Cars to run with a Conrail GE Dash 8-40CW Diesel Locomotive?

[EARHSEEK]

Hello – I'm relative newbie who has come into possession of a nice (I think) Bachmann Spectrum Conrail GE Dash 8-40CW Diesel Locomotive from a friend who didn't want it. Don't know much about modelling but I'm interested to get more into it. I purchased some track and a controller and I've got a pretty lonely looking engine up and running. I wanted to get some rolling stock that would be appropriate/prototypical for a Conrail GE Dash 8-40 and hopefully build up a nice freight train over time. Can anyone recommend any particular Bachmann (or other) rolling stock and/or give me any leads on cars and configurations that would be appropriate for my engine? Thanks in advance.

[on30gn15]

I'm going to answer your question in a little different way.

Go here http://www.railpictures.net/
Put in Dash 8-40CW as a search term or select from locomotive box.

And it will pull up posted photos of real ones where you can see what kinds of cars are in their trains. Naturally photos will concentrate more on the locos, but cars are visible to some degree or another.

That way you can look at model cars and say, "oh, that car looks right" & "err, no, I didn't see any wooden cars like that one."

But for when looking at model box labels or catalog listings, boxcars listed 50ft long or over, hoppers listed as 100 ton, container cars, auto-racks, Refers 50ft, 60ft, long (refrigerator cars); tank cars with huge numbers of gallons; will be key points.

Thing is as years went by RR cars got bigger, longer, and able to carry more weight.

Auto rack cars for transporting automobiles from factory.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=305548
Nice country scene with train of auto racks
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=309509
(as big as those cars are the models will cost more than box cars and hoppers
and the real ones probably do too!)

Boxcars followed by cars for hauling coils of steel from steel mills
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=319031

Hoppers of wood chips followed by a couple different sizes of boxcars
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=325764

Several different styles of covered hopper cars for carrying grain
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=325789
(here's Bachmann's one for all that Monsanto genetically modified corn and wheat http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1238   )

And plowing snow by pushing along a track maintenance - "Maintenance of Way", "MOW" also "MoW" gizmo called a Jordan Spreader.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=310461

Now there's something you could do, have an out of use RR station as a musuem
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=325938

---> Thing to do, get Bachmann's printed catalog and have it open while looking at train pictures to find HO cars of styles like ones in train.

Hope that all helps more than overwhelms or confuses  

[on30gn15]

Oh, as well as selecting locomotive type in search box, a selection of railroad can be added.
With Conrail having been broken up and sold off you will need to scroll down in railroads to "Fallen Flags" category - a term for companies now gone.

Some examples of suitable Bachmann models.

Grain hopper from Canada.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1807

These "all door" boxcars are employed hauling lumber products
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=2112

This 50' Steel Reefer for Tropicana would be suitable.
In 1980s in Virginia we watched the "Juice Train" which Seaboard had and was pretty much all reefers of orange products and the like headed north like they were in a mission.
That business probably still happens with CSX - I don't think people have stopped drinking orange juice and lemonade.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1247

Conrail owned 50' Plug-Door Box Car
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1776

50' Sliding Door Box Car in Union Pacific colors
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=3556

And look up on here the 52ft flat car and the flat car with load, some ideas there.

[jward]

as one who lives along the former conrail mainline, and sees these locomotives everyday, i can offer some suggestions.

from the bachmann catalogue:

50' railbox type boxcar
40' boxcar
100 ton berhlejem steel hopper (usually run in solid trains)
56' center flow covered hopper
cylindrical grain hopper.

from other manufacturers:
any boxcar or gondola 50 feet or longer.
100 ton coal hoppers.
frameless tank cars.
auto racks (fully enclosed, not the early open ones)
89' intermodal flat cars
any spine 0r well type intermodal cars.

[EARHSEEK]

Wow, thanks so much for the great info, on30gn15 and jward! The Tropicana car is really interesting suggestion and would add some nice character to a model. That's exactly the kind of thing I was wondering about, i.e what kind of other, non-Conrail, cars might be appropriate. Definitely like the idea of having some auto rack cars as well.

I found some good info on the The Conrail Historical Society wesbite as well: http://thecrhs.org but these images are nicer.

Happy Holidays to you guys.