Spectrum HO Steam for the NC&StL and L&N - Is my list complete, please?

[Searsport]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can fill out my list of Spectrum steamers for the Dixie Line. I have:

Baldwin USRA "Light Mountain" 4-8-2:

- NC&StL #553, DCC Ready. Spectrum 81604

- L&N #408, DCC Ready. Spectrum 81608

Baldwin 2-10-0 "Russian Decapod":

- NC&StL #953, DCC Ready. Spectrum 81708

- NC&StL #952, w/DCC & Tsunami Sound. Spectrum 84305

Baldwin 2-8-0:

- NC&StL #390, DCC Ready. Spectrum 11425

Baldwin Modern 4-4-0:

- L&N #7, DCC on board. Spectrum 80102

- L&N #144, w/DCC & Tsunami Sound. Spectrum 80127

I am also aware of the P2K USRA 0-8-0 for the L&N

I am busy upgrading them all to DCC + Sound whilst the relevant Spectrum parts can still be easily found in the spares shop or on ebay, replacing the tender chassis where necessary with the sound-ready versions. I might as well catch any that have escaped my net at the same time.

I would be grateful to know of any omissions,
Thanks,
Bill.

[Trainman203]

I'd like to have that Dixie collection, Bill.  I have most of the SR steam engines.

[brokenrail]

Man you must have a smokey train room 
Johnny

[Searsport]

The only smoker is a BLI PRR H10s, and I keep the smoke turned off to avoid an accidental burnout / meltdown.

Seriously though, I was expecting to hear that there were more Baldwin 2-8-0s for the L&N or NC&StL in the Spectrum back-catalog than the lone example I found (Spectrum 11425, NC&StL #390). The 2-8-0 has been in the range the longest, and not a single L&N example? or DCC or Sound example?

Best Regards,
Bill.

[Trainman203]

Bachmann is based in Philadelphia pa. Northern road names always sell better than Southern road names because there are more model railroaders up north than down South, probably because model railroading is an indoor hobby pursued in long northern  winter months.

In my area, a typical winter day is 50 degrees and sunny.  It hasn't snowed here in years. Not very conducive to working on an indoor layout .... Although no one has basements here, my layout is in a room full of natural light.

Southern model railroaders like me are lucky that the Bach Man did that nice long run of many Dixie steam engines.  I'm not complaining, I got nearly all of them while I could.

[Searsport]

Hi Trainman, in my area 50 degrees is a typical summer day! And my cellar was designed to hold coal and has a river running through it in wet weather. That is why I like to think of nice warm climes!!

To be fair to Bachmann re the South they also did the SAL Decapod, Baldwin "Modern" 4-4-0 with and without sound, and Richmond 4-4-0, all of which I have, and the SAL USRA Light 2-10-2 with and without sound, which I missed, not realising it would be here and gone again in a flash, so that is ebay if at all. But curiously they never did the Baldwin 2-8-0 for the SAL in HO, though they did it twice in N.

They have also recently added the ALCo 2-6-0 for the Southern, and that is on my list as I don't have any of those Bachmann ALCo 2-6-0s yet, and the USRA 2-10-2 with and without sound, which is another ebay maybe.

Best Regards,
Bill.

[Trainman203]

I have the Southern and the KCS 2-10-2's.  KCS is mostly a Southern road and some relatives had connections with it so I got it.  I too got the SAL 2-10-2, mostly because it had the same valve gear and cast trailing truck as an MP engine, intending to repaint it as such.  My Dixie-fried friend from Gulfport, however, said " how can you even think of repainting an engine that says "through the heart of the South" on the cab?" So I left it as is.

Incidentally, the "Seaboard" name is somewhat misleading, it is largely an inland road.

[Len]

You'll have to hunt shows, etc., to find one, but IHC did a NC&StL 4-8-2 with Vandy tender in their 'Premeir' line a while back.

Len

[Trainman203]

And NC&StL did run Vanderbilt tenders behind some of their engines.  Not sure about the 4-8-2's though.

This 4-8-4 is bring restored to operation:

http://ncstl.com/576/576.htm

It's not a "northern". It's a "Dixie".   .  Note that it has a semi Vanderbilt tender.
This would make a great Bachmann engine.  I'm not holding my breath waiting.

[Len]

NC&StL had a few4-8-2 locos. Check out:

http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mountain/?page=ncstl

Len

[Searsport]

Hi Trainman + Len, in reply to a few points above.

On the SAL - I misspoke about the Bachmann SAL USRA 2-10-2 models, they are in fact both DCC fitted, no sound. They are Bachmann 83310 + 83311, SAL 2485 + 2491. Curious that B did two with DCC and not one with and one without sound, but it may be no bad thing as the new Econami has the interesting feature of "steam downhill drift" mode, where the clanks become louder and the chuffs quieter, which is also useful for yard work IMHO. Also, the July Model Railroader has an advert from Sountraxx for the Tsunami 2, which I have not looked into but presumably has some advances over its predecessor.

Also on the SAL, I believe that the name started as an advertising slogan to compete with arch-rival the ACL, and had its origins in an early constituent, the Raleigh and Augusta Air Line Railroad. However, I also believe that the SAL always regarded its Richmond VA to Jacksonville FL line as its "Main Line", and whilst this only runs along the coast south of Savannah, technically the geographic term "seaboard" applies to the whole coastal plain, i.e. the Atlantic Seaboard is everything east of the Appalachians, so "Seaboard" is a legit name for the Richmond to Savannah section too.

On the N.C.&St.L. and Vanderbilt tenders, the loco diagram pages at the back of "Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Ry. History and Steam Locomotives" by Richard E. Prince shows the following classes with Vanderbilt tenders:

2-8-0 class H7C (but the notes and text elsewhere say that these locos only received Vandy tenders after WW2, from (presumably retired) class L1 Mikados);

4-6-2 classes K1A, K2C, K2D (but text says some Pacifics were supplied with box tenders which were later exchanged for Vandys, and photos show many kept their box tenders throughout their lives);

4-8-2 class J1A, J1C (The first five USRA Mountains received by the N.C.&St.L. had box tenders and were #550-4, class J1, so Bachmann's (and my) #553 (Spectrum #81604) is correct with its USRA medium coal tender. J1A (#555-7) and J1C (558-62) were delivered with Vandys. However, these later locos also had trailing truck boosters and so are not represented by the Spectrum model;

4-8-4 class J2 (all apparently delivered with Vandys. The successor J3 class were semi-streamlined and so had the "semi-Vandy");

2-8-2 class L1, L2A (The L1 was the Dixie Line's pre-WW1 Mikado and all had Vandy tenders. Then came ten L2 class USRA 2-8-2A Mikados with box tenders. Finally twelve L2A class were all delivered with Vandys.

All of the standard Vandy tenders shown in the diagrams are 4-axle types. Some "semi-Vanderbilt" tenders were attached to streamlined locos and had 6 axles.

Happy Steaming!
Bill.