway California. I caught the tail end of the SW900R while riding behind the Skookum articulated steam loco. I couldn't find any good photos of a SW8, most were looking pretty worn out and faded, and most were licensed photos. Notice that the Lionel model is black under the red along the bottom. Prototypical it should be SP gray under the red line, like the photos of the SW900R. I'm not a prototypical guy, so it doesn't bother me much.

Let's start with the Lionel SW8:

Here's the SW900R at the Brightside Rail Yard in Niles Canyon, CA. It's looking all pretty in new paint. I took the tail end shot.

Borrowed this one. Notice no suicide platforms on the SW900R. It's obvious by the 1970's that safety was becoming more import, look at all the lights on the 900! Also, the SW900 has a hand rail the full length of the service platform, and some SW8's had this as well.

Happy railroading!

Great photos, Scott. I still like your Lionel SW8 better than the real SW900R. 👍

This Wednesday Santa Fe H10-44 507 leads a short local freight West.

I guess I'm the first to post for Western Roads Wednesday! Here's some Western Pacific action.

The WP F7 #918 ABA set is working freight today. In the back ground SF F3 AA set leads, "The Chief", in the Paradise station loading passengers.

Happy Hump Day!

https://youtu.be/7LtjzQaFZ3k

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

I guess I'm the first to post for Western Roads Wednesday! Here's some Western Pacific action.

The WP F7 #918 ABA set is working freight today. In the back ground SF F3 AA set leads, "The Chief", in the Paradise station loading passengers.

Happy Hump Day!

https://youtu.be/7LtjzQaFZ3k

Wow, there they are again and they look great, Scott. Nice video!

This Wednesday Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3759 leads Train number 24, the eastbound Grand Canyon.

@Lou1985 posted:

This Wednesday Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3759 leads Train number 24, the eastbound Grand Canyon.

I like the mixture of cars, old and new, in this train.

@Yellowstone Special posted:

I like the mixture of cars, old and new, in this train.

That's how the Grand Canyon consists were after WWII, so that's how I run my version. A mix of heavyweight and lightweight cars was common into the 1960s on that train. Only the top tier trains (El Capitan, The Chief, The Super Chief, The San Francisco Chief, The Texas Chief, etc.) ran with matching lightweight consists.

@trumpettrain posted:

Cool Pic Patrick! I like the guy with the sandwich and it must be around Christmas time with all the trees. It looks like something exploded all over the left hand side of the Santa Fe Box Car! Must be a serious game of checkers by the look of the guy with the glasses. LoL Great shot!

@Yellowstone Special posted:

I like the mixture of cars, old and new, in this train.

Vern, the Lionel aluminum baggage car in Lou1985 video is the one I almost purchased when the K-line baggage car came up for sale. I agree, nice video of mixed passenger consist by Lou1985!

Well I admit that I was shocked to discover I have not posted to this thread for nearly a month...!  Clearly Wednesdays are getting too busy for an old retired guy !!  So I thought that today I would add my version of the Santa Fe war bonnet Alco.  This was a Lionel #212 offered in 1964 -1966 as part of the 0-27 line.  It came, in that era, as only an AA but I have added a #218 B unit from 1963 to make up the ABA locomotive.  I have it paired with some older cars, the #2444 Newark Pullman, #2442 Clifton vista dome and the #2446 Summit observation all from 1956. (Note :  All these names come from towns in northern NJ that surrounded the Irvington Lionel plant.  This is the area of my boyhood, from birth to about age 17).

Here is a short video of her in action.

Well Happy "hump day" everyone.  Best wishes.  We are basically into summer here in Central Texas, daytime temps are in the 90's and the pool is open!  Now if I could only get the grass to stop growing!!

Don

Some old photos for this Western Roads Wednesday.

Folks, what happened to WRW??  I missed it this week and it seems so did everyone else.  We have to try to "kep er goin" if we can because this "day of the week" threads are fun.  So anyway, here I am a day late posting to W.R.W. on Thursday, but so what.  This is an old but really classic Lionel box car, early post war, the series before the famous 6464 this is the 6454 Southern Pacific boxcar from 1950-1952.  I found this one about a year ago in really remarkable shape for her age, now going on 70 plus years and with a nice box and even the Lionel inspection slip.

Here is the end view.  To me, these early 645x box cars had impressive detail cast into their end bulkheads and roof hatches.  Really detailed and look at the rivet detail!

Here are a couple of pictures of the box, pretty good shape for 70 years old.

Inside the box, was the original Lionel inspection slip showing an inspection in Irvington, N.J.   I wonder if J.C. #4597 is still around.

Well I am a day late but I wanted to post to W.R.W. to help us keep this thread going.

Best Wishes

Don

I suppose Union Pacific qualifies as a Western Railroad  .  Here is a 3rdRail M10000 tooling around my layout. It has a broken pickup wire, so I need to take it apart to repair. Otherwise it will stall at certain switches. My first brass loco and first 3rd Rail.

Blue Goose running on the TMB;

Well we have not had posting to this thread since 5/21, so I will give it a try and see if we can "scare up" some further participants.

In 1929 Louis Marx contracted with the Girard Model Works to sell their trains.  In 1932, Girard had brought forth a new line of larger, more streamlined cars, that would eventually be known as the Marx 6" cars.  However there were some differences in the sides.  The side of the 1934-35 Girard cars had silver lithography on the frame sides to represent journal boxes and air tanks, they had a "short" wheel base, and they came with "Joy Line" couplers.  Note that by 1936 Girard Model Works had gone bankrupt and was acquired by Marx and renamed the Girard Manufacturing Company and became part of the rapidly expanding Marx empire that would result in making Marx the world's largest toy manufacturer. 

Of the 5 cars produced in 1934-35 commonly called " Silver Lithographed Frame" or "Short Wheelbase" cars, there were 3 from western roads, first is the "Rock Island" # 552 gondola.  Note that the coupler does not have the characteristic "slot" for tab and slot couplers.  That is because these very early cars retained the "Joy Line" coupler developed by Girard Model Works and it has a circular opening vice a slot.  By about 1936-37 all of these cars had transitioned over to a longer frame and wheel base, lack of lithography on the frame (for the most part), and traditional Marx tab/slot couplers.

The the #817 Colorado & Southern refrigerator car.

Finally the Santa Fe "Middle States Oil" tank car.  Another characteristic of these early tanks cars is the "bullet nose" tank ends, later cars had these ends flattened to a more flat center dome shape.  

Well that's my put for "Western Roads Wednesday"  How about joining in fellows?

Best Wishes

Don

Southern Pacific AS616 number 5239 leads a local freight this Wednesday.

@Lou1985 posted:

Southern Pacific AS616 number 5239 leads a local freight this Wednesday.

Nice video of a Southern Pacific freight train, Lou. 👍

Seems we don’t see much espy stuff, other than Coast Daylight passenger trains. 😉

Lionel Legacy Challenger on the Golden Gate Lionel Railroad Club layout.

RAY

@Ray of sunshine posted:

Lionel Legacy Challenger on the Golden Gate Lionel Railroad Club layout.

RAY

Ray, is that a Western Pacific F7 I spy in the background of the video? Great video too! The Challenger and the consist are awesome. I like the old dump truck too.

I was going to make a new video for Western Roads Wednesday but got busy and missed it all together! Here's a video I've posted before in another thread, I think! :-)  This video is, "Can we get this thing rolling"?

scott,

Yes, that is a Legacy F7, Western Pacific

RAY

This Wednesday Southern Pacific GS4 number 4449 leads the joint Rock Island/Southern Pacific Golden State west towards Los Angeles.

I am a little short of time today, but here is a UP MP-15 switcher (by K-line) working the industrial section of the Leonartown and Savannah.

Happy "hump" day, best wishes

Don

Well, here's the good ol' Santa Fe Super Chief.

Vern, excellent video and great Santa Fe Chief on this Western Roads Wednesday ! Layout looks great!

Here's a video of the California Zephyr from a camera location I've never tried before, in the bay window. This is the side of the layout rarely seen unless you're outside looking in, which people do all the time, mostly in the evening after dark. I thought I'd do this video in the afternoon sun just before it begins to shine on the layout. Also, there is an additional coach added that I received today, see if you can spot it. Hint; the name is different than all the other coaches and you might catch it on the second pass.

Happy Hump Day!!!

Thank you, Scott and by the way, I finally got that tripod. It makes taking videos with my iPhone a lot easier and thank you for suggesting that. 🙏

I really like your video of the CZ, especially from that angle inside the bay window. I also like your merry-go-round. 😉 I wasn’t able to spot the new passenger car, since as they passed, they all looked the same to me.

You not only have a awesome layout and train, but a unique location for it as well. 👍

@Yellowstone Special posted:

Thank you, Scott. I really like your video of the CZ, especially from that angle inside the bay window. I also like your merry-go-round. 😉 I wasn’t able to spot the new passenger car, since as they passed, they all looked the same to me.

But, you not only have a awesome layout and train, but a unique location for it as well. 👍

Thanks Vern I'm glad you liked the CZ video. It's probably really hard to catch the different coach with it zipping by, so here's a my post from this morning in "Buy anything cool lately?" thread.

https://ogrforum.com/...3#162334965866496713

Cheers!

Of course! The first car behind the baggage car and with no dome. I should’ve spotted it the first time. 🤔

Getting old, you know. 😉

It's Western Roads Wednesday and it's almost over and no posts. So I guess I'm the first today, and just in time, it's 11:30pm out here on the west coast.

Imagine it’s year 2002 and there’s a UP excursion passenger train, "The California Zephyr", being pulled by a SD70Ace in WP Legacy colors rolling into the station. Then a UP mixed freight pulled by another SD70Ace in the American flag, "Building America", slogan rolls through after the Zephyr has left the station for its next destination. All while an old SP SW8 switcher moves livestock cars to the cattle ranch nearby. The track side service team reviews the nights schedule and consist lists preparing for the nights duties. Just another day on the Western Road in Paradise.